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maryb1969-blog · 7 years ago

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Political Climate Live: 'The Only Way to Save Ourselves'

Republicans are often viewed as enemies of the clean energy transition. Some people believe the GOP will never embrace climate action. So is voting them out the only way to save the planet?

If you ask environmental policy pioneer Terry Tamminen, the solution isn't that simple.

As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's pick to lead the California EPA, Tamminen found ways to craft ambitious clean energy policies and programs with buy-in from both Democrats and Republicans. In his current role as CEO of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Tamminen is working to advance sustainability solutions across the country and around the world.

In this episode of Political Climate, recorded live at GTM's Solar Summit, we talk to Tamminen about why it's important to get Republicans on board with the climate change agenda - even if it means avoiding the words "climate change" altogether.

We also discuss why Democrats are rallying around a 100 percent renewable energy target, when it has yet to be proven technically feasible. Plus, we talk about California's clash with Washington, D.C. over fuel economy standards and whether philanthropy is proving we don't need to spend taxpayer dollars on fighting climate change.

Recommended reading:

Terry Tamminen: Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation

LDF: Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Awards $20 Million in Environmental Grants

GTM: Solar and Wind Companies Spend More on Republican Candidates Than Democrats

GTM: Mark Jacobson Drops Lawsuit Against Critics of His 100% Renewables Plan

NYT: California Sues Trump Administration Over Car Emissions Rules

BBC: Michael Bloomberg Pledges $4.5M for Paris Deal

Political Climate is now available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or TuneIn. Follow Political Climate on Twitter @Poli_Climate.

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maryb1969-blog · 7 years ago

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Ramping Up Risk In The Gulf of Mexico

Two years before Deepwater Horizon, I raised red flags about BP's safety culture and the risks that culture posed for its drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, we are once again ramping up risk, hoping to enjoy the benefits without paying the price. We will need luck to beat the odds.

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maryb1969-blog · 7 years ago

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Ian G. Howarth @IGHMarketing

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maryb1969-blog · 7 years ago

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SunPower CEO: Paris Accord Withdrawal to 'Deprive Us of Innovation'

President Trump yesterday explained why he felt compelled to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord: I cannot, in good conscience, support a deal that punishes the United States, which is what it does.

Trump cited a study that said the Paris Agreement could cost Americans as [many] as 2.7 million lost jobs by 2025. The report was conducted by the consulting firm National Economics Research Associates and was commissioned by the American Council for Capital Formation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The problem other researchers have identified in the reportis that it discounts any benefits the U.S. economy would see in responding to climate change. It discounts growth and innovation in the clean energy economy and the new business opportunities that will crop up around it. By ignoring these benefits, business leaders both within and outside of the cleantech sector say the Trump administration will end up crippling a huge economic driver -- which is exactly what the president said he didn't want to do.

Tom Werner, the CEO of SunPower, called the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement an unfortunate blunder, contrary to what America is all about, which is being an innovation leader.

While analyst firms, including GTM Research, anticipate that leaving the Paris accord will have little effect on wind and solar companies operating in the U.S. in the near term, there could be negative repercussions further down the line.

Longer-term, we'll see what impact this has on markets, said Werner. I think markets are more driven by economics, and the economics of solar are clear. However, I think this could deprive us [of] innovation coming to the private sector in renewables.

The most notable impact will be on startups, he said. SunPower has purchased several companies that had partial support from the Department of Energy, and went on to create jobs and have successful exits. There's likely to be less startup activity in the absence of the Paris goals driving investments and attracting talent, Werner said.

The CEO added that he will also be closely watching the international stage. If other countries weaken their position on the Paris accord, that could influence the market for renewables, even more so than in the U.S., where the clean energy transition is already well underway. The opposite could also be true, where international markets become even more attractive.

There's no question [that] you want to be close to your end market, and we know solar project development is all local, said Werner. So if the markets are elsewhere, you're going to have more jobs elsewhere -- so directionally, you need to look at where the growth is.

"They have this fear that they will lose out"

So for the renewables sector, and other businesses linked to climate-change mitigation and adaptation, the impact of leaving the Paris Agreement may therefore be less about markets stalling and more about navigating market shifts.

From a market and economic perspective, what has changed is not necessarily the level of investment, but where future market opportunities are found and who will be making investments, said Seth Cutler, senior energy and environment analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Eliot Metzger, senior associate at the World Resources Institute, said he spoke to representatives of a global leader in the transportation sector this week who said the company is concerned the U.S. Paris decision puts them at a disadvantage. They have this fear that they will lose out on global markets, he said.

Leaving the Paris Agreement could have real impacts on the ability of U.S. companies to win contracts with foreign governments, which is a major market driver, Metzger said. With the de-emphasis on climate research and clean energy technologies at the federal level, U.S.-based companies may also start to lack the expertise to offer compelling products and services in a low-carbon economy. Other countries, meanwhile, will be all too happy to step in.

Countries like India are excited to reverse the global brain drain, said Metzger. "This is their chance to keep that talent at home. [] The competition for talent is a really big [issue], probably bigger than we can appreciate. That's the lifeblood for the future."

"Businesses must step up to protect the planet"

Reactions from the corporate community this week were swift and strong.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk abruptly quit the president's business advisory committee yesterday, tweeting that "climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." Musk was followed shortly after by Disney CEO Robert Iger.

The nearly 600 businesses that have made commitments to climate leadership in partnership with theWe Mean Business coalitionreiterated their commitments to act in the wake of Trump's announcement. An hour before the president made the official withdrawal announcement, some 300 companies got on the phone with policy leaders at sustainability-focused nonprofitCeres to ask what they could do in response, said Ceres President and CEO Mindy Lubber, speaking on a call with reporters.

Walmart, the world's largest company by revenue, said in a statement that its commitments to renewable energy and emissions reductions have been incorporated into its business practices for more than a decade, and we believe they are good for our customers, good for our business, and good for our environment.

In November, Walmart expanded its climate commitments, and earlier this year the company launchedProject Gigaton to help meet its science-based targets to reduce its supply-chain emissions by 1 gigaton by 2030.

Salesforce, which has been a leader in developing regulations that make it easier for companies to buy renewable energy in the U.S., said in a company statement that it is disappointed with the administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as the threat of climate change looms. As powerful platforms for change, businesses must step up to protect the planet for future generations, Salesforce said in a company statement.

Outlook for the U.S. electric sector

For utilities, withdrawal from the Paris accord, coupled with the recent termination of the Clean Power Plan, could ease the pressure these companies feel to transition to cleaner energy sources. U.S. utilities have already been decarbonizing at a rapid pace, but without an overarching framework, power companies in fossil-fuel-heavy states may be able to justify burning coal for longer and avoiding the adoption of renewables.

But while that may be true in some cases, Andrew Steer, president and CEO of World Resources Institute, pointed out that an increasing number of utilities are offering green tariffs to accommodate the green appetite of corporations -- even in traditionally conservative, fossil-fuel-heavy regions like North Carolina and Kentucky.

The thing that we should all go to bed tonight giving thanks for is that [the Paris exit] didn't happen three years ago, said Steer. It's never the right time, but it's happened when the momentum has grown so much that the damage...is containable.

Cory Honeyman, senior solar analyst at GTM Research, underscored that the outlook for solar deployment in the U.S. remains driven by its growing cost-competitiveness across both distributed and utility-scale PV.

Rooftop solar is past grid parity in well over half of all states, and over two-thirds of the utility solar pipeline comes from projects with economics on par with new-build natural gas, he said. So what continues to matter most is that growing economic case positioning U.S. solar to remain a double-digit-gigawatt annual market.

Rate reform debates, state-level policy changes and a looming trade dispute remain the problematic variables that could cloud the U.S. solar outlook, he said.

Regarding the solar trade case, which could end up being decided by the president, Werner said that siding with solar manufacturer Suniva is the wrong approach if Trump is interested in creating jobs. Just 10 percent of U.S. solar jobs are tied to making cells and modules, while 90 percent of solar employment is in R&D, installation and other areas of the business, he said.

In our view, open free trade is what makes America great and allows entrepreneurs and self-starting people to create new opportunities and new businesses, said Werner. If it's all about jobs, then the [trade case] is bad policy.

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maryb1969-blog · 8 years ago

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Russia-U.S. Trade Up 25% In 2017 As Trump Offers Thumb's Down On Exxon Mobil Waiver

The President's decision was not surprising, given FBI and congressional investigations, the controversial Administration and campaign contacts, the fact that his Secretary of State is the former CEO of the oil company.

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maryb1969-blog · 8 years ago

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Fracking Is Dangerous To Your Health -- Here's Why

Fracking is likely the cause of a wide range of health problems. Dismantling the EPA will greatly increase our health, water safety, and environmental risks, but governmental denial means we may never know the consequences.

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maryb1969-blog · 8 years ago

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Winter Furnace Tips For Homeowners

Winter is here and many homeowners are dealing with heating system problems. Here are some tips for winter time heating issues. First, if you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, make sure to keep the furnace intake clear of snow. This will help eliminate the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. In the following excerpt from MLive, a Michigan blog, the author published some tips from Consumer Energy. You can read entire article here.

Natural gas and electric meters should be cleared of ice and snow. If the buildup freezes, it can cause damage to the meter and interfere with its operation.

Remove the snow by hand, not with a shovel or other equipment.

If living in a manufactured or mobile home, clear snow from chimneys, fresh air intakes and furnace exhaust pipes for proper operation.

Those with high-efficiency furnaces should clear intake pipes of drifting snow to prevent obstructions.

Another good tip is to replace the air filters on your furnace regularly. Dirty air filters make it harder for the furnace to push air through your home. This places a strain on the heating system. Additionally, dirty furnace filters do not do as good of a job filtering the allergens in the air. People that are prone to allergies may notice a difference in their home when the filters are not kept clean. Heating system replacements are another issue. It is best to schedule your replacement during the off season however, if you do need to have a new heating system installed in the winter, make sure you do your due diligence in selecting an HVAC contractor. Also, understand what type of furnace you are buying. Here is an excerpt from time.com that discusses heating system efficiencies.

Today's standard furnace is about 80% efficient (meaning 20 percent of the fuel energy goes up the chimney). But you can get furnaces all the way up to 98.5% efficient, which is listed on the product information as the AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating. That kind of super efficiency can tag on $1,000 to $2,000 to your cost, says Brian Amodio, of Action Air Conditioning Heating and Solar, in San Marcos, Calif., so get a price quote and do the math: For example, if you're paying $2,000 in annual heating costs, a 15% bump in AFUE (from, let's say, 80% to 95%) would save you about $300 per year. If the added cost is $1,500, that's a five-year payback, well worth the upfront cost as long as you're staying put for the next, say, eight to 10 years to net a profit on the expense.

If you need help with your heating system and you live in Central New Jersey, give us a call. We can help with maintenance, service, tune-ups and system replacements.

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