Lake Michigan looks massive from the shores of downtown Chicago, yet scientists who study the lake say global warming of even a few degrees could threaten the lake’s ecosystem and jeopardize Chicago’s only source of drinking water. This report looks at why less ice cover could lead to more evaporation, meaning lower lake levels and even oxygen depletion. A written article accompanying the video can be found on the Medill Reports website.
The economy is in a slump, which means critical environment issues like global warming have been put on the back burner says Environment Illinois. The citizen-based, environmental advocacy group tallied the number of questions top reporters have asked presidential candidates to date, and found that only four out of 2,938 mentioned global warming. That’s only one more than the total questions addressing UFO’s. In a letter sent to the group’s email subscribers, Executive Director Rebecca D. Stanfield writes:
“In my opinion, energy and global warming are two of the most urgent problems our new president will face when he or she takes office exactly 360 days from now. But I am astonished that, instead of the presidential candidates facing tough questions about their plans to solve these two problems on the campaign trail, something else is happening, something very frustrating to me… America is at a critical crossroads and who our next president is and the decisions she or he makes will make all the difference in determining the health, safety and well-being of our country. What truly are these reporters waiting for?”
And why are they making my job so hard? Anyway, here’s a video the group posted to Youtube.
There’s a wealth of information on the web about candidates’ platforms for alternative energy. The site I’ve found most informative is a blog, www.grist.org, which provides a table describing each candidate’s position on greenhouse gas emissions, fuel economy standards, renewable energy, biofuels, coal and nuclear energy. There are also interviews and videos where candidates expand on their agendas: http://www.grist.org/candidate_chart_08.html?source=most_popular
Of course, to understand what all this means it’s important to be fluent in the many kinds of energy technology. About half of the candidates support investment in “coal to liquid” fuels, but some do so only under the condition that they emits 20 percent less carbon over their lifecycle than conventional fuel. For more information on how it works, check out this illustration from the Coal to Liquid Foundation: http://www.futurecoalfuels.org/technology.asp The ”coal to liquid” technology uses coal gasification and liquification to produce diesel that, according to the foundation, is “virtually sulfur-free… cleaner than conventional diesel. It burns more completely and emissions are significantly lower than low-sulfur diesel, as tested by the Department of Defense in 6.5 liter diesel engines. Most of the CO2 is already concentrated and ready for capture and possible sequestration or for use in enhanced oil or gas recovery.” The technology is already used in South Africa, but is yet to be developed in the United States.
