Topic: climate change
Judge Rules Part of AB 32 Unconstitutional
A district court judge in California dealt a major setback to AB 32, California’s landmark global warming law. With the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, AB 32 set a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that required the carbon content in gasoline to be reduced by 10% and required that 20% of total gasoline used in the state come from renewable fuels.
The law was one of the first in the country to use a “carbon intensity” analysis to determine the total amount of green house gases emitted during the production and transportation of fuel. By capping the amount of carbon permissible in the fuel, the law would provide marketable credits to producers and distributors who emitted less carbon. Those who could not comply with the standard would face increased fuel costs as they would be forced to buy additional credits.
However, the law, which went into effect this year, may have stalled before even leaving the gates. According to the judge, the new standard unconstitutionally discriminated against out-of-state producers and attempted to regulate activity that occurred outside of state borders. As a result, the law violated the Dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
The lawsuit was brought by various farm groups, ethanol producers, refiners and truckers. The California Air Resources Board has said it would appeal.
COMIC: Happy Climate Change Denial Season!
The New York Times ran this comic strip by Brian McFadden that offers a fun take on climate change as we near the holiday season.
Weekly Quick Hits
Impact of Fiscal Woes in U.S. Cities – A study on the impact of the recession on local municipalities. (Infrastructurist.com)
Fixed Mortgage Rates at Historic Lows – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4%, and the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.31%, both historic lows. (The Washington Post)
The Dark Side of the “Green” City – An op-ed about Phoenix, Arizona’s attempt to be the greenest city in the U.S. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Senate Republicans Block Infrastructure Plan – Republicans in the Senate dealt President Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda, blocking a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure such as roads and rail lines. (Associated Press)
LEED Pilot Credit for “Demand Response” Revised
Pilot Credit 8: Demand Response, introduced in 2010 under the LEED Pilot Credit Library, USGBC’s mechanism for testing proposed credits that have not yet been formally vetted, has been revised. The credit attempts to incentivize participation in automated demand response (“DR”) programs that are important to developing a smart grid. DR refers to the ability to control consumption of electricity to better correspond with supply conditions.
Projects will earn a point toward LEED certification if they can show a 10% shift in their energy consumption away from peak energy periods. Extra points may be earned by projects that employ semi- or fully-automated demand response programs in their buildings. Education and market feedback are also incorporated into the program to help promote the sharing of information and to gauge the effect that the building community can have on the grid and the environment.
Read more about how the credit works here.
Weekly Quick Hits
EPA Promotes Green Development in State Capitals – The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is continuing its Greening America’s Capitals project that launched in 2010 by partnering with the capital cities of Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska, and the District of Columbia this year, in order to promote green development and economic revitalization. (EPA)
Stickers, Checklists Help Schools Cut Energy Costs – New York schools managed to cut their energy consumption by approximately 11% since 2008, by implementing relatively simple changes that aim to change people’s behavior. (New York Times)
Feds Approve Largest Public Solar Project to Date – The recently approved 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm project—located in the California desert east of Palm Springs—is set to generate enough power for more than 165,000 homes, create 630 jobs, and pump $336 million into the local economy. (U.S. Department of the Interior)
LA Debates Future of Trash, Recycling Policies – Los Angeles officials are considering making changes to the trash pickup and recycling policies that apply to apartment buildings, as residents express concerns regarding the current system. (Los Angeles Times)
LEED 2012 Draft Available for Public Comment
An updated draft of the LEED green building rating system (“LEED 2012“) is now available for review. The U.S. Green Building Council released the new draft after receiving thousands of comments with respect to the initial draft.
Comments regarding the revised LEED 2012 are being accepted through September 14, 2011. More information about LEED 2012 can be obtained here.
Weekly Quick Hits
Tapping Water’s Energy – Proponents of underwater turbine farms believe that the technology could generate an additional 60 GW of power nationwide by 2025. (Boston Globe)
EPA “Greening the Apple” – The Environmental Protection Agency blogs about sustainability issues and efforts in New York City at “Greening the Apple.” (EPA)
Gearing Up for Wind Power – As the demand for clean energy grows, the technology behind wind turbines also advances. (The New York Times)
The Ultimate Green House – Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmentalist, aims to build a “net zero” house that will have no environmental impact and produce its own energy. (Studio City Patch)
LEED Gets New Standard for Energy Management Systems
The LEED system has a new standard: ISO 50001:2001, Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 50001 provides management strategies for public and private organizations around the world that will allow them to boost energy efficiency while simulatenously lowering costs and increasing energy performance. The new voluntary guidelines should be particularly helpful for multinational organizations as ISO 50001 provides “access to a single, harmonized standard” that can be implemented across facilities. According to the organization, ”ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants; commercial, institutional, and governmental facilities; and entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60% of the world’s energy use.”
Energy management company Schneider Electric’s French headquarters is the first in the world to be certified under the new standard for energy management systems (EnMS). The company has been enhancing the 377,000 square-foot building, known as “the Hive,” since late 2010 in order to benefit from the gains of the new standard. Other early adopters in China, India and Austria are also reporting success.
The framework established by the new standard enables organizations to:
- Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
- Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy
- Use data to better understand and make decisions concerning energy use and consumption
- Measure the results
- Review the effectiveness of the policy
- Continually improve energy management
To learn more, visit the links below:
Weekly Quick Hits
E.P.A. Issues New Rules for Power Plants – The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new rules for power plants in 28 states, aimed at reducing emissions of compounds that cause soot, smog and acid rain. (The New York Times)
Corn Ethanol Subsidies In Jeopardy – As part of the recent deficit reduction discussions, the $6 billion subsidy for corn ethanol producers has come into question and may be eliminated. (Wall Street Journal)
Trash Trucks Powered by Trash Gas – This week, Waste Management will add its 1,000th truck fueled with liquified natural gas (LNG). The company captures methane gas from its Altamont, CA, landfill to manufacture the LNG. (Los Angeles Times)
High Speed Rail: Any Results? – $630 million have been spent on high speed rail in California. Does the State have anything to show for it? (Sacramento Bee)
Focus Shifts From Smart Growth to Intelligent Cities
The economic and housing downturn, coupled with changing U.S. demographics, have shifted the focus of city planners from the “smart growth” principles that reigned during the housing boom to the new concept of “intelligent cities.”
The Intelligent Cities Initiative, a National Building Museum project in partnership with Time and IBM, is currently exploring the intersection of information technology and urban design. The initiative aims to capitalize on growing citizen involvement with technology by using the data made available by the new information technologies to determine how best to design and plan cities.
Notwithstanding that “intelligent cities” has become the new buzzword of urban planning, the principles of smart growth, which emphasize accessibility in communities, are still alive. Growing Wealthier: Smart Growth, Climate Change and Prosperity, a study recently released by the Center for Clean Air Policy, found that the application of smart growth principles to development and urban design can improve the bottom line for businesses, household budgets and governmental balance sheets.
