california
Carbon Taxes Imposed on Bay Area Businesses

In a national first, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has decided to impose fees on businesses and government agencies which emit greenhouse gasses. The fees of 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide would apply to 2500 businesses in the nine-county district around San Francisco Bay. Based on past emissions records, the hardest hit will be power plants and oil refineries, whose emissions fees might reach close to $200,000, though many small firms would pay less than a dollar per year. Some of the harder hit will also include government agencies, especially landfills.
     While the modest fee may not force many businesses to reduce their emissions, it is a starting point for combating climate change and may establish a national precedent. The fees would go towards collecting emissions information and organizing efforts to reduce future emissions. Since the Air Quality board does not regulate motor vehicle emissions, which produce half of the total, the board’s decision will not have any effect on those emissions.
     Opponents contend that the agency does not have the authority to impose fees, that this local effort will interfere with the work of the California Air Resources Board or state mandates, and it will make it more expensive to do business in the Bay Area than elsewhere in the state or country. However, the board responds that global warming raises water temperature which affects air quality, clearly their mandate, and they are already coordinating their efforts with the California Air Resources Board.

While perhaps establishing a precedent, the adoption of emissions fees by local agencies will further complicate the adoption of emissions policies by state or federal agencies and the result might be a hodgepodge of fees scattered throughout California or the nation. Meanwhile, Congress will be struggling with legislation to establish an effective cap and trade system, but that will not be taken up until there is a new president. Lacking federal policies or guidelines, or frustrated by federal inaction and compromise, some states have already adopted higher fuel efficiency standards and are suing to obtain exemptions from EPA rulings. It is only a question of time, therefore, before more local or state agencies will attempt to reduce emissions by imposing fees on heavy polluters.            - DAW

california
Sonoma County Goes Green:
Local Government, Businesses and Schools Partner to Conserve Energy and Reduce Emissions

Known for its lush vineyards, oak-studded rolling hills and rugged coast in Northern California, Sonoma County has also experienced urban sprawl, freeway gridlock and increasing carbon emissions in the last two decades. Concerned about this threat to the environment and its effect on global warming, the Climate Protection Campaign conducted a successful campaign in which all nine county cities pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2015, five years ahead of the state goal of 2020.
     There are also ambitious plans to connect Marin and Sonoma counties by light rail, using an existing railroad right of way, thereby reducing gridlock on route 101. Actual construction awaits a 2/3rds voter approval of a sales tax increase in both counties; it barely failed last year.
     The county is also ahead of California’s mandates for recycling, diverting 61% of its waste from landfills and setting a target of 70% diversion by 2015. Since county landfills are already full and waste has to be hauled out of the county, recycling not only protects the environment, but also saves energy and reduces emissions. Likewise, water conservation has a high priority, given increased usage and recent dry winters, but also because 20% of the electricity used in California is for treating and moving water.

In order to be effective in reducing energy use and emissions, community leaders also realized that the private sector must be involved. They put together the Business Environmental Alliance, a public-private partnership, seven years ago. Due to increasing energy costs and an opportunity to reduce operating expenses, many local firms were already cutting energy use and joined the Alliance.
     This year, 250 business and government leaders participated in the Alliance’s annual awards dinner, in which 16 local companies were honored for green practices, including a landscaping materials firm, a vineyard, an auto body shop and an inn. By converting trucks to biodiesel, retrofitting energy systems, reducing water use, installing solar panels, packaging with recycled materials, and using vegetable oil for lubricating machinery, these companies were recognized for their contributions to the environment.

Sonoma County’s commitment to reducing emissions, protecting the environment and sustainability also extends to public and private schools. Thanks to the “Cool Schools” program, students can participate in personal or group activities on campus and in the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The program partners with experts, civic leaders and public officials to bring resources into the schools as well as engage students in community decisions.
     Through “Cool Schools”, Sonoma County students have planted trees to absorb carbon dioxide, developed alternative commuting modes to reduce trips and emissions, organized an art show to reflect environmental concerns and raise money, made public presentations on climate change, and participated in “Climate Quest”, a national project to bring high school and college students together with college faculty to study climate issues.
     As part of her senior thesis project, Katherina Haug, a senior at the Summerfield Waldorf School in Santa Rosa, researched, wrote, designed and arranged the publication of the Sonoma County Environmental Resource Guide. Available at local bookstores and recreational outlets, as well as online, this comprehensive guide provides information on environmental issues, efforts to address them, available community resources, and measures individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprint and protect the environment.
     The guide provides information on a wide range of environmental issues facing Sonoma County, including water quality, river and ocean conditions, wetlands, waste disposal, handling of toxics, urban sprawl and urban growth boundaries, energy use, transportation, and community impact reports for big-box retail outlets and suggests individual or collective action to address these problems.
     Besides listing local organizations and agencies for information or volunteering, Ms Haug also provides names and addresses of educational institutions or programs to contact for specific issues. GLOBE (Global Learning Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide primary and secondary level science education program.
     This resource guide also provides an excellent example of how a student project is not only a valuable learning experience for those directly involved, but can serve as a guide for other groups or communities to follow.       - DAW

germany
Germany Faces Dilemma In Its Use of "Brown Coal"

Germany is acutely aware that ever more stringent pollution restrictions will make some forms of energy uneconomical by mid-21st century. Exorbitant prices for imported oil may impact German industry as to make its export products no longer competitive in world markets. The nation is being forced into intensifying the mining of lignite — brown coal — which is vastly abundant and comparatively inexpensive to provide.
     One quarter of all energy sources in Germany is based on brown coal, and between a quarter and a third is derived from nuclear power plants. Powerful political lobbies want a strong reduction in the use of nuclear as too dangerous. The intensive mining of lignite — Germany's abundant "Brown Gold" — is considered a way of fulfilling growing energy needs.
     Although wind is predicted to account for as much as 35% of total energy production in Germany by 2050, energy production until that time will depend primarily on three fossil fuels: lignite, bituminous coal, and natural gas. Of these, lignite emits the most CO2. New European Union (EU) regulations require that their use be drastically reduced. The four main German players on the energy market set the sights of their R&D on a near CO2-free emission level.
     The pilot project is already underway at the brown coal energy plant, "Schwarze Pumpe" (Black Pump), in former East Germany, where tons of CO2 in heavy black clouds are now emitted daily into the air. The first near CO2-free brown coal plant should be finished in 2008. German and Swedish scientists will attempt to intercept the CO2 before it is emitted into the air and press it into caverns 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2672 ft.) underground.
     Similar projects have tried to utilize underground caverns with partially negative effects. In an attempt to pump water into a cavern 800 meters deep in Basel, Switzerland, seismic tremors were created that caused damage to property at street level. There have been no experiments to indicate whether it is possible to store CO2 emissions for long periods underground.
     Under a field in Ketzin, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Berlin, a team of scientists from the Geo-Research Center in Potsdam will press 60,000 tons of a gas mixture under a sandstone ledge to see if the gases will stay stored in the ground or eventually escape into the atmosphere. The test period is set to end in 2020.
     Since the technology must first be developed and the costs for implementing this technology are not yet calculable, it appears that Germany will have to reduce its mining of brown coal in the immediate future to meet the CO2 emission requirements of the EU until the new technology is proven viable.       - DFB