Climate Change News Roundup
Ballot measure to suspend California climate change law goes to voters.
California voters will have a chance to choose sides, and the nation will be watching. Campaign consultants on Monday plan to submit signatures to elections officials to place an initiative on the November ballot that would suspend California's Assembly Bill 32, the 2006 landmark law that requires sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
...Most of the money promoting the proposal has come from out-of-state companies that extract their wealth from dead dinosaurs – mainly oil, with a hint of coal. Constraints on carbon would take steaks from their plates.
Tonight's stories include: Deepwater Horizon oil volcano, war against a wind-rich super grid, some lawmakers focus on wind farms after oil disaster, the deadly impacts of coal, new federal rule targets harmful mercury emissions and reducing carbon footprints for homes, towns, offices and companies.
Donors for ballot measure include: Valero Energy Corp. based in San Antonio; Texas Valero Energy Corp.; "Virginia-based American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, [which] is the main coal industry-backed trade group and one of the most influential forces on Capitol Hill.," and a "not-for-profit corporation based in Missouri, the Adam Smith Foundation," which by law is "not required to reveal the source of its money."
Two of our nation's largest coal companies, Peabody Energy Corp. and Arch Coal Co., warn that laws like AB 32 could "force electricity generators to switch from coal to other fuel."
DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
US oil spill explained
Some in media say federal government was slow to respond, but GOP Florida Senate candidate says it appeared "much of the early information provided to the federal government by BP" had been "either inaccurate or shortcoming."
CLIMATE CHANGE & ENERGY
Another battle front is wind farms.
- War Against a Wind-Rich Super Grid by a coalition of "giant investor-owned utilities, public power entities, influential elected officials of both parties and state energy officials." The Coalition for Fair Transmission Policy is "trying to block the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from approving a series of major transmission paths from wind-rich areas in the middle of the continent to load centers all over and then spreading the cost of the new lines around the whole country.
See also, Democratic lawmaker Rush Holt pushes for quick growth of wind power: In "view of the disastrous oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico the United States should quickly focus on developing wind power along its coasts."
See also, Preparation for groundbreaking offshore wind farm project begins in Atlantic City as "New Jersey is in a race to have the first offshore wind-generated power project ...."
FOOD & HEALTH
- Coal, a Silent Killer: "Fatal accidents at coalmines" cause "great public alarm," but "many more deaths are caused by the pollution that comes from the use of coal as an energy source."
- New federal rule targets harmful mercury emissions: Obama administration says 5,000 deaths and 36,000 asthma attacks each year could be prevented under new rules. "Some lawmakers representing industrial states have protested placing the added burden on businesses when many are struggling because of the recession."
SUSTAINABILITY & CONSUMPTON