The Catalyst
~Stirring the pot to cook up change
Transition Fidalgo & Friends E-Newsletter April 2014
Thought for the month: "The greatest danger to our future is apathy." Jane Goodall, who turned 80 on April 3rd.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Latest IPCC Report: The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued its second of four planned reports examining the state of climate science. This report summarizes what the science says about “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability." As with every IPCC report, it's cautious to a fault, yet still alarming. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/30/3420723/climate-breakdown-of-food-systems/. The latest assessment discusses how we'll need to adapt to a warming planet, rather than focusing solely on curbing warming in the first place. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/the-uns-new-focus-surviving-not-stopping-climate-change/359929/ (You might also want to read George Monbiot's recent piece in the Guardian in which he wonders if we have any idea what adapting to climate change really means: http://www.monbiot.com/2014/03/31/loss-adjustment/)
What We Know About Climate Change: The American Association for the Advancement of Science (the largest non-governmental scientific membership body in the world) has launched a new campaign to cut through climate denialism and help the public understand the reality of climate change. They've published a 20-page report entitled What We Know. The gist: We know global warming is real, risky, and demands a serious response (“the three Rs of climate change.”) Read it here: http://whatweknow.aaas.org/about-the-initiative/
Ocean Acidifying Faster Than Expected: According to a new study by NOAA and University of Washington scientists, the amount of carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific has increased much faster than expected over the past 14 years, making that part of the ocean far more acidic. While the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases at a rate of about 2 parts per million (ppm) per year, parts of the tropical Pacific saw an increase in CO2 concentrations of up to 3.3 ppm per year. “It was a big surprise. We were not expecting to see rates that strong,” siad research scientist Adrienne Sutton. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/28/3420290/ocean-acidifying-quickly/
GAO: Climate Change Threatens Energy Infrastructure: The infrastructure Americans rely on to heat homes, power lights, and fuel trains, trucks and cars is becoming more and more exposed to failure in a changing climate, concludes a U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in January and just made public. The report is a response to a request from Congress for details about the risks posed by global warming, how infrastructure can be adapted to withstand the ravages of a changing climate, and what role the federal government plays in helping to make the adaptation happen. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/gao-climate-change-major-threat-to-energy-infrastructure-17159
Soil as Carbon Storehouse: The degradation of soils from unsustainable agriculture and other development has released billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. But new research shows that effective land restoration could play a major role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change. The importance of soil carbon, how it is leached from the earth, and how that process can be reversed is the subject of intensifying scientific investigation. Scientists say that more carbon resides in soil than in the atmosphere and all plant life combined, and that storing carbon in soil is simple: It’s a matter of returning carbon where it belongs. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/soil_as_carbon_storehouse_new_weapon_in_climate_fight/2744/
Whale Feces Slow Ocean Warming: Here's an odd bit of good news... By enriching the seas with iron expelled from their digestive systems, sperm whales help slow the warming of the Antarctic, say a team of Australian scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2010). The whales increase levels of iron in Antarctic waters (which are iron-deficient) and consequently benefit marine life. The whales help vastly smaller lifeforms to thrive, which in turn keeps the ocean ecosystem in balance and able to recycle carbon safely to the seabed. http://www.alternet.org/environment/whale-feces-helps-slow-antarctic-warming?akid=11658.202899.PjfwM4&rd=1&src=newsletter976470&t=25&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
RENEWABLE ENERGY
2013 Record-Breaking Year for U.S. Solar: Photovoltaic (PV) installations expanded rapidly last year, increasing 41% over 2012. Consumers nationwide benefited from this growth as the cost to install solar fell throughout the year, ending 15% below the record low set at the end of 2012. Today, solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes. In fact, more solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 previous years combined. http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/05/solar-industry-record-year-2013
CO2 and Sunlight to Liquid Fuel: A tiny, genetically-modified organism can convert CO2 and sunlight to diesel fuel, according to Joule Industries, producing liquid fuel more efficiently, quickly and less expensively than traditional biofuels. Free of feedstock constraints and complex processing, the company notes that this pilot process can achieve scalability, volumes and costs without the use of any agricultural land, fresh water or crops. Unlike products derived with complexity from petroleum or biomass, Joule products are produced in a direct, continuous process from abundant resources. The novel CO2-to-liquids conversion requires only sunlight, non-potable water and proprietary catalysts that are tailored to produce products such as ethanol and hydrocarbon fuels. jouleunlimited.com
FOSSIL FUEL-ISH
Rally Against Keystone Pipeline April 26 in Washington DC: Tipis on the National Mall. Dozens of riders on horseback. A powerful alliance of ranchers, farmers, tribal communities, and their friends (the Cowboy and Indian Alliance) will ride into Washington D.C. on April 26 for a demonstration called “Reject & Protect." The Alliance will set up camp near the White House, lighting sacred fires and burning sage, and for 5 days will hold ceremonies and demonstrations to remind President Obama of the threat the Keystone tar sands pipeline poses to the climate, and to land, water and tribal rights. https://rally.org/rejectandprotect/iD7sQfJrUOv/350org
B.C. Has Most Effective Carbon Tax in North America: When you stop at a gas pump in Vancouver, you may see a notice explaining that part of the price you're paying is due to the cost of carbon. That's because in 2008, the B.C. government imposed a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, enacting what has been called "the most significant carbon tax in the Western Hemisphere by far." The government levies a fee (currently 30 Canadian dollars) for every metric ton of CO2 equivalent emissions resulting from the burning of fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and coal. That amount is then included in the price paid at the pump (about 25 cents per gallon) or on your home heating bill, or wherever else the tax applies. The tax works. Since its passage, gasoline use in British Columbia has plummeted, declining seven times as much as might be expected from an equivalent rise in the market price of gas. "I think it really increased the awareness about climate change and the need for carbon reduction, just because it was a daily, weekly thing that you saw," says Merran Smith, the head of Clean Energy Canada. "It made climate action real to people." The tax money goes back to citizens in the form of tax breaks. Overall, the tax has brought in some $5 billion in revenue, and more than $3 billion has been returned in the form of business tax cuts, along with over $1 billion in personal tax breaks, and nearly $1 billion in low-income tax credits (to protect those for whom rising fuel costs could mean the greatest economic hardship). http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2014/03/how-british-columbia-enacted-most-effective-carbon-tax-north-america/8732/
TAKE ACTION!
Citizen Input Needed in 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update Process: Let City planners and policymakers know what YOU think needs to happen in Anacortes to ensure a community able to meet the major challenges ahead. Here's what you can do: (1) Attend meetings (next one is 7:00 pm, April 30, at the Port of Anacortes Transit Shed Event Center); (2) Send an email to: CompPlan2016@cityofanacortes.org; (3) Write a letter to the Dept. of Planning, c/o Libby Grage, PO Box 547, Anacortes 98221; (4) Complete an online survey (go to the City of Anacortes homepage and click on VISIONING SURVEY); (5) Get on the email list for updates; (6) Go to http://www.cityofanacortes.org/planning.php#.U0JHG1d7R4Nheck and click on 2016 Comp Plan information; (7) apply to be a member of the Community Advisory Committee or the Technical Advisory Panel.
DEPT. OF ENCOURAGEMENT
James Hansen Tips His Hat to Northwest Activists: Premier climate scientist James Hansen notes "The bravery and insight of people in Washington and Oregon, as they oppose fossil fuel interests that threaten the future of young people, is exceptional and encouraging... Hope springs from our Great Northwest." Then he asks, "What if Oregon and Washington would agree to try a policy that would provide the example capable of becoming a near-global policy, a carbon fee collected from fossil fuel companies with the money distributed uniformly to legal residents?" He adds that "if you want to promote the possibility of something like that happening, here is what you can do: join the Citizens Climate Lobby. They will give you an opportunity to participate in a growing democratic movement that just may change the course of history." http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2014/20140401_Children_andAdults.pdf Visit Citizens Climate Lobby at http://citizensclimatelobby.org/
Help Transform our Local Economy: Check out enterprises that demonstrate a way of working other than business as usual – these businesses are sustainable, offer some social benefits, have shared ownership, provide jobs for local people, buy from other local independent businesses, and provide essential goods and services for the community in which they make their home. Most have emerged from a local Transition group or have links to Transition in some way. All of these enterprises are needed everywhere, given they meet our basic needs including food, energy, transport and housing. They illustrate what a new kind of community-led, place-based economy might look like, and show that the building blocks – the viable business models – are already in place and highly replicable. Check them out at Transition's "Reconomy" site at http://www.reconomy.org/
Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Growing a resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
transitionfidalgo.org
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter @TransitionFandF
~Stirring the pot to cook up change
Transition Fidalgo & Friends E-Newsletter April 2014
Thought for the month: "The greatest danger to our future is apathy." Jane Goodall, who turned 80 on April 3rd.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Latest IPCC Report: The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued its second of four planned reports examining the state of climate science. This report summarizes what the science says about “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability." As with every IPCC report, it's cautious to a fault, yet still alarming. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/30/3420723/climate-breakdown-of-food-systems/. The latest assessment discusses how we'll need to adapt to a warming planet, rather than focusing solely on curbing warming in the first place. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/the-uns-new-focus-surviving-not-stopping-climate-change/359929/ (You might also want to read George Monbiot's recent piece in the Guardian in which he wonders if we have any idea what adapting to climate change really means: http://www.monbiot.com/2014/03/31/loss-adjustment/)
What We Know About Climate Change: The American Association for the Advancement of Science (the largest non-governmental scientific membership body in the world) has launched a new campaign to cut through climate denialism and help the public understand the reality of climate change. They've published a 20-page report entitled What We Know. The gist: We know global warming is real, risky, and demands a serious response (“the three Rs of climate change.”) Read it here: http://whatweknow.aaas.org/about-the-initiative/
Ocean Acidifying Faster Than Expected: According to a new study by NOAA and University of Washington scientists, the amount of carbon dioxide in the tropical Pacific has increased much faster than expected over the past 14 years, making that part of the ocean far more acidic. While the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases at a rate of about 2 parts per million (ppm) per year, parts of the tropical Pacific saw an increase in CO2 concentrations of up to 3.3 ppm per year. “It was a big surprise. We were not expecting to see rates that strong,” siad research scientist Adrienne Sutton. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/28/3420290/ocean-acidifying-quickly/
GAO: Climate Change Threatens Energy Infrastructure: The infrastructure Americans rely on to heat homes, power lights, and fuel trains, trucks and cars is becoming more and more exposed to failure in a changing climate, concludes a U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in January and just made public. The report is a response to a request from Congress for details about the risks posed by global warming, how infrastructure can be adapted to withstand the ravages of a changing climate, and what role the federal government plays in helping to make the adaptation happen. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/gao-climate-change-major-threat-to-energy-infrastructure-17159
Soil as Carbon Storehouse: The degradation of soils from unsustainable agriculture and other development has released billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. But new research shows that effective land restoration could play a major role in sequestering CO2 and slowing climate change. The importance of soil carbon, how it is leached from the earth, and how that process can be reversed is the subject of intensifying scientific investigation. Scientists say that more carbon resides in soil than in the atmosphere and all plant life combined, and that storing carbon in soil is simple: It’s a matter of returning carbon where it belongs. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/soil_as_carbon_storehouse_new_weapon_in_climate_fight/2744/
Whale Feces Slow Ocean Warming: Here's an odd bit of good news... By enriching the seas with iron expelled from their digestive systems, sperm whales help slow the warming of the Antarctic, say a team of Australian scientists in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (2010). The whales increase levels of iron in Antarctic waters (which are iron-deficient) and consequently benefit marine life. The whales help vastly smaller lifeforms to thrive, which in turn keeps the ocean ecosystem in balance and able to recycle carbon safely to the seabed. http://www.alternet.org/environment/whale-feces-helps-slow-antarctic-warming?akid=11658.202899.PjfwM4&rd=1&src=newsletter976470&t=25&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
RENEWABLE ENERGY
2013 Record-Breaking Year for U.S. Solar: Photovoltaic (PV) installations expanded rapidly last year, increasing 41% over 2012. Consumers nationwide benefited from this growth as the cost to install solar fell throughout the year, ending 15% below the record low set at the end of 2012. Today, solar is the fastest-growing source of renewable energy in America, generating enough clean, reliable and affordable electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes. In fact, more solar has been installed in the U.S. in the last 18 months than in the 30 previous years combined. http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/05/solar-industry-record-year-2013
CO2 and Sunlight to Liquid Fuel: A tiny, genetically-modified organism can convert CO2 and sunlight to diesel fuel, according to Joule Industries, producing liquid fuel more efficiently, quickly and less expensively than traditional biofuels. Free of feedstock constraints and complex processing, the company notes that this pilot process can achieve scalability, volumes and costs without the use of any agricultural land, fresh water or crops. Unlike products derived with complexity from petroleum or biomass, Joule products are produced in a direct, continuous process from abundant resources. The novel CO2-to-liquids conversion requires only sunlight, non-potable water and proprietary catalysts that are tailored to produce products such as ethanol and hydrocarbon fuels. jouleunlimited.com
FOSSIL FUEL-ISH
Rally Against Keystone Pipeline April 26 in Washington DC: Tipis on the National Mall. Dozens of riders on horseback. A powerful alliance of ranchers, farmers, tribal communities, and their friends (the Cowboy and Indian Alliance) will ride into Washington D.C. on April 26 for a demonstration called “Reject & Protect." The Alliance will set up camp near the White House, lighting sacred fires and burning sage, and for 5 days will hold ceremonies and demonstrations to remind President Obama of the threat the Keystone tar sands pipeline poses to the climate, and to land, water and tribal rights. https://rally.org/rejectandprotect/iD7sQfJrUOv/350org
B.C. Has Most Effective Carbon Tax in North America: When you stop at a gas pump in Vancouver, you may see a notice explaining that part of the price you're paying is due to the cost of carbon. That's because in 2008, the B.C. government imposed a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, enacting what has been called "the most significant carbon tax in the Western Hemisphere by far." The government levies a fee (currently 30 Canadian dollars) for every metric ton of CO2 equivalent emissions resulting from the burning of fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and coal. That amount is then included in the price paid at the pump (about 25 cents per gallon) or on your home heating bill, or wherever else the tax applies. The tax works. Since its passage, gasoline use in British Columbia has plummeted, declining seven times as much as might be expected from an equivalent rise in the market price of gas. "I think it really increased the awareness about climate change and the need for carbon reduction, just because it was a daily, weekly thing that you saw," says Merran Smith, the head of Clean Energy Canada. "It made climate action real to people." The tax money goes back to citizens in the form of tax breaks. Overall, the tax has brought in some $5 billion in revenue, and more than $3 billion has been returned in the form of business tax cuts, along with over $1 billion in personal tax breaks, and nearly $1 billion in low-income tax credits (to protect those for whom rising fuel costs could mean the greatest economic hardship). http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2014/03/how-british-columbia-enacted-most-effective-carbon-tax-north-america/8732/
TAKE ACTION!
Citizen Input Needed in 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update Process: Let City planners and policymakers know what YOU think needs to happen in Anacortes to ensure a community able to meet the major challenges ahead. Here's what you can do: (1) Attend meetings (next one is 7:00 pm, April 30, at the Port of Anacortes Transit Shed Event Center); (2) Send an email to: CompPlan2016@cityofanacortes.org; (3) Write a letter to the Dept. of Planning, c/o Libby Grage, PO Box 547, Anacortes 98221; (4) Complete an online survey (go to the City of Anacortes homepage and click on VISIONING SURVEY); (5) Get on the email list for updates; (6) Go to http://www.cityofanacortes.org/planning.php#.U0JHG1d7R4Nheck and click on 2016 Comp Plan information; (7) apply to be a member of the Community Advisory Committee or the Technical Advisory Panel.
DEPT. OF ENCOURAGEMENT
James Hansen Tips His Hat to Northwest Activists: Premier climate scientist James Hansen notes "The bravery and insight of people in Washington and Oregon, as they oppose fossil fuel interests that threaten the future of young people, is exceptional and encouraging... Hope springs from our Great Northwest." Then he asks, "What if Oregon and Washington would agree to try a policy that would provide the example capable of becoming a near-global policy, a carbon fee collected from fossil fuel companies with the money distributed uniformly to legal residents?" He adds that "if you want to promote the possibility of something like that happening, here is what you can do: join the Citizens Climate Lobby. They will give you an opportunity to participate in a growing democratic movement that just may change the course of history." http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2014/20140401_Children_andAdults.pdf Visit Citizens Climate Lobby at http://citizensclimatelobby.org/
Help Transform our Local Economy: Check out enterprises that demonstrate a way of working other than business as usual – these businesses are sustainable, offer some social benefits, have shared ownership, provide jobs for local people, buy from other local independent businesses, and provide essential goods and services for the community in which they make their home. Most have emerged from a local Transition group or have links to Transition in some way. All of these enterprises are needed everywhere, given they meet our basic needs including food, energy, transport and housing. They illustrate what a new kind of community-led, place-based economy might look like, and show that the building blocks – the viable business models – are already in place and highly replicable. Check them out at Transition's "Reconomy" site at http://www.reconomy.org/
Transition Fidalgo & Friends
Growing a resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels
transitionfidalgo.org
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter @TransitionFandF
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