Climate Report Doesn't Convince White House

May 6, 2007 – Vol.12 No.7

CLIMATE REPORT DOESN’T CONVINCE WHITE HOUSE:
SOLID STATE LIGHTING READY TO CUT EMISSIONS ANYWAY.

In response to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), James Connaughton, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, had this to say to Reuters news:

"There are measures (for reducing greenhouse gas emissions) that come currently at an extremely high cost because of the lack of available technology."

Remarking on the IPCC’s findings that reducing emissions could bring cuts in world gross domestic product (GDP) of as much as 3 percent, he then said:

"Well, that would of course cause global recession, so that is something that we probably want to avoid,"

A few questions regarding these statements:

--- Won’t there be a high cost of adapting to climate change, such as moving Australians out of their parched country, or perhaps rebuilding Shanghai on higher ground?

--- Climate skeptics have (for years) been challenging complex computer climate prediction models. But why then are complex computer economic models used by economists so trustworthy? (The joke about economists goes something like this: What do you get when you question 100 economists? A hundred different answers.)

--- If so many companies are currently working on technologies that have the capabilities to make significant cuts in green house gas emissions, how can there be a “lack of available technology”?

For example the following is a short (and most likely incomplete) list of companies working with LEDs that are now offering lighting technologies that can cut energy consumption 70 - 80 percent compared with conventional incandescent bulbs.

(LEDs are only one of dozens technologies already available that can be responsible for significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. LEDs may be costly for now, but economists generally agree that costs drop over time.)

Click away and enjoy.

--- BetaLED http://www.betaled.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- Carmanah Technologies http://www.carmanah.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- Color Kinetics http://www.colorkinetics.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- Cree http://www.cree.com/ (chips/light engines)

--- Cyberlux http://www.cyberlux.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- Holiday Creations http://www.foreverbright.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- iLight Technologies http://www.ilight-tech.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- ilumisys http://www.ilumisys.com/ (lamps)

--- IntenCity Lighting http://www.intencitylighting.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)

--- Lamina Ceramics http://www.laminaceramics.com/ (light engines)

--- Ledlight Group http://www.ledlightgroup.com/ (fixtures/lighting systems)