Re/Action on Climate Protection

Cafeteria Plan Transportation - A good solution for employers

A recent (1999) revision of IRS regulations, the so-called "cafeteria plans" allows employees to set aside up to $100/mo pre-tax money for transportation-related expenses, such as van pools and mass transit passes. Employer-arranged van pools can be subsidized by these funds.

This is one way an employer can incentivize employee use of lower carbon transit alternatives.

An Unorthodox Proposal - Outlaw the gasoline engine

Researching the production of biodiesel from solid waste feedstocks, I came across this article. It mentions diesel/electric hybrids. With biodiesel produced from algae, and only diesel/electric hybrid engines being installed in new vehicles, gasoline demand could be dramatically decreased, or even phased out.

Another email subscription glitch

Unfortunately our newsfeed hiccuped during the night and a post didn't go out to our email subscribers. You can find it here.

Climate Change Newsfeeds

You may not have noticed the left column of our blog. It has been reorganized so that some newsfeeds that we feature are more accessible. The three newsfeeds on our left column are The Climate Ark (Climate Change Newsfeed), a site from the UK called Climate Change Action, and the premier climate change science site RealClimate.

These newsfeeds are updated constantly, with the five most recent entries shown in the left column. Clicking on the link will take you to the article. The Climate Change Newsfeed is very active, with the latest news items related to climate change. Climate Change Action is an interesting site, with links to the "Campaign Against Climate Change", a UK climate activism group.

RealClimate isn't updated very often, but it contains a wealth of information about the latest findings in climate science. It contains refutations of some of the most popular climate change myths, as well as rebuttals of Michael Crichton's book, State of Fear.

Enjoy the links, and also check out our Climate Protection Campaign website and white paper wiki links.

The Biodiesel Controversy Continues

One of our commenters, Zeno Swijtink, faculty member at Sonoma State University, made the following statement:

...biodiesel is not a good choice for an alternative fuel, apart from the point mentioned by you that under the current cultivation regime fossil fuels are used to run farming equipment, make fertilizers, pesticides, and undergird advertisement campaigns to promote biodiesel, etc.

The burning of biodiesel shortens the time that the carbon would have spend in some solid form in the biosphere: the oxidation makes it quickly available as a infrared energy trapping gas in the atmosphere..

Let's examine Zeno's arguments, because he mentions several common misconceptions about biofuels.

Why Energy Efficiency for GHG Reduction?

Efficiency in energy use represents a technological approach to reducing energy use and GHG emissions without "sacrifice". Better technology, less energy use, same effect. Increased cost from new technology offset by savings from lower energy use. What's wrong with this picture?

For our subscribers

After having a few false starts with our email subscription service, it seems to be working now. FYI, a couple of posts were missed: here and here.

There has also been a lot of comment activity.
here and
here.

Once again, I invite you to take part and/or tell someone you think might be interested in the conversation about what can be done about global warming.

Dave