How much is 1 ton of C02?

RRI's Elizabeth Baker is following the negotiations from inside the Bella Center in Copenhagen as part of the Green Belt Movement delegation. Follow along at www.GreenBeltMovement.org.

America Elected Him but the World Needs Him

One of the great transition points in modern history has Copenhagen cracking with excitement. President Obama is coming with other world leaders to COP15 and is armed with an exciting new potential power that can free him to act independently of the Senate opponents. Late Tuesday evening, Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kassie Siegel delivered a crisp assessment of the legal precedent for the President to use his executive authority to cap greenhouse gasses without congressional ratification.

Following the US Environmental Protection Agency announcement of a final ruling that greenhouse gasses are harmful to human health, days before receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and a week ahead of his landmark participation in COP15, President Obama's hands were untied.

With her analysis of legal precedent dating to the 1987 Global Climate Protection Act, Ms. Siegel methodically outlined how President Obama could legally circumvent the two-thirds majority in Congress required to ratify a new piece of legislation.

The Clean Air Act authorizes and requires the Environmental Protection Agency to act on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from sources as diverse as cars and large power plants. With this sound legal justification, President Obama could cap harmful greenhouse gasses at a level of his choosing through the use of an executive agreement. Such agreements have been the birth of nearly all international agreements including, notably, NAFTA.

"The choice would only be political," said Ms. Siegel. "He has full legal authority to make a deal here in Copenhagen. When presidents have the political will to get things done, they don't wait for the Senate."

The concurrent release of 'Yes, He Can' by Greenpeace is bound to fuel increasing displeasure among environmentalist who are still waiting for President Obama to deliver on his climate change campaign promises. With a previously little known avenue of action available to the President, bitter climate change realities mix with cautious optimism. This more direct route may have punishing political consequences in the US but as the new Nobel Peace laureate, President Obama's leadership will have an even greater arena in which to triumph.

With so many nations waiting to act until the US expresses its carbon reduction targets, knowing Mr. Obama's hands are not legally tied may catalyze more intense negotiations. As it is, things in the Bella center won't get into high gear until next week, when the heads of state arrive to decide what the world needs to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Like the northern winter sky as seen through the Bella Center's glass ceiling, a bright moment exists in which to act, but it is very, very short.

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Elizabeth Baker is vice president of the Resource Renewal Institute and a delegate to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference with Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai's Greenbelt Movement

President Obama's remarks at the informal high level segment in process now show that he does not appear to be willing to embrace reductions of greenhouse gas emissions that bear the weight of America's historical responsibility. Much remains to be integrated: global North versus South, rich versus poor, and how to verify that mitigation and adaptation actions around the globe are transparent. He urges the importance of measurement and global cooperation and calls for action today. Notably, the 100B climate change financing package will expire if a deal is not made in Copenhagen.

Here's what President Obama did not say: "I will do whatever it takes, in concert with the rest of the world, to keep global mean temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees C. Join the United States of America in reducing emissions below 350 ppm and using forest preservation to avoid nearly 1/5 of total global emissions."

Heads of state continue to speak now...

Click here to watch the climate talks live

While I am out (have to eat sometime!), check out the blow-by-blow here.

The Columbia River salmon v. cheap hydropower battle went to court in late November on a long-standing case, at what Federal Judge James Redden called the most important hearing. This past fall the Obama Administration added additional terms to a biological opinion for managing the river prepared by the Bush Administration. The salmon and steelhead are on the brink of extinction. The fate of such indicator species tells us this important Northwest ecosystem that everyone depends on is failing. Previous biops during the Bush years were thrown out of court for violating the Endangered Species Act by using made-up science, among other missteps. The judge has praise for the current plan but has asked for more briefing. RRI’s report on the Columbia problem is on our home page, www.rri.org.

The European Environment Agency and Microsoft have teamed up to allow interactive viewing of air and bathing water quality throughout Europe via Eye on Earth. The site`s user interface provides interactive information from Europe-wide to street level, based on data from air-quality measurement stations and citizens` input across Europe. It translates scientific data into easily understandable terms. The website is viewable at http://eyeonearth.cloudapp.net/

Netherlands, one of the first Green Plan nations, has enacted legislation to reduce auto emissions and reduce driving time and traffic jams by taxing mileage driven, at 3 cents/kilometer (1 km = .6 mile) beginning in 2012, rising to 6.7 cents by 2018. The tax will be higher during rush hour and for higher polluting vehicles. The transport ministry expects fatal accidents to decrease 7%, carbon emissions by 10%, and kilometers driven by 15%. Autos will be fitted with a GPS device that will send information to a central billing point.