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November 13, 2009

Changing the Paradigm

White House may seek short-term climate pact
President Barack Obama is considering pushing for a short-term deal at next month's Copenhagen climate talks. Congress has yet to pass a climate-change measure of its own, limiting Obama's ability to commit to a long-term international agreement. "An interim, operational deal is not meant to be seen as a substitute for a real agreement," said Todd Stern, U.S. special envoy on climate change. "It's meant to be seen as substantive building blocks to a full, legal agreement and perhaps the best chance of getting such an agreement." The Washington Post (11/12)

Pioneers

Study: Sustainable practices lend competitive advantage
Top manufacturers are already reducing their energy consumption by 24% each year and emissions by 30%, according to a new study from Aberdeen Group. These companies enjoy higher margins and higher equipment effectiveness as well, the study finds. Slow adapting firms, meanwhile, are still consuming 6% more energy each year. Environmental Leader (11/12)

Builders look to make a concrete impact
The cement industry generates at least 5% of all global carbon emissions, creating 1 ton of CO2 for each ton of cement. Several companies are now experimenting with less carbon-intensive alternatives, some of which outperform conventional cement. ClimateBiz.com (11/12)

Solutions

Wind power needs hard targets to thrive
The biggest threat to the future of domestic wind power is the possibility that Congress will fail to establish a renewable-electricity standard that will spur investment and attract more manufacturers, said Denise Bode, president of the American Wind Energy Association. The wind industry will "go to where the hard targets and incentives are because they owe that to their shareholders," said Bode. National Journal (11/12)

Senators pitch prize for carbon capture
Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wy., and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., have introduced legislation that would offer incentives for the development of technologies that can extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The pair argue that the country is likely to continue burning carbon-intensive fuels such as oil, so these technologies could play an essential role in reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. The New York Times (free registration)/Dot Earth blog (11/12)

Smart grid likely to leave Wi-Fi behind
Smart-grid technology, which will soon allow two-way communication between energy users and utilities, probably won't rely on standard Wi-Fi, writes Katie Fehrenbacher. Wi-Fi has a number of performance issues that are not present in competing standards, such as ZigBee and WiMAX, she notes. Earth2Tech (11/12)

Green Living

Leading the clothesline revolution
Hanging your clothes out to dry can reduce your environmental impact, says Alexander Lee, founder of Project Laundry List. Many communities in the U.S. do not allow clotheslines, out of fear that they will hurt property values, he notes. Lee is on a crusade to bring back the clothesline, "making air-drying and cold-water washing laundry acceptable and desirable as a simple and effective way to save energy," he says. Grist (11/12)

Can golf take a green mulligan?
Golf has a reputation for being bad for the planet, because of courses' heavy use of water and pesticides, but now some courses are trying to clean up their act. Experts note that the pressure to trim costs may ultimately lead more courses to re-examine their environmental impact. Good.is (11/2)

SmartQuote

When I took this job up here, it was quite an eye-opener to see exactly what really is organic and what isn't. You know, these people that run golf courses and go 'Oh yeah, we're organic. We just spray a little bit here and there.' I mean, they're joking themselves."

--Troy MacLaren, superintendent, Kabi Organic Golf Course, as quoted by Good.is

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