Green NGO’s and the Crisis of Co-operation

Many perceive large fossil fuel and car companies as being in direct competition with each other. Whilst this is true there is also a remarkable amount of co-operation that goes on behind the scenes, especially in regard to lobbying for favourable laws and regulations.

Can the environmental NGO movement boast the same united power? The matter is debatable. I am having a hard time thinking of a time when the heads of NRDC, Sierra Club, Global Green, Alliance for Climate Protection, 1Sky and Rocky Mountain Institute all got together and formed a powerful single voice. The problem is funding.  Green NGO’s are forced to compete for small pots of cash progressive philanthropists, foundations and corporate sponsors. But is this competition actually weakening the movement’s power?

Paul Hawken’s book Blessed Unrest catalog’s the rise of tens of thousand of green and other civil society groups and organizations. But are thousands of small, under funded, competiting groups better than one or two large, unified, well funded green NGOs? Locally many small groups makes sense, but if we are to make the big changes needed to combat climate change, we need federal legislation.

We need to learn from the real competition, the fossil fuel lobby. But ask any green NGO that they need to forsake some diversity in order to create a united and stronger voice in Washington and you’ll likely get a luke warm response. The fossil fuel lobby are incentivised to cooperate because they have a common goal, more money. A green NGO loses money if it cooperates with a larger one as funders would see less point in funding two orgs doing the same thing. Fossil fuel lobby has one objective, profit. Green NGOs all have their own version of saving the world, often radically different.

We need a solution to this dilemma if the green movement is ever going to overcome the fossil fuel lobby.

Quotes from Apen + Commentary

By Lara Hansen’s
WWF

Highlights from the Aspen Environmental Forum- snippets to make you engage…

Day One

“Take care of mother Earth and mother Earth will take care of you”
-Roland McCook

“Go my son, make your people proud of you”
-traditional invocation, presented by C.J. Bradford

Created a “colaboratory on renewable energy”
- Colorado Governor William Ritter, state who’s home has been the historical home to the now grossly underfunded national renewable energy laboratory

Day Two
“Plan B- 1) Stabilize the Climate, 2) Stabilize Population, 3) Eradicate poverty/Raise living conditions, 4) Restore ecosystems”
-Lester Brown, speaking on the threats to our future

“There is no box”
- Amory Lovins, as quoted by Lester Brown

“We’ve been doing what Enron did on a much larger scale. We’ve been leaving costs off the books.”
-Lester Brown on the cause of climate change

No private cars were sold in the United States during much of WW2 because the government needed the auto manufacturing facilities to make the planes that were needed to fight the war. Roosevelt banned private car sales. Like the auto manufacturers of WW2, the media and communications are the key to fighting the threats of today.
-Lester Brown

“Saving civilization is not a spectator sport. Its not just buying a compact fluorescent light bulb, not just about efficiency. These actions won’t do any good if the energy still comes from coal fired power plants. Everyone of us must be involved.”
-Lester Brown (Saving civilization also does not require color commentary. Today we have too many people talking about the problem and the potential solutions, and not enough people actually doing the work.)

“Let’s focus on the fire (energy use), not the smoke (emissions).”
-Randy Udall

“We won’t stop global warming to save the environment, we’ll do it to save prosperity.”
-Randy Udall

“I’m a believer in optionality”
-Marvin Odum (OK, I don’t actually know what this means but it certainly does allow you to take pause.)

“The right price of carbon is certainly not zero.”
-Amory Lovins

“The biggest problem our next president has is how to continue to run this civilization.”
-Randy Udall

” Oil shale has half the energy of Cap’n Crunch.”
-Randy Udall (not clear if that is original or crunchberry flavored, giving it the benefit of the doubt it would be original with its 10% higher energy yield)

“Energy is the original currency.”
-Randy Udall

“The US$ is losing value because we are sending our dollars overseas for energy.”
-Randy Udall

“Energy Ethic- we’ve never paired those words.”
-Randy Udall

“Its still an open question as to whether or not this country has the ‘right stuff’ on this.”
-Randy Udall

Majora Carter is the future of this country.

“Real change requires real change.”

                -Newt Gingrich, as channeled by Van Jones

Day Three

“The solution will be an emergent self-organizing response.” – James Kunstler

“Feast on the banquet of consequences.”  -Robert Louis Stephenson, as channeled by James Kunstler

Other thoughts:

Since when is getting 30 miles per gallon a laudable accomplishment? If you are going to advertise an accomplishment make it triple digits!

There is an opportunity right now for an energy company, seven of which were in the top dozen revenue generating companies in the world in 2006, to take the leap and use these revues to change the marketplace, developing the energy sources we need for the future. Not just for their future, but for the future of human society.

Clean, renewable energy.

Technology won’t get us out of the state we are in. Technology got us here and now we need to get us out of this. Technology might be part of a future solution, but we can’t just wait for it.

The goal of stopping climate change is worth the sacrifice.

Part two: On the way home from Aspen

By Steven Strong
solardesign.com

As the Forum progressed, we were shown consecutive layers of irrefutable evidence from every discipline that, indeed, climate change was upon us. Luminaries like E.O Wilson told it like it is, speaking of a “brick wall” ahead, with the message that it is past time to get engaged. Lester Brown’s eloquent overview of “Plan B: 3.0” was a clarion call to immediately address the host of intertwined issues now confronting society.

Between sessions, attendees were treated to superb photography from the pros at National Geographic – co-sponsor of the Forum – that provided vivid, visual evidence to corroborate the science. This was extremely effective in that the science of climate change remains abstract, even obtuse to many – whereas visual confirmation that glacial melt is accelerating, the north polar ice cap is fast disappearing while the great ice shelves of Antarctica are collapsing into the sea is a most compelling way to reach those still harboring lingering doubt.

Amory Lovins was there (of course) and, during a session on Peak Oil, gave his usual crisp,stat-filled, dissertation on the progress and promise of technology to dramatically reduce our need for energy by virtue of the multiplicity of efficiency opportunities – nearly all of which are demonstrably less expensive than the business-as-usual scenario of buying imported oil and building more power plants. Amory expounds on this thesis in his book; “Winning the Oil End Game: American Innovation for Profits, Jobs, and Security.” Those that know Amory understand how compelling his vision can be. His consummate intellect, track record and command of statistics is formidable.

Longtime activist and ASPO co-founder Randy Udall was visibly uncomfortable with Amory’s ever-optimistic view that technology will save us, citing the exponential escalation in world energy demand led by China, India and other developing countries as the try to pull themselves up by the bootstraps out of poverty and into the 21^st century to enjoy some of the comforts and conveniences that we in western society have come to take completely for granted.

Randy’s challenge projected a clear sense of urgency that Peak Oil is indeed upon us and that we must begin in earnest to plan for the inevitable accommodations that will follow. He pointed out that society has squandered many years of time critical to the ramp-up necessary for a manageable transition and that time for action was now.

For his part, Shell senior executive, Marvin Odum acknowledged that world demand for energy would indeed outstrip supply of “conventional” [petroleum] sources by as early as 2015. His response, was however, more predictable as he cited Shell’s research into “unconventional” sources such as Canadian tar sands and the vast deposits of oil shale in western Colorado – implying (but certainly not promising) that these “future” sources would be available in time to offset the confirmed decline in conventional supplies. He completely ignored the obvious: that these sources are far from in hand, will demand large amounts of water and energy to extract, will significantly increase CO2 and will certainly cost substantially more than today’s already sky-high prices – even under the best possible scenarios.

It seemed to me that Marvin was walking a delicate tightrope between current circumstances the Forum had clearly defined; the standard set of Shell talking points and what he personally believed – which was never really made clear. Some suggested that it was significant in itself that Shell had sponsored the Forum and was participating in the dialogue – pointing out that getting business on side is critical to making meaningful progress.

As the conference continued, two key underlying issues emerged above all others: How much time is left to address the issues before us and, how can we best sound the alarm to energize response in Washington.

Jim Kunstler gave his usual rant with vigor, painting a dire picture of the end of industrial civilization as we know it – especially in America. Kunstler’s presentation is essentially a raw, culture-specific rendition of Pulitzer-prize-winning author, Dr. Jared Diamond’s book: “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed”.

In “Collapse”, Diamond cites many factors that contributed to a society’s collapse, but emphasizes the one factor all history’s failed societies had in common was mismanagement of natural resources. (Forum organizers tried but were unable to get Diamond to speak.)

With bravado and a few four-letter words thrown in for color, Kunstler described a social infrastructure based on high volumes of cheap petroleum that could not be sustained and was already visibly crumbling under its own weight.

He describes the average American – which he fondly refers to as “Lumpkins” – as living in a clueless fog of delusional entitlement and self indulgence. A situation he points out is reinforced periodically by authoritative pronouncements from our national leaders that: “The American way of life is non-negotiable”.

His main thesis is that American agriculture,our automobile culture, our “McBuildngs”, settlement patterns and air transportation as we know them are far too energy intensive to continue as the coming post-petroleum transition unfolds and, that our intensive dependence of diminishing fossil fuels will ultimately lead to a train-wreck crisis of unimaginable proportions because there is no “solution” in hand or even envisioned that can support our current ‘business-as-usual’ program – a scenario that he details in his book: “The Long Emergency”.

Of course, Jim Kunstler’s vision of the future is in sharp contract to that defined by Amory Lovins where the necessary technology is readily at hand and the solutions so obvious that the market alone can be counted upon to implement the necessary fixes with dispatch because it is so profitable to do so.

Amory’s case is derived by extrapolating current technology and draws upon many real-world examples. His book, “Winning the Oil End Game” is peer-reviewed, meticulously annotated and cross-referenced replete with 12 technical annexes.

The standing-room-only event that was not included at the Forum would have been a debate between Lovins and Kunstler.

I believe the key deciding factor now determining our future is:Can we overcome our current paralysis? If recent experience is any guide to the future, there is the real risk that the current foot-dragging, ideology wars and outright obfuscation will continue and our society could well manage to ignore the growing warning signs long enough so that time for meaningful action simply runs out.

Key take-home points from the Forum:

§ Climate change science is solid and, if anything, too conservative. Many consequences predicted by the elaborate climate models are actually happening fasten than expected. This is especially true with ice loss in the polar regions and mountain glaciers.

§ Many technical options are defined and ready to respond to climate change with efficiency being the easiest, fastest and least expensive. Efficiency provides multiple benefits (reduces emissions, backs out of oil dependence, improves national security at low cost and needs little-to-no O&M.

§ A properly implemented, broad-based efficiency program can and will also help us buy some time to ramp up other responses – such as renewables and hybrid / electric vehicles.

§ The business community generally has acknowledged that climate change is real and must be dealt with and, is (in many cases) asking for regulation to establish the ground rules going forward to minimize uncertainty. Nearly all the big players compete in the international marketplace and realize they must conform to international standards (which are far ahead of the US).

§ The environmental community must seek dialogue and common cause with the business community. For meaningful change to come in the time frame that is necessary, we need everyone engaged and pulling together toward the same goal.

§ The transition brought upon us by climate change and peak oil will not be an easy one under any circumstances. However, there will be significant opportunity to change things for the better as a result.

§ The most important major factor going forward is getting the story out on climate change far and wide to help drive consensus on action sooner rather than later as time is running very short. This election cycle provides an especially critical opportunity.

As the last day of the Forum drew to a close, I requested a wake-up call from the front desk to ensure making my early morning flight home. Fortunately, one of my idiosyncratic capabilities is to wake up just before the alarm clock goes off – because the wake-up call never came.

I hope our society gets the crucial wake-up call in time.

Maybe Al Gore can help reach the critical tipping point. He appeared on 60 Minutes this past Sunday and pledged to spend $300M on a massive public campaign to get the message out on climate change.

On the way to Aspen

By Steven Strong
solardesign.com

On March 26-30, the Aspen Institute hosted its first Forum on the Environment. I was invited to speak on renewables but was somewhat ambivalent about my participation. I’ve been to literally 100’s of similar conferences and we are super busy these days – would this one be any different? On the opposite hand, the Aspen Institute has built their reputation on a long and respected tradition of bringing diverse groups with differing viewpoints together to share ideas around key issues of the day with the overarching goal of forging consensus.

Why had they waited this long to address the environment? I wondered .

On the way out, United showed a video loop of stunning nature photographs – coral reefs, big trees, wildlife, waterfalls and rain forests. This was a welcome respite for the usual drivel placed in your face. Could it be that corporate America was finally getting the idea that the environment mattered or was this just another flavor of entertainment to soothe an increasingly restless captive audience?

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a line of black, super-sized SUV’s – it reminded me of our work at the White House. They were GM Tahoes – the new hybrid version – 15 in all, provided by the factory to chauffer invited guests and speakers during the conference. GM was, in fact,a major sponsor of the Forum and (apparently) felt this venue was a good place to roll out their new hybrid SUV line and test market their greener image.

I was immediately skeptical. This is the same GM that, not too long ago, brought together a world-class team of engineers to design and build what many felt was the smartest car on the planet – the all-electric EV1 – only to publicly crush them all when their crack team of corporate lawyers won the GM culture clash as to whether to innovate and move forward into the future or continue to desperately cling to yesterday’s vision still in their rear-view mirror. Was it going to be different this time?

At registration, we were given a hard-cover book of stunning four-color, nature photographs – this time of Tierra del Fuego, the island archipelago at the tip of South America. The book was compliments of Goldman Sachs – another major Forum sponsor – and documented their investment of a 700,000 acre tract previously scheduled for logging as a nature preserve. During the meeting, we heard from Goldman execs about a new era of corporate-led conservation and why this uniquely generous approach was a win-win for all concerned. Perhaps corporate America was indeed coming to understand that the environment mattered.

At Wednesday night’s opening session entitled: “Changing Planet: Where Energy and Climate Collide”, MIT’s Dan Nocera – distinguished for his research in molecular energy conversion – was asked to describe his vision of our energy future. He outlined a coming new era where we would be able to harvest solar energy “with roofs fitted with solar arrays” – sharing the surplus with the community.

Welcome back to the future.

I wondered whether he knew that nearly 30 years ago, his institute had commissioned the world’s first all-solar residence where roof-integrated solar-electric and solar-thermal arrays harvested all the energy needed to fully support a very comfortable home with surplus exported to the community via a then unique arrangement with the local utility that was to become known as “Net Metering”.

Back in 1980, I designed and constructed this all-solar home in eastern Massachusetts to clearly demonstrate that all-solar living was within our reach and continue to use it to illustrate that: “What exists must indeed be possible”. This effort, which was supported by the US Department of Energy, was one of the visible manifestations of President Carter’s vision of a new energy future. Those old enough to remember will recall that Carter also fielded a solar energy system on the White House.

Unfortunately, Carter’s vision and the urgency that accompanied it was vigorously discredited by the administration that followed. In one of his first public acts, Ronald Reagan had the recently installed and fully functional solar system removed from the White House and consigned to the dumpster – making it abundantly clear that renewables were not to be encouraged nor supported. For the three decades that followed, America has been largely sleep-walking into the future – squandering precious time required to refine and ramp-up these life-affirming, sustainable technologies that nearly all now agree are critical to the future of the human experiment.

When will we – as a society – actually get serious about this transition? Would this Forum really make any real difference?

Stay tuned for part two from Aspen….

Aspen Environment Forum: A Preview

Aspen Institute’s exclusive Environment Forum begins this Thursday. On the speaker list this year is Amory Lovins, Van Jones, Andrew Revkin, Cathy Zoi, Lester Brown and many more of the world’s greatest environmental experts. If you can afford the ticket ($1700 – ouch) then this conference is not to be missed. The trick with these conferences is to chose sessions on something you don’t know much about. There’s no point going to yet another green energy session if you’re already fairly knowledgeable. Its not just about making connections – its also about learning.

On the first day be sure to check out ‘The Big Thaw’ session if you don’t mind being shocked by the information – Andy Revkin is on the panel. The rest of day one treds fairly familair ground – the state of the world etc.. Its on day two that things get interesting…

Starting with Lester Brown’s not to be missed Plan B 3.0 plenary. Then I’d recommend avoiding the Peak Oil session and going to What is a Sustainable Business? After lunch you’ll have to run between The Psychology of Climate Change and How Much Time to Act on Climate Change. Afternoon sessions are equally engaging – be ready to hot foot it between Pushing Against Limits and Environment and Power and Politics. If you have to go to a green energy session check Steven Strong on Energy Strategy and Environmental Systems.

The third day is equally exciting. Van Jones is a great speaker and a future leader – he starts the day. Skip all the other sessions and go straight to Environment and Security where Amory Lovins will speak about the most important question of the conference. From there Energy Entrepreneurs, Carbon Markets and Sustainability in Practice will require you ankle it around to make the most of the potential hook ups.

If, like me, you’re not going to Aspen then be sure to check the Green Reporter for all the news and an exclusive report from the event from Steven Strong.

Mitigation vs Adaptation – The Reason Why Developing Countries Hold Out At Climate Talks

So recent floods in the US cannot be attributed to climate change… yet. When experts and the media finally decide extreme weather events and climate change are linked, get ready for the mitigation vs adaptation debate. The basic argument from the adaptation camp will go something like this: why bother spending money on green tech when climate change is already happening – we need that money to adapt. Mitigationists could counter with ‘but we can afford both’.

Maybe. But what about developing countries?

They are faced with the sharp end of this dilemma. If they forgo cheap fossil fuel burning to develop their economies and suffer climate disaster then adaptation becomes very expensive. If current warming is due to developed countries historical emissions then things get even more complicated.

The prisoners dilemma for developing countries beckons a dominant strategy. Continue polluting anyway, then at least they can help pay for adaptation. This is part of the reason why developing countries aren’t rushing for a global CO2 emission cap and why Al Gore was in India recently.

A solution? Western countries whose economies have developed due to CO2 emissions need to foot the bill for all countries who go straight to renewable energy. Not an easy sell at home. Suddenly politics and international relations become crucial. Leaders, forced to strike a balance between mitigation and adaption at home and abroad might miss all objectives. The political system in the United States suddenly becomes critical in dealing with climate change. If we elect a strong leader, he or she could find the policy mix to get us through… If our system is broken… well, there is a lot at stake.

Colony Collapse Disorder in California

Richard Dent – 27th November, 2007 – thegreenreporter.com

This year, in California and around the world, between 40% and 70% of bee populations did not return from winter dormancy^. A 2000 Cornell University study concluded that the direct value of honey bee pollination to U.S. agriculture is more than $14.6 billion. If this trend continues as soon as next year many parts of the world, including California, will face a crisis of pollination. Bee’s currently account for one third of all crop pollination. Whilst research is ongoing, early indications suggest that a combination of pesticides, climate change and immune collapse have led to the bee’s disappearance, all of these issues are directly related to Califoria’s agro-chem practices. The reliance on honey bees, currently being imported for the sole reason of pollination, and the manipulation for servicing agro-chem industry is also directly connected to California’s agricultural sector. Whilst the bee crisis is being analyzed, organic bee keepers around the world are comparing bee numbers. The initial reports are that numbers have not dropped significantly and reasons are being discussed. Climate change has been cited as contributing to recent colony collapse disorder (CCD). If IPCC predictions of median or high rates of climate change play out, California can expect higher temperatures, more extreme weather, increased rainfall in some areas and water shortages in others. Unforeseen effects might include more frequent frosts in citrus areas as global climate changes effect California. All these effects could have serious impacts on California’s agricultural sector. With the bee pollination issue, California’s agricultural medium and long term future is could be in serious jeopardy.

Download the entire report.

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