Tonight at 5pm: Climate Commission Member Live Blog

The Hampton Roads Sierra Club is hosting a live blog tonight at 5pm with Del. Joe Bouchard:

Delegate Bouchard serves on the Governor’s Climate Change Commission. He will be here on Dec. 1, 2008 starting at 5:00pm to take your questions regarding that work, its potential for legislation finding its way into the 2009 General Assembly session, and what he looks forward to seeing happen in Virginia with the Obama administration.

Post your questions at the Hampton Roads Sierra Club blog now!

Will Richmond Accept Climate Commission's Challenge?

Governor Kaine's Commission on Climate Change has issued its final recommendations. Simply put, there's a lot to like:

Kaine had asked the commission to find ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions - mostly carbon dioxide from cars, power plants, factories, landfills, buildings and homes - by 30 percent of the projected levels in 2025.

But the commission voted during its last work session Thursday to go further and faster. It recommended that Virginia shoot for reductions of 25 percent below 1990 emission levels by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

The goals mirror what President-elect Barack Obama has endorsed for a federal program to combat global warming and follow closely what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has embraced. That group shared a Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President Al Gore last year for its scientific efforts.

People like Paul Ferguson and Skip Stiles deserve credit for fighting over the last year to make sure the commission delivered strong targets. It looks like they got much of what they wanted, even coming within a single vote of a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants until carbon-capturing technology is available.

Now it's up to Gov. Kaine and the General Assembly to put these recommendations into action. If Republicans in the General Assembly are thinking about reject the results of this bipartisan commission, they need to know they'll face voters in the fall who want climate action now.

Cross-posted from RK

Hampton Roads in 2100: Average Storms Become Isabels

When it comes to flooding, the Hampton Roads area is already the second-most-vulnerable area in the country behind New Orleans. So what happens when sea levels rise about two feet (the conservative projection) over the next century due to global warming?

With a mouse-click, Lockheed Martin analyst Chris Mang showed the impact of a routine winter nor'easter striking on top of the higher water level. Large parts of the city went underwater, much as they did during Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

"In a hundred years, even your average storm becomes a real problem," Mang said. And a hurricane with Isabel's punch would cause far more damage than Isabel did.

Mang detailed the disturbing projections at yesterday's Virginia Commission on Climate Change meeting in Williamsburg.

Some business interests opposed to climate action tried to use the meeting to attack the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, the climate legislation due to come before the Senate in June. They also argued that even in the face of the flood projections, Virginia should do nothing to confront climate change. Fortunately, commissioners fought back:

Keith McCoy, a spokesman for the National Association of Manufacturers, said a patchwork of carbon dioxide emission limits by states would create confusion and possibly prompt industries to move to less restrictive states, with no net loss in emissions.

McCoy said polls suggest that while people want to reduce greenhouse gases, "they don't want to give up their SUVs, and they don't want to turn down their thermostats."

One commission member called McCoy "plain wrong."

You can view the slides of all of the presentations at the commission's website.

Gov. Kaine Reveals Appointments to VA Climate Commission

Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced his picks for the Virginia Commission on Climate Change on Friday. Some good names (Arlington County's Paul Ferguson) and some eyebrow-raising ones (David Heacock of Richmond, President of Dominion Virginia Power).

The commission is charged with, among other things, identifying actions to achieve the 30% cut in projected 2025 greenhouse gas emissions (or about 7% from current levels by Lowell's calculations) targeted by Gov. Kaine's Virginia Energy Plan, of which The Green Miles is not a big fan. I'm also not enamored with the way Gov. Kaine's own press release gets the target wrong, claiming the energy plan aims to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025."

No one's answering the phone in the governor's press office today, so I'm holding back judgment until I can get some questions answered about the commission. Among them:

What if the Commission determines that we need to cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 30% from projected 2025 levels? Will it be allowed to make stronger recommendations, or are its hands tied?

Why isn't anyone from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network on the panel? Or for that matter, from Appalachian Voices, Sierra Club, Virginia Conservation Network, or Virginia League of Conservation Voters?

Why were the appointments revealed on the Friday before Christmas (typically that's when you release news you're trying to bury?

I'll let you know when I speak to the governor's office.

Meantime, what do you think of the commission's members? Any names jump out at you?