View from the chair:
December 9, 2009
The climate battle rages hot and heavy these days with the world’s attention drawn to the meetings in Copenhagen, and the pages of our own state capital newspaper, The Baton Rouge Advocate advancing one side or the other (and sometimes both). Tensions have been raised by the “Climategate” controversy and news about other leaked documents and dissension between groups attending the conference. I would not be surprised if it turns out that there are hostile infiltrators at the conference who are sowing dissension and false rumors just to make it more difficult to reach a consensus.
This is a time honored disruptive tactic that was used against the peace and civil rights movements for years. There seems to be no end to the lengths to which the forces of resistance will go in order to try and stop the changes that must sooner or later come in the world’s huge consumption of energy from combustion of fossil fuels. Sierra Club Delta Chapter member Rachel Guillory is there in Copenhagen to report on the meetings and to represent the community of people in Louisiana who want action to turn around the rate of increase in human caused global warming. You can see her postings by going to http://sscinternational.org/ and clicking on Rachel’s name on the right side.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Dr. Stephen Schneider to Lecture at LSU
Title: Managing Risks and Opportunities in a Changing Climate.
Location: LSU Campus (Dalton Woods Auditorium; Energy, Coast &
Environment Bldg)
Date: Tuesday, October 20
Time: 7:00pm
Lecture Synopsis
No change to a complex system like the coupled human-natural system we live in could be all good or all bad. In other words there are both risks and opportunities. Unfortunately these are not uniformly distributed around the globe, and the negatives often congregate in inequitable ways, such as particular vulnerability to poor people in hot countries, those in the high Arctic, species already endangered or threatened, people living in drought and fire prone areas, small islands, indigenous groups, and residents of "hurricane alley", among others. Although carbon dioxide increases can improve crop yields, it threatens to increase the acidity of the oceans threatening the bottom of the food chain and to intensify hurricanes and raise sea levels. How to weigh these incommensurate entities raises doubts about the general applicability of technical analytic methods like cost/benefit analysis.
A range of trade offs in non-monetizable metrics is created by climate change and climate policies, and these will be highlighted, stressing factors relevant to the Gulf Coast region. Ultimately policy is determined by how the political system adjudicates the different values different constituencies place on different amenities.
About Stephen Schneider
Stephen H. Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biology, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. He served as an NCAR scientist from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project. He focuses on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He has consulted for federal agencies and White House staff in six administrations. Involved with the IPCC since 1988, he was Coordinating Lead Author, WG II, Chapter 19, "Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change" and a core writer for the Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report. He along with four generations of IPCC authors received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007. Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002, Dr. Schneider received the American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology and a MacArthur Fellowship for integrating and interpreting the results of global climate research. Founder/ editor of Climatic Change, he has authored or co-authored over 500 books, scientific papers, proceedings, legislative testimonies, edited books and chapters, reviews and editorials. Dr. Schneider counsels policy makers, corporate executives, and non-profit stakeholders about using risk management strategies in climate-policy decision-making, given the uncertainties in future projections of global climate change and related impacts. He is actively engaged in improving public understanding of science and the environment through extensive media communication and public outreach.
With Special Thanks to these LSU programs:
-- Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program
-- Southern Regional Climate Center
-- Department of Geography and Anthropology
-- Coastal Sustainability Agenda
-- Office of Research and Economic Development
-- School of the Coast and Environment
Location: LSU Campus (Dalton Woods Auditorium; Energy, Coast &
Environment Bldg)
Date: Tuesday, October 20
Time: 7:00pm
Lecture Synopsis
No change to a complex system like the coupled human-natural system we live in could be all good or all bad. In other words there are both risks and opportunities. Unfortunately these are not uniformly distributed around the globe, and the negatives often congregate in inequitable ways, such as particular vulnerability to poor people in hot countries, those in the high Arctic, species already endangered or threatened, people living in drought and fire prone areas, small islands, indigenous groups, and residents of "hurricane alley", among others. Although carbon dioxide increases can improve crop yields, it threatens to increase the acidity of the oceans threatening the bottom of the food chain and to intensify hurricanes and raise sea levels. How to weigh these incommensurate entities raises doubts about the general applicability of technical analytic methods like cost/benefit analysis.
A range of trade offs in non-monetizable metrics is created by climate change and climate policies, and these will be highlighted, stressing factors relevant to the Gulf Coast region. Ultimately policy is determined by how the political system adjudicates the different values different constituencies place on different amenities.
About Stephen Schneider
Stephen H. Schneider is the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biology, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. He served as an NCAR scientist from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project. He focuses on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He has consulted for federal agencies and White House staff in six administrations. Involved with the IPCC since 1988, he was Coordinating Lead Author, WG II, Chapter 19, "Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change" and a core writer for the Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report. He along with four generations of IPCC authors received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007. Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2002, Dr. Schneider received the American Association for the Advancement of Science/ Westinghouse Award for Public Understanding of Science and Technology and a MacArthur Fellowship for integrating and interpreting the results of global climate research. Founder/ editor of Climatic Change, he has authored or co-authored over 500 books, scientific papers, proceedings, legislative testimonies, edited books and chapters, reviews and editorials. Dr. Schneider counsels policy makers, corporate executives, and non-profit stakeholders about using risk management strategies in climate-policy decision-making, given the uncertainties in future projections of global climate change and related impacts. He is actively engaged in improving public understanding of science and the environment through extensive media communication and public outreach.
With Special Thanks to these LSU programs:
-- Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program
-- Southern Regional Climate Center
-- Department of Geography and Anthropology
-- Coastal Sustainability Agenda
-- Office of Research and Economic Development
-- School of the Coast and Environment
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Legislative Investment in Green Jobs Provides a Hopeful Future For The Damaged Economy
By Jennifer Grosso
Louisiana State Representatives proposed three bills to extend the state’s investment in green jobs. As of late July, Governor Jindal has signed all three bills into law. Green jobs not only provide people of all socioeconomic backgrounds with fair jobs that offer adequate wages and benefits, they also provide the economy with the work force needed to support the goals associated with combating global climate change and adapting to an ever-increasing population.
Louisiana House Bill 733 offers companies tax incentives for investing in green jobs. Senate Bill 224, now Act 348, allows local municipalities to issue bonds for local companies to create renewable energy businesses. Representative Erich Ponti of Baton Rouge proposed House Bill 858. The bill expands the terms of an already existing bill concerning wind and solar energy systems; it allows 3rd party residential taxpayers to be eligible for a 50% tax credit, capped at $12,500, on wind turbine or solar panel installation. Supporters hope that the bill will encourage the renewable energy industry to grow and, in turn, create more green jobs.
Federally, the Green Jobs and Infrastructure Act of 2009 is making its way through the legislative system. The bill was introduced in January 2009 and has since been referred to the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill was designed to promote economic recovery by providing $50 billion of loans to manufacturing facilities that produce clean technology products and the parts that they are comprised of. These products include “wind turbines, solar energy products, fuel cells, advanced batteries and storage devices, biomass engines, geothermal equipment, ocean energy equipment, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency products…products for retrofitting manufacturing facilities” (S. 224). Interested parties must apply to the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary will then determine if loan recipients have a viable market for their product, proof that the investment can be made efficiently, and evidence that the investment will preserve or create jobs. If all of the requirements have been met, the loan will be granted and must be repaid no longer than 25 years after the initial loan was made. Priority will be given to facilities located in regions of the country with the highest unemployment rates.
A publication from the Political Economy Research Institute and Center for American Progress entitled The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy explains how investing in renewable energy creates jobs both directly and indirectly. Most immediately, the expansion of the renewable energy industry will require specially trained technicians to install the new technology. Perhaps not as obvious are the jobs that will be needed to support the industries that renewable energy technologies rely on, including but not limited to construction, lumber, steel and transportation. The studies claim that for every $1 million invested in renewable energy, 16.7 jobs are created as opposed to the 5.3 jobs that are created by an equal investment in non-renewable energy. Accordingly, the Blue-Green Alliance reports that if we were to require 20% of our country’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, 820,000 jobs would be created in the process.
The benefits produced by green jobs extend beyond employment numbers alone. Once employed with green-collar jobs, employees will have the satisfaction of knowing their job is secured in a growing industry with a high demand for employees. Furthermore, environmentally minded people in all regions of the country can have the opportunity to turn their commitment to their jobs into a commitment to the environment, and vice versa.
Louisiana State Representatives proposed three bills to extend the state’s investment in green jobs. As of late July, Governor Jindal has signed all three bills into law. Green jobs not only provide people of all socioeconomic backgrounds with fair jobs that offer adequate wages and benefits, they also provide the economy with the work force needed to support the goals associated with combating global climate change and adapting to an ever-increasing population.
Louisiana House Bill 733 offers companies tax incentives for investing in green jobs. Senate Bill 224, now Act 348, allows local municipalities to issue bonds for local companies to create renewable energy businesses. Representative Erich Ponti of Baton Rouge proposed House Bill 858. The bill expands the terms of an already existing bill concerning wind and solar energy systems; it allows 3rd party residential taxpayers to be eligible for a 50% tax credit, capped at $12,500, on wind turbine or solar panel installation. Supporters hope that the bill will encourage the renewable energy industry to grow and, in turn, create more green jobs.
Federally, the Green Jobs and Infrastructure Act of 2009 is making its way through the legislative system. The bill was introduced in January 2009 and has since been referred to the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The bill was designed to promote economic recovery by providing $50 billion of loans to manufacturing facilities that produce clean technology products and the parts that they are comprised of. These products include “wind turbines, solar energy products, fuel cells, advanced batteries and storage devices, biomass engines, geothermal equipment, ocean energy equipment, carbon capture and storage, energy efficiency products…products for retrofitting manufacturing facilities” (S. 224). Interested parties must apply to the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary will then determine if loan recipients have a viable market for their product, proof that the investment can be made efficiently, and evidence that the investment will preserve or create jobs. If all of the requirements have been met, the loan will be granted and must be repaid no longer than 25 years after the initial loan was made. Priority will be given to facilities located in regions of the country with the highest unemployment rates.
A publication from the Political Economy Research Institute and Center for American Progress entitled The Economic Benefits of Investing in Clean Energy explains how investing in renewable energy creates jobs both directly and indirectly. Most immediately, the expansion of the renewable energy industry will require specially trained technicians to install the new technology. Perhaps not as obvious are the jobs that will be needed to support the industries that renewable energy technologies rely on, including but not limited to construction, lumber, steel and transportation. The studies claim that for every $1 million invested in renewable energy, 16.7 jobs are created as opposed to the 5.3 jobs that are created by an equal investment in non-renewable energy. Accordingly, the Blue-Green Alliance reports that if we were to require 20% of our country’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, 820,000 jobs would be created in the process.
The benefits produced by green jobs extend beyond employment numbers alone. Once employed with green-collar jobs, employees will have the satisfaction of knowing their job is secured in a growing industry with a high demand for employees. Furthermore, environmentally minded people in all regions of the country can have the opportunity to turn their commitment to their jobs into a commitment to the environment, and vice versa.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
BRING RECYCLING BACK TO NEW ORLEANS!!!!
The Sierra Club (and partners!!) is making a commitment to bringing back curbside recycling to New Orleans!! The upcoming election (February 6, 2010) is the way to do this. We need to make recycling a FRONT AND CENTER visible issue for the election and the next administration, whoever it is. We think we will succeed, because the time is right—there is support. A steering committee has been formed to guide this effort. We met earlier this week and brainstormed like crazy. Lots of great ideas! Now we need to make it happen.
There will be open meetings on the 4th Monday of each month (time and place to be announced) for community input.
PLEASE post your ideas on how to make it happen to this blog. I will post updates here also. Spread the word.
There will be open meetings on the 4th Monday of each month (time and place to be announced) for community input.
PLEASE post your ideas on how to make it happen to this blog. I will post updates here also. Spread the word.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Coalition Settles Federal Suit to Cleanup Mercury Contamination
MONROE, LA (July 2, 2009) - On July 2nd, a coalition of local environmental groups, reached a court settlement with EnerVest Operating LLC of Houston Texas, a major operator of natural gas wells in the Monroe Gas Field. EnerVest has agreed to remove all mercury meters and to clean up mercury-contaminated wetlands and other soils at gas production sites in Ouachita, Union and Morehouse Parishes.
Student attorneys from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic filed a federal suit in May 2007 against EnerVest Operating LLC on behalf of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), the Sierra Club, the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN), and the Louisiana Audubon Council.
EnerVest controls more than 4,000 natural gas wells in the Monroe Field and is the largest producer. Close to 800 of its wells, on private property, were equipped with mercury meters, which hold about eight pounds of mercury each. Mercury is a hazardous waste under state and federal law.
After the environmental coalition sent a 90 day notice of intent to sue in December 2006, EnerVest, met with LDEQ and coalition representatives to discuss a Cooperative Agreement to cleanup their sites. A federal suit was filed in May 2007 alleging that mercury was leaking from EnerVest meters in the Monroe Gas field. EnerVest and LDEQ finalized a Cooperative Agreement in January 2008. The plaintiffs believed that this Agreement did not go far enough to protect the environment and continued with their suit.
As a result of the suit and court adopted settlement, EnerVest has removed over 400 active mercury meters and replaced them with dry-flow meters - which do not pollute. EnerVest has also agreed to a cleanup schedule of mercury contaminated sites, and cleanup standards for soils and wetland sites that are more protective than those in the LDEQ/EnerVest Cooperative Agreement.
"EnerVest is setting a good corporate example by settling this case and agreeing to clean up their mercury meter sites, said Barry Kohl, of the Audubon Council. Other natural gas producers in the Monroe Gas Field must come forward with cleanup plans to reverse the mercury pollution. If not, the coalition will continue to seek legal remedies. Leaky meters continue to contaminate private property and public resources.”
"Currently there are 48 mercury-in-fish advisories statewide, including seven within the Monroe Gas Field," said Cynthia Sarthou, director of GRN. "The Ouachita River, Bayou DeSiard and Black Lake have “mercury-in-fish” advisories that caution pregnant women, women who are breast-feeding, and children younger than seven years of age to limit consumption of fish." Eating fish with high levels of mercury raises the risk of developmental and cognitive damage in babies and children and has been linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease in men.
"The cleanup of the Monroe Gas Field will be the first step in reducing the mercury contamination of soil and sediment which impacts our rivers and lakes, says Marylee Orr, Executive director, Louisiana Environmental Action Network. Mercury contamination negatively impacts recreational and commercial fishing, as well as the local economy in the Ouachita River Basin. In 2002, a local man was poisoned by eating mercury-contaminated fish from Bayou Bartholomew." "We are pleased that EnerVest has become the first gas company to start a cleanup of the mercury at its wells on private property. But there are many other companies responsible for abandoned meters and they owe it to the landowners and the public to clean up the mercury spills," said Delta Sierra Chairman, Haywood Martin. The LDEQ has estimated that there are over 20,000 mercury meters in use or abandoned across the state.
The original suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Monroe, LA.
Case NO: 3:2007-CV-00817; Judge Robert G. James.
Stipulated Judgment attached as electronic copy
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barry Kohl
Louisiana Audubon Council (504) 861-8465
Haywood Martin
Delta (Louisiana) Chapter of the Sierra Club, (337) 232-7953
Cynthia Sarthou
Gulf Restoration Network (504) 525-1528 x202
Marylee Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network (225) 588-5059
Adam Babich
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (504) 862-8800
Student attorneys from the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic filed a federal suit in May 2007 against EnerVest Operating LLC on behalf of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), the Sierra Club, the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN), and the Louisiana Audubon Council.
EnerVest controls more than 4,000 natural gas wells in the Monroe Field and is the largest producer. Close to 800 of its wells, on private property, were equipped with mercury meters, which hold about eight pounds of mercury each. Mercury is a hazardous waste under state and federal law.
After the environmental coalition sent a 90 day notice of intent to sue in December 2006, EnerVest, met with LDEQ and coalition representatives to discuss a Cooperative Agreement to cleanup their sites. A federal suit was filed in May 2007 alleging that mercury was leaking from EnerVest meters in the Monroe Gas field. EnerVest and LDEQ finalized a Cooperative Agreement in January 2008. The plaintiffs believed that this Agreement did not go far enough to protect the environment and continued with their suit.
As a result of the suit and court adopted settlement, EnerVest has removed over 400 active mercury meters and replaced them with dry-flow meters - which do not pollute. EnerVest has also agreed to a cleanup schedule of mercury contaminated sites, and cleanup standards for soils and wetland sites that are more protective than those in the LDEQ/EnerVest Cooperative Agreement.
"EnerVest is setting a good corporate example by settling this case and agreeing to clean up their mercury meter sites, said Barry Kohl, of the Audubon Council. Other natural gas producers in the Monroe Gas Field must come forward with cleanup plans to reverse the mercury pollution. If not, the coalition will continue to seek legal remedies. Leaky meters continue to contaminate private property and public resources.”
"Currently there are 48 mercury-in-fish advisories statewide, including seven within the Monroe Gas Field," said Cynthia Sarthou, director of GRN. "The Ouachita River, Bayou DeSiard and Black Lake have “mercury-in-fish” advisories that caution pregnant women, women who are breast-feeding, and children younger than seven years of age to limit consumption of fish." Eating fish with high levels of mercury raises the risk of developmental and cognitive damage in babies and children and has been linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease in men.
"The cleanup of the Monroe Gas Field will be the first step in reducing the mercury contamination of soil and sediment which impacts our rivers and lakes, says Marylee Orr, Executive director, Louisiana Environmental Action Network. Mercury contamination negatively impacts recreational and commercial fishing, as well as the local economy in the Ouachita River Basin. In 2002, a local man was poisoned by eating mercury-contaminated fish from Bayou Bartholomew." "We are pleased that EnerVest has become the first gas company to start a cleanup of the mercury at its wells on private property. But there are many other companies responsible for abandoned meters and they owe it to the landowners and the public to clean up the mercury spills," said Delta Sierra Chairman, Haywood Martin. The LDEQ has estimated that there are over 20,000 mercury meters in use or abandoned across the state.
The original suit was filed in U.S. District Court, Western District of Louisiana, Monroe, LA.
Case NO: 3:2007-CV-00817; Judge Robert G. James.
Stipulated Judgment attached as electronic copy
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barry Kohl
Louisiana Audubon Council (504) 861-8465
Haywood Martin
Delta (Louisiana) Chapter of the Sierra Club, (337) 232-7953
Cynthia Sarthou
Gulf Restoration Network (504) 525-1528 x202
Marylee Orr
Louisiana Environmental Action Network (225) 588-5059
Adam Babich
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (504) 862-8800
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Ivor van Heerden, who pointed fingers in Hurricane Katrina levee failures, fired by LSU
Ivor van Heerden, the outspoken coastal scientist who led the state's independent Team Louisiana investigation into Hurricane Katrina levee failures, has been notified by Louisiana State University that he will be terminated as a research professor in May 2010.
Read more in a Times-Picayune article by Mark Schleifstein on Nola.com:
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/ivor_van_heerden_who_pointed_f.html
Bob Marshall the excellent outdoors editor for the Times-Picayune also weighs in:
http://blog.nola.com/guesteditorials/2009/04/worried_about_funding_lsu_oust.html
Read more in a Times-Picayune article by Mark Schleifstein on Nola.com:
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/ivor_van_heerden_who_pointed_f.html
Bob Marshall the excellent outdoors editor for the Times-Picayune also weighs in:
http://blog.nola.com/guesteditorials/2009/04/worried_about_funding_lsu_oust.html
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