Weather, Water, Energy 1-09-07

Good news. China and Indonesia have agreed to develop bio-fuels to get them off petrol. Bad news. They're going to cut down pristine rain forest to do it. And don't really seem to give a rat's ass. . . . Joseph Romm at Climate Progress has been burning it up over there for the last few days. The author of Hell and High Water has treated us to some excerpts, ripped the WaPo a new one (what is that for the WaPo now? should they have something like McDonald's old "two billion ripped" sign?), and today makes clear that we should never invest in a traditional coal power plant again. Good stuff. . . . My state of birth, OK, has finally, after years and years, decided that the windiest state in the US might have a future in wind power, as witnessed by its belated investment in windmills all over the place. Well, another cigarette lighter apparently went off over another state's head. AZ has figured out, gee, you think solar might work out here? . . . The EU's president has challenged the US to join Europe's efforts to mitigate global warming. Sounds good until you read that, after meeting Bushnev, he detected "a much more open attitude." Bwahahahahahaha. Good one, buddy. . . . RealClimate gives its well-thought take on whether the current El Nino (tilde challenged) is enough to account for this year's warm winter or whether it's part of an overall warmup. (Hint: put your money on the latter.) . . . Finally, probably the best article I've seen on why we just won't get enough done in time to prevent the worse aspects of global warming. Oh, the formal subject is how enviros in Britain are pissed at Blair for his unwillingness to support cuts in air travel as a means of getting emissions under control, despite his "commitment" to attacking global warming. But here's the really good section that puts everything in perspective:

Blair sought to put the issue in perspective, pointing out that, even if Britain reduced its carbon emissions to zero tomorrow, emerging economy China would make up the difference within two years.
"So we've got to be realistic about how much obligation we've got to put on ourselves," he added. "The truth is all the evidence is that if you use the science and technology constructively, your economy can grow, people can have a good time but, do so more responsibly."

Never has the "tragedy of the commons" been better expressed by a world "leader." And by all means, let's make sure that everyone gets a "good time" out of global warming. At least he spells out all the criteria: no one can get serious until everyone does, economic restriction is unacceptable, and people have to have a "good time" with no sacrifices (while acting "responsibly"--so we'll just have a designated conserver, that's the ticket). Australians can rest easy. Their PM Howard is one of the stupidest, overrated, and pompest people with a guaranteed place in history for absolute thickness in a time crying for action, but he will never, ever overtake Tony Blair. The British have so much to be proud of. Almost as much as we do.