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Our interest in Pielke’s work is based on two key factors: (1) His international reputation for integrity remains intact even among the alarmist community, and (2) his nuanced position on climate change which places a greater emphasis on the impact of land use changes than on anthropogenic CO2 emissions, as well as a greater emphasis on identifying and mitigating regional climate changes. Pielke’s Climate Science blog is written for scientists and researchers, but is sufficiently intelligible to a lay person to merit close attention. Typically Pielke will identify a peer reviewed study by a credible climate scientist that has been ignored by the IPCC, the “consensus” scientific community, the media, and policymakers. He will then summarize the findings and explain the significance of the study. If you follow Pielke’s blog, your perception of climate change alarm – and the attendant policies it is being used to justify – may radically shift.

Here are some recent excerpts:

Further Documentation Of The Diversity Of Human Climate Forcings Beyond CO2

“We’re accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment, and this is as much of a legacy as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,”‘ Galloway says. “The public doesn’t know about nitrogen, but in many ways it’s as big an issue as carbon, and due to the interactions of nitrogen and carbon, makes the challenge of providing food and energy to the world’s peoples without harming the global environment a tremendous challenge.”

The conclusion by Professor Galloway that “in many ways it’s as big an issue as carbon” is one of the reasons that the human climate forcing “The influence of aerosol deposition (e.g., soot; nitrogen) on climate” was included in my House testimony [Pielke].

We need to move beyond the narrow focus of the IPCC on CO2 to the diversity of other human climate forcings. The mitigation and adaptation of society in response to these human climate forcings is going to require a much broader and integrated approach than is possible with just an emphasis on the emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere.

Evidence for an Insensitive Climate System?

“A simple model and satellite observations are used to demonstrate that previous diagnoses of climate feedbacks from the satellite record have a strong bias in the direction of high climate sensitivity (positive feedback). The source of the bias is chaotic radiative forcing generated within the climate system, most likely due to low clouds.

Through analysis of frequency histograms of local regression slopes computed throughout the low-pass filtered time series of temperature and total (reflected shortwave SW and emitted longwave LW) radiative fluxes, the radiative forcing signal is shown to have a unique signature separate from the feedback signature. The global oceanic averages of satellite CERES data during 2000 through 2005 reveal a net (SW+LW) feedback parameter of around 8 W m-2 K-1. This strong negative feedback signal exists independent of the low-pass filter time scale, from 10 day to 2 years.

In stark contrast, IPCC AR4 models analyzed with the same method all exhibit positive feedbacks of various strengths. It is suggested that the unrealistically high sensitivity of the climate models is the result of a misinterpretation of the co-variability of clouds and temperature when specifying cloud parameterizations.

Since only radiative feedback has been assumed in feedback analysis of natural variability (clouds being forced by temperature), the presence of chaotic radiative forcing of temperature by clouds causes the false appearance of positive feedback. In short, cause and effect have been confused. Finally, if such a strong negative feedback has indeed been operating on multi-decadal time scales, this means that the radiative forcing from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is not nearly strong enough to explain the 1°C warming in the last century.”

Can We Reconcile Differences In Estimates Of Carbon Fluxes From Land-Use Change And Forestry For The 1990s?

This is an important study as it highlights uncertainties associated with the global carbon budget. However, what the authors did not do was assess how the land use changes and forestry practices altered the regional and global radiative climate forcing! Without such a simulataneous assessment, the research is serously incomplete, as has been discussed, for example, in Pielke Sr., R.A., 2001: Carbon sequestration — The need for an integrated climate system approach. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 82, 2021, where it is written:

“There has, unfortunately, been no attempt to evaluate the benefit of carbon sequestration as a means of reducing the concentrations of the radiatively active gas CO2 in the atmosphere, while at the same time, assessing the influence of this sequestration on the radiatively active gas H2O, and on the surface heat energy budget. Until these effects are factored in as part of an integrated climate assessment, a policy based on carbon sequestration as a means to reduce the radiative warming effect of increased atmospheric concentrations of CO2 could actually enhance this warming.”

There is a research opportunity for the climate science community to expand the Ito et al 2008 study to include the effect of land-use change and forestry practices in the 1990s on regional and global radiative forcing.

Tenodera sinensis

More excellent recent posts from Pielke’s Climate Science blog:

Role of Regional Climate Forcings On Extent of Antarctic Sea Ice

Where Pielke explains the variations between Antarctic ice (expanding trend) and Arctic ice (diminishing trend) is more the result of regional factors such as ocean currents than the result of anthropogenic CO2.

My Position on Climate Change By Hendrik Tennekes

Where Pielke provides (yet) another example of a reputable scientist coming forward and challenging the alleged consensus regarding the primacy of anthropogenic CO2 in causing allegedly catastrophic climate change.

Any serious investor should take a close and ongoing look at Pielke’s blog, as should anyone concerned about the opportunistic legislation and ordinances being urgently advocated in the name of mitigating CO2, from the global to the local level.

Additional EcoWorld features on Global Warming:

• Media Hysteria, D. James Guzy
• The Debate Goes On, Marc Morano
• A Case Against Climate Alarmism, Dr. Richard Lindzen
• 35 Inconvenient Truths, Lord Christopher Monckton
• Interview with Roger Pielke, Sr., EcoWorld Exclusive
• Glacial Acceleration, Paul Brown
• Global Warming Priorities, Dr. Edward Wheeler
• Rebuttal to Inconvenient Truth, Marlo Lewis
• Inconvenient Skeptics, D. James Guzy
• Global Warming Facts, Dr. Richard Lindzen
• Is There a Basis for Global Warming Alarm?, Dr. Richard Lindzen
• Global Warming Alarm, Dr. Edward Wheeler
• Global Warming Posts, EcoWorld Editor’s Blog

Snakes are typically associated with horror movies, snake charmers and energetic men showing off their talents for handling various poisonous reptiles on television. Generally speaking, people tend to avoid snakes and are happiest viewing the creatures from a distance, but it was the shape of a snake that spurred the idea for a unique wave energy system-the “Anaconda”. This rubber snake rolls over ocean currents, with an almost soothing motion, absorbing the natural energy created from each passing wave.

Created by Francis Farley (a physicist) and Rod Rainey of Atkins Oil and Gas, the 200 meter long Anaconda device is designed to sit in 40 to 100 meter deep water and generates around 1MW of electricity per year-enough to power around 2000 homes.

The ‘snake’ is closed on both ends and filled with water which is affected by the outside pressures surrounding it. As waves push the water in the snake from one end to the other, energy is absorbed. The Anaconda website describes the process in a little more detail: “The velocity of the bulge wave in the tube and the waves in the sea is the same; then the wave energy is transferred gradually to the tube. At the bow, the wave squeezes the tube and starts a bulge running. But as it runs the wave runs after it, squeezing more and more, so the bulge gets bigger and bigger. The bulge runs in front of the wave where the slope of the water (pressure gradient) is highest. In effect the bulge is surfing on the front of the wave.”

More technical information on the device can be found in the Atkins research article.

The idea behind the snake was to create a clean energy harvesting device, with little environmental impact and a low production cost. At 4 cents per kWh, this Anaconda made from cheap materials like rubber and plastic is relatively affordable to make and easy to install.

Professor Chaplin, leader of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) that funded the Anaconda project is quoted saying that “The Anaconda could make a valuable contribution to environmental protection by encouraging the use of wave power. A one-third scale model of the Anaconda could be built next year for sea testing and we could see the first full-size device deployed off the UK coast in around five years’ time.”

Today California is probably the most hostile state in the U.S. towards private business, and with the global warming act nearing implementation, things are going to get much worse. But big changes could be closer than you think.

It isn’t easy to understand just how bad California’s business climate is until you talk to people from out of state – or if you have always lived here, until you try to start a business that aspires to actually move dirt or build something. But California’s tradition as an international trendsetter does not mean her current climate of hostility towards business, and the resulting gridlock, is destiny. Quite the contrary.

Even the Long-billed Curlew doesn’t discourage prey from creating shelter and consuming energy and water.

A good example of the current difference between California and the rest of the nation came a few weeks ago when I interviewed a former colleague who recently started working for a construction company doing projects in Texas, among other places.

He recounted his astonishment when he was preparing a budget and operational timeline for a project in the greater Dallas area, and asked the onsite general manager how much to budget for building fees. The reply was “about $5,000,” to which he replied “per house?”

The answer was, “no, that’s how much we’ll pay in fees for the entire development [of several hundred homes].” Equally astonishing was the timeline – this project’s permit cycle was expected to last three months. That’s how they do things in Texas.

In California, if you want to break ground on a planned community of several hundred homes, expect to pay millions in fees. During the real estate bubble that crested in mid 2005, local building fees got as high as $90,000 per home – and the cities and counties spent this money as though collecting such a high volume of these exhorbitant fees would continue year after year. And that’s only half of it – in California, expect to spend additional millions defending lawsuits from environmental groups. As for the permitting cycle, expect to spend several years, if not decades, trying to get your project approved.

Even California’s Governor Schwarzenegger, who might be characterized as a tepid friend of the business community – has expressed frustration with the environmentalist community for blocking construction of solar thermal power stations, even though environmentalists are the ones demanding renewable fuel. But any scratch in the ground, any disruption to any ecosystem, anywhere, is sufficient to cause lawsuits to rain down upon anyone intemperate enough to want to supply power, or shelter, or water, to ordinary consumers. And once housing is unaffordable, thanks to the environmentalists, the environmental justice people come in and demand taxpayer subsidized affordable housing.

California’s business sectors survive either because their operations predate the rise of environmental extremism – agriculture and timber, or because they are far more virtual or intangible and are not as easily assailed – entertainment and information technology. California’s business sectors, to the extent they do thrive, do so in spite of California’s government, not because of it.

Another recent anecdote provides further illustration of the gridlock that defines California in 2008. I recently interviewed a man who intended to build a biodiesel refinery in Fresno County. The plant would have processed agricultural waste; grape seed and cotton seed in particular, and would have initially output 1.2 million gallons per year. Biodiesel from waste, that when blended with petro-diesel results in a cleaner burning fuel. Doesn’t this sound like a good idea?

This project never got off the ground for a variety of reasons, all of them relating to government gridlock if not outright hostility to business, including the following: It took 13 months for the entrepreneur to get a conditional use permit. Without this development agreement, the entrepreneur couldn’t get a permit from the regional Air Quality Management District. When he finally had this agreement, commodities prices had increased and he was required to scale back his plans. This required yet another development agreement, which promised to take several more months. The regional AQMD informed him they, too, would require several months to approve his application, and couldn’t give him any firm estimate as to when they’d be ready. He abandoned the project.

What has happened in California is a combination of two powerful forces – unions and environmentalists – working in tandem to crush entrepreneurship and undermine California’s economy. But these forces are not monolithic, and now that California has neither the internet boom nor the real-estate bubble to create temporary economic well being, this combination may soon be shattered. Here are the schisms that are coming – and when they do, California will again surprise the world.

(1) Private sector unions will split with public sector unions. This is inevitable, since in the private sector unions operate in a competitive global economy and if they aren’t reasonable, they will kill the company and kill the jobs. Unions have learned this, which is why most of the excessive union power today is in the public sector, since it takes longer to destroy an entire economy than it does to destroy one company, or one industrial sector. Private sector unions will be among the first to realize the public sector unions have taken for themselves the tax revenues that should have been used to help all workers, they will realize that environmentalist obstruction is stifling economic growth, and they will abandon the paper thin alliance they have with their brethren in the public sector, and their powerful collaborators, the extreme environmentalists.

(2) Public employee unions will realize their benefits – unreasonably high salaries, excessive vacation, comprehensive insurance, pervasive overtime, early retirements, and generous pensions – have bankrupted virtually every public entity in the state. Suddenly these good people will realize that crippling pension fund liabilities can only be managed if pensions for new and recently arrived public employees are dramatically reduced, if not eliminated altogether. They will realize that with pensions phased out, more money will be available to increase public sector services, helping the economy and the community. Even the notoriously left leaning teacher’s unions will begin to appreciate the value of corporate profits, since that is what pays the taxes that in turn funds their salaries – and summer vacations. The brainwashing will begin to subside. Reason will begin to be restored. The alliance between unions and extreme environmentalists will be over.

(3) Last but certainly not least, the powerful environmentalist movement will fracture – with the extremists who currently wield nearly absolute control over the green agenda suddenly finding themselves competing with a robust alternative vision of environmentalism, one that balances the needs of people and profit with the needs of ecosystems. A vision of environmentalism that emphasizes clean abundance through using liberalized land development policies to produce more water and power, instead of government rationing which does nothing but kill jobs and maintain a venal status quo.

Since the gold rush of 1849, California has been the distant destination of dreamers and individualists from everywhere on earth. This dynamism that defines California provides a seismic momentum far more powerful than any institution. California will be greater than ever, because the day will come when it will again be possible to build homes and create jobs without unreasonable harrassment.

Affordable is relative – the Myers NMG (meaning “no more gas”), courtesy of Ohio based Myers Motors, will set you back $27,000. For that amount of money you can get a lot of car, if you’re willing to stick with gasoline power. But try to find another 100% electric, freeway capable electric vehicle for anywhere close to that price. For that matter, other than a handful of Teslas that have started to hit the road, find any all-electric car driving in the fast lane on the freeway.

The author putting a Myers NMG through the paces.

When we learned about Myers Motors about a year ago (ref. “Myers Freeway Capable NMG”), they were already ahead of the pack with nearly 300 cars sold and being actively driven by private owners all over North America.

With a 30 mile range, a top speed of 75 MPH, and zero to sixty in 12.5 seconds, Myers has secured a place in history as one of the first EV manufacturers to go beyond fleet sales or prototype testing and actually sell freeway capable EV’s to the general public. So where are they now?

What has happened is not unusual for a company that has gone beyond the prototype stage but lacks the funding to ramp up to full scale production; Myers Motors is in financial limbo. In the venture capital world this is sometimes referred to as the “valley of death.” When I contacted Myers spokesman Ron Huch last week he said “Myers is in the process of putting their business plan together for the next phase, (production) of their business. They are defining the new products and are trying to raise money to fund this phase. They have been able to refine the drive system and the battery management system, now they have to do the production version and reduce the cost.”

The Myers Motors NMG is a single seat three wheeler, with the back wheel providing traction. Because there are two wheels in the front, the vehicle has exceptional stability. Being close to the ground and small, this car feels even faster than it is. The sense of acceleration feels dramatic when you hit the pedal and hold it to the floor, and the car is virtually impossible to tip over on corners. I would know, since late last year I had the opportunity to drive one.

Can Myers Motors secure funding and go into full scale production? It certainly seems possible, since there still aren’t a lot of contenders for a single seat commuter EV that can be driven on the freeway, and even fewer contenders to deliver an EV for a price anywhere south of $30K. But will this be enough for venture capital investors, who are typically looking for breakthrough technology and a giant customer base? Myers Motors challenge to attract funding to go into full scale production may be met through an investor whose motivation is similar to what drives their potential customers – seeing more EVs on the road, because they operate on electrons instead of combustion.

Ranch Rider’s Rocking Z Ranch uses waste vegetable oil to power an irrigation pump, saving more than 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year.

Ranch Rider’s Siwash Lake Ranch has been awarded Five Green Keys by the Hotel Association of Canada, only given to hotels that exemplify the highest standards of environmental responsibility.

In the old days, cowboys explored and exploited the vast open ranges of the country, embodying the frontier spirit of the Wild West.

Our attitude towards the environment has since changed, and now, a new generation of ranches offered by Ranch Rider seeks to co-exist harmoniously with nature.

These “green ranches” practice a more sustainable style of ranching through energy-saving techniques and conservation initiatives. The Siwash Lake and the Rocking Z are examples of how ranchers can be great stewards of the earth, ensuring that future generations can still enjoy the scenic beauty of the Wild West.

Many wilderness ranches claim to be off grid, but there’s no greenwash at the Siwash Lake in British Columbia, as the ranch has recently been awarded with a 5 Green Key eco-rating by the Hotel Association of Canada. The prestigious accolade is given to a hotel that exemplifies the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility in all areas of operations – the Siwash Lake Ranch employing cutting-edge technologies and eco-friendly policies.

While guests are out eco-ploring on unspoiled wilderness trails, the luxury ranch is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless green stay for its guests. Siwash Lake runs on solar power and a combined diesel generator – the latter charging up the battery bank on cloudy days, or when city slickers who can’t resist curling irons and hairdryers stay at home on the range.

Always mindful of being environmentally friendly and energy efficient, the ranch uses propane, a clean fuel, for cooking and for heating hot water. In addition, guests lounging by the cosy fireplace are sure to find comfort in the fact that the wood is beetle-killed pine – Siwash ensuring that their waste wood is put to good use. Biodegradable chemicals, energy saving light bulbs and emission controlled wood stoves are further initiatives that have been brought to the fore by the eco-friendly ranch ensuring would be cowboys and girls minimise their impact in the West.

Eco-gourmands can have their taste buds tickled by the Siwash Lake’s 2-acre organic garden, a source of fresh greens, edible flowers and herbs. The ranch produces its own beef and pork, which is again organic and all the chickens at Siwash produce free range eggs. However it’s not just the hearty Western cooking that has a green stamp of approval as everything is 100% natural and even the water comes from the ranch’s own well! The water goes through a low power, high-tech filtration system, including UV light treatment, to make it 100% potable and pure, with no chemicals added into the process.

Situated in the heart of Cariboo Country, ethical ranchers can experience the wonders of the natural grassland on horseback, by canoe or on foot – numerous bird and wildlife stopping by to greet wilderness ranchers. (7-nights with Ranch Rider from £1,939pp, excludes transfers as car hire recommended.)

Energy saving light bulbs and wide windows minimise the use of electricity at the Siwash Lake Ranch.

The Rocking Z in Montana might seem like an ordinary guest ranch at first sight, but ask the owners about their deed of conservation and you might see it differently. The ranch now uses solar and straight waste vegetable oil power to irrigate the land – saving over 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 600 gallons of petrol per year. The ranch also uses pure bio diesel for its tractors and earth moving equipment making the Rocking Z a truly green home on the range.

As part of their conservation commitment, the owners recently struck up a partnership with the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Foundation. The latest initiative, at the Little Pickly Pear Creek, has helped to lower stream temperatures by 2 degrees; ensuring a more amenable habitat for the resident rainbow trout who now thrive in their natural environment. The owners have also committed the ranch with a deed of Conservation, working closely with Montana’s Land Reliance to protect and conserve the ecologically and agriculturally significant land, as a living resource for future generations to enjoy.

Green moves implemented by the ranch include, the recycling of glass, aluminum, tin and all metals; and the composting of all waste foods and bio-degradable material ensuring everything comes back full-circle. A significant proportion of the ranch’s produce is also organically grown by local farmers, helping the Wolf Creek community with their livelihood. Ethical stewards, who are constantly looking for ways to further their green commitment, the owners of the Rocking Z have yet more plans in store, and in 2009 they are hoping to install a wind charged generator – making this the perfect stay for forward thinking ranchers.

It Isn’t Oil!

Geothermal energy: Clean, stable, always available

In 1881, King David Kalakaua had the bright idea of using Hawaii’s fiery volcanoes to produce electricity and light the streets. It took technology the next century to catch up with the visionary king.

On the Big Island of Hawaii, nearly 20 percent of the electricity we consume is produced naturally by tapping the Earth’s heat. It is firm, strong power that the island truly depends upon, enough to continually power 20,000 residences.

When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, heat from the Earth’s interior is always available.

Puna’s geothermal power station delivers 30 megawatts of power, with potential to deliver much more. (Photo: Puna Geothermal Venture)

Puna Geothermal Venture, the only commercial geothermal facility in the state, has been generating sustainable electricity for the Big Island for 15 years.

Under a Power Purchase Agreement with Hawaii Electric Light Company, PGV sends all the electricity it produces—30 megawatts—to the utility. It could provide much more.

The slopes of Kilauea Volcano are the state’s best resource. The only other island with significant geothermal resources is Maui, but its potential is considerably less.

Geothermal electricity:

Puna Geothermal Venture invested heavily in new equipment and technologies to get where it is today. State-of-the-art equipment is used to drill wells deep into volcanic reservoirs—a mile or more—and bring up hot fluid and steam. The steam drives turbines that generate electricity.

Geothermal is also ‘green’: No oil or other fossil fuel is used in the operation.

The plant has near “zero” emissions because the brine and gases that are left over are injected back into the Earth, well below the water table, through another set of wells called re-injection wells.

This is called a binary or closed-loop circulation system, meaning that no excess gases or fluids reach the open air. It is one of the most advanced methods for producing geothermal energy. All PGV wells are this type.

Other uses are possible besides generating electricity. Geothermal could contribute to the manufacture of other technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cells. It could also provide direct heat applications such as drying fruit and lumber, greenhouse propagation and aquaculture projects—even heating buildings.

And there are economic benefits. Puna Geothermal Venture has 30 full-time employees and various other contractors. Many live in Puna District.

PGV seeks to be a good neighbor, keeping the community informed of its activities via newsletter, a 24-hour response line and online information.

Geothermal energy is the backbone of renewable energy resources in Hawaii. As the electricity demands grow, Puna Geothermal Venture stands ready to expand the project to meet the needs of the community.

Tours of the facility, for groups or individuals, are available but must be booked in advance. Call (808) 965-6233.

A laser beaming energy to earth isn’t as far fetched as it sounds. Japan, at the forefront of technology, has developed space saving vertical parking lots, is bringing us a solar powered Toyota Prius and their newest venture involves putting a light-absorbing panel into orbit for unlimited solar power. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has already invested millions into a prototype Space Solar Power System (SSPS) which will be up and running by 2030.

Earth Turning Towards the Sun

The idea of sending photovoltaic panels into orbit is not a new one, and was thrown around at NASA as early as the 1970′s, but the estimated $1 trillion cost of building such a device put things on hold at the time. In today’s world, with cheaper solar paneling and newer technologies available, a massive solar power system orbiting the earth is a realistic endeavor. Various countries, including India, China, Russia and the U.S, are optimistic about harvesting energy through solar panels that would float 22,000 miles up in orbit.

Varied degrees of sunlight, clouds, long hours of darkness and limited space are just a few of the obstacles that current solar panels are dealing with. Space solar panels will have other issues to overcome (including repair work, for example), but with constant access to light for absorption, the energy generated by one of these impressive space panels is so efficient that it could power 500,000 homes for a year!

In fact the Pentagon’s National Security Space Office 2007 report states that “a single kilometer-wide band of geosynchronous Earth orbit experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today.” The potential of light absorbtion in space is huge.

With a technology that provides more electricity than all of the earth’s power sources combined, the race is on to see which country will eventually be exporting electricity to the rest of the world. Fuel shortages and air pollution may be a thing of the past in less than 50 years if Space Solar Power Systems function as planned.

It isn’t fog that rolls down the hill these days, but smog. Cars spill noxious fumes out their tailpipes and factories send plumes of smoke into the air. It has come to the point where holding your breath is the only solution when wandering across the street or between shops. These problems won’t exist in Masdar, Abu Dhabi the world’s first carbon neutral city.

Launched in 2007, the completion of this highly ambitious plan will occur around 2020. No cars or any other polluting vehicles are allowed in the city, waste and water are recycled, while recyclable plastics and cement will be used during construction. It is estimated that up to 80% of water used during irrigation will be recycled: water seeps through the earth and while some is absorbed by the plants, the rest will flow into a collection area to be reused again later, while fencing used during construction will eventually be resold and recycled.

Foster and Partners, an architectural company focused on design and function, planned Masdar: “Rooted in a carbon neutral ambition, the city itself is car free. With a maximum distance of 200m to the nearest transport link and amenities, the compact network of streets encourages walking and is complemented by a personalized rapid transport system. The shaded walkways and narrow streets will create a pedestrian-friendly environment in the context of Abu Dhabi’s extreme climate. It also articulates the tightly planned, compact nature of traditional walled cities. With expansion carefully planned, the surrounding land will contain wind, photovoltaic farms, research fields and plantations, so that the city will be entirely self-sustaining.”

The tightly packed city will resemble stereotypical Arabian style fused with modern technology-almost comparable to scenes from the jetsons. Visitors and inhabitants will need to get around on foot, bikes, segways or use the underground personal transit system to get around within Masdar’s walls. This isn’t as restricting as it sounds. For example, the solar powered personal rapid transit system (PRT) doesn’t follow a fixed route, but rather takes its load of passengers (up to 6) to any of the 1500 proposed stations throughout the area.

Trees planted throughout the city will provide the 50,000-100,000 inhabitants relief from the desert’s bright rays while numerous fountains add aesthetic appeal and humidify the dry air.

Building planners are taking task of building a zero-emission city seriously, and it seems feasible with the help of partners such as

• Europlasma-a company that provides a technology that turns toxic ashes to glass and garbage to fuel;
• Solyndra-a company providing one of the world’s most efficient solar panels;
• Segway-company of the famous single passenger standing scooter; and
• Bioregional-an independant environmental organization hired to calculate the carbon footprint left by Masdar’s various stages of development.

Skeptics claim that no city could ever be completely carbon neutral and that an exorbitant amount of energy is wasted making products like solar panels and personal transportation vehicles. This may be the case, but one should look at the bigger picture: Masdar is an experiment and improvements will always be made with technology.

The many years of waste-free living provided by the city will eventually offset the energy consumed during its production, as well. Costa Rica, Norway and Libya have also shown an interest in developing their own zero-carbon cities. It is nice to hear that some people aren’t just wasting their breath when it comes to discussing pollution, but actually trying to do something about it.

Jatropha nuts finding a traditional mode of transportation from tree to press.

Jatropha trees at the Tree Oils Ltd. plantation in Andhra Pradesh.

Tree Oils India Limited (TOIL) was established in 2003 to produce biodiesel from non-edible tree based oils (feedstocks).

As these feedstocks were not available in sufficient quantities and at reasonable price at the time, TOIL started with plantation activity. As there were no tested varieties of these tree species and knowledge of agronomy was limited, TOIL started a research farm to begin with.

Since then, TOIL has emerged as a biodiesel plantation technology company engaged in research and development non-edible oil-bearing trees such as Pongamia, Jatropha etc. The existing sources such as palm, canola, soybean and coconut oils, used cooking oil and tallow are expensive and are not available in large quantities. Hence, non-edible oils from trees such as Jatropha and Pongamia are being developed as cost effective and sustainable feedstocks.

Pongamia and Jatropha could be cultivated in marginal areas, including desert, other than forests with lower rainfall and poor soils. They are being grown in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and survived well in Dubai. The biggest advantage of these trees is that there is no competition with agriculture and food production.

There is a concern that biodiesel from edible oils increases the cost of food around the world and forests are being cleared to grow them. Even otherwise, it is felt that the biodiesel crops compete with agriculture for land and water. Our approach of using non-edible oils produced by hard trees that are grown in non-agricultural and non-forest lands offers a solution to these issues.

Plants: Jatropha curcas is Latin American in origin and is closely related to Castor. It is a large shrub and can thrive in a number of climatic zones in arid and semi-arid tropical regions of the world. An easy to establish perennial, it can grow in areas of low rainfall of 250 mm per year and is drought tolerant.

Pongamia trees – along with Jatropha, these trees tolerate poor, arid soils.

Pongamia pinnata is a native of India and grows in dry places far in the interior and up to an elevation of 1000 m. It is a hardy tree that mines water for its needs up to 10 metre depths without competing with other crops.

Jatropha and Pongamia have relative cost advantage as they are perennial trees that require minimum inputs. Goldman Sachs estimated that Jatropha was lowest in terms of cost of production.

People: The Company was founded by Mr. Sreenivas Ghatty, a post graduate in Agriculture and was a corporate banker and project manager with exposure to credit appraisal, agri-business and energy cropping. He worked with multinational banks, including State Bank of India and Emirates Bank International, in India and Middle East Asia for eighteen years. He is the founder of Tree Oils India Limited and for the last five years, his focus has been on research and development of oil bearing trees, energy crops and contract farming. In his most recent assignment as Development Director Energy Cropping for Australian Biodiesel Group, Mr. Sreenivas Ghatty worked to develop large scale Biodiesel Plantations and alternate energy crops in Australia.

Progress: In order to facilitate commercial production of Tree Based Oils on large scale, TOIL established 120 Acres of R&D centre in India in 2003.

The plantation consists of:
· 60 Acres of Pongamia (Indian Beech)

· 40 Acres of Jatropha (Physic Nut)

· 5 Acres of Moringa (Drumstick)

· 2 Acres of Azadirachta (Neem)

· 1 Acre of Sapindus (Soap nut)

· 1 Acre of Simarouba (Paradise)

TOIL also planted to conduct research:

· Madhuca (Mahua)

· Aleurites (Candle Nut)

· Sapium (Chinese Tallow)

· Calophyllum (Poon)

TOIL took up various soil and water conservation measures and has been using mostly biofertilisers and biopesticides to promote sustainable farming. Experiments are being conducted to find out the optimum set of inter crops and package of practices for them.

TOIL have also established nursery for Jatropha cuttings and Pongamia grafts and started Apiculture and Vermicompost activities. The focus was on developing an integrated Tree Based Oils Farming System to be adopted by the farmers under contract farming system in the next five years.

TOIL have been conducting trials to develop suitable silviculture practices with specific emphasis on evaluation of Jatropha selections, different doses of fertiliser applications, irrigation at different intervals and various types of pruning. Based on this research and the feedback obtained from our panel of advisors, meaningful conclusions on Jatropha and Pongamia are being drawn.

To intensify the research efforts, Tree Oils Development Centre (TODC) is being established. High quality plantation material could be sourced from the company’s nursery and the knowledge and expertise gained by TOIL could be modified to suit the local conditions in other locations.

Harvested jatropha nuts – can these plants help local economies and contribute to global fuel supplies? Can their cultivation be encouraged on arid wasteland?

Participation: As technical partners to the project owners TOIL can:

· Provide technical support and guidance in developing and maintaining Jatropha and Pongamia plantations.

· Guide in deciding on the choice of suitable species and agronomic practices depending on the agro climatic conditions.

· Supply high quality planting materials and provide guidance to set up nurseries at project locations.

· Train project personnel at their farm in India on all aspects of cultivation of Jatropha and Pongamia.

· Monitor the plantation activity at the project site and have regular presence on site.

· Provide services of advisors and experts to meet the project needs.

· Take up specific research projects to meet your needs, if required.

Projects: TOIL worked with the following biodiesel manufacturing and feedstock management companies so far and assisted them in establishing Jatropha and Pongamia plantations:

· BioMassive, Sweden for their Jatropha plantation project in Tanzania

· Global Green Energy, Sydney, Australia for their Jatropha plantation project in Ghana

· Global Tree Oils, Singapore for their Jatropha plantation project in Thailand

· Pacific Renewable Energy, Brisbane, Australia for their Pongamia research and plantation project in Australia

· Australian Biodiesel Group, Sydney, Australia for their Jatropha plantation project in Solomon Islands

Future Plans: TOIL intends to take up the following activities in future:

· Intensify research and develop IP for cultivation of Pongamia, Jatropha and other tree based oils, including high yielding varieties.

· Establish plantations in India and other countries on their own and through joint ventures.

· Execute turnkey projects for corporates or high net worth individuals to establish Jatropha and Pongamia plantations.

· Work with farmers, NGOs/SHGs to establish plantations and support them with technical inputs and buy back agreement.

· Conduct collaborative research on tree based oils and energy crops with companies who are planning to enter this activity by giving access to their five year old research farm.

Assembly Bill 32, signed into law by California Governor Schwarzenegger in late 2006, took a big step closer to implementation last week with the release of the much anticipated “Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan.”

Sturnella neglecta.

Two key pages in the 77 page document are pages 11 (table 2) and page 17 (table 4). The table on page 11 “Recommended Greenhouse Gas Reduction Measures,” has targeted emissions reductions by sector, expressed in “MMTCO2E” – million metric tons co2 emissions. In this table, it only appears that 2 of the 160 million ton goal are going to be accomplished through land use regulations. This may be misleading however, since they are leaving another 35.2 MMT under a general category “Additional Emissions Reduction from Capped Sectors.”

On page 17, table 4 “Sector Responsibilities Under Cap-and-Trade Program,” shows what total emissions are projected to be via (1) “business as usual,” (2) “after implementation of other recommended measures” (CARB-speak for fees and mandatory caps via state auctions of emission allowances), and (3) “under cap and trade program.” Basically the table shows CARB claiming they can pretty much accomplish the emissions reduction goal either 100% via fees and auctions, OR via cap and trade. It is important to emphasize that auctions – the sale to industry of allowances to emit CO2 with the proceeds collected by the state – can happen under either of these schemes.

More detail on all the sections of the scoping plan will come later this month in the form of detailed appendices to each proposed measure, and more economic analysis will come in late July or early August. Regarding land use (one of our favorite topics), there is not much in the scoping plan. The land use section begins on page 31 and is very general. On page 38 the plan states a goal of enacting “Indirect source rules for new development,” where “research shows that low-density development located distant from employment centers and other destinations has a high transportation carbon footprint,” and “adoption of regional indirect source rules could provide reductions in greenhouse gases through better project design and mitigation of emission impacts.” That’s about as specific as they get.

Based on what we have so far, it is way too soon to predict how AB32 will handle the land use question. Mandatory concentric development, new classes of protected land and species, tying transportation funds to concentric growth, and other measures called for in SB 375 – which is making its way through California’s legislature currently – are not in the AB 32 scoping plan.

Based on the potential of offset sales, carbon fees, and sales of emissions allowances, one may dismiss claims that AB32 will cost California’s government more than it will bring in revenues. AB32 will potentially cause tens of billions of dollars of net cash per year to flow into California’s public sector. Qualifying municipalities that enforce high density may earn carbon offset fees from polluters, based on how many vehicle miles they can calculate they eliminated through high density zoning. AB 2596 sets the stage for this. Redefining public sector jobs to address global warming mitigation may encompass a huge percentage of the public sector workforce, including construction, infrastructure, education, as well as explicitly environmentally focused agencies. Already California’s 400+ cities, 58 counties, and 32 air quality management districts are imposing new global warming related fees. Since global warming mitigation is a specific program – no vote is required to assess these fees. Auctions of emissions allowances to industry could pour additional hundreds of millions, if not billions, into the public sector each year.

There is no “smoking gun” – yet – that indicates public sector agencies are salivating over cash flow potential associated with AB32. But why wouldn’t they? Nearly every public entity in California – and elsewhere in the USA – is at risk of bankruptcy, primarily because of grossly over-generous employee compensation, benefits and pensions. Other than carbon-related offset payments, fees and auctions – or massive tax increases – there is no new source of revenue even remotely capable of restoring solvency to public entities. Avoiding public sector reform in general, and avoiding public employee pension reform in particular, is the hidden issue that informs global warming alarm in the public sector.

And butterflies still fly the slopes of Kilimanjaro. (Vanessa cardui)

The opportunity cost of not reforming public sector pensions and using the resulting surpluses to instead build infrastructure could literally be the most significant economic burden of AB32 – and that’s saying a lot. To the extent we phase out public employee pensions, we can increase public sector hiring and infrastructure investments – helping the economy – we can help balance public entity budgets, and help relieve public entity balance sheets of crippling pension liabilities. If we eventually abolished public employee pensions, then all American voters would finally have the same formula govern their retirement entitlements – creating the voter momentum to finally reform and restore social security and medicare.

Our position on AB32 has been consistent – notwithstanding how it addresses environmental issues, something worthy of far more debate than has been allowed – this bill has the potential to raise tens of billions of dollars per year to fund otherwise unsustainable compensation and benefits for California’s roughly 3.7 million state, county and city employees, which in-turn will delay pension reform and diminish infrastructure investments. The fungible connection between AB32 implementation and the undemocratic political influence of insufficiently regulated public sector unions who have created two classes of Californians – government workers and ultra-rich people versus the rest of us in the globalized private sector who work, pay taxes, and will depend on social security when we’re old – has not been sufficiently explored.