Friday Five: July 20, 2012

Do we really need apocalyptic consequences to take action?
Wildfires ignite debate on global warming
"For some, climate change will become a fact only when its effects hit close to home. For this reason, perhaps we should expect an awareness of the need to adapt to climate change to precede a wider commitment to mitigating climate change itself. If that is the case, reporters are, finally, asking the right questions."

Do so few of us really care that we threaten our future with inaction?
Why Do Generation X Americans Not Care About Climate Change?
"Sociologist Jon Miller, the study's author, sees this as a sign of victory for the climate disinformation campaign. "I was optimistic beacuse this group of people is more scientifically literate; they've grown up in an era of of science and quantitative discussion, unlike their grandparents," Miller says. But the complexity of climate science, the long time scale it takes to play out, and seeds of doubt sown on the nightly news have caused many Gen Xers to simply tune it out."

The fact is: we can develop an energy system with no harmful emissions that is 100% renewably based within 20 years, and reach a 50% level in 10....while growing our economy.
Why do ‘experts’ always lowball clean-energy projections?
"Every time there’s a new air or water regulation proposed, industry predicts a level-10 economic apocalypse. EPA counters by saying it will only be a level-5 economic apocalypse. Invariably, it’s a level-0 economic apocalypse — low costs, lots of lives saved. Yet the political class approaches each new regulation with a peculiar Zen-like no-mind, as though it is the first such argument and all perspectives are equally supported by past experience. Same with projections of energy efficiency and renewables."

It will take some policy level decisions....
Illinois Net Metering Law Helps Grow Residential and Small Business Solar Energy Systems
“The net metering law Governor Quinn signed leads the way to more solar energy development in Illinois,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC). “It provides a common-sense, economic incentive for businesses and homeowners to invest in solar and small-scale wind power systems.”

And some simple choices at home.
Cooking On The Sunny Side: How Solar Chefs Put Food On The Table
"McArdle lost power at her home in Arlington, Va., for four days during the infamous 'Snowpocalypse' that hit the Northeast in 2010. Fortunately, the retired Foreign Service officer had multiple solar cookers in her house from training sessions she had done in Afghanistan and the U.S."

Happy Friday!