Environmental groups meet in support of Clean Car Act

Several environmental groups will display cars in the courtyard of the State Capitol that would meet a new clean emissions standard being proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist, The Associated Press reports today.

Representatives from the Sierra Club, Florida Wildlife Federation, Earthjustice and Florida Audubon will be at the Monday morning event to speak about the cars and the need for the new rule.


The Florida Environmental Regulation Commission is set to vote on the standard Tuesday morning.

According to the agenda, Tuesday's meeting will be a Continuation of the hearing held on Oct. 29 Rule 62-285.400, Florida Administrative Code, “Adoption of California Motor Vehicle Emission Standards.”

The agenda states that Greg DeAngelo, Professional Engineer, Division of Air Resource Management, will provide the proposed new rule which will require that motor vehicles delivered to Florida for sale, lease, or rent meet the motor vehicle emission standards in Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations. Motor vehicle manufacturers will also have to comply with fleet-average standards for greenhouse gas emissions.

For those interested in attending, the meeting will take place in the following location:
Conference Room A, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Building
3900 Commonwealth Blvd.
Tallahassee, Florida
December 2, 2008, 9:00 a.m.

Climate Change Bill dies in the Senate

The Senate today brought the Climate Change Bill to an end, at least for this year, as it did not get the votes it needed to proceed.

The Senate begun debating the bill Monday. Democrats moved to end debate and move to a final vote, which required 60 votes to pass, but failed, with 48 in favor and 36 against. Take a look at how your state Senator voted here.

The bill would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases. Specifically, it would have required U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases to peak in 2012, then gradually decline by about 2 percent a year until 2050 - for a total reduction of about 66 percent from current levels.

For more details about the bill, read this posting from The San Francisco Chronicle.

Bill supporters drew attention to the gravity of the climate change crisis. Although absent, presidential candidate Barack Obama, said in a statement that "The future of our planet is at stake." Meanwhile, Senate majority leader Harry Reid called climate change "the most important issue facing the world today."

Democrats blamed the Republicans for the impasse. Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, issued this statement:

A reckless and cynical minority has denied the Senate—and the American
people—the meaningful and long overdo debate on global warming their
constituents have been clamoring for. While the Senate leadership and a
bi-partisan group of Senators sought to debate the solutions to our
ever-deepening environmental and economic crises, the Republican leadership
instead used theatrics to tie the Senate in knots for the sole purpose of
"making political points."

Even if the bill had pushed through the Senate, President Bush had threatened to veto the legislation. The bill may have a better chance next year with a new president who will hopefully understand the importance of doing something on a legislative level about the climate change crisis.

Quote of the Day: John Muir and Nature

In every walk with nature one receives
far more than he seeks.

-John Muir (1838-1914), writer, conservationist and founder of the Sierra Club.

Instant messaging your way to a better planet

Everyone IM's nowadays, so why not contribute to helping the planet while you're at it?

Thanks to i'm, a new initiative from Windows Live Messenger, you actually can.

The way the program works is this: every time you use Windows instant messaging service, Microsoft will share a portion of the service's ad revenue to the cause of your choice. Among your options, the initiative to "help explore and protect the planet" by choosing the Sierra Club. You can also help increase awareness and join the fight against global warming by choosing StopGlobalWarming.org.

Of course, the environment is not the only one that needs our help, so you can also choose among other organizations dedicated to causes of great importance, among them the American Red Cross and UNICEF. And the great thing is, you don't have to feel like once you've chosen a cause you can't help out another that might interest you. Actually, if you like, you can switch back and forth between the causes dearest to your heart by making the appropriate selection whenever you begin a new conversation (I tried it out myself so I know it works!).

This is what you need to do:

1. Download the Windows Live Messenger instant messenger service.
   
2. Before initiating a conversation, choose the cause of your choice next to your Display Name.


3. Start your conversation. While you chat with your friends or family members, you'll be contributing to the issue that is of most importance to you. Every conversation counts!
   

For more details, visit the i'm page and start making a difference!