And Again
Another thoughtful Canadian voice—this time, the respected National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy—endorses comprehensive climate pricing. The Globe and Mail reports.
The group noted that any cap-and-trade system that covers only big, industrial polluters won’t stand a chance of success. Are you listening, New Democrats?
Green Schools, Smart Financing 2
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Representative Hans Dunshee’s proposal to borrow $3 billion to retrofit schools. Part of what made the proposal interesting was that the $3 billion would be paid back, at least in part, with savings in energy costs. (Dunshee’s legislation has moved into the rules committee, but it is still unclear exactly how the energy savings would be captured.)
There have been some school districts in Washington that have already realized some savings using this kind of financing (like the Battle Ground School district mentioned in this article). And it looks like the potential savings here are significant. This study sponsored in part by the United States Green Building Council highlights the cost savings from buildings schools to LEED standards and retrofitting existing schools. They peg the savings over time at $9 per square foot over twenty years – not bad, especially if the up front costs are modest.
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Refinancing Your Lifestyle
Both my co-editor Lisa Stiffler and I came to Sightline from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which published its final print edition last month and laid off nearly all its staff. Many of my friends – hardworking and wildly talented professionals – still aren’t sure how they’ll pay rent or mortgages. Maybe that's why the stories that have resonated with me lately are the ones about an alternative economy – one in which spending money is precisely not the point.
Out of necessity or pride, people everywhere are creatively adapting to reduced economic circumstances. We're refinancing our lifestyles. The twist is that in many cases it's empowering. It's a way of taking control of a bad situation. And sometimes it's even fun.
Exxon Profits, Everyone Else...Not So Much
Worth noting: the Fortune 500 -- a list of America's 500 highest-grossing corporations -- had their worst year ever last year. Total profits for the nation's 500 largest corporations fell from $645 billion in 2007 to just $99 billion in 2008. That's a decline of nearly 85 percent, if you're counting.
But the company in the number one slot -- Exxon Mobil -- did astonishingly well, with total profits surpassing $45 billion last year. In other words, a single oil company got over 45 percent of the net profts of the entire Fortune 500.
To be fair, a lot of Fortune 500 companies posted net losses -- so the 45 percent figure is a bit contrived. Still, it's no surprise that Exxon has had so much money to throw at global warming denialism -- they've got a whole lot of money to throw! [Photo courtesy of Flickr user TheTruthAbout...]
