MORE NEWS, 10-19: THE SECRET CO2 REPORT THE BUSH EPA HID; AUSSIE OIL SPILLWON’T STOP; GM V. BETTER PLACE ON EV PLANS; SCOTS EXPAND NEW ENERGY STUDY

THE SECRET CO2 REPORT THE BUSH EPA HID
Bush-era EPA document on climate change released; The 2007 draft suppressed until now calls for regulation of greenhouse gases, citing global warming as a serious risk to the U.S. A finding by the Obama administration is nearly identical.
Jim Tankersley and Alexander C. Hart, October 14, 2009 (LA Times)

"The Environmental Protection Agency…released a long-suppressed report by George W. Bush administration officials who had concluded -- based on science -- that the government should begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions because global warming posed serious risks to the country.

"The report, known as an "endangerment finding," was done in 2007. The Bush White House refused to make it public because it opposed new government efforts to regulate the gases most scientists see as the major cause of global warming."

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"The existence of the finding -- and the refusal of the Bush administration to make it public -- were already known. But no copy of the document had been released [until requested under the Freedom of Information Act by the environmental trade publication Greenwire]…

"A finding that greenhouse gases and global warming pose serious risks to the nation is a necessary step in instituting government regulation. President Obama and congressional Democrats are seeking major climate legislation, but the administration has indicated that if Congress fails to act, it might use an EPA finding to move toward regulation on its own…In April, the [Obama] administration released its proposal for an endangerment finding…[Much of it] embraces the earlier, suppressed [Bush EPA] finding word for word [and the final Obama EPA] finding is expected soon]."

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[Jason Burnett, former EPA administrator who resigned in June 2008 because of the Bush administration's climate change policies:] "Both [the Bush and Obama EPA findings] reach the same conclusion -- that the public is endangered and regulation is required…Science and the law transcend politics."

"The 2007 draft offers an unequivocal endorsement of the prevailing views among climate scientists…and warns that in the U.S., those effects could lead to drought, more frequent hurricanes and other extreme weather events, increased respiratory disease and a rise in heat-related deaths…A current EPA official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said the sparse descriptions in the 2007 version suggested that EPA officials were worried about how the White House would respond…"


AUSSIE OIL SPILLWON’T STOP
Call for action as oil spill gushes
Debbie Guest, October 19, 2009 (The Australian)

"A fourth attempt to plug the massive oil spill off the Kimberley coast will be made this week after the latest attempt failed, leaving environmentalists calling for urgent government intervention.

"The disaster has now entered its ninth week after the failure at the weekend to plug the spill, which has seen oil spew into the Timor Sea at an estimated rate of up to 400 barrels a day."

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"…[T]he company responsible, PTTEP Australasia, said preparations were needed between each attempt…The company is trying to intercept a steel casing 25cm in diameter, located 2.6km below the seabed, to plug the leak…Once the leaking well has been intercepted, heavy mud will be pumped down into the well, displacing oil, gas and water and stopping the flow.

"Chris Smyth, healthy oceans campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, said it was a case of "three strikes you're out" and the government needed to intervene…Environs Kimberley director Martin Pritchard said the spill had become an embarrassment for the oil and gas sector and the Rudd government…"

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"Greens senator Rachel Siewert said it was no surprise the third attempt had failed because of the difficulty involved in plugging the leak…She said if the next attempt failed, the government would need to become more involved to find a solution.

"A spokesman for Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said more detail on the inquiry announced into the spill would be revealed…A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said AMSA was continuing to clean up the spill by using chemical dispersants in the area."


GM V. BETTER PLACE ON EV PLANS
Face Off: GM and Better Place on Electric Car Services
October 16, 2009 (HybridCars/Matter Network via Reuters)

"The first mainstream cars that plug into the electric grid are not expected for another year-but the battle to provide charging and battery services to those early adopters is already heating up…General Motors and Better Place both believe they are best suited to helping plug-in cars owners maintain and charge their batteries…

"Jason Wolf, head of Better Place's California office, said the purchase of the electric car-what he called a "device"-will be separated from the necessary charging and maintenance of the batteries, much the way consumers buy a cell phone, but sign up for wireless service through a carrier…Better Place has signed a deal to provide those services for future Renault electric cars in Denmark and Israel…"

From Better Plsce via YouTube

[Jason Wolf, California head, Better Place:] "A battery is like eight years worth of gasoline. When you walk into the dealership, you buy your vehicle now, you don't buy eight years worth of gasoline. You need a business model that takes the ownership of the battery and provides it to you the same way Chevron provides your gasoline [and]…In looking at how industries cannibalize and change themselves, it doesn't usually happen from the incumbents."

"But will other carmakers warmly embrace Better Place's model? Not according to [GM advanced technology manager Byron Shaw, who]… disagreed with the cell phone analogy, saying that there's a big difference between a $100 cell phone, and a vehicle, which costs at least tens of thousands of dollars. He believes that the carmaker is best positioned to provide all the post-purchase services…[and] pointed to the company's OnStar crash notification system as a platform that could be used to help plug-in car owners monitor and maintain batteries…"

From ChevroletVehicles via YouTube

[Byron Shaw, advanced technology manager, GM:] "If there's money to be made on batteries, we're going to be one of the competitors trying to make money on it…There's going to be a lot of competitors in the space and we certainly intend to be one…[Shaw questioned the Better Place plan.] Do you want another bill from another service provider that has nothing to do with your vehicle? Buying the battery from General Motors with the vehicle and the financing agreement in one integrated package is the advantage an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) provides."

"…[Mike DiNucci, vice president of strategic accounts for Coulomb Technologies, which sells networked charging stations and Tom Gage, CEO of AC Propulsion, which has been making electric drive systems since the 1980s] stressed the need to build open charging systems that wouldn't necessarily require services from either the carmaker or a dedicated third-party service…"


SCOTS EXPAND NEW ENERGY STUDY
Wind power centre will keep Scotland in vanguard of renewable energy
Peter Jones, October 8, 2009 (UK Times)

"…Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) [announced] that 300 jobs are to be created over the next three years in a new research and management centre [in Glasgow] for wind farm projects.

"The £20 million project also marks a significant step forward in Scotland’s growing research capabilities into renewable energy, which now encompass several hundred scientists and engineers."

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"SSE said it was joining with the University of Strathclyde, a recognised centre for wind energy, to build a new centre for renewable energy engineering excellence in Glasgow…The centre, which also safeguards 70 existing SSE jobs in renewable energy, will manage the development, design, engineering, project management, procurement and asset monitoring of SSE’s portfolio of onshore and offshore wind farms in Europe.

"The company [already Britain’s largest generator of electricity from renewable sources] is in the second year of a five-year programme to invest £3 billion in renewable energy projects by 2013."

The European Marine Energy Centre off Scotland's Orkney Islands studies cutting edge ocean energies. (click to enlarge)

"Ian Marchant, SSE’s chief executive, said the company had searched throughout Europe for the best site. Glasgow had helped its case, he said, because of the city council’s ambition to make Glasgow Europe’s most sustainable city in 10 years’ time…While a substantial part of the centre’s work will be in managing the engineering of new wind farms, a significant part will also be devoted to making wind energy systems more efficient and robust, and to researching wave and tidal energy systems…

"The centre adds to a growing list of such research facilities in Scotland ranging from the marine energy research site in Orkney, several alternative energy projects in Aberdeen, to a carbon capture and storage research centre in Edinburgh…The Scottish government is helping with the cost of the project with a £2.8 million subsidy from regional selective assistance funds."