• Colorado Business - The Denver Post
  Sterling-Rice Group, a Boulder- based brand and marketing-communications firm, announced it has purchased 339,300 kilowatt hours of renewable-energy credits generated by wind farms across America.
  (tags: renewables credits business Boulder)

This week the Boulder-based marketing communications firm Sterling Rice Group announced that it’s offsetting 100% of its electricity use by purchasing renewable energy credits (RECs) from Renewable Choice Energy, also based in Boulder.

RECs are a popular way for people and organizations to shrink their carbon footprint. One reason why RECs (and a similar kind of offering, carbon offsets, which help fund other kinds of projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions) are popular is that all the buyer has to do is write a check. That’s certainly much easier and faster than trying to make your home or building more energy efficient, or rearranging your life so you can drive less. And if these programs are properly audited (for instance, Green-E certifies the RECs sold by Renewable Energy Choice), chances are good that buyers’ dollars are yielding measurable greenhouse gas reductions.

Still, some people question whether buying RECs and carbon offsets are the best use of the money people want to spend to help mitigate climate change.

Here are some issues commonly raised by critics of RECs and carbon offsets…
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• Senate Begins Largely Symbolic Climate-Change Debate || Wired.com
  “[E]even among the pro-pricing carbon camp, there is plenty of room for squabbling about the details. There are two basic camps: cap-and-traders and taxers. … Carbon tax proponents, like Wired Mag, argue that a simple tax “would eliminate three classes
  (tags: carbon+tax senate climate+change carbon+emissions cap+trade global+warming)
• Senate Opens Debate on Politically Risky Bill Addressing Global Warming - NYTimes.com
  The Senate on Monday opened a raucous debate over climate change legislation even though it will put supporters of the bill, including all three presidential candidates, on the spot — essentially forcing them to come out in favor of high energy costs at
  (tags: senate carbon+emissions carbon+trading cap+trade global+warming climate+change)

• McCain on climate change || Seattle PI
  Like the D’s, McCain is calling for a cap-and-trade system restriction emissions and allowing polluters to trade their credits, though it’s not clear how much of industry would be covered by McCain’s plan, or how those credits would be allocated.
  (tags: McCain president campaign climate+change global+warming cap+trade greenhouse+gases carbon+emissions)
• McCain Differs With Bush on Climate Change || New York Times
  The senator’s remarks were a clear criticism of Mr. Bush, who in his first term questioned the scientific basis for global warming and who has remained opposed to mandatory caps on emissions, which he says would be bad for the American economy.
  (tags: McCain president campaign carbon+trading cap+trade global+warming greenhouse+gases climate+change economics)
• McCain Breaks with Bush on Climate Change | | washingtonpost.com
  Key differences remain between McCain and the Democrats on climate change — several of which the senator outlined in his talk.
  (tags: McCain president campaign global+warming climate+change greenhouse+gases carbon+emissions carbon+trading cap+trade democrats)
• Ediorial: The Post-Bush Climate || New York Times
  We have clearly entered the post-Bush era of policy and politics on climate change. However this election turns out, the United States will have a president who supports mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases. It is possible to begin to believe in the prospec
  (tags: McCain president campaign global+warming carbon+emissions greenhouse+gases carbon+trading cap+trade Congress)

• Poll suggests clear majority of Canadians support carbon tax || 660News Calgary
  A new poll suggests most Canadians support the idea of a carbon tax - but an overwhelming majority favour the broader principle of using the tax system to punish or reward environmental behaviour.
  (tags: canada climate+change carbon+tax global+warming)
• Senate honors Colo. scientists after debating global warming || Examiner.com
  A state Senate resolution honoring the Colorado scientists who shared in last year’s Nobel Peace Prize has turned into a debate on global warming.
  (tags: global+warming climate+change nobel colorado)
• A war on American families || Colorado Daily, Boulder, CO
  Commentator Tim Thomas, in a piece on rising gas prices and global warming, writes: “Let’s face it, the real answer to curtailing vehicle emissions lies with the development and mass production of electric and hydrogen powered vehicles.”
  (tags: global+warming climate+change fuel+efficiency electric+cars hydrogen+cars greenhouse+gases carbon+emissions)
• The Tax Trickery Spreads || New York Times
  A New York Times editorial calls a proposed gas tax holiday political “pandering” and says “Americans must find ways to curb their use of fossil fuels. That will require higher, not lower, prices for gas — even during a presidential campaign.”
  (tags: gasoline+tax president campaign clinton Obama global+warming greenhouse+gases carbon+emissions fossil+fuels)
• Aspen: Cops test hybrid patrol car || Vail Colorado
  Since mid-March, police officers in Aspen have been testing a hybrid patrol car as a way to do their part for the city of Aspen’s Canary Initiative, an attempt to reduce the city’s carbon footprint and minimize effects on the environment.
  (tags: hybrid+cars Colorado aspen Canary+Initiative greenhouse+gases carbon+emissions carbon+footprint climate+change global+warming)

• Cap-and-trade system has too much room for abuse | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
  Houston Chronicle business columnist Loren Steffy, takes issue with a new carbon cap-and-trade system, which he says have an “Enron-y feel.” He adds: “[W]e don’t need incentives, we need mandates. That means a carbon tax.”
  (tags: carbon+tax cap+trade Green+Exchange global+warming climate+change)
• Editorial: “Energy Economics” || Los Angeles Times
  An L..A. Times editorial uses the example of ethanol, which it calls a “textbook demonstration of why government shouldn’t try to pick winning and losing technologies,” as a case for using market-based incentives to find better energy options, rather than
  (tags: carbon+tax carbon+emissions global+warming climate+change)
• Editorial: “The Gas-Guzzler Gambit” || New York Times
  The NY Times editorial page slams a campaign proposal to lift the gas tax: “Senators John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton have hit on a new way to pander to American voters: a temporary suspension of the federal gasoline tax between Memorial Day and Lab
  (tags: gasoline+tax energy global+warming carbon+emissions)

• City of Boulder recognizes 17 participants in the ClimateSmart at Work program
  “17 Boulder businesses have been provided free and low-cost energy assessments in the first quarter of 2008. “
  (tags: Boulder municipal audit energy business commercial)

At Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker, we’re continuing to experiment with ways in which residents interested in climate change issues might take part in an online conversation about how well the city’s program to fight global warming is working.

When we saw that many users seemed daunted by the prospect of becoming regular guest contributors to our group weblog, we launched a series of online forums to lower the hurdles, making it simple to take part by the tried-and-true means of one-off comments on our various forums.

Now we’ve tweaked our approach again.

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• 18 states commit to take action on climate change || The Associated Press
  Eighteen states, including Colorado, signed a declaration committing themselves to action together.
  (tags: states Colorado climate+change global+warming)
• Governors Convene At Yale To Fight Global Warming || Courant.com
  The central theme of the conference was that states have moved far out in front on the issue, and the federal government needs to work with them when developing climate policy.
  (tags: states climate+change global+warming governors)
• Bay Area businesses may pay fee for emissions || SFGate
  Thousands of Bay Area businesses are poised to pay some of the nation’s first fees tied to greenhouse gas emissions under a plan proposed by regional air pollution regulators.
  (tags: San+Francisco Bay+Area+Air+Quality+Management+District carbon+fees greenhouse+gases)
• Simple + Green || Greenhouse Gases in the Bay Area
  The Simple + Green blog reports on greenhouse gas fees soon to be be paid by Bay Area businesses, but notes that Boulder, Colo., was ahead of the curve with its carbon tax.
  (tags: Colorado Boulder carbon+tax carbon+fees San+Francisco Bay+Area+Air+Quality+Management+District)
• Deseret News | Warming could push Colorado to historic low
  The Colorado River may shrink in this century to its lowest level in at least 500 years because of global warming, threatening water supplies in seven states, including Colorado.
  (tags: Colorado+River Colorado global+warming water)
• Dingell withdraws idea of carbon tax || Friedman Libertarian - TheHill.com
  House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) said that he is no longer contemplating a “carbon tax” as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  (tags: carbon+tax Congress Dingell greenhouse+gases global+warming climate+change)
• Our Favorite Planet - New York Times
  “The next president should start a $20 billion-a-year program (financed by a pullout from Iraq) to develop new energy technologies, backed by a carbon tax and cap-and-trade system.”
  (tags: carbon+tax cap+trade president energy+efficiency)
• GreenBiz News | Businesses Should Consider Climate Risks: Report
  A recently released Pew Center report delves into how businesses can adapt to the physical effects of climate change.
  (tags: climate+change global+warming business Pew+Center)

• Beijing Looks to ‘Green’ Buildings to Cut Emissions || NPR
  One way China is trying to reach ambitious global warming reduction goals is by focusing on its buildings. A nine-story, modern-looking office building in Beijing is one example.
  (tags: buildings China energy+efficiency global+warming)
• Canadian communities riding green wave of change || Canada.com
  While the federal government dithers on the country’s climate-change strategy, the City of Toronto has pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent in five years, 30 per cent in the next 13 years and 80 per cent by 2050.
  (tags: canada carbon+emissions Toronto)
• Steamboat may join carbon-offset program || Associated Press
  Steamboat Springs may join a new state program designed help to Coloradans buy carbon offsets to counter greenhouse-gas pollution, and to make sure they really get what they pay for.
  (tags: Colorado carbon+offsets Colorado+Carbon+Fund)
• ColoradoBiz Magazine
  More background on the Xcel Energy Smart Grid project, which is being piloted in Boulder.
  (tags: utility electricity power+grid Xcel Boulder smart+grid)
• ConocoPhillips exec sees big future for Louisville site (ColoradoBiz Magazine)
  Looks like Conoco Phillips is going to use the old StorageTek site in Louisville to perpetuate the fossil fuel business: “extraction methods for heavy oil (i.e., tar sands); new coal technology; seismic imaging of reservoirs; carbon-capture & storage.”
  (tags: Louisville Colorado Conoco oil coal research carbon+capture industry business)