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A national transition towards large-scale use of clean energy technology would not only reduce heat-trapping pollution, but would create hundreds of thousands of good American jobs and provide underserved communities a pathway out of poverty, a congressional committee learned today at a hearing in Washington. The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Chaired by Edward Markey (D-MA), welcomed experts on clean energy and job development to discuss the vast economic, environmental and energy security potential of a clean energy future for America.

“Low-income communities are often the first to see pollution arrive, and the first to see good jobs leave,” said Chairman Markey. “Our shared moral obligation to fight global warming and reduce oil dependence must include a commitment to job-creating clean energy solutions in our nation’s struggling communities.”

Reducing global warming pollution and oil imports will require an increase in energy efficiency and use of renewable energy in the United States. This will necessitate a new cadre of “green collar” workers needed for everything from the research, design, and engineering of new systems to the manufacture, installation, and maintenance of clean-tech investments. The range of jobs and skills requirements is wide, but the potential employment impact is substantial: in a recent analysis the Cleantech Venture Network estimated that as many as 500,000 green collar jobs could be created by 2010.

The witnesses at the hearing come from a diverse background and believe in the potential to lift areas out of poverty through an effective transition to a green economy that is positive economically and distributes benefits widely across demographic groups. Currently, a large proportion of dirty power generation exists in low-income urban communities where problems in education, health, crime, employment, and affordable housing are endemic. Including these communities in the economic expansion promised by the green economy has the potential to bring large numbers of people out of poverty, while improving the environment and public health, the witnesses said.

The witnesses heard today were Jerome Ringo, President, Apollo Alliance; Van Jones, President and Co-Founder, Ella Baker Center in Oakland, CA; Elsa Barboza, Campaign Coordinator for Green Industries, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) in Los Angeles, CA; Bob Thelen, Chief Training Officer, Capital Area Michigan Works! in Lansing, MI.
...
Renewable energy technologies also reduce owners’ exposure to fuel price volatility and the regulatory risks and penalties associated with future global warming policies and other environmental and health problems. Renewable energy generation creates far more jobs per unit of energy produced and per dollar spent than fossil fuel generation while producing the valuable geopolitical and macroeconomic benefits of enhanced energy security.

Several other jobs studies have pointed to the economic potential of clean energy:

* The U.S. ethanol industry created nearly 154,000 jobs throughout the nation’s economy in 2005 alone, boosting household income by $5.7 billion.
* An Apollo Alliance study shows that major national investments in renewable energy, alternative automobiles and fuels, high performance buildings and infrastructure would result in the creation of nearly 3.5 million green collar jobs for Americans over a ten year period.
* A 2004 Renewable Energy Policy Project study determined that increasing U.S. wind capacity to 50,000 megawatts (MW)—about five times today’s level—would create 150,000 manufacturing jobs, while pumping $20 billion in investment into the national economy.
* A 2004 analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that increasing the share of renewable energy in the U.S. electricity system to 20 percent—adding more than 160,000 MW of new renewable energy facilities by 2020—would create more than 355,000 new U.S. jobs

http://globalwarming.house.gov/list/press/global_warming/may22GreenCollarJobsHearingRelease.shtml
Select Committee on Energy Independence And Global Warming http://globalwarming.house.gov
Edward J. Markey, Chairman
Press Release dated May 22, 2007

...
The earth beneath much of Alaska is not what it used to be. The permanently frozen subsoil, known as permafrost, upon which Newtok and so many other Native Alaskan villages rest, is melting, yielding to warming air temperatures and a warming ocean. Sea ice that would normally protect coastal villages is forming later in the year, allowing fall storms to pound away at the shoreline.

Erosion has made Newtok an island, caught between the ever widening Ninglick River and a slough to the north. The village is below sea level, and sinking. Boardwalks squish into the spring muck. Human waste, collected in “honey buckets” that many residents use for toilets, is often dumped within eyeshot in a village where no point is more than a five-minute walk from any other. The ragged wooden houses have to be adjusted regularly to level them on the shifting soil.

Studies say Newtok could be washed away within a decade. Along with the villages of Shishmaref and Kivalina farther to the north, it has been the hardest hit of about 180 Alaska villages that suffer some degree of erosion.

Some villages plan to hunker down behind sea walls built or planned by the Army Corps of Engineers, at least for now. Others, like Newtok, have no choice but to abandon their patch of tundra. The corps has estimated that to move Newtok could cost $130 million because of its remoteness, climate and topography. That comes to almost $413,000 for each of the 315 residents.
...
Amid the uncertainty, the residents of Newtok hear the skeptics, who question the price tag for moving such a small, seemingly inconsequential place.
...
They say their identity is rooted in their isolation, however qualified it has become over the last century by outside influences. It was the government, they say, that insisted decades ago that they and so many other villages abandon their nomadic ways and pick a place to call home. The current village site was once only a winter camp, and the people of Newtok say they are not to blame just because they are now among the first climate refugees in the United States.
...
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/us/27newtok.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
May 27, 2007

Abstract: This paper studies the productivity and distributional effects of large irrigation dams in India. Our instrumental variable estimates exploit the fact that river gradient affects a district's suitability for dams. In districts located downstream from a dam, agricultural production increases, and vulnerability to rainfall shocks declines. In contrast, agricultural production shows an insignificant increase in the district where the dam is located but its volatility increases. Rural poverty declines in downstream districts but increases in the district where the dam is built, suggesting that neither markets nor state institutions have alleviated the adverse distributional impacts of dam construction.

by Esther Duflo 1 and Rohini Pande 2;
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Center for Economic Policy Research
2. Harvard University and Center for Economic Policy Research

Quarterly Journal of Economics via MIT Press www.mitpressjournals.org
Volume 122, Number 2; May, 2007; Pages 601-646
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/qjec.122.2.601

Abstract: The innovative and evolutionary principles of Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) towards the “good” ecological status of the water bodies, comprise a burdensome issue for most of the member states in European Union. In particular, the European Water Supply and Sewerage companies which are in a major extent responsible for the environmental impacts in water bodies, argue for a very costly and rigid goal-setting of the implied for the achievement of the so called “good” water quality status. On the other hand, the environmental, social and economic benefits derived from the adoption of Water Framework Directive principles, are not clearly defined because of the difficulty to define and further on assess the multiple ecological functions occurring in water bodies. This paper attempts to integrally evaluate through an innovative economic-ecological approach, the direct and indirect benefits of the ecological improvement in water receiving bodies as provoked by compliance of the urban wastewater treatment systems with the targets set by the Water Framework Directive.

Keywords: Environmental evaluation; Wastewater management; Water resources policy; Urban wastewater treatment systems; Water Framework Directive

by Stefanos Xenarios and Konstantinos Bithas; bith of Panteion University, Department of Economic and Regional Development, Athens, Greece; Telephoe +30 (210) 9201858; Fax +30 (210) 9201858.

Desalination via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 211, Issues 1-3; 10 June 2007; Pages 200-211
Special Issue: Ninth Environmental Science and Technology Symposium - September 1–3, 2005, Rhodes, Greece
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2006.02.093

On May 22, 2007 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced that as part of PlaNYC, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) will implement new emissions and mileage standards for yellow taxicabs that will lead to a fully hybrid fleet by 2012 - the largest, cleanest fleet of taxis on the planet. The new standards will be phased in over a four-year period and will reduce the carbon emissions of New York City's taxicab and for-hire vehicle fleet by 50% during the next decade, and will also save individual operators an average of $10,000 a year in fuel costs. Also today, internet giant Yahoo! donated 10 hybrid taxicabs to fleet operator Team Systems in recognition of New York's leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to Bloomberg. "Implementing tougher standards for the more than 13,000 taxis in this City will provide the same clean air benefits as removing 32,000 privately owned cars from our streets, which will significantly reduce the air pollution that causes childhood asthma. This will also decrease the fuel costs for taxi drivers, making this a win for the public and operators alike. I'd like to thank Yahoo! for their commitment to the environment and for recognizing our efforts in addressing global warming by donating these cabs."

On Earth Day, Mayor Bloomberg outlined PlaNYC, a series of 127 proposals aimed at helping New York meet the challenges of adding nearly one million people to the City's population between now and 2030, while at the same time reducing the City's greenhouse gas emissions by 30%. The Ford Crown Victoria, the current workhorse of the taxicab fleet, achieves only 14 miles per gallon (mpg). After October 2008, all new vehicles entering the fleet must achieve a minimum of 25 mpg (based on EPA city surface street ratings), and after October 2009, all new vehicles must achieve a minimum of 30 mpg. When fully implemented, the new standards are expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 215,000 tons. Currently there are only 375 hybrid vehicles in the City's taxi fleet. By October 2008, the number of hybrids in the fleet will triple. The phase-in for the City fleet to become completely hybrid is as follows:
* October 2008 - 1000 yellow hybrid taxicabs;
* October 2009 - 4000 yellow hybrid taxicabs (30% of the fleet)
* October 2010 - 7000 yellow hybrid taxicabs (53% of the fleet)
* October 2011 - 10000 yellow hybrid taxicabs (76% of the fleet)
* October 2012 - all yellow taxicabs will be hybrid (100% of the fleet)

"We expect these new standards will save 22 million gallons of fuel in the first year, and that is only the beginning of what we will be able to accomplish," said TLC Commissioner Daus. "Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg's bold vision laid out in PlaNYC, the New York City taxi fleet's carbon footprint will be lighter than at any point in its 100-year history. The environmental meter is running, and our efforts are paying the fare for a healthier tomorrow. We appreciate Yahoo!'s support and their gift of ten clean, green taxicabs."

It is estimated that increasing fuel efficiency from 14 mpg to 30 mpg will save the average taxi operator more than $10,000 per year. The new fuel efficiency standards will be accompanied by clear guidelines for evaluating the vehicles emissions performance, and for new vehicle specifications that will ensure both passenger comfort and driver safety. Wheelchair accessible taxicabs being brought into service will be exempt from the new fuel economy requirements.

Source: Press Release City of New York www.NYC.gov
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr156-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

Abstract: Escalating oil prices and the need to control carbon emissions sound the alarm for
Indonesia to reduce or be more efficient in its energy use. To create an incentive for
society to be more energy efficient, the government needs to reduce the current energy
subsidy, which, in any case, has imposed a tremendous fiscal burden on the country. This
paper aims to analyse the impact on the economy of energy policies aiming to reduce and
to improve the efficiency of energy use, particularly on the income of various household
groups. This paper will, first, construct a Social Accounting Matrix for Indonesia with
detailed energy sectors and, second, utilise various multiplier analyses to observe and
understand the impact of these energy policies.

Keywords: Energy economics, government policy, pricing policy, social accounting
matrix

by Djoni Hartono 1 and Budy Resosudarmo 2
1. University of Indonesia)
2. Australian National University)

Padjadjaran University, Department of Economics; http://www.lp3e-unpad.org
via EquitablePolicy.org www.equitablepolicy.org
Working Paper in Economics and Development Studies No. 200702; January, 2007
Center for Economics and Development Studies,
Jalan Cimandiri no. 6, Bandung, Indonesia; Phone/Fax: +62-22-4204510
http://www.equitablepolicy.org/wpaper/200702.pdf

Abstract: In order to mitigate the negative effects of transportation and to achieve a competitive transport sector, infrastructure charges in the European Union should be based on short-run marginal costs. This paper shows that railway-noise charges can be estimated using already obtained knowledge of monetary and acoustical noise evaluation. Most European countries have standardized calculation methods for total noise level, which can be used to estimate the marginal acoustical effect.

Keywords: Externalities; Marginal cost; Noise; Railway

by Henrik Andersson 1 and Mikael Ögren 2
1. Department of Transport Economics, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), P.O. Box 55685, SE-102 15 Stockholm, Sweden
2. Department of Environment and Traffic Analysis, VTI, SE-402 78 Gothenburg, Sweden

Transport Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 14, Issue 3; May, 2007; Pages 204-213
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2007.01.002

This pocket-sized reference on key environmental data for over 200 countries includes key indicators on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, energy, emission and pollution, and water and sanitation. The volume helps establish a sound base of information to help set priorities and measure progress toward environmental sustainability goals.

by The World Bank www.WorldBank.org
Price: $ 15.00
Published April 2007
ISBN: 0-8213-6967-9, ISBN-13: 978-0-8213-6967-8
http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=6365361

Abstract: This paper studies the influence of mass media on U.S. government response to approximately 5,000 natural disasters occurring between 1968 and 2002. These disasters took nearly 63,000 lives and affected 125 million people per year. We show that U.S. relief depends on whether the disaster occurs at the same time as other newsworthy events, such as the Olympic Games, which are obviously unrelated to need. We argue that the only plausible explanation of this is that relief decisions are driven by news coverage of disasters and that the other newsworthy material crowds out this news coverage.

by Thomas Eisensee and David Strömberg; both of IIES, Stockholm University and Ministry of Finance, Sweden

Quarterly Journal of Economics via MIT Press www.mitpressjournals.org
Volume 122, Number 2; May, 2007; Pages 693-728
(doi:10.1162/qjec.122.2.693)
http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/qjec.122.2.693\

Abstract: The capital and operating costs associated with a small package plant MBR for small-scale domestic duty has been appraised based on a medium-strength municipal wastewater. The three main membrane configurations were considered, these being multi-tube, hollow fibre and flat sheet, with the most appropriate plant design chosen for each configuration. The analysis proceeded via a consideration of the estimated amortised capital costs of the plant individual components and their installation, coupled with operating costs based largely on energy demand and residuals management. Energy demand was calculated from aeration and pumping costs, with aeration based on a combination of empirical relationships for membrane aeration and mass balance, and the modified Activated Sludge Model version 2 used for estimating tank size and sludge generation.

Results indicate that it is possible to produce a single household MBR at a capital cost similar to the current market cost for package treatment plants. Desludging and maintenance of these plants is similar but power requirements for an MBR are around 4 times that associated with more conventional package plants. Economies of scale exist from 6–20 p.e. plants but above 20 p.e. there is little cost difference per head, due to the design assumptions made. CAPEX and OPEX are to some extent interchangeable; reductions in CAPEX are associated with an increase in OPEX and vice versa. Whilst costs are high, the market for package MBRs is significantly influenced by the recycling potential of the effluent produced.

Keywords: Membrane bioreactor; Package plant; Capital cost; Operating cost; Sewage

by H. Fletcher, T. Mackley and S. Judd; Centre for Water Science, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK; Telephone: +44 1234 754842.

Water Research via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 41, Issue 12; June, 2007 Pages 2627-2635
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.02.038

Abstract: Volatile fuel prices affect both the cost and price of electricity in a liberalised market. Generators with the price-setting technology will face less risk to their profit margins than those with a technology that is not price-setting, even if its costs are not volatile. Emissions permit prices may respond to relative fuel prices, further increasing volatility. This paper simulates the impact of this on generators’ profits, comparing an emissions trading scheme and a carbon tax against predictions for the UK in 2020. The carbon tax reduces the volatility faced by nuclear generators, but raises that faced by fossil fuel stations. Optimal portfolios would contain a higher proportion of nuclear plant if a carbon tax was adopted.

Keywords: Electricity, emissions trading, emissions taxes, fuel price risk

by Richard Green*
ftp://ftp.bham.ac.uk/pub/RePEc/pdf/RGreen.pdf
University of Birmingham; Institute for Energy Research and Policy http://www.bham.ac.uk
Birmingham B15 2TT; Telephone: +44 121 415 8216; Email: r.j.green@bham.ac.uk
March 2007

Abstract: This paper explores the economic effects of biodiversity loss on marketable agricultural output for intensive agricultural systems, which require an increasing level of artificial capital inputs. A theoretical bio-economic model is used to derive a hypothesis about the effect of the state of biodiversity on the optimal crop output both in the longer run and in the transitional path towards the steady-state equilibrium. The hypothesised positive relationship between biodiversity stock and optimal levels of crop output is empirically tested using a stochastic production frontier approach, based on data from a panel of UK specialised cereal farms for the period 1989–2000. The results support the theoretical hypothesis. Increases in biodiversity can lead to a continual outward shift in the output frontier (although at a decreasing rate), controlling for the relevant set of labour and capital inputs. Agricultural transition towards biodiversity conservation may be consistent with an increase in crop output in already biodiversity-poor modern agricultural landscapes.

by Amani Omer 1, Unai Pascual 2 and Noel P. Russell 1
1. Department of Economics, University of Manchester.,
2. Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge, CB3 9EP, UK; E-mail: up211@cam.ac.uk

Journal of Agricultural Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 58, Issue 2; June, 2007; Pages 308–329.
doi:10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00091.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00091.x

Abstract: Man-ser Jan, Tsu-tan Fu and Chung L. Huang use data collected from a consumer survey of face-to-face interviews to determine consumer demand for genetically modified (GM) tofu attributes in Taiwan. Conjoint analysis using logit models reveals that, on average, brand is the most important attribute in terms of influence on consumers’ preferences, followed by price, with GM content having the least influence. However, the analysis also reveals three distinct market segments for tofu. Apart from the largest segment (which reflects the average lack of concern about GM food), the remaining two segments are split according to their preference or antipathy towards GM tofu. This result suggests that GM labelling is helpful to Taiwanese tofu consumers.

by Man-ser Jan 1, Tsu-tan Fu 2 and Chung L. Huang
1. associate professor at the Institute of Applied Economics, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan; E-mail: mjan@ntou.edu.tw
2. research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
3. professor at the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia, USA.

Journal of Agricultural Economics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 58, Issue 2; June, 2007; Pages 330–347.
doi:10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00100.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00100.x

Since August 2005, when visits to an Eritrean village prompted him to research global access to artificial light, Mark Bent has spent $250,000 to develop and manufacture a solar-powered flashlight.

His invention gives up to seven hours of light on a daily solar recharge and can last nearly three years between replacements of three AA batteries costing 80 cents.

Over the last year, he said, he and corporate benefactors like Exxon Mobil have donated 10,500 flashlights to United Nations refugee camps and African aid charities.

Another 10,000 have been provided through a sales program, and 10,000 more have just arrived in Houston awaiting distribution by his company, SunNight Solar.
...
Kevin G. Lowther, Southern Africa director for Africare, the largest American aid group for Africa, said his staff was sending 5,000 of his lights, purchased by Exxon Mobil at $10 each, to rural Angola.
...
With a little research, he discovered that close to two billion people around the world go without affordable access to light.

He worked with researchers, engineers and manufacturers, he said, at the Department of Energy, several American universities, and even NASA before finding a factory in China to produce a durable, cost-effective solar-powered flashlight whose shape was inspired by his wife’s shampoo bottle.

The light, or sun torch, has a narrow solar panel on one side that charges the batteries, which can last between 750 and 1,000 nights, and uses the more efficient light-emitting diodes, or L.E.D.s, to cast its light. “L.E.D.s used to be very expensive,” Mr. Bent said. “But in the last 18 months they’ve become cheaper, so distributing them on a widespread scale is possible.”

The flashlights usually sell for about $19.95 in American stores, but he has established a BoGo — for Buy One, Give One — program on his Web site, BoGoLight.com, where if you buy one flashlight for $25, he will buy and ship another one to Africa, and donate $1 to one of the aid groups he works with.
...
By WILL CONNORS and RALPH BLUMENTHAL

FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/world/africa/20lights.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com
Published: May 20, 2007

New York City traffic is a "very serious" problem, 59 percent of city voters say, while 31 percent say traffic is "somewhat serious," according to a Quinnipiac University poll released May 24, 2007.

But voters, including mass transit users, oppose 56 - 37 percent a congestion pricing proposal where drivers would be charged $8 to drive a car into Manhattan below 86th Street, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

Manhattan voters support congestion pricing 62 - 29 percent. Voters in other boroughs are opposed to the proposal:
* 67 - 26 percent in The Bronx;
* 63 - 29 percent in Brooklyn;
* 61 - 32 percent in Queens;
* 69 - 26 percent in Staten Island.

By a 3 - 1 margin, 68 - 23 percent, New York City voters say they use mass transit, rather than a car, to travel into and out of Manhattan. Car drivers oppose congestion pricing 59 - 34 percent while mass transit users oppose it 53 - 40 percent.

"It's all but unanimous. New Yorkers think traffic-choked streets are a big problem. But Mayor Bloomberg will need every ounce of support from his 74 percent approval rating to convince New York City voters that congestion pricing is the answer," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"As on so many city questions, congestion pricing is Manhattan against everybody else. Most New Yorkers say it would impose an unfair charge on outer-borough drivers."

New York City voters split 45 - 46 percent on whether they agree with a principal assumption behind congestion pricing, that traffic costs them billions of wasted dollars every year. Manhattan voters agree with the premise while voters in the other boroughs disagree.

Voters agree, 59 - 36 percent, that congestion pricing would tax unfairly people who live outside Manhattan. Again, Manhattan voters are out of touch with voters in the other boroughs.

If there were congestion pricing, taxicabs should be exempt, voters say 56 - 39 percent. On other possible exemptions, New York City voters:
* Oppose 59 - 36 percent exemptions for personal vehicles;
* Oppose 70 - 26 percent exemptions for limousines;
* Support 49 - 45 percent exemptions for delivery trucks.

"Okay, let's assume we have congestion pricing. Should anyone be exempt? Taxi cabs, most say, but not private cars and, overwhelmingly, not the way the rich folks ride - limousines," Carroll said.

From May 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,018 New York City registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

The poll was disputed by the Campaign for New York’s Future, a coalition of organizations who support the mayor's PlaNYC 2030.

The Campaign charged that the poll failed to ask respondents if their views on congestion pricing would change if they considered that the initiative would improve public health by reducing air pollution, generate $31 billion to use for transit repairs and expansions, and reduce carbon emissions by 30%. The coalition added that the poll also failed to tell respondents that current tunnel and bridge charges would be credited against the congestion pricing, making $8 the total overall daily charge.

The Campaign said that in its own poll, conducted in April by the firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, 70% of respondents were strongly or somewhat convinced to support the plan after learning of its benefits.

Quinnipiac University Polling Institute www.quinnipiac.edu
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1302.xml?ReleaseID=1066
Crains New York Business www.newyorkbusiness.com
http://www.newyorkbusiness.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070524/FREE/70524003/1066

IBM announced it is redirecting $1 billion per year across its businesses, mobilizing the company’s resources to dramatically increase the level of energy efficiency in IT. The plan includes new products and services for IBM and its clients to sharply reduce data center energy consumption, transforming the world’s business and public technology infrastructures into "green" data centers.

The savings are substantial -- for an average 25,000 square foot data center, clients should be able to achieve 42 percent energy savings. Based on the energy mix in the US, this savings equates to 7,439 tons of carbon emissions saved per year.

Called “Project Big Green,” IBM’s initiative targets corporate data centers where energy constraints and costs can limit their ability to grow. The initiative includes a new global “green team” of more than 850 energy efficiency architects from across IBM.

Today, according to analyst firm IDC, roughly 50 cents is spent on energy for every dollar of computer hardware. This is expected to increase by 54 percent to 71 cents over the next four years. [1]

“The data center energy crisis is inhibiting our clients’ business growth as they seek to access computing power,” said Mike Daniels, senior vice president, IBM Global Technology Services. “Many data centers have now reached full capacity, limiting a firm’s ability to grow and make necessary capital investments. Today we are providing clients the IBM action plan to make their data centers fully utilized and energy efficient.”

IBM currently runs the world’s largest commercial technology infrastructure, with more than eight million square feet of data centers in six continents. By using the same energy efficiency initiatives it is offering clients today, IBM expects to double the computing capacity of its data centers within the next three years without increasing power consumption or its carbon footprint [2]. Compared to doubling the size of its data centers by building out new space, IBM expects this will help save more than five billion kilowatt hours of energy per year.

IBM is using its expertise and energy-smart technology innovations to outline a five-step approach for clients that is designed to dramatically improve energy efficiency:

1. DIAGNOSE: Evaluate existing facilities -- energy assessment, virtual 3-D power management and thermal analytics
2. BUILD: Plan, build or update to an energy efficient data center
3. VIRTUALIZE: Virtualize IT infrastructures and special purpose processors
4. MANAGE: Seize control with power management software
5. COOL: Exploit liquid cooling solutions -- inside and out of the data center

1. DIAGNOSE: Evaluate existing facilities -- energy assessment, virtual 3-D power management and thermal analytics.
Clients struggle to obtain accurate and detailed information on the energy efficiency of their data centers and what major opportunities exist for improvement. Data centers exhibit significant hotspots – regions of high power density – which result from a flawed layout of server racks, unsound floor designs, and the undesired intermixing of hot and cold air.

* IBM can conduct an energy efficiency assessment for clients’ data centers that can reduce energy costs by up to 40 percent. This service – the IBM Data Center Energy Efficiency Assessment – utilizes a new standard metric to rate the energy efficiency of the data center, and presents a plan for clients to increase their efficiency.
* Mobile Measurement Technology (MMT), a new technology from IBM Research, measures 3-D temperature distributions within data centers. The new mobile measurement machine includes a position monitoring system with a network of up to 100 sensors used to gather thermal data at a granular level, with unprecedented speed and accuracy as it travels through the data center. MMT was implemented at Pacific Gas & Electric’s three data centers in California where it accurately visualized hot spots, air leakage and other inefficiencies across their 40,000 square feet of data center space in a few days, as opposed to a few weeks if surveyed by hand.
* IBM Thermal Analysis for High Density Computing service product identifies and resolves existing and potential heat-related issues that are likely to create outages in existing data centers, and provides options for power savings and future expansion.
* IBM will use virtual worlds to explore virtual 3-D power management of data centers, resulting in more efficient energy use.

2. BUILD: Plan, build or update an energy efficient data center.
Based on IBM’s experience of building 30 million square feet of data center space for clients worldwide, the Data Center Energy Efficiency Assessment service complements additional new energy efficient service products announced today, including:
* The Energy Efficiency Self Assessment provides clients a free online view of their data center energy efficiency;
* The IBM Scalable Modular Data Center, a pre-configured 500 or 1,000 square foot data center solution with energy efficient technologies that can be implemented in 8-12 weeks and is 15 percent less expensive than traditional data center builds;
* The IBM Optimized Airflow Assessment for Cabling, which helps clientsimprove air flow under the data center raised floor and reduce cabling costs, and;
* Specialized Facilities capabilities to design and build green buildings which help clientsintegrate all building subsystems to operate in a safe, efficient and ecologically friendly environment leading to significant energy savings.

Additional IBM partner-enabled service offerings are available from leading global power and cooling technology, providers including Anixter, Inc., APC-MGE, Eaton, Emerson Network Power / Liebert, GE Consumer & Industrial, and Schneider Electric.

3. VIRTUALIZE: Virtualize IT infrastructure and exploit special purpose processors
Clients need to move to virtualized infrastructure and take advantage of emerging hybrid systems that utilize special purpose processors to improve performance and reduce energy consumption.

* IBM leads in providing the industry’s most comprehensive virtualization technologies – including mainframe, UNIX, x86, and storage systems -- which allow clients to consolidate work onto fewer computers, increasing utilization, which can significantly reduce energy and maintenance bills and simplify their infrastructure. Today, many computer systems use 5 percent to 12 percent of their capacity. IBM’s mainframe, which includes the world’s most sophisticated virtualization technologies, already allows clients to reach nearly 100 percent server utilization.
* IBM’s BladeCenter, a thin, plug-in blade server for consolidating IT infrastructures, can not only provide physical integration of an infrastructure, but the design of its switching technology can help result in reduced power consumption. According to IBM internal studies, an average BladeCenter with embedded Ethernet and Fibre Channel switches can help save clients up to 50 percent power, per port over a typical rack optimized server.
* WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances have been shown to perform XML and Web services security processing as much as 72 times better than server-based systems alone. This translates into clients who are deploying XML applications and seeking to secure their Web services so they can increase their performance and reduce application latency while at the same time reducing their need for additional hardware resources to accomplish the same job with reduced system footprint and power consumption.
* For analytics and digital media, the Cell Broadband Engine can deliver extreme performance compared with conventional processors. IBM client Mayo Clinic is using Cell as part of its BladeCenter and can now speed the processing of 3-D medical images for use by radiologists by up to 50 times faster than on a traditional processor configuration.

4. MANAGE: Seize control with power management software
Provisioning software can reduce 80 percent of power consumption on servers automatically by putting them on standby mode when they are not needed. If this software was deployed in all the estimated U.S. data centers, the country could save 5.4 billion kilowatt hours per year, enough electricity to heat 370,000 homes for a winter.

* Tivoli management software will expand the IBM Cool Blue portfolio of energy efficient technology with software that monitors power consumption, allows users to set power policies and tracks energy usage and accurately charges back departments’ power consumption in a data center. As a result, every department can be held accountable and learn to create efficiencies by both monitoring for current energy use to find opportunities for savings, and by allowing users to save energy through minimizing consumption via server provisioning and de-provisioning. In the State of California, IBM will send clients free information on provisioning technology that can reduce energy consumption to help businesses deal with the state’s acute energy crisis.
* PowerExecutive software, part of the IBM Systems Director portfolio, will now be available across all IBM systems and storage. Originally designed from IBM BladeCenter and System x, in November 2007 IBM will roll the free energy management technology out across IBM System i, System p, System z and System Storage. It is the only energy management software tool that can provide clients with a view of the actual power used, as opposed to benchmarked power consumption, and can effectively allocate, match and cap power and thermal limits in the data center at the system, chassis or rack level. By enabling power capping, clients can effectively run their systems on cruise control.

5. COOL: Exploit liquid cooling solutions -- inside and out of the data center
Analyst firm IDC estimates that in 2006 $29 billion was spent on powering and cooling IT systems [3].
* IBM is announcing a patented “stored cooling” solution that dramatically increases the efficiency of the largest single use of power in the data center – the end-to-end cooling system. The IBM Data Center Stored Cooling Solution service product, implemented at an IBM data center in Quebec, achieved 45 percent savings and has already been named the “best new energy product” by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
* IBM’s patented Rear Door Heat eXchanger “cooling doors” are now available across most IBM Systems offerings. While requiring no additional fans or electricity, they reduce server heat output in data centers up to 60 percent by utilizing chilled water to dissipate heat generated by computer systems. IBM also plans to introduce a new set of liquid cooling technologies later this year developed by IBM Research Labs.

IBM will soon launch an open, Web-enabled clearinghouse for energy efficiency incentives. The Energy Efficiency Incentive Finder will be one central website for details about energy efficiency incentives and programs that are available from local utility companies, governments, and other participating agencies anywhere in the world.

IBM Global Financing (IGF), the financing business segment of IBM, is positioned as part of Project Big Green to provide a “green wrapper” of financing solutions to help data center owners access or acquire the hardware, software and services they need to build an energy-efficient data center. IGF’s simple financing solutions to qualified customers will help alleviate some of the capital constraints and allow enterprises, the opportunity to align their upfront costs to anticipated project benefits. Easy lease and loan terms will also help facilitate the planning and tracking of project costs.

For more information about IBM’s Energy Efficiency Initiative, news, access to video and audio interviews with IBM and industry leaders visit: www.ibm.com/press/greendatacenter.

1 [1] Source: IDC, Worldwide Server Power and Cooling Expense 2006–2010 Forecast, Doc #203598, September 2006
2 [2] Based on greenhouse gas production, the size of a carbon footprint is determined by the amount of carbon dioxide that comes from human activities.
3 [3] Source: IDC, Worldwide Server Power and Cooling Expense 2006–2010 Forecast, Doc #203598, September 2006

IBM www.IBM.com
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/21524.wss

Introduction:

This study reviews international experience with managing resource revenues in both developed and developing countries. The intent is to assess the scope for using benefit-sharing instruments to spread the benefits of mineral extraction across the economy and catalyze broader-based growth. Of particular interest are policy mechanisms that could be implemented in poor regions with untapped mineral resources, so as to generate more inclusive development.

The global experience with benefit sharing varies widely, as do the degrees of success in converting resource wealth into permanent wealth. This study draws on both the best practices and the problematic ones to illustrate the options, tradeoffs, and challenges. The study begins with a review of the literature on resource revenue management, including recent guidelines for transparency. Then we present case studies from developed countries: Alaska and the Permanent Fund, Alberta and the Heritage Fund, Norway and the Petroleum Fund, and Australia and the Aboriginals Benefit Reserve, as well as special liability funds in the United States. Subsequently, we review diverse strategies in developing countries, including Botswana, Chad, and Papua New Guinea, as well as some schemes in Central and South America. We ask how, how much, and for whom the policy mechanisms are employed and the revenues obtained and allocated. We then summarize the options for collecting and distributing revenues, drawing lessons from the case studies. In the conclusion, we consider options for managing resource revenues in developing countries.

by Carolyn Fischer, Fellow at Resources for the Future,

http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/RFF-Rpt-BenefitSharing.pdf
Resources For the Future (RFF) www.RFF.org
1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

ABSTRACT: George Milunovich and Roselyne Joyeux examine the issues of market efficiency and price discovery in the European Union carbon futures market. Their findings suggest that none of the carbon futures contracts examined are priced according to the cost-of-carry model, although two of the three futures contracts studied here form a stable long-run relationship with the spot price, and hence act as adequate risk mitigation instruments. They apply a new testing procedure and find weak evidence of convenience yield in the market for carbon allowances. In terms of price discovery, it appears that the spot and futures markets share information efficiently and contribute to price discovery jointly. Similar to the information diffusion pattern found in returns, we report some evidence of bi-directional volatility transfers between the spot and various
futures contracts.

Keywords: Carbon-dioxide allowances, futures, cost-of-carry, price discovery,
market efficiency, cointegration, granger causality, volatility spillover, global
warming.

by George Milunovich and Roselyne Joyeux; Department of Economics, Division of Economic and Financial Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109 Australia. Tel:+61 2 9850 8543 Fax: +61 2 9850 6096

Macquarie University Department of Economics www.econ.mq.edu.au
Economics Research Paper Number 1/2007; March 2007
http://www.econ.mq.edu.au/Econ_docs/research_papers2/2007_research_papers/MERP_1_2007_Milunovich_Joyeux_online.pdf

Gas prices are spiking again — to an average of $3.22 a gallon, and close to $4 a gallon in many areas.

And some oil executives are now warning that the current shortages of fuel could become a long-term problem, leading to stubbornly higher prices at the pump.

They point to a surprising culprit: uncertainty created by the government’s push to increase the supply of biofuels like ethanol in coming years.

In his State of the Union address in January, President Bush called for a sharp increase in the use of biofuels, along with some improvement in automobile fuel efficiency to reduce America’s use of gasoline by 20 percent within 10 years. Congress is considering legislation calling for a nearly fivefold increase in the use of ethanol.

That has forced many oil companies to reconsider or scale back their plans for constructing new refinery capacity.

In hearings before Congress last year, oil executives outlined plans to increase fuel production by expanding existing refineries. Those plans would add capacity of 1.6 million to 1.8 million barrels a day over the next five years, for an increase of 10 percent, according to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association.

But those plans have since been scaled back to more than one million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration, an arm of the federal government.
...
Even so, the current cost of gas — which in real terms is approaching the old peak of $1.42 a gallon in March 1981, or $3.31 adjusted for inflation — has renewed suspicions that the oil industry is looking for ways to keep profits high by delaying much-needed investments. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, began hearings yesterday on the topic “Is Market Concentration in the U.S. Petroleum Industry Harming Consumers?”

And the House voted yesterday by a narrow margin to penalize any oil companies, traders or retailers found to be charging “unconscionably excessive” prices for gasoline and other fuels. President Bush will probably veto the measure because the White House has said such legislation would amount to price controls.

Experts point to many short-term reasons the United States is running low on gasoline, causing prices to rise: many oil companies are doing maintenance work on refineries; new federal rules make fuels cleaner but costlier; and a string of delays, fires and accidents in the industry have reduced supplies just when drivers are starting to hit the road for summer vacations. Many analysts predict prices will keep rising, then soften later in the summer as demand trails off.
...
As a result of the push for biofuels, and encouraged by federal subsidies and grants, dozens of ethanol distilleries are being planned. These investments should double the annual production of ethanol from corn to 15 billion gallons by 2012 from about 6 billion gallons today.

But given farmland constraints and the need to use corn for food, that is as much ethanol as can possibly be produced from corn, according to the ethanol industry’s own calculations. Ethanol producers recognize that it is not clear how an additional 20 billion gallons of ethanol — President Bush has called for 35 billion gallons of biofuels by 2017 — would be produced from cellulose or biomass.

“The current thinking is that based on today’s technology, we suspect corn-based ethanol will generate at least 15 billion gallons,” said Brian Jennings, the executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, an association of ethanol and corn producers. “Beyond that, it’s uncertain. The marketplace will make that determination on where it will come from.”

Yet some members of Congress would like to make the president’s goal for biofuels a mandatory target — the equivalent of 2.3 million barrels a day that would, in effect, create an ethanol industry roughly the size of world-class oil producers like Kuwait or Nigeria.

The economics of cellulosic ethanol, made from nonfood crops and agricultural waste, are also unclear. Since cellulosic ethanol, still at an experimental stage, is twice as expensive as corn-based ethanol, there are currently no commercial-scale cellulosic plants.
...
by Jad Mouawad
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/business/24refinery.html?th&emc=th
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com

Abstract: Despite the importance of housing for people’s well-being, there has been little work done to assess the causal impact of housing and housing improvement programs on health and welfare. In this paper we help fill this gap by investigating the impact of a large-scale effort by the Mexican Government to replace dirt floors with cement floors on child health and adult happiness. We find that replacing dirt floors with cement floors significantly reduces parasitic infestations in young children, reduces diarrhea, reduces anemia and improves cognitive development. Finally, we also find that this program leave adults substantially better off, as measured by satisfaction with their housing and quality of life and by their significantly lower rates of depression and perceived stress.

Keywords: Housing, Housing Programs, Health and Happiness.

by Matias D. Cattaneo 1, Sebastian Galiani 2, Paul J. Gertler 3, Sebastian Martinez 4 and Rocio Titiunik 5
1. UC Berkeley
2. Washington University in St. Louis
3. UC Berkeley
4. World Bank
5. UC Berkeley

World Bank www.worldbank.org
Policy Research Working Paper 4214 Impact Evaluation Series Number 14; April 2007
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/04/19/000016406_20070419123430/Rendered/PDF/wps4214.pdf