Category Archives: Vision & Planning

Where’s the action on climate change in the U.S.?

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My reply to another comment on the post No Kyoto Protocol for the United States:

Most Americans are very concerned about climate change. It is a smaller percentage who are not. Even the United States is threatened by coastal inundation but the threats are largely ignored by the press and therefore not communicated to its citizens. Third Planet is making some progress on public awareness but we are a small organization and it is not enough.

For example my local newspaper, The Florida Times-Union, did publish the following letter I wrote them in November:

Protect the buffers

Although “Rising seas could soak taxpayers, study says” is a news story that no one wants to read, it is a subject we might ignore at our peril.

The prudent approach for government in their planning scenarios is to take a much harder look at the 100-year floodplain, existing wetlands and low-lying agricultural lands, and consider these as ground zero upon which all future development must be based.

Ultimately the reinsurance industry will have a much louder voice about which developments can be insured. It just plain makes sense to give tidal wetlands, and the valuable services they provide to humans, the room to retreat with the possible onset of rising sea levels.

In Louisiana, for example, coastal wetlands and the buffer they provide against hurricanes are being eroded at a rate of 1 acre every 30 to 40 minutes.

It is time we started applying the precautionary principle to the expensive development decisions we are making, particularly in light of the Reality Check development exercises that have been underway in Northeast Florida for the past six months. (Florida Times-Union letter)

We don’t know if our concerns will be considered by our local planning community in their development decisions, or not. We only know that while Florida is threatened it is not our survival that is at stake—for the time-being.

We can only hope that we all come to our senses on the global implications of climate change before it is far too late.

The precautionary principle must drive action on climate change

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The following is my reply to comments on the post No Kyoto Protocol for the United States:

I can empathize with your frustrations, however I don’t believe that “analysis” of what the other side of the climate debate might be thinking or doing is productive toward a solution in the short term. And the short term has now become critical in terms of limiting the prospects of abrupt climate change.

I wrote specifically about the U.S. position toward the Kyoto Protocol in the context of COP15. But there are many other reasons why the Senate would hold up debate on any climate change treaty, Kyoto Protocol or otherwise, including Senators from the President’s own party.

For example, as The New York Times reported this morning, a group of 10 Democratic Senators wrote to the President two weeks ago. They warned, in effect, that if border carbon tariffs are not imposed on imports from foreign countries that have no requirement for limiting their emissions, a treaty could not be ratified.

They argue that American jobs would be at stake and their case is directed toward Chinese imports in particular. How that plays out at COP15 is anyone’s guess and might come down to an eleventh hour negotiating session between the U.S. and China, the main protagonists.

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s not just the Kyoto Protocol at stake in driving the actions of the Senate.

My position all along is quite different from assigning analysis to the problems of debate about climate change.

My position quite simply is to make the case for application of a precautionary principle. The engineer in me says that if I want to insure against possible losses caused by climate change I don’t have a chance of securing insurance unless I can demonstrate that every precaution has first been taken to protect the investment.

If 80% of the science tells me global warming is happening and 20% tells me it’s not, I have enough common sense to take a precautionary stance on climate change and do everything in my power to stop it. To ignore it given the balance of evidence to the contrary is not only reckless, it’s just plain stupid.

Promoting cogeneration at EGSA in San Antonio

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On Monday, March 16th, I’ll be speaking about A Fresh Approach for Developing New Cogeneration Markets in a Carbon-Constrained World to the members of The Electrical Generating Systems Association (EGSA) at their Annual Spring Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Their website (www.egsa.org) tells us that:

“The Electrical Generating Systems Association (EGSA) is the world’s largest organization exclusively dedicated to On-Site Power Generation. The Association is comprised of over 500 companies—Manufacturers, Distributor/Dealers, Contractors/Integrators, Manufacturer’s Representatives, Consulting & Specifying Engineers, Service firms, End-Users and others—throughout the U.S. and around the world that make, sell, distribute and use On-Site Power generation technology and equipment, including generators, engines, switchgear, controls, voltage regulators, governors and much more”.

I’ve been familiar with the work of EGSA members for over 35 years, since I first arrived in Canada from the UK and as a cogeneration sales engineer in the United States’ engine industry. They are my peers and I’m honored by the opportunity to speak to them on what I consider to be a crucial topic in these challenging climate change and power generation times.

Speaking from personal experience and an in-depth knowledge of the greenhouse gas threat, there’s no doubt in my mind that cogeneration (aka CHP or combined heat and power) is the most important near-term baseload power application we can deploy today. But we must begin seeing applications as part of a much bigger greenhouse gas management picture — beyond individual technologies and the limiting industrial and campus applications we hear so much about.

Why must we do this, what is the bigger picture, what are the applications, and how might we grow this new market given the regulatory environment that’s taking shape? I have some ideas on the subject and I’m looking forward to hearing what my peers have to say about them.

More later …

Governor Crist’s Serve to Preserve Summit

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June 24, 2008

Wednesday and Thursday I’ll be attending the Governor’s 2nd “Serve to Preserve” Summit in Miami. The occasion will be highlighted by Governor Crist’s signing of Florida’s new energy bill, HB 7135, into law.

It’s a mammoth bill by Florida standards, 287 pages in all, with something for many people. Third Planet’s interests lie in community-level sustainable development and energy planning so we’ll be taking this up as a necessary process.

We had thought that the forum for this discussion could be, in part, the Florida Energy Commission in the Office of Legislative Services. The work and recommendations of the Commission appear very prominently in HB 7135. However, under the new bill, the Commission now transfers to the new Florida Energy and Climate Commission in the Executive Office of the Governor.

On the sustainable development and energy planning front, local comprehensive plans are not affected by the new bill but the Governor is now authorized to include goals, objectives, and policies related to energy and global climate change in the state comprehensive plan.

So the Summit is setting up for an interesting time for Third Planet as we look to find allies and partners for our future-thinking planning efforts. Please revisit us again soon and consider supporting our continuing activities with your financial contribution. THANK YOU!


Inventing the future

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March 26, 2008

We have entered an era where adaptation to global climate change and sustainable solutions for our energy future will be challenging to implement. It’s complicated: the facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high, and decisions urgent.

The conventional concern is to protect our economic health, our way of life, but it’s also the era where we must move toward a reality of sustainable development. Without a sea-change to sustainable development our way of life will not survive and, today, as a result of these challenges we find ourselves inventing the future.

No-one has ever gone where we need to go but people are innovative, they have ideas. Third Planet has ideas, technical skills, and implementation experience.

The eminent American scholar Ian Barbour maintains there are four promising sources of social change that “contribute to a more just, participatory, and sustainable world”: education, political action, crisis as catalyst, and a vision of alternatives.

Nowhere is ‘crisis as catalyst’ a more obvious source for social change than in the twin crises of global climate change and energy security in a carbon–constrained world. ‘Political action’ is evolving as a source for change in response to these dual threats. Where significantly more work is needed is in ‘education’ and ‘a vision of alternatives’.

To Third Planet, a pragmatic ‘vision of alternatives’ in concert with smart cross-sector ‘education’ is key to accelerating the social change process on these issues—and acceleration is a much-needed outcome at this time.