Conflict of Interest, Cronyism Revealed as Details Leak on TransCanada's Keystone XL

Key documents have recently come to light, exposed by a Friends of the Earth "Freedom of Information Act" request. The documents paint a disturbing picture of negligent mismanagement by the State Department and TransCanada's successful efforts to manipulate any attempts to objectively review the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

This week the New York Times went public with the story revealing that the State Department "flouted the intent of federal law" in hiring a major client of TransCanada, Cardno Entrix to oversee the third-party environmental assessment of the pipeline.

Voicing their dismay and concern, Senators Bernie Sanders, Patrick Leahy, and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the conflict of interests with TransCanada and a contractor.

From the letter (PDF):

On October 7, 2011, the New York Times reported that TransCanada was permitted by the Department of State to screen possible contractors and, for all intents and purposes, to select the one that would prepare the (Environmental Impact Statement – EIS) mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act. The articles states that TransCanada successfully recommended to the Department of State that it select Cardno Entrix to conduct the environmental review, despite the fact that Cardno Entrix lists TransCanada as a “major client.” The article goes on to state that Cardno Entrix may not have fully disclosed all of its work for TransCanada in the conflict of interest affidavit required in the EIS, despite the conflict its relationship with TransCanada presents in this case. Cardno Entrix also apparently played a significant role in organizing public hearings on the pipeline proposal.

Senator Harry Reid has seconded these concerns, sending a letter to Secretary Clinton "saying he has ‘serious concern’ about allowing TransCanada to construct and operate a 1,700-mile-long pipeline between Hardisty, Alberta, and Port Arthur, Tex."

Colbert's Attack on the EPA Makes the Case for Clean Air, Water

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There have been some fighting words coming from some of the presidential candidates lately targeted at the EPA. Carol Browner, former EPA administrator, responded last night, going head to head with satirist Steven Colbert to chat about the air and water protections that spare our health. Watch:

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EPA critics say economic needs and environmental needs clash. But that's simply not true. The agency "creates opportunity," as Browner says in the clip, by creating jobs needed to clean dirty polluters and innovate healthier energy alternatives. And less mercury from coal plants in our air and water lowers health costs. Get the EPA's air quality factsheet here (pdf) for more info.

Colbert counters by comparing the U.S.'s regulatory system to China's. "Why do you want to hobble American factories? Why do you want to bind the feet of American factory owners?" he asks.

"You've been to China, right," Browner says, "and you breathe the air?"

-- Brian Foley

GM's Anti-Bike Ad: Completely Out of Touch

GM was in some hot water after publishing this ad in a college newspaper (that quickly went viral).

(ad courtesy of BikePortland.org)

With a tag line of "Stop pedaling - start driving," the ad attempted to 'dis' biking.  The companion ad went after walking.

What drove GM to even consider ads that would urge students to stop pedaling and start driving?  We know they sell cars. We even know that, thanks to a bailout with tax payer dollars GM is still GM, and thanks to the Obama Administration, their cars will use less and less oil and spew out less global warming pollution.

Maybe GM has figured out that reality does suck if you are trying to market cars to a generation that might be thinking about better transportation options.  Oil-free transportation is a winner. (Giant Bikes showed as much in their response to the GM ad).

GM has since apologized for the ad via twitter and elsewhere and withdrew it. 

GM clearly hit a raw nerve trying to pedal oil addiction to a generation that may be more interested in being oil-free.  But maybe this is why GM ran the ads in the first place. Check out this tidbit from Streetsblog: 

We're facing a profound generational shift and, according to Martin: “The dynamic is aligning with transit big time.”

Gen Y is inclined to transit, too. “Gen Y is much less car centric than other generations,” Martin pointed out. Compared to their elders, folks born between 1982 and 1994 are less eager to get a drivers license, less inclined to purchase a car and less likely to view automobile ownership as a right of passage to adulthood. Some would argue the trend is based on economic need, the result of student loan debt and a tough job market. “I think it’s deeper than that,” Martin said. “Gen Y is hyper connected. They are literally digital natives… Eighty-eight percent want to live in urban settings because they can be hyper-connected.” Gen Y isn’t looking for a dream home; they’re looking for a dream lifestyle and that includes walkable, bikeable, transit-oriented neighborhoods.

I am sure GM has done its own market research.  Walking and biking are in and neighborhoods with shopping, restaurants and other attractions are in.  Bike shares are taking off in DC, Boston, Chicago and other cities.  Car shares make it easier to get a car when you need it (and choices of cars to drive). Having the latest smartphone or tablet is much less expensive than a car and much more fun anyway.

Maybe we should take GM's ads as a sign that walking and biking are winning.  Now is time for the transportation dollars to follow.

-- Ann Mesnikoff, Director of the Sierra Club Green Transportation Campaign

Five Hundred Years of Rising Seas?

Perhaps that scene in The Day After Tomorrow of the Statue of Liberty up to her neck in water isn't so outlandish. Earlier this week a study out of the University of Copenhagen's Niels Bohr Institute found that sea level rise could last 500 years if greenhouse-gas emissions continue at their current pace. Read more about the findings at Skepticalscience.com. Here's a snippet:

The research group has made calculations for four scenarios: A pessimistic one, where the emissions continue to increase. This will mean that sea levels will rise 1.1 meters by the year 2100 and will have risen 5.5 meters by the year 2500.

Even in the most optimistic scenario, which requires extremely dramatic climate change goals, major technological advances and strong international cooperation to stop emitting greenhouse gases and polluting the atmosphere, the sea would continue to rise. By the year 2100 it will have risen by 60 cm and by the year 2500 the rise in sea level will be 1.8 meters. For the two more realistic scenarios, calculated based on the emissions and pollution stabilizing, the results show that there will be a sea level rise of about 75 cm and that by the year 2500 the sea will have risen by 2 meters.

-- Brian Foley

Kiss an Electric Car: Highlights from National Plug In Day

This past weekend, National Plug in Day was celebrated in 29 cities across the country. There were hundreds of electric vehicles on display, and thousands of people learned how a switch to EVs will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and help break the U.S.'s costly dependence on oil. The Sierra Club was pleased to organize these events in partnership with Plug In America, Electric Auto Association, and many local partner groups.

In Los Angeles, at least 170 plug-in electric vehicles participated in the largest (and quietest) EV parade in history. Congresswoman Janice Hahn of California proudly drove her brand new Nissan Leaf in the parade and spoke at the press conference, as did Sierra Club member Tim Goodrich, an Air Force veteran who drives a Nissan Leaf. Plug In America, Electric Auto Association, and the Sierra Club were recognized with a Certificate of Achievement from California state Senator Fran Pavley (a hero in the vehicle emissions reduction world). The director of the films Who Killed the Electric Car? and the soon to be released Revenge of the Electric Car Chris Paine and actor Ed Bedgley Jr. spoke on the importance of quitting our addiction to oil by switching to electric vehicles and renewable energy.

The Austin EV Club, Apollo Alliance, and the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter displayed a wide array of electric vehicles and EV infrastructure. The 200-plus attendees in Austin were able to explore 22 vehicles, two charging stations from Coulomb and GRIDbot and one Actacell lithium ion battery cell. They were also given the opportunity to chat with a Ford Motors sustainability expert and test-drive their two 2012 plug-in models on site: the Focus Electric and the Transit Connect Electric.

PTSD in Oil Rig Explosion Survivors

Thousands of gallons spewed per day. Hundreds of miles of affected coastline. Dollars of tourism revenue lost. Multitudes of wildlife debilitated. In the weeks and months following the BP oil disaster of 2010, an abundance of measurements emerged designed to provide estimates of the total losses of the disaster. Many media outlets provided excellent coverage of the catastrophe, and environmental scientists worked tirelessly to gather data and numbers that would illuminate what to expect in the coming months and years.

Unfortunately, the personal trauma of rig explosion survivors cannot be ascribed any such metric. How does one quantify the emotional pain of those who watched their friends and coworkers die in the fires of a horrific explosion? Tears shed? Psychiatric visits sought? Number of sleepless nights from reoccurring nightmares? None of these would come close to capturing the long-term pain survivors of the Deepwater Horizon explosion must face. All that we have are anecdotal footprints of a day that will last a lifetime for many.

MSNBC posted an article chronicling the emotional toll survivors of the blast have dealt with. Readers are introduced to Paula Walker, a 56-year old laundry worker who survived the blast and has since experienced dilapidating flashbacks where she feels like she is on the exploding rig again. Also present was Carl Taylor, a 62-year old retired firefighter who was working on the Deepwater Horizon as a radio operator when it blew up. Taylor says he spends many days trying to forget the horrors of the disaster and has been mostly unsuccessful. Both Walker and Taylor have been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as have many other survivors.

PTSD can have wide-ranging levels of severity, depending on the patient. A diagnosed individual may deal with flashbacks, nightmares, and avoidance patterns in regards to foreseen triggers of remembrance. Many survivors would never consider going out on the Gulf again, let alone a rig. If ignored, PTSD has been shown to lead to substance abuse and suicide in some individuals. The article opines that as a nation we must consider costs of all kind, and remember that the though the well may be capped, emotional damages continue to pollute the lives of survivors. Read more here.

-- Charley Gaber, Sierra Club Louisiana Intern

Sustainable Energy For All: An Interview with Richenda Van Leuwen of the United Nations Foundation

I sat down with Richenda Van Leeuwen of the United Nations Foundation to discuss the new global initiative Sustainable Energy for All (SEFA),being spearheaded by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

In recognition of the tremendous importance of energy for achieving the Millenium Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly has designated 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. With more than 1.4 billion people worldwide lacking access to electricity, 1 billion more only receiving a few hours a day, and some 2.7 billion more – almost half of humanity – relying on traditional biomass for cooking and heating, delivering on energy access is indeed critical.

Richenda sat down to discuss the way forward for the campaign, and how we solve the dual challenges of delivering energy for all, and combating climate change.

What is the SEFA campaign?

2012 has been declared the International Year of Sustainable Energy for all. It is a platform for beginning the global effort to address energy access and engaging the public and policy makers to enable greater understanding of the world's needs. It's not just about combating climate change through expanded use of renewables, or about harnessing the great payoff from increased efficiency - half of the world still lives with energy poverty. That makes it an equity and justice issue. We need to work in a concerted manner internationally to solve this.

The SEFA campaign is focused on delivering sustainable energy for all. We have a broad global goal to ensure three objectives by 2030: 1) Ensuring universal access to modern energy services (including both electrification and cooking), 2) Doubling of the rate of improvement in efficiency globally; and 3) Doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

As far as the campaign goes, UN energy has been engaged from the get go. They are the umbrella collaboration of more than twenty UN agencies that focus on energy issues.

Rio+20 will be a seminal moment, a milestone, but overall we have goals that are long term. We are already seeing bi-lateral initiatives announced – countries taking the initiative to a new level. We are hoping that it leads to a number of new initiatives either private sector or at a country level.

FDA Fails to Examine Gulf Seafood Safety

The life of a consumer is a series of transactions. We go to stores and purchase items made by producers. The underlying assumption or prerequisite of the transaction is that the consumer has complete information. When we are at clothing stores we judge the product visually, and if the shirt has a tear or is too wide, we don't buy it. When consumers don't have the ability to acquire complete information, the government steps up -- ushering in the services of agencies such as the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assure the products safety and validity. This gives credence and fluidity to the markets and lets consumers sleep at night knowing the apple they bit into and the pill they swallowed are safe. Supposedly. 

 A new report conducted by the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), discussed in OnEarth, reveals that the FDA has been cutting corners in examining the safety of Gulf seafood, despite loudly proclaiming its safety in the spring. The report finds that the FDA used poor standards and science, letting up to 10,000 times the safe level of chemical contamination slip by -- endangering pregnant women and young children and those who consume a lot of seafood. NRDC's report, which was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, finds fault with the FDA in three areas.

The Sinking Costs of Solar

In a recent article, Kees van der Leun, COO of an international renewable-energy consultant group, did some math and figured solar will reach grid parity by 2018, only seven years from now. Read the article here. He recalls his 2004 trip to a solar cell factory in Germany, where he came to understand solar's true potential in the free market:

They gave me a stack of 100 silicon solar cells, each capable of producing 3.8 watts of power in full sunshine. I still have it in the office; it's only an inch high! That's when I realized how little silicon was needed to supply the annual electricity consumption of an average European family.

The solar industry here in the states is miles behind Germany. But its growth as a grassroots alternative is very real. Renewable-energy wonks are currently keeping a close eye on Boulder, Colo., where residents will decide next month whether to part ways with its utility and establish a municipal structure that will vastly boost locally-generated renewable energy. The utility is panicking, dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into defeating the ballot measures.

If Boulder voters approve the plan, the city could become an energy trend setter. A study found that a municipal utility for the city could increase renewable-energy generation by 40 percent. And "the economic value of local energy ownership would multiply within the city's economy to as much as $350 million a year," writes John Farrell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. No wonder why clean-energy supporters are excited by this potential. Even Van Jones, President Obama's former advisor on green jobs, is campaigning in Boulder! Watch his awesome video here.

The differences can't be any clearer between solar innovation and its costs and the old ways of fossil fuels. As Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune pointed out last week, "the overall costs to our economy of burning coal are so high that they're actually greater than the market price of the energy that's generated."

-- Brian Foley

Google Warming

Last week the National Snow and Ice Data Center confirmed 2011 to be the second worst year for Arctic ice since record keeping began. Now you can watch the mayhem in this Google Earth animation, which illustrates NSIDC's annual data from 1979 to 2011. What will next year look like?