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by Jess Zimmerman. No idea why they got someone’s dad to narrate this video, but the information in it is pretty startling. According to this group, the American Security Project, costs racked up by climate change could include: $9.3 billion a year in lost agriculture revenues in the Plains states $3.6-$6.1 billion over 20 years in infrastructure costs in Alaska $60 billion by 2100 in increased energy costs in the Southeast $2.3-$12.1 million in lost revenue in the Northeast just from losses to the maple syrup trade $200 billion in repairs if a catastrophic hurricane flooded lower Manhattan Now, a lot of this is worst-case scenario, but this much is clear: Spending a little to address the impacts of climate change now could let us avoid costs, potentially enormous costs, down the line. ASP also has a map on their site that lets you download a report (warning, it’s a PDF) on how much each state could save by addressing climate change — i.e. how much they stand to lose if they don’t.
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How much could climate change cost your state?
Coal combustion isn’t healthy (see Accounting for total harm from coal would add “close to 17.8¢/kWh of electricity generated” ). Rep. Barton (R-TX) is not a “medical doctor,” but he plays one in Congress, deciding his own “hypothesis” about the health effects of mercury, soot, and smog is better than the decades of peer-reviewed literature on the subject. Better get out the head vice before reading Brad Johnson’s report (with video): At a congressional hearing on Friday designed to lay the groundwork for an effort to delay critical EPA toxic pollution standards , Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) claimed that reducing emissions of toxic mercury, sulfur dioxide and soot would not bring health benefits. Though conceding he is “not a medical doctor,” Barton offered the “hypothesis” that EPA estimates of the benefits of its proposed air toxics rule are “pulled out of the thin air” because there is no “medical negative” to the pollution: To actually cause poisoning or a premature death you have to get a large concentration of mercury into the body. I’m not a medical doctor , but my hypothesis is that’s not going to happen! You’re not going to get enough mercury exposure or SO2 exposure or even particulate matter exposure! I think the EPA numbers are pulled out of the thin air ! Watch it: The new power plant toxics rule will put over 30,000 people to work upgrading plants to dramatically reduce toxic mercury and other chemicals that cause neurological damage to fetuses and babies. Those upgrades will also cut enough particulate pollution to prevent as many as 17,000 premature deaths , 11,000 heart attacks, 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms, 11,000 cases of acute bronchitis among children, 12,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions and 850,000 days of work missed due to illness.
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Joe ‘I am not a doctor’ Barton denies any “medical negative” for mercury, smog, and soot pollution
“ This is a situation of historic proportions ,” said Victoria Koenig, public information officer with the Texas Forest Service, in a phone interview with AccuWeather.com Tuesday. “ The fuels are so dry. The winds are astronomical. The behavior of the winds is a perplexing situation. It’s never been like this before .” Koenig added, “When you put all the ingredients together, you’re getting close to having the ‘ perfect fire storm ‘.” That’s Accuweather meteorologist Heather Buchman writing about “a never-before-seen wildfire situation in Texas has led to the scorching of nearly 1 million acres and destruction of hundreds of homes and buildings. ClimateProgress recently wrote about the record drought hitting Texas , just as the Congressional delegation votes to deny climate change. It was clear in that post the unprecedented drought was setting the stage for a possible devastating wildfire, which, Buchman reports, is just what happened: Texas is in the midst of one of the worst droughts, in terms of the depth and expanse of drought conditions, since the early 1900s
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Hell: “Unprecedented drought” drives “never-before-seen wildfire situation in Texas” – High Water: Aussie inland tsunami labelled 1-in-370…
Solar Heats Up: Accelerating Widespread Deployment – Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – 2009-09-24 – With sales growing 40 percent annually and costs falling rapidly, solar power has emerged as a core technology in America’s transition a clean energy economy. Solar energy brings opportunity in the form of new jobs and rapid technological development. It also presents potential new challenges in the way we use land and infrastructure and the way we distribute and store energy. Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing entitled, “Solar Heats Up: Accelerating Widespread Deployment,” examining current issues in solar energy development. WITNESS LIST: Dr. Stephanie A.
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Solar Heats Up: Accelerating Widespread Deployment
Solar energy is arguably the most reliable forms of renewable energy on the planet, especially in places with high rates of sun exposure. Solar technology continues to advance, with many predicting the cost of solar decreasing significantly within the decade. One way cost will decline is by the energy becoming more predominant, help from companies such as General Electric will certainly assist in this department.
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GE Announces U.S. Solar Manufacturing Plant