blegh

It's really difficult to move against the depression of inertia.  For me it's better to go take a snooze, then get up and have a Take#2 morning, a 2nd chance.  Weather like we are having (hazy, humid, overcast, uncomfortable) does not help.  I am glad it's warm. 

Cold weather sends me right to hell.  I could get into global warming.  I don't live on the beach. 

Mom and K-- have not come up with the 3 pieces of paper I need from them.  I can't help the subconscious reaction that this is my failure and that I am responsible to make sure mom gets on title 19.  I was always the goat when I was young, I felt responsible for everything that went wrong.  Children do that, you know, internalize things.  It's a futile and pathetic attempt to exert some kind of logical control over a chaotic world.  Even knowing what I know, when someone I loved was battling alcoholism I felt as if it were my fault he drank.  Old habits die hard, especially when they are formed early.

So I will go hide in bed, and play bubble breaker on my pda until I fall asleep, and when I get up it will be all right.

Bernie sent me this.

 

we are water and spirit
by bernie siegel, md

one can look into a mirror and see one’s image
water reflects one’s image too
but unlike a mirror one must get close to the water
and one’s self to see your reflection
and just as water may exist as a liquid, solid or vapor
we can undergo continual transformation too
depending on our state of consciousness
we can choose to close our hearts
and become hard and cold as ice
or like ice protect and guard the life which exists beneath the surface
as a stream of water flows over and around rocks making beautiful sounds
our blood stream can flow over obstacles too
or choose to vaporize and rise above life’s difficulties
ready to fall back, when needed,
as gentle rain softening the soil of life
one day every blood stream will find its way to the endless sea of life
where you will be reborn as white crystals
which descend slowly and gently onto the frozen ground
when the world experiences a drought of love
forming a blank canvas
upon which the world can now create a work of art

Hair Story

I just colored my hair again.  It's an old box I had forgotten was in my closet.  I had hoped for the best.  I'm still not sure what color it is.  It was supposed to be a light auburn, but it seems the red has lost its strength a bit.  It's a dark reddish brown.  I don't like it. 

My sister instructed me in no uncertain terms that my hair should be a color found in nature.  My sister, Miss Conservative.  She's finally conceded she is a "summer" like me and has to wear (oh no!) blue!

 Sigh.  Tacky hair days need to come to a close.  I had hoped for something lighter though.  Maybe I'll have to take me to the hairdresser in a few weeks and have them lift the color a bit and color it lighter.  I don't look that great in summer with dark hair. 

I'm a blonde at heart.

 

You've seen this before, me in 2004.  It attracted too much attention from too many weirdos.  I finally cut it and went to this >>>>

I knew I could go red to blonde but I couldn't go blonde to red, when my hair started to grow in.  So I figured I'd start with red and it's been fun but I want my blonde back.  One thing is certain:  I am not cutting it.

I sold the Josh Groban tickets, yay.  I really didn't want to drive all that way alone.  I love his schmaltz.  But I can listen here at home.  Maybe if he ever comes to Hartford.  The Casinos are too far away to be a comfy ride.  I like convenience!!!

Oh this is fun.  The story of no hair to hair.

 

July 2005, I still had eyelashes and eyebrows.

              

 

November 2005 - pre-surgery, full of fluid, no eyelashes or brows.

Feb 2006  - Just back to work

I rather liked the "Ceasar" look

 

March 2006...sticking straight up.  Colored a weird dun.  I just wanted to color the gray.  Actually the gray was kind of nice.

              

Later Mar 2006   - got rid of the brown and went red.  A nice color. 

     

June 2006

Boat ride to Long Island, September 2006.  Like an idiot I went and had a haircut shortly afterwards.  I was 10 lbs heavier here than I am now.  In fact I've lost 30 lbs since surgery.  I guess when I look at it that way it's not so bad.

   

May 2007 - brilliant red.  Found only in rust and sunsets.

Okay now maybe I can find something to write about that's not all me me me....

Saturday Stuff

Well let's see. Today was a kind of boring day but very enjoyable. I did G's laundry for him before he got home from work because he has been working 7 days a week, 12 hour days. He's been so tired. I have wanted to strangle him because he is so miserable, but I have refrained.

It was a perfect day weatherwise. 70s, light breeze, beautifully sunny. Took the kitties outside again. My leyland cypress has some kind of spittlebug on it, sigh. I suppose I could look it up but I'm afraid they're going to say I have to spray some kind of toxic waste on the damn things. And they're huge.

I lambasted the woman up the street, or more correctly, her ride. The driver leans on the horn on and off for 15 minutes sometimes. I charged up there and read her the riot act at the top of my lungs.. They didn't pay too much attention til I said "por favor, seria mejor si tu get out of your car and KNOCK ON THE DOOR." and I also asked "what kind of family were you brought up in?" which according to G is hitting pretty hard on a Latina -- sensitive subject. I told her honking like that was low class and we don't do that in this neighborhood. Of course she didn't react well to my double-barrelled assault, but next time she may creep in and out of the 'hood. I can hope.

The yippy dog is next.

Apparently I am great entertainment, lol.

After food shopping I napped. G woke me up as Ii was trying to talk in my sleep. It makes sleep very uncomfortable.

The steri-strips have come off one side, hallelujah. The other side is really stuck on with dried blood. Maybe that will resolve itself by tomorrow. I had G check on my back to see if anything looked inflamed or infected. He says no.

I swear the staples are hurting because they have less give than sutures. Staples, imagine! How un-artistic.

I think everyone is out enjoying the weather....looks like it has been nice all over. I can't wait until I am all healed up and can go climbing around in the forest again with my camera.

Renewable Fuel from....Corpses?

Lets Make Oil from Corpses!!

These guys are too funny.

Random

Summer is here. It's hot. I love it.

I just had surgery to correct my plastic surgery of last year. I peeked. It's all good. My stomach not so much, between the cephalexin and the percocets and the laxatives (I know, tmi). But that is temporary and I can wear tee shirts wihout that awful flap of skin riding around under my arm.

I can tell from the level of intensity in my thinking and emotions that I had better not act too much on any of it. I've gone off in my head about the dead firefighters in the charleston furniture warehouse blaze

this guy's photo got me actually bawling.



What a waste.


Then I got to craying my eyes out about arguably the very best YouTube video I've seen,
http://www.youtube.redirect.hm/

Took a nap and had nightmares about Alecia again. As usual I woke up not knowing what time of day it was. I sleep so deeply during the day. I might as well go completely nocturnal, were it not that I love the sun so much.

Oh damn, just read about a man who choked a rabid bobcat to death when it attacked him. Damn damn. I am now officially on a news blackout. Maybe.

Edgar Cayce Reading

Is there really the desire to know love, or to know the experience of someone having an emotion over self? Is it a desire to be itself expended in doing that which may be helpful or constructive? This can be done, but it will require the losing of self, as has been indicated, in service for others.
. . . But arise to that consciousness that if ye would have life, if ye would have friends, if ye would have love, these things ye must expend. For only that ye give away do ye possess.

Edgar Cayce Reading 1786-2

So What About China?

I apologize in advance: I had a lot of difficulty importing the formatting of this piece into Blogger. And I'm too darn tired to fix it. It looks much better at its real home, http://www.xanga.com/furia_fubar

Happy reading!

So what about China?

If we are to believe some folk, China has nastily refused to play ball with the international community so that it can continue willy-nilly, without regard for the rest of the world, on its dirty polluting ways.After all, these are the people who brought you poisoned pet food, and now toothpaste with antifreeze in it.

Now does that sound rational?

The Chinese know a problem when they see it. They’re on this planet with the rest of us.

Remember, this is a nation that penalizes parents for having more than one child. They are home to a 5^th of the world’s population – 1.31 billion people.¹ From their point of view, they’re the biggest thing going.

And they very politely (or not so politely) blame the western industrialized countries for their predicament.

According to John Doerr, "the Chinese say: "why should we sacrifice our growth, so that the West can continue to be profligate and stupid?"

“China and India, whose emissions are rising rapidly as their economies surge forward, are concerned not to hamper their growth. They also point out that their per capita emissions are much lower than those of rich countries, and they bear less responsibility for the stock of carbon dioxide that has already entered the atmosphere from the fossil fuels burned by rich countries in the course of their industrialization.”²

Oh yeah. They’re saying it.

And to drive it home:

“Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for a century after it is emitted, so much of the carbon that is causing climate change now camefrom the developed world."3

Sooooo…

They have said “Thanks, but no thanks” to limiting their GHG emissions “until [China] reached a “medium level of development.” It implied that this meant an annual income of about US $5,000 per person" (38,275.00 yuan) ^{4, 5}

"The first and overriding priorities of developing countries are sustainable development and poverty eradication…China will continue to actively tackle climate change issues in accordance with its national sustainable development strategy in the future."⁶

After all, more than 23 million of their citizens are living below the poverty level of 638 yuan (that works out to about $83.00 a year.) ⁷

Poverty in China is rampant, and in stark contrast to...

BOOMTOWN

China is going gangbusters, economically speaking. In fact, they are enjoying “red hot” economic growth at a rate of about 9%. ⁸

China’s people have higher expectations than can be delivered right now, or even in the near future. They want the Chinese version of the American Dream. Can you blame them?

They have a long way to go. They’re lucky in rural areas if the lights stay on.

Now, there is a relationship between the economic development of a country and increased CO2 emissions. ⁹ If the lights are going to stay on, and people are going to make more money, and drive cars, and be successful in business, there is going to be a surge in CO2.

Because of its ravening energy needs, “in just 11 years, from 1993-2004 China has gone from generating a surplus of energy to becoming an importer of oil.¹⁰

“ Cities nationwide have spun off suburbs as municipal governments sell undeveloped rural land, evict tenant farmers [they can do that, totalitarian government, hello?] and foster construction of suburban housing developments, golf courses and shopping malls”¹¹ Car ownership has increased by 30 per cent since 2002.¹²

It’s all they can do to keep up with their own development.

According to the Oxford Club’s “Investment U” website story published in January of 2007:

“In the past two years alone, stock funds in China have more than tripled the returns of the S&P 500. Its gross domestic product is growing at roughly 10% annually, compared to 3% or so in the United States. And consumer spending is growing at 13%. And the growth has enticed global businesses to quickly jump on board…

Foreign direct investment totaled $51 billion last year, nearly double what it was in 1999. And it's projected to top $345 billion in the coming year.

The nation has lifted 400 million people out of poverty, a transition some call "the fastest change in human history." China's middle class, now estimated at 150 million to 200 million people, is expected to double in size in the next five years.

Today, Shanghai has 4,000 skyscrapers, twice the number in Manhattan, and plans to build an additional 2,000 in the next five years. And this is just one city in China. A very sustainable 9% to 10% annual GDP growth will make investing in China a lucrative target for years to come.”

FUEL

Because of the abundance of coal in China, the Chinese use coal to generate 67 to 69% of its energy (depending on which source you cite) compared to the world average of 27.8%

This has actually been a drop in usage, according to some sources.¹³

Robert Collier, in an excellent article in the San Francisco Chronicle (The Good Life Means More Greenhouse Gas, July 6, 20005) says,

“With an estimated 500 years of reserves [of coal] at current production levels, [China] has little economic incentive to use alternative fuels”

Collier continues, “Chinese leaders acknowledge global warming as a serious problem, and they have begun a concerted campaign to cut the country's greenhouse gas output, which is largely driven by energy consumption."

"The government is spending billions of dollars -- nobody knows exactly how much -- to increase energy conservation, shut fume-belching factories and reduce power plant emissions. At the same time, however, the resulting efficiency improvements have been outpaced by unrelenting growth in automobile use, power generation and industrial activity.”

BUT... he continues, “local governments are building scores of illegal coal-fired power plants to try to stave off the blackouts that have plagued cities in recent summers.”

Even so, according to Andrew Leung in his short paper,

"Each Chinese uses only about one tenth of primary energy as an American, a fifth as much as a Japanese though twice as much as an Indian. But in terms of energy per unit of GDP produced, China is extremely inefficient: 7 times more than Japan, 6 times more than the US and 3 times more than India.

WHAT DO THE CHINESE STAND TO LOSE

IN A WARMER WORLD?

They know it’s coming. They want it averted. They don’t want to do so at the cost of their newfound economic boom. They are wll aware of the adverse effects that global warming is bound to bring. Among those:

• Extinction of species, for example, the giant panda
  
  
• the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey,
• 
  
• The Tibet antelope
  
  

• and Taiwania flousiana Gaussen (“coffin tree”) are likely to be greatly affected.
  
• Decreasing river runoff problems
  

• The temperate grasslands in Northern China are the in danger of becoming desert sand, because of drought and environmental deterioration. China’s ecosystem is quite vulnerable to changes in climate & pollution

• Flooding along Coastal plains:“Sea level rise along the Chinese coast in the past 50 years, which resulted incoastal erosion and seawater intrusion, as well as mangrove and coral reef degradation.”¹⁴ They expect worse

• Northwest China is a dry, delicate environmentwould be seriously harmed by global warming or any sort of climate change. In northeast China, a warmer climate might help agriculture unforeseen strong storms or flooding might bring disaster. ¹⁵

• “In central and eastern China, winters are cold and summers are hot. The building industry in these regions is using more and more energy. Coastal areas in the south and east are densely populated, and a rise in sea levels could greatly damage the economically dynamic and prosperous Zhujiang and Yangtze deltas."¹⁶

• Records have shown that “Drought in northern and northeastern China, and flood in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southeastern China have become more severe. The annual precipitation in most years since 1990 has been larger than normal, with the precipitation pattern being a dipole, corresponding to frequent disasters in the North and flood in the South” ¹⁷
• Earlier arrival of spring

• Increases in incidence of, and increased magnitude of diseases, and greater opportunity for disease vectors

THE CHALLENGES

China expects to reach their goal of about 20% reduction of energy consumption per unit GDP by 2010.It won’t be easy.

Some of the challenges China faces in decreasing its per capita emissions:

• They have a limited mix of resources available, and they have limited means to use them.

• Out-of-date processes and technologies.The sheer size of this problem boggles the mind. Doing away with the old, in which they are already invested, and spending the money necessary to obtain the new is a huge hurdle. Then they need to learn how to use the technologies. The modern infrastructure for production, transformation, transportation and delivery of energy necessary does not exist to the degree that it does in more developed nations.

• It is going to take a looooong time for them to move from a coal-based energy economy to any other form of energy. They have a lot of coal, and little incentive not to use it.

• Public Awareness of Global Warming is very low.

• China’s varied regions boast harsh climatic conditions that include a monsoon or rainy season, extra hot summers and cold winters. That means heating and air conditioning need to be in use.

• Poverty

• Regionalization: If an official shuts down a power plant, he can be fired by the town's mayor. If the power plants are closed and fined, they pay the fine and simply reopen.¹⁸

WHAT ARE THE CHINESE DOING ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?

According to the San Francisco Chronicle article, (bullets mine for easier reading)

“ Leaders pushed [a] new renewable-energy law into fruition in February, an achievement that many foreign analysts call unprecedented for a developing nation. The law requires power-grid operators to buy electricity from producers of wind, solar, geothermal and small- and medium-scale hydro energy, and will offer financial incentives such as a national fund to foster renewable energy development.” Industrialists are fighting hard to disarm the law's regulations.If they succeed, the measure simply won’t work.

• They plan to increase renewable energy's share of national consumption from 3% to 10% percent by 2020. Getting into renewable energy technologies is much more expensive than for carbon-based fuels. This switch is likely to cost as much as $80 billion [ed. hmmm.What was that trade imbalance?]

• According to Andrew Leung, “China is likely to commit USD 200 billion for renewable energy within the next 15 years. The development of renewable energies is expected to grow from 7% to 10% annually by 2010 and 20% annually by 2020.”
  
  
  

• “Increase solar panels to 300 million square metres providing 2 GW of power by 2020, displacing 40 million tonnes of coal annually.”

• “Wind power, much of it in Inner Mongolia, is expected to grow from 1 GW to 30 GW, to power some 1330 million households by 2020.

photo by Orin Wagner, Associated Press (click on photo for original link)

• Building huge hydroelectric power generators by creating canals and the Three Gorges Dam project which will nearly triple its hydroelectric power generation by 2020.¹⁹

Xinhua file photo - click on photo for related article

• Geothermal Power:As of May, 2006, China ranked first in the world for its use of geothermal power.²⁰

• Making use of biogas: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas) “Biogas can be used as a vehicle fuel or for generating electricity. It can also be burned directly for cooking, heating, lighting, process heat and absorption refrigeration.” This includes using landfill gas recovery and utilization technologies

• China is planning on going nuclear, big-time. They are embarking upon “the world's largest nuclear energy construction program since the 1970s. As many as 40 new nuclear plants are scheduled over the next 15 years"A nuclear power plant can cost between $1 and $5 million USD to construct. Don’t quote me on those figures. China is a totalitarian government and will likely come in at or under budget or someone may lose their head. In the US, delays and usurious interest rates killed the business in the late 70s. Five reactors are currently under construction

(source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China )

“Preparations have begun for construction of the first phase of the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant, located at the Donggang Town of Wafangdian City in Liaoning Province, Zhang Guobao, vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a news conference in Beijing.

The first phase of the project will consist of two generating units each with an installed capacity of one million kilowatts. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2011 at an estimated cost of 23 billion yuan (2.875 billion U.S. dollars).” 21

• •Crackdowns and Enforcement: In December, the State Environmental Protection Agency shut down 32 new coal power plants that had been built [illegally] by local governments. This ties into the challenge of Regionalization described above.These coal power plants violated federal air emissions standards. The move made headlines. (One fifth of the power plants in China are illegal, according to the Wall Street Journal (Source: :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China

The following measures that are to be taken are mentioned in China’s National Climate Change Programme, Prepared under the Auspices of National Development and Reform Commission People’s Republic of China (Printed in June 2007,pp 35-43) :

• • Widespread energy-saving standards have been enacted for household appliances.
• • Auto emissions standards will be stiffened by 2007 to a level tougher than current U.S. rules (but not as tough as European rules)

• Construction of high-speed (ELECTRIFIED) passenger railway lines --the nation's first -- to connect major cities.
  

• • The establishment of the National Coordination Committee on Climate Change (NCCCC)
• • Plans for raising public awareness at all educational levels are being put into motion, as well as setting up a bilingual (Chinese and English ) website on climate change (China Climate Change Info-Net http://www.ccchina.gov.cn )
• Plans to use coal bed methane (CBM) and coal mine methane (CMM). The target is to raise the proportion of renewable energy (including large-scale hydropower) in primary energy supply up to 10% by 2010.
• “Increase forestation andincrease the improved grassland….restore the grassland suffering from degradation, desertification, and salinity…”

photo from World Honda Community

• • “Put in place anti-flood systems in large rivers and the high standard for drought relief in farmland by 2010.”[ed. This is a practical step.If climate change is inevitable, dykes, levees and irrigation systems need to be in place for areas that will be affected.]
• • Phase out small, “backward” power plants which are not efficient, and to strengthen the power grid construction through adopting advanced power transmission, transformation and distribution technologies. Again a very expensive changeover.
• Adopt “green building design technology”
• Closer control over industry use of energy - reduce, reuse, recycle -- In steel, cement, and other large industries
• They will work at reducing methane emission from rice paddies; increased use of organic fertilizer to promote soil fertility and reduce emission of nitrous oxide from the croplands.
• Strictly protect natural forests in logging ban areas to convert natural forest ecosystems from degradation to progressive succession. Conduct wetland conservation
• Change people’s traditional way of considering water resource as inexhaustible.

China is also imposing tax shifts which should “discourage the export of energy-intensive products as a means of conserving domestic energy resources. These exports were triggered by recent large investments in energy-intensive industries in China (particularly copper, aluminum and steel) stimulated by elevated international prices” (Wang, Yu. Tariffs to reduce energy consumption China Daily, October 31, 2006)

So to recap, it is not that China is not doing anything to solve or restrain their impact on global warming. They are doing what they can. They use less energy per capita than a lot of the world, especially the developed nations like the USA.

They are frantically trying to supplement their use of coal with many other methods, and they are showing some success. But they are still a poor country, reeling from the effect of living under a totalitarian government that for decades shunned capitalism. Don't get me started on their human rights record, btw, the elephant in the living room.....

They are going to do what they do, regardless of world opinion. They have a strong point in saying that the developed world did the original polluting, and now is trying to shut them out of sharing the great progress and affluence that they desire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1:China’s National Climate Change Programme Prepared under the Auspices of National Development and Reform Commission People’s Republic of China Printed in June 2007,p. 15.

<http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/ChinaNationalClimateChangeProgramme%20June%2007.pdf>

2 UN to hold climate summit in September By Hugh Williamson in Heiligendamm and Fiona Harvey in Kühlungsborn Published: June 8 2007 12:42 Last updated: June 8 2007 13:07)

<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1c81f550-15b5-11dc-a7ce-000b5df10621.html>

3 Ibid.

4China And Climate Change: The Role Of The Energy Sectorby Pan Jiahua June 2005 <http://www.scidev.net/dossiers/index.cfm?fuseaction=policybrief&dossier=4&policy=64 >

5 Universal Currency Converter

<http://www.xe.com/ucc/>

6 CNN Online news on Jun 4 as reported by Reuters News POSTED: 4:32 a.m. EDT, June 4, 2007:

<http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/06/04/china.climate.reut/index.html>

7 China’s National Climate Change Programme,p. 17.

8 San Francisco Chronicle Online The Good Life Means More Greenhouse Gas by Robert Collier, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

< http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/06/MNG6UDJJL01.DTL>

9 China’s National Climate Change Programme,p. 19.

10 Pan Jiahua, China And Climate Change: The Role Of The Energy Sector

11 Collier, San Francisco Chronicle Online:The Good Life Means More Greenhouse Gas

12 China Is Second Biggest Greenhouse Gas Emitter by Jia Hepeng, 24 November 2004 Source: SciDev.Net <http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&amp;itemid=1761&language=1>

13 Sectoral and Geographic Analysis of the Decline in China's National Energy Consumption in the Late 1990s
Lewis, Joanna, David Fridley, Jonathan Sinton and Jieming Lin. Proceedings of the ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry, 2003

14 China’s National Climate Change Programme , p. 19.

15 Pan Jiahua, China And Climate Change: The Role Of The Energy Sector

16 Ibid.

17China’s National Climate Change Programme, p. 19.

18 Jia Hepeng, China Is Second Biggest Greenhouse Gas Emitter

19 Energy Security and Countering Climate Chaos China’s Approach and Global Impact (A short note written for the Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance (ATCA) dated 8 August, 2006) Andrew K. P. Leung, SBS, FRSA, founder of Andrew Leung International Consultants Ltd., and former Director-General of the HK Economic & Trade Office in London.

< http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/china-policy-institute/china/documents/LEUNG_Energy_Security.pdf>

20 China's Utilization of Geothermal Energy Ranks First Worldwide (SinoCast Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BEIJING, May 03, 2006 (SinoCast via COMTEX) -- http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/05/03/1636164.htm

21 China To Build First Nuclear Power Plant In Northeast RegionPeoples daily Online 20:38, June 08, 2006 China <http://english.people.com.cn/200606/08/eng20060608_272198.html >

Other Sources Used

Beijing's Desert Storm By Ron Gluckman /Beijing, Fengning and Langtougou, China, <http://www.gluckman.com/ChinaDesert.html>

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technology Development in China

<http://www.nrel.gov/international/china/project_gansu.html>

(Wang, Yu. Tariffs to reduce energy consumption China Daily, October 31, 2006)

<http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-10/31/content_720485.htm>

Where the Candidates Stand on Global Warming

Okay, I'll do one more piece for now on the political angle...then I'll get back to science. 

According to Kate Shepard on Gristmill, Global warming is responsible for, among other things, "rampant kitty sex."

That's right.

"Climate change is expanding the kitty mating season and creating -- you guessed it -- more baby kitties.According to the group Pets Across America, there was a 30 percent increase [PDF] in the number of cats  and kittens coming into some of their shelters from 2005 to 2006, while the organization saw a 7 percent increase overall. Other shelters across the country have noted a similar increase. " 

The G8 Summit- Blog Reactions

Climate 411

Real Climate

Greenpeace  "In the end, the divisions got papered over with rhetoric."

In other news, something we should all take to heart:

Prometheus:

"the smart stuff is being drowned out by a fierce, bullying, often witless tone of intolerance that has overtaken the left-wing sector of the blogosphere. Anyone who doesn't move in lockstep with the most extreme voices is savaged and ridiculed—especially people like me who often agree with the liberal position but sometimes disagree and are therefore considered traitorously unreliable. Some of this is understandable: the left-liberals in the blogosphere are merely aping the odious, disdainful—and politically successful—tone that right-wing radio talk-show hosts like Rush Limbaugh pioneered" 

I love Stephen Colbert.

Here's a fun link:

The candidates' Positions on Global Warming,

hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations

 

But first, let's get this out of the way.  Cosponsors for the Sanders-Boxer Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (S. 309):  Cosponsors

Sen. Bernard Sanders [I-VT]

Sen. Daniel Akaka [D-HI]

Sen. Joseph Biden [D-DE]

Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]

Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY]

Sen. Christopher Dodd [D-CT]

Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]

Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]

Sen. Daniel Inouye [D-HI]

Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-MA]

Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]

Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Sen. Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD]

Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]

Sen. John Reed [D-RI]

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

 

And the lineup of snake-oil salesmen, charlatans and possibly an honest person or two....

Democratic Contenders

• Joe Biden - wants to reduce GHG to 1990 levels by 2020.  Cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act.
  
• Hillary Clinton -cut carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2000 to 2050 with a system of tradable allowances.   Co-sponsoring the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act. 
  
• Chris Dodd - wants to reduce GHG to 1990 levels by 2020.  cosponsored the Clean Power Act of 2005, which would implement a cap-and-trade system.  Cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act. New coal plants must capture and store carbon emissions. 
  
• John Edwards - Cap to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050. The League of Conservation Voters has called Edwards' plan...."the most comprehensive global warming plan of any presidential candidate to date." (source:  http://www.cfr.org/publication/13392/)
  
• Mike Gravel: Has called for a carbon tax.  He is in favor of "A national public works program to rewire the country towards new energy technologies would create tens of thousands of new American jobs"
  
• Dennis J. Kucinich: A leading voice in calling for a halt to global warming. "In 2004, Kucinich was the ONLY member of Congress to attend the Conference of Parties (COP 10) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Argentina."¹  Kucinich cosponsored the Clean Smokestacks Act in 2005, which would reduce pollutant emissions, including carbon dioxide, from power plants. The act hasn't passed yet. 
  
• Barack Obama: Trying to get it done in an economically feasible way, calling for a "Climate Change Credit Corporation" to encourage the Greening of industry. Co-sponsoring the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act along with the above list..  Also co-sponsoring  SB. 280: "A bill to provide for a program to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," sponsored by CT Senator Joe Lieberman.  You can see the text of that bill HERE
  
• Bill Richardson: Has entered into a 5 state agreement called  the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative²   that follows the Kyoto Treaty. Former secretary of Energy. 

 

Republican Contenders

• Sam Brownback - Not in favor of cap and trade because he feels it would harm the economy. Tried to get carbon sequestration programs started, and proposed an act which would reward farmers for conserving production of soil carbon. Unsuccessful on both counts. He's been dormant on the issue since 2001, apparently.
  
• John H. Cox.  Does not believe in anthropogenic causes of Global Warming. Says on his campaign website:  "We are too dependent on expensive fossil fuels. I support alternative fuels and domestic drilling. Free market incentives and sensible regulation can address the problem of pollution. I oppose the Kyoto Treaty, which would devastate the U.S. economy"  He does not use the phrase"Global Warming" anywhere on his site.
  
• Rudy Giuliani: says "The overwhelming number of scientists now believe that there is significant human cause,''  adding,  "we should be dealing with pollution anyway.'' Source HERE.  Rudy Supports liquid coal
  
• Mike Huckabee:  First of all, this dude wants to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.  This is NOT a step away from oil consumption.  So he contradicts himself (that means he's a LIAR) when he says "We ought to be moving rapidly towards energy sources that don’t have a greenhouse gas effect. Aggressively set the goal that within a ten year period, we should move a way from a fossil fuel culture to one that has alternative energy resources."  Very bad sign:  "When you talk about boosting domestic production of oil, are you talking about opening up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge)?  I think we should, yes. I’ve been to ANWR, and seen it first hand. First of all, when you look at the vastness of the region, and the limited space where drilling would occur, it’s hard to understand why it’s become a hot issue with so many people." (Source:  The Denver Post online Friday, March 9, 2007)
  
• John McCain:  Read about McCain's Lonely War on Global Warming  McCain...held hearings in the Commerce Committee on global warming. Real hearings, with real scientists. And then, last fall, he managed to force the first real Senate vote on actually doing something about the largest environmental peril our species has yet faced. The bill he drafted with Senator Joe Lieberman was modest to a fault, and it lost 55-43, but at least, 15 years after the issue first surfaced in the public consciousness, there'd been a vote."
  
• Ron Paul - we don't know.  checking.
  
• Mitt Romney - Introduced Climate Protection Act 2004 (but what has he been doing the past 3 years?).  Refused to enter into the Regional Greehouse Gas Initiative pact with other Northeastern States. The present Governor of Massachusetts has kept his campaign pledge and signed on.  Romney says it didn't provide for price controls. Won't say if he thinks humans caused Global Warming.  Mitt Supports liquid coal
  
• Tommy Thompson - Says it is critical to act but hasn't been specific as to how.  Vague, on his campaign page:  His campaign website says "Thompson wants more meaningful investments in ethanol and other alternative energy sources, providing greater incentives for industry ....America also must aggressively take on global warming – a goal that can be accomplished in a manner that doesn’t provide false choices between environmental stewardship and economic progress."

Now, if you want to see the whole thing set out in front of you in a sort of spreadsheet/column-type layout, you can click HERE.  You can download a .pdf page by clicking HERE

¹http://www.cfr.org/publication/13392

² http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

White House a Day Late and...

Bush Climate Goals Greeted With Skepticism

By Eli Kintisch
ScienceNOW Daily News
1 June 2007

"Climate scientists are criticizing the greenhouse gas emissions goals announced yesterday by President George W. Bush. The Administration wants to establish country-by-country emissions goals by late 2008 but did not call for mandatory cuts."

The press release can be found HERE

He's getting ready for a summit in Heiligendamm next week.  I suppose he needs to look good.  He's taken too much time.  At least one scientist say he has also been playing with statistics.

"Peter Gleick, an environmental scientist and president of the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, says the White House is "cherry-picking" the data to paint a more rosy picture. "It leaves the impression that the U.S.'s choice of climate policy does more to solve the problem than Europe's--but that's wrong," he says. Looking at all six greenhouse gases, and not just carbon dioxide, shows that the growth in European Union emissions between 2000 and 2004 exceeded U.S. growth in emissions by roughly 1%, he says. But any other period since 1990, he says, shows the United States with greater emissions. According a Pacific Institute analysis from 1990 to 2004, "U.S. greenhouse gas emissions grew more than 15% while emissions from the 15 countries of the European Union (the EU-15) declined by around 1%.""

The summary of the analysis by the Pacific Institute says:

Summary

"Throughout the first half of 2007, the White House has falsely claimed that the United States is doing better than Europe in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This claim was officially made by the White House on February 7 and has been repeated in various forms by White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton, and Science Advisor to the President John Marburger, most recently on May 31, 2007.¹ The White House is misusing science and data to make this claim, as the Pacific Institute first pointed out on March 8.2 The White House can only back up this claim by looking at a single greenhouse gas over a narrow timeline. Looking at the full range of gases over a longer period, the conclusion reverses completely: the European Union is curbing greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively and successfully than the United States. Interestingly, the origin of this claim is not the White House at all, but appears to be the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which published a version of this claim in the Washington Times, five days before the White House began using it."

Remember in my posting on Sunday May 20th, that

The CEI "is an ideologically-driven, well-funded front for corporations opposed to safety and environmental regulations that affect the way they do business. (Sourcewatch.org)" and that

"In response to an inquiry from the Guardian, Exxon announced that the company “stopped funding the Competitive Enterprise Institute this year.” (source, Media Transparency)

The Pacific Institute study goes on to say that " carefully selecting the measure to be reported to prove a point – in this case, choosing to look at carbon dioxide emissions rather than all greenhouse gas emissions. The second flaw is the result of reference period hunting, or cherry picking the time period used."²

From the period 1990 (Article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change specifies that all greenhouse gas emissions analyses are to use 1990 as the base year )until today, Europe's emissions are not rising "twice as fast" as those of the US.  Rather, taking just CO2 gas emissions into account, and " over the proper period from 1990 to 2004. U.S. carbon dioxide emissions grew almost 18% over that period, while EU-15 CO2 emissions grew 8.6%³"

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1
White House press briefing with Snow and Connaughton. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070531-17.html

²  The Political and Selective Use of Data: Cherry-Picking Climate Information in the White House - Dr. Peter H. Gleick Pacific Institute Initial Version: March 8, 2007 Updated and Expanded: June 1, 2007  http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/selective_use_climate_update.pdf  FONT color=#ffffff>page 3

³  Energy Information Administration International Energy Annual 2004 Table Posted: July 19, 2006   co2  World Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption and Flaring of Fossil Fuels, 1980-2004 http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1co2.xls