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March 16, 2015
On March 9, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began in Fairbanks, Alaska -- 250 miles north of its traditional route. This is the second time in the history of the race it's changed routes. The above map, courtesy of climate.gov, shows snow depth across Alaska on March 9, with white regions showing three or more feet of snow, and gray one foot or less. The race moved due to lack of snow along the traditional route.
On March 9, 11 Republican Senators led by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK), addressed a letter to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to express concern over the White House estimated social cost of carbon emissions. Currently valued at $37 per ton, the administration uses the social cost of carbon when calculating the cost-benefit analysis of regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The OIRA did not have a public comment period on the carbon accounting methodology, but in November of 2013 decided to allow input. The Senators said, “While we continue to have significant concerns over the process establishing and the substance underlying the [social cost of carbon], public information on the estimates is paramount given its increasing application to federal—and state—programs;” they asked OIRA to respond to their concerns by March 30, 2015.
For more information see:
The Hill, Letter
On March 9, Arkansas State Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that Arkansas would join a coalition of states opposed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan. The proposed regulations would require Arkansas to reduce its emissions 45 percent by 2030, due to the state’s heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants. “This rule goes beyond the EPA’s authority granted by Congress,” said Rutledge, “and seeks to impose a national energy policy that will harm Arkansas’ economy.” Arkansas joins 12 other states fighting the rule, including Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Arkansas Online, Arkansas News
On March 6, the Finnish Parliament passed a Climate Act 150-33, approving targets to reduce emissions 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. The newly ratified Climate Act’s reduction goal covers all emissions across the economy, adding the transport, housing and agriculture industries to those already covered under the European Union carbon trading system. The new emissions target is in addition to previous Finland requirements that most energy production must cut emissions 21 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, environment minister, said, “The law is a signal that Finland is a pioneer this year as we prepare for the UN’s Paris climate conference.”
RTCC, UUTISET
On March 10, 24 craft beer breweries signed onto a climate declaration letter organized by nonprofit Ceres. These breweries recognize man-made climate change impacts their businesses. In 2012, beer companies generated $246.5 billion in economic output and directly and indirectly employed over two million Americans. Climate change impacts such as changing weather patterns, droughts and rising temperatures are affecting hops production and water availability in the Pacific Northwest, where most hops are grown. “We believe that a strong economy and a stable climate go hand in hand,” said Jenn Vervier at New Belgium Brewery. Many breweries have already invested in renewable energy and implemented energy, water, and waste reduction technologies at their breweries across the country.
Ceres, Press Release, Triple Pundit
During a webinar on March 5, the Entergy Corporation, in conjunction with Tierra Resources and the Climate Trust, released details from a report that Louisiana could earn $540 million - $1.6 billion over the next 50 years by selling carbon permits from coastal restoration projects. The carbon absorbed and sequestered by coastal ecosystems, such as mangrove forests, sea-grass beds, and salt marshes, is referred to as “blue carbon.” Louisiana has the potential to monetize the carbon stored in its wetlands by accounting for the metric tons of carbon absorbed by restored land, and selling that amount to offset carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere. The study used two reference cases: the first, where Louisiana sold credits to Californian companies for the state’s carbon credit program for $10.80 per metric ton of carbon; the second where Louisiana companies sold credits to voluntary carbon credit programs at $4.40 per metric ton.
The Times - Picayune, The Climate Trust, The Entergy Corporation
On March 9, Nature Climate Change published an article on the rate of global temperature change, finding that Earth’s temperatures, which increased by 0.4 degrees F per decade over the last 40 years, are going to accelerate to a rate of 0.7 degrees F/decade by 2020, a rate unseen in at least 1,000 years. Lead scientist of the study, Dr. Steven Smith of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said, “Essentially the world is entering a new regime where what is normal is going to continue to change, and it’s changing at a rate that natural processes might not be able to keep up with.” Researchers measured rates of change over 40-year periods of time to show that temperatures will not only increase in our lifetimes, but also continue to accelerate over time.
Climate Central, Business Insider, Market Business News, Study
On March 11, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Stanford University, and the University of Calgary released the first Oil-Climate Index aimed to model how oil is changing and its effect on climate change. The Climate Index is an analysis of 30 types of oil from around the world, showing that how an oil is drilled, refined and consumed greatly changes its carbon footprint. The Index found that oils are not all equal, with an 80 percent emissions difference between the lowest and highest carbon-intensive oils, per barrel. “What the Oil-Climate Index shows are the potential pitfalls . . . of making environmental policy or climate policy on an ad-hoc basis,” said David Livingston, associate in Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Scientific America
On March 10, nonprofit advocacy group Avaaz brought six teenagers from states affected most by climate change to Capitol Hill to meet with their Congressional representatives. The teens from Nebraska, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina hoped to visit a dozen offices and meet with Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Rand Paul (R-KY), among several others. The students said they wanted to test the Senators knowledge on climate change, using a quiz originally developed for teenage students.
In related news, a recent poll commissioned by Avaaz and conducted by Ipsos found that nearly 90 percent of 1,002 participating eighth graders thought climate change was real and caused by humans. Avaaz also helped organize the 2014 people’s climate march in New York, which attracted over 300,000 people.
The New Republic, Grist
On March 9, Florida Gov. Rick Scott denied allegations that Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) banned employees from using the terms “global warming” and “climate change,” as claimed in a March 7 article by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting. “It’s not true,” said Scott, who refused to discuss his views on climate change in light of the controversy. Christopher Byrd, a former DEP lawyer, said the word bans were “an indication that the political leadership is not willing to address these issues and face the music when it comes to the challenges that climate change presents.”
The Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Politico
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1. Senator Ted Cruz Asks NASA to Work More on Space Exploration, Less on Climate Science
2. Study Links Food Safety Concerns and Climate Change
3. London Climate March Brings 20,000 People to House of Commons
4. Reno Says Climate Change Is a Threat to the City
5. Iditarod Begins on Alternate Route, Due to Lack of Snow
6. Congresswoman Lois Capps Introduces Legislation to Study Ocean Acidification
1. Briefing On State Energy Activities And Weatherization
March, 19, 2015, 2:00 p.m.
116 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Co-hosted by Senator Collins and Senator Reed
This briefing will hear from three state energy officials from across the country (Colorado, Rhode Island and Tennessee) and a technology provider for Weatherization from Maine. The presenters will discuss a variety of energy programs implemented at the state and local levels. Two federal-state partnership programs that will be a focus of the discussion – the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program and the U.S. State Energy Program.
Moderators:
Olivia Kurtz (Office of Senator Collins)
Diana Wiggins (Office of Senator Reed)
Presenters:
Marion Gold, Commissioner, Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources;
Molly Cripps, Director, Office of Energy Programs, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation;
Joe Pereira, Director of Weatherization, Colorado Energy Office;
Rhett Eldridge, Weatherization Training and Support Coordinator, Farmingdale, Maine.
Authors: Rachael Shook, Caitlin Madera, and Samuel Beirne
Editor: Laura Small
Advancing science-based climate solutions
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