Cash for clunkers hits bump in the road

The Car Allowance Rebate System otherwise known as "cash for clunkers" may have already siphoned off the $1 billion that was budgeted for the program within a week of its launch.

White House and Transportation officials were sending mixed messages as to whether there was any more funding available for the program. The White House said that it was evaluating its option while the DOT was alerting lawmakers that they could suspend the program on Friday due to a lack of funds.

The much maligned program provides cash incentives of $3500-$4000 for consumers who trade in older vehicles for new more fuel-efficient models. CARS has proven so successful that an estimated 250 000 cars were sold in its first week.

Therein lies the problem.

As of Wednesday, more than 22,000 documented purchases of new cars and trucks were reported through CARS. But backlogs and delays in reporting from car dealers across the country may see the needle move past 250 000 vehicles sold when the numbers are tabulated.

That high end estimate is a cause for concern as it would represent the total funding allocated for the program. That concern has transportation officials calling for a suspension of the program until all the data is in.

It was thought that the stimulus package would last through to November or whenever the $1 billion was doled out. Politicians, caught off guard by the success of the program, did not expect the cupboard to be bare within a week.

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., in a letter to House leaders on Wednesday, requested additional funding for the program. "This is simply the most stimulative $1 billion the federal government has spent during the entire economic downturn," Miller said Thursday. "The federal government must come up with more money, immediately, to keep this program going."

The CARS program is seen as a measure to prop up the ailing auto industry while providing environmental benefits through improved fuel economy. The car industry is reeling from its worst sales slump in more than 25 years. New car and truck sales are down 35 percent from this time last year.

Amtrak to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions

WASHINGTON - Furthering its commitment to be a transportation leader on environmental issues, Amtrak is joining efforts to voluntarily and publicly report its greenhouse gas emissions and undergo an independent assessment of its programs to reduce its carbon footprint.

"Putting our emissions data out in the open for all to see and getting an outside review of our environmental programs will help make Amtrak a greener railroad" said Amtrak president and CEO Joseph Boardman.

Boardman announced that Amtrak is a new member of The Climate Registry, a non-profit organization founded to set consistent and transparent standards for businesses and governments to calculate, verify, and publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions. As a member, Amtrak is committed to the organization’s comprehensive reporting standards for recording and managing greenhouse gas emissions throughout its system including those from diesel and electric locomotives, passenger rail cars, maintenance equipment, stations, offices and other facilities. Amtrak is the first railroad to join this group.

Amtrak also is a new participant in Climate Counts, a non-profit organization which provides an independent and verifiable assessment of a company’s commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. The group uses 22 specific criteria to produce a scorecard to rate companies on how they measure their carbon footprint, reduce their impact on climate change, support effective climate legislation, and publicly disclose their climate actions in a clear and comprehensive manner.

Boardman explained Amtrak intends to use the information generated by these new initiatives to help assess the effectiveness of its greenhouse gas reduction program, determine what changes might be needed to strengthen it, compare itself with industry competitors, and identify opportunities for energy efficient transportation.

Currently, Amtrak is a charter member of the Chicago Climate Exchange that established a "cap and trade" market after organizations committed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Amtrak committed to reduce its emissions from diesel locomotives by six percent from 2003 through 2010, the largest voluntary commitment in the United States. To date, Amtrak has exceeded all of the required interim annual reduction targets.

In addition, Amtrak offers its passengers the opportunity to purchase carbon offsets from the non-profit organization Carbonfund.org and direct those funds to such areas as certified sustainable reforestation and alternative energy projects. Also, Amtrak is reducing the amount of "idling" time on diesel locomotives; using dynamic and regenerative braking systems on electric locomotives to return energy to the grid; employing bio-lubricants in hydraulic systems; and using lighter and more aerodynamic vehicle carriers on the Auto Train, among other efforts to move the railroad toward a more sustainable transportation system.

Vote for the "New" Wonders of Nature

And then there were 28...

Starting from a list of 440 locations from 220 countries, the New7Wonders of Nature is asking for your vote to decide on the seven finalists. This vote follows on the heels of the successful and controversial New7Wonders of the World from 2007.

“We are finding the New7Wonders of Nature campaign to be excitingly different from the first campaign," states New7Wonders Founder and President Bernard Weber. "So many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places are still quite unknown to many. From waterfalls to fjords, rainforests to mountain peaks, freshwater lakes to volcanoes, we are discovering together the incredible beauty and variety of our planet.”

Regarded as more of a popularity contest by scholars and organizations, the New7Wonder campaigns are some of the more popular online voting schemes. The original contest was the most popular poll at the time with a reputed 100 million votes cast. Curiously, North America's most famous natural wonder - Niagara Falls - did not make the cut.

The Round of 28

• Amazon Rainforest


• Angel Falls


• Bay of Fundy


• Black Forest


• Bu Tihah Shoals


• Cliffs of Moher


• Dead Sea


• El Yunque


• Galapagos Islands


• Grand Canyon


• Great Barrier Reef


• Halong Bay


• Iguazu Falls
  
• Jeita Grotto


• Jeju Island


• Kilimanjaro


• Komodo National Park


• Maldives


• Masurian Lake District


• Matterhorn


• Milford Sound


• Mud Volcanoes


• Puerto Princesa Underground River


• Sundarbans Delta


• Table Mountain


• Uluru


• Vesuvius


• Yushan

Voting for this third and final stage continues through 2011 when the top seven are to be announced.

Oxfam: Climate change could leave 75 million homeless

In the midst of a three-day meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh 21 of the poorest countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific who are trying to draft a climate change declaration received ominous news.

Oxfam Australia says that climate change could leave up to 75 million people in the Asia-Pacific region homeless by 2050. The Future is Here: Climate Change says that these island nations are already suffering from drought, food shortages and rising water levels.

“People are already leaving their homes because of climate change, with projections that 75 million people in the Asia-Pacific region will be forced to relocate by 2050 if climate change continues unabated," says Oxfam Australia Executive Director Andrew Hewett. "Not all will have the option of relocating within their own country, so it’s vital that the Australian Government starts working with Pacific governments to plan for this now.”

The Australian government which has committed $150 million to help islanders adapt to climate change will host the Pacific Islands Forum next week where climate change talks are expected to dominate the proceedings. Hewett adds that Australia needs to show leadership at the meetings and that it is willing to do its fair share to mitigate climate change in the region.

To meet existing needs in the region Oxfam says that Australia should immediately double its financial commitment to $300 million and cut its emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels.

The report details how nations at risk have already begun to adapt. In Micronesia and parts of the Solomon Islands villagers have been forced to move to higher ground. Mangroves and native grasses have been planted on Fiji in an effort to abate coastal erosion. Other measures have been put in place to protect Fijian food staples and water supply.

In Dhaka, the Bangladesh minister for environment and forests, Mostafizur Rahman said, "It is a matter of life and death for us." The countries attending the Dhaka conference are low carbon emitters who suffer disproportionate to their carbon footprint. By speaking with one voice these vulnerable nations hope to be heard during the Copenhagen round of climate change talks in December.

Water trail system in Illinois officially launched

Think globally. Act locally.

A noble phrase that is used to rally local action to protect the environment. As global leaders look toward a new climate change agreement later this year it is important to remember that it is the local efforts of citizens and organizations that leave the most tangible and desired results.

Openlands, an Illinois group that has been protecting the natural habitat and open spaces in the state since 1963 is one such group. The Chicago-based Openlands recently marked the completion of 500 miles of water trails in northern Illinois.

The network of water trails - 10 years in the making - primarily focused on the Little Calumet, DuPage, and Fox rivers. The trails provide Illinois residents with a non-motorized boating environment and other ecological activities. Fifty new launch sites and improved signage were added to more than 250 miles of waterway. The project also rehabilitated shorelines, improved the quality of life for local communities and is a source of civic pride.

“When we began this project more than ten years ago, it was the first initiative of its kind in a metropolitan region in the United States,” said Openlands executive director Jerry Adelmann at a recent celebration to mark the occasion. “We looked at our system of creeks, rivers, streams, and Lake Michigan more comprehensively and identified ways to unify them into a rich and vast resource for people of all ages, interests, and abilities.”

Where it takes a village to raise a child it takes the efforts of many to create a natural water park. Community leaders, three levels of government, NGOs including the Grand Victoria Foundation and business groups banded together to create this unique environmental legacy. The efforts to create the trail are now bearing fruit throughout the nation as the project has been used as a blueprint for replication in Maryland, Minnesota and Washington states.

GreenWorksLinks Enviro News & Links Digest

While the following links are not news stories that would have made your local papers they are steps in the right direction. Few environmental stories ever make the front page unless they scream catastrophe. These links don't scream danger, they offer hope.

We also mix it up a bit by adding an environmental resource website or two that are worth checking out.

Find a Certified Green Restaurant
How Cell Phones Are Changing the Face of Green Activism
Worldwide attention as Scotland’s green isle slashes carbon footprint
No Impact Man
Pearl Jam Offsets Their Tour: Rock Out Guilt-Free
Echoing Green: Leveraging Skills Based Business Volunteers for Social Enterprises
Bamboo Boom: Is This Material for You?
Putting the cost of going green in context
Greening With Envy
Solar Power Generation to Double by 2010

GreenWorksLinks is looking for a catchy title for its weekly digest of links and tips. Any suggestions? First prize...continued good kharma.

Sea Temps at Record Highs say NOAA

Surface temperatures of the world's oceans are at their highest levels since records have been kept says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is particularly bad news for people living on the Atlantic coast as rising ocean temperatures fuel hurricanes and raise sea levels.

Preliminary data extrapolated by the National Climatic Data Center reports that sea level temperatures for the month of June were 1.06°F above the 20th century average. To pour salt on the wound the NCDC also reports that land and sea temps combined for the second warmest June in history behind June 2005. At just over 61°F the global temperature rose 1.12°F over the 20th century average.

The G8 recently agreed that a rise in global temperatures of two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would set off a catastrophic chain of events. While many environmental groups chastised the G8 for setting distant and ambiguous targets it should be noted that the record temperatures that the NOAA has reported on for June 2009 are a little more than one half a degree Celsius.

The NOAA report also states that the Arctic sea ice continues to melt at a record pace shrinking 5.6 percent below the 1979-2000 average extent.

Closer to home, the temperature-related energy demand for June was up two percent. Depending on where you live in America you were either using your air-conditioner too much or in the case of North Dakota, which had a record cold June, using your furnace to keep warm.