The commission issued a request for proposals Friday from the Low-Income and Energy Efficiency Fund to cover the costs of studies of the feasibility of wind turbines in the Great Lakes or tests of the actual devices.

"Michigan is positioning itself as a leader in the research, development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies," said PSC Chair Orjiakor Isiogu. "By today's action the Commission is striving to advance initiatives that will not only improve the efficient use of energy resources, but also strengthen the economy of the state, and provide opportunities for those who live and work in Michigan."

Pre-proposals are due at 3 p.m. December 7 and full proposals, for those selected, are due January 11.

Source: Gongwer News Highlights, November 20, 2009.

With the support of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, ESPP is holding a competition for participation in the first class of Environmental Faculty Fellows.

The goals of the EFF are to:
1- facilitate building networks among new faculty,
2- helping connect them with collaborators at other institutions, and
3-to advance understanding of climate change and coupled human and natural systems.

The Program: We will select 6-8 member of the 2010 Environmental Faculty Fellows Class. Those selected will come from a diversity of disciplines. From January 2010 through June 2011 the Fellows will meet about once per month. They will agree on a common theme for research projects and conduct research projects with a goal of final papers being drafted by Spring 2011. The theme will be related to two major areas of MSU excellence in environmental research: climate change and coupled human and natural systems. But the precise focus of the efforts will be determined by the Fellows. The theme will be broad enough to allow each Fellow to deploy her or his expertise, individually or in collaboration with each other, but sufficiently focused that all the resulting papers can be published in an edited book or special issue of a journal.

Resources: Each Fellow will have access to $3500 to be used primarily for facilitating collaboration with a colleague at another institution on their project.

Symposium: During Spring 2010, we will hold a Symposium on the theme selected by the Fellows. The Fellows and their collaborators will present their research. We will also invite several distinguished researchers whose work relates to the theme to participate. The resulting papers will be published as either an edited book or a special issue of a journal.

Who is eligible? Any tenure stream faculty member who is an ESPP affiliate, including but not limited to those faculty with part of their FTE in ESPP, and who will have been a member of the MSU faculty for less than 4 years by 1 January 2010.
Application: Interested faculty should submit an application and a current CV. The application should include a brief statement of overall interdisciplinary research interests (250 words maximum) and an initial idea regarding the project they would undertake (250 words maximum). It is understood that the projects will shift as a result of discussions among the Fellows once the Class is formed.

Please submit applications electronically to: tdietz@msu.edu by Monday, December 7, 2009.

Today's highlights include:

Features

Part 1: A Long History Of Dioxin Delays
Release Date: 11-09-2009
Producer: Shawn Allee

Part 2: Foot Dragging Produces Dioxin Delays
Release Date: 11-10-2009
Producer: Shawn Allee

Part 3: Living With Dioxin Delays
Release Date: 11-11-2009
Producer: Shawn Allee

Part 4: Hunters Warned After Dioxin Delays
Release Date: 11-12-2009
Producer: Shawn Allee

Part 5: The Science Behind Dioxin Delays
Release Date: 11-13-2009
Producer: Shawn Allee

News Spots

Predicting The Next Outbreak
Release Date: 11-09-2009
Producer: Samara Freemark

Climate Bill Moving Along
Release Date: 11-10-2009
Producer: Lester Graham

New Water Plan For California
Release Date: 11-11-2009
Producer: Amy Standen

Lobbyists Swarm The Climate Bill
Release Date: 11-12-2009
Producer: Lester Graham

Veterans' Benefits For Agent Orange Exposure
Release Date: 11-13-2009
Producer: Mark Brush

In a blog posting, Scott Bittle notes that the fundamental challenge laid out by the report is to meet surging worldwide demand for energy while simultaneously taking steps to avoid global warming and keep energy relatively affordable. Basically, the IEA says everything depends on whether or not world leaders get serious - very soon - about climate change.

If we do nothing, then worldwide energy demand is projected to soar by 40 percent by 2030. The vast majority of that increase is going to come in the developing world, as people in China, India and throughout Asia see their standard of living rise. Even keeping up with that demand would require investing another $26 trillion. And unless things change, most of that energy is going to come from fossil fuels, which means "dire consequences for climate change" and air pollution, the IEA said.

On the other hand, if world leaders and Congress committed to fighting climate change with cap-and-trade policies, increased energy efficiency, and greater use of renewable energy, that would cost another $10.5 trillion (on top of the $26 trillion). But energy demand growth could be cut in half, and greenhouse gases would decline.

Not that the prospects for a deal at the U.N.-sponsored conference look particularly good right now. And there's one thing that must be said about the IEA report (admittedly written in a wonky tone, aimed at an elite audience): it focuses on choices and alternatives, which are essential to getting the public involved in, and building support for, the decisions, tradeoffs and policy changes the world now faces on energy.

The costs of various energy paths have been laid out by the IEA for policymakers. We can only hope that policymakers will turn around and do the same for the public. To learn more, check out the full story, Choices for the Future, the Citizen's Survival Kit and Who Turned Out The Lights? Your Guided Tour To The Energy Crisis.

Source : Public Agenda, November 13, 2009.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15) will be held December 7 - 18, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This page will provide news, updates and information about U.S. activities leading up to and during COP-15. Check back often!

The carbon footprint wars : what might happen if we retreat from globalization?
Stuart Sim.
Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, c2009. 230pp.
Main Library QC981.8.G56 S5496 2009
The Carbon Footprint Wars challenges current policies about how to deal with global warming, outlining their potentially disastrous side-effects on society and the environment and offers some radical solutions for dealing with climate change.

The Earth : natural resources and human intervention
Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek ; translated by Sandra Lustig ; Klaus Wiegandt, general editor.
London : Haus Pub., 2009. 220pp.
Main Library Stacks S928 .S36 2009
The use of natural resources has caused climate change, ever-expanding deserts, dried up rivers, erosion and devastating floods. This book argues for a dematerialization of the economy by 10 per cent which is technically possible without reducing people's standard of living.

Environmental integration : our common challenge
Ton Bührs.
Albany : SUNY Press, c2009. 276pp.
Main Library JA75.8 .B82 2009

The fluid envelope of our planet : how the study of ocean currents became a science
Eric L. Mills.
Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2009. 434pp.
Main Library GC29 .M54 2009

Global energy transformation : four necessary steps to make clean energy the next success story
Mats Larsson.
Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 306pp.
Gast Business Library HD9502.A2 L37 2009
Political and financial power may move in the direction of individuals, companies and nations that are able to use energy in a more efficient way. This book describes this challenge and presents a way forward by which we may achieve the goal of increased energy efficiency in the different areas that need to change.

Governing the energy challenge : Canada and Germany in a multi-level regional and global context
Burkard Eberlein and G. Bruce Doern, editors.
Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2009. 434pp.
Main Library HD9502.C22 G69 2009

Historical dictionary of the green movement.
Miranda Schreurs, Elim Papadakis.
Lanham, Md. : The Scarecrow Press, 2007. 2nd ed. 316pp.
Main Library GE195 .P36 2007
Human beings have been concerned about nature and their place in it for millennia. Disquiet about the consequences of human action on the natural environment date back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. The efforts of the green movement can be traced back to the nineteenth century, when individuals, groups, and organizations began campaigning for the conservation and preservation of natural areas, the protection of wildlife species, and limits on pollution. It was not until the 1960s, however, that its more modern incarnation emerged. The green movements that arose at this time maintained the concerns of earlier generations, but added new issues to their agenda, including justice, equality, participatory democracy, and sustainability. The second edition of this historical dictionary provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of green parties and movements, green issues, and green concepts.

Managers of global change : the influence of international environmental bureaucracies
edited by Frank Biermann and Bernd Siebenhüner.
Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2009. 367pp.
Main Library JZ4850 .M35 2009
P1: International bureaucracies—highly visible, far-reaching actors of global governance in areas that range from finance to the environment—are often derided as ineffective, inefficient, and unresponsive. Yet despite their prominence in many debates on world politics, little scholarly attention has been given to their actual influence in recent years. Managers of Global Change fills this gap, offering conceptual analysis and case studies of the role and relevance of international bureaucracies in the area of environmental governance—one of the most institutionally dynamic areas of world politics.
P2 : The book seeks to resolve a puzzling disparity: although most international bureaucracies resemble each other in terms of their institutional and legal settings (their mandate, the countries to which they report, their general function), the roles they play and their actual influence vary greatly. The chapters investigate the type and degree of influence that international environmental bureaucracies exert and whether external or internal factors account for variations. After a discussion of theoretical context, research design, and empirical methodology, the book presents nine in-depth case studies of bureaucracies ranging from the environment department of the World Bank to the United Nations' climate and desertification secretariats.
P3: Managers of Global Change points the way to a better understanding of the role of international bureaucracies, which could improve the legitimacy of global decision making and resolve policy debates about the reform of the United Nations and other bodies.

Natives and exotics : World War II and environment in the southern Pacific
Judith A. Bennett.
Honolulu : University of Hawai'i Press, c2009. 439pp.
Main Library D767.9 .B46 2009

The new energy crisis : climate, economics and geopolitics
edited by Jean-Marie Chevalier.
Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan, c2009. 295pp.
Main Library QC903 .N49 2009
The New Energy Crisis comes from the recent intrusion of climate change issues into energy economics and geopolitics. Global warming suddenly reveals that the current evolution of the world energy consumption is on an unsustainable path. This book explores economic and geopolitical tensions and reinforces ways to overcome the crisis.

Planning for climate change : strategies for mitigation and adaptation for spatial planners
edited by Simin Davoudi, Jenny Crawford and Abid Mehmood.
London ; Sterling, VA : Earthscan, 2009. 319pp.
Main Library HT391 .P5443 2009
Note: on reserve for class

Private environmental regimes in developing countries : globally sown, locally grown
Ralph H. Espach.
New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. 172pp.
Main Library GE190.D44 E77 2009
This book assesses the recent growth and future prospects of private transnational environmental certification and standards regimes. Regimes of this type have proliferated in the last 20 years as businesses and environmental groups have sought to replace, or improve upon, traditional inter-governmental conventions and treaties. Recent theory and research suggest that these regimes transfer the environmental standards and norms of West Europe and North America outward, via trade and investment, to developing states worldwide. This book challenges this literature and examines in detail to what degree, and under what circumstances do these transnational regimes truly influence industrial environmental practices in developing countries.

Sustainable development in practice : sustainomics methodology and applications
Mohan Munasinghe ; foreword by James Gustave Speth.
Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009. 633pp.
Main Library HC79.E5 M8675 2009

Uncertainties in Environmental Modelling and Consequences for Policy Making
NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security, Dordrecht: Springer, 2009. 401pp.
Available via SpringerLink.

Understanding climate change adaptation : lessons from community-based approaches
Jonathan Ensor and Rachel Berger.
Rugby, Warwickshire, UK : Practical Action Pub., c2009. 192pp.
Main Library GF71 .U53 2009

Water in the 21st-century West : a High country news reader
Char Miller, editor.
Corvallis : Oregon State University Press, 2009. 312pp.
Main Library Stacks TD223.6 .W475 2009

Note: always check the catalog record for current location and availability status. Sometimes new books may be on the New Acquisitions shelves. Other times they may already be checked out. If a book is checked out, try the Search MelCat button to see if you can borrow it quickly from another library.

Michigan State University researchers found that planting vegetation on roofs can store heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas emitted by burning fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal for transportation, power production and industrial development. High concentrations are linked to global warming.

“This study is the first of its kind,” said head researcher Kristin Getter. “We knew these roofs had benefits, but we didn’t know they would be able to store carbon.”

Green roofs are already used to control temperatures, improve storm runoff and increase vegetation and wildlife habitat in urban areas. Now Getter, a doctoral student in horticulture, has quantified another environmental benefit.

Examples of green roof projects in Michigan are found in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, according to the Department of Environmental Quality.

And Ford Motor Co.’s Truck Assembly Plant in Dearborn was recognized in 2004 by Guinness World records as the largest green roof in the world.

Researchers found that the plants on green roofs absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere.

Their findings were applied to the Detroit metropolitan area, which has between 77 million and 101 million square yards of available rooftop. Planting vegetation on all of it could also mean storing approximately 55,000 tons of carbon, Getter said. That would be the same environmental impact as removing thousands of trucks or SUVs from the road.

“A traditional roof is not storing any carbon, but a green roof is a brand-new storehouse,” Getter said.

The carbon study was conducted over two years. Twenty plots of plants were placed on MSU’s Plant and Soil Sciences Building. Both the above- and below- ground plant material was harvested every other month during the growing season.

The plants were then weighed and their carbon content measured. Approximately 13.3 ounces of carbon per square meter was stored throughout the study.

“We were thinking they probably wouldn’t store very much, and it isn’t a lot compared to a forest or grassland, but it is more than what a traditional roof would have,” Getter said.

Results of the study were published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal. Two other parts of the study investigated species-specific plants on green roofs.

The roofs are used on buildings in Chicago, Manhattan, Toronto and Washington, D.C.

Chicago’s City Hall is one of the earliest examples of a green roof project in the U.S.

“The biggest benefit in the U.S. is their ability to help conserve energy because the soil acts as extra insulation,” Getter said. “They also help reduce noise and air pollution.”

According to Getter, her study identifies one more function of what’s often called “a living roof.”

“We are all concerned about carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” she said. “This is just another way to help keep carbon dioxide levels lower.”

Haley Walker writes for Great Lakes Echo.

For additional Capital News Service stories, visit http://capitalnewsservice.wordpress.com/archive/

A proposal by Rep. Daniel Scripps, D-Leland, would establish a $7.50 per ton state tipping fee on solid waste dumped at landfills and municipal incinerators.

Under the proposal, the new surcharge initially would generate about $145 million annually. The amount could decrease over time if the program succeeds in reducing the volume of waste.

The money would be dedicated to residential recycling programs, solid waste program administration and assistance to local governments.

Kerrin O’Brien, executive director of the Michigan Recycling Coalition, says higher disposal charges could reduce trash imports from other states and Canada.

“The recycling industry has been waiting for the state to provide leadership,” she says. “The proposal would develop funding mechanisms for recycling programs.”

Michigan’s current tipping fee, the cost of solid waste disposal, is low, O’Brien says.

“Many other states have higher tipping fees,” she says. “Ours is comparatively low so it’s been an attraction for other states to bring waste into state. With this new policy, we’ll be able to reduce out-of-state waste.”

The current fee is 21 cents per ton. Most other Great Lakes states charge more – 50 cents in Indiana, $2.22 in Illinois, $4.75 in Ohio, $7.25 in Pennsylvania and $13 in Wisconsin, the highest in the nation.

According to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), waste imported into Michigan landfills has increased significantly over the past decade.

In 2008, imports rose to 17.2 million cubic yards, of which 10.7 million came from Canada, the largest source. More than 30 percent of solid waste dumped in Michigan landfills is from out of state.

That figure is up by 50,000 cubic yards compared to 2007 and 11.5 millions compared to 1998.

However, some businesses consider the proposed surcharge another money grab and tax hike.

Randall Gross, environmental and regulatory policy director for the Michigan Manufacturers Association, says his organization opposes the proposal.

“We see this as a $140 million tax increase,” says Gross. “The largest recyclers are manufacturers. An average-sized manufacturer would end up paying an additional $10,000 per year in waste disposal because of this tax.”

He says the Legislature should find other ways to fund residential recycling programs.

“We just don’t feel that we should be responsible for funding them when we already administer our own programs,” Gross says. “Any increased cost placed upon landfills will be directly passed on to its customers, which include not only manufacturers but also commercial businesses and residential customers.”

Delta Solid Waste Management Authority Manager Don Pyle dislikes the legislation too.

“The tax would be $428,000 to us here in Delta County,” says Pyle. “We are opposed because we have recycling here and already cover the associated cost. So why tax us for something we already do?”

He says the trash tax would hurt residents and businesses.

“At a time when the state is in such terrible financial shape, do not put another financial burden on the people. They are the ones who will pay this tax,” says Pyle.

Matt Flechter, DEQ’s recycling coordinator, says the 21-cents tipping fee is too low to fully fund recycling programs.

“The tipping fee is a choice manufacturers make on waste disposal,” says Flechter. “Landfill is an inefficient process. If they utilize recycling, they don’t have to pay all the fees. Many manufacturers that have a zero waste policy don’t pay that money for waste disposal.”

Clinton County Waste Management Coordinator Cara Clore says her agency hasn’t taken a formal position on the surcharge legislation but thinks Michigan needs to do more to generate revenues to improve solid waste management.

“Michigan’s solid waste program is in jeopardy,” says Clore, and local waste disposal and recycling programs are also struggling.

“The economic downturn caused a massive devaluation of recycled commodities,” she says. “The cost to operate recycling programs increased significantly, and some programs have been or are being eliminated.

“This results in losing opportunities to save energy, conserve natural resources and generate economic benefits,” says Clore.

A higher surcharge is a viable option to fund the state program and direct resources to the local level, she adds.

However, she’s not sure whether $7.50 is the right figure.

“Commercial businesses and institutions must see tangible benefits,” says Clore. “Surcharge revenues should go towards creating incentives and support to advance waste utilization practices. This might include low-interest loans, grant programs, support for market development and the research and transfer of technology rights to processes which increase beneficial use.”

Co-sponsors include Reps. Sarah Roberts, D-St. Clair Shores; Deb Kennedy, D-Brownstown; Fred Miller, D-Mount Clemens; Jennifer Haase, D-Richmond; Harold Haugh, D-Roseville; Lesia Liss, D-Warren; Roy Schmidt, D-Grand Rapids; Marie Donigan, D-Royal Oak; and Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga.

The bill is pending in the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee.

For additional Capital News Service stories, visit http://capitalnewsservice.wordpress.com/archive/