When we read that the world's largest coal exporter and the world's largest coal consumer have joined forces to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, we couldn't help but think that's like putting ExxonMobil in charge of CAFE standards.

But our incredulity was slightly assuaged as we realized the exporter is Australia, and the negotiations are led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who ousted the previous PM with his promise of signing the Kyoto Protocol.

Rudd already has promised China $24 million to develop clean coal technology and carbon capture and sequestration for Chinese power plants. But "clean coal" is an oxymoron to many people, since even with CCS you still have to mine for it, which doesn't exactly keep the environment pristine. And lots of methane, an even more potent GHG than CO2, is emitted during the mining process.

Maybe Rudd will invite the U.S. to the first official ministerial level talk later this year, considering the U.S. has the world's largest coal reserves and all. Rudd has previously offered to lead discussions between China and the West, and with Japan joining the U.S. in demanding "developing" nations like China be required to reduce emissions along with the industrialized world, he might just get his chance.

Cross-posted from EcoGeek

Today the Senate approved an amendment to the U.S. Housing Bill that will, if passed in the House and signed by President Bush, extend the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for another eight years. Very simply, the ITC gives companies buying solar panels a 30 percent tax break on the money they spend on panels.

The recent energy bill, passed several months ago, initially included the ITC, but Bush threatened to veto any legislation that reduced subsidies for big oil, so it was removed. The more recent bill is unclear about where the money will come from, leading to concerns that it will be vetoed in the House, as it would be adding to the deficit. If it makes it to the president, however, the bill is likely to be signed this time because he can't make the "But it will increase gas prices" claim.

The solar industry continues to fret about the current ITC's scheduled lapse. Many solar energy projects that have begun will not be financially viable without the ITC, and many others are waiting to see if the ITC is passed before being begun. All together, the ITC would cost about $0.50 per year for the next eight years. It would also likely tip the solar industry into profitability, and create a massive rush to invest in solar projects. It really pisses me off that this has taken so long to pass. Already the solar industry is suffering, and we can't even pay for it with Exxon's subsidies. Obviously, they need the help, since they only made $11 billion last quarter.

Via the Solar Energy Industry Association

So it's reached the point where we have to ask: When did Yellowstone cease to be a national park and turn into a 3,400-square-mile zoo?

Pretend for a moment that you are a Yellowstone bison, part of the largest remaining wild herd in the world. It's been a long, hard winter in the high plateau, and you're getting hungry. You can't eat the snow, so you migrate to lower ground in search of food. And then you get shot as soon as you leave the west side of the park in Montana.

That is more-or-less the government's bison management plan these days. Since last fall, officials have killed 1,598 of the animals as they sought food at lower elevations. That's out of a total Yellowstone bison population of 4,700 ... well, make that about 3,000 now.

That's what you get for $16 million, which is what state and federal officials have spent on the management plan since 2002. The plan is aimed at preventing the transmission of the the disease brucellosis from bison to livestock. The disease can cause pregnant cows to abort their calves, though there is not a single documented case of bison-to-cattle transmissions.

This "kill every bison" strategy has caused some to question the long-term viability of the herds. Among them is the Government Accountability Office, which released a report last month criticizing state and federal agencies for not taking promised steps to stem the slaughter. This includes finding an effective brucellosis vaccine.

With the Olympics coming up, China's been getting a lot of flack from the global community for its less than stellar environmental record. There was the marathon runner who dropped out of this year's games because he thought China's air pollution would exacerbate his asthma. Then the U.S. said it was going to bring its own food to keep its athletes safe from insecticides and other chemicals that are found in Chinese food. Teams are even training in Japan or South Korea to ensure their health isn't damaged by the unsafe particulate counts in China's air -- soot that mainly comes from coal power plants.

But now environmentalists have one more reason to hate on China: The 11,000 lbs of C02 being dumped into the atmosphere by flying the Olympic flame from city to city so that people may celebrate the tradition and spirit of the games can try to blow it out and disrupt the relay in protest of the country's human rights record.

China's battle-weary Olympic torch is getting the rock star treatment by having its own private jet transport it to 23 cities, logging over 83,000 miles. The plane is named the Journey of Harmony. Ouch.

Since China has been going as far as to shut down major industries in the provinces around Beijing to improve air quality before the big games, we think they could go the extra mile and plant a few trees or something to offset those carbon emissions. London, which will be hosting the summer Olympics in 2012 already has devised a way to make the Olympic torch parade carbon neutral.

Just to put those 11,000 pounds into perspective, the average American produces about 40,000 lbs of CO2 each year.

New York City and Boston each launched ambitious solar power initiatives yesterday, both of which are going to require a few extra zeros on their initial budgets if they are to be at all meaningful.

In Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino announced a $550,000 initiative to help the city reach its goal of increasing solar energy output fiftyfold by 2015. The "Solar Boston" project is funded by city, state and federal agencies and will initially focus on mapping the city to find the best rooftops for photovoltaic panels.

Boston currently has half a megawatt of solar capacity. We're no experts in solar energy, but we do know it's going to take more than half a million dollars to reach 25 MW in less than seven years.

Meanwhile, fresh off the embarrassing defeat of his congestion pricing plan, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city would solicit proposals from private developers to install and maintain solar panels on city-owned buildings in all five boroughs. Bloomberg's goal, which is part the PlaNYC environmental initiative, is a bit more modest: Deliver 2 MW of solar power to city-owned buildings.

Federal support for the project includes a $200,000 grant and $200,000 in technical support from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Given that panels plus their installation cost more than $8 per watt on average, potential bidders are looking at a $16 million job. And that leaves the city about $15.6 million short at the moment.

There's no need to go out and file an injunction yet, but the Interior Department is considering drilling for oil and gas in the southeast Bering Sea. Unlike other parts of Alaska, a bi-partisan Congressional mandate placed a moratorium on drilling in the Sea after the Exxon Valdez did a number on the South Alaskan coast 19 years ago. But the Bush Administration, with the help of "Bridge To Nowhere" Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, have repealed the ban.

The Bering Sea drilling zone is thought to contain 2.5 billion barrels of oil and 23.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Considering we go through 7.5 billion barrels of oil per year, that would barely get us through the summer driving season. As for the natural gas, 23.3 tfc would not quite cover a year's worth of natural gas consumption -- and this is assuming the estimates are accurate and all of the resources can successfully be pumped out of the seabed.

[Speaking of the Bering Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month he wants to build a 64-mile tunnel that would run under the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. Estimated cost to connect two of the world's most sparsely populated areas: $65 billion -- though maybe they could use some of the oil revenues to pay for it.]

Ironically, local politicians in Alaska are in favor of the drilling, because commercial fishing is becoming less lucrative in the area. Considering offshore drilling is considered to have negative impacts on ecosystems in the vicinity of drilling, we don't exactly see this as a good thing. Sure, with the high and rising prices of fossil fuels, the state (and oil companies) would generate some serious revenue from extraction. But, fossil fuels are non-renewable resources, while fish can make more fish in less than millions of years, making them quite renewable. Defenders of Wildlife argues that the drilling could damage, "one of America's only remaining sustainable marine ecosystems."

If you haven’t been to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, you might not know that many parts of the city outside the French Quarter look as bad today as they did after the flood waters retreated.

Entire blocks are deserted. Houses have collapsed on them themselves and their owners may not ever be coming back or simply can’t afford repairs. And, not surprisingly, most of the remaining problems are in low-income areas. However, much like New York City did after 9/11, New Orleans is rebuilding one brick at a time. Some of the projects even have a green twist to them. On a recent visit, we checked out a few and heard about some others.

The Green Project has been salvaging and deconstructing old houses around New Orleans and selling reusable building materials and fixtures to do-it-yourselfers for years. The organization also sells old paint that it remixes on site, and serves as a drop off for recyclables and unwanted electronics. According to the group’s director, business has picked up since the hurricane, but that included a major hurdle. After the storm, the project’s warehouse headquarters and store was without power for a stretch. Rather than try to secure the building and fight possible looters, the staff let people take what they needed and pay if they pleased.

You’ve got to hand it to Brad Pitt, he doesn’t take his celebrity lying down. Mr. Jolie has played a hands-on role—at least for someone like him—in two sustainable housing projects in New Orleans. The Holy Cross Project, sponsored by Global Green, Pitt and the Home Depot Foundation, comprises five single-family homes, an 18-unit apartment building and a greenway in one of the areas wiped out by a levee break during Katrina. The buildings will be certified LEED Platinum and use 75 percent less energy than conventional homes, and will be sold to local residents at below-cost prices. We checked out one of these homes while it was being built and it was something—all the appliances were Energy Star and hurricane-force wind-proof window.

Thanks to the collection of almost a quarter of a million signatures, Californians will get to vote in November on whether to increase the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard from 33 percent in 2020 to 50 percent in 2025.

Jim Gonzalez, head of Californians for Solar and Clean Energy, started the increased RPS initiative because he didn't think California was doing enough to combat climate change. We don't know if Mr. Gonzalez has cracked a newspaper in the past few years, but California has been pretty active in its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while twisting the federal government's arm as well.

But even in a state as green as California, not everyone is in support of the new standard. Californians Against Another Risky Energy Proposition (can't these groups come up with catchier sounding acronyms than CSCE and CAAREP?) think Gonzalez is asking for too much too soon and his proposal would only result in much higher energy prices. Coal power is already banned for electricity generation both within the state and imported from other states.

We think Mr. Gonzalez, who happens to be a former San Francisco supervisor, is right-on for wanting more electricity generated from renewable sources. After all, if more states had substantial RPSs, then maybe we wouldn't be looking to such extreme measures as extracting oil from tar sands to get more precious hydrocarbon energy. But, we can't help but be reminded of the carnage that almost befell San Francisco in their effort to be environmentally friendly. To our Californian readers, vote carefully in November.