ecomii politics blog

Copenhagen Accord Falls Short

Justin O'Neill — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:15:48 +0000

In December 2009, a month after President Obama’s visit to China, the United States joined a host of delegates at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the Copenhagen Summit or Cop15. Years of planning went into these negotiations between 115 world leaders, though the outcome (by most assessments) was pretty disappointing. [...]

U.S. and China Step Toward a Clean Energy Future

Justin O'Neill — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:10:50 +0000

With healthcare, the economy, Tiger Woods, and Conan O’Brien at the center of most media attention in the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, coverage of the latest international efforts to reverse the effects of climate change has been drowned out. While the result of the Copenhagen summit may have been disappointing, there is [...]

NYT Assesses Obama on Energy and Environment

Ted Nelson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:41:03 +0000

On the one year anniversary of Obama‘s election, the New York Times has run an article assessing Barack on some of the issues which have defined his presidency to date. One of the areas covered is Energy and Environment. The analysis is not very in-depth, divided into one paragraph about his campaign promises and [...]

Maldives’ Government Hold First Underwater Meeting

Ted Nelson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:37:38 +0000

It may only be a matter of years before the Maldives is fully submerged underwater; however, a recent government ceremony literally held underwater was not in preparation for future meetings. The event was staged to draw attention to the global fight against climate change before the Copenhagen meetings in December. The meeting was held Saturday [...]

G-20 Vague On Environmental Sustainability

Ted Nelson — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:03:30 +0000

The Group of 20 (G-20) meeting in Pittsburgh has yielded promise on the environmental sustainability front… but not quantifiable, time-specific progress. Developing nations–including the member states of the African Union–and international leaders–including former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan–have been vocal about what they want from December’s international climate change meeting in Copenhagen: a well [...]

Blogging ACES Pt. 2 – Energy Efficiency

Terrence Murray — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:56:44 +0000

Image Credit: maciekSz, Flickr CC The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) is a massive piece of legislation that leaves no stone unturned. It has a cap and trade provision; it provides billions of dollars for the development of clean electricity by harnessing the power of wind and sun, and it also includes funding [...]

Blogging ACES – Cap and Trade

Terrence Murray — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:10:48 +0000

In a close vote — 219-212 — the U.S. House of Representatives approved the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES). Many Democrats broke party rank and voted against the legislation. The debate now moves to the Senate, where the fate of the bill remains uncertain. If fully enacted into law, ACES, also known [...]

Politicking with our Future

Ted Nelson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:09:45 +0000

A long awaited climate bill made it through the House on Friday June 26th and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. While it’s significant that one house of congress has finally passed a bill to curb greenhouse gases (GHGs), the vote was far too close for comfort: 219 to 212. There is no certainty [...]

Swine Flu Linked to Industrialized Animal Production

Marie Oser, Managing Editor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:11:39 +0000

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway.¹ The WHO designation of a pandemic alert Phase 6 reflects the fact [...]

CO2 Cubes: Visualize a Tonne of Change

Ted Nelson — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:02:34 +0000

In the US the average person emits a metric ton of CO2 every two weeks. For the developed world as a whole it takes an average of one month. In the developing world, three months. Ever wonder how big a metric ton of carbon dioxide really is? It’s a measurement thrown around in green circles [...]