Foreign Policy Blogs

A Little Catch-Up

I have been remiss, in the extreme, in my blogging.  I'm going tomorrow to what should prove to be an exciting conference, State of the Planet 08, at the Earth Institute at Columbia University.  I will report on that soon.  In the meantime, here are a couple of tidbits to keep you fed, if not sated.

Kansas and Coal , I wrote about the ambitious plans for new coal-fired power plants that were nixed by the State of Kansas here in October and then about the nefarious dealings of the plant's proponents here in February.  Well, the update from Reuters is Kansas Government Vetoes Plan For Coal-Fired Power Plants.  Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed legislation that attempted to brush aside the decision made by her administration last fall to deny the permits.  Here is the good governor's veto message and also an executive order establishing the Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group.  (Can you say Vice President Sebelius?  I think she's in the mix for the Democratic party running mate's job.)

Green Building , Best Bang for the Buck , You know I love green building.  (See any number of posts here.)  Well the terrific folks at GreenBiz have an article telling us how effective it is at reducing GHG emissions – Green Building is Best Bet for CO2 Cuts in N. America: Report.  In addition to lowering emissions, the report they cite, Green Building in North America: Opportunities and Challenges, looks at " other environmental benefits to green building and its potential to improve worker health and productivity." 

 

Author

Bill Hewitt

Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs, has taught political science at Pace University, and has graduate and continuing education classes on climate change, sustainability, and energy and the environment at The Center for Global Affairs at NYU. His book, "A Newer World - Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis," will be out from the University Press of New England in December.



Areas of Focus:
the policy, politics, science and economics of environmental protection, sustainability, energy and climate change

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