Category Archives: CO2

Posted on by

Public Transportation? It’s Divine

I don’t usually stray into religious affairs here on The Phoenix Sun. But this picture of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, riding the subway in Buenos Aires, Argentina, caught my attention. A reliable and widely accessible public transportation system is an important part of a sustainable energy economy- and of a commitment to social justice.

The picture reminds me of a meme that was popular several years ago: “What would Jesus drive?”

Clearly, the pontiff-to-be had an opinion on the issue.

Posted on by

How to Balance the books on carbon: Polluter pays

A group of Democratic Congressmen and Senators released draft legislation today aimed at putting a price on carbon. They call it a discussion draft, so be sure to let them know what you like and don’t like about the proposal.

For background, check out our 2009 eBook, The Climate Bill: A Field Guide. The eVolume includes just about everything on the official record (transcripts of committee hearings and floor debate, the recorded vote, and the full text of the humongous bill) from the American Clean Energy Act of 2009, which passed the House but was never taken up in the Senate.

March 11 ~ House Committee on Energy & Commerce

Today, Representative Henry A. Waxman, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Representative Earl Blumenauer, and Senator Brian Schatz released draft carbon-pricing legislation and solicited feedback on it from stakeholders and the public. The legislation would establish the polluter pays principle for dangerous carbon pollution, requiring large emitters to pay for the pollution they emit.

The “discussion draft” released today contains a new and straightforward approach to putting a price on carbon pollution. The nation’s largest polluters would have to pay a fee for each ton of pollution they release. The legislation assigns responsibility for the assessment and collection of the carbon fees based upon the expertise that has already been developed by EPA and the Treasury Department. Under the discussion draft, EPA’s database of reported emissions would determine the amount of pollution subject to the fee. The Treasury Department would be responsible for the collection and handling of the fees.

“Putting a price on carbon could help solve two of the nation’s biggest challenges at once: preventing climate change and reducing the budget deficit,” said Rep. Waxman of California. “There have been carbon tax proposals made by others. What’s unique about this one is its novel design. We are seeking to craft a system in which each agency does what they are good at and that minimizes compliance burdens and administrative costs. Utilities, oil companies, and other major sources are already reporting their emissions to EPA. We build off of this existing program.”

“Putting a price on carbon is the best way to reduce carbon pollution and slow the effects of climate change,” said Sen. Whitehouse of Rhode Island. “For far too long, carbon polluters have pushed the true cost of their pollution onto the American people in the form of dirty air, acidified water, and a changing climate. This framework is the beginning of a collaborative process to craft legislation that will reduce carbon pollution while also upholding an important principle: that all of the revenue generated through this carbon fee will be returned to the American people.”

via Waxman, Whitehouse, Blumenauer, and Schatz Release Carbon Price Discussion Draft | Committee on Energy and Commerce Democrats.

Posted on by

Mexican Drug Gangs Profit From Fossil Fuel Addiction

In his 2006 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush declared, “Here we have a serious problem: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.”

What President Bush didn’t say — although it was just as true — is that America is addicted to other fossil fuels, such as natural gas and coal. In fact, the three countries that together contain 84 percent of North America’s population are all fossil fuel junkies. The battle over the Keystone XL pipeline has highlighted the Canadian-U.S. carbon habit, but information about Mexico’s energy battles rarely make the news here in the States. Most stories on Mexico focus on that country’s non-metaphorical drug problems.

Over at Living on Earth, there’s an interview about the surprising (to me, anyway) link between both of these addictions — to fossil fuel and to illegal drugs.

Here’s the introduction. Follow the link below to listen to the full interview.

The state of Coahuila borders Texas and produces 95% of Mexico’s coal. (Image: Google Maps)

CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Steve Curwood. Illicit drugs are a wildly lucrative business for many gangs in Mexico. But at least one cartel, the Zetas Gang, has found something even more profitable - coal mining. The state of Coahuila borders Texas and produces 95 percent of Mexico’s coal. It’s also ground zero for Mexican drug cartels turned coal barons. That’s according to a recent article in Al Jazeera, written by reporter John Holman, who joins us by phone from the roadside in Mexico. John, Welcome to Living on Earth.

HOLMAN: Hello!

CURWOOD: So how is it possible that mining for coal can be more profitable than selling illegal drugs?

HOLMAN: Well one of the big things is that in Coahuila there lots of small clandestine mines called pothos. And these sorts of mines that have very little regulation - and so obviously they can have bigger turnover from gangs like the Zetas gang - and obviously miners in that state not usually very highly trained and poorly paid - so that’s another reason they could earn a lot of money from it.

CURWOOD: So these are small little clandestine mines on the side of the roads that people are working.

HOLMAN: Yes, obviously Coahuila also has its share of bigger mines; as you said, it’s responsible for 95 percent of Mexico’s coal output. These small mines as you drive through Coahuila - as I did - and you can see them on the side of the roads in the coal district. And they’re literally just some men gathered around what looks a very ropey sort of machine to lower them down into the depths of the earth and bring up that coal.

CURWOOD: So walk me through this process. Who buys this coal from the drug cartels?

via Living on Earth: Mexican Drug Gangs Turn To Coal Mining.