Re/Action on Climate Protection

12 states appeal EPA refusal to act on climate change

This is potentially a huge lever to force the federal government to deal with climate change:
12 states appeal emissions decision
Challenge to EPA refusal to regulate greenhouse gases

Oil Free Sweden

The government of Sweden has announced an unprecedented and history-making effort to become fossil fuel free by 2020. This is incredible news and is a validation of the "carbon-free economy" by a national body. Here is a link to the Swedish government site describing the program. Here are the main points of the program:

The Socio-Political Aspects of Climate Change

Over the last few days, we have had a couple of posts that depart somewhat from our usual "nuts-and-bolts" presentation. One post was by author/lecturer/activist Shepherd Bliss, on the visit of Prince Charles to the San Francisco Bay Area. This post provoked several comments on the meaning and relevance of Charles taking a position on climate change. This would be a good opportunity to weigh in on the apparent schizophrenia of the British Government, as well as the mechanisms of advocacy. Part of the mission of this blog is to explore what works and what doesn't in motivating political action.

Along these lines, we also had two posts from the director of Climate Protection Campaign, Ann Hancock. One post is on dependent co-arising which is an alternative way of viewing the mechanisms of political change. The other is on the relationship between activism on the Peak Oil issue, and climate change activism. There is a possibility that these two issues can merge and build a constituency for action. However, problems arise. What should the focus be? What if anything is the driving issue? For more information on Peak Oil, you can start here. Thanks for joining us, and I'm looking forward to hearing your views!

Dave

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.

Playing Climate Change Roulette with CAFE

Buying a fuel efficient car is one of the first steps to take in reducing your personal GHG footprint. However, you will probably find that the mileage you actually get may be up to 50% less than the EPA sticker. An article in the Oct. '05 Consumer Reports contains important information about the EPA fuel efficiency ratings of new cars. Estimates of the national fleet fuel economy that are used by Congress and the NHTSA are much higher than actual because of the inaccuracy of the EPA mileage sticker. But it gets worse...