Around the world on Global Warming Al Gores

Source: Portsmouth Herald News (Original Article)

A few weeks ago, I was asked by a frequent reader to write a column explaining the insanity of skyrocketing oil and gasoline prices. To be sure, there are a number of factors I know right off the top such as bold-faced speculation, production not keeping up with demand, and political uncertainty — as in will Israel or the Bush administration actually follow through on their threats to bomb Iran halfway back to the stone ages?

A better story on a biblical scale is what’s happening in this election year. Everyone is talking energy (including my colleague Rick Fabrizio), and it’s reaching a tipping point of sensibilities and candidate plans that is impossible to avoid — unless you really do find those Japanese-type reality TV shows compelling. I mean, really, what’s the fate of the Earth when compared to watching people choose to humiliate themselves for fun and profit (of the producers)?

To find out just what epoch we’re in, read Mike Davis at http://www.tomdispatch.com.

Just last week, while presidential contest finalists John McCain and Barack Obama slugged it out with dueling energy policy jabs and uppercuts, New Hampshire U.S. Senate candidates John Sununu and Jeanne Shaheen did the same.

All this talk on what I call the micro-fringes is politically entertaining and healthy. After more than seven years of the sounds of relative silence (or pathetic secret scheming) from the Bush administration, there’s nothing like $4-a-gallon gasoline in an election year to get candidates taking energy policy real seriously as Jimmy Carter did more than 30 years ago.

McCain sounds like a Democratic wannabe (as in Al Gore circa 1990) and game show host with his Lexington Project, which includes a $300 million contest for the perfect plug-in car battery. There’s also a white whale worthy of more discussion — 45 more nuclear plants? Like Iraq, he doesn’t say how he’s going to pay Frequent Flyer Credit Cards for this government-subsidized monstrosity. In the …continue reading

Source: Hartford Courant (Original Article)

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Source: Toledo Blade (Original Article)

FINDLAY - Green equals green.
That is the message of a road show led by environmental and labor groups that was in Findlay yesterday.
Policies supporting renewable energy production will create tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs that will add green to the pockets of U.S. manufacturing workers fearful about the future, David Foster, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance, asserted in a telephone interview from his office in Minneapolis.
“We want to point out how strategies and policies that solve global warming will create tens of thousands of new jobs,” he said.
The alliance was formed by the United Steelworkers and Sierra Club. It has teamed up with Al Gore’s “We” campaign to deliver a similar message at a series of town hall meetings over the summer.
The group was to be at the union hall of United Steel Workers Local 207L at 1130 Summit St. in Findlay. Other Ohio stops are scheduled for today in Canton and tomorrow in Cleveland.
A study has found that more than 20,000 manufacturing jobs could be created in Ohio at plants serving the solar, wind, and geothermal energy industries as well as at plants making products like insulation and more energy-efficient appliances, Mr. Foster said.
One way to accomplish that, he said, is through government mandates - like one signed into law by Gov. Ted Strickland last month - requiring utilities to find at least 25 percent of their energy from advanced technology and renewable resources by 2025.
A similar law in Pennsylvania helped persuade a company in Spain to construct four plants in the state, employing MasterCard Credit Card 1,400 people, for production of wind-turbine equipment, Mr. Foster said.

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer (Original Article)

NORWOOD — A town hall meeting to discuss the potential for high-paying jobs in renewable energy and so-called clean technologies will be held tonight at 6 at the Laborer’s Hall, 3457 Montgomery Road.

The meeting is one of 13 being held around the country this month by a coalition of environmental and labor groups to promote the job-creating opportunities of so-called “green” jobs.

A recent study by professors at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s political economy research institute suggested more than 20,000 new jobs could be created in Ohio in coming years by investing in renewable energy and other “green” technologies.

Tonight’s meeting is sponsored by the 850,000-member United Steelworkers, Sierra Club and Blue Green Alliance who are working with former Vice President Al Gore’s We Can Solve It Campaign and the Alliance for Climate Protection to NCIS dvd discuss global warming and promoting solutions that benefit the economy.

Source: Seeking Alpha (Original Article)

The data is becoming conclusive that peak oil is a myth. High oil prices (USO) (OIL) are doing their job as oil exploration is flush with new finds:

1. An offshore find by Brazilian state oil company Petrobras (PBR) in partnership with BG Group (BRGYY.PK) and Repsol-YPF may be the world’s biggest discovery in 30 years, the head of the National Petroleum Agency said. A deep-water exploration area could contain as much as 33 billion barrels of oil, an amount that would nearly triple Brazil’s reserves and make the offshore bloc the world’s third-largest known oil reserve. “This would lay to rest some of the peak oil pronouncements that we were out of oil, that we weren’t going to find any more and that we have to change our way of life,” said Roger Read, an energy analyst and managing director at New York-based investment bank Natixis Bleichroeder Inc.

2. A trio of oil companies led by Chevron Corp. (CVX) has tapped a petroleum pool deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico that could boost U.S. reserves by more than 50 percent. A test well indicates it could be the biggest new domestic oil discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay a generation ago. Chevron estimated the 300-square-mile region where its test well sits could hold up to 15 billion barrels of oil and natural gas

3. Kosmos Energy says its oil field at West Cape Three Points is the largest discovery in deep water West Africa and potentially the largest single field discovery in the region.

4. A new oil discovery has been made by Statoil (STO) in the Ragnarrock prospect near the Sleipner area in the North Sea. “It is encouraging that Statoil has made an oil discovery in a little-explored exploration model that is close to our North Sea infrastructure,” says Frode Fasteland, acting exploration manager for the North Sea.

5. Shell (RDS.A) is currently analyzing and evaluating the well data of their own find in the Gulf of mexico to determine next steps. This easy sudoku find is rumored to be capable …continue reading

Source: Chicago Daily Herald (Original Article)

Are you ready to clean up your environmental act?

“Kick the Habit, a UN Guide to Climate Neutrality” can show you how.

And what exactly is climate neutrality? It is the ambitious goal of producing no net greenhouse gas emissions. First, you reduce your emissions as much as possible and then you purchase carbon offsets to neutralize the rest. It’s called climate neutral rather than carbon neutral because other gases are involved, although carbon dioxide is the big culprit at almost 80 percent of greenhouse gases.

Amy Fraenkel, director of the regional office for North America of the United Nations Environment Programme, released the international report at a recent forum on climate change at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. The UN organization shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore.

The book rates Web sites where individuals, companies and institutions can estimate their carbon footprint and ones where they can purchase offsets.

Purchasing carbon offsets means contributing toward something that helps with climate control, such as renewable energy projects, transportation and reforestation.

Companies and not-for-profits that sell these charge from $5 to $40 per tonne of carbon dioxide alleviated. A tonne is a unit of measure that is just a little more than a standard ton.

The book encourages people to take small steps toward cutting carbon emissions, such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones and turning off computers and peripherals when they are not used.

Leaving appliances on standby might be causing 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, similar to what the aviation industry emits, estimates the International Energy Agency.

Individuals have control over their own carbon footprints - how they travel, their homes and what they eat, for example. Other things such as what goes on at their Lawyers in ACT beginning with U Page 1 workplaces might be harder to change.

While …continue reading

Source: SunHerald.com (Original Article)

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 19 — The free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) will launch and fly its 70-foot-tall hot air balloon over Al Gore’s Belle Meade mansion on Friday, June 20, from Nashville’s Warner Park. The balloon features a huge message “Global Warming Alarmism: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes, Less Freedom.” The fly-over is part of the group’s nationwide Hot Air Tour, www.CostofHotAir.com.

“Even as record gas prices and high food costs put a squeeze on household budgets, global warming alarmists are pushing policies that are out of touch with average Americans,” said AFP President Tim Phillips. “Al Gore is the poster child for global warming hot air, so it made sense to make a stop in Nashville. We are providing citizens with an economic reality check on the hot air in the global warming debate.”

Prior to balloon take-off, the 3:00 p.m. event will feature a presentation from Phillips and Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson. They will discuss policies being promoted in the name of “fighting” global warming and the economic impact of those policies on Tennessee and the nation.

“These are uncertain economic times. It is foolhardy to push for regulations that would transfer dollars from families and businesses to bureaucratic big-government,” said Phillips. “We want to make sure citizens know what global warming alarmism will cost them - higher taxes, lost jobs, and less freedom. Those who claim global warming policies are healthy for our economy are spewing a whole lot of hot air and we want to expose that.”

The second leg of the Hot Air Tour will make seven stops in six states from June 17-21. More information is available online at www.CostofHotAir.org.

The Tour, which was launched in Washington, DC, will hold at least two-dozen events around the country. AFP’s Hot Air Tour has already educated and mobilized hundreds of citizens with stops last Frequent Flyer Credit Cards month in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, …continue reading

Source: RedOrbit (Original Article)

Gore Backs Obama, Vows All-Out Effort — At Rally, Ex-VP Blasts ‘Neglect, Failure’ of Bush
Posted on: Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 21:00 CDT
By Nedra Pickler DETROIT - Al Gore, making his debut on the 2008 presidential campaign trail in support of Barack Obama, appeared with the Democratic presidential candidate Monday night at a raucous rally before 20,000 at Detroit’s Joe Lewis Arena. The former vice president’s speech was part endorsement, part blistering attack on President Bush. Gore said Obama can lead the country past “eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure.” He said Bush dishonored the Constitution and made the worst foreign policy mistakes in the nation’s history. Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 race, but lost after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush in the disputed Florida election. Gore said, “Take it from me, elections matter.” Since then, the former U.S. senator from Tennessee has made combating global warming his signature issue, and has been recognized worldwide for his effort - from an Academy Award for a documentary for his effort to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Gore is one of the most popular figures in the Democratic Party, but up to now he maintained a low profile in the primary campaign. Gore’s appearance in Detroit marked the second time Obama has rolled out a major endorsement in Michigan, where the Illinois senator did not campaign during the primary because its election violated party rules. Obama is counting on a win in Michigan in November, but brought Gore and 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards to help validate him among Democrats in the state after skipping their primary. In a letter to be e-mailed to Obama supporters, Gore wrote earlier Monday, “From now through Election Day, I intend to do whatever I can to make sure he is elected president.” Gore also asked for donations to help fund Obama’s effort - the first time he’s asked members of his Web site AlGore.com to contribute to ANZ Flyer Credit Card a campaign. “Over the past 18 …continue reading

Source: PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung) (Original Article)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is unveiling an energy program Tuesday that would lift the federal ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, a move opposed by Democrats and environmentalists but potentially appealing to Americans weary of soaring gasoline prices.
McCain has criticized the Bush administration for its position on global

warming, but the proposal would put him squarely in the Republican mainstream in backing a move that has repeatedly been torpedoed in Congress.
In excerpts of a speech to be delivered Tuesday night, the veteran Arizona senator also criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama’s call for a windfall profits tax on the oil industry, predicting it would worsen America’s dependence on foreign energy supplies.
«If that plan sounds familiar, it’s because that was President Carter’s big idea, too,» he said. «I’m all for recycling, but it’s better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s,» he said, referring to Democrat Jimmy Carter’s one-term in the White House 30 years ago.
McCain also called for greater use of nuclear power, as well as alternative energy sources and greater conservation measures.
«Over time, we must shift our entire energy economy toward a sustainable mix of new and cleaner power sources. This will include some we use already, such as wind, solar, biofuels, and other sources yet to be invented.
«It will include a variety of new automotive and fuel technologies _ clean-burning coal and nuclear energy _ and a new system of incentives, under a cap-and-trade policy, to put the power of the market on the side of environmental protection,» he said.
McCain’s remarks were planned for the day after Obama won endorsement from former Vice President Al Gore, one of his party’s most respected voices and a Nobel laureate for his work on environmental issues.
The faltering American economy has been Low Interest Credit Cards weakened further by rocketing energy prices, …continue reading

Source: Grist Magazine (Original Article)

Worldwatch Institute is partnering with Grist to bring you this three-part series commemorating the 20-year anniversary of NASA scientist James Hansen’s groundbreaking testimony on global climate change next week. It is written by Worldwatch staff writer Ben Block.

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The speakers at a Washington, D.C., climate rally this past Earth Day, April 22, showcased the range of the modern environmental movement. They included an activist who engaged in a hunger strike, an outspoken preacher from the Hip Hop Caucus, and a folk duo that performed, “Unsustainable,” a parody of Frank Sinatra’s “Unforgettable.”

Yet it was a comparatively dry, 20-minute scientific presentation that brought the crowd to its feet. The speaker, introduced as a “climate hero,” was James Hansen, a long-time scientist with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Hansen is not a revolutionary by character. He is a mild-natured man who speaks with a soft, Midwestern tone. Raised in southwest Iowa, the fifth child of tenant farmers, Hansen would later commit his life to studying computerized climate models. With human-induced climate change now widely regarded as the greatest challenge of this generation, Hansen is considered a visionary pioneer.

Theories of climate change first surfaced more than a century ago. But it was Hansen who forever altered the debate on climate change 20 years ago this month.

On June 23, 1988, in the sweltering heat, Hansen told a U.S. Senate committee he was 99 percent certain that the year’s record temperatures were not the result of natural variation. It was the first time a lead scientist drew a connection between human activities, the growing concentration of atmospheric pollutants, and a warming climate.

“It’s time to stop waffling so much and say that the evidence is pretty strong that the greenhouse effect is here,” Hansen told Lawyers in VIC beginning with N Page 2 reporters.

Scientists first expressed concern about possible …continue reading