‘(Reuters) – China’s rush to bail out Suntech Power Holdings and other solar panel makers is condemning its solar sector to a worsening glut, as demand remains stubbornly stagnant, both at home and abroad.’

via China’s bailouts darken horizon for solar panel sector | Reuters.

‘A Maryland energy company is planning to deliver 500 megawatts of power to the electrical grid from a giant hollow tower on the Arizona-Mexico border that would be the second-tallest structure ever built.’

via Massive Energy Skyscraper Proposed On U.S.-Mexico Border – Forbes.

and the followup story fills in some of the details:

‘How much would it cost to build a downdraft tower? $1 billion, plus $100 million to pipe the water in from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Additional money would be needed to build a desalination plant, but the company has not yet arrived at a number…’

via Your Energy Skyscraper Questions, Answered – Forbes.

‘CALGARY, Alberta, March 26 (Reuters) – Contaminated water may have spilled into the Athabasca River from a broken pipe at Suncor Energy Inc’s oil sands project in northern Alberta, sparking new fears about pollution of the river from the massive oil sands developments along its banks.’

via UPDATE 2-Water escapes Suncor oil sands pond into Athabasca River | Reuters.

‘An action-oriented scientific agenda for tackling global climate change and its impacts on agriculture emerged from the international, three-day Climate-Smart Agriculture Conference, which drew more than 300 participants last week to UC Davis.’

via UC Davis climate confab sets international agenda – Daily Democrat Online.

‘Hurricane Sandy last year pushed the issue of climate change higher on the nation’s agenda. President Barack Obama indicated in his inaugural address and his State of the Union address that climate policy would be a priority for his second term. Some members of Congress said Sandy might cause Congress to redesign infrastructure spending to limit damage from future catastrophic storms.’

via Senate energy and climate change votes point to EPA as key decider – NBC Politics.

‘New York state is listing climate change as a risk for bondholders after Hurricane Sandy caused more than $40 billion in damage and Governor Andrew Cuomo said better preparations are needed.’

via New York State Cites Climate Change as Risk to Bond Investors – Bloomberg.

‘President Barack Obama’s administration should weigh the climate-change impact of burning coal in Asia when considering whether to approve Pacific coal- export terminals, two Western governors said.’

via Governors Ask Obama to Weigh Climate Impact of Coal Ports – Bloomberg.

‘Now that a red flag has been raised by the Colorado River Basin Study – a federal and state cooperative analysis published in late 2012 – that there will be water shortages across much of the U.S. Southwest, the handwringing has started.’

via As Climate Change Reduces Colorado River Communities Must Prepare – News Watch.

‘A new Climate Protection Act introduced by Senators Bernard Sanders, the independent from Vermont, and Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, proposes such a tax. About 60 percent of the revenues would be returned directly to consumers, 25 percent allotted to deficit reduction and 15 percent devoted to investments in renewable energy.’

via Nancy Folbre: Our Carbon, Our Climate, Our Cash – NYTimes.com.

‘A BILL
To address climate disruptions, reduce carbon pollution, enhance the use of clean energy, and promote resilience in the infrastructure of the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Protection Act of 2013’’
…’

jumping ahead to the key detail – the cost per ton pricing schedule:

‘(3) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the amount of the fee shall be—

(A) for the first calendar year, $20;
(B) for each calendar year occurring after the first calendar year and before the 12th calendar year, an amount equal to the sum of—
(i) the amount in effect under this paragraph for the preceding calendar year; and
(ii) the product (rounded to the nearest dollar) obtained by multiplying—
(I) the amount described in clause (i); and
(II) 5.6 percent; and
(C) for the 12th calendar year and any calendar year thereafter, the amount in effect under this paragraph for the preceding calendar year.’

See full text of the bill: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/0121413-ClimateProtectionAct.pdf

The cost per ton of carbon emissions in this bill begins at $20 and tops out at $33. Many have previously suggested that this range will be inadequate to prevent the use of fossil fuels. For example Severin Borenstein, Director of the University of California Energy Institute, said in May 2010

“…if you really think through the full economics of what it would take in terms of market mechanisms to remove fossil fuels from the system, a price of $30 a ton isn’t going to do it, and my guess is a price of $80 a ton isn’t going to do it. Because what’s going to happen is as the price of carbon goes up the price of fossil fuels goes down, and they continue to be economic. What the alternatives have to beat is not the current price of fossil fuels, what they have to beat is the true cost of extracting them.”

Applicable amount per ton annually:
Year 1: $20
Year 2: $21
Year 3: $22
Year 4: $23
Year 5: $24
Year 6: $25
Year 7: $26
Year 8: $27
Year 9: $29
Year 10: $31
Year 11: $33
Year 12: $33

Report by James George