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MEDIA: WEBCASTS, MOVIES, BOOKS...

** Al Gore: Green Energy by 2018 (7/17 Speech). [YouTube Video]. July 17, 2008

Al Gore's speech 3/21/07 before congress.

Al Gore and Barbara Boxer. October 11, 2007.

Al Gore speaks in San Francisco. October 11, 2007. Al Gore addresses the crowd at a Barbara Boxer event in San Francisco the night before he won the Nobel Peace Prize (the video of the speech has been edited for length).

Alternate Energy [Videos] (National Geographic Society)

Amazon 'disappearing fast'. VIDEO. ( BBC News website) December 6, 2007. "Deforestation is destroying the Amazon faster than previously thought, conservationists have warned."

Barbara Boxer's Democratic Radio Address on Global Warming May 31st, 2008 [Audio and transcript]

Can Coal Be Clean? A Debate Between Michael Brune of Rainforest Action Network and Joe Lucas of American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. Democracy Now,October 7, 2008. [Audio, video, and transcript] -- "While John McCain and Barack Obama have painted clean coal as a panacea that will help solve the nation’s energy problem, many environmental and scientific groups have questioned whether the burning of coal can ever be clean. We host a debate between Rainforest Action Network director Michael Brune, author of the new book Coming Clean: Breaking America’s Addiction to Oil and Coal, and Joe Lucas of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity."

*Cap and Trade. (The Diane Rehm Show ) April 21, 2008. [Audio; CD and transcript available] - "President Bush recently unveiled a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2025. Critics say it does not do enough to address global warming. What to do about climate change. Guests: Kit Batten , Managing Director for Energy and Environmental Policy, Center for American Progress; Juliet Eilperin, reporter, Washington Post; Kenneth Green, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute...."

Climate Leadership Now Day of Action Roundup Thread (Updated). [Video] Posted by Melisa, November 19, 2008, 1Sky. -- "Here's our brand-new video about the November 18 day of action: From California to Florida, success stories and pictures are pouring into 1Sky headquarters, highlighting the collective power of the Climate Leadership Now day of action. We are thrilled about the thousands of people across the country who met with their newly-elected Members of Congress and their staffs to welcome them to the new Congress and call for leadership on bold climate policy immediately."

Climate Matters Video Contest on Vimeo. Inspire Your Next President. Created by 1skycampaign, July 30, 2008. Several good videos show examples.

Count Carbon Along With Calories. Interview with Michael Specter (FreshAir from WHYY). Webcast. February 20, 2008. -"That guilty feeling after a big meal might be about more than calories and cholesterol. New Yorker science and technology writer Michael Specter joins Fresh Air to explain how carbon emissions released during food production are having an impact on the environment. Calculating carbon output is a complex, if not counterintuitive, process, Specter says. In the February 25 issue, he writes about the difficulties of measuring carbon footprints in an article titled 'Big Foot: In Measuring Carbon Emissions, it's Easy to Confuse Morality and Science.'"

**Chair of UN Climate Panel Says Nobel Peace Prize Signals a "Clarion Call for the Protection of the Earth" (Democracy Now). December 11, 2007 . -"Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on behalf of the group on Monday. 'Peace can be defined as security and the secure access to resources that are essential for living,' said Pachauri. “In this regard, climate change will have several implications, as numerous adverse impacts are expected for some populations in terms of access to clean water, access to sufficient food, stable health conditions, ecosystem resources and security of settlements."

*Changing Climate. The Warming Earth and Precipitation Fallout – 2 Maps. (National Geographic). "Surface temperatures on Earth are warming at a pace that signals a decisive shift in the global climate. Click through this map to see how climate change is affecting the planet."

"Climate Porn" - Simon Retallack on the Dangers of Using Alarmist Language to Talk About Climate Change. Democracy Now, Friday, September 14th, 2007. Watch 128K stream/Listen/Transcript. "We speak with British climate change expert, Simon Retallack about so-called 'climate porn.' Retallack says, 'It's a phrase that's certainly not used to undermine the science...But if we talk about climate change in a way that makes it appear that there's nothing we can do anymore about it, that it's too late, that it's going to be devastating on a global scale...I think we're going to turn people off.'"

Cool It. The Global Cooling Song by Raffi (with David Suzuki) YouTube.

e2, PBS Podcasts. "e2 is an ongoing documentary series about solutions to prescient environmental challenges. Comprised of eighteen half-hour episodes, the series covers topics including design, energy, water, food transportation and places."

EARTH DAY TV . Global Warming Videos. "Don't miss our interview with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Bracken Hendricks, author of the hit book Apollo's Fire."

Earth: The Sequel. By Fred Krupp and Mariam Horn. [Book advertisement] –"Krupp and Horn have turned the doom and gloom of global warming on its head. Earth: The Sequel makes it crystal clear that we can build a low-carbon economy while unleashing American entrepreneurs to save the planet, putting optimism back into the environmental story"

Electric Cars. [Audio; transcript available], Diane Rehm Show, August 14, 2008. -- "High gas prices and concerns about emissions have many drivers searching for alternatives – including vehicles powered by electricity. A look at new developments in the effort to mass produce affordable, safe, and easy to charge electric cars. Guests: Les Goldman , attorney in private practice representing A123, Chelsea Sexton, co-founder, Plug In America, John O'Dell, senior editor, Edmunds.com www.greencaradvisor.com, Elon Musk, founder and chair, Tesla Motors."

Extreme Weather & Global Warming: Floods in Iowa & China, Wildfires in California, Heat Waves on the East Coast, Tornadoes Across the Midwest. June 16, 2008, Democracy Now. [Web Audio and Video Stream] -- "The words 'extreme weather' are rarely associated in the mainstream media with another two words: 'global warming.' But scientists argue that these extreme weather events are consistent with changes they have long predicted would accompany global warming. We speak to Joseph Romm of ClimateProgress.org and Perry Beeman of the Des Moines Register."

**Face It There’s A Solution To Global Warming. This webcast, produced by Architecture 2030 (despite its initial attempt at humor and its lecture format) demonstrates well the scientific facts of global warming, and presents the best way to stop its worst effects: stop using coal. TO DO THIS, WE MUST IMPROVE THE ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF OUR BUILDINGS AND WE CAN.

Fix or Ditch Lieberman-Warner (YouTube webcast of Friends of the Earth TV ad).

Fixing Climate: What Past Climate Changes Reveal About the Current Threat--and How to Counter It [Book]. By Wallace S. Broecker and Robert Kunzig. Amazon book preview. Review in Discover Magazine: "What Will It Take To Ditch All That Carbon?”: .... "The authors focus largely on technologies that collect and sequester carbon straight out of the atmosphere. The scale of the projects Broecker and Kunzig propose is huge, but they argue that the endeavor would be no greater an engineering feat than constructing the Great Wall or, perhaps more appropriately, building a modern sewage system. They contend that collecting carbon dioxide is akin to collecting human waste (a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it)."

forecast earth (The Weather Channel). A variety of videos.

Give Your Friends Some Black Balloons. This 45 second video makes global warming pollution visible, graspable and close to home: the link between energy use and the climate crisis (from the Alliance for Climate Protection).

The Global Politics of Climate: An Inside Look. Video Series. EDF [Environmental Defense Fund] "Climate program director Peter Goldmark spells out what it will take to reach a global agreement on climate. We’re all in this together.   Why the U.S. should lead.   EDF’s unique approach.   Reasons for hope.

**Global Warming. The Diane Rehm Show, [Audio] January 16, 2008. "Guest host: Susan Page of USA Today. Last year was one of the hottest on record and new studies show polar ice melt accelerating. The latest on global warming and where the policy debate may lead. Guests: Dean Scott , senior reporter for climate change, Bureau of National Affairs; Angela Anderson, director of Pew Environment Group's global warming campaign; Jeff Holmstead, former assistant administrator for air and radiation at the Environmental Protection Agency (2001-05); now heads the environmental strategy section at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP; Gavin Schmidt, climatologist and climate modeler, NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies."

Governors Challenge Congress to Cap Global Warming Pollution in New TV Ad. (Environmental Defense Action Fund). Posted November 14, 2007. "Three western governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), Brian Schweitzer (D-MT) and Jon Huntsman (R-UT), challenge Congress to cap America's global warming pollution in a new Environmental Defense Action Fund TV ad."

The Green Collar Economy. How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems. [Book]. –- "It's time to bailout both the people and the planet. The first book from acclaimed social justice and environmental activist Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy tells us how to do it. The New York Times best-seller delivers a real solution that both rescues our economy and saves the environment."

Harry Reid Says "Coal Makes Us Sick."YouTube [Video] June 30, 2008.

*HEAT. A global investigation into one of the greatest crises that mankind has ever faced – Can we roll back global warming? PBS Program. October 2008. Watch the whole program online.

**It Is Time to Make Peace With the Planet" - Al Gore Accepts 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. (Democracy Now). December 11, 2007. -"The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Monday to former Vice President Al Gore and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their work to help combat global warming. 'We and the earth’s climate are locked in a relationship familiar to war planners: ‘Mutually assured destruction,’ Gore said in his acceptance speech. 'It is time to make peace with the planet.' [includes rush transcript]."

Leo DiCaprio Takes Up Where Al Gore Left off in New '11th Hour' Environmental Documentary. By Don Hazen, AlterNet. "DiCaprio's '11th Hour' is a powerful documentary which makes the case that our way of life is totally at odds with the sustainability of our planet. But the film needs the Hollywood star to draw a lot more publicity to it."

Lightbulbs to Leadership. [Video] Sierra Club.

*Mobilizing to combat climate change. PRI’S The World. [Audio]. December 23, 2008. -- "Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President elect Obama is facing tough economic times, and an industrial challenge. While Roosevelt mobilized industry to fight a war, Obama pledges to mobilize to battle climate change. The World's Jason Margolis has more."

**Obama meets Gore on climate change, but things are still bad. [includes video] Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2008.

**On the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking global warming testimony before the U.S. Senate, James Hansen discusses his belief that the planet is dangerously close to tipping points that would be extremely difficult to reverse.  Diane Rehm Show, June 23, 2008. [Audio Stream]. -- "The NASA climate scientist reflects on what has and hasn't changed in two decades, political pressures, and the controversy he's stirred by speaking out. James Hansen is a climate scientist; director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies."

**Paul Ehrlich: "The Dominant Animal" (Island Press). [Audio, transcript available]. Diane Rehm Show, July 24, 2008. -- "Paul Ehrlich warned of a looming ecological crisis in his 1968 best-selling book, 'The Population Bomb.' Forty years later, he’s back with a new look at how the impact human evolution has had on the environment may threaten the survival of the species. Paul Ehrlich, Professor of Population Studies and Biology at Stanford University and author of 'The Population Bomb,' among other books, essays, and papers."

Pete Seeger: Get involved in Climate Action Because we love this Earth [Video]. Climate Crisis Coalition.

Polar Bears: Street Art with a Deeper Meaning. [Video] September 9, 2008. Posted by Sheryl Canter in Public Transit (Environmental Defense Fund). --"What lives when public transportation is used, and dies when it's not? Potentially all of us. This message is hauntingly conveyed by a street art installation showing polar bears coming to life as a subway passes beneath them...."

**President-elect Obama promises “new chapter” on climate change. [Video] November 18, 2008 , CHANGE.GOV. -- "More than 600 climate change leaders from across the country and around the world convened in Los Angeles today for the opening sessions of the Global Climate Summit, a 2-day event arranged by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to break gridlock on the issue ahead of next month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland. In a short video addressed to the Summit's attendees, President-elect Obama emphasized his enthusiasm for the Poznan Conference and promised that his administration would mark a 'new chapter in American leadership on climate change.'"

**Some clever people think that global warming offers a huge business opportunity for companies who can find new ways of tackling climate change. Peter Day's World of Business, BBC Radio: Hot Stuff (part 2) : July 22, 2008. -- "Peter Day hears from a few small start up companies who seem to have few fears about embarking on projects which may have a huge impact on our world ... or might just fizzle out." Download podcast.

The Story of Stuff, with Annie Leonard. [Webcast] Sponsored by Tides Foundation and Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption. - An excellent web cast on the problems with our linear production/consumption model and problems with toxic chemicals used throughout our environment without our knowledge. Corporations work to keep these facts from the public, externalizing the true cost of consumption.

To Our Leaders: Free Us. [Video] we can solve the climate crisis. -- "$427 million. That’s what the oil and coal industries spent during the first half of 2008 on lobbying and advertising. They’re protecting their interests – and hurting ours. This ad is running on TV right now, but we need millions more to see it. The special interests will outspend us, but we can compete head-to-head with them when we find ways to share these messages for free."

Turning Carbon Dioxide Into Stone [Video]. NPR Science Friday, July 2008. -- "What if you could take CO2, pump it down a deep hole in the sea floor and turn it into something harmless? New research suggests the idea is not so far-fetched. David Goldberg, Taro Takahashi and Angela Slagle of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory published a study on the subject in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week."

*Unleash the future [Videos] (Environmental Defense Fund). Includes videos on promising green technologies: solar, biofuels, wave, and geothermal.

What’s New this Earth Day? Hope. [Webcast] April 21, 2008, Posted by Sam Parry , Environmental Defense. Happy Earth Day,

You can find out if The 11th Hour is playing near you (from an Al Gore email message).

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NEWS ARTICLES/PROGRAMS OF INTEREST (Columbia, MO, and local area, most recent first)

*Self-powered homes face law roadblock. Necessary insurance is not offered in Missouri. Published January 5, 2009, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Kansas City (Associated Press) -- "Problems have arisen with a new Missouri law that was supposed to make it easy for residents powering their own homes to put in wind turbines or solar panels. The idea was for the homeowners to be able to send any excess power back to utilities. But the Missouri Public Service Commission, which oversees the utilities, is requiring homeowners to buy insurance before they start feeding electricity to the grid. And it appears that no Missouri insurance companies sell the insurance. Under the new rule, homeowners who produce 10 kilowatts or less of energy must carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance. Those who generate more than 10 kilowatts of electricity must have a $1 million liability insurance policy."

Hydroelectric plan plugs in to Big Muddy. Project proposes turbines on riverbed. By T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune, December 7, 2008. -- "A Massachusetts-based company is proposing a massive project along the Missouri River that would be the first to use the force of the river to generate hydrokinetic energy. Free Flow Power Corp. wants to plant thousands of small turbines underwater and use the rotation of turbine blades to produce clean energy. It has requested preliminary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study 25 regions of the river for the feasibility of generating electricity."

Sustaining energy. Elders’ cycles get help from the sun. By T.J. Greaney. Published November 15, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- Centralia, Missouri -- "Two Centralia residents say they’ve found a novel way to stay fit and conserve energy at the same time. They’ve hooked up a solar panel to the side of their garage and use the sun’s energy to charge batteries powering electric motors on their three-wheel bikes."

Clean energy, A mandate worth defeating. By Henry J. Waters III, Publisher, Columbia Daily Tribune. Published October 22, 2008. -- "Proposition C on the November ballot would require the state’s three privately owned utilities to use solar, wind, biomass and hydropower to generate at least 2 percent of the electricity they sell by 2011 and 15 percent by 2021, of which 2 percent must come from solar power. Moreover, the language would cap at 1 percent any rate increase utilities could charge to meet the mandate. Nuclear generation would be outlawed as one of the prescribed alternatives. One can favor the development of renewable energy without being for this strangling proposal. Government mandates of this type inevitably raise costs, and what sense is there in an order not to raise rates by more than 1 percent to comply with the mandate? Nobody, least of all voters, can sensibly predict or order any such thing. Rates will go up to cover utility costs from whatever source, and the mandated use of inefficient sources surely will cause overall costs of generation to be higher"....

Rock Bridge Bruins seek eco-friendly opportunities. Students brainstorm ways to boost conservation, recycling. By Janese Heavin. Published October 22, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- "Rock Bridge High School students want to highlight the 'green' in their green and gold school colors. About 20 Bruins met yesterday afternoon to swap ideas about how to encourage their peers to live more eco-friendly lives. Already, the building uses energy-efficient lighting in the cafeteria and hallways, and the gymnasium is getting a new system, too, but some said students need to do more. 'Lights are not enough,' said Junior Laura Oberbeck, a member of the Rock Bridge Student Council. 'Recycling is not enough. If we want to make a difference, we have to go all the way.'"

**Solar tour opens path to energy independence. Published October 16, 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. -- "Show Me Solar 2008, the second annual Mid-Missouri Solar Tour, runs from 9 a.m., to 4 p.m. Saturday with hourly tours and carpooling from the parking lot of Unity Center, 1600 W. Broadway. The tour will include passive and active solar sites, including homes, businesses and churches, as well as a firehouse and schools. The event also includes information about tax incentives, pamphlets, films and even free compact florescent bulbs. The event is hosted by the Columbia Climate Change Coalition. For more details, call 443-4717 or e-mail mntwelch@yahoo.com."

Missourians to vote on clean energy targets. Published October 14, 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. St. Louis (Associated Press) -- "More than half the states in the United States require utilities to get a percentage of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar, by certain target dates. Energy experts said 15 of them have gotten on board only in the last four years. On Nov. 4, Missourians can vote on which energy sources should power their homes and businesses. Proposition C - dubbed the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative - would require the state’s three investor-owned electric utilities to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021. Missouri is among the states most dependent on coal for its power source. Initiative supporters said the state gets 80 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants. Tony Wyche, spokesman for Missourians for Cleaner Cheaper Energy, said Proposition C is "supported by a bipartisan coalition of business, labor, environmental interests, utilities, elected officials and everyday Missourians who are coming out in support of producing more clean energy in Missouri and making Missouri more energy-independent." The measure has no organized opposition."

**Dear Mr. President: Let Me Green The Green Zone. An Iraqi War Veteran Leaves Behind A "War For Oil" to Fight For a Renewable Energy Revolution. thedailygreen, September 30, 2008. -- "On November 13, 2001 – two months after the largest attack on domestic soil this generation has seen – Jeffrey Owens enlisted in the U.S. Army. It was shortly after his 30th birthday. “I wasn’t looking for a career, I just wanted to serve,” he recalls. He enlisted as a combat engineer and shipped overseas. After two tours in Iraq and service in Western Europe, the Iraqi war veteran has embarked upon his third tour of duty. His mission is still focused on serving his country, and the enemy is still an insidious global threat. But instead of fighting what many have called a war for oil, Jeffrey Owens has joined the renewable revolution. His enemies are America’s dangerous reliance on foreign oil and the devastation the liberal use of fossil fuels has wrought on the global environment. Owens’ new mission is three-fold: first, it’s educating those who’ve not had his experience overseas on the critical nature of United States energy independence; next, it’s evangelizing the economic and environmental benefits of going solar, both here and abroad. Third, it’s earning his PhD in Physics to improve the spectrum of available solar photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies."
[Note: Jeffrey Owens is now a board member of the Columbia Climate Change Coalition].

*Consumer Cost Savings Analysis (Missouri Clean Energy Initiative). September 2008. -- "$331 Million. That's how much Missouri's consumers should expect to save in electric bills over 20 years, if Proposition C is passed. The Missouri Coalition for the Environment has released a Consumer Cost Savings Analysis of Proposition C - the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative. The study reveals the proposition would deliver long-term savings on Missourians' electric bills. The study was funded by the Energy Foundation and is authored by Martin Cohen. Martin served as Executive Director of the Illinois Citizen Utility Board from 1992 to 2005, served as the Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and was the Director of Consumer Affairs for Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich."

Global warming to affect Ozarks, models suggest . Published September 22, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. Joplin, Missouri (Associated Press) -- "Models used to predict the impact of climate change suggest that the Ozark forest will change in the future but don’t agree on what those changes will be. One forecast suggests the oak and hickory that dominate the forest will be replaced by pines, while another says the forest could evolve into savanna or even grasslands. A third possibility is a tangle of undergrowth dominated by woody vines such as honeysuckle and poison ivy choking out trees by mid-century."

Everyone has an interest in sustainability. By Nick Peckham. Published September 21, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- "Sustainability is a funny word. It has one meaning to a nation, another meaning to a neighborhood. Sustainability concerns change with age and experience; it waxes and wanes with the economy and with the state of war and peace…. Electric power plants boil water to make steam to run turbines that turn generators. All this water boiling is done with the heat from fossil fuels, nuclear reactions and recently focused solar energy. This leads us to renewable energy. The good news is there is plenty of it. Sun, wind, ocean and river movements and geothermal are all available. Renewable energy equipment is being manufactured at both large and small scales. On my farm, I have a 2-kilowatt wind generator, and Columbia gets some electricity from the 2,000-kilowatt wind generators in northwest Missouri."

A plan for sustainability in our city, state and nation. Published September 21, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune .

Harnessing the winds of change. Author to talk about family-friendly future during tomorrow's Sustainable Living Fair 2008. By Lynn Israel. Published September 12, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- "For Columbia’s families who have questions about the future, tomorrow’s Sustainable Living Fair has plenty of answers. The annual event, this year at Columbia College for the first time, tackles ways for households to make environmentally friendly lifestyle choices regarding food, energy, transportation and much, much more. This year’s event also offers a glimpse at a radically remade energy future. The keynote speaker is environmental activist Harvey Wasserman, whose 2006 book 'SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth, A.D. 2030' offers up a vision of what the country — and by extension, the world — could look like if people could give up their fossil fuel fix and learn to take control of their own energy destiny."

**Ballot addition approved. A renewable energy proposal will be voted on in November. Published Tuesday, September 9, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. Jefferson City, MO (Associated Press) -- "Backers of a proposal requiring Missouri utilities to use more renewable energy said yesterday a state judge has ordered the measure be placed on the November ballot.... The measure would require utilities to use solar, wind, biomass and hydropower for at least 2 percent of the electricity they sell by 2011. By 2021, renewable energy sources would need to be used for at least 15 percent of electricity production - of which at least 2 percent would need to be solar power. The measure would cap any utility rate increases to comply with the mandate at 1 percent."

Power from the people. New net-metering law clears the way for home-based electricity generation. by Bob McEowen, Rural Missouri, September 2008. -- "A new power producer is delivering energy to Missouri’s electric cooperatives. No, it’s not a coal-fired plant, nor is it the utility-scale wind farms in northwest Missouri. The new source of energy is a small wind turbine owned by Derek Fox and his wife, Stephanie Essman.... A new law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires utilities to cooperate with home-based power producers and buy their surplus energy. Under terms of Missouri’s 'Net-metering and Easy Connect Act,' the full retail value of the electricity the couple sells to the co-op is deducted from their monthly bill."

Kansas City gaining reputation as green city. By Karrey Britt. Lawrence Journal World and News, Green. August 29, 2008. -- "Kansas City is known for its barbecue, jazz, fountains and Royals baseball. It’s increasingly becoming known for its efforts to be green. The National Geographic Green Guide ranked it 25th out of all 251 metropolitan areas with populations of at least 100,000, based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Green Building Council."

Critics of ‘big oil’ stage a rally in Columbia. By Jason Rosenbaum. Published, August 20, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -- "A handful of members of the local MoveOn.org affiliate staged an event yesterday outside the Columbia office of U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof to deliver an oversize $580 million check. The group says that is the amount that could be spent on renewable energy in Missouri if the government redirected $39 billion from "oil company subsidies" they say Republican presidential candidate John McCain supports...."

Your voices are being heard. By Barry Hart, Rural Missouri, August 2008. -- "The problem with the weather, Mark Twain once said, is that everyone is talking about it but no one is doing anything about it. For some time I have been visiting with you in this monthly column about a perfect storm that is brewing as Congress considers climate change legislation. We call it a perfect storm because at the same time rates are on the rise due to increased demand and rising fuel costs, Congress is considering new measures that could do to electric rates what is already happening at the pumps.... This spring our attention has been on a climate change bill known as the Lieberman-Warner bill. That bill sought to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases essentially by punishing any industry that uses fossil fuels, and passing the high costs on to their consumers, which in our case is you. Debate on this bill came to a head in the U.S. Senate the first week in June. That bill died, based partly on the fact that electric cooperative members sent nearly 200,000 e-mails to voice their concern over the possibility that this bill, if passed, would have significantly increased electricity and other energy costs...."

First U.S. Town Powered Completely By Wind. By Andrea Thompson, Senior Writer. Posted July 15, 2008, LiveScience. -- "Rock Port , Mo. , has an unusual crop: wind turbines. The four turbines that supply electricity to the small town of 1,300 residents make it the first community in the United States to operate solely on wind power . "That's something to be very proud of, especially in a rural area like this — that we're doing our part for the environment," said Jim Crawford, a natural resource engineer at the University of Missouri Extension in Columbia." Related video.

At the root of “green” is the life of the soil. By Melinda Hemmelgarn. Published May 7, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. - "Fred Kirschenmann couldn’t turn down the invitation to give the William A. Albrecht Earth Day Lecture at the University of Missouri last month. Kirschenmann is Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and manages a 3,500-acre organic farm in North Dakota. But his ideas about agriculture were shaped significantly by Albrecht, who believed the soil’s organic matter is one of our most important natural resources — and that life on the soil is driven by life in the soil.... Kirschenmann described 'three major challenges we face today: energy, climate change and water.' Our current industrial model of agriculture works 'reasonably well,' as long as we have ample cheap energy, a surplus of fresh water and a stable climate. But as energy costs go up and our natural resources become depleted, we need to rethink our food production system and “return to the basic facts of soil fertility and plant nutrition that Albrecht noted."

Wind glitch causes city to miss first green goal. By Kat Hughes of the Tribune’s staff. Published May 5, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. - "Although Columbia Water and Light has been working for more than three years on acquiring more renewable sources of energy, complications with its wind power caused it to fall short of the first benchmark of the city’s Renewable Energy Ordinance, passed by voters in 2004. However, with two landfill biogas projects coming online soon, the city should meet the 5 percent goal set for 2013 by the end of this year, said Connie Kacprowicz, Columbia Water and Light spokeswoman.... The ordinance’s first mandate was for the city to use renewable resources to provide 2 percent of its electric retail sales by Dec. 31, 2007. It attempted to do that with a contract to purchase 6.3 megawatts of wind power annually - about 1.9 percent of Columbia’s total annual energy need - from the Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm in King City. The city began buying wind power from the farm in September. For the last four months of 2007, the city received an average of 1 percent of its total power from the farm."

**Clean Energy Initiative [Missouri]. (Also called Renew Missouri). "Providing affordable energy for the future. Spread the word. Volunteer to help get the Clean Energy Initiative on the ballot . The deadline for collecting signatures is May 4th. We need your help today." The full ballot language.

Negawatts.The cheapest form of energy is the one you don’t produce. by Jim McCarty, Rural Missouri, April 2008. -"The electricity you use comes from a variety of sources including coal, natural gas, wind and water. All of these generation sources have advantages and disadvantages. Coal is lower-cost, and the U.S. has an abundance of it. But coal has emissions issues. Gas burns cleaner but is more expensive than coal. Wind and water are clean. But they also are not as dependable as other sources. What’s needed is a source of power that is reliable, clean and inexpensive. Fortunately, such a source exists. It’s called 'negawatts,' a term coined by Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute. In Lovins’ words, 'There’s no cheaper or cleaner power than the power you don’t produce.'"

Rock Port’s wind turbines power up to power town. (Associated Press) Published April 20, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. Rock Port. - "Officials in this northwest Missouri town christened a four-turbine wind farm this week, making Rock Port the first U.S. city to get all of its electricity from wind power. The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, built by St. Louis-based Wind Capital Group and the John Deere Corp. on bluffs west of Rock Port, generates five megawatts each day, more than enough for this town of 1,300. The farm is producing enough energy to power a second town of Rock Port’s size. Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities will buy excess power from the farm, expected to eventually generate 16 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year...."

Columbia man wants to bring ashes to ashes to the masses. By T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune. Published April 17, 2008. - "So in an effort to 'go green,' you bought the hybrid, insulated your house and ride your bike to work. You’re done, right? Well, not quite. Bill Goddard of Columbia wants you to know there’s another way to reduce your impact on the environment, and it involves returning to the Earth. That is, returning yourself to the Earth. Goddard is co-founder of Pushing Up Daisies, which is seeking to open Missouri’s first "green cemetery" that he intends to call Green Acres. People there would be buried according to the guidelines of the international Green Burial Council...."

Help Rock Port Celebrate Being 100% Wind Powered. (Heartland Utilities for Energy Efficiency) Rock Port , MO, February 4, 2008 -- "Rock Port Missouri is the first 100% wind powered community in the United States. To celebrate this tremendous achievement, a Green Switch Celebration will be held on Friday, April 18, 2008. Rock Port's 100% wind power status is due to four wind turbines located on agricultural lands within the city limits of Rock Port. The city of Rock Port uses approximately 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. It is predicted that these four turbines will produce 16 million kilowatt hours each year. Excess wind generated electricity not used by Rock Port homes and businesses will move onto the transmission lines to be purchased by the Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities for use in other areas. This makes Rock Port, Missouri the first community in America capable of meeting its entire annual electricity demands from wind power!"

The climate is right for some personal changes. By Melinda Hemmelgarn. Published April 9, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. - "There’s weather, and then there’s climate. Speaking last week at the Association of Health Care Journalists meeting in Washington, D.C., global climate change expert Kristie Ebi, M.P.H., Ph.D., described the difference like this: Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get.... Despite a vocal set of misguided naysayers, the majority of Americans recognize our climate is changing.... Climate change brings more frequent weather extremes, such as ice storms, floods and droughts.... Below are some ways we can make a difference...."

University thumbs nose at Earth Hour. By Ken Midkiff. Published April 4, 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. -" From 8 to 9 p.m. Saturday, we turned off all the electric lights in our house, in keeping with the mayor’s edict and the wishes of the Columbia Climate Change Coalition for Earth Hour. I looked around our neighborhood, and it seemed that everyone had gotten the message. Every house was dark.... But, as our eyes adjusted to the dark, we realized that it really wasn’t dark. Shining in our windows and lighting up the sky were all sorts of very bright lights from the University of Missouri...."

State promotes use of wood byproducts. By Alan Scher Zagier of The Associated Press. Published April 2, 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. - Ciba , Mo. -"The forest-rich Missouri Ozarks have been quite good to the four generations of kin at McGinnis Wood Products, a supplier of white oak barrels to distillers and winemakers the world over.... Turning sawdust, wood pellets, bark, branches and other unused forest products into a source of cleaner energy isn’t a new idea, especially in developing countries where access to natural gas and electricity can be sparse.... The effort in Missouri, though, is relatively new. In recent weeks, forestry agents from the University of Missouri and the state Department of Conservation have held town hall meetings to drum up interest...."

2008 Renewable Energy Report. Columbia Water & Light, Columbia, Missouri. -"Columbia Water & Light will be receiving energy from wind and two biogas projects in 2008. With these three projects, the utility will accomplish the 2013 target of 5% by the end of 2008. Various other solar energy projects in Columbia have also been initiated which will increase the amount of Columbia’s renewable energy in the future…. The city shall generate or purchase electricity generated from eligible renewable energy sources at the following levels: 1. 2% of electric retail sales by December 31, 2007; 2. 5% of electric retail sales by December 31, 2012; 3. 10% of electric retail sales by December 31, 2017; 4. 15% of electric retail sales by December 31, 2022."

An hour without power. Earth Hour observers play, eat by candlelight. By T.J. Greaney. Published March 30, 2008 Columbia Daily Tribune. - "Anyone driving around Columbia last night between 8 and 9 p.m. probably didn’t see much out of the ordinary.... But to the trained eye, there were signs of participation in a worldwide event called 'Earth Hour' .... The total added up to the proverbial drop in the energy-grid bucket, but for those who participated, it was meaningful."

*City to call ‘lights out’ - Earth Hour aims for conservation effort. By Joe Meyer. Published March 26, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia, Missouri. -"Columbia’s first Earth Hour event has attracted 300 to 400 participants so far, as city residents prepare to switch off electric lights this weekend in an effort to cut pollution and increase awareness of greenhouse gas emissions, organizers said. 'Some local businesses also have gotten behind the idea by educating customers and employees about Earth Hour, scheduled for 8 to 9 p.m. Saturday,' said Monta Welch, director of the Columbia Climate Change Coalition."

City urged to a greener lifestyle. Mayor’s challenge cites 10 target areas. By T.J. Greaney, Columbia Daily Tribune, March 6, 2008, Columbia Missouri. - "Pedaling with his wife into Kimball Auditorium at Stephens College on a bicycle built for two, Darwin Hindman issued a month long challenge to city residents with 10 tips to reach a greener life. 'Hear ye, hear ye,' Hindman called out like a town crier before asking audience members to, among other things, "quit using those flimsy, filmy plastic bags'....The challenge is a joint effort by Hindman and Stephens in connection with the school’s 175th anniversary celebration. Participants are invited to choose at least one of 10 methods to reduce energy use and follow it for a month. Participants will reconvene April 2 at the college to discuss their hardships and triumphs."

Missouri Cooperative Abandons New Coal Plant In Favor of Clean Energy. By Melissa Hope, Missouri Sierra Club, and Bruce Nilles, National Coal Campaign. Final Press Release March 3, 2008, Missouri Clean Energy Coalition. - "Kansas City. Associated Electric Cooperative, one of the nation’s largest and most respected rural electric cooperatives announced they are 'postponing indefinitely' their plans to build a massive new coal-fired power plant near Norborne in Northwest Missouri. Associated Electric will pursue wind, energy efficiency and clean-burning natural gas instead...."

Ozark New Energy. Local energy solutions for our future. Ozarks New Energy Conference, February 22 & 23, 2008, Springfield, Missouri. -"The Ozarks – as is the rest of the world – is on the cusp of change.... The race is on to invest in promising  new fuel technologies that will break the stranglehold of foreign oil and address the compelling evidence that climate change is real.  Highly efficient engines and motors, more energy efficient building materials and techniques and plain old conservation measures also hold great promise for a revolution in our energy use."

**Action is essential, even if we’re doomed. By Ken Midkiff. Published February 22, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -"Is it too late? There are those who assert that no matter what we do - conserving energy, turning to nonpolluting sources of electricity, getting around in hybrid or zero-emission vehicles - we might be doomed.… It need not be this way (unless the doom and gloomers are correct). We need not move to Hudson Bay or live in caves with no electricity or heat. We just need to find ways to continue our way of life without dooming the planet. Those ways are readily available."

Energy forum lures a crowd keen on green. City officials explain efforts to meet Kyoto Protocol goal. By Kat Hughes of the Tribune’s staff. Published February 14, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -"Columbia has made steps to reduce the greenhouse gases it produces, but the 100 people attending last night’s climate change symposium wanted to know how the city could do more, offering ideas such as barring school buses from operating without passengers or hiring a director of sustainability to spearhead environmental efforts."

Group calls for vote on renewable energy. Jefferson City, Missouri (Associated Press). Published January 26, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. - "Environmentalists are proposing a ballot initiative forcing electric utilities in Missouri to make greater use of renewable energy. The group Missourians for Clean and Safe Energy has submitted five versions of a potential initiative to the secretary of state’s office. The most far-reaching proposal would apply to all investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives or municipal utilities serving more than 25,000 customers. It would require that at least 20 percent of their electricity come from renewable sources such as wind or solar power by 2021. The most limited proposal would apply only to investor-owned utilities and mandate that 11 percent of their electricity come from renewable sources by 2020."

Solar project aims for cheaper technology. By Kat Hughes, Columbia Daily Tribune, January 24, 2008. - "Imagine that instead of paying to install solar panels on the roof of a new home, homeowners could simply purchase roof shingles that have a built-in photovoltaic system, ready to be plugged in to provide a home with energy. Columbia is one of several sites nationwide where testing of new technology will occur to make solar technology more efficient, less costly and more innovative."

Seed waste stirs hull of an idea. Missouri co-op supplies biomass for fuel pellets. By T.J. Greaney of the Tribune’s staff. Published January 9, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune. -"Four years ago, seed company owner Steve Flick of Kingsville noticed he was spending a lot of time and money burning, burying or dumping the empty hulls left over from his grass seed. He said it was a costly mess, and it gave him an idea….The idea was to use the excess material for energy. Flick decided to follow a method that is well-known in many European countries but at the time was nearly unheard of in the United States: turning prairie grass into fuel….These pellets can be burned alongside coal to produce a cleaner, renewable form of energy. The grass material typically has high BTU’s - a measure of energy released when matter is burned - but no nutritional value for livestock."

Shortsighted leaders pave road to energy ruin. By Ken Midkiff. Published December 21, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. "In the year 2057:" "Daddy?" "Yeah, I’m right here." "I’m hot, and I can’t see you in the dark." "It is a bit warm." "No, it’s hot and it’s dark and I can’t sleep." "We can’t turn on the AC because there’s no electricity. Same thing with the lights…."

Sustainable buildings part of energy fix. By Michael Chippendale. Published December 16, 2007 Columbia Daily Tribune. - "Sustainable buildings should be a central component of national energy policy developed in response to the critical global challenge of climate change. A Tribune report about Chiodini Architects’ proposal to include a green roof on the renovated and expanded Daniel Boone Building initiated a lively discussion in these pages about green roofs and sustainable design…. There is a growing interest in the United States for designing buildings with features that conserve energy and promote environmental sustainability. The LEED certification program run by the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org) has institutionalized this interest."

On global warming, city chooses death. By Ken Midkiff. Published December 14, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. -"On Tuesday, Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming…. Gore’s acceptance speech was inspired and widely quoted. The remarks from the chair of the IPCC were those of a scientist, albeit a grim one, but his remarks did not inspire or reach the hearts and minds of reporters present in Oslo, Norway. Receiving even less attention were the words of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon…. He said the nations of the world must make immediate changes - or face oblivion. That is not much of a choice. Change or die. It appears that our esteemed leaders in Columbia are choosing not to change but to keep on doing things the way that things have been done since the turn of the last century."

Blunt alone in ignoring environmental pacts. By David A. Lieb of The Associated Press. Jefferson City, MO. Published December 3, 2007. Columbia Daily Tribune - Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt created a perception of indifference when the Midwestern Governors Association pledged to improve the environment by changing the way the region produces and uses energy. The governors signed pacts to reduce greenhouse gases, increase alternative fuels for vehicles and make greater use of renewable energy sources for electricity. Of the 12 states in the association, Missouri was the only one not to sign any of the pro-environment initiatives. In fact, Missouri didn’t even participate in the energy summit. Environmental activists are outraged, discouraged - and not surprised.

City goes solar with help: Partnership with Quaker is a first. By Kat Hughes of the Tribune’s staff. Published November 19, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. "Rather than spend hundreds of thousands of dollars installing solar panels to provide customers with alternative energy, the Columbia Water and Light Department is considering a program that will encourage businesses to install them instead. The plan, named Solar One for its goal to provide 1 percent of the city’s energy by 2023, calls for the Quaker Oats plant at 4501 N. Paris Road to install a solar-panel system to produce energy, which the city will purchase to fulfill part of its renewable-energy portfolio."

Mayor: Green practices will help the economy. By Kat Hughes of the Tribune’s staff. Published November 19, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. "When it comes to slowing climate change, Mayor Darwin Hindman will tell you that Columbia is doing well but could be doing better. Hindman joined about 100 other mayors at the two-day Mayors Climate Protection Summit held at the beginning of this month in Seattle to learn ways cities can affect global warming. After attending lectures on topics that ranged from creating 'green-collar' jobs to environmental land-use strategies, Hindman said perhaps the most important thing he learned at the conference was that the environmental movement can bring economic growth to cities."

Twisted analogy doesn’t make coal plant right. By Ken Midkiff. Published November 16, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. "Equating emissions of carbon dioxide with producing food is ludicrous. Equating a coal-burning power plant with farming makes little or no sense. But that is exactly what one of the supporters of the proposed coal-burning power plant of the Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI) said… ‘There are those who contend we shouldn’t build any more fossil fuel plants. This would be similar to proclaiming that we are destroying our land by producing food, so we shouldn’t produce any more food….’ The solution is simple: There are ways to produce energy that don’t heat up the planet and benefit the local economy on a long-term basis. The proposed coal-burning power plant of AECI does neither."

*A clean machine: Local firm using acetylene to power internal combustion engines. By Kevin Coleman of the Tribune’s staff. Published October 31, 2007, Columbia Daily Tribune. "A local company headed by former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson says it has developed breakthrough technology that uses a clean-burning gas made from renewable sources to power internal combustion engines. The company, A Fuels Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Go-Tec Inc., has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Energy to designate acetylene gas an alternative fuel. The company has patents on technology developed over a decade that Director of Research and Development Joe Wulff said can run engines on 'rocks and water.'"

Consuming the Earth. By Terry Ganey. Columbia Daily Tribune. Published Sunday, October 7, 2007. "While the prospects for a sustainable environment are debated at Westminster College, a famous name in American politics calls on citizens to change their government."

Global warming: Do you know what you think, or not? By Henry J. Waters III, Publisher, The Tribune's View, Columbia Daily Tribune. Published Saturday, October 6, 2007. "A large army of worriers, led by former Vice President Al Gore with his movie 'An Inconvenient Truth,' assert without the slightest doubt that human activity is causing an inexorable rise in the temperature of the Earth that will kill us all if we don’t take rather drastic steps right now."

Wind farm generating change in King City. Published Thursday, September 27, 2007. King City, Missouri (Associated Press) - "The state’s first commercial wind power project is generating more than electricity here. The expanse of wind turbines - rising 300 feet from the ground with spinning blades as long as a football field - is drawing tax dollars and tourists as well."

“Can A Design Revolution Meet Humanity’s Greatest Challenge?” 2007 Williams Lecture, by Bob Berkebile. September 25, 2007. Memorial Union, Stotler Lounge, University of Missouri-Columbia campus. Free and open to the public. “Bob is a leading authority in the field of sustainable design…and was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Green Building Council.”

*Environment: Prospects for Sustainability (Westminster College, Fulton, MO). The Earth, Ethics and Environment: Your Responsibility to the Future. Attend all or some of our week-long symposium, September 24-27, 2007 . Highlights include:

     Wednesday, September 26, 2007
          The Future of Energy - 9am
          Sustainable Living - 1:30pm
          Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Environmental Activist - 7pm

     Thursday, September 27, 2007
          Biodiversity - 9am
          Feeding the World - 1:30pm
          David Gessner, Environmental Writer - 7pm

Solar energy heats up: Expo offers new element of power. By T.J. Greaney of the Columbia Daily Tribune staff. Sunday, September 23, 2007. Rocheport, MO – "If the 2007 Ozark Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Expo is any indication, Mid-Missouri is increasingly looking to the skies for power. Crowds milled around stalls and tents featuring displays of cutting-edge green technology from retailers across the Midwest. The expo located near Les Bourgeois Vineyards about 10 miles west of Columbia continues from 9 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. today with live music, a "how-to" tutorial on making biodiesel fuel and a panel discussion on nuclear energy."

College Dems hope to help MU go green. By Mark Buhrmester, College Democrats President.   Posted September 11, 2007. The Maneater (a Missouri University student publication). … "This semester, we’re undertaking an issue campaign to encourage Chancellor Brady Deaton to sign the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. So far, this commitment has been signed by 368 of Deaton’s peers. MU already does much to promote an environmentally friendly campus. Energy Management received an award for reducing greenhouse gases by 1 percent in a 15-year period during which the campus gross-square footage grew by 59 percent."

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