Final Five for 2012

The top local issue centered around the final closing of two coal-fired power plants in Chicago that found it economically unviable to comply with twenty-year-old environmental regulation to protect the air quality of our city. This underscores a year in which we saw two sides of coal...the increasing realization that coal is an unviable solution to energy supply because of the cost of its acquisition and processing taking into account only a fraction of the environmental cost, contrasted with the expansion of coal burning worldwide with support from world financial mechanisms that supposedly understand the devastating economic and environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
As Crawford and Fisk retire, negawatt plants power up and pay off for Illinoisans
"Energy efficiency-powered “negawatt” plants are cropping up all over the state.  Perhaps you haven’t noticed them at all.  They’re invisible.  They don’t belch out any pollution.  They quietly reduce your electric bills.  They put people to work all over the state and they do it all with very little recognition.  Let’s take a brief tour – no hard hat or asthma inhaler required. "

Hopefully we will remember the year 2012 as the year we understood that infrastructure decisions last for a generation, and if we hope to solve our current problems, we must immediately avoid making choices that favor industries and infrastructure that causes the environmental and economic problems we continue to face.
Brigadier General on Keystone XL pipeline:'All Americans should be outraged'
"'I want to stop paying big oil and I want to start seeing a green economy in this nation,' he told host Alicia Menendez. 'And big oil is pushing Keystone, and Keystone is essentially going to maintain the status quo for another 25 years. And during that time I can only imagine the impact it's going to have on our environment and, indeed, our national security.'
Gen. Anderson said that 'all Americans should be outraged about the potential implications for our national security' because the pipeline 'keeps us hopelessly addicted to oil.'"

This year also marks a long-needed change in the policy of vehicle efficiency. We have had the knowledge to make high efficiency automobiles and trucks for a generation, but have adopted technology too slowly. Within five years, we will see this goal - which seems so daunting right now - easily reached and surpassed as we once again push for innovation over complacency in our economy.
US finalizes big jump in auto fuel efficiency
"'These fuel standards represent the single most important step we've ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,' President Barack Obama said in a statement.
The new fuel efficiency standards will save consumers $1.7 trillion in gasoline costs and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels over the period, according to the White House."
STUDY: More MPG = More Jobs
"The connection may not seem obvious but improving the miles per gallon of our cars spurs job creation. This is for two reasons: (1) improving automobile efficiency requires the addition of new technologies, which are designed and manufactured by adding workers in the auto industry and (2) money saved on gasoline by drivers will be spent on other goods and services, increasing jobs across the economy."

Beyond a doubt, 2012 will be remembered as the year of weather that signaled our changing climate. Droughts in the bread basket coupled with a crippling of our economic heart by a super-charged storm showed how fragile our existence can be, and the consequences we can expect if we fail to act swiftly.
Hurricanes and climate change
"Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones have always bedeviled coasts, but global warming may be making matters worse. Sea level is rising and will continue to rise as oceans warm and glaciers melt. Rising sea level means higher storm surges, even from relatively minor storms, which increases coastal flooding and subsequent storm damage along coasts. In addition, the associated heavy rains can extend hundreds of miles inland, further increasing the risk of flooding."
Drought creeps across central U.S. with no relief in sight
"Amazingly, even with the colossal devastation from Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast, it's the drought that could do the most damage to the U.S. economy. 'Sandy's damages of perhaps $50 billion will likely be overshadowed by the huge costs of the great drought of 2012,' Masters reported."
Infographic On The Energy-Water Collision: How Hot, Dry Summers Impact Water and Power Generation
"As much as 41% of all water used in the United States goes to power plants to produce electricity, making them the single largest water consumer in the nation.
The relationship between water and power generation is complex. (A recent report featured on Climate Progress called “Burning Our Rivers: The Water Footprint of Electricity” takes an in depth look at water usage, particularity in the coal and nuclear sectors.) A whole host of issues can emerge related to the massive water consumption of the energy industry. Many of those issues become exacerbated in particularly hot and dry conditions, much like the ones we are experiencing this summer."
In two weeks, the Mississippi River could shut down
"The worst drought in half a century has brought water levels in the Mississippi close to historic lows and could shut down all shipping in a matter of weeks--unless Barack Obama takes extraordinary measures.
It's the second extreme event on the river in 18 months, after flooding in the spring of 2011 forced thousands to flee their homes.
Without rain, water levels on the Mississippi are projected to reach historic lows this month, the national weather service said in its latest four-week forecast."

As we see our food supply affected by the consequences of our energy actions, we are also opening our eyes to the inefficiency in that food supply. This will create great opportunity as prices rise, and should lead to a more resilient way of life.
Wasted: How America is losing up to 40% of its food supply from farm to fork to landfill
"Nutrition is also lost in the mix -- food saved by reducing losses by just 15 percent could feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables. Given all the resources demanded for food production, it is critical to make sure that the least amount possible is needlessly squandered on its journey to our plates."


BONUS: Most courageous and innovative solution of the year
Group buys Wyoming oil leases to stop drilling
"The deal would end PXP’s plan to drill 136 gas wells near the Hoback River headwaters inside Bridger-Teton National Forest, [near Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming]. Opponents said the project would pollute the air, harm wildlife and taint pristine streams in a rolling landscape of meadows and forest."

Happy New Year! See you in 2013!