So the fall season has begun and, as expected, shows from Boston Legal to Moonlight are going green — even William Shatner got into the act. I’d be very interested in hearing from readers if any of their favorite shows had a green element.

In the opening voiceover of the second season opener, genetics professor Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) says that humanity’s problems, including global warming, are “insurmountable” without our Heroes. Shades of The 4400.

I’m glad the writers mentioned global warming. But the way they did leaves the impression that we can’t solve the problem without superhuman abilities. And people can’t fly or teleport or heal themselves from any injury — can they?

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The Post has a good article on the DC area’s high emissions, “D.C. Area Outpaces Nations in Pollution: High Carbon Emission Blamed On Coal Plants.” The reporter came to my house and I showed him some of the things I have done to lower my carbon footprint. Here is what he wrote:

The Washington area produces more carbon dioxide than several medium-size European countries, according to a new estimate of local emissions, as the region’s crawling traffic and coal-fired power plants give it a pollution “footprint” out of proportion to its size….

In Woodley Park, environmental blogger Joseph Romm made his own changes, remodeling his home to include energy-saving appliances and an energy-generating solar array on the roof. He works from home most days and drives a hybrid Toyota Prius when he does leave.

“If you have come to the view that global warming is the biggest problem facing this country,” said Romm, who writes about climate change, “then I think you have to do something.”

Too bad he didn’t mention the blog’s name. But at least anyone who googles my name will be able to find this site.

The climate science is in. The need for action is indisputable. The goal is clear. Or is it? Consider these few examples:

• Sixteen of the nation’s top environmental leaders tell Congress we must reduce America‘s “global warming emissions” by 15-20% below current levels by 2020.

• The U.S. Climate Action Partnership — a coalition of environmental groups and corporations — proposes that greenhouse gas emissions reach 90-100% in 10 years, compared to what they are when a cap and trade bill is enacted.

• Six Western Governors sign the Western Climate Initiative, calling for greenhouse gas reductions of 15% below 2005 by 2020.

• California passes legislation calling for emissions to drop to 100% of 1990 levels by 2020.

• The European Union sets its targets at 20% below 1990 emissions by 2020. But it’s willing to go to 30% if others do.

• Meeting in Vienna a month ago, 1,000 delegates from 158 countries agree that industrialized nations should cut their greenhouse gas emissions 25-40% below 1990 levels by 2020.

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Bush has given us a new drinking game: Down a shot whenever the President uses the word “technology” in a climate speech. You’d get 19 shots for today’s 21 minute speech!

As predicted Bush closely follows the Frank Luntz playbook on how to seem like you care about the climate when you don’t. Bush stated the basic do-nothing message well:

Our investments in research and technology are bringing the world closer to a remarkable breakthrough – an age of clean energy where we can power our growing economies and improve the lives of our people and be responsible stewards of the earth the Almighty trusted to our care.

Translation: “If we had those technologies today, then maybe we could take genuine action now. But, darn it, people, we don’t. We can’t grow the economy and be responsible stewards of the earth quite yet. We are close, though, so be patient already and stop with all those calls for mandatory regulation. Sheesh!”

Since this is the main message of the shrewd Luntz-led delayers, who realized years ago it could be politically dangerous to be seen as opposing all action on global warming, let me repeat Luntz’s advice from his 2002 and 2005 memos to conservatives [both must-reads for progressives]. In his 2002 “Straight Talk” memo on climate change messaging he writes:

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Momentarily, the conservative media fudged their climate coverage – but this time it was a bit personal.

In a front-page article for The Washington Times this week, the statements of Kit Batten–the Center for American Progress’s head of energy and environmental policy–were severely misconstrued. In its article on the climate talks in D.C. this week, the paper wrote:

Kit Batten, director of energy and environmental policy at the Center for American Progress, said she did not think the U.S. meetings would “pull away a lot of large emitting nations that have committed to the Kyoto process.”

Except that’s not Batten’s stance at all, nor does that represent Batten’s message during her interview with The Washington Times. Hours later, you can see a much-appreciated editorial correction:

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, The Washington Times today incorrectly stated the position of Kit Batten, director of energy and environmental policy at the Center for American Progress. Ms. Batten said she was afraid that U.S. conferences on global warming would “pull away a lot of large emitting nations that have committed to the Kyoto process.”

Doh! Bush’s climate summit is nothing more than an obstructionist greenwashing stunt.

The U.S. media in general has blown the climate story countless times, and frankly, wouldn’t it be nice to see bolded CORRECTIONs plastered on each and every one of those pieces?

Once again, the foreign media coverage is not fooled by Bush’s PR stunt, while the U.S. media buys the White House line. UK’s The Independent labeled this a “Greenwashing Climate Summit” in its headline, and opened their story with:

For the first time in 16 years, a major environmental conference opens in Washington, hosted by the Bush administration. But no concrete results are expected, and that — say European participants — is the point of this high-level meeting.

Far from representing a Damascene conversion on climate change by President George Bush, the two-day gathering of the world’s biggest polluting nations is aimed at undermining the UN’s efforts to tackle global warming, say European sources. “The conference was called at very short notice,” said one participant. “It’s a cynical exercise in destabilising the UN process.”

So how does the AP puff piece on the summit begin?

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Man causing climate change – poll – BBB News. On average, 79% of respondents to the BBC survey of 22,000 people in 21 countries agreed that “human activity, including industry and transportation, is a significant cause of climate change.” Some two-thirds said “it is necessary to take major steps starting very soon.” Full report here.

Improving the Environment to Benefit Latinos – Center for American Progress. “According to the American Lung Association, 80 percent of Latinos live in counties that do not meet at least one federal air quality standard as mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This compares to only 57 percent of whites and 65 percent of African Americans.”

Banks Urging U.S. to Adopt the Trading of Emissions – New York Times. Some of the world’s leading banks — Citigroup, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank, “will urge the United States and other industrial nations this week to move quickly to introduce a lightly regulated system for trading carbon emissions permits.” As for the safety valve, “Price caps should play a very limited role in the system,” said Gia Schneider, a vice president for carbon markets at Credit Suisse, which is a member of the lobbying group. “Such policies could lead to market distortions and stymie efforts to raise enough capital to fund new energy technologies such as windmills and solar power.”

U.N. Chief Urges Immediate Climate Action – New York Times. ”The need to act is now,” Al Gore told delegates to the one-day UN summit. As for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger:

”One responsibility we all have is action. Action, action, action,” the former Hollywood action star said as he helped open the summit, winning warm applause from the assembled presidents and premiers.

UN is best for climate talks, poor nations say – International Herald Tribune. On Bush’s summit, to start today: “The world has been asked to Washington to discuss this issue this week,” said Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA). “But it is a little bit like being invited to a prayer breakfast with a group of fellow believers, but the meeting is hosted by an atheist.”

Since President Clinton’s press conference today was not webcast, I thought I would blog on that.

There’s so many good talks that I am behind on my CGI blogging, yes, and I will catch up, but I hope that you have been tuning in to the webcast — Clinton said today that 400,000 people were (up from 50,000 last year).

Clinton remains a genuine polymath (unlike Greenspan) — without notes, he gave a 7-minute history of the human race and civilization — starting 150,000 years ago in the Olduvai Gorge through today (which takes us from 1 human to 6.5 billion) through 2050 (which adds another 2.5 billion in the blink of an eye) — to give some idea of the scale and speed of the transformation taking place on this planet.

He was asked about the Kyoto Protocol, and replied “we should all be personally impatient about climate change.” But we must remember “most ideas aren’t adopted when they are first proposed.” Then he said the quote that I used in the headline, adding that such failure “keeps people stumbling in the right direction.”

On sustainable development in the Third World, he repeated the point he tried to get Robert Zoellick to understand yesterday, “We are not asking you to change your economic growth rate, we’re asking you to change the way you grow.”

He had a lot to say on a carbon trading system versus a carbon tax:

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After Ron in the comments of this blog circulated a claim that our nation’s top climate scientist “once warned of Ice Age” — I (and no doubt many others) emailed Hansen and said he should reply to the rapidly morphing and spreading myth. He has here.

I will reprint what he has to say below (you can also go to that link for an interesting commentary “Please talk to your grandfather”):

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If you thought you could go untouched by global warming, think again.

Mic Check Radio, another project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, has compiled a list of 100 effects of global warming. Some are humorous, some are poignant, but it’s altogether serious and worth reading to the end.

To highlight a few of their favorites:

More Bear Attacks
Earlier this year, Moscow warned its citizens to beware of brown bear attacks. In Russia, it’s been too hot in the winter for bears to sleep. When bears can’t hibernate, they get very grouchy and become “unusually aggressive.” [Der Spiegel]

Say Hello to Bulgarian Hooker Shortages
“Brothel owners in Bulgaria are blaming global warming for staff shortages. They claim their best girls are working in ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures.” [Metro UK]

Say Hello to Really Tacky Fake Ski Vacations
Weiner Air Force and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey are building a year-round ski resort in Texas, with “wet, white Astroturf with bristles” standing in for snow to make up for all the closed resorts around the country. [WSJ]

Death in the Time of Cholera
Cholera, which thrives in warmer water, appeared in the newly warmed waters of South America in 1991 for the first time in the 20th century. “It swept from Peru across the continent and into Mexico, killing more than 10,000 people.” [Washington Post]

Say Goodbye to Baseball
The future of the ash tree–from which all baseball bats are made–is in danger of disappearing, thanks to a combination of killer beetles and global warming. [NY Times]

The opening plenary was fascinating (video here). Clinton explained how CGI commitments had already avoided 20,000,000 tons of greenhouse gases. Then he tried to get Robert Zoellick, head of the World Bank, to realize that the “Bank can show people options for sustainable development.”

Zoellick, however, was full of little more than platitudes, saying we need to address “questions of adaptation and mitigation,” and noting that there is a sensitivity in the developing world that climate change funds will come at the expense of development — totally missing Clinton’s point that green development is the only winning path (and Gore’s point that global warming, left unchecked, will negate all other efforts aimed at development).

Clinton, however, persisted, especially after H. Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart touted his various successes:

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My wife insisted that I go to the Angelina Jolie press conference — even though AJ was focused on educating one million children affected by conflict, and not global warming. Fortunately, CGI had a wireless feed from all the working sessions, so I was able to get all the camera phone pix of AJ while I didn’t miss the woman I really wanted to hear, Jane Goodall.

I will say this for AJ — she is very serious about her work with refugees. And even with two hundred press crammed into this room for her, and photographers literally crawling over each other for photos — especially whenever she brushed her hair back — she very graciously brought many of the country experts into the Q&A.

Jane Goodall was full of quiet passion, as always. If anyone is a “must hear,” she is (here she is speaking at Google). She has devoted her name and her sober wisdom to Forests Now, whose declaration is “Forests Now in the Fight against Climate Change.”

Jane spoke with great eloquence about global warming and the need to save our tropical forests, not just because of the carbon they contain, but also the biodiversity–”I want children to hear the wonderful voice of chimpanzees” and then she imitated the call of her beloved primate. She pointed out that “orangutans, one of our closest living relatives, are hanging by a thread.” She poignantly quoted a native of the Arctic:

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Don’t miss the World Resources Institute’s most recent comparison of climate legislation in the 100th Congress. Below is the basic image (here’s one larger), but visit the website for details.

Brad turns out to be as serious (on climate) as he is good looking. He came to the first CGI as an observer, not a speaker. But today he announced a major commitment:

Brad Pitt expanded his commitment to New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward today by announcing plans for a new community of homes in the area hardest-hit by the worst natural disaster in American history. He is partnering with Steve Bing in creating the 150 affordable and sustainable homes, which are the first effort of Pitt’s “Make it Right” project.

Pitt announced his plan at today’s meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, where he challenged attendees to join him and Bing in rebuilding the Lower Ninth Ward. Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to the project. Bing has pledged to match $5 million in contributions as well, for a total of $10,000,000 in matching funds.

Pitt seems genuinely committeed to these issues. He said, it was “nice to be in a room with people who are not still debating climate change.” He has enlisted William McDonough to make sure the housing is as green as possible:
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You can follow along on CGI here.

At the end of their recent climate report, Lehman Brothers has one of the best brief discussions of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) that I have seen. Since the EU ETS is often viewed in this country as a failure, I thought I would reprint their somewhat different perspective in its entirety:

The EU ETS, which came into effect in January 2005, was constructed on the basic premise that setting emission caps and allowing them to be freely traded would enable companies to seek emission reductions wherever and however it was cheapest to do so. It is the world’s most ambitious cap-and-trade scheme to date, covering 25 countries, each with authority to issue emission allowances. The sectors included in Phase I (2005-07) are: power generation; ferrous metal production and processing; chemical processes; mineral industry; and pulp, paper and board. These account for approximately 45% of EU CO2 emissions. In its very first year of operation, the value of allowances issued across the EU reached more than ‚¬60bn126.

Phase II (2008-12) expands the scope of the market to cover all greenhouse gases and adds further sectors, including aviation. And Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland will all join, even though they are not EU member states. Some economists have dubbed the EU ETS as “… by far the most significant accomplishment in climate policy to date.”

Has the EU ETS achieved its mission?

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An Inconvenient Truth is so last year! Al Gore’s book may have been #1 in 2006, but the global warming deniers and delayers are outselling everyone this year.

Of course, Bj¸rn Lomborg’s collection of cherry-picked misinformation, Cool It, is the top-selling book in four categories: Climatology, Climate Changes, Public Policy, and even Conservation.

But who knew that the top book in both Meteorology and Weather was the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming (and Environmentalism) — a book whose title would be accurate if only the word “Politically” were removed?

And the #2 book in both Climate Changes and Weather is coauthored by world-class denier Fred Singer — Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years. Sounds like disaster movie dialogue: “It’s unstoppable, I tell, you, unstoppable.”

And the #4 book in Climate Changes (as of today) is a delightful piece of long-discredited disinformation, The Chilling Stars: The New Theory of Climate Change: “The authors explain their theory that sub-atomic particles from exploded stars have more effect on the climate than manmade CO2.” Not.

And let’s not forget the #1 book in the land — by champion delayer Alan Greenspan — The Age of Turbulence.

I guess I should have gone contrarian, maybe titled my book: Global Warming: A New Heaven on Earth.

The President has a two-day summit of the major greenhouse gas polluters this week. It will no doubt be full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. What are the top 10 clues?

10. Dinner Entree: Grilled Polar Bear.

9. Transportation is by stretch Hummer.

8. The air conditioning is set to 60 degrees.

7. The corporate sponsor is ExxonMobil.

6. The only celebrity you can get is Carrot Top.

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I will be blogging from the Clinton Global Iniative (CGI) this week. So you will get first-hand impressions of the remarks of everyone from Tony Blair to Brad Pitt to Jane Goodall. The full agenda with all the speakers is here — one of the four tracks is climate change.

One reason I’m going to CGI in NY instead of attending Bush’s summit here in DC (aside from the fact that I wasn’t invited) is that the summit will not have any news — nothing will be accomplished. But you can only attend CGI if you’re willing to commit to substantive action.

I’ve never gotten press credentials before, so I really don’t know what this will be like, but I hope to snag some interviews, even if Climate Progress is not exactly national media. I hope to do some (relatively) live blogging Wednesday and Thursday, with wrap-ups in the evenings. If Bush’s climate speech is broadcast on Friday morning, I’ll try to cover that, too.

Here are excerpts from the CGI press release:

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There’s going to be a lot of hype around the Bush climate summit this week. The key buzzwords of the global warming Delayers are “aspirational” and “technology” and “intensity.” The more someone uses those words, the less serious they are about stopping climate change.

The bottom line is that any international global warming agreement must include prompt, binding, and enforceable greenhouse gas reductions by the United States or else the agreement will fail and all nations will suffer the consequences. Some other key points:

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