Climate and energy

Most Midwesterners have spent a good chunk of their vacations in Colorado. It’s close, it’s cool, it’s gorgeous; good hunting, fishing, hiking, off-road activities, etc.; you can camp and not have to spend money to stay in a hotel…

Colorado is like a big wonderful backyard for many of us, but climate change is threatening that. As Timothy B. Hurst reports on Sustainablog, rising average temperatures are contributing to the spread of a massive pine beetle epidemic that is devastating Colorado forests. And, I might add, after the beetles pass through, intense forest fires often follow.

From Think Progress – the clean coal PR folks (ABEC) sponsored the CNN Democratic presidential candidate debate last night – and, oddly enough, there were no questions asked about global warming. If you read that entry thru there is a great post linked from DeSmogBlog, who got ahold of the “ABEC request for proposals for PR assistance in Nevada, in which it hopes to ‘image and credibility of ABEC’ and increase ‘public awareness of the importance of coal to America’s energy mix.’ One of the key ways it hopes to achieve these goals is through a ‘comprehensive presidential outreach program.’”

Great video clip over on Earthnotes about the recent climate summit in Bali. Papua New Guinea, 1 – U.S., 0.

Energy efficiency notes – from BuildingGreen.com, a fascinating and sobering look at how the boom in small electronics (iPods, cell phones, PDAs, Crackberries I mean Blackberries, big screen TVs, etc.) is contributing to load growth in the U.S. A lot of the problem could be lessened by more efficient batteries and chargers… and of course, by consuming less. *cough cough* (says the woman who just had to buy a new cell phone).

How to help solve the problem now? Beware of phantom loads in your home, make copious use of power strips, don’t overcharge your small electronices – and just generally, check out the CEP energy tips section.

And then just a little spurt of funny … an EnergyStar commercial, for your viewing enjoyment.

— Maril Hazlett

Want to know more about climate and energy in the Midwest? Check out www.climateandenergy.org.