As Greenpeace activists fight for action on global warming in Italy during the G8 Summit, climate change legislation here in the States faces an even tougher challenge. After passing in the House last week, President Obama’s climate change bill will likely see major erosion of environmental goals by the time the Senate is through with it.

Democrats had hoped to get some GOP support for the bill, but any votes coming from the other side of the aisle – and, indeed, from some lawmakers in their own party – would likely come at the expense of several key points in the bill.

From The Washington Post:

Senators will weigh a slew of potential compromises — everything from allowing more offshore drilling for oil and natural gas to increasing funding for nuclear energy — that they think would inch the package closer to passage. But environmental activists warn that the 1,400-page House version of the bill already includes so many giveaways to corporate America that more horse-trading in the Senate could lead them to oppose the final version.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) is counting on a handful of committee chairs to complete their portion of the legislation, which would create a cap-and-trade system, requiring major greenhouse gas emitters to either reduce their emissions or buy allowances.

As of today, Reid can count on the support of about 40 to 45 senators for that basic premise, according to aides and outside activists backing the legislation. Supporters are targeting a pool of roughly two dozen lawmakers — including about 15 of Reid’s Democrats — who will determine the legislation’s fate.

Democrats from the Rust Belt states of West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are pushing for more incentives to help their depressed industries shift to alternative energy sources. The same senators also will likely want more funding for carbon capture and sequestration, a controversial and still-evolving technology described by its developers as “clean coal” but derided by many environmentalists. The technology is already slated for $10 billion in government-funded research in legislation that passed the House. A trio of Democrats from the Dakotas want more funding for wind power.

The only likely backers of the bill in the GOP are moderate Maine senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. In order to get more GOP support, the bill would have to include funding for nuclear options.

The bill is expected to hit the Senate floor sometime in the fall. By the time they’re done with it, however, the bill will likely be so diluted and full of concessions that environmentalists will want nothing to do with it.

This could get ugly. We envision Jerry Springer-like ‘Bitch, I’ll tear out yo weave’ cat fights over various interests – which would be fun, if it weren’t for the whole ‘the world is at stake’ thing.

Link [The Washington Post]

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Greenpeace – like PETA – really knows how to make an attention-grabbing statement. Over 100 Greenpeace activists from around the world took over four Italian coal-fired power stations in an attempt to force Heads of State to take leadership on climate change. World leaders convened yesterday in Rome for the G8 Summit, and climate change was one of the issues discussed.

From Greenpeace, via PlanetSave:

In the early hours of this morning, the activists, from 18 countries, occupied coal conveyors and climbed smokestacks and cranes on the four power stations in Brindisi, Marghera (just outside of Venice), at Vado Ligure, (near Genoa) and at an old oil plant at Porto Tolle, (set to be re-opened as an experimental so-called “clean coal” power plant.)  Coal is the worst climate pollutant of all fossil fuels.

The Brindisi plant is Italy’s biggest coal-fired power station and the country’s largest single source of C02 emissions. Greenpeace plans to stop it from polluting by blocking the coal conveyor belts and preventing coal from going into the plant.

“Politicians talk but leaders act” said UK activist Ben Stewart from the top of the 160m high chimney at the Marghera plant.  “There is no more time to waste. The G8 leaders must stop putting the interests of big coal and other climate polluting industries ahead of the planet and take strong, decisive leadership on climate change. That means deep cuts in emissions by 2020, investing in adaption and mitigation in the developing world and halting tropical deforestation.”

Greenpeace was asking world leaders to agree to a stringent set of criteria in the fight against global warming, including ensuring that global emissions peak by 2015 and be as close to zero as possible by 2050, and committing, as a group, to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2020.

Unfortunately, the world’s major industrial nations were not able to agree on specific cuts to heat-trapping gases by 2050. In the end, the failure to establish specific targets was due to the refusal of emerging nations like China and India.

You can follow a live feed of updates on the Greenpeace website, including photos and observations from the protesters. Photos of the activists climbing scaffolding hundreds of feet above the ground are quite striking and can be viewed full-size at ScribbleLive.com.

Link [Greenpeace] via [PlanetSave]

Coal-Mac, a subsidiary of a coal company that has tried in the past to convince people that mountaintop removal mining is “the right thing to do”, has now resorted to urging its employees to cancel vacations to Tennessee because of the state’s anti-mountaintop removal stance. Tennessee, home to the beautiful Smoky Mountains National Park, has endorsed bi-partisan federal legislation that would effectively ban mountaintop removal in a bill called the Appalachian Restoration Act.

From the NRDC Switchboard:

In a letter to local Chambers of Commerce, the company warns: “[I]f you want our industry’s business, we suggest you let your representatives know that the industry they are trying to destroy is a major source of your tourism money.”

The letter also notes that two other out-of-state Arch subsidiarues have cancelled their annual company picnics to Dollywood this year.  Apparently, a pro-MTR group called Citizens for Coal is joining in by asking all of its members to also boycott Tennessee travel.

“We’re trying to say to our employees and to other coal miners, that let’s hit them in the wallet with their tourism,” explained Coal-Mac official Richie Phillips.  “Tourism is how they make a living and coal mining is how we make a living.”

Right, because blowing up the mountains that tourists come to see in the first place will really increase revenue for the state. Mr. Phillips’ logic is so brilliant, it takes my breath away.

I’m sure that residents and lawmakers in the mountainous eastern region of Tennessee are so devastated to lose the business of a handful of jackass coal execs, and keep their beautiful views instead.

Link [NRDC Switchboard]
Photo credit: MountainAction.org

The shiny green robot with wide plastic eyes looks like it sprung out of the fictional world of Wall-E, and its friendly look helps people accept its presence in their lives. But people in the Italian town of Peccioli likely would have accepted it no matter what it looked like, given its purpose: cleaning up trash. Peccioli is home to one of the most advanced dumping sites in Italy, and trash is big business here.

Global Post has all the details on how the ‘DustCart’ was received and how exactly it works:

During a recent test-run at Peccioli’s main terrace, the future of garbage collection zoomed in on two wheels, rounded and shiny, devoid of arms, and with two big round inspiring eyes.

“We are about to begin,” said a researcher over a microphone.

The scientists had transformed the terrace into an outdoor laboratory, laying wires on the cobblestone, installing webcams at street corners, and setting up a control room to monitor DustCart’s every move.

“Our colleague will now simulate a user’s call,” said the researcher.

Like a taxi answering a call, DustCart rode across the terrace to meet the caller.

Once the robot arrived, it asked for a personal ID number that both identifies the user and tracks the garbage. It also asked for the kind of trash being dumped — organic, recyclable or waste. DustCart then opened its belly bin, collected the trash and took it to a fake dumping site.

Check out the whole story over at Global Post.

While many of us are a bit wary of the idea of living with robots, the DustCart is pretty cool. It’s pretty clear that we need a major overhaul of our waste management systems, and while a fleet of robots isn’t going to solve our problems, it’s an interesting way to approach them.

Link [Global Post]

“Traitor Joe’s: Your one-stop shop for ocean destruction.” That’s what Greenpeace branded specialty retailer Trader Joe’s after they were rated dead last among 9 supermarket chains on seafood sustainability. Trader Joe’s scored lower than Winn-Dixie and Wal-Mart because it serves red list fish.

Fish on the red list is either imperiled, or comes from fisheries that harm other sea creatures like turtles, dolphins, seals and sea lions. Among those on the list are Atlantic Cod, Orange Roughy, red snapper, Chilean sea bass, grouper and yellowfin tuna.

Greenpeace sent out protesters dressed as Orange Roughy to the Trader Joe’s in San Francisco, urging the company to stop its environmentally unfriendly practices.

Click ‘Go’ below to watch a quick animated video:

From the Traitor Joe website:

Hello friends. Traitor Joe here. I’m up to my eyeballs in red list seafood. There is so much in my stores that I bet there is nothing left in the oceans. That’s the beauty about red list species. They are doing so badly in the oceans that they need extra help and conservation in order to survive. But will I help save them? Heck no! I need to make a profit and if that means I am helping these dwindling fish stocks to go extinct, oh well. I’ll still sleep at night.

After all, you’d never know my seafood was caught in ways that endanger ocean habitats and other marine creatures. Why? I conveniently leave the labels off my seafood. Ha, ha ha. Pretty good trick, right? My customers never know what they are really buying. That way I can pass the guilt on to you, so you can help me turn the oceans into a giant, empty bathtub without ever knowing. How’s that for giving my customers what they want?

As Greenpeace notes, Trader Joe’s could escape the harsh spotlight easily by removing all red list seafood from its stores. After all, their core customer base cares deeply about the environment – and is it really smart to alienate them?

The other retailers that have made no visible effort whatsoever to increase the sustainability of their seafood operations include Aldi, Costco, Giant Eagle, H. E. B., Meijer, Price Chopper, Publix and Winn-Dixie.

Wegmans, Ahold, Whole Foods, and Target were praised for their efforts to improve.

Link [Traitor Joe] via [Marc Gunther]

From The Huffington Post:

“In a good market, we’re going to get the best rents for the best tenants,” said Anthony E. Malkin, who leads a real estate group that owns the Empire State Building. “In a bad market like we have now, we’re going to get tenants when other buildings won’t.”

“This isn’t just a ‘We are doing the right thing’ movement,” said Marc Heisterkamp, U.S. Green Building Council’s director of commercial real estate. “In the end, the numbers pencil out.”

At the Empire State Building, Malkin proposed a top-to-bottom renovation that included a $13.2 million investment in new green technologies. The goal was to sufficiently reduce greenhouse gases without spending more than he could justify to his investors.

What the owners settled on was a series of upgrades that include retrofitting all 6,500 windows. Under every window, radiators will be padded with extra insulation. The building’s lighting, cold water and ventilation systems also will be upgraded.

The renovation should take 18 months. Afterward, the owners expect an annual energy savings of $4.4 million, enough to pay off the new technologies in about three years.

HuffPo reports that other buildings across the U.S. undergoing similar changes include the Christman Building in Lansing, Michigan and the Sears Tower in Chicago. We’d love to see this trend continue to spread across the country, regardless of whether the building owners care about the environment or just want to make more money. Green greed is a good thing!

Link [Huffington Post]

Photo credit: Flickr user paulaloe

Who says global warming isn’t a laughing matter? Last summer, Green Homes put together a collection of cool green advertisements that don’t just push an important message on everyone who sees them, but are also eye-catching and funny. Yes, funny. From putting billboards of giant naked asses above polluted waterways to selling natural cleaning products with sex, those 10 ads were classics – but we’ve found another five to tack on to the list.

“Until the sun shines out of your ass, use an energy-efficient lightbulb instead.” Who says Greenpeace doesn’t have a sense of humor?

Taking a page from the guerrilla marketing handbook, this ad campaign by the Global Environment Centre is certainly an attention-getter. The outdoor installation was constructed ahead of the Arts & Earth Festival 2006 in Malaysia.

Atmospheric pollution affects everyone – even the Wicked Witch of the West and Cupid. The Singapore Environment Council created these ads to raise awareness about the problem of pollution in our skies.

This ad was never actually created – it’s just a Photoshopped proof of concept – but it’s a clever idea. The shape and text of the ad were to be powerblasted onto dirty sidewalks using a large stencil form to gain support in an effort to reduce the pollution released by particular powerplants in Chicago.

“Look how much carbon monoxide you’ll keep out of the air we breathe by not driving for just one day.” That’s the message that was displayed on the giant black cloud attached to a car’s tailpipe after being inflated with a day’s worth of exhaust. This guerrilla ad by WWF appeared in China in 2007.

The strange sex lives of disease-causing bacteria called pneumococcus may be the reason they become resistant to antibiotics, according to a new study by Imperial College London. Pneumococcus bacteria cause pneumonia and bacterial meningitis, killing about a million people every year.

From Science Daily:

Dr William Hanage, the lead author of the study from Imperial College London, said: “Bacteria have very peculiar sex lives. When humans have kids they mix up their DNA with that of their partner, but bacteria can pick up DNA from all sorts of places, even other species. Our research shows that bacteria which do this, that is undergo sex, with their own and other species are more likely to develop resistance to antibiotics, protecting them from being killed by these drugs.”

Bacteria reproduce asexually, by splitting in two to produce identical ‘daughter’ cells. Sometimes, however, they can take up DNA from other bacteria or the environment, and incorporate it into their own genome. This mixing process, called recombination, is what happens in animals during sexual reproduction. It is most common between bacteria of the same species but, unlike animals, bacteria can sometimes undergo recombination with different species of bacteria, which means the daughter cells end up with DNA from those species.

Some combinations of DNA help bacteria to survive better. It appears that antibiotic resistant strains of pneumococcus are more likely to mix up their DNA in this way, and so are more likely to hit upon the adaptation which helps them resist antibiotic treatment.

Researchers are hoping they can use this knowledge to fight the development of drug-resistant bacteria. And it’s a good thing, too – when it comes to those tough little suckers, we need all the help we can get before we have some massive problems on our hands.

Link [Science Daily]
Photo credit: National Library of Medicine

From the very same innovative designer that brought us the soil-powered LED lamp comes a clock that also runs on dirt. Marieke Staps’ soil clock has copper and zinc electrodes that plug into the soil. Inhabitat explains that “The soil functions as an electrolyte, or conductive medium through which an electrical charge can flow. The natural metabolism of biological life produces enough electricity to keep the clock working.”

But if your plant dies from lack of watering, so will the clock – you’ve got to keep the soil moist.

Sure, this is no miracle invention – it’s a simple electrochemical cell – but it’s still cool, and the promise of harvesting energy from soil certainly doesn’t stop here. It could be a valuable asset in third world countries, where anodes and cathodes could be made from scrap metal. It’s certainly an idea worth investigating further.

Link [Inhabitat]

OrganicNation.tv is back with yet another awesome video from their travels across America exploring the sustainable food landscape. This time, the Organic Nation team caught up with Chad Kennedy, Head Brewer at Portland’s Laurelwood Public House and Brewery.

From OrganicNation.tv:

Portland is of course known for its beer and microbreweries, and the Portland beer scene has been swept up in the organic movement in recent years (which is why the North American Organic Brewers Festival was held in Portland over the weekend).

Laurelwood wasn’t the first certified-organic brewery in Oregon, but it has been the longest lasting. Chad and his brewers have two organic brews, the the Free Range Red and Tree Hugger Porter, and if Dorothee and Chad seem a bit happier than usual, it’s because we had the pleasure of tasting both of them during the shoot.

Chad walked us through the whole process of brewing organic beer, and to our surprise he told us that hops aren’t actually organic in some organic beers. The USDA only requires that 95 percent of the ingredients in certified-organic beer are themselves organic, and because organic hops are in very short supply right now, conventional hops are often used in certified-organic beer.

Check it out:

What’s Organic About Organic Beer? from OrganicNation on Vimeo.

Watch more Organic Nation videos over at OrganicNation.tv!

Link [OrganicNation.tv]