Bailout after bailout after bailout...what to make of this financial crisis? I do know of one opportunity that should come out of this financial mess, with fingers crossed.

Automotive manufacturers have essentially been given a free ride by Washington for three decades when it comes to fuel efficiency. The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (otherwise known as CAFE) regulations were put in place in the mid-70's in response to the oil crisis of the early 70's. The intent of CAFE is to regulate improved fleet fuel efficiency over time, essentially, the average fuel efficiency of all vehicles manufactured by any given company. However, there was a catch that kind of bit us in the backside - trucks were exempt.

SUVs didn't really exist 30 years ago, but up until recently they have accounted for about 50% of vehicle sales. As far as CAFE is concerned, SUVs are trucks, so they got a free ride. No one saw that coming in 1975.

So, today, Ford, GM and Chrysler have showed up on the doorsteps of DC asking for $50 to $75 Billion. What to make of that?

Their poor collective financial performance has a few contributing factors, not least of all is the dramatic decline in SUV sales in the last year or so. Detroit lobbied hard to not improve fuel efficiency and Washington folded. Those days are (hopefully) behind us.

North America needs the Big Three; they are the economic engine that fuels our economy (no pun intended). But the time has come to trade in the SUVs for hybrids, electric vehicles and 50 MPG plus vehicles. Their survival is important to millions of people who rely on selling 15 million or so vehicles every year in North America.

Now Washington holds the trump card. I hope and assume that Washington will only help Detroit if they agree to much more aggressive fuel efficiency standards for two reasons. One, it is the right thing to do for the planet and two, it is the right thing to do for the economy. 

The U.S. subprime debacle is now in full swing. Lawmakers in DC can’t seem to agree on a $700 bailout plan. Plan? Why did they let this happen in the first place?

$700 Billion and John McCain wants to lower taxes? Hello! Think about this for a second. If you are not going to help pay off the billions of dollars, who is? Yes, you guessed it – your kids!

It’s a bit like trading in the Prius for a Hummer and telling your kids they can't go to college because they are driving in the back seat of their tuition and text books.

When will Wall St. stop worrying about the next quarter and DC stop worrying about the next election?

Imagine a presidential news conference in 2018 (10 years after James Hansen’s warning that we only have 10 years to turn this ship around) after the fourth Katrina-like hurricane of the year.

Today’s bailout of $700 Billion will seem like a joke. Picture the president saying we need a $7 trillion climate crisis bailout plan - now. We have to build 200,000 wind turbines now, we have to stop pumping oil now, and we have to invest in solar energy now. Why don’t they listen in 2008 and start the process now, not in 2018.

In 2018 the president will be looking back and thinking that perhaps Al Gore’s Clean Energy in 10 years in 2008 wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

A few years ago subprime seemed like a good idea and now look at the mess today. Does anyone in DC see beyond the next election or the consequences of their actions?

Bailouts are not plans; they are the student equivalent of cramming for an exam. I have to admit, I did cram for the odd exam, 25 years ago, when I was 18. I am not 18 anymore, neither are the folks on Capitol Hill. It’s time they woke up and started acting like mature adults and not teenagers cramming for an exam.

Why? Because cramming for the climate crisis exam is not going to work!

I read two articles last week that on the surface seem to have nothing to do with each other, but I managed to connect them in my silly little head

The first article was in a magazine in my doctor's office - I don't even remember the magazine, but I do remember the topic.

Seven years have passed since 9/11 and seven years have passed since we were told that the site of the World Trade Centre will be rebuilt. And yet...there is still a hole in the ground. Numerous organizations can't agree on how to proceed, building permits and other regulatory agencies can't get on the same page. Seven years have passed, and there is still a hole in the ground.

In the meantime, China has built about half of the equivalent US infrastructure during the same period of time. Now, I know there are issues with their approach, etc with respect to feeding that amount of growth, but...it is a reality. North America has to wake up to this new reality.

Another reality facing North America is our slow pace in adopting the labelling the carbon footprint of consumer products. UK has begun, and now Japan. Walker Crisps (chips in North America) now state right on their bags of chips that each bag is responsible for emitting 75 grams of CO2. I actually carry two empty bags of Walker chips in my briefcase to share with people I meet.

Whether it is carbon labelling or construction or manufacturing more fuel efficient vehicles, North America has to wake up, or else we are in big trouble...

Some people who question the verity of global warming and climate change use the argument that the world is getting cooler due to particulates in the air, and rely on information about volcanic eruptions that caused ice ages to try to disprove global warming theories. Some others think that the effect of global dimming is actually slowing down global warming: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/dimming_prog_summary.shtml

Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen has even suggested that we pump huge amounts of suphur into the stratosphere to cool the planet. http://www.springer-sbm.com/index.php?id=291&backPID=132&L=0&tx_tnc_news=2646. Somehow, I don’t think that putting out huge amounts of the ingredient that was the main cause of acid rain would be a good solution~I beg to disagree.

There is a factor where pollutants cause the reflection of solar radiation into the atmosphere before it reaches the earth (increasing the albedo), thereby preventing some of the global warming because those rays cannot be absorbed and reradiated back into the atmosphere. However, this global dimming is much smaller than the warming effect from greenhouse gases.

Global dimming is an important issue to understand if you are talking about government policy, because some policies advocate for addressing pollution (targeting gases that cause asthma and other health problems like sulphur dioxide), but ignore the carbon dioxide outputs. When companies address the sulphur problem (like Inco in Sudbury, which have significantly reduced SO2 emissions) but don’t reduce their CO2 emissions proportionally, they are adding exponentially to global warming~they are reducing the pollution that cools the earth and sending out more that warm it. Not to say that companies like Inco shouldn’t be working on improving air quality: far from it, I applaud their efforts. It is just that the GHG outputs should be reduced at the same level as the other pollution.

Encyclopedia of Earth author Stephen Nodvin (who is a Climate Project presenter & professor in Boston) wrote: The IPCC also found that anthropogenic contributions to aerosols in the atmosphere produce cooling effects, referred to as global dimming. However the cooling (global dimming) effects due to human-caused aerosols are equivalent to about half of the warming effects due to the combined radiative forcing of human-produced greenhouse gases, causing a net warming. http://www.eoearth.org/article/Global_warming

Wikipedia also has a big entry on global dimming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming

One of the reasons that the general population gets so confused about global warming and climate change is that the ideas are so complex, that many factors need to be balanced, and noone’s prediction is exactly accurate (like weather forecasts). They have a very good idea of what will happen, but don't know exactly when.

As our science modelling and understanding of these transparent interactionsgets more accurate, it will be easier for us all to make decisions that have a net improvement for the environment. It’s clear to me that we need to deal with global dimming and global warming together to prevent climate change.

One of the reasons that the general population gets so confused about global warming and climate change is that the ideas are so complex, that many factors need to be balanced, and noone’s prediction is exactly accurate (like weather forecasts).

As our science modelling and understanding of these transparent interactions gets more accurate, it will be easier for us all to make decisions that have a net improvement for the environment.

It's a big word - REVOLUTION!

Dramatic change, radical alteration, sea change, metamorphosis, transformation, 

innovation, reorganization, restructuring; informal shake-up, shakedown. 

Thought about it? Time for change, I'd say.  Time to shift paradigms in our society toward sustainable practices. Time to understand how our actions affect the world and each other. Time to get real about comprehending the full cost of our actions and becoming accountable for every step of what we need, use, want, desire.

Think about the computer you're using. What raw ingredients from mines were needed to make it? How much recycled content? Where did the ingredients get shipped from? Where was it put together? How far did it travel from the manufacturing facility? What resource input was needed to develop the programs you are using? Where does your electricity come from and what resources are used? Those are just a few of the questions we could be asking ourselves on things we buy and use every day. These are the questions that businesses and corporations could consider in their procurement policies. 

I believe that if people thought about these kinds of questions and could find easy answers, they would want to lessen their ecofootprint, their carbon footprint, to help the world, cool the climate, save the planet. If people are educated, I believe they will be willing to change, to adapt to sustainable practices, to morph into environmentally aware human beings. To join the green revolution!

Shift happens? 

I believe. 

Solving the climate crisis is about solutions, and as such, I have made a pact with myself to focus on solutions from this point on with my entries. But, I can't help myself with this one!

Headlines all within 24 hours of each other:

- Exxon posts record quarterly profit of $12 Billion

- GM posts quarterly loss of $15.5 Billion

- The Ward Hunt ice sheet in Northern Canada just lost 18 square kilometres

Connect the dots. It ain't hard to do. What will it take to reverse all three of these fortunes (or lack thereof)? You tell me  

How can we get our festivals to be more green?  We have to ask for it and do our part.

This year we had an awesome festival and great events.  We had adult events (19 years and older) that served beverages of many kinds.  This year we did not have to drink from a plastic glass we were permitted to use a can or plastic non-breakable container.  I didn't over indulge but I looked for places to put my can for recycling.  Every time I went to the bar area (there were 4 days of music) I brought my can back and asked them to recycle them.  They seemed to place them in a different container.  They got used to seeing me come up and most were quite good about it.

One thing outside and inside the huge tent is that their were tin cans everywhere, although it could be considered hazardous with that many people in attendance, I dont' know that anyone fell because of a discarded can. This litter was terrible but I took it entirely different.  I know that some of the cans was because of extreme laziness not wanting to walk to a garbage can but another portion of the population was so used to recycling beverage containers that they left them in a pile around the tent poles etc.  I thought that was a true testament to what is going to come of recycling and taking care of our planet in the future.  The population is coming around but we have to push on. If people had not been shy or partying I think more people would have simply asked for recycling sites.

 What can we do about this?  We need to get involved.  In December 2008 I am going to volunteer for the festival and work towards helping to green the festival, starting with recycling bins.  I challenge each reader to get involved with their own local festivals and work with them to help take steps to protect the environment - one step at a time.

Have you read the news today?

Honda just announced a record quarterly profit of $1.7 Billion and Ford announced a record loss of $8.7 Billion ($8,700,000,000). Turmoil in the automotive industry - you bet! Are all of the manufacturers losing money? Apparently not.

Honda is the home to the fuel efficient Accord, Civic and Civic Hybrid. Ford is home to the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. In Ford's defence, they have been proactively green for a number of years, such as dictating minimum percentages of recycled content in their vehicles from their suppliers. But in reality - how well has that Focus (no pun intended) translated into sales?

I would like to think that the people leading Ford in Detroit should have and would have seen higher gas prices and raised consumer awareness of climate change coming. Why didn't they? Profit margins on SUV's 3 or 4 years ago where high, now they can't give them away. I bet they are thinking that the margin on a hybrid Focus (which doesn't exist yet) would be looking a whole lot healthier now than the margin on an Expedition today.

Who gets hurt in this scenario? Not the consumer - they can go across the street to Honda or Toyota, or even GM (by the way, check out the new fuel efficient Camaro - who'd a thunk it!). My heart goes out to the Ford employees who are losing their jobs. I have visited a few Ford plants - these are people that should still be working today if upper management wasn't asleep at the wheel (ok, another pun).

There is a lesson here for companies in other sectors - please take note. The times they are a changin'...look ahead and figure out what your new 'greener' products and services will look like one year, two years and three years from now. If you don't, your competition will.

Al Gore challenged Americans today to do something similar today to what JFK challenged in the early 1960's. JFK's challenge in 1961 - put man on the moon in less than 10 years - they pulled it off. Gore's challenge - to get America of fossil fuels within 10 years. This challenge has to be pulled off, or else - we are in trouble.

A couple of quoets from his speech: