Duh

In an effort to make itself an example for the rest of the nation to follow, Capitol Hill will no longer be powered by coal. You heard right, the Capitol Power Plant is currently transitioning to cleaner burning natural gas for its boilers' fuel source. Coal will be used in emergency situations - like cold winter days - until late 2010 when the plant will be able to meet any predictable demand with natural gas.

The Capitol Power Plant isn't exactly large, but the importance of this act lies in its symbolism. If Congress is to lead us to a new energy future, maybe their electricity shouldn't come from old world sources. Natural gas isn't exactly an alternative energy source (actually, it's not one at all), but at least it's a step in the right direction.

More important is exactly how this change came about.

Remember the Power Shift conference in March? Well, a big part of that event was a youth lobby day on the Hill demanding clean energy legislation. During the hoopla, a coalition of environmental groups put together a protest of the Capitol Power Plant's use of coal, which not only creates tons of emissions, but also is detrimental to the air quality in SE DC, and don't even get me started about mountain coal mining...

But anyway, that coalition effectively reached out to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in turn requested that the acting Architect of the Capitol, Stephen Ayers, transition the plant away from coal. And, as of today, the Ayers announced the current transition. Bravo for youth lobbying and the slow creep of common sense onto Capitol Hill!!

This is why I love carbon capping

At EcoAction's clothing swap last week, I was having an oh-too-serious conversation about carbon cap legislation, carbon capture technology (which some crazy people have tried to convince us makes coal green and clean), and why the government should support both. The conversation/argument was mostly about whether or not the government should subsidize carbon capture research. My argument was, as long as carbon emissions have a price, then renewable energy can beat dirty energy in the marketplace. Even with the government's help, coal would never beat wind under a carbon cap scenario. So why not help it out? I mean, capturing carbon emissions underground does seem pretty great if it's feasible.

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Just as an aside, check out what happened last time the Dept. of Energy tried to do this on a large scale. Finance majors - remember to discount before making an NPV comparison! http://commontragedies.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/how-the-doe-deflated-futuregen/
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Well, while I was at work the other day I found this great report on the consequences of different scenarios on the energy market. The Congressional Research Service estimates that under a cap & trade bill in which all allowances are auctioned off (Europe gave them all away for free and for the first few years of their program, total emissions increased.....) wind power would be about 20% cheaper than any type of coal power. In fact, even if the government subsidizes carbon capture research and the coal industry is able to implement carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at costs 50% below current estimates, wind would still win on price! This made me unspeakably happy.

Despite what your views on the environment and global warming are, the truth is simple: carbon emissions cost us money. A lot of it. Like, hundreds of million of refugees and crazy silly droughts and rebuilding cities in less than a century type of money. So, why do we live in a fantasy land where polluters can emit carbon for free? Well, by the end of the summer, hopefully we'll be living in reality. The ball is in your court, Congress - give us cap & trade!

Power Shift Makes CNN front page..thanks, Brooke!

Washington protesters push 'clean energy,' protest coal use

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Global warming concerns took center stage Monday as two organizations held rallies to draw attention to an issue that President Barack Obama has promised to place near the top of his agenda.

Demonstrators stand outside the Capitol Power Plant in Washington on Monday to protest the plant's use of coal.

A group of young protesters gathered in front of the Capitol to rally on behalf of legislation to reduce carbon emissions, decrease dependence on coal and oil, and speed a national drive toward "clean" energy.

Later Monday, hundreds of representatives of a coalition of environmental, public health, social justice and other advocacy organizations marched around Capitol Hill and encircled a Washington coal-fired power plant to highlight the issue of climate change.

The group, protesting the Capitol Power Plant's use of coal, stood in front of the plant's gated entrances. The plant powers the heating and cooling systems in the Capitol, as well as roughly a dozen other federal office buildings on Capitol Hill.

"The Capitol Power Plant, sitting just blocks from Capitol Hill, symbolizes the stranglehold coal has over our government and future," the group said on its Web site.

"It's not the largest or the dirtiest power plant in the country, but as the plant that is actually run by and for Congress it serves as an incredibly iconic symbol of what is wrong with our country's energy and climate policy."

No arrests were made as a result of the protest, which "didn't affect the operations of the power plant," Capitol police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a letter Thursday calling for the plant to convert to 100 percent natural gas by the end of 2009.

"Taking this major step toward cleaning up the Capitol Power Plant's emissions would be an important demonstration of Congress' willingness to deal with the enormous challenges of global warming, energy independence and our inefficient use of finite fossil fuels," they wrote.

Several members of Congress and environmental leaders addressed the earlier rally, which was held at the conclusion to Power Shift '09, a four-day environmental summit organized by the Energy Action Coalition.

The coalition describes itself as an umbrella organization of 700 groups fighting for "clean energy solutions and the creation of a new green economy."

It's time to "turn up the political heat in Washington so we can turn down the heat on Mother Earth," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, told the crowd. "The science tells us that the time for talking about this problem is over. The time for action is now."

The concept of "clean coal" is a "dirty lie," added environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy. "The most important thing you can do is not to change your light bulb but to change [members of Congress who have been] corrupted by ... dirty, filthy industry."

America needs to be freed from the "carbon cronies," who are part of the "biggest threat to civilization," Kennedy said.

PowerShift 09: Take a Bite Out of Climate Change and Inequality: Your Plate, Fair Food and the Climate Crisis

This weekend I went to Power Shift at the Convention Center. When I told my friends why I wasn't really celebrating my birthday this weekend because I was going to Power Shift, they all invariably asked "What is Power Shift?"

Power Shift, to put it shortly, was a youth-led conference calling on Congress for immediate and effective action on climate change.

It was a really really awesome experience. But what I really want to talk about was this AMAZING workshop I went to about the interrelatedness of food, climate change, the economy, social justice, and workers rights (including some discussion about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers)...

To start off, I'm a huge fan of Micahel Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma. If you haven't read it yet, DO IT NOW because he can explain these relationships infinitely better than I can. This book seriously changed the way I look at food.



As far as social justice goes... I met a student who works for the Student Farmworker Alliance as part of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. It kind of goes without saying that these migrant workers are constantly in danger, with all the pesticides and chemicals around them. I know that Georgetown sends some students to Immokalee as part of its Alternative Spring Break program, so if anyone going/who went could comment on this that would be great! Pollan also goes into more detail about social justice in his book.

Today, Americans are always in a rush and tend to eat fast food. We all know that fast food is unhealthy, but what about the implications of fast food? Basically, fast food is corn. A McDonald's chicken McNugget is mostly corn and pieces of chicken, which were fed on corn. There's a huge political implication concerning corn because most of America's farms are... you guessed it, corn farms. These farms are hugely subsidized by the government and inherently unsustainable.

Soil NEEDS to have differentiation or will be stripped of nutrients... which is why pesticides are needed on these huge farms. Then there's the problem of runoff from the pesticides, which ends up flowing down river or becoming acid rain, and ends up affecting America's impoverished more than anyone else.

Cows, a major component of fast food, are also corn fed. However, in nature cows are inherently grass-eaters. In order to allow cows to eat corn, farmers need to give their cows a bunch of antibiotics. Though previous government administrations refused to address this topic, it's common sense. You are what you eat and since American's eat a lot of beef, they're ingesting a ton of antibiotics as well. I don't even know if I need to say this... but there is NO possible way that these antibiotics are good for you.

Food is one universal necessity and it's one of my particular passions as far as the environment goes. What are your thoughts about this?