Bush Administration Rushes to Entrench 8 Years of Bad Environmental Policy Long After Due Date Passes

The outgoing political appointees in the federal government are trying to pull a fast one on us.

The Bush Administration is rushing to put in place a set of 20 regulation changes - 4 of which slow environmental and worker protection and remove barriers for big companies to cut environmental corners.

image from gailjonas.blogspot.com - too bad there's not one of the entire administration.

Mind you, this is so far past due date it's not even funny - a May memo from the White House Chief of Staff wrote that proposals for regulations should be received no later than June 1. I don't know about you, but if I tried to turn in a paper 6 months late, I would be s#*% out of luck.

According to the New York Times, these proposals include rules that would:

1. Require another step in regulating workplace chemicals (longitudinal studies of exposure over an employee's working life), adding up to 2 years to a process that already takes 8.

2. Remove barriers to building power plants near national parks and wilderness areas

3. Reduce the role of federal wildlife scientists in declaring whether endangered species will be threatened by highway or dam construction

4. Allow coal companies to dump rock and dirt from mining into streams and valleys.

These proposals are to change the Code of Federal Regulations, a bundle of rules created by federal departments and agencies that have the force of law. While it would be easy for Obama to overturn any executive orders coming from Bush, it would require a public comment period and proof of a "reasoned analysis" to overturn these regulations - easy, of course, but time consuming.

Downsview Park "Trail of Lights" (Toronto)

From November 28 until the end of 2008, Toronto's Downsview Park will host Canada's largest walk-through holiday light show. Stretching 2 kilometers, "Trail of Lights" is powered by LEDs - over 400,000 of them.

It runs from 5 - 10 p.m. and costs $10-12 (more on certain holidays).

Check out this cut from the brochure, or visit this daily dose of imagery picture taken by Sam Javanrouh.

Best Green Blogs

Best Green Blogs is a fantastic directory of green-themed blogs. Many are stories and tips from ordinary people living greener, and some are location-specific (Hawaii, India, Chicago, Pacific Northwest, etc.). Some cover green travel, some cover green weddings, and some cover alternative energy. This directory is definitely worth a look.

It was on Best Green Blogs that I found The Greenest Dollar, a blog with information about how to save money by saving the environment.

The Greenest Dollar featured a post on Monday about Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program, for all those shoes that are "too nasty for Goodwill."

The good news is, there are tons of drop off sites so you don't have to mail your shoes to Oregon - my nearest one is at the Boys & Girls Club in Minneapolis.

Happy reading!

In Weird News...

Check out this article about trash-art from the Wall Street Journal.


image from the Wall Street Journal

This used to be a turkey sternum. Now it is art!

The Stars Weigh In

Two things:

1. A delightful quote from Carl Pope.

image from MoonBattery.com

"Efficiency is the steak," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. "Renewables are the sizzle."

from "Efficiency, Not Just Alternatives, Is Promoted as an Energy Saver." The New York Times. Matthew L. Wald, May 29, 2007.

2. The Gilmore Girls (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel) weigh in on global warming.

image from spanielsng.blogspot.com.

Green Wii

image from istyles.com.

The National Resources Defense Council released a report yesterday finding that video game consoles use a significant amount of energy, costing up to $134 per year if not shut off when not in use.

The Wii is far and away the most energy efficient model, says this article from Yahoo!. The console uses between $3-$10 per year in energy (depending on habits of turning the console off if not in use).

Green Honor Roll

image from treehugger.com

The Princeton Review has released its 2009 “Green Rating” Honor Roll, and 11 colleges received a perfect score:

Arizona State University at the Tempe campus
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, ME)
Emory University (Atlanta, GA)
Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, GA)
Harvard College (Cambridge, MA)
State University of New York at Binghamton
University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH)
University of Oregon (Eugene, OR)
University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
Yale University (New Haven, CT)

Read more from green.msn.com.

Quotable Quotes from Obama

Image from chuckperry.blogspot.com.

Obama spoke today via video to a climate change conference in Los Angeles. Courtesy the New York Times, some notable quotes:

* “Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all."

* “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”

* “My presidency will mark a new chapter in America’s leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process."

* “When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”

I like where this rhetoric is going!

Hazardous Waste

Image from thebeautybrains.com.

I got really annoyed this morning seeing a discarded bottle of antifreeze in a parking ramp. I'm not going to bust out the crying Indian line - even though I have more American Indian in my blood than Iron Eyes Cody (for the record, a Sicilian) - but antifreeze is super nasty stuff. It used to smell sweeter, and kids would drink it and die. It is toxic, making it hazardous waste.

Many household items are hazardous waste, and it is an important part of being a "green" consumer to understand what is hazardous and what is non-hazardous. The EPA started setting down rules in 1974 in the RCRA legislation (depending on what level of government you work in, you might pronounce that "rick-ra" or "wreck-ra") - the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act - defining what is hazardous waste requiring special handling and disposal. It's sort of surprising how many common items are hazardous:

- batteries
- automotive fluids, including oil and antifreeze
- bleach
- paint
- dran-o

There is a rhyme or reason to this: anything flammable, corrosive, or toxic/carcinogenic is hazardous. Governments split it up into "listed" or "characteristic" hazardous waste, but "listed" wastes are mostly things that industries will have to worry about - solvents, etc.

Apart from being a Grammy-winning hit song by Britney Spears, a "toxic" label is one clue that a product is hazardous. If it can poison you, you don't want your garbage person dealing with it. Take it to your local county household hazardous waste disposal site.

If a product is corrosive or flammable (like paint or oil), it is also considered hazardous. Again. Don't throw it in the trash. Take it to your local county household hazardous waste disposal site.

Find out more from the EPA about how to avoid harmful substances.

Government Goes Green

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled the "Green Jobs Investment Initiative" to the 2009 state legislature yesterday. It's a group of tax exemptions, mostly for business, to invest in green jobs and renewable energy. In total, the initiative would spend $90.25 million in the next six years.

Image from Minnesota Politics blog.

Pawlenty has suspicious timing. He did not support a Green JOBZ initiative in 2008, and his proposal comes while a task force of department officials and other experts were in the midst of creating a similar proposal. JOBZ is Pawlenty's job creation effort. Said Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL - Saint Paul, "I didn't know JOBZ was (a) chameleon – apparently if it isn't working, it just changes color."

Read more from the Pioneer Press, the Star Tribune, MSNBC, the Governor's Office, Politics in Minnesota, and a related article on Pawlenty and climate change from MinnPost.

What goes up must come down...

image from Sacramento State

Energy rates are going up in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and elsewhere.

Either your paycheck must go up, or your energy use must go down.

So barring any year-end bonuses, I wanted to post an excerpt of strategies from Xcel Energy to help bring home energy costs down without spending any money to upgrade equipment.

1. Heating and cooling uses 45% of the typical house's energy.
Reduce indoor thermostat temperature from 72 to 68 degrees during the heating season to save 5 percent on heating costs.

2. Household appliances, such as ranges, ovens, and microwave ovens, account for 15% of the typical home's energy use.
Use lids to trap steam and help food cook faster.

3. A water heater uses 11% of the typical home's energy use.
Take a short shower. Every minute you cut from your shower time saves three gallons of water and the energy used
to heat the water. You’ll save hundreds of gallons of water a year taking showers over baths, and you’ll save the energy to heat all that wasted water.

4. A clothes washer and dryer uses 10% of typical household energy.
Dry loads back to back. Since your dryer retains heat, dry several loads in a row. You can reduce the heat level on the last load or two. Dry your lightweight items together, using a lower heat setting for less time.

5. Lighting uses 7% of a home's energy.
Turn off lights when unneeded. Every time you turn off lights when they’re not needed, you’re saving energy and money. Keeping one 75-watt bulb off for one hour per day saves $2.15 per year.

6. Your refrigerator uses 6% of your home's energy.
Cover your food. Covered foods reduce power consumption by limiting moisture evaporation into the air. Moist
air takes more energy to cool than dry air, forcing the compressor to work harder. Plus, your refrigerator will smell better.

7. Your dishwasher uses 2% of your home's energy.
Scrape your dishes. Scrape your dishes instead of rinsing to save water and the energy needed to heat the water.

8. A computer & monitor uses 2% of household energy, as do TVs, VCRs, & DVD players.
Unplug when not in use.

Vote

To any Americans reading this,

The most important thing you can do for the environment is to vote on Tuesday. I don't care who you vote for. You can even walk to your polling place.

If you live in Minnesota, find your polling place by address.
You don't even have to have registered yet. Bring your Minnesota driver's license. Or, bring your MN state ID. Or, bring your tribal ID. Any of these must have your photo, signature, name and current address. Failing that, bring a utility bill to your name at your address due within 30 days of Nov. 4 along with a photo ID - student ID, a current ID with an old address, a passport. Or, bring someone who is registered in your precinct to vouch for you.
Most polling places open at 7 a.m., but a few in small townships may open as late as 10 a.m. All polling places close at 8 p.m., but if you are in line by 8 p.m. you must be allowed to vote.

If you live in Colorado, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Know your name and address. Click to verify your voter registration status.

If you live in California, visit the Secretary of State website.

In any other state, google your state's Secretary of State.

While we're talking national politics, visit The Green Leap Forward, a blog about China's burgeoning grassroots environmental movement.