We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304793504576434122693094168.html

Associated Press

Light bulbs manufactured in Mullins, S.C.

The light-bulb wars are back on.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu came out swinging Friday against a House bill that would repeal a 2007 federal law effectively outlawing older forms of incandescent bulbs—an effort at energy conservation that has inflamed a wide swath of Americans who don't care for the more expensive alternatives.

In a conference call with reporters, Mr. Chu said the more-efficient bulbs required would save consumers money over the life of the product, even if the up-front price is higher.

"We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money," he said.

Sent from my iPad

Australia to hit nation's 500 worst polluters with tax; companies to pay $25 per ton of carbon

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-to-hit-nations-500-worst-polluters-with-tax-companies-to-pay-25-per-ton-of-carbon/2011/07/09/gIQAV01H6H_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines

SYDNEY — Australia will force its 500 worst polluters to pay 23 Australian dollars ($25) for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit, with the government promising to compensate households hit with higher power bills under a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unveiled Sunday.

“We generate more carbon pollution per head than any other country in the developed world,” Gillard told reporters in Canberra as she released details of the tax, which will go into effect on July 1, 2012. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to hold our place in the race that the world is running.”

“The fact that we have any price at all is testament to all Australians who demanded the government take action on climate change,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO Linda Selvey said in a statement. “But equally, the fact it is such a low price, with such limited coverage is testament to the power of the big polluters to dominate Australia’s political leadership.”

Conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott, an outspoken critic of the plan, insisted it will drive up the cost of living for millions of Australians and will do nothing to help the environment.

“It’s socialism masquerading as environmentalism,” Abbott told reporters. “It’s a package which is all economic pain for no environmental gain.”

Luke-Warmer

There is finally a term to describe me: a Luke-Warmer.  One the believes that while human activity is having an effect on the climate, the change is modest and easily adaptable.

Re: On The Hijacking of the American Meteorological Society (AMS)

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/06/16/on-the-hijacking-of-the-american-meteorological-society-ams/

On Jun 16, 2011, at 10:48 PM, David Pastalaniec <dpastalaniec@gmail.com> wrote:

Guest post by Bill Gray Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University

(AMS Fellow, Charney Award recipient, and over 50-year member)

June 2011

I am very disappointed at the downward path the AMS has been following for the last 10-15 years in its advocacy of the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) hypothesis. The society has officially taken a position many of us AMS members do not agree with. We believe that humans are having little or no significant influence on the global climate and that the many Global Circulation Climate Model (GCMs) results and the four IPCC reports do not realistically give accurate future projections. To take this position which so many of its members do not necessarily agree with shows that the AMS is following more of a political than a scientific agenda.

Fwd: On The Hijacking of the American Meteorological Society (AMS)

Guest post by Bill Gray Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University

(AMS Fellow, Charney Award recipient, and over 50-year member)

June 2011

I am very disappointed at the downward path the AMS has been following for the last 10-15 years in its advocacy of the Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) hypothesis. The society has officially taken a position many of us AMS members do not agree with. We believe that humans are having little or no significant influence on the global climate and that the many Global Circulation Climate Model (GCMs) results and the four IPCC reports do not realistically give accurate future projections. To take this position which so many of its members do not necessarily agree with shows that the AMS is following more of a political than a scientific agenda.

Australia poised to allow camel cull so that carbon credits can be claimed

Australia poised to allow camel cull

By Pilita Clark in London

Published: June 7 2011 18:55 | Last updated: June 7 2011 20:55

Killing a camel to earn a carbon credit may seem a curious way to tackle climate change, but one country is poised to allow investors to do precisely that.

The camel culling plan is one of the first to arise under the Australian government’s new “carbon farming initiative”, a scheme that lets farmers or investors claim carbon credits if they can show they have cut greenhouse gas emissions.

 

With big growth in use, reusable bags may not have the environmental benefit once thought

 

http://articles.philly.com/2011-04-22/news/29463321_1_reusable-bags-plastic-grocery-bags-reusable-water-bottle

 

It's not clear the reusables have done that in any significant way. Indirect measures suggest that plastic bag production has remained relatively steady.

 

Not every reusable bag is environmentally equal. A nonwoven polypropylene bag, for example, would have to be used just 11 times to make up for the negative effects of a plastic bag used one time, according to a British Environment Agency study that compared bags. A cotton bag, however, would have to be used 131 times.

 

Reusable bags have taken on such cachet that a just-released book celebrates them as an art form. The Tote Bag, by the British designer Jitesh Patel, even has a jacket that doubles as a reusable bag