Scientific American Podcast: Wind Power Potential Quantified

From Scientific American's handy "60-second science" podcast comes data from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Click the link to hear about calculations that U.S. wind turbines could produce 16 times the electricity we now use.

Hat tip to Dave Erickson again for this one!

Details on Climate Change Bill

By now, I'm sure you've heard that sweeping climate change legislation (the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)) passed the House last Friday 219-212. Eight Republicans voted in favor of it and 44 Democrats voted against. The bill will gradually lower climate change emissions to 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.

For more detail on how members voted and the compromises made, here are some helpful resources I've found:

• See how your Rep voted (via Grist)

• Details on the compromises made to pass ACES (via VanNess Feldman Law Firm)

• A state-by-state impact of cap-and-trade's cost (via FiveThirtyEight)

Video: Nonprofits Partnering with Business on Conservation

This is an interesting video featuring one way nonprofits are partnering with big companies on energy/conservation issues (via Fora.TV).

Hat tip to Dave Erickson for the link.

House to Vote on Climate Change Bill this Week

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka "ACES" aka the "Waxman-Markey bill") may get a vote on the House floor this week, surprising many of us who thought the road from committees to the floor would be a much longer one.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the vote will likely happen Friday. Meanwhile, supporters are still working out deals with detractors like Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN), who opposes parts of the bill that he says put a disproportionate burden on farmers.

One of the most significant details so far, reports Climate Progress, is a concession to Rep. Peterson that gives the country's electric co-ops that have under 4 million MW of capacity (so some of the smallest electricity producers) a free 0.5 percent of the cap-and-trade program's valuable emission allowances. Thanks to this, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said they are "not going to stand in the way of the passage of the bill."

More negotiations are happening throughout the week, including around issues like the definition of "renewable biomass" and the EPA's authority to consider indirect emissions (such as land-use changes) when calculating biofuels' impact.

Pelosi and others seem confident they'll have the votes they need by Friday. Stay tuned...

via Politico and Climate Progress

Duke Energy CEO on Colbert Report

Duke Energy's CEO, Jim Rogers, was on the Colbert Report yesterday to talk about "clean" coal technologies. He didn't directly answer Colbert's question as to how many clean coal plants Duke Energy currently has (answer: they don't exist yet), but he did explained how carbon sequestration works and why it is an important part of cutting climate change emissions.

As President Obama and Congress get closer to an agreement on regulating carbon, look for more utility CEOs and others from the fossil fuel industry in the media, positioning themselves as part of the solution to the climate problem. Which is fine - we need everyone at the table and coal is certainly going to be a part of the energy mix for years to come - but let's not forget about the proven technologies we already have in front of us: energy efficiency and renewables.

Wind power companies investing heavily in America, like Vestas, and associations like the American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association had better be positioning their experts and solutions in the media as well: One fight is in Congress to get climate legislation passed, but the other is with the mainstream public to support that change; educating us that renewable energy is not "alternative" or hippie, but is already a viable and reliable industry.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Jim Rogers
www.colbertnation.com
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Americans' Six Views on Climate Change

Yale University and George Mason University recently released a study of 2,129 Americans ("Global Warming's Six Americas 2009") that categorizes the country's view on climate change into six categories:

1. The Alarmed (about 18% of the population): Fully convinced of the reality and seriousness of climate change and are already taking individual, consumer, and political action to address it.
2. The Concerned (33% and the largest group): Also convinced that global warming is happening and a serious problem, but have not yet engaged in the issue personally.
3. The Cautious (19%): Global warming is indeed a problem, but are unsure whether the problem merits immediate attention, or whether it is as widespread as stated. They don't see it as a personal threat at all.
4. The Disengaged (12%): Do not know too much about the issue and have never taken any kind of interest in it. Relatively oblivious to the debate.
   
5. The Doubtful (11%): Not exactly sure that global warming is happening, but if it is, it certainly isn't caused by humans (i.e. it is a natural occurrence).
   
6. The Dismissive (7%): Very sure climate change is not happening and are actively involved as opponents of a national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, these groups tend to behave in similar ways when climate change solutions are presented that also have personal financial benefits. For example, all categories of those surveyed support actions that save them money; the Dismissive group is just as likely to make energy efficiency improvements on their home as the Alarmed group. All six groups also support rebates for the purchase of energy technologies like solar panels and fuel-efficient cars.

These past few years have seen the pragmatic environmental community get more sophisticated in its messaging of climate change solutions, and this study supports those efforts to move away from "sky is falling" rhetoric and more towards commonsense actions and policies that are beneficial to the planet, the economy and people's wallets.

via Softpedia, Yale University and Global Warming's Six Americas 2009

Midwest Monday: Utility Uses Psychology to Save Energy

Residents of the southern Minnesota city of Owatonna are playing keeping up with the Joneses...on their electric bills.

Owatonna is the fourth city in the United States to send its ratepayers something called a Conserve and Save Home Energy Use report with each gas, water and electric bill. The report not only shows how much energy the residence uses, but includes charts that compare the usage to the previous year and how the residence compares with the energy usage of 100 neighbors with the same sized home.

Sacramento was first city to test these "behavior reports" as a way to encourage energy efficiency. The city deemed the program "very successful" compared to other efforts to encourage efficiency and Owatonna is starting to see residents make changes too: Requests for home energy audits and meters that track appliances' energy use are both up.

via Fresh Energy and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. The home energy reports were developed by Positive Energy of Arlington, VA.