Energy use in California only half national average

James Fallows blogs:

I highly recommend this new report from the American Physical Society, the professional organization for physicists in the United States, about the very specific hows, whats, wheres, and how-much's of practical ways to increase energy efficiency. A cover letter says (emphasis added by me):

Can lower energy consumption come about in the United States? It already has. Per-capita energy use in California, about half the national average, has stayed flat for the past 30 years, largely through an ambitious program of appliance standards and other innovations in building design....

The report points out that the enhanced funding need only match federal energy research levels in place in 1980. Research around that time led to a major improvement in efficiency standards. For instance, compact fluorescent lights and refrigerators now use about one-fourth the energy needed for comparable models of 30 years ago. Air conditioners are twice as efficient as those in 1980. Such dramatic improvements in energy use could be sustained, many experts argue, but only if a concerted energy research program is put in place.

I assume the Relevant Government Officials are well aware of such data -- at least ones from the incoming administration -- but it doesn't hurt to have the general public know too. (Thanks to UCSB physicist / Cirrus pilot Roger Freedman.)

Which only goes to show that where there's a will, there's a way.

Goodbye Bush

Shortly after Obama was elected, I blogged:

. . . the people have served George W. Bush and his eviction notice. Late that night, the people of America's capital -- by the thousands -- walked up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. They wanted to make sure that Bush got word of the country's decision. Their message for Bush? Start packing.

This video I shot captures the mood of the people:



Goodbye Bush is good news for the environment!

Recyling lessons from Jakarta Indonesia

The owner of a paper recycling business in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta tells me about the true meaning of garbage.

Stop Bush from auctioning off US wilderness to oil companies

Francis of NRDC blogs about the need to stop the Bush Administration's plans to sell a spectacular American wilderness area to the oil companies in December:

I thought I couldn't be shocked any more. After all, the past eight years have taught me that despite the availability of clean energy technology, the Bush administration will always place oil and gas drilling above all other options.

But still I was caught by surprise when the Bureau of Land Management announced it plans to hand over 6.4 million acres of public lands near some of Utah's most famous national parks to oil and gas companies.

Robert Redford has spoken up against the planned December 2008 sale of the land. Redford blogs at Huffington Post:

The BLM didn't just try to slip the audacious Utah lease maneuver past the American people on an historic election day, it actually hid the ball from its sister agency, the National Park Service, and then rejected the Service's request for more time to review the scheme.

Among the 360,000 acres to be auctioned for industrial development is pristine land near Canyonlands National Park, adjacent to Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument. This Christmas gift to the dirty fuel industry includes parts of Desolation Canyon, named in 1869 by the explorer John Wesley Powell, which has been proposed for national park status. In fact, the BLM itself described Desolation Canyon nine years ago as "a place where a visitor can experience true solitude -- where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape."

Words alone cannot do justice to the beauty of these places, but they do capture the absurdity of the Bush plan. Oil and gas drilling in Desolation Canyon? Industrial development along the meandering Green River? The thought makes one wince.

The Obama transition team already has signaled its opposition to the leases, and said that once in office the Obama administration will try to reverse them. Let's hope that's possible. Utah's eastern expanse is one of America's few remaining wilderness treasures. It's our land, it's our legacy, but will it still be here for our children and grandchildren? We made our wishes about that known loudly and clearly on election day.

We voted to take control of our own destiny by breaking our addiction to dirty fuels. We voted to re-power America with clean energy from wind, solar and geothermal power. We voted to use of our greatest resource, American ingenuity, to build economic, energy and climate security, and to preserve our natural heritage. Yes we did. And yes we can.

You can sign a petititon.

Map shows where oceans have been damaged by humans

NPR reports:

But now a group of scientists has drawn a map that leaves the land blank and highlights what humans have done to the world's oceans. . .

The map, which was published in the journal Science, overlays the ocean with bands of color to highlight manmade changes like overfishing and coastal pollution. Pristine areas, shown in blue, are found in oceans near the poles. More-stressed ocean waters are yellow and orange. Trouble spots are red. Halpern says the red zones are the ones found near big cities and near overcrowded coastlines.

"These are the most impacted ocean areas on the planet," Halpern says. "It's where the combination of human activities, from shipping to fishing to land-based pollution, are coming together to make things really bad."

According to the map, the most disturbed ocean areas include Europe's North Sea, the South and East China Seas, the Persian Gulf, and parts of the Atlantic near the East Coast of the United States. Surprisingly, small zones of pristine ocean water can be found in many of these areas. Halpern says these are the kinds of zones that need to be preserved as a first step toward saving more badly damaged ocean waters.

One shortcoming about the map is that it's creators lacked information about certain destructive fishing practices.