Archive - 2008

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on and America’s image abroad continues to take a beating, it’s clear that foreign policy will once again be front and center during the presidential election. What does this have to do with climate change? As it turns out, quite a lot: Climate change has become one of the most important foreign policy issues the next president will have to tackle.

The long-awaited Lieberman-Warner climate change bill finally hit the Senate floor yesterday afternoon. As you would expect, it has triggered a passionate debate on the blogosphere about its merits—or lack thereof. Here’s a sampling of the blogosphere buzz surrounding the bill:

I went down to the Hill yesterday with three of our brand-new summer interns to check out the Warner-Lieberman press conference. Although the event was billed as a press conference, it definitely felt more like a rally.

Looking for something fun to do this weekend in the Big Apple? Then join me at the World Science Festival, which is running from May 28th--June 1st at venues all over New York City. The Festival will feature more than 40 unique events that will shine a spotlight on science and explore the many ways in which scientific discovery and innovation are shaping modern life.

Specifically, I'd like to invite you to an event called Powering the Planet, where I will serve as a panelist. At this event, we'll discuss the latest research on alternative sources of energy, as well as the challenges and opportunities that climate change presents.

While the capture and storage of emissions from coal-fired power plants is sometimes touted as a cost-effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, an article published in today's New York Times emphasizes the rising costs and growing uncertainty behind the technology. The front-page article highlights cancellations of high profile carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects like FutureGen, and notes that

One of the best features of the American system of government is that it provides for more than one way to skin the proverbial cat. If one level of government isn’t doing its job to solve a problem, others can step in and tackle it, however imperfectly. We’re seeing this pattern once again with climate change. Since the feds show no inclination to take the sort of bold action that so many organizations—like 1Sky, to pick one at random—are calling for, the states are filling the void.

Here’s a compelling illustration of just how far ahead of the feds the states have moved: The Sea Studios Foundation has produced a compelling 14-minute movie called “Ahead of the Curve,” which chronicles what the states are doing to tackle climate change. It’s definitely worth checking out.

The insurance industry is one of the largest in the world, with yearly revenues around $3 trillion. Put another way: If the insurance industry were a country, it would have the third largest economy in the world. This year, Ernst & Young’s report on business risk cited climate change as the greatest threat to the industry with “long-term, far-reaching” and significant negative impacts.

There’s a misconception among many that the climate change movement is made up exclusively of environmentalist. Nothing could be further from the truth: In fact, our movement draws from a wide variety of communities and social movements, including the religious community. Throughout our history, communities of faith have always been at the forefront of sweeping social change. Why should climate change be any different?