G20 Outcomes

So now that everything is back to normal, what did the G20 actually accomplish and what did it not (from the Green perspective)?

Done:

1. Replacing G7/8 with the G20
Since 1975, the Group of 7 richest countries in the world has met to discuss the fate of the world. The less rich countries and the emerging nations have long been ired at this totalitarian governance. The first G20 occurred in November of 2008 in Washington, DC. It is a much more inclusive group representing both developing and developed nations. The heads of state have decided that this group in addition to being more representative is also better. Win for all. As I blogged about earlier, many of these developing nations are very serious about addressing climate change.

2. Fossil Fuel subsidies to be eliminated... sometime
The heads of the G20 have committed to eliminating fossil fuels. It's great to see a unanimous front on this issue. It's a joke to claim that clean energy is a goal while giving developing countries incentive to use dirty energy. Unfortunately, the process of eliminating the subsidies still needs to be ironed out and will take many studies both here and abroad to even figure out the many ways fossil fuels are subsidized in developing countries.

Not Done:

1. No firm footing on subsidies for developing nations to invest in clean energy.
In July, United States President Barack Obama asked the G20 finance ministers to take up climate financing issues and report back at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh. The ball was dropped and no clear plan emerged from the finance ministers. The number one argument by developing nations against Climate Change action is that they are being affected by climate change already but are neither causing it nor prepared financially to respond to it. It is imperative that if the richest nations (and most carbon-producing nations) in the world want to address the issue of climate change that they start by reaching into their pockets.

What's Next?

1. G20 meets in November in Scotland
The finance ministers are to report back at the next G20 meeting. Hopefully with more solid ground.

2. The last meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is in December in Copenhagen
This group has been charged with having an environmental treaty in place to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012. If financing is not in place by then, many people believe that a new treaty will not be viable. The United States was conspicuously absent from the Kyoto Protocol agreement. Hopefully, we will not have a repeat of that.

Paul Krugman: "This truth is just too inconvenient"

Paul Krugman says that some of the doom and gloom scenarios of global climate change may only be years away from affecting the Southwestern United States. If this is true, then why isn't climate change the dominant public policy issue here in the US? In one paragraph Krugman sums up why we can't seem to take big steps towards curbing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming:

But the larger reason we’re ignoring climate change is that Al Gore was right: This truth is just too inconvenient. Responding to climate change with the vigor that the threat deserves would not, contrary to legend, be devastating for the economy as a whole. But it would shuffle the economic deck, hurting some powerful vested interests even as it created new economic opportunities. And the industries of the past have armies of lobbyists in place right now; the industries of the future don’t.

I hope climate change skeptics and even the deniers take a few minutes to read the rest of Mr. Krugman's column on the climate change crisis.

Rendell On Green

On Friday, I had the opportunity to listen to Pennsylvania Governor Rendell talk about Pennsylvania's green initiatives. The governor addressed the bloggers and NGO representatives stationed at the August Wilson Center during the G20.

He highly touted the state's economic investments in green technology companies from wind giant Gamesa to electric car manufacturer CT&T. These companies and others have generated 9,000 new jobs in Pennsylvania since Rendell has been Governor. The recurring theme in the August Wilson Center this weekend was that strong action would lead to great results. Governor Rendell himself said that investing in green technologies was a great way to create new jobs, keep money in Pennsylvania, and even maintain national security by not spending money on foreign oil. He feels that part of the reason Pennsylvania has withstood this recent recession so well is the number of green jobs in the state. As of 2007, Pennsylvania ranked 3rd in the country for green jobs, only trailing California and Texas - states with a 3x and 2x higher population respectively.

Yet Governor Rendell is still hanging onto the oxymoron of "Clean Coal." This technology may be feasible in 50 years, but "clean coal" is not going to help us now. Now, as Rendell's co-speaker Dr Kumi Naidoo, chair of the the Global Campaign for Climate Action, we are in a global crisis, and we need to focus on the proven alternative energy technologies. Through research right here at CMU, we have seen major breakthroughs in solar technology. Given as much money as would be necessary for "clean coal," it's hard to imagine there would be any hurdles to using a combination of solar and wind sources for all our power. The sun and the climate are precious commodities and tremendous assets. We must value them and use them.

The Climate War

What do Brazil, Mexico, China, India, and South Africa have in common? They're all developing countries meeting in Pittsburgh this week that have plans for addressing their emissions and dealing with Climate Change.

Brazil
Brazil's President Lula has committed to reducing deforestation by 80% and reduce carbon emissions by 4.8 billion tons by 2020. Considering that deforestation contributes to more than 70% of Brazil's emissions and they are the 4th largest contributor to the 20% of greenhouse gas emissions globally caused by deforestation, this would be a major coup for reducing Greenhouse gases globally. They could also lead the way for countries like Indonesia.

Mexico
In June, "Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon announced that Mexico will voluntarily cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million tons a year by 2012 through the use of more efficient cars and power plants as well as reductions in gas leaks and flaring by the oil industry, reports Reuters. The cut represents approximately 8 percent of the country’s emissions, according to the environment ministry." Mexico is also taking a leadership position in the global effort. The country is a member of the "Environmental Integrity Group." The county has also brought forth proposals such as a "Green Fund" to help developing nations in a measurable fashion.

China
Earlier this week, Chinese President Hu Jintao committed to reducing its carbon emissions by a "notable margin" by 2020. Unfortunately, the President stopped short of giving hard measurable numbers. As the largest emitter of carbon emissions (immediately followed by yours truly), any commitment is crucial.

India
India is the country at the summit with the highest poverty level. Yet even they are moving forward on voluntary emissions reduction. They are adamant in their insistence that the more developed countries also commit to reducing emissions by 2020.

South Africa
"President Jacob Zuma said the world needs to act now to ensure there is a global agreement on the critical challenge." They, like many other developing countries, are directly feeling the effects of Climate Change and are realizing that if we do not act soon globally, the ramifications will be much further reaching than the temperature. Climate Change indirectly affects agricultural supplies, housing, and more through increased rate of natural disasters and more extreme weather patterns.

In July of this year, President Obama requested the G20 finance ministers to come up with a plan for helping to support the developing countries of the world in addressing the issue of Climate Change. If the ministers can come up with an agreed-upon plan to, then in December in Copenhagen, we may have grounds to come up with an true international plan.

And hopefully the United States will continue to step up in the meantime. The recurring theme here is one of getting and maintaining energy for real climate progress. Let's enter a "Climate War" with China where we're each fighting to generate less carbon emissions. That would be a war everyone wins.

On The G20 Edge

Technically, the G20 is intended to deal with the finances of the world. However, finances affect many humanitarian causes and it seems like everyone wants a piece of the pie. Greenpeace has been the loudest so far, unfurling a banner off the edge of the West End Bridge to advertise their cause. But causes from Africa's poverty to Climate Change to Burmese monks are marching in the streets and getting our attention.

In particular, Climate Change is making headlines. According to the Post-Gazette, yesterday at the University of Pittsburgh, "the president of the European Commission of the European Union, called for greater cooperation between Europe and the United States in reforming financial markets and combating climate change."

I'm sitting in the LEED-certified August Wilson Center in downtown Pittsburgh as I type this - in view of the Pittsburgh flag flying over the LEED-certified Convention Center. By choosing to hold this year's G20 in Pittsburgh, President Obama is showing a commitment to combating climate change.

We will see as the meetings unfold tomorrow how serious he is.

The G20 and Climate Change

Greenpeace activists kick off the G20 in Pittsburgh with a cool stunt and a message to world leaders:



The PG posted some video of the bridge stunt

Welcome to the Neighborhood

A big friendly Pittsburgh welcome goes out to EverPower who opened their Mid-Atlantic headquarters in Lawrenceville this week. The company is starting with a modest 6 employees in the region, but expects to expand that (along with its wind projects) to 35 employees in the next 18 months.

In an interview, Mr. Spencer [EverPower's CEO] said Pittsburgh first came under consideration as an office location simply because of geography. The city was almost dead center of both existing and planned projects in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. "Pittsburgh is closer to our western New York projects than our Manhattan office," he said.

We tend to think of Pittsburgh as isolated, but it's a very accessible city bridging the East Coast and the Midwest. Let's continue to take advantage of that. It would be a lovely sight to see windmills lining our rural highways all the way from New York City to Chicago.

Look Up

Next time you're in the South Side, don't forget to look up. There are 40 different energy efficient street light styles being tested out in that neighborhood.

The Mayor's office is requesting feedback from interested parties. Email them at streetlight@city.pittsburgh.pa.us to show your preference. The test lights will be in use until February 2010, after which point a decision will be made and the winner will have their street lights installed throughout the city. Ultimately, this process will save the city over $1 Million annually.

Van Jones resigns from his post as White House adviser

Van Jones, founder of Green for All and the leading voice of the green jobs movement, has stepped down from his post as White House environmental adviser. Jones was seen as the President's "Green Jobs Czar" and his views on the environmental movement, his past as a political activist, and the partisan attacks (a while back he was taped referring to Republicans as "assholes") have led to cries for his resignation. Jones, realizing that falling on his sword made more sense since it would be less of a distraction than trying to combat the distortions and smears, said, in his statement, that "I came here to fight for others, not for myself."

Here are the facts related to the right wing media attacks on Jones's character:

1. Van Jones was among the many who were arrested in San Francisco for protesting during the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict in 1992. Jones was a law student at Yale at the time and was working for the San Fran based Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and was monitoring the demonstrations at the time he was arrested.
2. Later that same year Jones said he became a "communist." He was a leftist activist for the next several years but upon realizing that their cause resulted in little or no progress he came around to the idea of capitalism, saying that he "...realized that there are a lot of people who are capitalists....who are really committed to fairly significant change in the economy, and were having bigger impacts than me and a lot of my friends with our protest signs" The full story on Jone's political past can be found in this Bay Area newspaper story.
3. Jones referred to Republicans as "assholes." It seemed like he was trying to be funny, because he even admitted the too could sometimes be an asshole, and that sometimes you have to be an asshole to pass legislation. Jones said this on 2/11/2009, prior to his being named to his post as White House adviser.
4. Jones spoke out about the role of race in environmental issues an decisions. Here he is talking about how white polluters, in the form of big business CEOs have "steered poison" into colored peoples' neighborhoods.

So basically, the far right didn't want a guy with a radical past and history of speaking the truth of the role of race in the environmental movement working closely with the President and his administration. Fair enough, and I think the Obama administration should have known better than to hire someone with Jones' background, because it plays into the right's hand and their argument that Obama "surrounds himself with radicals", although, up until this point, their accusations have turned out to be wrong.

I doubt Van Jones is going to lose sleep over resigning. Part of what makes Van Jones the leader that he is today is his radical roots, and his willingness to speak bluntly about the environmental and green jobs divide. As Al Gore has proven, someone with the drive of a Van Jones can probably do more for their cause working outside of government than they could from within.

UPDATE: This editorial from the San Fran Chronicle pretty much sums up what I posted above, but I wanted to highlight the following paragraph:

"Those of us who have observed Van Jones' work over the years know him as a dedicated activist whose once polemic and confrontational style on matters such as police misconduct has been redirected and transformed into a more polished and inclusive advocacy of the environment. In the politics of the San Francisco Bay Area, a fiery radical past is almost a rite of passage."

Congrats to Bike-PGH

Yesterday, Bike-PGH and their partners in biking scored a minor victory in the battle for bicycle commuting.

"The city planning commission yesterday approved requiring bicycle parking at commercial developments of more than 6,000 square feet and residential developments of more than 12 units."

This is on top of the recent successful initiatives of Car-Free Fridays and ever more bike markings on traffic roads. Additionally, according to twitter, Bike-PGH is partnering with the city on a small business bike rack program. Congratulations to Bike-PGH for making a difference in the biking situation in the city of Pittsburgh.

3 TDP Final Draft Takeaways

Over the past year or so, Port Authority did an amazing thing. They hired consultants, performed an extensive study, held meetings to get feedback on the results of that study, and today is the day we've all been waiting for. Today is the day that the results and timeline get revealed. Well almost. There's one more hearing, but beginning in March 2010, changes will be implemented.

3 Most Important Takeaways - plus 1 Bonus Personal Item

1. The base fare is not increasing. A one-zone fare will remain $2 for the foreseeable future. Steve Bland didn't want to force commuters to carry coins. Perhaps this issue will be revisited next year when smartcards are in use?

2. Port Authority is inevitably embracing Bus Rapid Transit lines with no vision for how a potential light rail line between Oakland and Downtown would ever fit in. But maybe that's just realistic and practical?

3. The 28X Airport Flyer will no longer include the obligatory stop at the Ikea/Robinson megaplex.

Bonus Takeaway: There is no silver line. Port Authority dangled the Silver Line in front of me, then snatched it away. It's depressing for me and for Richard. But that's life.

PennDOT and High-Speed Rail

PennDOT submitted their first request for Federal High-Speed Rail stimulus money this week totaling $28.2 Million.

Breakdown:
$27.45 Million for improvements along the Harrisburg to Philadelphia line.
$00.75 Million for a feasibility study for increasing service between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

The last study [regarding Pittsburgh to Harrisburg] concluded in 2005 that track and signal improvements would be needed if more passenger trains were added, in order to avoid slowing down freight trains.

What's changed? 4 years of doing nothing have out-dated this study bringing us back to square one. But 4 years ago, George W. Bush was the acting President of the country, and the last thing he cared about was high-speed rail. Maybe we have a chance for decent rail in Pittsburgh now that we have a President who has a vision for this country. It's only a shame how much money and time has been wasted in the meantime.

And will PennDOT resurrect Maglev and request funding for the next stage there? We have until October 2 to find out.

One Bus At a Time

Pollution in Pittsburgh is a tough beast. Our air quality has improved ten-fold over the past few decades, but we are still topping up on worst-of lists nation-wide. One of the major culprits is that one of the places that air quality is measured in the region is downwind of the largest coke plant in the country, Clairton. US Steel is regularly fined for the awful state of this plant, and last year agreed to spend a record billion dollars on improving the plant. We had hope of falling behind Los Angeles yet again when this construction was done.

Then US Steel announced in April that the recession was forcing it to nix its billion dollar plans to clean up its Clairton coke plant, and I gave up hope of us ever making it off the list.

But maybe I was wrong? Maybe I should be thinking of particles in the air one ton at a time, by each diesel-powered dump truck and Port Authority bus. The latest round of federal stimulus grants is hitting Allegheny County, $3.5 Million to upgrade these pollution belchers. If we can get rid of all these relics, maybe our pollution rate can still drop enough to make a difference. Maybe it's like all of us switching out one bottle of petroleum-based detergent or adding one energy-efficient light bulb or riding our bikes to work once a week. Or maybe not. But if there's one thing I've realized, it's that we can't depend on US Steel to get us there.

Netroots Nation and the Greenroots in Pittsburgh this week

Today the progressive blogger conference known as Netroot Nation kicks off in Pittsburgh. In addition to tonight's keynote address by President Bill Clinton, and a host of other progressive bloggers and public figures, climate change the green economy will be on the agenda. Below is a list of the green panels that will be taking place over the next few days in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's green economy will be on display during a panel with local green gurus, which include Braddock Mayor John Fetterman and local Green Drinks coordinator Bernie Lynch. If you cannot make it to down to the convention center this week there will be opportunities to view the live sessions over the web via UStream or Facebook.

A Warming Web: The Blogosphere and Climate Change

Thursday, August 13th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Panel, 318

Time: Thursday, August 13th, 9:00am - 10:15am

Room: 318

Global warming blogging is red hot: The Senate is debating climate change legislation. The Obama administration is pouring billions of dollars into clean energy and green jobs. Countries are maneuvering for position in this December's crucial international climate treaty conference. And nearly every week scientists are revealing how global warming is changing the conditions of life on Earth -- and how much worse conditions may become if we don't slash our greenhouse gas pollution. At this panel, some of the top bloggers covering environmental politics and climate science will talk about what they do, how they do it, and why it's more important now than ever before.

Panel Details

Building the Blue-Green Movement Online

Thursday, August 13th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Panel, 318

Time: Thursday, August 13th, 3:00pm - 4:15pm

Room: 318

Among the priorities of the Obama administration are passing clean energy and workers’ rights legislation. Representatives from the Blue Green Alliance — a national partnership of labor unions and environmental organizations — will discuss how this unique partnership is working to expand the number and quality of jobs in the clean energy economy. Join us for this panel, which will include union members already working in the clean energy economy, to discuss building an online effort to create good jobs while reducing global warming and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

Panel Details

Green Economy in the ’Burgh

Thursday, August 13th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Panel, 301/302

Time: Thursday, August 13th, 3:00pm - 4:15pm

Room: 301/302

One reason Netroots Nation is coming to Pittsburgh is the incredible range of work being done here in sustainability, green jobs, green buildings and building equity. This session lets some of the folks doing great work in the area share their perspectives on Pittsburgh's role as a model of post-industrial revitalization through sustainability.

Panel Details

LEED in Pittsburgh

Lots of people call LEED-certification a scam (in the same boat as "USDA Certified Organic" foods.) The process to get your building certified is expensive, arduous and long. It also sometimes misses the point:

"In LEED, you need 26 of 69 possible points to get certified, and all points are weighted equally, even though some have far greater environmental benefits than others."

That translates to a bike rack being the same value as a million dollar HVAC system. Which do you think developers are choosing to install?

At the same time, LEED is what we've got. A bike rack is better than nothing. And the program is popular. There are now over 100,000 certified LEED professionals. This Spring, 11 architects from downtown Pittsburgh firm, Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goetell (PWWG), hopped on the bandwagon and achieved certification. It's a lot easier to build an LEED-certified building when you have an LEED-certified architect designing it.

"Most architects can already design green, but LEED-certification is a good marketing tool," says Anne J. Swager, Hon. AIA, executive director of AIA Pittsburgh.

Congratulations to PWWG for making Pittsburgh a greener place, at least in the eyes of marketers. In a city that's historically suffered in marketing itself, this is a good green step in the right direction.

Bike parking ordinance in City

If you've tried to ride your bike around the city of Pittsburgh recently, you've probably noticed one thing. You're not alone. You're also not alone when looking for parking. It's great to see lots of interest in biking, and the city is starting to step up and accommodate these bikers.

For decades, there have been rules on the books that you need ample parking when building a new office building. But that parking has always applied to cars. Now city council has introduced a bike parking ordinance where new construction will need to accommodate bikers. Bike racks are a lot cheaper than parking spaces, and require very little real estate, but as I've noticed on recent bike rides, they're becoming indispensable in the city. This spring Philadelphia introduced a similar ordinance. Kudos to Pittsburgh City Council for following suit.

Read all about it at Bike-PGH. For a comprehensive look at where the city currently stands on biking, see their website. You can even apply to be a bike intern.

The New and Improved Incandescent: a case study of the way government mandates can spur innovation

It's an easy position, being anti-government, but on occasion an issue arises where only the federal government has the power to step in and bring about the changes we need. Energy efficiency, energy independence, and climate change are all perfect examples of how, absent government mandates, the free market fails to get it done and has failed to get it done time after time. Now, occasionally the government does back the wrong horse, corn ethanol is a perfect example of such an instance, but the case of the incandescent light bulb is indeed a case study of how the government can enact policy that takes a product that should have been obsolete half a century ago, and replaces it with a new technology or new and improved version. When it was announced back in 2007 that the incandescent light bulb, at least in its current form and efficiency, would be phased out by the year 2012, Conservative radio hosts across the country and in Pittsburgh (local right wingers Quinn and Rose) freaked out about the news. But have no fear right wingers and lovers of incandescent light bulbs. Because of the mandate, manufacturers have been rushing to develop new technologies that have already proven to make the old incandescent bulbs 30% to 50% more energy efficient. The impact of having the majority of our residential lighting, be it incandescents, CFLs, or LEDs, at 30%, 50%, and even 100% greater efficiency, is huge in the grand scheme of things. Now that, my friends, is change and government that we can believe in.

PNC Financial - the greenest bank in the world

Pittsburgh's PNC Financial Services, which, after its acquisition of Cleveland based National City is now among the largest banks in the US, is, without a doubt, the greenest bank in the world. Not only does PNC have the most LEED certified bank branches, it even trademarked the term "Green Branch." Something even cooler for those of us who work in or do business in downtown Pittsburgh - PNC has recently announced that it will install what will be the largest "living wall" in North America, with a 2400 square foot green wall planned to go up on their headquarters, which is located at the corners of downtown's Fifth Avenue and Wood Street. Fast Company has more on this big win for downtown Pittsburgh.

Wasting Time on the DC Metro

I spent a long time on the DC Metro last weekend, traveling between Alexandria, VA and downtown Washington, DC. I've heard a lot of anecdotal evidence of people loving the DC Metro. I have to admit it is incredibly extensive and clean, but I've always found it to be slow as molasses, complicated to learn, and my new belief is that it encourages the horrendous sprawl around DC. The Alexandria station I visited had clearly never heard the term "Transit Oriented Development." It was a glorified parking lot. In short, the Metro is not very tourist-friendly in spite of DC being one of the top ten family destinations in the country. Heck, they don't even have google maps integration.

While I was spending my 35 minutes traveling into the city on what is essentially a commuter rail, I read the paper - where the city dwellers were bashing the state of the light rail. In Washington, DC, there is a lack of dedicated funding to fix the metro. The recent tragic crash occurred on a train that was behind in brake maintenance. Thanks to the back-handed maneuverings of Dan Onorato, at least Pittsburgh does have a dedicated tax to the funding of public transportation. Of course, that tax only contributes to capital improvements instead of regular maintenance.

Moral of the story? You don't have to have good public transportation for people to use it. You just need to build it. Construction didn't begin on the DC Metro until 1969. That's only 40 years ago even though their population has been relatively flat over that time.

Lesson for Pittsburgh? Plan it and do it. And we already have a step up on DC because we have dedicated funding in place. Let's quit wasting time and whining about how we'll never catch up to the big cities. Because we can.

Peduto Strikes Again

Councilman Peduto, seemingly our only area "green" political leader, has stepped forth once again to guide the city in a green direction. His proposed legislation to force every development receiving city incentives to reach LEED silver status or higher. While cities like Boston, are forcing every new large development to reach LEED status, Pittsburgh is making a very practical compromise here. If you want our money, play by our rules. If you don't play by those rules, you'll get fined a hefty 1% of construction costs. The legislation passed first vote in council yesterday.

The Post-Gazette also reports that there is also a state-wide initiative gaining ground for environmental standards for state-aided developments.

These are some great steps, and it seems like Council is actually moving ahead with passing the legislation smoothly (unlike back in 2008 or 2007 or even 2006 when Peduto unsuccessfully proposed similar legislation). Now the question will be how this affects deals already in the works? Can East Liberty have the 4th LEED-certified Target in the country? How about the North Shore amphitheater? And where would be if we had listened to Peduto years ago?