Greenhouse Gas

The Center City steam loop, source of the Dickensian sidewalk vapor clouds that have warmed the soles of generations of pedestrians, does not normally evoke images of a modern energy system. But in the last two years, the system's owner, Veolia Energy, has quietly upgraded its century-old power plant in Grays Ferry to reposition the nation's third-largest district heating system as an environmentally friendly energy source. Veolia is calling it "green steam. " On Monday, Mayor Nutter and Robert F. Powelson, chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC)

The latest round of negotiations over international climate change policies has concluded, and once again, the United States is taking heat for holding back its support .. . .Though advocates of greenhouse gas reduction treaties will continue to flagellate the United States for its refusal to participate, and portray us as an arrogant and irresponsible force of global destruction, the Bush administration's decision is the right one.. . . The United States [has] only a certain amount of resources to invest in protecting us from all the risks we face.

More than 50 U.S. companies are not waiting for White House action on global warming. They are following Europe's lead, and are cutting emissions, an issue that President Bush will hear a lot about when he meets with European leaders today. A growing number of American companies - including DuPont Co., of Wilmington, Del.; General Motors Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Eastman Kodak Co. - are pledging to cut or limit their emissions of greenhouse gases, which most scientists say cause global warming.

THE MOST immediate danger to our global environment is our weakened perception of threat. Many people like to simply deny that a problem exists. These people hate to think about the future. Why should they? Kurt Vonnegut calls these people "PP's (psychopathic personalities) a medical term for smart, personable people who have no consciences. " Our senator from Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum, is such a person. In 2005, he voted against requiring power plants to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and electric utilities to generate 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources.

RE SENS. McCain and Lieberman promoting nuclear power in the global-warming amendment they plan to add to the Senate energy plan: Although the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important goal, giving more than $5 billion in government subsidies to nuclear power is not the best way to solve this problem. Nuclear technology is expensive, and nuclear waste remains lethal for generations. Re-introducing this long-abandoned option will not be the most efficient way to combat global warming.

As we celebrate the 32d Earth Day, we have entered a new era that requires state governments to look beyond their borders to see how they can work with others. While I was commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, we signed an international declaration, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Program, committing our agency to join with other states and nations to seek reductions in emissions to increase environmental and economic sustainability.

Taxing power plants for their carbon emissions doesn't kill jobs, it creates them, according to a report issued Wednesday by a New Jersey environmental policy group. New Jersey's participation in a regional effort to decrease greenhouse-gas emissions brought the state $151 million in economic benefits, including nearly 1,800 jobs, over three years, according to the study issued by Environment New Jersey Research and Policy Center. The nonprofit group urged Gov. Christie to support a bill that would have the state rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

In the midst of global economic turmoil, scientific projections about the consequences of a warmer planet may seem more remote to countries negotiating a climate change treaty this week in Buenos Aires. Fears that warming temperatures could raise sea levels, alter rainfall patterns, and wreak havoc on food production systems could temporarily take a back seat to the social and economic concerns posed by the global financial crisis. But economic turmoil will eventually settle down, as it has in the past.

The U.S. Supreme Court's groundbreaking decision that regulation of so-called greenhouse gases appears to fall under the Clean Air Act is expected to have far-reaching consequences. But for New Jersey and Pennsylvania, experts said yesterday, the biggest impact of Monday's ruling is likely to be what they won't experience - legal challenges to their programs to mandate cleaner-burning cars. Both states have enacted rules based on California legislation that regulates carbon-dioxide emissions from passenger cars and light trucks.

A new global-warming treaty would be all economic pain and little environmental gain for America even if China and other fast-developing nations sign on. But if developing nations remain exempted, it would be all economic pain and no environmental gain. Either way, America should stay out! At the United Nations' Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen this week, proponents of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol - which expires in 2012 - will try to hash out a new agreement for lowering carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions.