Grist has an excellent post called The Top Green Stories of 2007.  While they highlighted some of the biggest news, good and bad, I tried to focus on the most positive developments, some of which didn't get the media attention they deserved.  Overall 2007 was an amazing year for the environmental movement, but we've still got much work to do.  At NWF, we're all working hard to make sure that 2008 puts 2007 to shame in this category.

1.  A company called Nanosolar has created solar panels that are more efficient than coal.

"With a $1-per-watt panel," [CEO Martin Roscheisen] said, "it is possible to build $2-per-watt systems." According to the Energy Department, building a new coal plant costs about $2.1 a watt, plus the cost of fuel and emissions, he said.

2.  Congress passed a landmark energy bill, which does the following:

The bill increases vehicle fuel economy standards by 40 percent and will save consumers $40 billion a year at the pump and help spur innovation and new American jobs. Its improved energy efficiency standards covering a wide range of products, lighting and buildings will also benefit American consumers. The Energy Bill also improves provisions that boost homegrown biofuels and reduce our dependency on oil. The improvements include performance-based standards to ensure biofuels significantly curb global warming pollution and help to ease some of the impacts of biofuels production on wildlife and native habitats. National Wildlife Federation has advocated for these additional standards as important protections for the future of wildlife.

3.  Al Gore co-hosted Live Earth:  The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis:

Live Earth was a monumental music event that brought together a global audience on July 7, 2007 to combat the climate crisis. Live Earth staged concerts in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg and Hamburg - as well as special broadcast events in Antarctica, Kyoto and Washington, DC - and featured feature more than 150 of the world's best music acts - a mix of both legendary music acts like The Police, Genesis, Bon Jovi and Madonna with the latest headliners like Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas and Jack Johnson.

Gore also shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

4.  Investments in green technology more than doubled over the past year:

While the coal and nuclear industries spent the year petitioning the government for handouts, people with their own money on the line flocked to the hottest investment since the internet: green tech. Where 2006 saw $1.2 billion dumped into the clean-tech sector, 2007 saw $2.6 billion in the first nine months alone.

5.  Nine Midwestern governors and the Premier of Manitoba signed an historic greenhouse gas accord:

This has powerful implications not just for state and regional progress, but for global warming policy nationwide. In addition, it lays out a detailed road map of supporting policies and regional partnerships to acheive the following, amongst other things:       

25 by 25 in renewable energy and fuels (25% by 2025).

2% energy from efficiency by 2015 and 2% per year thereafter.

Carbon pipeline sited and permitted and carbon storage regs by 2012, all new coal plants to capture and store CO2 by 2020.

6.  Over 5,000 college students came together at Power Shift 2007 to demand action on climate legislation.  This Discovery Channel video explains.  Here is another video of NWF's own Derek Brockbank, at Power Shift.

7.  In Bali, world leaders expressed their willingness to aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  NWF CEO Larry Schweiger explains: 

Bali laid the groundwork for developing a fair climate plan that addresses the needs of nations representing those most vulnerable to the very real consequences of global warming. It also set the stage for deploying on a global scale the kind of clean energy technology needed to move beyond a fossil-fuel based energy future.

8.  The Climate Security Act has gone further than any climate bill has ever gone in Congress.  A vote is expected in the full Senate in the next few months.

"This evening’s vote marks a new era in Congress and a new approach to global warming. After years of empty promises in Congress, this evening’s victory is a sign that the leadership and political will are at hand to get the job done. "The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Cali., has sent to the full Senate meaningful global warming legislation that would quickly put the nation on the right path to reducing the pollution causing global warming.

Learn more about the markup at Hill Heat.

9.  Al Gore and Richard Branson announced the Virgin Earth Challenge:

The Virgin Earth Challenge is a competition offering a $25 million prize for the first person or organization to come up with a way of scrubbing greenhouse gases out of the Earth's atmosphere to avoid global warming. The prize was conceived and financed by Sir Richard Branson, a successful British entrepreneur, and was announced in London on 9 February 2007 by Branson and former US Vice President and 2007 Nobel Prize winner Al Gore, creator of the 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth on climate change.

  This prize has created incentives for some amazing technologies.

10. All of the major Democratic candidates for President have plans to combat climate change.  Grist has some excellent tools to compare and contrast:

Compare the candidates' green positions using our handy chart.  And watch video of some of the candidates speaking at the first-ever presidential candidate forum focused on climate change and energy policy, cosponsored by Grist. 

While last week's signing of the energy bill was a great step forward, it doesn't go nearly far enough.  This country has been slacking on fuel efficiency standards for decades, and it is starting to hit Detroit in the bottom line. Let's compare some fuel efficiency statistics by geography and time.

In 1987, Honda Civics got 57 Miles per Gallon.  Due to its increased weight, the 2008 Civic gets only 26-34 Miles per Gallon.

In 1908, the Model T got 25 Miles per Gallon.  In 2004 the average American car got just 21 Miles per Gallon.

MPGomatic has a list of dozens of late 70s and early 80s American cars with great fuel efficiency, many as high as 40 MPG.

The International Council on Clean Transportation has an excellent report called Passenger Vehicle Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Economy Standards:  A Global Update.  It includes this graph which projects global fuel efficiency over the next 10 years.

I'll be buying a car in the next few years, and I'd like it to be an American one.  The car I choose will be largely determined by fuel efficiency of vehicles on the market in my price range.  Hopefully, the American auto industry will get its active together and realize that people are sick of huge, gas guzzling SUVs.  There are millions of Americans like me who would prefer to buy a super-efficient (and cost-saving), small vehicle.

Fortunately, due in large part to the X Prize Foundation, there may be options.  The Aptera Typ-1 is expected to be on the market in early 2008, with the ability to go nearly 300 miles per gallon.

This Message was brought to you by our wonderful naturalist, David Mizejewski. Let us know what wildlife you enjoy in your area!

Just yesterday, President Bush was basking in the glow of the freshly-signed energy bill, taking credit for improved fuel economy standards and expanded biofuels mandates.

But it turns out the White House's green party only lasted until sundown. Just moments after network nightly newscasts started to air the footage of the meticulously-staged signing ceremony, President Bush's own Environmental Protection Agency blocked the effort of California and other states to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases. While the new federal energy law would require an average fleet fuel economy of 35 mpg by 2020, California officials estimate their new emissions standard would achieve an average of at least 36 mpg by 2016.

With a single ruling, the White House simultaneously turned its back not only on the Clean Air Act, 18 governors and states (representing half of all Americans), and more than 100,000 public comments, but according to the Washington Post, the EPA contradicted its own staff:

"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson yesterday denied California's petition to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, overruling the unanimous recommendation of the agency's legal and technical staffs." 

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately promised legal action:

"While the federal energy bill is a good step toward reducing dependence on foreign oil, the President's approval of it does not constitute grounds for denying our waiver.   It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of people across the nation. We will continue to fight this battle.  California sued to compel the agency to act on our waiver, and now we will sue to overturn today's decision and allow Californians to protect our environment." 

As Grist's David Roberts details, it's hard not to conclude this decision was based more on politics than policy:

"This flies in the face of the clear language of the CAA and the just-passed energy bill, both of which explicitly reserve for California the right to exceed federal fuel economy standards. It also directly contradicts rulings in several recent court cases. Johnson's legal reasoning has no support outside of Bush administration political appointees.

In short, as Johnson all but admitted, this decision was made based on a "policy preference" of the White House -- exactly what was prohibited by the Supreme Court's ruling in Mass. v. EPA."Look, President Bush deserves credit for signing the energy bill. As he himself said, the energy bill is "a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure."

But his EPA deserves the heat it's getting for its indefensible decision. The blatant contradiction leads to a legitimate question. Are energy independence, climate action, and a clean energy future only goals when the spotlight is shining and the pressure is intense?

Wildlife to Benefit from this "Down Payment" on Strong Global Warming Legislation

The package--which passed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the past week--will help reduce America's oil dependency and take an important step toward reducing global warming pollution.

Listen to NWF Global Warming Director Jeremy Symons talk about the bill on the The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Dec. 18. (mp3)

Ray Suarez: "Is this going to make enough of a dent in the emissions problem in the United States?"

Jeremy Symons: "It's a down payment on stopping global warming, but we're not done fighting. We need those provisions and we need a comprehensive bill to reduce global warming pollution. And we need to get that done next year."

What is Good About the Energy Bill?

Historic Fuel Economy Standards for Cars and Trucks:

For the first time in more than 30 years, Congress increased fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 for new cars and trucks. These provisions will save American families $700 to $1,000 per year at the pump, with $22 billion in net consumer savings in 2020 alone.

This is the first increase by Congress since the days of 8-track tapes--marking a significant advancement in our efforts to address our energy security and laying the groundwork for climate legislation next year.

Renewable Fuels Standard:

The energy bill included a new commitment to homegrown biofuels and updates the program to achieve strong greenhouse gas performance standards and includes significant protections for wildlife and biodiversity.

Specifically, the bill includes a prohibition on the conversion of native ecosystems to the production of energy crops. The greenhouse gas performance standards--20% less GHGs for corn ethanol, 50% less for advanced biofuels, and 60% less for cellulosic ethanol and the requirement that land-use changes be accounted for in these targets--help ensure biofuels will contribute to solving global warming.

Incentives for Hybrids:

The energy bill establishes a plug-in hybrid/electric vehicle tax credit for individuals and encourages the domestic development and production of advanced technology vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Landmark Energy Efficiency to Bring Down Costs:

The energy bill includes landmark energy efficiency provisions that would save consumers and businesses hundreds of billions of dollars through 2030.

It would require more energy efficient appliances, such as dishwashers, clothes washers, refrigerators and freezers, and would speed up Energy Department action on new efficiency standards after six years of delay. It would require improved commercial and federal building energy efficiency and assist consumers in improving the efficiency of their homes.

A Skilled Green Workforce:

This package creates an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to train a quality workforce for "green" collar jobs--such as solar panel manufacturer and green building construction worker--created by federal renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. Major investments in renewable energy could create 3 million green jobs over 10 years.

Making Coal Part of the Solution:

The energy bill includes an initiative that takes aggressive steps on carbon capture and sequestration to take the carbon out of coal--authorizing a nationwide assessment of geological formations capable of sequestering carbon dioxide underground and expansive research and development, including large-volume sequestration tests in a variety of different geological formations. First time ever the incentives for more efficient coal use include a requirement for carbon sequestration.

When you go outside, what do you see?  Trees, plants, a blue sky specked with clouds, maybe a rabbit or deer?  What don't you see?  Kids, most likely.  Specifically, kids outside enjoying nature in unscheduled play.  There is a current trend in society that is keeping people, children especially, indoors and attached to  electronic devices (TVs, computers, cell phones, etc.).  Richard Louv wrote a whole phenomenal book (Last Child in the Woods) about our children's growing "nature deficit."  The statistic that most jars me is that kids are on average spending over 6 hours a day watching TV/playing video games/on the computer/on the cell phone. 6 HOURS.

On top of this, our schools are teaching less about the natural environment, thanks to the unintended consequences of the "No Child Left Behind" law.  So kids in America are getting less time to experience nature on their own time and learning about nature and the environment less in school.  Just exactly what will the next generation know about the environment?  How many of that generation will care enough, without the necessary knowledge, to become future leaders in conservation?

Sadly, we are only skimming the surface of this problem.  Kids not getting outside can lead to health problems, mental and physical.  Without knowledge about the environment learned at an early age, where will the future workforce and policy leaders that we will need to combat the effects of global warming and natural resource depletion come from?  What about this great "green workforce" we've been clamoring for?  Who will fill those jobs?

Thankfully, there are some steps we can take to begin to solve this problem.  The No Child Left Inside Coalition has been pushing legislation that will amend the No Child Left Behind Act to include important  provisions that will teach kids about the environment and provide more outlets to get them outside.

It is an important step, but like the energy bill in the greater global warming process it is only the beginning. 

Bali Forum Backs Climate Roadmap:

Delegates from nearly 190 countries emerged from a final 24 hours of bruising negotiations Saturday with an agreement on a new framework for tackling global warming, one that for the first time calls on both the industrialized world and rapidly developing nations to commit to measurable, verifiable steps.

As Temperatures Rise, Health Could Decline:

Depending on where you are, this is going to be a hotter, wetter, drier, windier, calmer, dirtier, buggier or hungrier century than mankind has seen in a while. In some places, it may be deadlier, too. The effects of climate change are diverse and sometimes contradictory. In general, they favor instability and extreme events. On balance, they will tend to harm health rather than promote it.

Testing the Climate:

The Arctic sea ice is shrinking so fast that within the next few decades, if not years, it could be completely gone in summertime. “The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming,” Jay Zwally, a climate expert at NASA, told the Associated Press. “Now as a sign of climate warming the canary has died.”

Mumbai 'pulls off plug' in campaign against global warming:

Hundreds of citizens in India's financial capital took part in a campaign, aimed at spreading the effects of global warming and the need to conserve energy, by switching off power in several places in the city. The "Batti Bandh" (Lights Off) campaign was initiated by five young executives and was later joined by resident associations, corporates, NGOs and educational institutions.

Small N.H. city takes on global warming challenge:

Now, this lively, tiny city ringed by low hills is turning to behavioral science for solutions. First, a city task force is tackling the barriers to environmentally sensitive behavior - for example, a booth was set up downtown recently to sell energy-efficient light bulbs at a sharp discount. Then, to sustain new habits, they will employ a powerful emotional tool: Social pressure.

What are you reading today?

It's easy to get caught up in the now. I'm one of those people that is so focused on the present or the past that I rarely even have time to consider the future. Well thanks to Desmog blog's 100 Year Letter Project, I was challenged to write a letter to my great, great grandchildren about climate change. Hard task huh? Well, I took a crack at it and I suggest readers do too! Please feel free to leave comments or share your own stories.

Greetings future offspring of my offspring’s offspring,

I write to you from a time of hope and some fear. My childhood was one filled with hikes or ‘explores’ with my father. I was able to spend hours of time playing in the woods and nearby streams while watching all kinds of wildlife. My father and mother instilled in me a love for nature that I carry with me.

I’m curious to know what your world is like. I hope that your parents have instilled in you the virtues that make you a caring and responsible individual. In my day, there were serious environmental issues that concerned me and inspired me to work at a non-profit that protects wildlife and the environment for your future. I just hope we’ve left you more than wildlife in the zoos and books. I hope you get to see animals running free while enjoying the outdoors.

Right now one of the biggest issues we are facing is global warming. Many of us are trying desperately to reduce our impact on the earth. Has your generation figured out how to benefit all members within an ecosystem with smarter consumer products? Are things biodegradable? We have stripped the land and --not to be dramatic-- we’ve been very selfish without meaning to be. I hope that your generation thinks beyond human uses for things and makes them not just sustainable but HELPFUL to other living organisms. I know I sound worried and fearful, but you see, generations before me have overlooked very basic and important responsibilities to future generations, including the idea of a community. That is truly what the earth is, one functioning community. For too long, humans have overlooked the needs of the larger world and all things that don’t blatantly pertain to us. But the point is, they all pertain to us directly.

Anyway, before you worry about these questions I want you to leave my letter and step outside. Take a deep breath, smell the air, feel the wind, and know that this planet is your home. Really know it. Know that in my time, this was the only home we had. I hope that whatever I’ve left you with will be something as beautiful as what I was lucky to have. Because there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t try and make a better future for you by living responsibly today.

Love,
Granny Danny

What would you write to your great great grandkids?

Yesterday the Senate passed an energy bill that helps reduce America’s oil dependency and takes an important step toward reducing global warming pollution. Unfortunately, the bill does not close $13 billion worth of tax loopholes and subsidies for the oil industry and reinvest the money in clean and renewable energy technologies. Earlier in the day, 40 senators blocked the bill, forcing Senate leaders to jettison the tax provisions.

Oil companies have given $8 million to senators over the past four years. Yesterday's action by 40 Senators proved they have gotten their money’s worth: $1,600 in tax breaks for every dollar the oil industry has spent in campaign contributions. Here is a breakdown (pdf) of oil and gas company contributions to the 40 senators who blocked a measure to rollback oil company giveaways (source:  Center for Responsive Politics).

Despite this, the bill passed yesterday increases vehicle fuel economy standards by 40 percent and will save consumers $40 billion a year at the pump and help spur innovation and new American jobs. Its improved energy efficiency standards covering a wide range of products, lighting and buildings will also benefit American consumers.

The energy bill also improves provisions that boost homegrown biofuels and reduce our dependency on oil. The improvements include performance-based standards to ensure biofuels significantly curb global warming pollution and help to ease some of the impacts of biofuels production on wildlife and native habitats.

Learn more about the energy bill:
http://online.nwf.org/finishline

This morning the cloture vote (to end filibuster) on the Energy Bill was defeated 59-40.  John McCain was the only Senator not present for the vote.  On the democratic side, just one Senator, Mary Landrieu (LA), voted the wrong way, against cloture.  On the republican side, nine Senators, Lisa Murkowski (AK), Charles Grassley (IA), Richard Lugar (IN), Susan Collins (ME), Olympia Snowe (ME), Norm Coleman (R), Gordon Smith (OR), John Thune (SD), and Orrin Hatch (UT) voted the right way, for cloture. 

Fortunately, Senator Reid has promised to "eliminate the tax title" and hopes to get the revised bill approved later today.  Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted the revised bill would be approved with wide bipartisan support.

It is unclear whether or not the changes to the bill will satisfy the Bush administration, which has repeatedly threatened to veto the bill.