News: Archive for October, 2010
‘Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said on Friday that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry.’
via U.S. Says Genes Should Not Be Eligible for Patenting – NYTimes.com.
‘NIPTON, Calif. — The long-promised solar building boom in the desert Southwest is finally under way. Here in the Mojave Desert, a dice throw away from the Nevada border, giant road graders and a small army of laborers began turning the dirt for BrightSource Energy’s $2 billion Ivanpah project, the first large-scale solar thermal power plant to be built in the United States in two decades.’
via Solar Power Projects Face Potential Hurdles – NYTimes.com.
‘Oil producers and refiners, along with manufacturers of steel, aluminum and even home appliances, are fighting a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency that would make the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that companies release — and the underlying data businesses use to calculate the amounts — available online.’
via Companies fight to keep global warming data secret – Yahoo! News.
‘Politicians gathering in Nagoya, Japan, for the United Nations’ 10th Convention on Biological Diversity — a summit to set conservation goals for 2020 — face grim news: Scientists have reported that one-fifth of Earth’s vertebrate species are at risk of extinction.’
‘…The pledges, inscribed in the Copenhagen Accord, a nonbinding pact that has been signed by about 140 countries, also represented an unprecedented attempt to overcome one of the thorniest problems that has plagued international climate talks: recurrent complaints by poor countries that developed nations, grown prosperous by burning fossil fuels, are behaving hypocritically by demanding emissions limits in the future.’
‘Reuters – Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company GDC said on Friday it has pledges worth $400 million, 40 percent of the amount it needs for a 10-year plan during which it intends to produce 2,000 megawatts MW of steam.’
‘Reuters – China’s push to reduce growing greenhouse gas pollution is impressive but the “juggernaut” nonetheless faces a daunting rise in emissions, the top U.S. climate change envoy said after what he called helpful talks.’
via China greenhouse gas growth daunting: U.S. envoy | Reuters.
‘…The candidates are not simply rejecting solutions, like putting a price on carbon, though these, too, are demonized. They are re-running the strategy of denial perfected by Mr. Cheney a decade ago, repudiating years of peer-reviewed findings about global warming and creating an alternative reality in which climate change is a hoax or conspiracy.’
October 15, 2010 San Francisco
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began her appearance at ClimateOne at the Commonwealth Club with an opening statement. This video includes excerpts of her address:
Partial Transcription:
“I wanted to just make a few points, because I think it’s important to give you a bit of an overview of what we’ve been trying to do since January 2009. Clearly for me as Secretary of State it is a primary mission to elevate diplomacy and development alongside defense so that we have an integrated foreign policy in support of our national security, and in furtherance of our interests and our values. Now that seems self evident when I say it tonight here in this gathering, but it is actually quite challenging to do. It’s challenging for several reasons, first because the diplomacy of our nation which has been from the very beginning one of the principle tools of what we do has never been fully understood by the general public. It appears in the minds of many to be official meetings mostly conducted by men in three piece suits with other men in government buildings and even palaces to end wars and resolve all kinds of impasses. And of course there is still that element, not only with men any longer, but nevertheless the work of diplomacy is in the traditional mode, but it is so much more today. Because it is also imperative that we engage in public diplomacy, reaching out to – not just leaders – but the citizens of the countries with whom we engage, because even in authoritarian regimes, public opinion actually matters, and in our interconnected world it matters in ways that are even more important. So we have tried to use the tools of technology to expand the role of diplomacy. Similarly with development. I have long been passionate about what our assistance programs mean around the world, how they represent the very best of the generosity of spirit of the American people. ”
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| images by Jill Gustafson |
“And USAID which was started with such high hopes by President Kennedy did so much good work in the 1960s and 70s – the green revolution , the absolutely extraordinary commitment that the United States, our researchers and our agricultural scientists made to improving agriculture around the world transformed the way people were able to feed themselves and to build a better future. Then over time, USAID became hollowed out. It became truly a shadow of its former self, it became not so much an agency of experts as a contracting mechanism. So the work that used to be done by development experts housed in the US government became much more a part of contracting out with NGOs here at home and around the world, so the identity, the reputation of USAID no longer was what it need to be”
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“One aspect of what we’re doing to promote diplomacy and development that is quite new, and has special relevance for the Bay Area and Northern California, is our emphasis on innovation and the use of technology. We have been working very hard for the last twenty months to bring into the work we do the advances that many of the companies and the innovators entrepreneurs here in California have brought to business, have brought to communications in particular. You know, innovation is one of America’s greatest values and products, and we are very committed to working with scientists and researchers and others to look for new ways to develop heartier crops or lifesaving drugs at affordable costs, working with engineers for new sources of clean energy or clean water to both stem climate change and also to improve the standard of living for people. Social entrepreneurs who married capitalism and philanthropy are using the power of the free market to drive social and economic progress. ”
“And here we see a great advantage that the United States has that we’re putting to work in our every day thinking and outreach around the world. Let me just give you a couple of examples because the new communication tools that all of you and I use as a matter of course are helping to connect and empower civil society leaders, democracy activists, and everyday citizens even in closed societies. Earlier this year, in Syria, young students witnessed shocking physical abuse by their teachers. Now as you know, in Syria, criticism of public officials is not particularly welcome, especially when the critics are children and young people. And a decade earlier the students would have just suffered those beatings in silence. But these students had two secret weapons – cell phones and the internet. They recorded videos and pasted them on Facebook, even though the site is officially banned in Syria. The public backlash against the teachers was so swift and vocal that the government had to remove them from their positions.”
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“That’s why the United States in the Obama administration is such a strong advocate for the freedom to connect. And earlier this year last January I gave a speech about our commitment to internet freedom, which if you think about it, is the freedom to assemble, the freedom to freely express yourself, the right of all people to connect to the internet and to each other, to access information to share their views, participate in global debates. Now I’m well aware that telecommunications is not any silver bullet, and these technologies can also as we are learning can also be used for repressive purposes, but all over the world we see their promise. And so we’re working to leverage the power and the potential, in what I call twenty-first century statecraft. Part of our approach is to embrace new tools like using cell phones for mobile banking or to monitor elections. But we’re also reaching to the people behind these tools, the innovators and the entrepreneurs themselves. For instance, we know that many business leaders want to devote some of their companies expertise to helping solve problems around the world, but they often don’t know how to do that. What’s the point of entry? Which ideas would have the most impact?”
“So to bridge that cap, we are embracing new public private partnerships that link on the ground experience of our diplomats and development experts with the energy and resources of the business community. One of my first acts as Secretary was to appoint a Special Representative for Global Partnerships, and we have brought delegations of technology leaders to Mexico and, Columbia, Iraq and Syria, as well as India and Russia, not just to meet with government officials, but activists, teachers, doctors and so many more. ”
Report by James George
October 15, 2010 San Francisco
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared at ClimateOne at the Commonwealth Club. In this excerpt, she answers a question about the administrations support for a tar sands pipeline from Alberta. Gregory Dalton asks, “How can the U.S. be saying climate change is a priority when we’re mainlining some of the dirtiest fuel that exists”?
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| images by Jill Gustafson |
Partial Excerpt: “We’re either going to be dependent on dirty oil from the Gulf or dependent on dirty oil from Canada, and until we can get our act together as a country, and figure out that clean renewable energy is in both our economic interest and the interest of our planet…”
“I mean I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone how deeply disappointed the President and I are about our inability to get the kind of legislation through the Senate that the United States was seeking. That hasn’t stopped what we’re doing. We have moved a lot on the regulatory front through the EPA here at home and we have been working with a number of countries on adaptation and mitigation measures, but obviously it was one of the highest priorities of the administration for us to enshrine in legislation President Obama’s commitment to reducing our emissions. So we do have a lot that still must be done.”
“It’s a hard balancing act. It’s a very hard balancing act. But it is also for me, energy security requires that I look at all of the factors that we have to consider while we try to expedite as much as we can America’s move toward clean renewable energy.”
Clinton concluded her appearance fielding a question from ten year old Eli, who asked what people can do to help the environment.
Speaking as a “private citizen” for a moment, she mentioned the “frustration, anxiety and even anger” in the United States today, “And I hope that people take some of that energy and focus it on the environment and on climate change, because we really need to have a longer range view of what’s going to make our country strong and rich and smart”.
Clinton with ten year old Eli.
report by James George