In the wake of the federal government's inaction in Puerto Rico, Tesla CEO Elon Musk is trying to fill the void. Early in October Musk said he was prepared to do what Trump won't. Musk said he could restore Puerto Rico’s severely damaged energy grid with solar panels and batteries. The island territory is ideally suited for renewable energy systems. Musk is putting his money where is mouth is by supplying free batteries and donating $250,000 of his own money to support relief efforts. To reinforce the extent of his commitment Musk postponed Tesla's electric semi truck reveal event to focus on battery systems destined for Puerto Rico. Tesla started shipping hundreds of Powerwalls to Puerto Rico on October 13th. Now Tesla is deploying its bigger commercial and utility-scale systems the Powerpack 2. A single Powerpack 2 battery has the same energy capacity (210 kWh) as almost 16 Powerwall 2 battery packs combined (each 13.5 kWh). The first waves of Tesla powerpacks will be used to store and distribute power from existing solar installations on homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals.
Musk indicated that Tesla will start their humanitarian relief efforts by focusing on restoring power to hospitals and medical centers. Tesla's energy solutions are already providing power to del Niño (Children's) hospital in San Juan. Tesla Powerpacks are also in place at the San Juan airport.
Experienced
Shortly after Hurricane Maria made Landfall, Musk tweeted: "The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit so it can be done for Puerto Rico too".
Musk was referring to Tesla's demonstrated capacity to deliver inexpensive clean energy. Tesla helped to make Ta'u island in American Samoa energy independent by installing more than 5,300 solar panels generating 1.4 megawatts of power and 6-megawatt hours of battery storage from 60 Tesla Powerpacks.
On Kauai Island, Hawaii, Tesla built a 50-acre 13 MW solar farm connected to 300 Tesla Powerpacks providing 52 megawatt-hours of capacity. This project will reduce fossil fuel usage on Kauai by 1.6 million gallons per year. As reported by Electrek, Tesla has a power purchase agreement on Kauai to sell the energy generated and stored through the project for 11 cents per kWh or third of the cost of electricity generated through burning diesel on the Hawaiian island.
In South Australia, Tesla is racing to complete a 100 MW battery system which when completed will be the largest battery facility in the world.
Scalable
Some have questioned Tesla's ability to scale to the size required to power Puerto Rico, but not the territory's Governor, Ricardo Rosselló. "Let's talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your TeslaTechnologies? Puerto Rico could be that flagship project", Rosselló responded to Musk.
Tesla's proposed solution involves distributed energy microgrids (ie replacing the centralized system with smaller arrays requiring shorter transmission lines). Solar can also be made to be hurricane resilient as evidenced by TSK Solar's panels which survived the storm unscathed. Other solar panels can also withstand hurricane force winds.
Fast
A fast response is crucial in the wake of a disaster. Replacing the centralized system with smaller arrays could be done quickly. These systems would also be more resilient. In the event of another storm, they could be repaired and brought back online more quickly than a centralized energy system.
Musk was quick to send hundreds of Powerwalls and an experienced workforce to install the batteries and repair of solar panels. Musk and Gov. Rosselló are currently in talks about deploying utility-scale battery systems along with solar capacity.
"I told him [Musk] because of the devastation, if there is a silver lining, we can start re-conceptualizing how we want to produce energy here in Puerto Rico and distribute it and do it in a more reliable fashion," Rosselló said in an interview with USA Today.
As reported by Newsweek, Tesla's efforts have enabled Gov. Rosselló to upgrade his forecast for energy recovery on the island. Rosselló now says hopes to see 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s energy grid restored by December 15. It took Tesla less than a month to deliver and install 700 solar panels at a local hospital in San Juan.
In a viral Instagram post, Musk explained, "Hospital del Niño (Children’s Hospital) is the first of many solar+battery Tesla projects going live in Puerto Rico. Glad to help support the recovery. Congrats to the Tesla team for working 24/7 to make this happen as fast as possible."
In the unlikely event that Tesla were given the green-light to supply panels and batteries to meet all of Puerto Rico's energy requirements this would reduce fossil fuel consumption on the island by 78 million gallons a year. As explained by Joe Romm in a Think Progress article, Tesla has shown that it can restore the grid quickly, cheaply and cleanly.
This event will take place on November 1, 2017, at the Montreal Convention Centre in Quebec, Canada.
This unique and innovative event, organized by the International Centre for Conscious Leadership, will bring together 500 business leaders, thought leaders, political figures and other community organizations to embrace Conscious Leadership as a key pillar of Conscious Capitalism, in Canada and throughout the world. To not only survive, but also to thrive as leaders, organizations and human beings, we need to adopt a new leadership paradigm that embraces the global common good instead of our individual needs. We need a leadership that is guided by vision and driven by values that target the success of the organizations as well as the well-being of all stakeholders including customers, investors, partners, employees, the community and the environment. We need conscious leaders to champion conscious organizations that can create a promising future for the next generations.
During this one day long conference, you’ll get the chance to listen, get practical tools and get support by sharing your vision and success stories with other leaders, to find what you need for your organization to continue thriving in the new economy.
WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE
• Increase your leadership power and positive impact • Challenge your limiting beliefs to rise to your full potential • Learn from worldwide experts on conscious leadership • Integrate tools that will help you thrive in all aspects of your life and achieve extraordinary results in your organization • Join an impactful community of Conscious Leaders
SPEAKERS
Alan Seale (USA), Director Centre for Transformational Presence
Alan Seale is the founder and Director of the Centre for Transformative Presence. He is an award-winning author, inspirational speaker, transformation catalyst, master teacher and mentor to many leaders and coaches. His first book, Intuitive Living: A Sacred Path, received the prestigious Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Book in Spirituality in 2001. His other books include Soul Mission, Life Vision (2003), The Manifestation Wheel (2008), The Power Of Your Presence (2009), and Create A World That Works (2011). His next book, Transformational Presence: How To Make a Difference in a Rapidly Changing World is scheduled for publication in 2017. Alan’s books are currently published in many languages. He maintains a full workshop schedule throughout the Americas and Europe.
KATJA HLEB (SLO) Director Conscious Leadership Ambassador
Katja Hleb is a Conscious Leadership ambassador. She has worked with more than 4000 top executives in the international arena helping shape their careers through search, selection, coaching and personal development procedures and in many cases through helping shape their holistic People Strategies. Being a trained Psychologist with a specialisation in Business she is now pursuing her PhD in the area of 5D highly conscious Organisational Cultures of the future, doing research in some gem global enterprises; companies like Volvo, Aberkyn (McKinsey), Patagonia, BVC, 2cellos, a large EU based Telecom and Cosylab, the world top provider of controlling systems for hadron colliders. Based in the European Union she offers group and individual training in 5D Leadership and 5D Culture Design platforms.
KARL MOORE (CAN) Associate Professor of Management McGill University
Karl Moore is an Associate Professor of Management at the Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University and is recognized as a world expert on strategy and leadership. Before McGill he taught at Oxford University for five years. He came to McGill to work with Henry Mintzberg. In 2002, he won the Faculty teaching award at the MBA level and has taught in executive education programs around the world. He has worked with several high-profile companies. He completed his MBA at the University of Southern California and Ph.D. at the Schulich School, York University. He worked for eleven years in sales and marketing management positions in the high technology industry with IBM, and Hitachi. He has published many articles and 10 books. His newest book is titled Working with Millennials.
STEPHANE LEBLANC (CAN) President & CEO International Centre for Conscious Leadership
Stephane Leblanc is the founder and CEO of the International Center for Conscious Leadership. He is a catalyst for leaders and organizations transformation, to cultivate conscious leadership and raise the level of consciousness in business. He is an experienced senior executive with over 25 years of service in large international organizations. He has been trained by world-renowned teachers and coaches who guided him to become an established transformational leader. He has been practicing this new paradigm of management over a decade and experienced incredible results with his teams, as well as the level of performance of the organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal and an M.B.A. from HEC Montreal.
Richard barrett (UK) Chairman Barrett Values Centre
Richard Barrett is the founder and Chairman of the Barrett Values Centre. He is an author, a speaker and internationally recognised thought leader on the evolution of human values in business and society, a Fellow of the World Business Academy and Former Values Coordinator at the World Bank. He is the creator of the internationally recognized Cultural Transformation Tools (CTT), which have been used to support more than 6,000 organizations on their transformational journeys. Richard has been a visiting lecturer at many universities. Richard Barrett is the author of many books and his latest one is: A New Psychology of Human Well-Being: An Exploration of the influence of Ego-Soul Dynamics on Mental and Physical Health (2016).
Raj Sisodia (USA) Chairman Emeritus Conscious Capitalism Inc.
Raj Sisodia is the FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. He is also Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Conscious Capitalism Inc. He has a Ph. D. in Marketing and Business Policy from Columbia University, where he was the Booz Allen Hamilton Fellow. He has written ten books and over 100 academic articles. He is the co-author of Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Raj serves on the Board of Directors of The Container Store, and previously served on the Board of Directors of Mastek Ltd. He is a Trustee of Conscious Capitalism Inc.
David Murray (CAN) President Hydro Quebec Distribution
JEANNE RAHILLY (can) Vice President & Chief Creative Officer International Centre for Conscious Leadership
Jeanne Rahilly is the co-founder of the International Centre for Conscious Leadership. She is a catalyst for leaders and organization transformation, to cultivate conscious leadership and raise the level of consciousness in business. She is an experienced leader with over 13 years of service in several different types of organizations. She has been practicing mindfulness meditation for over 10 years and loves to teach leaders how to bring the gift of presence in their lives and their leadership. She is deeply committed to raising consciousness in business to ensure a bright future for humanity.
Event organizer: International Centre for Conscious Leadership
The International Centre for Conscious Leadership was founded by Stephane Leblanc and Jeanne Rahilly. After many years of leadership in large international businesses, Stephane and Jeanne are now dedicating their lives to be catalysts for the transformation of leaders and organizations and the rise of consciousness in business. Stephane is the CEO and Jeanne the Vice President and Chief Creative Officer. The center organizes several large impactful leadership conferences around the world, leads leadership transformation workshops with senior leadership teams, leads well-being workshops for employees inside organizations and offers coaching for leaders. The Centre is based in Montreal, Canada.
Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico's fossil fuel powered energy grid making this an ideal time to redraw the territory's energy map using renewable energy. More than 90 percent of Puerto Rico's energy is derived from fossil fuels and around 70 percent of the territory's electricity is generated from imported oil.
Energy is at the heart of the island's economic woes. Electricity is so expensive that some of the territory's leaders have singled out dependence on foreign oil as the greatest barrier to economic development. Moving towards renewable energy is crucial to Puerto Rico's future. The energy situation in Puerto Rico is a long-standing problem that has been effectively eradicated by Hurricane Maria. The situation on the island is dire with serious water and food shortages. More than a month after the storm hit 80 percent of Puerto Ricans are still without power and the most optimistic estimates indicate it will be months before power is restored.
To make matters worse flagrant climate denial from Trump and the GOP are destined to exacerbate an already dangerous situation. The fossil fuel industry continues to extract emissions causing hydrocarbons. Scientists confirm that fossil fuels are a leading driver of global warming which is known to exacerbate extreme weather like storms and hurricanes.
When Trump visited the island he handed out paper towels and comforted people by saying Hurricane Maria wasn’t a "real catastrophe" like Hurricane Katrina. As indication of just how out-of-touch he is he told one family to "have a good time". He seemed to be more concerned about the impact of the disaster on his budget than he is with the welfare of the territory's citizenry. Make no mistake about it people in Puerto Rico continue to suffer and die. According to one report almost 1000 people (911) have died since the hurricane made landfall.
Despite the Trump administration's abject failure to assist Puerto Rico either morally or materially, Trump gave himself a 10 on 10 for his efforts. According to leaked PR documents the government tried to sell the public on the idea that there has been rapid relief a point refuted by almost all the evidence on the ground. Trump took the time to attack San Juan's mayor because she had the audacity to refute his mischaracterization of the situation.
Prior to Hurricane Maria the US territory got most of its energy from fossil fuels. This is a problem for pollution and climate considerations. However, we were seeing some signs of progress including a number of wind and solar projects.
In 2012 a new wind farm consisting of 13 turbines capable of powering 9,000 homes was completed in Naguabo, eastern Puerto Rico. The growth of solar projects in Puerto Rico has pushed sun powered energy past wind for the first time. In the first sixth months of 2017, solar surpassed wind as Puerto Rico’s top producer of renewable energy. There is the solar farm in Humaca and another outside of Guayama, called the Ilumina Project and the giant Loiza solar field that was built by TSK Solar.
As reviewed in the UN Climate Action Program, in 2012 the government of Puerto Rico set renewable energy goals of 12 percent by 2015 and 15 percent by 2020. According to one report one-third of Puerto Rico's total energy consumption in 2006 could have been met by clean energy.
Puerto Rico is working towards sustainability in other ways as well. Republic Services provides the territory with recycling and solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services. Republic Services is a world leading recycling operation who has earned a place on the prestigious CDP Climate A-List.
Sustainability, particularly around the issue of water stewardship has been an important issue on the island especially among the territory's young people. In 2013, Amira Odeh won the Brower Youth Award for initiating the first student sustainability movement focused on water consumption and plastics pollution. In 2015 the US territory of Puerto Rico passed Benefit Corporation legislation that legally mandates companies take into account non-financial considerations when making decisions.
However, clean energy is the key to sustainability in Puerto Rico. The island is an ideal location for renewables because it has abundant sun, wind, and water at its disposal. Transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards renewable sources of energy would provide a stable source of power that would eliminate GHG emissions, along with air and water pollution.
The following video offers some sense of the scale of the disaster in Puerto Rico. This is truly one of the worst humanitarian disasters in US history. The video from across the island shows washed out bridges, flattened homes, and broken infrastructure.
It also reveals how Hurricane Maria devastated a wind farm in Naguabo and damaged Puerto Rico's solar industry including the destruction of the island's second largest solar farm in Humacao.
Any serious attempt to prepare for future storms must take climate change into consideration. The connection between climate change and storms is hard to refute. A large body of evidence clearly shows that global warming exacerbates storms and other forms of extreme weather.
In the wake of Maria and the spate of hurricanes that struck the US recently Craig Fugate, the former FEMA chief told the Trump administration that they have to look at the science of climate change if they want smarter disaster relief. As reported by Mother Jones, Fugate has proposed that we need to honestly evaluate climate threats and "build for future risk".
Trump does not seem to be listening. He has signed executive orders that reverse federal infrastructure that factors flooding risks. Trump's changes to the federal flood insurance program actually encourages development in vulnerable areas.
Fugate said natural hazards, "become natural disasters when we’re pricing risk too low. We’re putting vulnerable populations and your tax dollars at risk." Fugate holds the common sense view that Puerto Rico should plan to rebuild infrastructure that is capable of withstanding another Maria.
We can design renewable forms of energy to withstand hurricanes as evidenced by the giant Loiza solar field which survived largely unscathed due to TSK Solar's hurricane resilient solar panels. These panels are built several meters off the ground to avoid floods and reinforced to withstand a category 5 hurricane.
Against the backdrop of an eerie post-apocalyptic sky Trump fiddles on Twitter as California burns. As one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern American history unfolds Trump hands out paper towels in Puerto Rico declaring, "let them eat cake". ________________________________________________
Trump and the GOP's climate denial stands out in stark relief against the backdrop of increasingly fierce wildfires and severe weather. The recent wildfires in Northern California have killed at least 42 people and almost 7,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed. At its peak, more than 100,000 had to be evacuated. The preliminary property loss claims are already at $1 billion but this is expected to rise dramatically as more claims are filed. In addition to homes and buildings thousands of cars and boats have also been destroyed. When all is said and done the costs of the recent spate of California files is expected to break the $2.8 billion record set by the Oakland Hills fire.
Trump has no plans to visit California and he has not offered federal support to help the rebuilding effort. Trump made a belated albeit brief stop in Puerto Rico where he handed out paper towels after Hurricane Maria decimated the US territory. Almost fifty Puerto Ricans are known to have succumbed to the hurricane, however, the actual death toll is expected to be almost ten times that number. Maria was the most devastating in a string of hurricanes that included Harvey and Irma. Despite the scientific evidence Trump avoids the climate connection for both the fires and the storms.
Instead Trump has focused his energy on attacking black athletes, dismantling health-care and killing the EPA. During this time he has also disparaged Republican lawmakers (Corker & McCain) and fought with yet another grieving Gold Star family.
Trump is well known for being a self-absorbed insensitive clod, but he has taken has taken his insensitivity to new heights by allowing American citizens to suffer needlessly. As assessed by both his actions and his words, Trump does not seem to care about the people who lost everything in California's devastating fires nor does he seem to care about the deplorable life-threatening conditions being endured by the people of Puerto Rico.
The fact that climate change plays a role in both wildfires and hurricanes may be ignored by the GOP, Trump, and his administration, however, their denial does not make the science go away. Try as he may, even the commander and chief of the world's most powerful nation cannot tweet facts out of existence by calling them fake news.
There has been no shortage of responsible stakeholders chastising both Trump and the GOP for their climate ignorance. Many have called them out and this includes scientists, corporate America and the media. Trump has been challenged by almost every group in America with the possible exception of uneducated whites.
The recent spate of hurricanes have set records and for the first time ever there were three hurricanes in the Caribbean at the same time. Nonetheless, Republican lawmakers continue to deny the veracity of the scientific evidence. Trump's failure to assist Puerto Rico has contributed to a humanitarian disaster that is imperiling the lives of millions.
Trump has made the surreal claim that he thinks he is doing a stellar job. In fact he even gave himself a perfect score for his efforts in Puerto Rico. Oxfam does not agree and they have called Trump's lack of effort "unacceptable". Martha Thompson, Oxfam America’s program coordinator for disaster response in Puerto Rico says minimum standards are not being met.
The truth is that living conditions for the people of Puerto Rico are dreadful. A month after Maria ravaged the island, Grist reports that 80 percent of the 3.4 million residents are still without power and FEMA is feeding only 10 percent of the 2 million people who are hungry. The biggest problem is the lack of drinkable water affecting between a third to a half of Puerto Ricans. This is forcing people to drink contaminated or toxic water. Four recent deaths have been linked to dirty water as have at least 10 cases of leptospirosis. The situation is destined to get far worse as outbreaks of serious waterborne illnesses become more likely by the day.
Trump's Climate denial and racism continue to compound relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Some have said that the fact that Puerto Ricans are not white may be part of the reason why the territory is not getting the aid it needs. "There’s this idea that these are not American citizens who are going through this, which is blatantly false," the NRDC's Adrianna Quintero, said. "I think there’s an element of discrimination there."
When Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló met with Trump in Washington, D.C., he begged the president to "Give the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico the adequate resources...Treat us the same as citizens in Texas and Florida and elsewhere." What the territory needs are desalination units, water testing, water filters and solar-powered generators to run pumps.What they got from Trump is paper towels.
In an article titled,"This Isn’t ‘the New Normal’ for Climate Change — That Will Be Worse," David Wallace-Wells writes, "With millions of Americans and others throughout the Caribbean still suffering from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and another deadly wildfire raging in California, the case for climate action has never been stronger."
The rampant politically motivated climate denial practiced by Trump and the Republican party has a heavy price. Their support for fossil fuels and refusal to curtail greenhouse gas emissions invite more wildfires and more storms.
The terrifying reality is that Trump's cavalier disregard for climate science may push us past tipping points from which we may not be able to recover. That means the currently bad situation is destined to get far worse. History will show that the policies and practices of Trump and the GOP caused Americans to suffer and die.
This event will take place on Friday, October 27, 2017, 3:00 PM РSaturday, October 28, 2017, 3:00 PM EDT. It will take place at Duqu̬s Hall, George Washington University, 2201 G Street Northwest, Washington, DC. The 2017 Climathon: Hack Resilience is produced by GW Office of Sustainability in partnership with Resilient DC and 100 Resilient Cities. A vibrant atmosphere, energizing food, and drinks, inspirational workshops and talks, like-minded people, a chill-out and sleep area, as well as many other surprises await you.
Become a climate hacker and be part of the 24-hour #Climathon in Washington D.C. on October 27! Solve the climate challenges put forward by the Washington D.C. Department of Energy & Environment and the George Washington University (GW) Office of Sustainability in the area of resilient cities and climate change adaptation.
Join the #Climathon D.C. as a developer, entrepreneur, technical or non-technical expert or student with an existing idea, or simply to work on a new solution with an inspiring team. Experts and mentors will support your team in finding the best solutions to the challenges during the 24 hours.
PRIZES
All teams can win up to $10,000 in cash prizes, get the possibility to present the idea to city officials and will receive various goodies.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
For developers, students, entrepreneurs, technical and non-technical experts alike, with or without a precise idea, who want to create new solutions on the day of the Climathon. The best solutions will win some prizes and also get the chance to enter the GW New Venture Competition to get accelerated.
CHALLENGE
The Washington D.C. Department of Energy & Environment and the George Washington University (GW) Office of Sustainability are calling for your innovative ideas and solutions to our pressing climate change challenge: Hack Resilience
By 2100, the average U.S. temperature is projected to increase between 3°–12°F. Local institutions face intense changes that impact the spread of disease, freshwater supply, ability to grow crops, species extinction, and damage to infrastructure. Communities need to mitigate the warming and prepare for the pending changes.
The solutions should focus on:
Preparing District residents for emerging impacts and future impacts such as urban heat island effect, extreme weather events, and increased flooding. Participants will focus on elderly, low-income, and populations with access and/or functional needs.
Deployment—enable grassroots/community-based creation and involvement including social capital and community building, neighborhood-led infrastructure, and communication methods and connectivity.
SCHEDULE
Friday, October 27
Check-in (3:00 pm)
Start of Hackathon
Workshops (e.g.Business Modeling, Resilience ext)
Dinner
Office Hours with Mentors
Saturday, October 28
Midnight Yoga (12:00 am)
Check-in (1:00 am)
Morning Yoga (6:00 am)
Breakfast (7:00 am)
Pitch Practice with Mentors
Lunch (12:00 pm)
Judges Arrive
Final Pitch Competition (2:10 pm)
Closing & Wrap Up (3:00 pm)
FAQs
Who can participate?
Entrepreneurs, students, app developers, technical and non-technical experts alike and citizens who want to contribute to the sustainable development of the District.
How do we work on the day?
You can come along with a pre-existing idea* and work with a team to develop this during the 24 hours, or can develop an idea with a team which is built on the day.
*Idea development of 3 weeks or less recommended I cannot program, can I still join the event?
People with various backgrounds are encouraged to join the event. Innovative solutions to the local climate change problems can take different forms and do not need to include an application. How can I contact the organiser with any questions?
You can a message through the exclusive Facebook Group. You will receive access information to the group once you register.
The 2017 Cleantech Open - Midwest Innovation Showcase will take place on November 2 - 3, 2017 at 1000 Lasalle Ave, Minneapolis, MN, United States.Cleantech open finds funds and fosters the most promising cleantech startups on the planet. This event is the culmination of 2017 accelerator, celebrating innovators and promoting investments in clean technology startups. At the event, attendees will have the chance to find out about 24 clean technology startups from across the 13-state Midwest Region. There are also opportunities to learn about trends and opportunities for cleantech innovation from the panel of distinguished associates. Attendees are sure to be inspired by this vibrant community of cleantech investors, partners and advocates.
A hotter world is also a drier world. Less precipitation in the form of rain and snow. Warmer temperatures also contribute to earlier snowmelt and more evaporation. Climate change also augurs infect infestations that kill trees and provide more fuel for wildfires. Increasingly severe storms also contribute to more lightening and this is yet another wildfire risk factor associated with climate change. Here is a brief primer reviewing some of the evidence linking wildfires to climate change.
Wildfires have always occurred in nature but human activities have caused the Earth to warm and this is increasing the number and intensity of fires. The world has warmed by an average of one degree Celsius since pre-industrial times, however, in some forests the temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees Celsius. As reported by Yale Climate Connection, Hotter drier conditions have almost doubled the number of wildfires in the West and big wildfires are 5 times more common in the West now than in the '70s. Forty years ago there was an average of 20 large fires each year in the West, now we are averaging well over 100 large fires each year. The fire season has expanded by almost 50 percent and is now two-and-a-half months longer than it was 40 years ago.
In 2014 the National Climate Assessment study contributed to the growing body of research that corroborated the view that climate change is increasing wildfire risk. Average annual temperatures worldwide have increased by 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit in the last decade. Winter snow packs melt up to 4 weeks earlier than in previous decades, leaving landscapes drier and making it easier for wildfires to spread when they start.
The most conclusive evidence yet comes from a study titled, "Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests". While preceeding studies have said that there is a clear hypothesized link between wildfires and climate changes this study observes and quantifies the evidence for attribution. According to this research human-caused, climate change has doubled the amount of wildfires. This translates to the burning of an additional 10.4 million acres of wildfires between 1984 and 2015.
This study by John T. Abatzogloua and A. Park Williams explicitly makes the connection. Abatzoglou claimed that his research found that anthropogenic climate change played a prominent role in forest fire activity in the western United States. "We’re no longer waiting for human-caused climate change to leave its fingerprint on wildfire across the western U.S. It’s already here," Abatzoglou said in his report.
In the "Years of Living Dangerously", Randy Anderson, a longtime firefighter, and superintendent of the Snake River Hotshots said, "You can’t deny the fact that it’s getting warmer and drier. And we’re seeing it in the effects of the wildland fires." Big fires are getting bigger. Anderson explained that when he first started fighting forest fires in 1987 he was battling fires in excess of 20,000 acres. Now we are seeing fires as big as 400,000-acres fires.” He cautions that Western wildfires continue to worsen as the Earth keeps warming.
"No matter how hard we try, the fires are going to keep getting bigger, and the reason is really clear. Climate is really running the show in terms of what burns. We should be getting ready for bigger fire years than those familiar to previous generations," Professor Williams said. "I'd expect increases to proceed exponentially for at least the next few decades."
"Climate change is making wildfire seasons longer and more intense. The trend bends toward bigger, more destructive and drought-driven blazes in the West. On average, wildfires burn six times the acreage they did 45 years ago, Since the 1970s, the frequency of wildfire has increased 1,000 percent in the Pacific Northwest, 889 percent in the Northern Rockies, 462 percent in the Southwest and 256 percent in California’s Sierra Nevada as the mountain snowpack melts earlier and the fire season lengthens, according to Schoennagel’s team’s research. In the northern latitudes, the boreal forest is burning at a rate unprecedented rate. Wildfire season arrives a month earlier than it did in 1970. In Alaska, the number of big wildfires has doubled in the last 65 years".
The lead author of another wildfire study said, "wildfires are increasing beyond our capacity to control, especially with more people in fire’s way." Tania Schoennagel, a research scientist at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. "As wildfires continue to increase, more and more communities are threatened, and suppression simply will not be able to keep up," Schoennagel said. "Through suppression, we’ve tried to make fire adapt to us, but going forward, we will have to adapt to it...The first step is to expect that wildfire will come to your door rather than assume it will not."
"The public needs to become aware that fire is a natural process and that increases in the frequency and size of large fires are inevitable," Williams said.
To make matters worse there is a dangerous feedback loop between wildfires and climate change. Not only are wildfires exacerbated by climate change they are also a contributing factor. Wildfires release large amounts of carbon dioxide and decrease the number of trees available to absorb it,
Prescribed burns and thinning can help but the real solution is to slow temperature rises and this means weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels. Will Ashley-Cantello, chief adviser on forests at WWF-UK, said the research underlined the need to stop using fossil fuels and cutting down forests. "We must reduce our climate warming emissions worldwide and mimic natural processes in the way we manage forests. The age of fossil fuels and deforestation has to end now."
Hurricane Maria unleashed wind and rain not seen in Puerto Rico’s modern history. This storm is known to have killed at least 50 people. When all is said and done the actual toll is likely to be in the hundreds. Hurricane Maria the strongest storm to hit the island in a century and the fifth-strongest storm ever to hit the US. Maria ravaged Puerto Rico with strong winds and record-breaking rains. Before Maria hit, around 60,000 people on the island were still without power from Hurricane Irma. Parts of Puerto Rico saw more rain than Harvey dumped on Houston. The city of Caguas, in the mountains of eastern Puerto Rico, may have broken a world record for the most rain to have fallen in a single hour (14 inches). Over the course of the storm Caguas got more rain (nearly 40 inches) than Seattle does in an average year (37 inches). Although the White House is trying to spin the government's response as a success by almost all measures it has been a dismal failure.
Many of Puerto Rico's 3.4 million inhabitants have gone without power, clean water, and adequate food ever since Hurricane Maria hit last month. Hospitals are running out of medical supplies. A million and a half Puerto Ricans still don't have safe drinking water and this is a situation that could persist for months. People are so desperate they are drinking polluted water. Reports indicate that people are drinking the water from one of the islands 18 hazardous waste “Superfund” site. In addition to potential toxicity people are at risk of major epidemics from contaminated water. Some are saying that people may have to wait months for the return of power and basic services. Many of the supplies that have arrived on the island are not making it to the people who need them most.
Trump offered himself congratulations with the following Tweet: "We have done a great job with the almost impossible situation in Puerto Rico. Outside of the Fake News or politically motivated ingrates,...". The reality on the ground is far different than the one painted by Trump.
While the mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz was saying people were dying the White House instructed its agencies to ignore cruz's pleas. During his visit to the ravaged island Trump handed out paper towels to the crowd who had assembled hoping for food or water.
"Your tweets and comments just show desperation and underscore the inadequacy of your government's response to this humanitarian crisis," YulÃn Cruz writes. "It is not that you do not get it, it is that you are incapable of empathy and frankly simply cannot get the job done. Simply Put: HELP US. WITHOUT ROBUST and CONSISTENT HELP we will die."
New York Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez was incensed and she expressed herself to Housing Secretary Ben Carson asking him to share her message with Trump.
"To kick fellow citizens when they are down is shameful! I am the only member who is a Puerto Rican citizen who sits on this committee...how offended and insulted I am as an American citizen. I would like to suggest that the president get some history lessons regarding the Puerto Rican relationship with the United States," Velazquez said.
On CNN, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló pleaded for aid from Congress. “We need to prevent a humanitarian crisis occurring in America,” he said.
The countries agriculture secretary, Flores said, this may be a chance to rebuild the island’s agriculture so that it is more efficient and sustainable, he told the Times.
Trump does not seem to be in any hurry to pass an aid package. Certainly not like when good white folk where hit by Hurricane Harvey.
Trump seemed to be more preoccupied with the posture of black athletes than he is with suffering of the people on the island. Trump is not the only one who is ignoring the plight of people in Puerto Rico but so are the mainstream news outlets.
Puerto Rico is the victim of what many are calling predatory hedge fund lending. With around $70 billion in debt the country is in dire financial straights. Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or Prepa, is also $9 billion in debt. It is poorer than any U.S. state. Its median annual household income of around $18,600, and more than half of the children growing up there live in poverty.
Trump does not seem to like Puerto Rico very much. Some have suggested this is because their skin color is not the right shade for the commander and chief. Other are saying it is because the island is poor and deeply in debt. The real reason may very well be because Puerto Rico, like other Caribbean islands, is a stellar example of the savage impacts of climate change, something Trump refuses to acknowledge.
We cannot discuss hurricanes nowadays without mentioning the climate change connection. The scientific evidence linking stronger hurricanes to climate change is strong. As predicted by climate scientists we are seeing more violent storms and this is due to warming seas. The situation will worsen as the world's oceans continue to worm.
The spate of hurricanes--Harvey, Irma, and now Maria--are all deriving additional power from global warming. Like others in the Caribbean Puerto-Ricans do not need to be reminded of this relationship. They are struggling through it and some are even dying because of it.
This open invitation event will take place on November 9, 2017 at the Courtyard Chicago Downtown/River, North Room, Michigan Avenue, 30 East Hubbard at State Street, Chicago, Illinois. People can also participate in this event online and in either English, French or Spanish. As Canada, Mexico, and the United States continue with the process of re-evaluating and renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) will devote its fall 2017 public forum to an expert discussion on trade and the environment within the context of the role of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC).
This event will bring together a select group of experts in trade and environment who have experience with the NAAEC, with other international trade/environment institutions, and with the environmental impacts of trade more generally. They will present their analyses of the NAAEC and the CEC— with emphasis on exploring what impact and efficiency these instruments have had in advancing the North American environmental agenda.
The forum will draw on the research reports conducted for the Ten Years of North American Environmental Cooperation (TRAC) and the results of the JPAC Regular Session 13-03: “20 Years of NAFTA and the NAAEC,” as well as the individual work of the invited experts, and any available updates on discussions regarding environmental concerns in the context of the renegotiation of NAFTA.
Provisional Agenda
8:00–9:00: Registration of participants
9:00–9:05: Opening and welcoming remarks, by Robert Varney, JPAC Chair
9:10–10:00: Keynote presentation by Edith Brown Weiss, Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law, Georgetown University Law Center (invited) Q&A period & discussion
10:00–10:15: Break
10:15–12:00: Roundtable discussion 1 – The roles of the NAAEC and of the CEC: original intent and evolution over the last 23 years. This roundtable will include a discussion of the original intent behind the NAAEC and of the CEC, including an analysis of the evolution of CEC activities over the last two decades. Guiding questions: What was the rationale behind the drafting of the NAAEC? What are its core principles and elements? How have trilateral environmental cooperation and the CEC priority areas evolved over time? Moderator: Gustavo AlanÃs-Ortega, JPAC member. Expert speakers: VÃctor Lichtinger, Coordinador General de Gabinete y Planeación, Gobierno de Michoacán, Daniel Magraw, Professorial Lecturer, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Roundtable discussion between invited experts, JPAC members and audience (in-person + online)
The 2017 version of the annual Net Impact Conference will take place on October 26 - 28, 2017 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Georgia. The conference is subtitled, "the path to purpose". Many people want to make a difference, but turning good intentions into tangible impact can be hard. This conference can give you the skills, experiences, and connections so that you can have the greatest impact now and throughout your career. The 2017 Net Impact Conference will bring together in one space the brightest, most enthusiastic, and innovative impact leaders from around the world. With specific paths mapped out for students, new graduates, emerging leaders, and those changing careers, all attendees will leave with their own map of their path to purpose.
For 25 years, the Annual Net Impact Conference has guided attendees to their careers with impact. This year we’re taking it a step further: we’re creating an experience, unlike any conference you’ve ever been to before. At the 2017 Net Impact Conference, we’ll help you map out your Path to Purpose.
Atlanta has a rich history in the social impact space and it is the birthplace for Civil Rights icon, Martin Luther King Jr. Visit the Center for Civil & Human Rights to learn about the American Civil Rights Movement and its significance for the progress of human rights across the world.
The devastating fires in California are but the most dramatic example of a phenomenon that has ravaged many parts of the world in 2017. At least 30 people have been killed by the fires in northern California and thousands are missing. Tens of thousands of others have either lost their homes or been forced to flee. Propelled by strong winds fires have destroyed almost 200,000 acres of land in California including ranches and businesses. Sonoma County and Mendocino County have been hit particularly hard and Redwood Valley has been reduced to ashes. This news report from Saturday October 14th provides a good overview of the issues and challenges in California. More than 8000 firefighters are combating ongoing wildfires in the Golden State and a record amount of fire retardants have been dumped on these record setting fires.
Health impacts
The fine particles from wildfires have been linked to respiratory problems like asthma, heart attacks, and even cardiac arrest. Wildfires release nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons that contribute to elevated ozone levels. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of negative health effects and can also worsen symptoms of bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma.
Economic impacts
Even before the latest round of California wildfires started the costs associated with combating fires in the US were already over $2.4 billion. These statistics are tracked by the US Forest Service and they report that this represents a substantial increase. This year has already exceeded the record set in 2015 when $1.7 billion was spent on fire suppression efforts. Once the California fires are tallied the cost of fire suppression in the US is expected to double. However, this is a small fraction of the overall cost of the damage caused. Dr. Joel N. Myers, founder, president and chairman of AccuWeather said that the California fires alone are expected to represent a staggering $85 - $100 billion hit to the national economy.
Number and size of US fires
Wildfires are getting bigger and burning hotter. The California fires of 2017 are record-setting but so are fires across the US. As of Friday, October 13 there were 22 large fires burning in California and a total of 41 large blazes burning out of control in the West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), as of October 13 more than 51,000 fires have scorched over 8.5 million acres of the U.S. so far in 2017. This represents a 50 percent increase over the average for this time of year. More fires are anticipated in the US until at least the end of October.
Trump's abdication
Sadly these fires come at a time when the Trump administration is working to gut the budgets of the agencies that provide valuable data to control these fires. Under Trump's proposed budget the nation’s six Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) would be cut by 82%, from $3.65 million to $650,000. Even before the most recent federal elections Republicans have been reticent to support efforts to fight wildfires.
Global phenomenon
The US is not alone, wildfires are becoming increasingly common all around the world. As explained by Kendra Pierre-Louis on August 4, spikes in the 2017 fire season is a global phenomenon. In recent years fires have burned large swaths of Canada, the Amazon and Indonesia. In 2017 the trend has intensified with major fire in Canada, Romania, Portugal, Russia, Brazil, South Africa and New Zealand have all experienced significant wildfires. Chile.
There are a number of wildfires burning in Canada including in the province of B.C. which is experiencing one of its worst fire seasons on record. Wildfires are also burning in the Europe especially in Italy and Romania. In June a European heatwave dubbed "Lucifer" contributed to wildfires that killed 60 people in Portugal. In July There was the forest fire in Montana's Bitterroot mountains that burned thousands of acres and destroyed almost a hundred homes. There was also the Cherry Valley fire in southern California and wildfires in southern France.
Bizarre locations
Wildfires are also burning in bizarre locations. For example Ireland experienced a 75 percent reduction in rainfall and this contributed to unprecedented wildfires. Greenpeace reports that a huge wildfire was observed in Greenland just 150 km away from the Arctic Circle and 50 km away from Greenland's ice sheet. This prompted local authorities to say that nobody has "seen anything like this in recent time".
"As our climate is changing we see wildfires where they never happened before, or with higher intensity," Greenpeace Russia's Anton Beneslavskiy said. "This trend is going to get worse as wildfires themselves drive climate change with CO2 and black carbon emissions creating a positive feedback loop. This is a sign we are entering a new era, where a new, environmental approach to wildfires is needed".
Climate change
In Russia, North America and California in particular wildfires are closely associated with climate change. The increases in wildfires around the world in 2017 is entirely consistent with predictions associated with climate change modeling. As explained in a Cleantecnica article by James Ayre these fires are a product of a warming world.
As the climate warms there is more evaporation and these drier conditions are conducive to wildfires. Warmer temperatures also mean less snowfall and quicker melting of the snow. There are also other factors caused by warmer temperatures including dead trees caused by insects. As Ayers said, "massive wildfires will become more and more widespread and recurrent."
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt's obfuscation is designed to kill the Clean Power Plan. Pruitt's decision to kill the Plan jeopardizes American lives and compromises their health. Pruitt's subterfuge ignores the fact that the EPA was created in 1970 to focus specifically on the environment and human health.
Prior to becoming EPA administrator Pruitt had amassed a long track record as a climate denier and fossil fuel advocate. As revealed by his emails and his calendar Pruitt's agenda is diametrically opposed to the EPA's mandate. When he was the Attorney General for Oklahoma Pruitt sued the EPA 14 times and disbanded the state's Environmental Protection Unit. The fact that he has received more than a quarter of a million dollars from the fossil fuel industry to support his political career is a matter of public record. Pruitt has made no secret of his efforts to decimate environmental action in the US. His boss has declared war on the EPA and this includes efforts to slash the agency's budget. Very early in the new year Republican legislators tried to kill the EPA outright. In addition to suspending air pollution safeguards, Pruitt encouraged Trump to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and he eradicated pollution detection for fossil fuel facilities. He is working to allow potentially harmful chemicals to be used by industry without normal reviews and Pruitt has worked alongside Republican legislators to kill emissions standards for cars and light trucks.
While Republicans love to focus on Hilary Clinton's emails they are silent about the fact that Pruitt is being investigated for using his private email for state business as attorney general of Oklahoma. Pruitt spent more than $58,000 of taxpayers money on air travel using military charters and almost $25,000 to soundproof his office. However, his most egregious crime to date are the millions of lives he is imperiling with his decision to kill the Clean Power Plan. On October 10th 2017 Pruitt signed a proposal to repeal the rule.
The Clean Power Plan limits carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants by forcing the retirement of around 50,000 megawatts of coal-fired capacity. The plan is flexible and gives states a number of options to achieve the mandated 32 percent cuts in CO2 emissions by 2030. This both combats climate change and provides cleaner air for 166 million Americans who breathe polluted air. If implemented the Plan will prevent up to 3,600 premature deaths and 90,000 childhood asthma attacks. It will also benefit productivity by resulting in 300,000 fewer missed days in school and work.
Pruitt argues that the rule costs jobs, however, the plan has yet to be implemented and market forces are killing the coal industry. Perhaps most importantly Pruitt's math does not factor the healthcare costs of killing the plan. Nor does he factor the impact on jobs in the clean energy sector. Pruitt's math simply ignores the facts to make it easier for him to undo rules that regulate the fossil fuel industry.
Pruitt and some states argue that the Clean Power Plan, "exceeds its authority under the statute". Twenty-seven states turned to the courts to successfully petition for a pause and in 2016. In March Pruitt told states they do not need to comply with the ruling, however, the attorney generals in 14 states said the regulation remains in effect unless the courts rule otherwise. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is expected to rule as soon as this fall.
The legal precedent for this motion stems from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that identified carbon dioxide as a pollutant that could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. In 2009 the EPA officially announced that CO2 is a danger to public health and welfare and in 2014 the endangerment finding upheld this position. Rather than dismiss the plan the appeals court said the Trump administration must come up with an alternative. However, this was rejected by Pruitt in March.
Pruitt, like the man who tapped him to head the EPA is either woefully misinformed or a bold faced liar. Pruitt's reaction to the The National Climate Assessment is a case in point. Pruitt said the research needs to be peer-reviewed, however, this assessment is drawn from peer-reviewed science and is itself peer reviewed.
Like his boss Pruitt may simply lie to advance his agenda. Several media outlets have reported on Pruitt's lies. In March Pruitt's obfuscation was on display on CNBC show Squawk Box. Pruitt was asked whether human carbon emissions are driving global warming. He responded by saying, "I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see."
The American Meteorological Society called out Pruitt for misrepresenting the facts about climate change. The EPA scientific integrity office is reviewing Pruitt's less than factual comments on GHGs. The office ensures that EPA officials and staff respect scientific findings and the overwhelming majority of scientists agree that climate change is real and caused primarily by human activities.
Fox News moderator Chris Wallace asked Pruitt about his remarks on Anthropogenic climate change and the health consequences of Trump’s EPA budget cuts. At the end of April Jeremy Symons referenced the Wallace interview and reviewed five examples of Pruitt's avoidance and outright subterfuge. This includes Pruitt's reference to "clean coal" which is a complete farce. He also incorrectly suggests that the Paris Agreement led to "contraction" of the American economy. He further states that China is doing very little to reduce emissions when they are leading the globe in climate action.
As eloquently explained by David Roberts in a Vox article:
"[W]ho cares what he [Pruitt] believes? He is a functionary, chosen in part to dismantle EPA regulations on greenhouse gases. If it weren’t him, it would be some other functionary. The GOP’s goal is to block or reverse any policy that would negatively affect its donors and supporters, who are drawn disproportionately from carbon-intensive industries and regions. That is the North Star — to protect those constituencies. That means, effectively, blocking any efficacious climate policy (which, almost by definition, will diminish fossil fuels). They can’t just say that, though, so they have to retrofit a set of beliefs that justify inaction on climate change."
Although they co-occur, in many respects Columbus Day and Canadian Thanksgiving are diametrically opposed to each other. While Canadian Thanksgiving is a harvest festival celebrating nature's bounty, Columbus Day marks the start of our systematic destruction of the new world.
Monday October 9th is Canadian Thanksgiving, a time to be grateful, it is also Columbus day in most parts of the new world. It is hard to reconcile the start of our exploitation of the Americas and the expression of gratitude for the bountiful harvests nature provides. Since 1970, Columbus day has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. As of 1959, this day is also Thanksgiving in Canada. Many countries in the New World celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas, on October 12, 1492. Columbus Day became a federal holiday in the United States in 1937, though people have celebrated Columbus' voyage since the colonial period.
Regardless of where we live this day is the perfect time for people in the new world to ask some important questions. We should ask ourselves why tribal governments do not recognize Columbus Day, while others have renamed the holiday, “Native American” day or they have named the day named after their tribe. However, this cannot right the wrongs perpetrated throughout Europe's colonial history.
While this is a time to cultivate gratitude for our good fortune it is also a time to reflect on our egregious impacts on the natural world. As we celebrate nature's gifts we should be mindful of the origins of our exploitation and rather than celebrate conquest, the day should be seen as an opportunity to reflect on the travesty of environmental degradation. Such reflections can give way to modes of life more in harmony with the natural world.
As we ebb ever closer to irreversible tipping points, we must seize the opportunity to deepen our respect for the natural world and commit to greener living and more sustainable practices.
An honest assessment reveals that we cannot continue to live as we have in the past. If we are to stave off the worst impacts of climate change and preserve what is left of the natural world, we must change our relationship to nature and do a far better job of stewarding our limited planetary resources.
This is a time to show our appreciation for the environment, a time to redress the injustice of the past and begin working in earnest towards a more ecological future.
The 28th SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing will take place November 1-3, 2017 in San Diego, California. This annual event is Produced by The SRI Conference and Community, LLC. The SRI Conference is the industry’s seminal event. Thought leaders, investors, and investment professionals from all corners of the Sustainable, Responsible, Impact (SRI) investing universe convene to gain and share knowledge and strategies that align financial performance with positive change. We are catalyzing the shift to a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. Agenda Topics
The Purpose of Capital: Catalyzing Positive Change
Trends in ESG Integrations: Equity Indexes, Green Bonds, Private Equity
Marketing an RIA Practice Focusing on Impact Investors
ESG Integration: Active and Passive, International and Domestic
ESG Data and Ratings: New Kids on the Block
Impact in the Public Markets: Advocacy and Engagement
Stewardship, Sustainability, and the Metrics of Materiality
Climate Change: Corporate Board Responsibilities
Impact Investing 3.0: A Focus on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)
Leveraging Demand to Create a Clean Energy Economy
If you have any questions contact Krystala Kalil at 888.774.2663 or Krystala@SRIconference.com. To register click here.
In the context of our carbon budget, fossil fuels are anything but cheap. To illustrate this point consider the fact that market forces recently killed the largest tar sands pipeline ever proposed. When the Canadian government imposed a climate test on the Energy East pipeline project it ceased to be viable. TransCanada withdrew their application when they knew that the project would be subject to carbon accounting. TransCanada had no choice but to take the project off of life support because they knew that a scientific assessment reveals that the Energy East is terminal.
Every new fossil fuel project brings us closer to surpassing a threshold from which we may not be able to recover.
Risks and threats averted
This is a momentous milestone. People interceded to pressure the Canadian government and they succeeded in stopping the $16 billion project. Make no mistake about it protests helped to keep Canada from exporting 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and wasting vast quantities of water.
Most importantly by killing the Energy East, we avoided detonating a carbon bomb that would have released 3,804,000 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere each and every day. Pipelines are also environmental hazards both in terms of the air we breathe and contamination when they leak.
The death of the project also means that we will not see inevitable leaks from the 4,500 km of pipe that would have traversed six provinces. All pipelines leak it is a statistical certainty over time. This could have contaminated waterways across the country and at the proposed terminal in the Bay of Fundy. As intimated in a partial summary of oil spills in 2016 thousands of such spills occur every year. Decades of data demonstrate that transporting fossil fuels by pipe or by any other means is not safe. The pervasiveness of spills adds to the powerful case for arresting the building of new pipelines.
Canadian government and the fossil fuel industry
In a marked departure from the cozy relationship they had with the Harper government, Canada's oil industry is apoplectic that they are no longer calling the shots in Ottawa. However, those who care for the health of the planet and its inhabitants construe this as a paradigm changing victory.
The governing Liberal party under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are making good on their promises and showing climate leadership on both the domestic and the world stage. At first the newly elected Liberals were criticized for wanting to have it both ways on the fossil fuel front. However, recent events indicate that Trudeau and his Environment and Natural Resource ministers are receptive to the facts about climate change. Unlike his Conservative predecessor, Trudeau appears to be making science-based policy decisions. An understanding of climate science makes it necessary to review the impact of pipelines and other fossil fuel projects.
Many of us predicted that the Energy East would not be built. When subjected to sensible climate and environmental evaluations Canadian fossil fuel projects have not fared very well. This includes the Northern Gateway pipeline project and the $35 billion Pacific Northwest LNG project. The Energy East is the latest in a line of what the Financial Post calls, "abandoned energy proposals". According to the FP they are worth over $56 billion in the last year alone.
The fossil fuel industry is furious and they have been forthcoming in expressing their displeasure. "The common thread here is that Canada generally has displayed an unwelcoming policy environment and an uncertain approval process – the rules are unclear, there are lots of opportunities to intervene and oppose," Explorers and Producers Association of Canada president Gary Leach said. In other words, Canada is now conducting objective tests of these projects rather than rubber stamping them as was the case under Harper's Conservative rule.
According to Association of Petroleum Producers CEO Tim McMillan, fossil fuel companies are saying "We’re done. We’re not going to spend any more money in Canada to build this infrastructure." This is good news for anyone with even a passing knowledge of carbon budgets.
There is still the issue of the Kinder Morgan in British Columbia and environmentalists are saying that this pipeline should face the same level of scrutiny as the Energy East.
Recent History of the NEB and the Energy East
In 2012, the Conservative government of then Prime Minister Stephen Harper passed its Omnibus Bill C-38 and other legislation. These laws turned the National Energy Board (NEB) into a rubber stamp operation. Harper's Conservatives made it harder for the public to participate and easier for the industry to expedite applications. Ultimately it meant that without environmental or climate considerations Harper gave his own government the power to approve these projects. The Harper government also meddled in the process (the Energy East got suspended, dissolved, amended, and reset multiple times).
This changed with the election of Trudeau's Liberals. They made good on their campaign promise to give the NEB the authority that its charter promises. This led to the so-called "climate test" which involves factoring upstream and downstream emissions. The inclusion of this provision was announced by the federal Liberals early in 2017. The NEB announced that it was adding new climate impact rules in August. On September 7th, TransCanada announced that it was requesting a suspension of its Energy East application for 30 days to assess the viability of the pipeline in light of these new constraints. On October 5th, TransCanada announced that it was withdrawing its application to build the Energy East pipeline.
Trump administration's fossil fuel advocacy
While the Canadian government has made climate action a priority the Trump administration has proven to be a climate and environmental nightmare. They have systematically dismantled the government's role in environmental and climate oversight. They have been stalwart supporters of the fossil fuel industry and they have reversed the Obama administration's efforts to limit the expansion of the oil and gas industry.
The election of Donald Trump has been a catastrophe for the planet. First he named fossil fuel advocate Scott Pruitt to lead the EPA. Then he resurrected two dead or dying fossil fuel pipelines. Trump issued an Executive Order to move forward with the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and The Keystone XL pipeline (KXL). The latter is waiting for final approvals from Nebraska.
Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is another example of profoundly irresponsible governance from this administration. In the context of everything the Trump administration has done in the short time they have been in power, many are saying that protests have become more necessary than ever.
The power of carbon budgets
Carbon budgets are a powerful tool to resist the waves of post-factual denial emanating from Trump and his administration. Carbon budgets are an essential way of rendering both the problem of climate change and its solutions.
Carbon budgets are also relatively straightforward and accessible. Everyone understands budgets whether in a household or in the context of estimating financing for an organization. Rather than reducing spending to stay on budget, we are talking about reducing emissions. The idea is to develop thresholds that we cannot surpass (ie keep spending within the allocated budget).
Generally speaking the math behind carbon budgets is widely agreed upon. When the Energy East pipeline is examined in the context of carbon budgets we come to the inescapable conclusion that we cannot keep temperatures from surpassing prescribed thresholds and build fossil fuel pipelines at the same time. Building such pipelines, and especially those that ferry dirty tar-sands bitumen is fundamentally incompatible with efforts to reign in climate change.
Carbon budgets are critical because they provide a commonly agreed upon measure of the carbon crisis and the kind of effort required to address it. Assessing carbon footprints against the backdrop of available carbon budgets is an effective climate test. Evaluating environmental impacts including the climate toll of burning fossil fuels is a crucial aspect of appropriate regulatory oversight and responsible policy decision making.
Those who understand the carbon load that the Energy East represented know that the project was always a pipe-dream.
In this video Kevin Anderson, Visiting Professor in Climate Change Leadership, Uppsala University, Sweden, discusses carbon budgets and emissions pathways. He explains what we need to do to stay within our carbon budgets. By 2035 we will have to remove all anthropogenic carbon emissions. At present no country is doing enough to keep us within our carbon budgets. He emphatically states that one way or another our economic notions of growth will submit to the physics of climate change.
Renewables and radical efficiency are the future of energy
To stay within our carbon budget we must significantly ratchet up ambitions. We also have to rapidly reduce demand for energy. We need intense efficiency alongside massive expansion of clean alternatives to fossil fuels. Many dismiss this as impossible, however, as Robert Unger said, "at every level, the greatest obstacle to transforming the world is that we lack the clarity and imagination to conceive that it could be different."
In the final analysis, we come to the inescapable conclusion that fossil fuels are fundamentally incompatible with achieving our carbon reduction goals. As Anderson says, to stay within our carbon budget we need a complete moratorium on new hydrocarbon development. It is madness to keep investing in an industry that must die soon if we are to keep our planet from warming beyond critical thresholds. If we surpass these thresholds we will end civilization as we know it. Both smart people and smart money know that dirty energy must go sooner rather than later.
The longer we wait to deal with climate change the more it will cost. A cost benefit analysis reveals that we simply cannot afford to build more pipelines and independent analysis suggest they may not even be necessary. FP states that analysts have pared back their Canadian oil projections leading them to question whether all the proposed pipelines are needed.
The future of energy is obvious to all but the ill-informed and those who are still invested in hydrocarbons. We must wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and massively grow our renewable energy infrastructure. The trend is clear, renewables are on the rise while fossil fuels are waning. The growth and declining price points of both energy storage and renewables like solar make this point convincingly. Even without factoring the costs of carbon solar is already the least expensive form of energy on Earth. However, to stay within our carbon budget this trend must be accelerated.
The fact that Canada is finally beginning to assess the true costs associated with the burning of fossil fuels is welcome news. When we factor science-based carbon budgets the real costs of hydrocarbon projects spiral through the roof. Such analysis suggests that the same market forces that made fossil fuels the dominant energy source can now help to move us towards a cleaner more efficient future.
Carbon budgets give us important cues as to what we can and cannot do to stay within critical warming thresholds. If we apply this mathematical logic to fossil fuel projects and all human activities we can solve the climate crisis.
