Yes, I am all for the Waxman-Markey Climate Change bill, now called the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This is another example of a step in the right direction for Mother Nature and Humankind. It’s also a step that helps open another door to a clean energy economy. But, is this step big enough?

The goal is to reduce our impact on carbon emissions/global warming. It involves fostering more U.S. energy independence with the bonus of assembling clean energy jobs by the millions while saving Americans several hundred billion dollars in energy costs. Woohoo! There are four areas of focus:

1. Creating a clean energy economy that helps protecting American consumers and industry by creating more green jobs
2. Promoting clean electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, renewable sources of energy, and the smart grid and electricity transmission.
3. Increase energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy (i.e., industrial, transportation, construction, equipment/appliances, etc.)
4. Limiting Greenhouse emissions by cutting the U.S. contribution to global warming pollution by 17% compared to 2005 levels in 2020, by 42% in 2030, and by 83% in 2050.

What really gets me is how tame the goals are for the emissions targets. I mean, this is America people…the land of “Go Big or Go Home”. I feel it needs a revision to achieve a higher standard. For example, Sweden’s goal is to free itself from oil by 2020. I know that is not an apples to apples comparison…I just liked how short their timeline is for a significant change.

If you are in the area and want to express your support or concerns…RePower Illinois has organized a panel discussion. Located at the Congregation Beth at 2075 Deerfield Road, Deerfield, IL 60015 on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 7:30pm.

Illinois resident? Feel free to contact Congressman Kirk with your support!

P.S. I also want to be sure that President Obama continues to be a visible player in any activity that acts like this one promote. Another great opportunity for leadership and individuals to do the right thing for the planet.

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Back on April 5th 2009 a “New York City” sized “chunk” of the Wilkins Ice Shelf (in Antarctica) broke off and floated away. That amounts to nearly 270 square miles of ice that dispersed.

However, don’t panic…this ice came from ice shelves that were already floating in the ocean (sea ice). That means the ice was already displacing the water. You should NOT expect the volume of water that this large amount of sea ice contains to make any substantial impact in rising sea levels.

Discover more: a few ice cubes and place them in an empty glass. Fill it to a desired level and mark the water level with tape or a marker. Wait for the ice to melt. And, bingo…that is a crude example of what generally takes place in the above event.

So, what are the greatest influences of rising ocean water levels? I am so glad you asked.

1. The retreat (melting) of land ice (glaciers) and
2. Thermal Expansion (water takes up more space as it gets warmer).

P.S. the impact this has on changing the ocean’s salinity is a good topic for another time.

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