Environmental Politics: Obama Versus the Republican Presidential Hopefuls

When it comes to the environment, President Obama differs significantly from the current field of Republican presidential hopefuls. For starters, Obama accepts the scientific veracity of climate change where Republicans tend to deny the very existence of anthropogenic global warming.

President Obama's Efforts on the Environment and Education

President Obama has done a great deal for the environment since his inauguration in 2009. Although the President has been criticized for not doing enough on the environmental front he has been constrained by Republican obstructionism in Congress. Given the limitations of his executive powers, Obama has done a great deal for the environment, particularly when you consider the level of denialism we see from the GOP and entrenched interests in the old energy economy. Here is a summary of some of his environmental efforts since taking office and prior to his 2013 budget which he released in February 2012. At the end of this list I have included some of his educational initiatives because education is the key to building a new low carbon economy in the coming decades.

President Obama's 2013 Environmental Budget

President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal supports efficiency, renewable energy, green jobs, clean air, clean water, and a livable climate. Obama is also tightening the nations belt and helping to forge a cleaner future by proposing $39 billion of subsidy cuts for the fossil fuel industry over the coming 10 years.

Keystone XL Protest Message Campaign a Success

A campaign resisting the Keystone XL pipeline has succeeded in sending more than three quarters of a million messages to the US Senate. The message campaign came in response to Republican efforts to resurrect the environmentally destructive Keystone XL.

UN Secretary-General's Message for Business at the KPMG Sustainability Summit

On 14 February 2012 UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged more businesses to embrace the principle of sustainability in their strategies, noting that with the most of the world’s ecosystems in decline, widening social inequality and climate change, global prosperity, productivity and stability was at stake.

Renewable Energy Is Our Only Hope

Renewable energy is capable of meeting our energy requirements. To stave off the most catastrophic impacts of global warming we need a two-pronged strategy that includes energy efficiency and renewables.

Private Sector Green Investment

Global private sector investments in green technology companies totaled more than US$2.4 trillion between 2007 and the second quarter of 2011. These investments are growing at an annual rate of approximately US$1 trillion.

Tim Mohin's Top 10 CSR Trends for 2012

As reviewed in an article by Tim Mohin, director of corporate responsibility for Advanced Micro Devices and author of the forthcoming book Changing Business From the Inside Out: The Treehugger’s Guide to Working in Corporations, here are the top 10 CSR trends to watch for in the world of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

UK Government Investments in Efficiency and Renewable Energy

The UK government is making massive investments in the green economy. Firms in the UK cleantech sector are benefiting tremendously from the government's investments in areas like efficiency and renewable energy.

The EU Debt Crisis did Not Curb the Growth of Renewables in 2011

A Think Progress article by Stephen Lacey, asked whether the European sovereign debt crisis derailed renewable energy in 2011. Even though financial difficulties have caused a few countries to reduce their support, Lacey concludes that "2011 was still a huge year for deployment — with wind and solar alone representing almost 70% of new capacity."

Resistance to Republican Efforts to Resurrect the Keystone XL Pipeline

Beginning at noon on Monday February 13, people are rallying in defense of President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline. The goal is to send a half a million emails to the Senate in 24 hours encouraging Democrats to back their President. This effort is designed to counter Congressional Republicans who are working hard to override President Obama's rejection of the Keystone XL. In January Republicans forced the President to rule on the fate of the pipeline by holding America hostage over legislation extending the payroll tax holiday.

State of Green Business Report 2012

On January 18th 2012, GreenBiz.com released its State of Green Business report. In this the fifth annual edition of the report GreenBiz once again measures the environmental impacts of the emerging green economy. The report measures 20 aspects of environmental performance, from carbon emissions to paper use and recycling.

Sustainable Product Development and Design Link Event for SMEs

The Sustainable Product Development and Design Link Event will showcase sustainable design experts who will explore the sustainable product design strategies for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Australian GRI Conference on Sustainability and Integrated Reporting

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), with the support of the Australian government, is holding its first ever regional Conference in Melbourne, Australia – the Australian GRI Conference on Sustainability and Integrated Reporting. GRI’s first ever regional conference will take place on 26-28 March 2012.

Event: Photovoltaics Industry at the Crossroads

A discussion of the future opportunities and risks for the Photovoltaics industry will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 29 March 2012. The event is being organized by pvXchange and Via Expo in parallel with the South East European Solar Exhibition.

Video: Sustainable Supply Chain Course IOM 599

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the sustainability challenges and opportunities facing supply chains today. The course looks at some of the factors that are contributing to the adoption of sustainability strategies, such as legislations that are penalizing negative environmental and social impacts, and society's expectations of business in terms of health, human rights, and the environment.

Video: Reverse Logistics - A Case Study

This video reviews how reverse logistics can produce results. A happy client (Philips New Zealand) describes how ERL has acted as a "Silver Bullet" for their reverse supply chain issues.

Video: Green Software - Sustainable Case Studies

A January '09 Fast Company article deemed the Sustainability Systems Developer one of the Ten Best Green Jobs for the next decade. Mary will talk about Green Software Investments and Case Studies in Smart Grid, New Media, Mobile, Web Calculators, Solar, Data Centers and IT, Energy Management, Water Efficiency, Carbon Accounting, and Lighting.

Cleantech the Next Great Investment Opportunity

Cleantech is the next great investment opportunity. Huge amounts of investment wealth have been generated by technological innovations like the microprocessor (personal computing and mobile telecommunications) and the Internet (ecommerce and social networks). These two innovations have ushered in unprecedented investment growth in the 1980s and 1990s. According to many predictions, Cleantech is the next investment wave that may very well eclipse the first two.

Foster Friess is the Climate Denying Money Man Behind Rick Santorum

Foster S. Friess is the climate denying money-man behind Rick Santorum's bid for the GOP presidential nomination. The Republican hopefuls are following the money, Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is betting on Newt Gingrich and Friess is bankrolling the pro-Santorum super PAC. Friess is a Wyoming cowboy who is known for his opposition to the science of climate change.

Flagship Ventures' Successful Fundraising for Cleantech

Venture capital firm Flagship Ventures says they exceeded their target of $250 million for a fund which will invest in cleantech and sustainability. This is noteworthy given that we are in a difficult environment for fundraising, especially for funds that invest in early stage companies. This is flagships fourth fund said to be worth 270 million.

India's GreenMela Website Business Resources

GreenMela is a new website that focuses on a panoply of green elements including green business. The site claims to be India'a No.1 green online platform. GreenMela aims to unlock India's green potential and help green to grow and grow clean.

India is the World Leader in Cleantech Investment Growth

With an investment increase of 52 percent India is a world leader in cleantech investment growth in 2011. Total cleantech investment climbed to $10.3bn in 2011 and was based on strong solar performance.

Webinar: Low Carbon Future

A complimentary webinar on the low carbon economy entitled, "Steps towards a low carbon future: solutions and technologies that will support the global revolution required," will be aired on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 11:00 am ET / 4:00 pm GMT.

Corporate Sustainability is Driving Green Businesses in the UK

Despite a slow economy, corporate spending on sustainability will grow green businesses in the UK. According to a report from research firm Verdantix spending on sustainability by large UK firms on energy, environment and sustainability initiatives will grow by an average of 16 per cent a year for the next three years culminating in a market worth £6.8bn in 2015.

Environmental Sustainability Goals for Business

Sustainability goals require a clear strategy with actionable plans and well defined measurable outcomes. Specific environmental impact goals include things like publicly declared goals on reducing carbon emissions, decreasing energy consumption, diminishing solid waste, conserving water, increasing renewable energy consumption and recycling.

Slash Energy Cost & Reduce Budget Uncertainty

Here is a white paper on energy for big retailers sponsored by Verisae and published by Environmental Leader. In this special report you can discover energy management ideas tailored to the business of big retailers. New-store design, refurbs and retrofits may present the biggest and most obvious opportunities to make dramatic, long-lasting improvements in energy efficiency and budget certainty. But the weak economy has caused most retailers to cut way back on such projects. Energy-cost reductions can make a big difference for your company’s financial performance. After payroll, energy is among the largest operating costs for any grocery retailer. In fact, energy cost may amount to roughly half or more of net profit. A 10% reduction of energy cost can increase net profit by 5% to 10%. To download the white paper see below.

EWEA's Offshore Wind Statistics for 2011

On January 31, 2012 the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) published its annual offshore wind statistics for 2011. According to these 2011 statistics there were 235 new turbines with a power capacity of 866 Megawatts (MW) on nine offshore wind farms. These new fully grid connected wind installations are worth approximately 2.4 billion Euros.

Most Popular Green Search Terms for 2011

According to Google green searches ranked highly, showing the growing influence of the environment on public consciousness. Every year Google publishes Zeitgeist, a collection of the year's most popular search trends on the world's most popular search engine. According to Google's 11th annual Zeitgeist, people are increasingly looking up all things green. Google has revealed that some of the most robust trends in green search include things like "sustainable development." Some of the fastest-rising search queries in 2011 were “solar energy,” “garbage islands” and “reusable water bottle” .

Sustainable Leaders forum 2012

In collaboration with the UAE Business Council for Sustainable Development (UAE-BCSD) and Aliance Middle East, the Sustainable Leaders forum will be held in Dubai on February 15th, 2012.

Certified Carbon Footprint Practitioner Training

The IEMA approved Certified Carbon Footprint Practitioner training will take place in Brussels, on March 1 & 2, 2012. The training is comprised of a 2 day workshop plus additional time for preparation of the assignment.

Video: Lightening Electric Motorcycle Goes Over 200 mph for 18 Cents

Here is a motorcycle that proves you can have radical efficiency and extraordinary performance. In this video you will see just how fast the Lightening electric motorcyle can go (apparently the previous run was even faster at 218.6 mph). This is the first electric motorcycle to go over 200 mph. The black and orange markers on the sides of the track fly by even though they are 1/4 mile apart.

Video: The Koch Brothers are Oil Billionaires on a Maniacal Mission

The Koch brothers are oil billionaires who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to increase their own profits through decreasing regulations. With a net worth of $43 billion the Kochs have already spent decades of their lives and over $324 million of their wealth exerting their influence. Here is a video from Brave New Foundation outlining the top five worst things this climate denying duo are doing to fulfill their self serving agenda.

Video: What do the Koch Brothers talk about at thier Secret Right Wing Retreats?

The Koch brothers are right-wing, climate change denying, oil billionaires. They hold secret retreats for rich conservatives. During one of these retreats Charles Koch was caught comparing president Obama to killed 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden. In this video, the Young Turks host Cenk Uygur shares more details.

Greener Vehicles Growing Cleantech and Providing Green Jobs

In 2011 greener vehicles were one of the driving forces behind the growth of US cleantech. We expect to see the habitual greentech drivers like solar and wind, but in 2011 we also saw tremendous growth in EVs and hybrid cars in the US.

Cleantech Partnerships and Collaborations

In cleantech as with most sectors, partnerships and collaborations are vital to drive innovation and move forward. This is particularly true during difficult economic times. This was certainly the case in 2011 and all indications are that it will be even more of an important trend in 2012.

California and Other US Leaders in Cleantech Investments

California is well known for its green orientation and this is borne out in the data for 2011. As the world's eighth-largest economy California has unmatched potential. More than any other state, in California the economy and the environment go hand in hand. Despite challenges, California continues to set the pace for policy, practice and green economic opportunity. A green revolution is unfolding, and California has the public support, technology innovation and history of commitment to sustainability to remain at the leading edge of this revolution. Here is a breakdown of the numbers for the US states leading cleantech investment.

Leading US Cleantech Investment Sectors in 2011 Q3 and Q4

Overall 2011 was a good year for cleantech investments but some sectors fared better than others. According to Ernst & Young in 2011 the Energy Storage segment led cleantech investment in Q3, while the solar sub-segment led in Q4.

VC Investment in US Cleantech in 2011

Overall 2011 was a good year for cleantech in the US but the numbers indicate that there may be a cooling trend in investments for 2012. In 2011 we saw increased investment in green technology compared to 2010, but investment slowed in the fourth quarter.

Retail Sustainability Leadership Report

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has released the first ever industry-wide Retail Sustainability Report. It explores retail’s sustainability successes, challenges and vision for the future. The 2012 report highlights sustainability leadership in the retail industry and discusses retail’s environmental, social, and community impacts. It also addresses the physical establishment of retail outlets and the products they sell.