daviza

"… the estimated total undiscounted fuel cost savings for coal, oil and gas over the period to 2050 are greater than the additional investment required (valuing these fuels at Baseline prices). If we discount at 3%, fuel savings exceed additional investment needs in the ACT Map scenario [in which CO2 emissions in 2050 only return to 2005 levels]. But don’t we need new technologies? Of course, but we don’t need — and can’t afford — to sit on our hands when we have so many cost-effective existing technologies. The IPCC finds: There is high agreement and much evidence that all stabilisation levels assessed can be achieved by deployment of a portfolio of technologies that are either currently available or expected to be commercialised in coming decades, assuming appropriate and effective incentives are in place for their development, acquisition, deployment and diffusion and addressing related barriers. Yes we need to do two things at once: aggressively deploy existing technology (with... more... - daviza from Bookmarklet

"It’s important, then, to understand that claims of immense economic damage from climate legislation are as bogus, in their own way, as climate-change denial. Saving the planet won’t come free (although the early stages of conservation actually might). But it won’t cost all that much either. How do we know this? First, the evidence suggests that we’re wasting a lot of energy right now. That is, we’re burning large amounts of coal, oil and gas in ways that don’t actually enhance our standard of living — a phenomenon known in the research literature as the “energy-efficiency gap.” The existence of this gap suggests that policies promoting energy conservation could, up to a point, actually make consumers richer. Second, the best available economic analyses suggest that even deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions would impose only modest costs on the average family. Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis of the effects of Waxman-Markey, concluding that in... more... - daviza from Bookmarklet

happy weekend to all, winter is closing in here, just a nostalgic look back on a magic day last fall! - daviza

Energy conservation in the building sector represents an important share of the new jobs -- as many as 110,000, including 90,000 jobs in the field of renovation. Renewable energy comes second with as many as 70,000 new jobs between 2006 and 2008. In support of this trend, the local government enacted a zero-interest rate loan for housing renovation to enable people to weatherize and install heating systems based on renewable energy sources. This allows homeowners to borrow up to €30,000 ($45,000). However, the number of green jobs increased by around ten percent per year, which is less than the government's objectives -- known as the Grenelle de l'Environnement. It expected the French green sector to go up by 20 percent per year. It is worth noting that in 2009, the sector employment went up by 14 percent. According to a previous report by the Boston Consulting Group, the Grenelle de l'Environnement could create or keep up to 600,000 jobs by 2020. The study also noted that French... - daviza

"We're at a climate turning point, official warns December 06, 2009 Arthur Max, Karl Ritter COPENHAGEN, DENMARK – The world is entering talks on a new climate pact with unprecedented unity and leaders must seize the moment to create a turning point in the battle against global warming, the U.N.'s top climate official said Sunday. At a news conference, Yvo de Boer called on the 192 nations represented at the U.N. climate summit starting Monday "to deliver a strong and long-term response to the challenge of climate change." A study released by the U.N. Environment Programs indicated that pledges by industrial countries and major emerging nations fall just short of greenhouse gas reductions that scientists have called for – and the gap is narrower than previously believed. "For those who claim a deal in Copenhagen is impossible, they are simply wrong," said UNEP director Achim Steiner, releasing the report compiled by British economist Lord Nicholas Stern. Negotiators in Copenhagen are... more... - daviza from Bookmarklet

the story of the murder of fred hampton, chicago black panther leader. it also features don rumsfeld and dick cheney - daviza

"Earlier this year I wrote an essay in On Line Opinion titled, “Energy is Everything” in which I described how our entire economy can be seen as being comprised of the energy used to power activities and the embodied energy used in the production of things. Money is simply a tool that can be used to exchange and allocate these different forms of energy. Since 60 per cent of the energy in our world economy comes from burning the hydrocarbons oil and gas, a decline in their availability will reduce world economic activity. In fact, we face twin, compounding challenges. Not only are hydrocarbons in decline, but the energy required to extract and process these hydrocarbons is steadily increasing. This is reducing the “net energy” from hydrocarbon production - less and less of the energy produced by hydrocarbon extraction is available to do other things (such as power the economy) and more and more of the energy production is being recycled back into the process of producing the energy... more... - daviza from Bookmarklet

Drug-Makers Paying Off Competitors To Keep Cheap Generics Off Market Zachary Roth | December 2, 2009, 3:07PM Spread the word and support this article. Share it on Digg! Read More Chuck Grassley, FTC, Herb Kohl, Jon Leibowitz, Lobbyists, PhRMA, Susan Collins Share 277 diggs Republicans and their allies in the business community talk a good game about the virtues of free-market competition. But, as we've seen in the debate over the public option, that stance often goes out the window when corporate profits are at stake. And now we've got another example -- one of the sleaziest and most blatantly self-serving yet. Over the last few years, drug-makers have embraced a startlingly simple tactic for fending off competition from generic brands: paying them off. In a nutshell, the company that holds the patent on a profitable drug strikes a deal with the maker of the cheaper generic brand: you hold off on marketing your generic for several years, and in return, we'll give you a share of our... more... - daviza from Bookmarklet