News: Archive for April, 2010
This investment in tar sand represents a growing commitment to extract enormous quantities of these fossil fuels, meaning that even more carbon will be moved from below the ground up into the atmosphere.
‘(Reuters) – China’s state-owned Sinopec plans to buy ConocoPhillips’ stake in the huge Syncrude project in Canada’s oil sands for $4.65 billion, marking one of the country’s largest investments ever in North America.’
via Sinopec to pay $4.65 billion in oil sands deal | Reuters.
April 10, San Francisco
San Francisco District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi denounced PGE & Proposition 16 at the Spring Green Festival.
Key points:
• Proposition 16 is solely funded by PGE ratepayer money to the tune of $35,000,000.
• Proposition 16, if passed by a simple majority vote, would then require that a two-thirds popular vote by the citizenry before local governments could opt to develop alternative energy systems independently of PGE.
Partial exceprt:
“Thank you for this quick opportunity to inject what I think is a very important message …that is to be aware of what is on the June ballot, proposition 16. Proposition 16 has been solely funded at $35,000,000 of ratepayer money by PGE for the June election to literally kill any cities ability to pursue an alternative energy path.”
“There are well over two dozen cities in California, like Sacramento, there’s the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Palo Alto, Alameda, LA is a hybrid water and power, all throughout California, who will deliver cleaner and greener energy at a competitive, or even a cheaper price than PGE.”
“San Francisco would like to pursue a similar path, so would Marin, but right now PGE has decided in their infinite way, in order to annihilate – I’m using this word accurately – annihilate the ability of any municipality or any citizen determination to want to pursue an alternative energy path, you then – with the passive of prop 16 – must be required to get a two-thirds vote of the citizenry. What is reprehensible about this is that the June ballot only requires a simple majority of the vote. For a corporation to decide, because they are solely funding, that they will, because they could win this based on the volume of money they’re putting in, implement based on a simple majority vote a two-thirds requirement, will be the first corporation in the history of the state of California that will enshrine themselves in our state constitution. So PGE, by seeking the two-thirds requirement, will then become in the state constitution. It won’t stop in California, because for any state that has the initiative process, other private utility companies will seek the same opportunity to secure their private interest.”
“So for anybody who is visiting the Green Festival and who lives the kind of ethos that I’m sure we are of like mind, then keep in mind, that if you really think that we’re going to do something about global warming or climate charge – forget it. Because, just imagine a private utility company literally trying to envelop the power of the sun, so that they’re the ones that their able to then chart based on what they decide to chart of how we will benefit from solarization or from wind. It is our goal and it is Marin’s goal in cities throughout California to deliver the alternate energy path, or at least provide this option.”
He made many of the same points in a different presentation:
Report by James George
‘Wellingborough, UK 12th April 2010 – Almost 7.5 GW of new PV capacity was added worldwide in 2009 according to latest confirmed results from IMS Research.’
‘A Brazilian official lately revealed that the public bidding for the country’s offshore saline oil blocks had charmed three Chinese energy front-runners, including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)’
via China Energy Giants Said to Bid for Brazil Saline Oilfields | TradingMarkets.com.
‘The possibilities to provide vast amounts of renewable energy by placing wind towers in the sea are endless. The wind currents are much stronger over water which would provide wind power at an increased rate. Offshore wind power has the potential to provide as much profit as drilling for oil.’
via Offshore wind power largely untapped renewable energy source.
‘April 9 Bloomberg — Venezuela and Bolivia urged negotiators at United Nations climate talks to set aside the Copenhagen agreement on global warming, threatening to keep open a rift that led to a breakdown in the discussions last year.’
via Venezuela, Bolivia Urge UN to Set Aside Copenhagen Climate Pact – Bloomberg.com.
‘A team of scientists lead by material science professor Angela Belcher has genetically modified a virus that can exploit sunlight to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. If it works and can be commercialized, the process could help solve the vexing problem of energy storage and the equally vexing problem of producing hydrogen in a reasonable and cost-effective way.’
‘Since grazing animals eat mostly cellulose-rich roughage while their feedlot counterparts eat mostly simple sugars whose digestion requires no rumination, the grazing animals emit two to four times as much methane, a greenhouse gas roughly 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.’
via Grass-fed beef packs a punch to environment | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters.
‘(Reuters) – The United States will host a meeting of major economies on April 18-19 in Washington to advance talks on a global deal to fight climate change, the top U.S. climate negotiator said on Wednesday.’
via Washington to host major economies meeting on climate | Reuters.
‘(Reuters) – Climate negotiators meet in Bonn on Friday for the first time since the fractious Copenhagen summit but with scant hopes of patching together a new legally binding U.N. deal in 2010.’
via U.N. climate talks resume, scant chance of 2010 deal | Reuters.