Weather, Water, Energy 5-25-07

• Sorta losing any respect I had for Australia, not just because of its idiot PM. Now they've gotten a poor Aborginal tribe with some open land to give up land for nuclear waste for what sounds like $21 in beads. OTOH, it does set a precedent for the rest of the world to consider. As one opposing Senator said, "This is the first step to making Australia a global nuclear waste dump." I think I can go for that.
• Warm spring in Britain. Nature getting confused. Not funny. "We are concerned because the change seems to be so rapid. And we know there is a mismatch of timing, so, for example, when insects would pollinate flowers, the flowers are coming out earlier than the insects are available, and we know this is happening. It is very difficult to tell what that means, but certainly we know that wildlife is under pressure."
• Shape of things to come. Czechs don't like their emissions allotment, going to court. Politics sure to follow. Multiply this by every other country and every company and corporation that will protest their allotments under cap-and-trade systems and multiply again by the money and power the politics will involve and tell me again how cap-and-trade will be better than carbon taxes.
• Indonesia's hopping on board Japan's train toward 50% reduction of emissions by 2050. That's the good news. The bad? These are the same people cutting down forests for palm oil and claiming nothing bad is going on. The proper response? Yes, indeed, “stop p—sing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.”
• State news. AZ is letting rural counties set limits on development unless the developer shows adequate water supply. And MD has reversed the Repub gov's favors to utilities in the state (including naming some of their officials as his own regulators) and is starting to enforce regulations to get emissions down. Imagine that.
• Speaking of MD, my 6 years living there gave me great appreciation for mass transit, despite its status as poor stepchild in the whole "what do we do for energy?" debate. Well, with these improvements in efficiency, maybe it'll be back on the table. Learn these words: "Please step away from the doors."