WASHINGTON, DC, March 19, 2009 (ENS) – The U.S. EPA’s most recent data on the amount of toxic chemicals released into the U.S. environment shows an overall decrease of five percent in releases in the year from 2006 to 2007. Releases to air decreased seven percent and releases to water decreased five percent.

While the report shows an overall improvement in toxic releases, it also shows a one percent increase in releases of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals like lead, dioxin, mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs.

The increases were primarily due to a handful of facilities, the EPA said.

PCB releases went up 40 percent between 2006 and 2007, the Inventory shows. The EPA banned the production of PCBs in the United States in 1979 and disposing of it safely to permitted, hazardous waste landfills is the final step in removing it from use.

Total disposal or other releases of mercury increased 38 percent, but air emissions of mercury were down three percent. The majority of mercury releases were reported by the mining industry.

Acidophilic microbes thrive in this biofilm growing inside an abandoned mine at Iron Mountain, California. The microbes create toxic acid mine drainage, an environmental problem associated with coal and uranium mining. (Photo by Terry Johnson /UC Berkeley courtesy LLNL)

Dioxin releases or disposal increased 11 percent.

Lead releases increased by one percent, most released by the mining industry to land.

“This information underscores the need for fundamental transparency and provides a powerful tool for protecting public health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “Serving the public’s right to know is the crucial first step in reducing toxic chemicals in the places where we live, work, and raise children.”

This year’s annual publication of the Toxics Release Inventory includes 650 chemicals from 22,000 facilities. It reports toxics managed in landfills and underground injection wells as well as those released into water and the air.

The annual Inventory provides the American public with information on chemical releases to communities and is intended as a tool that industry can use to gauge its progress in reducing pollution.

“I’m also pleased,” Jackson said, “that Congress under the leadership of Senator [Frank] Lautenberg took action to restore the rigorous reporting standards of this vital program.”

On March 11, President Barack Obama signed into law the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act, which includes a provision authored by Senator Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, to reinstate stronger requirements on the reporting of toxic chemical releases.

The Lautenberg measure overturned a December 2006 Bush administration rule limiting the reporting of these toxic emissions.

“The public has a right to know about chemicals in their air and water. The Bush administration watered down this law and let facilities hide critical data about their toxic chemical emissions. It is time to restore the public’s right to know about the release of toxic chemicals in their communities,” said Senator Lautenberg, who authored the legislation that created the 1986 Right-to-Know program.

The Toxics Release Inventory tracks the chemicals and industrial sectors specified by the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 and its amendments.

The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 also requires that Toxics Release Inventory reports include data on toxic chemicals treated on-site, recycled, and burned for energy recovery.

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SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 7, 2009 (ENS) – Environmental groups and cities won a settlement Friday in a precedent-setting lawsuit that sought to force two U.S. government agencies to address the global warming effects of their overseas financing activities.

After more than six years of litigation, the first case of its kind established important legal precedents related to global warming.

Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the city of Boulder, Colorado, filed the lawsuit in August 2002 and were later joined by the California cities of Arcata, Santa Monica and Oakland.

The suit alleges that Export-Import Bank of the United States and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation illegally provided over $32 billion in financing and insurance for oil fields, pipelines and coal-fired power plants over 10 years without assessing their contribution to global warming, or their impact on the U.S. environment as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Fossil fuel projects financed by the two agencies from 1990 to 2003 produced cumulative emissions that were equivalent to nearly eight percent of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions, or nearly one third of annual U.S. emissions in 2003.

Under the settlement, the Export-Import Bank, the official export-credit agency of the United States, will begin taking carbon dioxide emissions into account in evaluating fossil fuel projects and create an organization-wide carbon policy.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation will establish a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with projects by 20 percent over the next 10 years. OPIC helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, and complements the private sector in managing risks.

Both agencies will commit to increasing financing for renewable energy.

Refinery owned and operated by Reliance Industries Ltd. in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India will be part of the worlds’ largest refining complex after the $6 billion facility being built next to it is complete. Reliance Petroleum Ltd. is using a $500 million loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank to buy U.S. equipment, technology and services. (Photo courtesy Reliance Industries Ltd.)

Oakland City Attorney John Russo said, “For far too long, American tax dollars have funded highly irresponsible and damaging fossil fuel projects in countries where environmental laws simply don’t exist. These projects have not only hurt people in those countries, they have also contributed significantly to global climate change, and in doing so, pose a direct threat to the American people, the U.S. economy and the residents of Oakland.”

Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam said, “The city of Boulder is pleased with the outcome of this lawsuit. As the first city to enact a carbon tax to address climate change, the Boulder community is committed to the principles of environmental sustainability and this result will further that impact.”

“This case was one of the very first climate change lawsuits and established the framework for other climate change cases,” said Ron Shems, lead counsel for the plaintiff groups and cities.

In a landmark August 2005 court decision, the plaintiffs were granted legal standing to proceed with the case. A federal judge found that the U.S. cities suffering economic and other damages from climate change had standing to sue under NEPA, opening the courts for the first time to those injured by climate change.

Testimony from the case, which successfully asserted that climate change is real and caused by human activities, later informed the Mass. v EPA decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

“The claims here are no longer considered novel,” said Shems. “The settlement reached today will help ensure that the federal government takes a close look at its contributions to climate change and that the courts are available if the government fails in this critical obligation.”

“This settlement is a substantial victory for our climate,” said Michelle Chan, senior policy analyst, Friends of the Earth. “As President Obama said in his inaugural address, ‘We can no longer consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.’ The settlement agreed to today is a first step toward making Obama’s vision a reality for these institutions.”

“When we launched this lawsuit in 2002, we were deep in the Bush global warming dark ages,” said Kert Davies, research director, Greenpeace USA. “We were able to prove that climate change harms American cities and citizens and we forced these agencies to change their behavior. Now that we have entered the brighter Obama age, Greenpeace hopes that sweeping reform of global warming policy will reach every corner of the government.”

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TOKYO, Japan, January 23, 2009 (ENS) – The first satellite dedicated to monitoring greenhouse gas emissions as part of global efforts to combat climate change was launched into space today from Japan.

The IBUKI, which means “breath,” will circle the globe every 100 minutes at an altitude of some 670 kilometers (416 miles) and will monitor the levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane at 56,000 locations.

The satellite will acquire data covering the entire planet every three days and this data will be shared with other space and scientific organizations.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, launched the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) at 12:54 pm Japan Standard Time from the Tanegashima Space Center.

The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and, at about 16 minutes after liftoff, the separation of the IBUKI was confirmed, JAXA officials said.

Japan’s Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite IBUKI (Photo courtesy JAXA)

“The satellite is expected to play an important role in monitoring global environmental changes and look out for any small warning signs that could affect our future,” said JAXA in a statement.

JAXA said the satellite project will observe the concentration distribution of greenhouse gases thought to be a primary cause of global warming, and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions covered by the Kyoto Protocol.

Signed in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, the international treaty that limits the emission of six greenhouse gases took effect in February 2005. The target for Japan is six percent below 1990 levels.

The protocol’s first commitment period expires at the end of 2012 and it is expected to be replaced by a treaty to be finalized in December.

While the Kyoto Protocol requires that 35 industrialized countries meet precise emissions limits, in reality, says IBUKI project manager Takashi Hamazaki, there are no standardized means to measure greenhouse gas emissions, and the amount of emissions reported is based on self-declaration.

The amount is calculated based on assumptions about the volume of the countries’ oil consumption, car-driving distances and industrial gas emissions, among other factors.

“Therefore if GOSAT observation makes it possible to estimate greenhouse-gas absorption and emission per continent or large country, we’ll be able to use the data as a means of verification,” he said.

GOSAT has three major mission objectives. The first is to monitor the density of greenhouse gases precisely and frequently worldwide.

The second is to study the absorption and emission levels of greenhouse gases per continent or large country over a certain period of time.

And the third objective is to develop and establish advanced technologies that are essential for precise greenhouse gas observations.

Hamazaki said, “Over the last few years, global warming has become a serious concern around the world. Discussions on how to reduce the rate of global warming are taking place both domestically and internationally, and include such strategies as reducing the level of carbon dioxide emissions by half over the next 50 years.”

“To accomplish this goal,” Hamazaki said, “we must improve the accuracy of observations and long-term climate-change predictions. Up to now, global warming predictions have been performed by research organizations around the world through supercomputer simulations based on ground observation data.”

In Japan, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, the Meteorological Research Institute, and the University of Tokyo are participating in global warming modeling.

Hamazaki said there are only about 260 ground observation points at present, and they are not evenly distributed, “so we can by no means say we are observing the entire globe.”

“Thus, under the present circumstances, global warming predictions vary and may not be accurate,” he said.

By comparison, he said, GOSAT will have 56,000 observation points on the Earth, and will be able to acquire data covering the entire globe every three days. “We think this will improve the accuracy of global warming predictions.”

IBUKI will be “watching how the Earth breathes,” he said.

Hamazaki says Japan hopes the data gathered by IBUKI will be useful to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which summarizes research results from all over the world. The IPCC will be publishing a report on climate change predictions for the next 100 years.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, January 13, 2009 (ENS) – After he takes office on January 20, President Barack Obama has said he will seek congressional approval to invest $150 billion over 10 years on clean energy initiatives. This would fund next-generation biofuels and fuel infrastructure, advance the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, develop renewable energy, invest in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid.

Today, the nonprofit advocacy group Environment Ohio issued a report that estimates the environmental benefits to the state and the nation of such a $150 billion investment.

America can reduce greenhouse gases by nearly 10 percent annually, reduce oil consumption by more than 25 million barrels annually, and create or sustain more than three million jobs by making investment in clean energy and transportation a cornerstone of our economic recovery plan, finds the report, “Clean Energy, Bright Future.”

The investments will reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the leading cause of global warming, by 670 million tons per year when fully implemented, the report estimates.

“Our nation can no longer afford the toll dirty energy is exacting on our environment and economy,” said Amy Gomberg, program director with Environment Ohio. “Clean energy can protect our environment and rev our economic engine to generate a brighter future for Ohio.”

Among the recommendations in the report are weatherizing U.S. homes and businesses, training workers for new, clean energy industries, and increasing public transportation capacity to meet growing demand.

Dozens of Ohio companies are gearing up to be a part of this green economic recovery plan, the report finds.

Mike Foraker is CEO of Jennings Heating and The Energy Factory, an energy consulting company that identifies energy saving improvements for corporations.

“Jennings Heating has been in the energy business for over 70 years, and we have been and continue to be successful because we help people find the best answer to their energy needs, not the familiar one,” Foraker said from his office in Akron. “I hope that Congress will look to green energy solutions as well.”

The Environment Ohio report and its recommendations were well received by Ohio’s congressional representatives.

Wind turbines on a farm in Bowling Green, Ohio (Photo courtesy Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency)

“It is critical to get our nation’s economy moving again and to ensure that those that have lost their jobs or can’t find work can do so as soon as possible. A great way to stimulate the economy is by creating green jobs and promoting environmentally friendly development,” said Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, a Democrat. “I appreciate the efforts of Environment Ohio to highlight what can be done in Ohio to stimulate the economy in a green way.”

“It is clear that our country should move away from foreign sources of energy and increase our domestic production of alternative renewable power. I am proud that innovators throughout our region are developing the next generation of clean, American made energy and paving the way for energy independence,” said Congresswoman Betty Sutton, a Democrat. “This is the kind of innovation and growth that will create good-paying green jobs, help protect our environment and bring renewed economic vitality to our region.”

Congressman John Boccieri, a Democrat, has a laundry list of things that can be done in Ohio to further the green economy.

“We need to create an Apollo program that would revolutionize our energy sources and free us from our dependence on foreign oil, support fuel cell research at Stark State, invest in emerging technologies like plug-in hybrid cars that are being researched at the EBO Group in Medina County, support agriculture as Ohio’s number one industry with research being conducted at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wayne County, and invest in sustainable biofuels that can be grown out of Ashland County,” said Boccieri.

Ohio Republican Congressman John Boehner, who serves as House Minority Leader, did not comment directly on the Environment Ohio report, but he has said that he is committed to “a comprehensive energy reform policy that will boost supplies of all forms of energy right here at home to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, protect us against blackmail by foreign dictators, create American jobs and grow our economy.”

“This includes increasing the supply of American-made energy in an environmentally sound way, improving energy efficiency and encouraging investment in groundbreaking research in advance alternative and renewable energy technologies,” Boehner said.

“With 21st century technologies and the strictest environmental standards in the world, America must produce more of our own energy right here at home and protect our environment at the same time,” said Boehner.

Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic is behind the green investment plan. “This means that funding for projects that conserve energy, promote alternative fuels and clean our environment must be a priority,” he said. “Green jobs can’t be outsourced, and Ohio can be a leader in this area.”

Cities across Ohio have identified over 100 “shovel-ready” green economic development projects.

The mayor said, “I have pledged to work with Governor Strickland to ensure that Ohio and its cities receive a fair share of funds and that they are invested wisely.”

“If we continue with business as usual, dirty energy and highways to nowhere, we will be laying the groundwork for decades of increased carbon pollution,” said Gomberg. “Green infrastructure means more and better jobs now, as well as less global warming pollution, fewer asthma attacks from air pollution, more clean lakes and rivers for drinking water, swimming and fishing, and more secure energy in the long term.”

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NEW YORK, New York, January 12, 2009 (ENS) – Japan and South Korea each have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in green projects to create jobs and spur economic growth, in what the United Nations says is the latest sign that its Green New Deal is gaining momentum.

Japan has announced a program aimed at stimulating the economy by promoting measures to curb global warming. Measures announced by Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito Thursday aim to expand the green business market and create up to one million new jobs.

Saito said measures include zero-interest rate loans for environmentally-friendly companies and promotion of the purchase of vehicles and housing with low carbon dioxide emissions.

Wind turbines on the west coast of Hokkaido, Japan, north of Rumoi City (Photo by Bill Bauer courtesy NREL)

Saito said Japan seeks to expand the environment business market to US$11 billion and increase jobs in the environmental field to 2.2 million by 2015. The ministry is set to compile the program by the end of March.

South Korea will invest $US38 billion over the next four years in a series of eco-friendly projects to create 960,000 new jobs and lay the groundwork for economic growth.

The 36 Korean projects include the creation of green transport networks, the provision of two million energy-saving green homes and the cleanup of the country’s four main rivers.

In October, the UN Environment Programme launched the Global Green New Deal and Green Economy Initiative as both an antidote to current economic woes and as a springboard to a low carbon, low impact, high job generating and better-managed global economy.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, “Investments in clean-tech and renewable energy; infrastructure such as railways and cycle tracks and nature-based services like river systems and forests, can not only counter recession and unemployment but can also set the stage for more sustainable economic recovery and growth in the 21st century.”

“UNEP’s Global Green New Deal and Green Economy initiative are clearly two ideas whose time has come, as evidenced by the Republic of Korea and Japan’s stimulus package announcements alongside those of other key economies and leaders from China to the president-elect of the United States,” he added.

Steiner said the announcements responded to the call by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Poznan, Poland last month where he outlined a Global Green New Deal as the best chance for securing a sound and solid international climate agreement in Copenhagen in next December. The agreement would replace the current Kyoto Protocol which expires at the end of 2012.

The move by Japan and South Korea – two of Asia’s major economies – follows U.S. President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to implement a multi-billion clean energy program during his presidency in a bid to create millions of jobs.

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TROY, New York, December 18, 2008 (ENS) – A new generation of lighting devices based on light-emitting diodes, LEDs, will supplant the common light bulb in coming years, according to a paper published this week by two professors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Innovations in photonics and solid state lighting will lead to trillions of dollars in cost savings, along with a massive reduction in the amount of energy required to light homes and businesses around the globe, write co-authors E. Fred Schubert and Jong Kyu Kim.

If all of the world’s light bulbs were replaced with energy-efficient LEDs for a period of 10 years, the researchers say it would reduce global crude oil consumption by 962 million barrels and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10.68 gigatons.

The researchers predict financial savings of $1.83 trillion over the 10 year period, and the number of required global power plants would be reduced by 280.

In addition to the environmental and cost benefits of LEDs, the technology is expected to enable a wide range of advances in areas as diverse as healthcare, transportation systems, digital displays, and computer networking.

Light emitting diodes (Photo by Schubert and
Kim courtesy RPI)

“What the transistor meant to the development of electronics, the LED means to the field of photonics. This core device has the potential to revolutionize how we use light,” write Schubert and Kim.

Schubert is the Wellfleet Senior Constellation Professor of Future Chips at Rensselaer, and heads the university’s National Science Foundation-funded Smart Lighting Center.

Kim is a research assistant professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering.

Their paper, titled “Transcending the replacement paradigm of solid-state lighting,” will be published in the December 22 issue of “Optics Express.”

Researchers are able to control every aspect of light generated by LEDs, allowing the light sources to be tweaked and optimized for nearly any situation, Schubert and Kim said.

In general, LEDs will require 20 times less power than today’s conventional light bulbs, and five times less power than compact fluorescent bulbs.

With all of the promise and potential of LEDs, Schubert and Kim said it is important not to pigeonhole or dismiss smart lighting technology as a mere replacement for conventional light bulbs.

The paper stresses that advances in photonics will position solid state lighting as a catalyst for unexpected, currently unimaginable technological advances.

“Deployed on a large scale, LEDs have the potential to tremendously reduce pollution, save energy, save financial resources, and add new and unprecedented functionalities to photonic devices,” the researchers write. “These factors make photonics what could be termed a benevolent tsunami, an irresistible wave, a solution to many global challenges currently faced by humanity and will be facing even more in the years to come.”

“Transcending the replacement paradigm will open up a new chapter in photonics – smart lighting sources that are controllable, tunable, intelligent, and communicative,” they write.

Possible smart lighting applications include rapid biological cell identification, interactive roadways, boosting plant growth, and better supporting human circadian rhythms to reduce an individual’s dependency on sleep-inducing drugs or reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

In October, Rensselaer announced its new Smart Lighting Research Center, in partnership with Boston University and the University of New Mexico, and funded by an $18.5 million, five-year award from the National Science Foundation’s Generation Three Engineering Research Center Program.

The three primary research thrusts of the center are developing novel materials, device technology, and systems applications to further the understanding and proliferation of smart lighting technologies.

“Sustainability and energy efficiency are two key challenges of our time, yet they also present rich opportunities,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “With innovation, ingenuity, and a clear vision, the NSF-funded Smart Lighting Center at Rensselaer will rewrite the rules for manipulating light and help introduce these new green technologies to the world.”

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TOWNSVILLE, Queensland, Australia, December 10, 2008 (ENS) – The world has lost 19 percent of its coral reefs, according to the 2008 global update of the world’s reef status issued today. Climate change is considered the biggest threat to coral reefs.

The main climate threats, such as increasing sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification, are compounded by other threats – overfishing, pollution and invasive species.

The report, released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network based in Townsville, shows if current trends in carbon dioxide emissions continue, many of the remaining reefs may be lost over the next 20 to 40 years. This will affect some 500 million people who depend on coral reefs for their livelihoods.

“The report details the strong scientific consensus that climate change must be limited to the absolute minimum. If nothing is done to substantially cut emissions, we could effectively lose coral reefs as we know them, with major coral extinctions,” says Clive Wilkinson, coordinator of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

The report shows that 45 percent of the world’s reefs are currently healthy. Another sign of hope is the ability of some corals to recover after major bleaching events, caused by warming waters, and to adapt to climate change threats.

However, the report shows that, globally, the downward trend of recent years has not been reversed.

Major threats in the last four years, including the Indian Ocean tsunami, more occurances of bleaching, outbreaks of coral diseases and ever-heavier human pressures, have slowed or reversed recovery of some coral reefs after the 1998 mass bleaching event.

Coral bleaching at Yonehara reef in Ishigaki,
Japan (Photo by Dan Kitchens)

“If nothing changes, we are looking at a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide in less than 50 years,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, head of the IUCN Global Marine Programme, one of the organizations behind the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.

“As this carbon is absorbed, the oceans will become more acidic, which is seriously damaging a wide range of marine life from corals to plankton communities and from lobsters to seagrasses,” Lundin said.

Corals have a higher chance of survival in times of climate change if other stress factors related to human activity are minimized. Well-managed marine protected areas can also boost the health of coral reefs, but proper enforcement is difficult, especially in remote areas where the most pristine reefs are found.

“Ten years after the world’s biggest coral bleaching event, we know that reefs can recover given the chance. Unfortunately, impacts on the scale of 1998 will reoccur in the near future, and there’s no time to lose if we want to give reefs and people a chance to suffer as little as possible,” says Dr. David Obura, chair of the IUCN Climate Change and Coral Reefs working group and director of the Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean Programme, CORDIO, in East Africa.

A new report on the state of Indian Ocean coral reefs, launched today by CORDIO, an organization aligned with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, reveals an overall trend of continued degradation, with signs of recovery in some areas.

“With this report, the far-reaching degradation of Indian Ocean coral reefs has become evident,” says Olof Linden of the CORDIO network and professor at the World Maritime University, Malmo, Sweden. “To save coral reefs, we must focus on helping corals to adapt to climate change and on diverting people away from destructive practices such as overfishing.”

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SARASOTA, Florida, December 3, 2008 (ENS) – A new analysis of economic activity generated by Florida’s coral reefs finds that some 70,000 jobs and more than $5.5 billion in business in the state could disappear if climate change destroys the reefs.

“A business-as-usual approach to climate change could mean a lot less business for Florida,” said Jerry Karnas, Florida project director at Environmental Defense Fund, which commissioned the report, “Corals and Climate Change: Florida’s Natural Treasures at Risk.” [www.edf.org]

Florida encompasses the only shallow water coral reefs in the continental United States. Like coral reefs worldwide, Florida’s reefs are besieged by environmental problems.

For instance, a federal government study released in November confirms significant ocean acidification across much of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. As oceans absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they become more acidic, reducing the ability of corals to produce their calcium carbonate skeletons.

This affects individual corals and the ability of the reef to maintain a positive balance between reef building and reef erosion.

The government study supports other findings that ocean acidification is likely to reduce coral reef growth to critical levels before the end of this century unless humans slash carbon dioxide emissions. While ocean chemistry across the region is currently deemed adequate to support coral reefs, it is rapidly changing as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise.

“The study demonstrates a strong natural seasonal variability in ocean chemistry in waters around the Florida Keys that could have important consequences for how these reefs respond to future ocean acidification,” says NOAA’s Dwight Gledhill, PhD, lead author of the study.

Diver finds a small turtle on a reef
in the Florida Keys. (Photo by Roland)

Research by Professor Andrew Langdon of the University of Miami, who contributed to the Environmental Defense report, also shows that as oceans absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, they become more acidic, which stunts coral growth and impairs reproduction.

The groupers, snappers, jacks, angelfish, and spiny lobsters that thrive on coral reefs make Florida a destination for millions of fishermen every year – and back up Florida’s claim to be the Fishing Capital of the World. On the commercial side, catches of reef-associated species in South Florida account for $158 million in annual sales.

Terry Gibson, the fishing editor of “Outdoor Life” magazine and a co-author of the Environmental Defense climate change report with University of Miami Professor Hal Wanless, says that “from scuba diving in the Keys to charter fishing boats in Miami-Dade to commercial fishing in Martin County, reef-related sales amount to more than $5.5 billion each year.”

But climate change driven by unchecked greenhouse gas emissions is stressing coral reefs and putting the Florida economy at risk.

Wanless says, “a central culprit in the decline of coral reefs is unchecked emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, largely from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil.”

Research by Florida scientists is providing new insights into how CO2 and other greenhouse gases hurt coral reefs. First, global warming leads to warmer oceans – which cause harmful coral “bleaching” and make corals more vulnerable to diseases now visible on many of Florida’s coral reefs.

As the report describes, innovative research by Dr. Kimberly Ritchie of the MOTE Marine Lab in Sarasota helps explain why – during times of warmer ocean water, corals lose their ability to use natural antibiotics to protect themselves from disease.

EDF’s Karnas said quick federal action to limit greenhouse gas emissions can help protect Florida’s reefs and the state’s economy. “We need Congress to cap global warming pollution. This report shows that doing nothing is the worst option for Florida’s economy.”

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UPPSALA, Sweden, November 30, 2008 (ENS) – Faith leaders concluded their two-day Interfaith Summit on Climate Change in Uppsala on Saturday by signing a manifesto demanding quick and extensive reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the wealthy parts of the world.

Christian, Buddhist, Daoist, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish and Native American leaders signed the declaration that states, “We all share the responsibility of being conscious caretakers of our home, planet Earth. We have reflected on the concerns of scientists and political leaders regarding the alarming climate crisis. We share their concerns.”

“The situation is critical,” the manifesto states. “Glaciers and the permafrost are melting. Devastating drought and flooding strike people and ecosystems, especially in the South. Can planet Earth be healed? We are convinced that the answer is yes.”

Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd
addresses the Interfaith Summit on Climate
Change. (Photo by Magnus Aronson
courtesy Interfaith Summit)

Hosted by the Church of Sweden, the interfaith leaders were welcomed with an opening address by Swedish Archbishop Anders Wejryd, who said, “We are not at this meeting to find special religious answers to the environmental crisis. We have to share the realities of technology, economy and politics with all people.

“We have gathered to deliberate on what we do with these facts as people of different religious traditions,” said the archbishop. “As people of faith we are carriers of hope – or at least we should be. It is obvious that the world needs change before it is too late and we have a role to play in enabling a changed world-view and changed perspectives for people of the world and for ourselves.”

The faith leaders held their summit and issued their manifesto on the eve of the United Nations’ annual climate conference, held this year in Poznan, Poland from December 1 through 12. The Poznan meeting, which is expected to draw around 8,000 participants, is focused on advancing international cooperation on a future climate change agreement to govern the emission of climate-warming greenhouse gases after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The future agreement is set to be finalized at the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark next December in time for countries to sign and ratify the document before 2012.

“As people from world religions, we urge governments and international organizations to prepare and agree upon a comprehensive climate strategy for the Copenhagen Agreement,” the Uppsala Manifesto states. “This strategy must be ambitious enough to keep climate change below 2° Celsius (about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit), and to distribute the burden in an equitable way in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities.”

Limiting warming to 2° Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures is essential to averting the worst effects of climate change, scientists say. Yet many environmentalists believe allowing the temperature to rise even that much would be disastrous. The global conservation organization WWF warns that a 2° Celsius temperature rise would bring droughts that will leave many people without safe, clean water, and destroy crops, causing widespread famine. Melting ice caps and glaciers would raise sea levels, leaving some Pacific island nations uninhabitable.

But the Uppsala Manifesto is entitled “Hope for the Future,” and European Vice President Margot Wallstrom also took a hopeful view of the situation in her address to the Interfaith Summit on Friday.

“Combating climate change certainly makes sense. It makes sense because it is not only a challenge, but an opportunity. An opportunity to change the world and steer it towards sustainable development and prosperity for all,” said Wallstrom.

By the year 2020, the European Union as a whole should cut its emissions by at least 20 percent compared to 1990 levels – and we will increase that figure to 30 percent if other developed countries make a similar commitment under a new international agreement, Wallstrom reminded the interfaith participants. The EU agreed to these targets in 2007 along with increased renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

Interfaith leaders bless the Uppsala Manifesto
(Photo by Magnus Aronson courtesy
Church of Sweden)

“We are on track to get an agreement on the package in the coming weeks. If we can achieve this, we will be in a much stronger position to press for an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen next year,” Wallstrom said.

But back in 2007, “no one foresaw the economic crisis that was about to engulf the world,” the vice president said. “Faced with the present financial turmoil and economic recession, some EU governments – especially in Eastern Europe – have become unwilling to accept targets which they perceive as imposing further economic constraints on their industries. They question whether we can afford to take these drastic steps.”

“My answer – to quote Barack Obama – is ‘Yes we can!’ In fact, we can’t afford not to!” Wallstrom said.

She cited the 2006 report by UK economist Sir Nicholas Stern on the economics of climate change, which estimates that allowing climate change to continue unchecked would shrink the world’s economic output by at least five percent and possibly as much as 20 percent per year if the most dramatic predictions come to pass.

“This dreadful prospect is exactly what a struggling global economy does NOT need,” Wallstrom said. “By contrast, swift action to tackle climate change and to move to a low-carbon economy would cost only one percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product.”

Hope for a climate agreement was strengthened when in Bali last December, the United States at last came on board. “This was a major breakthrough after years of resistance from the Bush administration,” Wallstrom said, adding that President-elect Barack Obama “clearly has ambitions to combat climate change.”

The Uppsala Manifesto calls for political leaders to reach an agreement during the preparations of the new global Climate Protocol 2009 on a strategy that is “sufficiently responsible and ambitious for the Earth to be saved for future generations.”

But there are dissenting voices. Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain in northwestern Nevada and adjoining California, who delivered the historic first Hindu opening prayer in United States Senate in Washington, said today that the “grandiose” Interfaith Climate Manifesto signed at Uppsala lacks moral strength because of Hindus and other religions were not represented.

Other world religions, like Bahaism, Jainism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, and the Greek Orthodox Church also were not represented.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that it was commendable to see diverse religious leaders, religions and denominations coming together to bless environmental causes in Uppsala, but the organizers should have given adequate and fair representation to all major world religions.

Zed said he admires the Church of Sweden and Archbishop Wejryd for taking the leadership role in organizing this “much-needed” summit and thus “making religions climate friendly.”

The Uppsala Manifesto will create a new framework for discussion about climate change after the Kyoto agreement expires in 2012 said one of the signers, Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, director of the Jewish Studies program at Arizona State University.

“Today it is widely acknowledged that world religions have an important role to play in revisioning a sustainable future, because religions are the repositories of values and norms that guide human actions toward the natural world,” said Tirosh-Samuelson. “Through cosmological narratives, symbols, rituals, ethical directives, and institutional structures, religions shape how we act toward the environment.”

“Hence,” she said, “all attempts to transform our environmental attitudes so as to generate a sustainable world must include understanding of world religions and cooperation with religious people.”

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HAYS, Kansas, November 18, 2008 (ENS) – Sunflower Electric Power Corporation today filed a lawsuit in federal court against Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and other state officials over the denial of an air quality permit for the expansion of the cooperative’s coal-fired power plant at Holcomb Station in Finney County.

The October 2007 decision to deny the air quality permit for two proposed 700 megawatt units was the first in the United States to do so on the grounds that the carbon dioxide emissions from burning coal to generate electricity would contribute to global warming.

The lawsuit asserts that the officials violated Sunflower’s right to fair and equal treatment under the law and are unlawfully prohibiting interstate commerce.

Named in the lawsuit in addition to Sebelius, are Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson and Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Roderick Bremby.

The lawsuit asks the court to order that these three officials be stopped from preventing the regional wholesale power supplier from pursuing the expansion.

Sunflower operates a 1,257 MW system of wind, gas, and coal-based generating plants and a 2,300-mile transmission system for the needs of its six member cooperatives who serve more than 400,000 customers living in central and western Kansas.

Earl Watkins, president and CEO of Sunflower, said today, “In denying the air permit, the administration has discriminated against 400,000 Kansans and over 1.5 million citizens from other states who will be forced to pay the price of this decision for decades to come through higher electric rates. We believe we have an obligation to act on behalf of the people we serve and to correct this wrong.”

Watkins contends that Bremby denied Sunflower the permit required for construction of two new coal-fired electric generating units although carbon dioxide is not currently regulated in Kansas or the United States.

Watkins complains that Bremby continues to issue permits to emit carbon dioxide but has not defined what constitutes an acceptable level of carbon dioxide, only that the amount associated with Sunflower’s expansion project is “too much.”

Sunflower Electric’s existing coal-fired power plant
at Holcomb. (Photo courtesy Sunflower Electric)

“Sunflower’s permit application satisfied all KDHE rules and regulations governing the air permit process. The KDHE technical staff recommended to the secretary that the permit be approved, yet Secretary Bremby denied the permit,” Watkins said.

“Sunflower’s permit application is the only one – out of thousands of such applications since 2003 – that the KDHE has denied. This is unfair and a violation of rights guaranteed to Sunflower by the U.S. Constitution,” Watkins said.

Three legislative attempts by the Republican controlled Statehouse to approve the two new coal-fired units have been vetoed by Governor Sebelius.

In an open letter to Kansans issued on October 25, 2007, Governor Sebelius justified her support of Bremby’s decision, which has been controversial since it was announced.

“This decision will not only preserve Kansans’ health and uphold our moral obligation to be good stewards of this beautiful land, but will also enhance our prospects for strong and sustainable economic growth throughout our state,” Sebelius said.

“Instead of building two new coal plants, which would produce 11 million new tons of carbon dioxide each year, I support pursuing other, more promising energy and economic development alternatives. Kansas has great opportunities in clean energy and alternative fuels.”

“Only 15 percent of the energy produced in the remaining two plants would be used in Kansas; the remaining 85 percent would be sold to Colorado and Texas,” the governor said. “So Kansans would have 15 percent of the energy and 100 percent of the pollution and environmental impact of 11 million new tons of CO2 each year. That is the equivalent of putting nearly two million new cars on Kansas roads in one year.”

Watkins argues that it is not against Kansas or U.S. law to export products, including electricity, and the administration continues to promote exports of electricity generated by wind and other Kansas products. “It is, however, against the law to interfere with interstate commerce,” he said today.

“In a time of economic downturn, it seems unconscionable that a project like this would be denied since it creates 329 jobs earning more than $16 million in annual wages and fully complies with all state and federal requirements while helping to secure our energy independence,” Watkins said.

He says that today’s new technologies have resulted in 70 percent fewer emissions for a new coal plant than a coal plant coming online in 1980, adding, “The Holcomb Expansion Project, as designed, will be the cleanest plant in the region with regulated emissions that are 90 percent less than the average coal plant in the U.S. generating fleet.”

Governor Sebelius said in her open letter that throughout the nation, “there is a growing recognition of the harm caused by carbon.”

More than a dozen states, including Oklahoma, Florida and Texas have decided, in the last 18 months, not to build new coal plants, she pointed out.

In April 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the effects of carbon, and stated that the agency had the authority to impose regulations on the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, emitted by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal. No such regulations have yet been imposed.

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WASHINGTON, DC, November 14, 2008 (ENS) – The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has selected seven states to participate in a Policy Academy designed to help states develop an action plan and implementation strategy to improve energy use in buildings.

Buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy and account for nearly three-quarters of electricity generation, about 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, and large amounts of on-site fuel use.

“States can play a major role in reducing energy use in buildings through improved codes, incentives for adopting energy efficient technologies, education, and other measures,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. “This Policy Academy will help states work through some of the challenges they face when developing policies to improve energy efficiency and increase use of renewable energy in buildings.”

States were chosen to participate in the academy through a competitive process open to all states and U.S. territories. The states of Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, Utah and Wisconsin, representing both hot and cold parts of the country, were selected.

“This project comes at the perfect time for Hawaii as we continue to maximize our federal and private partnerships to increase Hawaii’s energy independence,” said Governor Linda Lingle of Hawaii.

Hotels and apartment buildings in Honolulu,
Hawaii (Photo credit unknown)

Hawaii’s central challenge is its high dependence on imported fossil fuel for its energy needs. Ninety-six percent of the crude oil refined and consumed in the state is from sources outside the United States, leaving Hawaii especially vulnerable to supply disruptions. Seventy-eight percent of Hawaii’s electricity generation is from diesel and 13 percent is from coal, resulting in the highest energy costs in the nation.

“State leadership is critical to meeting our long term energy challenges,” said John Mizroch, the U.S. Department of Energy’s acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

In addition to financial assistance, the Energy Department will support Policy Academy states with experts from national labs and other technical resources.

“Building efficiency is the cheapest, most abundant source of energy to meet our growing electricity demand,” said Mizroch. “Policies that incentivize all levels of investment in building efficiency and renewable energy can unleash untapped resources, help our economy, improve our environment, and increase our energy security.”

At this point, suggested strategies are familiar – improving building codes and encouraging participation in voluntary certification programs; increasing consumption from renewable sources; and funding the effort with low-interest loans, utility rate restructuring, or public benefit funds.

While some states have improved energy efficiency and increased reliance on renewable resources in new and existing buildings using these strategies, the National Governors Association believes that many cost-effective opportunities remain untapped due to market and policy barriers.

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