Canada, The Yes Men, and what could be...

A wonderful thing happened yesterday, but only in make believe. The Yes Men, by way of a prank, made it appear as though Canada was going to completely reverse its climate change policy and set aggressive new carbon reduction targets. "Nobody benefits from a world in peril. Contributing to the development of other nations and taking full responsibilities for our emissions is simple Canadian good sense. We want to show the world that Canada is a leader on climate change." (Binding emission targets of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050; and funding made available to less developed countries based on a percentage of Canada’s GDP.) Instead…we find ourselves in the final week of the talks in Copenhagen and the real results that will come from this Climate Change Conference will fall short of what is necessary to address this global problem. The Group of 77 (Representing developing countries and large emerging countries like Brazil, India and China) walked out of negotiations on Monday due to inadequate aid offers from developed countries. China is refusing to accept any type of international monitoring of its emission levels. The U.S. says that without this verification, it cannot support any deal. With the effectiveness of these negotiations at stake and the consequences the world will face from our collective actions at this time in history, isn’t it critical that the global perspective be focused more on global health from a human perspective and respect for the health of our planet rather than a political one. The Yes Men gave us that chance to see what it could be like. The push to achieve aggressive carbon reduction targets must continue.

56 Newspapers in 45 Countries

As the climate conference opened today in Copenhagen, an editorial regarding the urgency to face the world’s climate change issues was printed in 56 newspapers in 45 countries (and written in 20 languages). This message, intended to reach politicians and negotiators at the conference, highlights that people from around the world are focused on this critical moment in history and that significant action is required. We must put aside our differences and view this problem through the same lens.

"We call on the representatives of the 192 countries gathered in Copenhagen not to hesitate, not to fall into dispute, not to blame each other but to seize opportunity from the greatest modern failure of politics. This should not be a fight between the rich world and the poor world, or between east and west. Climate change affects everyone, and must be solved by everyone."

I applaud the efforts of these newspapers to give a voice for what has provided us with everything we know: our planet.

The Gravity of Insufficient Action

World leaders will be coming together for the United Nations Climate Change Conference December 7-18th. They must put the health of our planet first. It is not a question of whether they should come up with an agreement that begins to lead us away from this environmental crisis, but that our leaders must take significant measures while there is still time. The political, economic and health issues that we face today will only be more intensified from the stress we are currently putting on our planet. Our world must shift to understand the gravity of insufficient action. Although difficult to predict the consequences we will face from the lifestyles we live today, as well as the emissions we will continue to add to our atmosphere tomorrow; the need to reduce emissions is critical. The future well being of our planet rests on the shoulders of our generation.
The opportunity to bring our world together as one community and face this problem from a global perspective is upon us.

We cannot claim that we didn't know

Change can happen! We can no longer claim that we didn’t know we were going to have such an impact on the environment. We must keep our eye on the ball, and focus on developing widespread awareness about the impact we (humans) are having on the environment! The USA needs to take its responsibility for its emissions by leading the way in the global community and commit to action in Copenhagen in December. It is our responsibility as citizens to speak up and tell our government that we must make the first significant step to have the greatest effect in this global human rights issue. This needs to be non-partisan. Copenhagen will be a defining moment. It is our responsibility as a generation to change our patterns of consumption and look more broadly at the challenges human kind will face for the sake of our children and children around the world!

October 24th and Climate Action Day

I pause to reflect on the significance of this day... Evidence of our impact on our environment can be found everywhere. It is estimated that 30% of today’s emissions will be in the atmosphere in 2100. The CO2 concentration in our atmosphere is currently 387 ppm and we need to reduce this concentration to 350 ppm in order for our planet to sustain itself. (CO2 concentrations exceeded 350 ppm 19 years ago). It will take a considerable amount of time to reverse the impacts we have already put upon out planet! Our world population which was 6 billion in 1999 is expected to see a 50% increase by 2040. We need to share the earth’s resources equitably and the United States needs to take the lead in climate talks in Copenhagen in December because we are largely responsible for the condition of our environment. Join the world on the 24th and participate in Climate Action Day wherever you are. (In Salt Lake City, come to Library Square between 2-5pm). Help us show the world our commitment to our collective environmental health. There are no political boundaries in this context. We must show the world and ourselves how critical it is to act now. This is the defining moment for our generation and we must believe in the strength of individual participation. Get out there and show your support for such an incredible critical issue. Pass it on. See you there!

Looking at Climate in a Fair and Equitable Way

"Key Points on Climate Justice" is a working paper presented by the Global Humanitarian Forum. Although the entire world population influences the issues surrounding climate change, developed countries have more of a responsibility to take action because we are responsible for a significant amount of the consumption of our natural resources, and need to be held accountable for the pollution we cause. We can no longer take our lifestyles for granted knowing now more than ever before that how we have behaved and how we will behave will significantly impact the entire planet for generations to come. We have this great opportunity to step up in the global community and make changes in a fair and equitable way, with significant environmental consequences if we don’t.

Will it really matter if developed countries look only at their own interests and economics if we let the health of our planet deteriorate to the point of catastrophic climate change? Knowing what we know now, does it sit well that the effects of our actions will most definitely impact innocent people throughout less developed countries the most? It is critical to act now: greater delay leads to greater consequences.

“While every individual should enjoy the fulfillment of their inalienable rights, they also have a certain obligation to ensure the same is true for others…”

I encourage you to read the entire paper: Key Points on Climate Justice

Setting laws to combat Climate Change

As the prospect of congress being capable of passing global warming and energy legislation this year has appeared to be dwindling, the E.P.A. announced that is working towards new rules that will regulate greenhouse gas emissions on power plants and large industrial facilities and these regulations could take effect as early as 2011. Hopefully this can spur on the passage of a climate bill this year.

President Obama has authorized the E.P.A. develop these proposed rules which would impact large power plants the most by requiring them to prove that they have utilized the best available technology to reduce emissions or face penalties. These facilities are responsible for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. This action to combat climate change is a step in the right direction for the United States leading up to the United Nation talks in Copenhagen in December, intended to creating an effective international agreement to address climate change; even if it is accomplished by creating rules instead of through the legislative process.

It is a known fact that our CO2 emissions will have an impact for a long time to come. The efforts we make today to reduce emissions will have a lag time of between 70-100 years to see the results. With that in mind, rules must be seen as part of the solution, but we must not stop there. We as a country have a moral responsibility to step up and lead by example and leave our political divisions behind.

United States has a Responsibility at UN Meeting on Climate Change

On September 22nd, the United States will be meeting on what will be the highest level summit meeting on climate change ever convened, which will include a speech by President Hu Jintao of China on Wednesday to the General Assembly. Although most of the largest developed and developing nations have made domestic commitments to develop energy efficiency and renewable energy, there is a common issue preventing the development of significant global emission reduction goals: countries are concerned about their own economic well being. Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general stated, “I have been urging them to speak and to act as global leaders; just go beyond their national boundaries.”

Countries, including the Untied States are waiting to see who will make the first step towards global solutions regarding climatic change. Round-table discussions planned for Tuesday already appear to be diluted from actual negotiations for an international global plan to delay their commitment to the last possible moment. This clearly is an opportunity to make progress towards a new climate change agreement slated to be accomplished in Copenhagen in December and the United States cannot let it slip by. As a country that is responsible for a significant percentage of global emissions, it is on our shoulders to make a strong commitment to this global issue and make a significant step to initiate momentum for a successful international agreement in Copenhagen in December. The health of our global environment hangs in the balance!

Forging on…unemployed

As I read about more losses in jobs in the United States this morning, I think about the potential there is through energy efficiency and renewable energy to create green jobs. Jobs in performing energy audits, jobs in weatherization of homes, installation of renewable energy systems, smart grid development and the list goes on and on. We must create ways for individuals to make a transition to green jobs for the unemployed and for individuals who determine that green jobs are more stable than the jobs they currently hold. This is a tangible solution to today’s problem, while participating individually and giving back.

Isn't there an urgency to act now?

It is interesting to me that climate change is now being viewed from a military perspective, and problems are expected within 20-30 years. It concerns me that this time frame is realistic. It highlights our need to do all we can right now at the individual level, knowing that we still can make a difference and avoid future conflict. We all must broaden our sense of urgency about the potential for catastrophic change that will come politically as well as environmentally due to our own actions. Isn’t it realistic to believe that each one of us can set an example to the world of a commitment (on any level and in any way possible) to the health of the environment?

…change and The Geysers

The Geysers is the largest geothermal development in the world and is located in the United States, just north of San Francisco. Although uncommon, The Geysers is a dry steam field, producing superheated steam created from the heat of a magma chamber that is over 4 miles beneath the earth’s crust.

The Geysers meet 60% of the power demand between San Francisco and Oregon. Their peak production came in 1987, and power generation since has been in decline because the water supply to the steam field is shrinking. (The Geysers produced power for 1.8 million people and now produces for 1.1 million people.)

We all need to help develop awareness about the potential of a dramatic (human caused) shift in the stability of our environmental health. The Geysers plan to boost energy production by pumping grey water to supply the dried up wells.

We need to change patterns in our consumption dramatically, not only to accommodate for future population growth. Man made solutions may not be available for the environmental problems we will face. Our planet isn’t big enough to live without considering our impact on others.

I recently heard in a tribute to George Harrison, “All things must pass”. Daily we get closer to being unable to reverse the effect we are having on our planet. Our climatic problems won’t pass if we think they will heal themselves.

Waste per capita

In 2000, according to the EPA, our per capita generation of waste in the United States was 4.5 pounds per person (232 million tons of total waste generation), up from 3.7 pounds in 1980 and 2.7 pounds in 1960. It is no surprise Americans represent among the most material intensive economies in the world and resources continue to be used at a rate our planet cannot sustain. Individually, we cannot completely eliminate our impact on the environment but we must look at our global problems and pursue solutions at any opportunity. We all can work to create less waste and be more resourceful with what we consume. It will benefit us all, especially our children and the environment they will experience.

India and setting the tone for more political challenges ahead

In Gurgaon, India, a suburb of New Delhi, on July 19th, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited an office that has been designed to highlight energy efficiency and green building practices. Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment and forests minister took the opportunity to tell Clinton that India feels pressured to reduce carbon emissions and was concerned that India could expect carbon tariffs on exports, even though their emissions are far less on a per capita basis. “We are simply not in a position to take over legally binding emission reduction targets,” Even so, Mr. Ramesh declared at the news conference: “That does not mean that we are oblivious of our responsibilities.”

As we make our way towards the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, the stance taken by both developed and developing countries represents the challenges we face for success at negotiating a climate change treaty.

Countries from around the world speak of who is to blame, and how much they are willing to participate, but in the end we have to look at this problem globally and remind ourselves that how we behave will significantly impact our future generations, and that we may not have another chance…

We can look at our own lives and find ways to be proactive environmentally; giving voice through action. We must believe that out leaders will listen, and that significant change is possible even with these political hurdles.

China and the big picture

Recently U.S. Trade Secretary Gary Locke and Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited China to work on ways to face climate change and bring green technology from the US to Chinese markets. While there, China and the US announced a joint clean energy research center with bases in both countries to bring scientists together, looking initially at energy efficiency, clean coal technology, and low polluting cars.

Next week, the first US-China strategic dialogue will be held in Washington. Currently, China and other developing nations have refused to agree to compulsory cuts in emissions. Their belief is that it is the responsibility of developed nations because the climate change problems of today come primarily from their actions.

Energy secretary Chu stated, “China ... recognizes the serious consequences that they face, as well as the world, if the world—China included—doesn’t start to take aggressive action.” Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang indicated the visit by Locke and Chu had no impact on China’s climate change policy.

This appears to be politics as usual, and although anyone can see that the responsibility for what has led us to this environmental crisis comes from developed countries and not developing countries, it is critical for human kind to embrace this issue from a global perspective. At this point it doesn’t matter which country is responsible, but that we work together locally and globally to take action today.

The world’s growing population dictates that we must cooperate and spend less time pointing fingers..

What 51 years of CO2 monitoring can tell us…

A research site at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, is an excellent indicator of the trends found in the concentration of CO2 in the troposphere, the part of the atmosphere that accounts for most of our day to day weather. It is not disturbed by any local influence such as vegetation or human activity and so is effective in determining global trends. This site, at an elevation 3397m (11,145 ft) is also the location of the longest continuous data, recorded for CO2 concentration in the world, beginning in 1959.

The concentration climbed from 315.98 ppm (parts per million) in 1959 to 385.34 ppm in 2008. This number accounts for the natural CO2 cycle that ebbs and flows with the natural absorption of CO2 through photosynthesis, but also measures man’s influence historically on the health of our planet. The trend in concentration is increasing an average of 1.4 ppm annually!

When I came across this data I was stunned how clearly and rapidly we are poisoning ourselves. What does it mean? It means that we need to look beyond political boundaries. It means we all need to take a part of the responsibility, and become active in any way possible to reverse this trend.

Why should this issue be anything but a need for all of us to act on behalf of the planet, and do anything we can as individuals to change the course of our own destruction?

Wasatch Frame Shop

If it wasn’t for the frame shop, it would be unlikely that I would be here posting a blog! For those of you who don’t know, I started Wasatch Frame Shop from scratch in employee housing while working as a ski patroller in Alta (Utah) in the mid ninety’s. I learned a lot more than I expected, and realized last winter, that hard work and determination doesn’t necessarily bring “success”. Continuing to follow my dreams with Renewable Energy Resources, I embark on the difficult path ahead, fueled by the experience of my past and determined to succeed. It will be easier this time, I tell myself, because I am pursuing something I am inspired by.

July 8th, the G8 summit and what we can do…

In the United States on June 26 the House passed legislation intended to impose limits on greenhouse gases. Yesterday in a meeting of the Group of Eight nations in L’Aquilla, Italy, the hope was to commit to specific goals to reduce CO2 emissions by 2050. In Copenhagen in December, the UN Climate Change Conference plans to create a worldwide climate treaty.

We all have become more conscious of current climatic issues from a local, national and worldwide standpoint. We are working against the clock and these efforts are necessary to stimulate more action today in our country and around the world.

This is a unique opportunity for individuals to get involved in positive climatic change in any way possible and help tackle this problem one by one, and speak through action. We must believe that our leaders will hear our collective voice

Apollo and Renewable Energy

The Breakthrough Institute, http://www.thebreakthrough.org/, founded in 2002, believes that renewable energy success will come by making renewable energy affordable for everyone thereby revolutionizing energy technology.

Their belief is that the, “best way to develop those clean technologies is to increase federal energy research tenfold, and to create a project akin to the Apollo mission to the moon.”

I believe that the development of new technologies is critical to clean energy growth, and that existing opportunities for current renewable energy generation must fill the void between then and now.

What percentage of government funding do you believe should go into installing current designs versus research and development?

Lincoln and what he means to me.

I look back in history and see Abraham Lincoln. I am inspired by what he represents to me. It led me to believing that anything is possible, and motivated me to pursue the development of Renewable Energy Resources.

RER can succeed by helping people realize that they can participate in positive climatic change. Join us in a movement.

Thanks for your time. Bill Barron

Imposing limits on Greenhouse Gases

On June 26^th, 2009 the House passed legislation to impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions for the first time, by a margin of 217-205. This legislation will effectively force a shift from coal and other fossil fuels to renewable and more efficient forms of energy.

The bill will create an increase in the energy costs for everyone, which will be especially difficult for a portion of Americans, considering our current economic environment. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) analysis estimated that the bill would cost an average household $175 a year; the EPA put it at between $80 and $110 a year. Mike Pence (R-IN) commented that this legislation "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," and I find this perspective very short sided.

Instead, I agree with Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), who said there was a "moral imperative to be good stewards of the earth." We must consider our place as Americans, and take responsibility for the impact we have had from our lifestyles and show the world that we are ready to change our behavior.

“The legislation, totaling about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and about 80 percent by the next century. U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are rising at about 1 percent a year and are predicted to continue increasing without mandatory caps.” NPR

A self centered approach to energy consumption is not the way. I see this legislation as a great step, even with its potential pitfalls, and just one step of many that are necessary. Next, the bill is off to the Senate, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi hoping to get it passed before the 4th of July. Hopefully we can all look beyond the horizon and see the potential in participating in change, focused on the environmental health for all people.