Article Title: Consume Like There's No Tomorrow

Excerpt: Would someone please tell the Sierra Club Exec Board that the idea of an “environmentally friendly car” makes as much sense as a “non-violent death penalty?” While the vast majority of those concerned with global warming consider reduction of unneeded production to be at the core of a sane policy, the Sierra Club has endorsed a plan that includes virtually no role for conservation.

Excerpt: More blatant than the typical corporate enviromental analysis, the ASES/Sierra report trivializes conservation as “doing without” or “deprivation.” It presents a vast array of technological playthings, some of which are quite good and some of which are less than environmental. What is most revealing is what it does not include. It discusses transportation without using the word “bicycle” or “walking.”

Excerpt: Anyone who has ever fought an incinerator, cement kiln or coal plant knows that you’ve lost the struggle if you ever let industry suck you into an argument about which pollution control device should be tacked on after toxins have been created. The only genuine solution is the easy one — to prevent the creation of the poisons in the first place.

Excerpt: A narrow focus on technology seeks to replace a gee-gaw with a doo-dad, and when that doesn’t work, come up with a gizmo. Techno-babble sputters forth from the belief that social problems can be solved in a quest for the ultimate gadget. Oblivious to social reasons for global warming, the ASES/Sierra report claims that whatever greenhouse gas problems remain after EE can be solved with six renewable technologies: “concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, biofuels and geothermal power.” The last three of these are techno-babble.

Excerpt: Enter big enviro telling people that excessive consumption is not bad at all because it gives the consumer the ability to affect change with purchasing power. The erudite techno-magician waves his wand, uttering “Don’t look at the mounds of discarded junk that go into landfills. Look over here at the fabulous eco-gadgets of our corporate friends.”

Article Title: Official: Arizona 'ignoring' its solar power potential

Excerpt: Arizona could become the nation's leading generator of solar power but isn't taking the steps needed to do so, leaving neighboring states to reap the benefits of harnessing the sun's energy, officials told state lawmakers and regulators Thursday.

Excerpt: "The technology to mine your sun exists. I believe this state has been ignoring that resource," said Fred Morse, co-chairman of the Western Governors' Association Solar Task Force.

Excerpt: Task force members made presentations Thursday to the House Committee on Water and Agriculture and the Arizona Corporation Commission. The recommendations were the same at both: Introduce policies favorable to solar energy production or get left behind.

Article Title: NTR chief warns of ‘dysfunctional consequences’ in rush to green energy

Excerpt: There was a risk of "dysfunctional consequences, such as rainforests being burned in South America and south-east Asia to make way for plantations to provide food oil for European biofuels," he said.

Excerpt: But he stressed however “there is no silver bullet quick-fix response to these challenges facing the industrialised world and that the response would need to be complex and multi-faceted”.

Article Title: Building a case for going green

Excerpt: In the chain from builder to buyer, the links get a little weak when investors, appraisers and lending institutions get involved. That's because these groups have no hard data to prove that green building is more valuable than any other development, experts say.

Excerpt: "In general (lenders) don't care whether it's green, blue or white," said Dave Williams, president of Shorebank Pacific, a Washington, D.C., commercial bank geared toward sustainable development. "They're just looking at it as a project. They'll say they're interested in green, but they're not doing anything special about the fact that it's green."

Excerpt: "Appraisals are typically done using historical information," she said. "In actuality, you really need to look at what the present is and what the trends of the future are. The challenge is that (green building) is gaining momentum at such a rapid pace that the amount of hard data or factual information isn't sufficient to really demonstrate significant trends."

Excerpt: "It's not easier (to get financing) now," he said. "Green building doesn't even show up on the lenders' radar screens. The attitude is, 'You have to have a great product, great location, great design and great track record and, by the way, if it's sustainable that's neat.' "

Excerpt: For now, Edlen said, his company won't save money by building green, "but the fact that the appraisal industry is going there, it's a matter of time before the lending community goes there too."

Article Title: Regulators set to decide fate of renewable energy rules

Excerpt: Ormond is waiting with great anticipation for a final decision from the Arizona Corporation Commission either today or Tuesday about the future of the state's renewable-energy efforts, especially in the areas of solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. Earlier this year, the commission voted 3-2 on a draft measure to require regulated electric utilities to generate 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2025.

Excerpt: But Tom Jenney, executive director of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, said the renewables plan is a bad idea.

"They didn't even do an economics impact study on this like they did the first time around," Jenney said. "Barring some kind of earth-shattering technological breakthrough, who's going to pay for all these massively expensive alternative fuels?"

Jenney said that the program will result in poorer ratepayers paying for wealthier ratepayers who have the money to invest in equipment like photovoltaic cells, then receive a subsidy for doing so.

Excerpt: In 2001, Arizona was the first state to require renewable-energy production on the part of utilities, and 1.25 percent of the energy produced this year comes from renewable sources. California has mandated that 20 percent of its energy come from renewables by 2010, while Colorado and New Mexico have dictated 10 percent of production by renewables. Colorado's deadline is 2015; New Mexico's is 2011.

Excerpt: Sean Seitz, owner of American Solar Electric in Scottsdale, said, "Fifteen percent is very reasonable with a modest, stair-step approach to getting there. We're definitely not setting up Arizona to fail."

Article Title: Consider the Alternatives

Excerpt: For: Prop. 87 is expected to raise approximately $4 billion during the next 10 years. These funds will be used to expand our use of cleaner energy alternatives and reduce California%u2019s dependence on gasoline and diesel by 25 percent. Specifically, the fees generated by Prop. 87 will fund consumer rebates for the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles; provide incentives for increased use of wind, solar, and other renewable energies; assist with the development of alternative technologies and infrastructure; provide funds to help local governments upgrade public vehicle fleets; and fund research in support of alternative energy development. By reducing oil consumption, Prop. 87 will reduce pollution that causes global warming and threatens public health. California%u2019s air quality is the second worst in the nation. Pollution from cars, trucks, and buses that run on gas and diesel is responsible for asthma, lung disease, and cancer.

Excerpt: Against: While oil company profits averaged 7.7 percent in 2005 — less than most other industries — governments make an undeserved killing with their taxes. With government making far more money than the oil industry, if people had justice in mind, they’d advocate rolling back the government’s obscene windfall profits from every rise in gas prices. But we hear nary a peep suggesting government be compassionate and roll back taxes. All we hear are calls for higher gas taxes to punish oil usage; the only voices heard scream, “Investigate the price-gouging oil industry!”