news updates and blog housekeeping
February 13, 2008
Got guilt, about how much greenhouse gas emissions are produced by your computer usage? Here’s a feel-good article for you – your internet usage actually makes you much more energy-efficient (CSMonitor). I actually covered this story/ study last week, but the CSM article is a better summary than mine.
The National Science Foundation has released an unsettling new study on the historical relationship between climate change and an increase in insects (NSF press release). The inference is that: “As modern temperatures continue to rise, the researchers believe the planet could see increasing crop damage and forest devastation.”
If you’re like me, you probably don’t understand feed in tariffs at ALL. In fact, I can barely spell tariff. Tim Hurst of the blog Ecopolitology put together some sources about feed in tariffs to help those of us who need to learn more about the topic.
Something I find comforting, in a weird way: I know that sometimes here in Kansas we feel overwhelmed with trying to figure out the right policy options to help us deal with climate and energy issues. However, frankly – we are so behind the eight ball that other folks have done most of it already! No need for us to reinvent the wheel. We can learn a lot from their examples, what is working well and what needs a tweak or two.
Hey. Better late than never. Plus which, it’s not normally our style to rush things.
One perspective on the current legislative status of the Holcomb plants is expressed in an editorial from Randy Scholfield of the Wichita Eagle – Holcomb bills are business as usual. The issue also came up at a legislative breakfast in Paola (Miami County Republic).
For those folks tracking the Holcomb legislation through our blog, I have (hopefully) created a more efficient way for you to do that – check out the right side of the blog home page, under “Categories.” The Holcomb material is filed under both “Holcomb Hearings 2008″ and “CEP Live Blogging.” Click on either of those, and you will see only the blog entries relevant to that topic.
-– Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
