Now that Obama has been elected president, environmentalists worldwide are wondering if the planet will benefit. Andrew Revkin of the New York Times’ Dot Earth blog is concerned about the world’s population growth and resources. He has requested proposals from the public on how Obama can help the planet on a limited budget.

While others are wondering if Obama’s plan to help the Big 3 Detroit automakers invest in fuel-efficiency research and develop a new generation of clean cars. His idea would cost $3 billion dollars over 10 years. Obama is also calling on more plug-in hybrids. Can Detroit automakers meet the challenge?

Green Congress? Most environmentalists seem to think the world will get a bit greener with Barack Obama. But how green is the newly elected Congress? After all, the prez has to get his bills through both the Senate and the House. Some key Senate additions for green initiatives are Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Udall of Colorado, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, who took seats from Republicans who opposed environmental measures. There were several House upsets (like Betsy Markey of Colorado) that may also help to change the balance of green power in Congress.

No green light for two California green propositions. Both Prop 7 and Prop 10 didn’t pass on Nov. 4 by 60% or more. Proposition 7 would have required California electric utilities to get half of their power from renewable sources by 2025. And Proposition 10 would have given rebate incentives to Californians who purchased natural gas or alternative fuel vehicles. Experts say many state residents found the initiatives ill conceived or too expensive.

And in other environmental news…

Fuel from fungus? Yes! According to a Montana State University researcher, a microorganism found in a South American plant contains a fungus with an essence of diesel. And this “myco-diesel” could power a whole bus without processing it all.

Thinking about buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle? Check out The Daily Green’s list of the most fuel-efficient cars and SUVs. It’s no surprise that the Toyota Prius came in first with 48 mpg in the city and 45 on the highway. But check out the rest of the list.

Also posted on Pop + Politics

Now that gas and oil prices drop, will America keep its push to “go green?” A recent NPR article investigates whether American energy consumers will revert back to their old, gas guzzling, non-recyclable ways with low oil prices.

Speaking of fossil fuels, a new study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council claims the world could be free of fossil fuels completely by 2090. What would it take? Only trillions of dollars worth of investments in renewable energy and a worldwide support, that’s all.

Google going Green? Google’s CEO, Eric E. Schmidt, joined forces with GE’s CEO, Jeffrey R. Immelt, to announce their “green” collaboration effort to generate renewable electricity. Additionally, Google’s nonprofit arm, Google.org, has already invested in clean energy startups like harnessing wind power with kites.

Ready for your next all-electric car? Well, chances are you might have to wait until 2012. The recent 2008 Paris Motor Show revealed the new generation of electric cars. It featured the electric Chevrolet Volt, gas-electric hybrids like 2009 Honda Insight. However, the show stopper was the 2012 Volage electric car by Venturi, Monaco’s only automaker. In addition to the Volage, Venturi also makes the Fetish, an all-electric, 2-seat sports car, available in 2009. Both the Volage and Fetish sell for a hefty price, $500,000 and $400,000 respectively. Hmm.. how’s that gasoline or hybrid car looking?

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Early Wednesday morning a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 170 people and leaving an estimated 15,000 people homeless. Rescuers are currently digging and searching for survivors in the a remote valley in Baluchistan, a province bordering Afghanistan. The worst hit was a British hilltop village of Ziarat and eight surrounding villages. “There is great destruction,” said Ziarat Mayor Dilawar Kakar to Associated Press. “Not a single house is intact.”

With less than a week until the presidential election, many people have decided to vote early. And in key swing states like North Carolina, Nevada and Colorado, the number of Democrats early ballots outweigh Republicans ballots nearly 2 to 1.

So, does the electoral math add up to an Obama landslide? According to the most recent Associated Press-GfK poll, Barack Obama is leading or tied with John McCain in eight key states: Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. This poll also showed Obama winning in states among early voters. Furthermore, “the polling shows Obama holding solid leads in Ohio (seven percentage points), Nevada (12 points), Colorado (9) and Virginia (seven), all red states won by Bush that collectively offer 47 electoral votes.” Based on these results, if Obama wins these four states or a magical combination of two or three of them with significant amount of electoral votes, he would almost certainly become president.

Last Friday, the League of Conservation Voters released their 2008 annual environmental scorecard, which shows how Congressional members voted on key energy and environmental issues. Presidential candidates, Obama and McCain, both scored low ratings on this report.

Politico reported that Sen. Barack Obama only voted pro-environment 18 percent of the time in 2008. Sen. John McCain scored a dismal zero because he missed every environmental vote (note: no vote = negative vote). Obama’s voting record dropped considerably from its 67% percent rating last year. No surprise to many greenies, this is Mac’s second year with the league’s lowest ratings.

Both Senators missed a lot of votes because of time spent campaigning for president. McCain didn’t vote at all and Obama only voted twice this year. The League reported that Obama’s votes for offshore drilling and environmental funding were in favor of the environment.

League president Gene Karpinski told Politico:

“Even under the tremendous pressure of a national campaign, Senator Obama returned to Washington to support the environment in a dozen key votes in the last two years. Sen. McCain … skipped every major environmental vote of the 110th Congress, including a bill to repeal billions in taxpayer handouts to Big Oil and to invest in clean, renewable energy. That measure failed by one vote: John McCain’s.”

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Last week it was the penguins, now it’s the kangaroos. According to research by Australian scientists, kangaroos could also become extinct this century if temperatures rise only two degrees Celsius. Researchers at James Cook University issue yet another warning about global warming’s effect on animals.

Speaking of global warming, let’s follow the Brits. British energy and climate minister Ed Miliband said Thursday he endorsed proposals to reduce Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. This legally-binding pledge makes the UK the “the first country to commit to severe cuts in the production of carbon dioxide and other gases responsible for global warming.

Coming off the final presidential debate, we all heard Sen. Obama’s and Sen. McCain’s views on their proposed energy policies. To most people’s surprise, both candidates endorse nuclear power, at varying degrees, to gain oil independence from the Middle East. A recent New York Times article lays out their nuclear ideas.

On the presidential front, good news for bikers from avid cyclist: George W. Bush. Before the president leaves office, the Bush administration plans to give mountain bikers more access to national parks and other public lands. On Tuesday, the National Park Service confirmed that it is “preparing a rule that will allow decisions about some mountain bike trails to be made by park managers instead of federal regulators in Washington, a process that can take years.”

Before you eat your next bite of sushi, do you know if it’s “sustainable?” According to the sustainability guides published by three conservation groups, mackerel (aji or sawara) is fine but best-selling, fatty bluefin tuna (toro) are out. The “ocean-friendly” books produced by the Blue Ocean Institute, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Environmental Defense Fund lists whether the seafood is caught by sustainable methods. The guides list the fish by their English and Japanese names. “The three new cards will be officially unveiled Oct. 22 at Tataki Sushi and Sake Bar, which the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Ken Peterson described “as the only fully sustainable sushi restaurant in the United States.” Now, you can be eco-conscious to the last sushi bite.

Now about those oceans…. Does less ice lead to more water? University of Edinburgh scientists announced a plan Thursday to survey a fragile part of an Antarctic ice shelf this year to determine if it will crack off in coming decades and have an impact on global sea levels. Other portions of this ice shelf have already broken off in 1995 and 2002. The U.N. Climate Plan said that rising world sea levels, fueled by global warming, could cause more powerful storms, heatwaves, floods and droughts.

The dangers of global warming strike the penguins. According to a recent World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, if the earth’s climate increases by only two degrees Celsius (or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) half to three-quarters of Antarctic penguin colonies could be wiped out or severely harmed. Sadly, a United Nation report predicts the climate change will occur by the end of the century if greenhouse gases aren’t decreased. Poor, poor penguins.

Could greener fuels cause world hunger? A United Nations food agency is asking the same question in its call for a review of biofuel (cleaner, plant-based fuel) subsidies and policies. The examination will look at biofuel’s role in higher food prices and hunger in poor countries. With the biofuel subsidies in place, many farmers plant more crops for fuel than food because it brings in more dough.

Speaking of dough, green technology is where it’s at. Venture capital is pouring into the clean tech industry that focuses on alternative energy, pollution reduction, recycling and conservation. Biotechies and biopharma workers are headed over to the green side. According to VentureSource, venture funding in clean technologies increased from $216 million in 2002 to $2.5 billion last year.

Financial crisis threatens climate change. A lack of credit and limited capital may result in fewer developed countries investing in green initiatives to help poorer countries upgrade to clean energy technology. In an AP interview, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. climate secretariat summed it up best when he said, “You can’t pick an empty pocket.”

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If you want to feel the effects of the economy without driving your car, try flying the friendly skies.

The increasing fuel costs have hit America’s airlines pretty hard. Yesterday morning, on my way to Denver for the Democratic National Convention, I experienced the airline woes and U.S. economic troubles firsthand. The storm began upon my arrival at Los Angeles International Airport around 7:15 a.m. for an 8:45 a.m. flight. I was following the standard time allowances – 1 hour and ½ for domestic flights. My arrival was met with a snake-like line that emptied out of the United Airlines check-in area into the street, where passengers were getting dropped off. I immediately sensed trouble. I was up against the 45-minute cut-off for getting your bags checked-in. So, I stood and stood and stood. And I watched the clock tick away my entire 45 minutes before the 8:00 a.m. time limit to check my bags.

At first I couldn’t understand why United’s check-in lines were so long and their agents were so unhelpful. Where did the customer service go? Why didn’t any of the agents care if I was going to miss my flight? For that matter, why didn’t any of the agents worry about the mile long line of passengers about to miss their flights?

Why? The current economics of airline travel created this entire monster. The high fuel charges faced by the airline industry have been passed on to the customer in a very inefficient way.

To begin with, United Airlines now requires $15 for the first checked bag and $25 for the second bag. (I stopped looking at the prices after the second bag.) And if your dear bag or bags should weigh over 50 pounds, you, my fellow passenger, are looking at another $125 charge for an overweight bag. Yikes. These new costs, created to help United offset their increasing fuel expenses, were the cause of most passengers missing their flights and standing in long check-in lines. Each customer, even those with an electronic ticket, were forced to stand in lengthy lines to pay for their baggage at the counter. Several passengers were seen transferring packed items to additional luggage or trash bags to avoid overweight charges. In short, it was an inefficient zoo!

The long wait to check-in led to many customers missing their flights and lost baggage. Due to my bag missing the cut-off window, I was placed on standby for the next flight. My plight was a shared one. More than 50 people were on standby for the following flight. Some less fortunate travelers were still on standby from flights on Sunday.

Although I arrived in Denver yesterday, the process getting there wasn’t a pleasant one. I endured long lines, baggage costs, sub par customer service, and spending more time at the airport waiting to fly standby than on the plane.

But I’m here in Denver now and off to cover and explore the Democratic National Convention 2008 activities. And I am looking forward to hearing the Dems’ approach to the economic problems, especially oil troubles, we are facing.

Smooches,

a weary Caramel Bella

Is the best energy policy coming from Paris Hilton? Hilton has responded to her unauthorized appearance in John McCain’s recent attack ad against Obama, which featured her and Britney Spears. In the ad, McCain calls Obama a celebrity and questions his ability to lead.

Hilton, upset about being featured in the tv ad, decided to craft her own response. She might possibly have the best energy plan out there – drilling, alternative energy development and nuclear power.  Take a listen. Hilton for VP, anyone?

The Caramel Bella