The Political Climate: an ongoing commentary on the NH Primary and Climate Change

On Wednesday White House Spokesman Tony Snow announced that the US has done a better job at reducing carbon emissions than the European Union.  Snow pointed to figures from the International Energy Agency that showed between 2000 and 2004 the carbon dioxide emissions increased by 1.7% in the US and by 5% in the European Union–and where exactly did these figures come from?  “I would point out that…there is a carbon cap system in place in Europe, we are doing a better job of reducing emissions here.”  Well, the US does contribute a quarter of the net total of carbon emissions worldwide, which makes it only common sense that the US take the lead on climate change action.  According to Snow the Bush administration has pursued the “most aggressive program of research and technology ever”…I guess most of us have been kept in the dark.  (Read the Reuters article here.)

China is happy to pass the buck to developed countries like the US need to take the lead in fighting global warming.  Jiang Yu, spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, said “it must be pointed out that climate change has been caused by the long-term historic emissions of developed countries and their high per capita emissions.”  China, projected to surpass the US in carbon dioxide emissions by 2009, is expected to release a global warming plan later this year.  Qin Dahe, chief of the China Meteorological Administration, explained “President Hu Jintao has said that climate change is not just an environmental issue but also a development issue, ultimately a development issue.”  (Read the New York Times article here.)

On a different note, the first two presidential primary debates have been scheduled for next October.  The Republican primary debate will be held on Sunday October 14th in Manchester and the Democratic debates will be held on the 21st.  The New Hampshire Union Leader, ABC News and WMUR-TV will all participate in the production of the debates.

2008 Presidential bids are coming in…sort of.  Yesterday Former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani filed papers to establish the Rudy Guiliani Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc.  This committee will allow Guiliani to raise money to travel around the country and research the value of running for office without having to make a formal bid.  The Union Leader reports that “Under federal election law, an exploratory committee allows an individual to travel and gauge the level of support for candidacy without formally declaring themselves a candidate and adhering to all the federal rules of fundraising.” 

Guiliani isn’t alone.  Arizona Sen. John McCain announced last Sunday that he will be setting up an exploratory committee as well.  More formally, Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa has established a campaign committee and is expected to make an announcement later this month of his intentions to run. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the agenda for his last year in office (reported here in USA Today,) and topping his list–terrorism, pension system changes, and climate change.  Hopefully the next presidential wannabees will adopt some of these priorities! 

So far we haven’t been able to find any statement by Guiliani about climate change.  If you know of one let us know.  If you want to meet with him and ask him about climate change the next time he’s in the Granite State, let us know.

The newest word on the street: fuel efficiency.  On Monday the Environmental Protection Agency released their annual list ranking vehicle fuel economy.  The hybrid-electric Toyota Prius received the top ranking, and luxury cars had the least efficient ratings with the Lamborghini Murcielago bottoming out the list with an average 9-14 mpg.  The Boston Globe reports on it here, and visit MSN to view the entire list.

The New York Times recently ran this article about Honda’s goal to “develop a new generation of high-efficiency diesel engines that would lead a major company into a fuel-sipping low-emissions future.”  The company introduced such an engine (i-CTDi) in their 2003 Accord in Europe, and hopes to release the the i-CTDi engine in the US within the next 3 years.  Because this newly developed diesel engine is cleaner, it meets California’s and the Northeast’s automobile regulations, which have prohibited the sale of diesel vehicles due to tailpipe pollutant levels. 

The green “L” in Google on the search engine’s home page is no longer going to stand alone.  This article in the New York Times reports on the companies new plans to become “green.”  Google announced Monday that it will build a 9,200 cell solar electricity system (an amount that could electrify 1,000 homes in California) at its 1 million square-foot office complex in Mountain View, California.  The solar electricity system will provide 30% of the daily electricity used at the office complex, and the company expects the project to pay for itself within 5-10 years of completion. 

David Radcliffe, VP for real estate at Google, says the company is building this power system to save money over time, but more importantly to be socially responsibile and to help attract “smart, high level engineers who want to work for a company trying to diminish the damage it does to the environment.”

Look out Richard Simmons!  A new diet can help you drop a half-ton and you don’t even have to break a sweat. 

Andrew Postman, writer for New York Times, went on such a diet and managed to shave off seventeen hundred pounds of his annual CO2 emissions in only 68 minutes.  He had “thought pro-green thoughts and occasionally even done pro-green things,” but only until he calculated his estimated CO2 “weight” per year did he truly decide his life was a bit too gluttonous.  Following a few simple steps like changing light bulbs (he saved 300 pounds in swapping just two bulbs for compact fluorescents,) having his computer screen “sleep” while he is away from his desk, and using a cold-wash cycle when doing laundry, he was able to drop the pounds without compromising anything.  Clean Air Cool Planet has more tips on how to lose weight here, and Denise Blaha is speaking about “losing” CO2 weight throughout NH as a part of the Carbon Coalition speaker’s bureau.

News about the Carbon Coalition and the Town Meeting Initiative is spreading.  Last Thursday the Concord Monitor published this article, and the editors of the Valley News gave their opinion of the Town Meeting Initiative in this editorial.  Also the release of the NECIA report that TPC covered on last Wednesday is gaining attention.  The Concord Monitor published this article on the release and the Boston Globe reported on it here.