Welcome to the Progressive Pathway blog, the virtual home of Corbett Kroehler’s climate crisis advocacy and authorship!

Living in Central Florida, along a common hurricane tracking path, I’ve been asked whether I believe that global warming causes wind storms. The short answer is that no, it does not.

However, it has a cause in common with the intensity and number of hurricanes, deforestation. The same apocalyptic burning of old-growth cloud forests and rain forests in Central America, South America and West Africa adds unspeakable tons of carbon to the atmosphere and robs the planet of a key defensive weapon in regulating wind storms.

By halting mass deforestation in those areas and replacing it with new plantings and sustainable forestry, we can begin to reverse the trend toward greater and greater levels of carbon in the atmosphere and reduce the intensity of hurricanes at the same time.

Political inaction on global warming and climate change shares a cause with another crisis, voter apathy in the United States. The average citizen of this country now is more likely to vote in an American Idol competition that a national election.

While laughable, this statistic represents a grave threat to a fundamental principle which underpins our republic.

President Lincoln give it to us very succinctly in the final stanza of his Gettysburg Address: “Government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

If voters deliberately opt out of the political process, either in protest or because they believe that their time on election day is wasted, they diminish the sacrifices of their forebears who fought to give everyone the right to vote and they make it easier for politicians to base their decisions on national TV ratings and poll results rather than healthy discourse with their constituents.

Please visit my next three posts to read how inaction on global warming and voter apathy have a common solution.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

Scientists who perpetuate the claim that humanity is not the primary cause of global warming either are quacks or have their work funded in one way or another by industries and their financial allies who profit from the destruction of the earth.

I have yet to encounter an argument against the fundamental truths of global warming which did not fit the previous sentence. As Vice President Al Gore recently told us, the planet has a fever.

Where there is legitimate debate is just how bad the situation is as it stands today. The options go from bad to horrific to doomsday scenarios. In the interest of holding my audience, I limit myself to conclusions which I know can survive the most strident scrutiny.

Not surprisingly, since I am running to represent Florida’s eighth congressional district in Washington, I will focus this post on the Sunshine State.

The explanation is quite simple. The once-permanent ice shelf of Greenland will melt completely in a few short years. The damage is done.

If we parked every car, decommissioned every fossil-fueled power plant and extinguished every forest fire in every nation of the world, we could not save the Greenland ice shelf.

Can I provide a definite year in which the last layer of ice will fall into the North Atlantic Ocean?

No but the best-case as I see it is the year 2025.

What I can say for certain is that the rapid melting underway there today will cause a permanent sea rise of between two and three feet by the year 2015, perhaps as early as 2010.

What does that mean to Florida? Visit the following URLs for the answer:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/covers/issues/2007/0312.html

and

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/03/06/eco0312

Florida’s eighth congressional district includes the heart of our tourism industry, including Orlando International Airport, the busiest in the state, the major theme parks, including Walt Disney World, and many of our largest hotels.

Even if the first round of sea rise does not impact Orlando directly, the Sports Illustrated story linked above paints a very gloomy picture: every major professional sporting venue in Florida, Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa Bay, will face great challenges from the encroaching seas.

Clearly, if Sports Illustrated runs a theoretical image of the Dolphin Stadium infield under two feet of salt water and states “Global warming is not coming; it is here.”, we have passed the point of serious doubt in the commercial news media that global warming is not a myth and that the consequences will be here sooner than we like.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

How did we go from a national awareness of the challenges of acid rain (and subsequently global warming) to utter inaction on the subject in Washington since 2001?

I could spend the next twenty posts fingering individuals and bureaucratic monoliths but instead, I will give you a broader answer because there is more than enough blame to go around.

Indeed, members of both of our major political parties have fought the matter from the wrong side.

In the end, the ultimate cause of the inertia we face today and which we must overcome if we are to develop the momentum we need in order to drive sweeping reforms (and save Florida from reverting to the wooded sand bar it was eons ago) is subsidies.

American tax dollars are used to allow timber companies to fell millions of trees every year, exacerbating climate change (and displacing or killing beautiful wildlife which otherwise would thrive in our purple mountain’s majesty) and then the profits are used in part to fund huge lobbying efforts which block good faith attempts in Congress to reform the system. The timber is sold at below market value and we pay for it with our taxes!

Likewise, our tax dollars are given in block grants, loan guarantees and other subsidies to fossilized energy companies which use a portion of the resulting profits to wage a broad lobbying war on Capitol Hill to block such changes as an increase in the national average fuel efficiency standards, known as CAFÉ.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained billions of dollars of new subsidies for big oil. Ostensibly, those gifts of our tax dollars would reduce energy prices and provide greater stability of our energy infrastructure. What do we have instead? Record fuel prices while energy companies post record profits.

We paid for them to make bundles of cash far and above what they have made in the past and allow them to charge us whatever they want for fuel. Then, when members of Congress start talking about a windfall profits tax, their opponents try to tell us that the open market dictates energy prices. The reality is that those people make so much money from investing in energy stocks that higher prices at the pump are nothing more than an incidental expense to them.

Now, I have oversimplified the problem but many Americans see it just the way I have explained. The result has two key parts which perpetuate voter apathy:

1)The members of Congress who genuinely try to serve their constituents and nation by fixing the problem (there are Democrats and Republicans alike who fit this definition) have their voices squelched by other members who’d rather accept the lobbying money; and

2)Voters see what happens in item 1 and decide that no matter how many good candidates they elect, those candidates either will be corrupted by the 5:1 ratio of energy lobbyists to Congressmen or silenced by the corrupt majority.

What’s the answer? My next post takes you there.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

The first part of the solution to the common problem of inaction on global warming and voter apathy is occurring organically. That is, the populace is taking it upon itself to think globally and act locally.

Hundreds and hundreds of cities, as well as several states and regions of the United States, have taken action to reduce their contribution to climate change, all the while stabilizing their energy supplies, saving money for their taxpayers and modernizing their energy infrastructure so that it can withstand the harsher weather systems of the future.

As a resident of a state which has taken only baby steps in that direction, I applaud those vanguards. They are on the right course and deserve our praise and support.

Likewise, the business community, sometimes on its own and sometimes in coordination with President Bill Clinton’s global initiative, has made great strides and are to be commended.

BP, Citi, GE, and Virgin, to name a few, are investing billions of dollars to reduce their carbon footprint today and blaze (no pun intended) the trail for new, green products and technologies of the near future.

While imperfect, these efforts are most praiseworthy and I encourage readers to add a company's pollution politicies to their buying decision process. Nevertheless, the aforementioned noble efforts are inadequate. We can and must demand much more.

The second part of the solution, however, that of returning the United States to the climate change process of the United Nations and bilateral pollution agreements, must occur in Washington and will not occur until we stock the Congress with patriots who are shielded from hard-core lobbying (more on that in a moment) and understand the stakes of inaction, as laid out in my previous post, Irreparable Harm.

Yes, I offer a shameless plug because my quest to replace the Bush rubberstamp currently representing Greater Orlando on Capitol Hill is based on mobilizing the grassroots and shunning direct contributions from political action committees (PACs) (details at www.CorbettForCongress.com).

However, my main point is much broader: the answer to the common problem of inaction on global warming and rampant voter apathy begins in the same spot, among the people.

As we enter yet another election cycle, the time for action is right now, today. Yes, the main focus of reversing the climate crisis must be Washington but good candidates for those jobs begin their political career on city councils, school boards and in the state legislatures.

After all, state legislators draw congressional districts so it’s only fitting. I call on all my readers to invite their friends, neighbors and kin to think about running for office. If they agree, support them in every way you can.

If we start now, we can stock elected offices with people who understand that global warming must be our top priority because failure to do so will hinder every other good government effort.

The climate crisis is the greatest threat facing the United States.

Why is it a greater threat than terrorism?

Because it affects the entire nation at once and cannot be vanquished by military might or mollified by diplomacy.

How do we negotiate with the wind? How do we order a fleet admiral to fire upon rising seas?

We the people have created this problem and we the people must solve it.

I am a candidate because I received a call to run in 2004 from Governor Howard Dean. At the time, I did not heed him but eventually came to realize that he knew what he was talking about.

You can read the whole story in my campaign treatise, Progressive Pathway Volume 1. Purchase details may be found at www.ProgressivePathway.com

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

As you have read in my previous posts and, indeed, seen in the very basis of this blog, I know from my own convictions, research and conversations with climatologists and other environmental experts that global warming is here.

It is real and humanity is the main cause.

However, the corporations and people who wish to maintain the status quo use a variety of techniques, most especially confusion and distraction, to blur the issue.

A quick solution to help everyone regain focus is the photograph.

If one picture can be worth a thousand words, fossil-fueled companies and politicians who like things just the way they are realize that it can be worth a billion dollars in lost profits in favor of clean air and a healthy ecosphere.

What organization has a proven track record of publishing resonant photographs and travelogues on a consistent basis?

National Geographic, a leader in the visuals of science, is the answer.

The just-published June edition of their tremendous magazine leads with global warming. It tells the story with images and words of just how dire the situation is.

Much of the same information is available on their website and I commend it to your attention beginning with:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0706/feature2

After you have examined it and flipped through the photo gallery, I also recommend that you spend a few minutes in the related section:

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/climateconnections

A dear friend recently asked whether I had seen the film The Day After Tomorrow.

I answered in the affirmative, telling him that it was so moving that it almost gave me nightmares, even though some of the scenes are a touch overdone for dramatic effect. If you have not seen it, I urge you to rent it through Blockbuster, NetFlix or whichever video rental firm you patronize.

It has a solid cast and I am confident that the indelible and alarming images it will paint on your consciousness will act as a catalyst to stimulate you to do more to save Florida and all coastal areas from retreating to unrelenting seas and tides.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

Congratulations go out to the leadership of most of the G-8 nations last week! Most of the G-8 will do more to reduce their contributions to global warming and the climate crisis.

Sadly, at least for now, the United States will not be among them.

Here in the America, some states have made great strides while others struggle with archaic approaches, including Florida. At the national level, of course, the results are similar. Some progress has been erased by retrograde policies while other successes go unheralded.

What we need to do is look to a pair of G-8 peers and one of our largest trading partners.

Austria and Germany now are a full decade ahead of the United States in their investment in solar and wind technology in order to save their electric ratepayers millions of dollars in future rate increases and, not coincidentally, bring about a corresponding drop in emissions of greenhouse gases.

China, on the other hand, while moving in exactly the wrong direction in the construction of hundreds of new coal-fired power plants, is setting global records for installation of solar-powered water heaters, such as my wife Catrin and I have on our Orlando home.

Indeed, there are more than 700 manufacturers of solar water heating systems in China and together, they install more than 5,000,000 square meters of new rooftop solar collectors each year, an amazing statistic.

How have these nations managed to forge ahead with next-generation energy solutions while some members of their domestic energy sector advocate the status quo?

They did two key things:

1) They helped their citizens focus their collective voice in demanding consumer and environmentally-friendly solutions so that the small number of special interest mouthpieces were not heard; and

2) They made it cultural.

It is these two methods which I try to emulate and the reason for the existence of my expert blog here on Keyboard Culture.

The State of Florida, which welcomed me open arms in 1987, is threatened by rising seas. The solution to the problem is not a mystery. We know how to prevent catastrophic sea rise. What is missing is the will to stop it.

In Austria and Germany, the government has reached out to the people to convince them to participate in buying electricity produced from renewable energy as a matter of national pride. In China, there are entire towns which turn out for fairs and parades to celebrate the environment and how heating their water with the power of the sun helps keep the air they breathe clean. In some of those towns, the fairs adopt a green theme and nearly all of the people turn out to participate, dressed in the same color. The photographs I’ve seen struck me as St. Patrick’s Day in the Far East.

Environmental Defense, of which I am a proud member, has a convenient website which lays out steps you can take to blend conservation into your lifestyle. Please visit http://fightglobalwarming.com

To every reader who lives in the eastern half of the United States: the 2007 hurricane season is off to a troubling start, with the Southeast suffering from a severe subtropical storm (Andrea) fully 3 weeks before the beginning of the annual hurricane season.

Then, Tropic Storm Barry accelerated to 50mph wind speeds on June 1, among the earliest storms ever. 2006 may have been a quiet year in terms of hurricanes which struck the United States but globally, it was quite bad.

We did not receive a reprieve, just a temporary detour.

Environmental Defense has another very good section of their website which walks you through the bad news. It definitely is worth an hour of your time. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagid=489

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

I love YouTube! What a wonderful invention! 15 years ago, when I first heard the term "Information Age", I had no idea how transformative it would be.

Well, I just watched an amazing 20-minute video on the climate crisis. It is a must-see video, period. I encourage you to watch it at the following address and then return for my commentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuXJFbJNltg

First a few sticking points and then I'll editorialize:

1) The facts and figures are accurate, which I hope means that you were left with a tremendous sense of foreboding.

2) Wal-Mart is not green, although it is greener than before.

For years, it was a big part of the problem and refused every single request for dialog which the environmental community attempted. Moreover, even though its commitment to a 20% reduction in energy use in its existing stores and 30% in its new stores is a leap in the right direction, it still takes a very predatory stance as regards the placement of new stores and how those locations affect land use issues such as urban sprawl.

3) BMW also is part of the problem. Hence, while they are to be commended for sponsoring this very important session, their reputation with regard to tailpipe emissions still needs another wash and wax job.

4) It is truly wonderful that the video addresses several key details which often are lost in the climate debate. My favorite is bottled water from Fiji. I'm sure that the water down there is naturally pure but shipping it literally half-way around the world for us to consume is, just as the video states, "stupid."

and

5) Instead of being the 400-pound gorilla in the room, Exxon is the $40 billion gorilla. Dealing with that aspect of the problem will require more than just political will. We must employ the wishes of the entire planet to bring about change in that energy behemoth.

Now, the editorial: this video relates better than even I can do with my own words just how powerful the realization is when we are presented with all of the facts, in an unvarnished manner. It is right on point to state that we will not make it without swift and sweeping change. I misted up the first time I grasped what will happen to Florida in my lifetime and remember exactly where I was when the tears welled up in my eyes. That is not a moment which one easily forgets.

Get on board, everyone. The next generation of humanity is counting on us.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

My wife Catrin and I simply love the solar water heater we had installed in February of 2007. It has given us nothing but reliable service and very hot water.

As I've traveled and told growing numbers of people about the virtues of solar hot water as the easiest way of reducing our need for fossil fuels, the thought struck me that the masses need to know how painless the installation process was and how little space the collector consumes on the roof.

In exchange for giving them a review for their second-quarter newsletter, the Sierra Club of Central Florida has been kind enough to host a photolog of installation day on their website.

It is available for free at http://florida.sierraclub.org/central/solar

All of the images are clickable so don't hesitate to click on them to view enlargements.

The 25% reduction in our monthly utility bill happened because of what you will see in the photos. A comparable system on most any home with decent southern exposure and 2 adults using hot water would cost approximately $5,000.

With tax incentives currently available, our return on investment (ROI) period will be about 7 years but of course, the smiles we derive from knowing that we heat our water without causing air pollution are priceless!

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

With historic national gasoline prices, why spend more on energy in order to reduce global warming?

Certainly, it would be easier to remain with the status quo and hope that retail prices return to more manageable levels. The stakes of doing so are too high, though.

I could show you pictures and run through the consequences of polar ice melting in northern Canada or the effect on animals of melting polar caps.

For this post and its second part, though, let’s focus on available solutions and the question of which are best.

For most of us, adopting a carbon-neutral lifestyle would be impractical without the benefit of renewable energy credits, also known as offsets or green tags.

Simply put, offsets function in 2 key ways. Either they:

1) Fund the planting of trees or subsidize renewable energy projects which will pull carbon from the air later

or

 2) Use the proceeds from the sale of those green tags to offer renewable energy to the nation’s grid at a comparable price to fossil-fueled energy.

Ideally, we would not produce the carbon emissions in the first place but the climate crisis is so severe and worsening every day that we must be open to interim steps. Carbon offsets are one such step.

How does one begin?

For my part, when I decided in 2004 that Catrin and I should go carbon-neutral, I already knew the types of projects I would prefer to fund with the offsets we purchase.

In my next post, I will explain why we use the options we do. For right now, though, please allow me to explain our regimen for remaining carbon-neutral even as life calls upon us to produce more carbon in some years than others.

Our carbon-neutral status is achieved through participation in two monthly programs (Krystal Planet and Wind Current) and then supplemented with TerraPass as needed.

Theoretically, our monthly participation in the first two programs is adequate to offset most any domestic travel whether by airplane or automobile. However, we prefer to set a high standard and thus be certain that we never tip the scales back toward carbon-positive, even for one month.

I will close with an example. On June 9, the day before my 38th birthday, I drove round-trip from Orlando to Hallandale, FL near Fort Lauderdale. It was a 400-mile journey. During most of the trip, my car averaged just shy of 30mpg. It’s an unacceptable number but on an average day I use mass transit so I tolerate the vehicle’s poor economy. In any case, the conference which I attended was scheduled such that flying only would have increased my emissions. I chose to drive instead and then spent $10 on a green tag from TerraPass to offset the resulting pollution.

In a perfect world, I never would have emitted the carbon in the first place but as it stands, the final result was that my pollution was absorbed by a renewable energy project elsewhere. Everybody won!

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

Carbon offsets are to the generation of electricity and personal transportation (airplanes and cars) what BioDiesel is to trucking. They are an imperfect solution yet must play a vital interim role in our quest to produce power and locomotion without pollution, such as through hydrogen which is produced cleanly and sustainably (more on that in a future thread).

To that end, since I do not own a truck, I purchase carbon offsets in order to bring my carbon footprint down to a neutral posture. Specifically, I use three programs to do so. In this installment of my blog, I disclose what the first program is and why I like it.

When Catrin and I began our carbon-neutral lifestyle, our first provider of offsets was Sterling Planet. It was a growing company which understood the concept of renewable energy credits well. Ultimately, we left Sterling Planet as it repositioned itself toward commercial customers who seek to offset large blocks of emissions such as at concerts and other such public events.

Quite by accident, I stumbled upon Krystal Planet. The company’s homepage may be found at http://www.krystal-planet.com

I really liked what I saw in Krystal Planet for three reasons:

1) It focuses exclusively on the construction of new green energy generating facilities.

2) It embraces a decentralized approach, meaning that it installs its technology in ways which foster growth of new, small facilities. One of the reasons we have allowed global warming to degenerate to such an extensive degree (no pun intended) in the United States is the fact that the electrical utility lobby is too strong and growing stronger. Small generating facilities often do no appear on the radar screen of large electrical utilities and thus are insulated from the effects of big lobbying dollars.

3) The commercial aspect of Krystal Planet's program is limited to a moderate pace of expansion. In other words, it acts as a charity for renewable energy, with minimal overhead and advertising conducted mostly by word of mouth. As a result, purchases of green energy certificates from Krystal Planet are tax-deductible.

The focus of my next thread will be NWF Wind Current, an alliance between one of America’s best environmental organizations and a leader in wind energy.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

When critics of renewable energy attempt to squelch the thirst for change which many of us have, they often point to the fact that the sun only shines during the daytime and the wind doesn’t always blow. Fortunately, technology has not stood still while fossilized critics continue to hurl objections from 40 years ago.

The unblemished success of the new water heater which Catrin and I use proves that the sun gives average consumers all the hot water they need without pollution and as for wind, the technology has evolved even further.

What is the Earth’s atmosphere?

It is, quite literally, an ocean of air which blankets the entire planet. In combination with the rotating core at the center of the world, the atmosphere allows us to derive heat and light from the sun without cooking ourselves.

What makes the wind blow?

Well, on the surface, the cause is the temperature differential between towns, regions and continents. Just a few hundred feet up though, the wind blows relentlessly because the atmosphere is in constant movement or, more accurately, the planet moves constantly and the atmosphere is dragged along with it, seldom at the same speed.

If the Earth stops rotating, wind will be the least of our worries.

Simply put, windmills have evolved to the point that they can generate electricity around the clock without even the slightest zephyr on the surface because they are elevated hundreds of feet off the ground.

Since the greatest demand for electricity occurs during the day when the largest numbers of businesses are open (called peak demand), we can satisfy those periods of demand by generating power with sunshine and then use wind for nights and weekends.

This is my main reason for supporting NWF Wind Current with my wallet. The URL is http://nwfwindcurrent.com

This wonderful alliance has a low financial entry point for those who would like to experiment with green power but not make a large early commitment and focuses the need for urgency right where it belongs, on polar bears.

Since about half of the population of the United States lives in coastal areas, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the climate crisis is killing polar bears today, right now, as you read this. The benefits of renewable energy credits are many but polar bears will see them the fastest.

By aligning itself with Wind Current, the National Wildlife Federation can provide the laser focus needed to remind all of us just how high the stakes are.

NWF Wind Current is a premier environmental organization doing what it does best, raising awareness and offering solutions with a broad array of benefits for everyone, people, plants and animals alike.

Being a customer of Krystal Planet theoretically cleans enough carbon from the atmosphere for Catrin and me to live carbon-neutral but the work of NWF Wind Current is so vital that we are more than happy to send money to them each month, too.

In my third and final post on offsets, I will tell you about Terra Pass.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler

Here on Keyboard Culture, I have referred to the fact that some of America’s most important trading partners have made the adoption of renewable energy a part of their culture. It is engrained and will grow in all likelihood.

The good people at Terra Pass strive to do something similar: enable our countrymen to use transportation much the way they do today yet reduce their carbon footprint.

Krystal Planet and NWF Wind Current, as I have described in previous posts, provide more than enough carbon absorption for Catrin and me so that we probably don’t need to purchase more.

Why not do more, though? If we truly care about the climate crisis as much as we affirm, we should take extra steps.

Terra Pass gives us a wonderful way of doing so.

You can see all the details at http://www.TerraPass.com

Whereas NWF Wind Current takes an approach which resonates with environmentalists and people fond of the outdoors, Terra Pass is tuned more closely with popular culture. As a lover of contemporary music and modern cinema when I am not trying to save my home from the ravages of global warming, I can appreciate their approach.

Catrin and I use Terra Pass for special occasions, such as our upcoming trip to Australia in February to attend the International Solar Cities Congress. If you’d like to learn more, visit http://www.solarcitiescongress.com.au

My attendance at the 2006 Solar Cities event played a major role in my decision to run for Congress, so Catrin and I feel an understandable intrigue with how the 2008 gathering will affect me.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that we will fly far enough to circle the globe when all is said and done. That’s a lot of pollution (several tons of CO2 plus other nasty pollutants). We do not take trips like this often. In fact, it will be our first time south of the Equator.

Consequently, it doesn’t make sense for us to increase our monthly purchases of carbon offsets to compensate for one very long trip.

Terra Pass is the answer. It is available to us when we need it and with multiple levels of commitment tailored to the impact of each trip.

The other reason I like Terra Pass is its early but important penetration into conventional business and consumer channels. Expedia is my preferred online travel agency and Terra Pass shares an alliance with Expedia.

That is a wonderful initiative and I am convinced that it is one of the reasons that Delta Airlines decided to offer green tags to people who book flights through their own website.

In total, then, Chez Kroehler is carbon-neutral through a blended approach to offets.

We use Krystal Planet for general advocacy of renewable energy.

We use NWF Wind Current to help assure that the world’s endangered species are not forgotten as their homes melt or otherwise vanish and we use Terra Pass because, in the end, we are consumers with places to go just like everyone else.

If more consumers do as we do, we will become part of the solution rather than the problem. That is an element of pop culture which all of us can find agreeable.

Sustainable Justice For All!

Corbett Kroehler