Memorandum: Black to Gold to Green

I discovered a website featuring a memorandum to president Obama written in January by Charles K. Ebinger and Kevin Massy.  Ebinger is the director of foreign policy and the Energy Security Initiative at the Brookings Institution in DC, while Massy is the associate director of the ESI.  Ebinger and Massy propose that the Federal Government should require a carbon-volume based tax in the production and trade of U.S. fossil fuels.  Sequentially, the revenue from these taxes would be used to fund studies based on capturing carbon that would harm the Earth's atmosphere and creating advanced, more efficient batteries that can capture solar energy.  Both gentleman make it apparent that three big truths of the global energy economy will appear in the next 20 years:

1) U.S. global power/influence will have to be shared with other emerging powers such as India and China.

2) Asia will experience a rapid growth in energy demand as the population rises.  This demand will have to be met with fossil fuels.

3) Global carbon emissions will continue to rise while arguments to find a solution are delayed and money is invested in weak solutions that can't actually fix the problem.

They make the point that while the American economy is in a bad place, the gas and coal industries are actually booming at higher levels than we've seen in decades.  Ebinger and Massy suggest that we attempt to become a main fuel exporter to countries like India and China that will require a huge demand of fossil fuels in the next 10-20 years.  They argue that we need to reduce the restrictions on coal and oil exports to make the largest profit we can off of Asia's monster energy demands.  Many people will be opposed to this due to the environmental implications, but Ebinger and Massy claim that if these exports are taxed properly, a vast revenue will be generated to support clean energy solutions.  Besides, Asia will need to receive these fossil fuels from someone.  Better the U.S. if we're taxing our exports than countries like Russia or Australia who have a goal of sole profit.  I find this to be an interesting solution to our current environmental situation, but it makes a lot of sense.  My concern would be that greed would get in the way of the carbon-tax system, but if all the money was handled responsibly, this solution would put the Earth on a path to a much cleaner environment in the future.

 Charles K. Ebinger

Kevin Massy

Links:

http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2013/01/energy-and-climate-black-to-gold-to-green?cid=gADs_BBBS_Search-BBBS-Policy-US_ObamaEnergyPolicy_20025896075&gclid=COOfi_nH47UCFWhnOgod6EwAlQ

http://southasia.oneworld.net/news/south-asia-needs-to-build-energy-cooperation-says-expert#.UTUXBzGdb_U

http://www1.georgetown.edu/sfs/msfs/117080.html

Givin' Blood

Yesterday I gave blood for the first time in my life.  I didn't realize all the examination and screening that would take place before the actual blood withdrawal to ensure that my blood would be clean for transfusion.  Something that really stuck out to me was the fact the homosexually active men are not allowed to give blood due to the likelihood that they may have AIDS or HIV.  Additionally, individuals who lived in Europe for more than 5 years have an increased chance of carrying Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) and they are not allowed to donate blood in the U.S.  I guess these restrictions make sense, but it wasn't something I ever thought about.

Here's my vein which blood was drawn from

The Geritol Solution

After reading Survival of the Sickest, I became interested in the concept of the Geritol Solution, a drastic measure that could theoretically be taken to reverse the process of global warming.  To solve global warming, we must focus on the cause, which is primarily the human emission of Green House Gases (or GHGs).  The UN created a group of scientists known as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that meets every few years to create a report on the status of the Earth's climate.  Throughout these reports, scientists have discovered there are several key GHGs that are the man source of our climate's problem.  These gases are generally produced from the combustion of fossil fuels in automobiles, factories, and electricity production plants.  The most antagonizing GHG turns out to be Carbon Dioxide or CO2. These GHGs trap heat in the atmosphere and gradually increase the planet's overall temperature. Other GHGs trap a greater amount of heat (methane traps 20 times more heat than CO2), but the actual concentration of CO2 dwarfs the amount of other gases present.  The solutions to this problem are mostly drastic theories that haven't been formally tested.  Some of these solutions include trillions of little "sun shade" reflectors that would lower the overall planet's temperature, a man made volcano that spews sulfur into the air, and, of course, the Geritol Solution.  The Geritol solution basically involves dumping iron dust into certain parts of the ocean, propelling the underwater plant life to flourish.  The excessive ocean flora would theoretically absorbs massive amounts of CO2 from the air, hopefully stabilizing the GHGs in the atmosphere.  Stanford University professor Stephen Schneider commented, "Of course it's desperation... it's planetary methadone for our planetary heroin addict."  Though the president of the National Academy of Sciences, Ralph Cicerone, said that more research must be done and no immediate action should be taken regarding the Geritol Solution, a small company called Planktos Incorporated launched a ship intent on dumping 50 tons of iron dust into the Pacific Ocean in 2007.  Their goal is to create a plankton and algae system that will suck CO2 out of the air.  This Geritol Solution actually gained credibility when the IPCC listed it as a realistic solution to fix GHG levels in 2001, and Planktos CEO Russ George hopes to recreate this on a larger scale.  However, George and his company have come under harsh criticism from individuals who believe that the effects of Planktos' actions on the ocean are unpredictable and a handful of people does not have the right to do this.  I hope that in the near future scientists will take a serious look into the Geritol Solution as a legitimate answer to global warming's dire effects, and refine the difficulties in implementing this project to secure our future on this planet.

Planktos CEO Russ George

A graphic depicting a boat dumping iron dust into the ocean

Links:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes/

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/progress/iron/iron.html

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/3/16/153121.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/19/geoengineering-canada

http://www.sunflowercosmos.org/protect_earth/protect_earth_home/protect_earth_2.html

Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future

"The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out.  Not anymore. Not when the cost to our economy, our country, and our planet is so high.  Not when your generation needs us to get this right.  It is time to do what we can to secure our energy future."

- President Barack Obama, March 30, 2011

The BLUEPRINT outlines a 3-phase strategy to reduce America's dependence on oil:

• Develop and Secure America's Energy Supplies:
• America must focus on  technology and innovation to make the U.S. a leader in the global energy economy
• Provide Consumers with Choices to Reduce Costs and Save Energy:
• Rising gas prices necessitate research for more efficient forms of energy production.  We must also make it easier for consumes to purchase fuel efficient vehicles and obtain the means to weatherize their home.
• Innovate our way to a Clean Energy Future:
• To lead the world in clean energy, we must create markets that support the growth of new, clean energy technology innovation.  There must also be money put into substantial research of alternate energy solutions for the future of America's energy security.

Links:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/blueprint-secure-energy-future

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2012/12/17/obama-should-threaten-more-recess-appointments/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/blueprint_secure_energy_future.pdf

Executive Order 13514

I wanted to see what the government was doing to advance our country into a sustainable, clean future. I found the U.S. governments website on sustainability information here.  The website is called "Performance.gov" and it acts as an example to the American people of their government's progress.  The website stated that they lead by example in environmental performance, and to do this, President Obama passed Executive Order 13514 on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance in October of 2009.  Executive Order 13514 improved the energy performance of all Federal agencies, and leveraged purchasing power to invest in clean energy technologies.  This Order had many goals in mind:

• Reduce Greenhouse Gas Pollution-
• Reduce emissions by 28% in next 10 years.
• Hold Agencies Accountable for Results-
• Office of Management and Budget Sustainability and Energy Scorecards keep track of an agency's progress and hold them accountable to meet environmental goals.
• Develop Agency Sustainability Plans-
• Required to develop, implement, and annually update a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan.  Updated each year, these plans establish the process in which each federal agency will complete its sustainability goals.

At the bottom of THIS page, you can view the Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans of a variety of governmental agencies.

I thought that this was a great move by president Obama, because it's setting us up for a green, efficient future that will be much better to live in than a future ruled by expensive, dwindling fossil fuels.  I hope President Obama and Congress can work out some more environmental legislation to put our country on the right path.

Links:

http://sustainability.performance.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/2009fedleader_eo_rel.pdf

Earthship Simple Survival Concept

Weston Bernhardt explained to me an environmental concept called "Earthships" that promoted the idea of a sustainable future.  I researched the topic and found an interesting website by a company called Earthship Biotecture explaining the construction of Earthships in Haiti.  The website's introduction stated:

• Fuel prices keep going up
• The housing market is big and inefficient
• Natural resources are dwindling

And finally that the Earthship Simple Survival Concept was our answer to these issues.

Click here for an explanation of Earthships...

Earthships would be a very sustainable way to live.  It would make a huge difference if a large portion of people decided to live this way.

Diagrams of the Earthships constructed in Haiti:

Earthship Biotecture explains the simple necessities all humans need:

1. Shelter, and a comfortable living space
2. Water
3. Sanitation (Sewage Treatment)
4. Energy
5. Food
6. Garbage recycling concepts

"We need to be able to obtain the above in a way that is not subject to thirty year mortgages and hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

We need to be able to obtain the above in a way that does not cause devastation to the planet  we all live on."

The Simple Survival Earthship meets all of these human requirements without the problems that modern housing has. I think this concept answers a lot of questions that the research I've done so far has brought up.

Links:

http://earthship.com/simple-survival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTqSpx0Vgv4&feature=player_embedded#!http

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

Established when signed into law by president Nixon, the NEPA requires all major federal actions that  affect the environment to be accompanied by an environmental impact statement, identifying any environmental hazards or effects the action will create.  NEPA is a procedural statute with two main goals:
1) It obligates federal agencies to consider all environmental repercussions before proceeding.
2) It ensures that these agencies will inform the public as to what the action is and the effects it will have on the environment.

There are three different classes of action that determine the documentation NEPA requires to properly review a federal action:

Class I: Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)- Reserved for actions with a significant effect on the environment.

Class II: Categorical Exclusion- Required when actions do not have a signifiant effect, cumulatively or individually, on the environment.

Class III: Environmental Assessment- For actions that have an unclear or loosely established effect on the environment.

Every NEPA planning process takes steps to look at the following aspects:

-Purpose and need: Establishes what the project's for and why it's necessary.

-Affected Environments and Constraints: Describes the project area, location, and specifications.

-Alternatives: All alternatives are considered.

-Public Involvement: Involving the public in some way.

-Mitigation: Developing mitigation strategies (if applicable).

Links:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Unit1_01CRSReport.pdf

http://www.coloradodot.info/programs/environmental/planning-env-link-program/background/what-is-nepa.html