Reuters : Erupting Indonesian Volcano Threatens More Villages

Reuters : Erupting Indonesian Volcano Threatens More Villages

Saut Simatupang, the head of Indonesia's Vulcanology Survey, said that lava had already spread more than 1.5 km (1 mile) down Mount Karangetang's western and southeastern slopes, where more than a dozen villages are located.

The volcano, on the diving resort island of Siau off Sulawesi and 2,325 km (1,445 miles) northeast of the capital Jakarta, is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes.
"We've recorded volcanic tremors that indicates more lava will climb to the crater's surface," Simatupang said by telephone from his office in the city of Bandung.
"At least four more villages on the western slope are at risk of being swallowed by lava."
District chief Idrus Mokodompit said another hundred people have left their homes to join nearly 600 people who have already sought refuge in the nearest town.
"The villagers are not allowed to return to their homes until the government lowers the volcano's alert status," Mokodompit said by telephone.
The alert status on the 1,827 metre (5,994 feet) volcano was raised to maximum at the weekend after hot clouds started moving eastwards, posing a threat to hundreds of people.
Another volcano 175 km (110 miles) south of Mount Karangetang has also been spewing ash and sending debris down its slopes.
But Mount Soputan, which lies on the northern tip of the Sulawesi island, is not yet seen as a threat to nearby villages.
Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes of any country, sitting on a belt of intense volcanic and seismic activity known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".

http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43860/newsDate/22-Aug-2007/story.htm


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ROLAC MEDIA UPDATE

21 August 2007
www.tierramerica.net

LATIN AMERICA ; Debate on Climate Change Risk and Adaptation
MONTEVIDEO, Aug 20 (Tierramérica).- Coordinating efforts to confront the usual threats from the weather and finding ways to adapt to climate change were among the purposes of a Latin American workshop organized in the Uruguayan capital by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

"There were different agendas in the community of climate risk management and the community of climate change adaptation," even within each country, so they needed to seek common ground, Rafael Bernardi, head of environment for the UNDP, told Tierramérica.

Emphasis was on the use of DIVA (Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assessment) to be applied in coastal areas, he said.

The Latin American workshop "Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change and Climate Risk Management", held Aug. 13-17, drew some 60 participants from UNDP, the UN Environment Program, regional experts and national officials.

General Environment News

By Mike De Souza and Linda Nguyen

The Vancouver Sun

An overwhelming majority of Canadians are worried about how pollution and other environmental perils at home and abroad are hurting their health, says a poll released today.

The survey, done for the Canadian Medical Association as part of its annual report card on health care, showed one in four Canadians have sought medical treatment for a problem they believe was caused by the environment, ranging from asthma to skin cancer.

The poll was released on the second day of the Canadian Medical Association conference, being held from Sunday to Wednesday in Vancouver. About 250 doctors are attending the 140th annual event.

On Sunday, Dr. Ray Copes, director of the environmental health division for the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, told the conference that physicians have an "individual and collective responsibility" to keep patients informed about environmental health hazards. "Doctors are regarded by the public as a reliable source, if not the most reliable source, of information on the effects of the environment on human health," he said.

Copes said physicians need to be educated about how environmental factors, such as polluted air and food, can affect health. He also called for a universal curriculum in medical schools to educate doctors about how global warming can affect patients' health.

The poll, surveying 1,001 Canadian adults between June 19 and June 29, found respondents' highest level of concern was about environmental standards in other countries, with 88 per cent either somewhat or very concerned about their effect on imported fruits and vegetables.

Climate change and its impact on health was a concern for 81 per cent of respondents, while 82 per cent said they were specifically concerned about the "potential for climate change to encourage the spread of disease."

There were similar levels of concern about pesticides (75 per cent), air pollution (79 per cent), soil contamination (73 per cent), and water quality (71 per cent).

The poll is considered accurate within 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. It also found a majority of Canadians have taken personal steps to improve the environment, such as recycling and energy conservation, and to protect themselves from dangers, such as use of sunblock.

CMA president Dr. Colin McMillan said a strong link between health and environment is firmly established in the public mind and in the medical community, which is seeing more emergency room visits and hospitalizations for health problems directly related to environmental factors.

The survey showed Canadians count on their family doctors more than any other source for information about environment and health. An example cited was the presence of mercury in fish.

"The fact that our patients are concerned means that Canada's physicians are concerned and we will be looking for more ways to educate and help Canadians offset and manage environmental health effects," he said in a prepared statement. Some of the links between health and environmental issues remain complex and controversial, he noted in an interview. He cited the example of his home province of Prince Edward Island, which has the highest rate in Canada of asthma among children and adolescents.

"As far as finding a link exactly as to what's causing it and therefore giving you some way to treat it, other than infections and dealing with complications of infections, we've not come up with an awful lot," McMillan said. "It is quite controversial. I know a lot of the families and a lot of the patients think there's a link with the use of pesticides but so far scientists and public health officials have not been able to establish that."

The survey said 83 per cent of respondents reported they had changed their lifestyle to reduce their environmental footprint through activities such as recycling. And 65 per cent had acted to protect their own health from environmental danger by using sunscreen, buying organic products and so on.

While environment eclipsed health care as a priority issue deserving government attention in last year's survey, this poll gave health and environment equal weight. Twenty nine per cent said those are the issues that Canada's leaders should be devoting the most attention to.

While this is higher than the 10 per cent of people who listed the environment as a priority in August 2006, it's significantly down from February 2007, when it was at 48 per cent.

Canadians continued to blame their government for not doing enough to address environmental concerns. Only 36 per cent of respondents gave the federal government an "A" or "B" grade for its efforts and policies, while approval ratings for provincial governments were slightly higher at 46 per cent.

By contrast, an "A" or "B" grade was given by 84 per cent to their own family's efforts and 70 per cent to efforts of people who lived in their neighbourhood.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=398095d8-e0cf-4e1f-a3ee-0aebb5d18938&k=40922

Going green is a hot business trend. Here are practical ways to conserve.

By Narasu Rebbapragada

The Washington Post

Chances are, you're not ready to compost in the office kitchen or turn off all the lights. "Greening" your computing equipment, though, is a low-risk way for your business to not only help the environment but also reduce costs. It's also one of the hottest trends in business today.

"You want to be seen as a leader and not a laggard," says Nik Kaestner, the founder ofGreen Squared Consulting, which advises companies on being environmentally aware.

Reducing energy usage, which also reduces carbon dioxide emissions and your energy bill, is the most effective thing you can do. The average PC wastes about half the energy provided to it, according to theClimate Savers Computing Initiative, an industry group dedicated to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Encourage employees to shut down their PCs, or put them into sleep mode, when not working on them. Kaestner recommends using a smart power strip such as Smart Home Systems' $42 LCG4, which can tell when you've shut down your PC and turn off peripherals that are plugged into the computer.

You should replace older equipment with products that are Energy Star 4.0 certified. The new 4.0 standard, which went into effect in July, limits the energy a PC can use in sleep and idle modes and requires the use of an internal power supply that is 80 percent efficient. Dell's Energy Calculator compares the amount of electricity used by its Energy Star 4.0-rated OptiPlex 745 desktop PCs with a 17-inch LCD monitor and enabled power-management settings against that of a non-power-managed OptiPlex GX620 with a 17-inch CRT. Dell says using a rated OptiPlex 745 can save $70 and 0.56 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Energy Star's savings calculator reports more modest Electricity-cost savings of $2 per computer annually with an Energy Star-rated desktop instead of a nonrated one.

One step further: Buy a product registered byEPEAT, a database of desktops, laptops, and computer monitors that meet three levels (bronze, silver, and gold) of environmental performance criteria defined by the IEEE 1680 specification. Four of the 51 criteria address energy conservation (including Energy Star certification). Other criteria categories include reduction of toxic substances, use of recycled materials, and corporate policy. In June, HP announced the first product to meet the stringent EPEAT gold standard; HP says that this model, called the rp5700 Long Lifecycle Business Desktop PC, is Energy Star 4.0 certified, has a five-year life cycle, and is constructed with 95 percent recycled components.

You can also buy other equipment that uses fewer toxic materials and more recycled components. Many new electronics sold in the United States already meet the European Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS), a standard banning the general use of six hazardous substances including lead and mercury, and many manufacturers are committed to further reducing use of toxic substances. But finding products with large amounts of recycled materials is difficult, largely due to the low supply of nontoxic materials.

"Availability of materials is the biggest challenge," says Carl Eckersley, manager of product stewardship in HP's PC group. Finding consistent quantities of engineering-grade plastics that don't contain toxins such as brominated fire retardants is difficult, he says.

Recycling your old equipment is another important action to take. Companies such asCalifornia's Green Citizenwill responsibly dismantle and recycle electronics for a fee (and for some products the service is free), while theRechargeable Battery Recycling Corporationhas a program that will perform the same service for used rechargeable batteries at no cost.

While you're waiting to replace your more expensive equipment, you can reduce paper use by printing double-sided pages, and you can purchase refillable printer-ink cartridges. Small steps, but taken in large measure, they can lead to a cleaner planet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082100021.html

By John Sibley

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Global warming and climate change will move to the front burner in Georgia today in a hearing before the state House Energy, Utilities, and Telecommunications Committee. A vigorous public discussion is overdue.

In three reports issued this year (the work of more than 2,500 scientific experts), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that the Earth is warming at a rate that cannot be explained by natural cycles, that human activities (particularly the release of CO2 into the atmosphere) are a major cause, and that the possibility of severe consequences is real. Georgia should care. As a coastal state, risks such as sea level rise and intensified tropical storms should be important to us. As an agricultural state, so should the possibility of new extremes of temperature and drought.

There is a growing business consensus that this scientific analysis supports action now. The Business Roundtable is an association of chief executives whose companies represent nearly a third of the total value of U.S. stock markets. The Roundtable has adopted a formal position which states: "Because the consequences of global warming for society and ecosystems are potentially serious and far-reaching, steps to address the risks of such warming are prudent now, even while the science continues to evolve."

General Electric and other leading businesses have gone further and joined with nonprofits to propose action steps. The Climate Action Partnership has called for a national cap and trade system to regulate CO2 emissions. This group also includes BP, DuPont and Alcoa, as well as our neighboring utilities Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News, has gone further with a personal commitment that his businesses will become climate neutral. In a recent speech, he stated his reason plainly. "I am no scientist. But I do know how to assess a risk --- and this one is clear. Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction."

Given this weight of scientific analysis and business leadership, let's not allow the discussion in Georgia to be skewed by a well-oiled effort that Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.) have called the "denial community." In a letter last year, the senators called upon Exxon Mobil to stop funding this "small, but influential, group of climate skeptics." The press release for today's Atlanta hearing announces four participants. News reports place three of them, Joel Schwartz, Patrick Michaels, and John Christy, among the organized skeptics.

For example, Schwartz will represent the American Enterprise Institute, which has been a principal beneficiary of the Exxon Mobil funding and is vice chaired by the company's immediate past chairman. A recent Newsweek article about the "denial machine" features Michaels and states: "The coal industry's Western Fuels Association paid Michaels to produce a newsletter called World Climate Report, which has regularly trashed mainstream climate science." Michaels and Schwartz joined together with other skeptics in filing an unsuccessful brief in the U. S. Supreme Court opposing the regulation of CO2 as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. Christy is a contributor to "Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths," a publication of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, another principal beneficiary of Exxon Mobil's funding.

The other participant announced in the press release is Robert Dickinson, a Georgia Tech professor well-known for his work on climate modeling, but he is not our only local talent before the committee. For example, other scientists at Georgia Tech have advised Florida on the risks in that state, particularly the possibility of more intense hurricanes.

It will be important to the success of the public conversation for the committee to be sure that the overwhelming weight of scientific analysis --- as typified by the IPCC reports --- is fully and fairly presented. The well-organized deniers certainly have a point of view to add, but they should be recognized for whom they are and not treated as if they represent the mainstream. It appears that this first hearing is heavily overweighted in their favor.

* John Sibley directed the Growth Strategies Commission under former Gov. Joe Frank Harris and was president of the Georgia Conservancy for seven years.

Ecosphere Announces Sale Of First Ozonix Water Filtration System To Louisiana Clean Energy Group;

Ecosphere Technologies Enters the Produced Water Treatment Business in the Petroleum Industry

By Stuart Fla.

Business Wire

Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. (OTC BB: ESPH), a provider of technologies that solve business and environmental challenges, announced today it has signed a binding letter of intent to sell the first Ozonix containerized water treatment system to the oil and gas exploration industry. The purchasing entity is Ecosphere Energy Services, a Louisiana LLC. Ecosphere Technologies Inc. is a one-third owner of the newly formed petroleum services group. The Ecosphere Ozonix process will be used to filter and separate produced water generated in the oil and gas exploration business to acceptable levels to re-introduce back into the oil production process to lower costs, minimize water usage, and eventual discharge back to the environment.

Dennis McGuire, CEO stated "This year, the world's oil and gas fields will produce over 85 billion barrels of water needing processing. The average is now almost nine barrels of produced water for each barrel of oil extracted and the ratio of water to hydrocarbons increases over time as wells become older. That means less oil or gas and more contaminated water as we attempt to meet rising global energy needs. Our patent pending Ozonix process is capable of treating this wastewater far more cost effectively than present methods. Our past experience of moving men and containerized equipment around the world to perform a service fits very nicely with this new opportunity for Ecosphere. The Ozonix systems will be placed at rig sites and rented on a daily basis to provide a non-chemical, cost effective method to treat the drilling wastewaters to a level that will be clean enough to discharge back into the environment. Our Ozonix process eliminates the high cost of transportation that the oil and gas companies are presently incurring. We are able to reduce the cost of each gallon of oil and gas that is produced and at the same time providing recurring revenue for our innovative Ozonix technology. Everyone profits, including the environment. "

Worldwide, oil and gas companies spend more than $40 billion annually dealing with produced water from wells. The global direct costs from hauling water for treatment off-site alone will surpass $20 billion in 2007, with expenses skyrocketing in the next few years. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has called produced water "by far the largest single volume byproduct or waste stream associated with oil and gas production." The DOE further terms its treatment a serious environmental concern and a significantly growing expense to oil and gas producers.

James Lewis of Ecosphere Energy Services commented. " Our initial testing of the Ozonix process on the drilling mud's and salt brine produced water that we shipped to Ecosphere's headquarters proved to be most promising. It was so impressive that we have ordered the first of what we feel will become a revolutionary technology for the oil and gas industries to treat produced waters. The partnership we have formed with Dynamic Energy Services and Ecosphere Technologies will give us the technology we need and the proven experience of an oil field services company to properly service this market."

"From both a cost and an environmental standpoint, the produced water problem is reaching a crisis level," notes Dr. Kent Moors, the internationally recognized oil authority serving as an advisor to Ecosphere on the project. "The Ozonix process is a revolutionary approach to the problem. Applications at the wellhead would cut billions of dollars from the rising price of oil products, extend the life of fields and increase the extraction rate per well," Dr. Moors observes.

The environmental benefits are even more significant. "Replacing current practices with the Ozonix process does more than meet minimum federal standards. It is nothing less than reversing field use patterns to provide genuinely enhanced environmental protection. The single fastest growing segment of the entire oil/gas industry is the field services sector and the Ecosphere Ozonix process is central to this entire sector. This technology is likely to have a major impact on the continued profitability of numerous fields worldwide. " Dr. Moors says, 'It is a truly extraordinary opportunity," Dr. Moors concludes. "The Ecosphere Ozonix process will both improve a producer's bottom line and provide enhanced stewardship to the environment. When is the last time we talked about both of these at the same time?"

One of Ecosphere Energy Services' partners, Dynamic Energy Services, is an experienced oilfield services operator and will handle day-to-day operations. Ecosphere is licensing the Ozonix process to Ecosphere Energy Services which will maintain exclusivity if it purchases 10 systems per year from Ecosphere. In addition, Ecosphere will share in the profits from the daily rentals of the Ozonix systems.

About Ecosphere Technologies:

Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. (ESPH) develops and commercializes water and renewable energy technologies. Since it was founded in 1998, Ecosphere's mission has been to bring clean technologies to commercial reality. Ecosphere's products have been successfully licensed and commercialized by major corporations and have been used in several large-scale and sustainable applications across industries, nations and ecosystems. Ecosphere holds an extensive patent portfolio of clean air and water technologies. For more information, please visit:www.ecospheretech.com.

About Dr. Kent Moors

Dr. Kent Moors is an internationally recognized expert in global risk management, oil/natural gas policy and finance, cross-border capital flows, emerging market economic and fiscal development, political, financial and market risk assessment, as well as new techniques in energy risk management. He has been an advisor to the highest levels of the US, Russian, Kazakh, Bahamian, Iraqi and Kurdish governments, a consultant to private companies, financial institutions and law firms in 21 countries and has appeared over 700 times as a featured television and radio commentator in North America, Europe and Russia-including ABC, BBC, Bloomberg TV, CBS, CNN, NBC and Russian RTV.

His clients have included six of the world's top ten oil companies as well as leading oil and natural gas producers throughout Russia, the Caspian Basin, the Persian Gulf and North Africa, Asea Brown Boveri, AT&T, the Bank of England, the Caribbean Business Enterprise Trust, Citicorp, Control Data, Deutsche Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the Russian Central Bank and Westinghouse, as well as major transnational banks, investment firms and holding companies. Dr. Moors has 29 years experience in international consulting.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"), including, but not limited to the benefits of the Ozonix process and the future revenues to be paid to Ecosphere.Additionally, words such as "seek," "intend," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "anticipate" and other similar expressions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act. Some or all of the events or results anticipated by these forward- looking statements may not occur. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the ability of the Ozonix system to operate on a real time basis, the ability to provide the intended cost savings and environmental benefits and the usual risks in obtaining a patent. Further information on the Company's risk factors is contained in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the prospectus filed February 1, 2007, the Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 200 and the Form 10-QSB filed August 14, 2007.6. Ecosphere does not undertake any duty nor does it intend to update the results of these forward-looking statements.

Democrats in Congress turn to lower-profile projects to combat global warming and aim to boost funding 33%.

By Richard Simon

Los Angeles Times

Reflecting a shift in priorities under the Democratic majority, Congress is moving to spend as much as $6.7 billion next fiscal year to combat global warming, an increase of nearly one-third from the current year.

House appropriations bills call for about $2 billion in new spending on initiatives aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and oil dependency, significantly expanding the budgets for numerous federal research initiatives and launching some new ones.

While legislation to raise vehicle miles-per-gallon standards and cap emissions from power plants has been slower moving -- because of resistance from some lawmakers -- Democrats have turned to the budget to advance their environmental priorities by increasing spending on a variety of lower-profile programs.

That is likely to set up a showdown this fall between Congress and President Bush, who wants to spend less on climate-change initiatives. The White House budget office, which has criticized excessive spending in the overall appropriations bills, noted that the president's proposed budget provides for a 3% increase in spending for climate-change activities.

"Congress is putting its money where its mouth is," said Lowell Ungar, senior policy analyst at the Alliance to Save Energy, a Washington coalition of business, consumer, environmental and government leaders. "They are devoting real resources to trying to address the problem of climate change."

Lawmakers from both parties also see the public's heightened interest in climate change and energy security as an opportunity to steer federal money to their states through earmarks billed as environmentally friendly.

Money has been set aside for scores of home-state research initiatives and construction projects, including $1 million for a plug-in hybrid vehicle demonstration project at Southern California's South Coast Air Quality Management District.

"Green is becoming very fashionable," said Rep. David L. Hobson (R-Ohio), a senior appropriator who secured $500,000 for a geothermal demonstration project. "I think members are going to be challenged in their district" about how they are responding to concerns about climate change and U.S. dependence on foreign oil, he said.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), for example, got $500,000 for a fuel-cell project by Superprotonic, a Pasadena company started by Caltech scientists. "America needs to wean itself off of foreign oil," Schiff said in a statement. "This is as much a national security imperative as it is an environmental one. And federal support for innovative new technologies is part of the answer."

Early this year, Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee asked scientists how government efforts could be cranked up to combat global warming and reduce oil use. "The question then became: How do we get the biggest bang for our buck?" said Kirstin Brost, spokeswoman for committee Chairman David R. Obey (D-Wis.) "We've only accomplished a small first step, but it is a step in the right direction."

Environmental initiatives are scattered throughout the 12 House appropriations bills for the federal fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Kei Koizumi, research and development policy program director of the American Assn. for the Advancement of Science, said money for addressing climate change had been added "even in areas where you might not expect to find it."

The bill funding foreign-aid programs calls on the U.S. Export-Import Bank to increase investment in renewable energy projects -- a provision that its sponsors, Schiff and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), say could lead to about $1 billion in additional green exports in 2008.

The bill funding the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires it to incorporate "robust green building" standards.

And the bill funding Congress provides $3.9 million to the Green the Capitol initiative that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is pushing to make the House carbon neutral by the end of next year.

Some of the largest increases are in the bill that funds the Department of Energy.

The House provided about $1.9 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, about 52% more than the administration requested. Just two years ago under the Republican-controlled Congress, the programs received about $1.2 billion.

The Senate has yet to complete its spending bills, but its appropriations committee has recommended about $1.7 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

The House energy appropriations bill also provides $44 million to promote geothermal energy, a ninefold increase compared with current spending. The Bush administration, on the other hand, has proposed doing away with spending on the geothermal energy program, contending that it is a mature industry.

Environmentalists welcome the increased spending but say more pollution regulation is crucial. "Those spending measures are no substitute for better fuel-economy standards and tough caps on greenhouse gas emissions," said Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch.

The Senate has approved a bill calling for the first significant increase in vehicle fuel-economy standards in years, and the House has approved a bill establishing the first nationwide requirement for utilities to generate more electricity from cleaner energy sources, such as the sun and wind. When Congress returns from its August recess, House-Senate negotiators will try to work out differences between the two energy bills.

This fall, Congress is also expected to consider legislation that would cap emissions from power plants and other sources.

In addition to the appropriations bills, the House and Senate energy bills would authorize billions of dollars in additional spending. Among the measures: establishing a program to train workers for "green-collar jobs," such as solar-panel installers, and creating a $1-billion foreign aid program to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The House energy bill also includes tax credits that would help state and local governments finance $6 billion in bonds for green projects. Of that, California could get $720 million.

Republicans have derided the bond program as "green pork." Some of the other initiatives, including a new Office on Global Climate Change within the State Department, also have drawn scorn.

Rep. Donald Manzullo of Illinois, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that deals with the global environment, said that the House energy bill "grows the size and scope of the federal government" and "ignores all that our government is doing in the area of climate change."

Some of the new projects are the result of unusual alliances between lawmakers looking out for home-state interests and those seeking to reduce pollution. Coal-country lawmakers have been among the strongest supporters of increased funding for projects to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, seeing it as a way to preserve the coal industry.

Increased concern about global warming also has given rise to a fresh approach to landing federal funds for home-state projects -- green earmarks.

Businesses have also reacted. "Lobbyists are crawling out of the woodwork to say their idea is good for global warming," said Clean Air Watch's O'Donnell.

Critics of earmarks say some of these projects may be worthy, including new energy research initiatives, but others are merely classic pork-barrel spending, particularly construction projects that have been touted to Congress as green.

"For many lawmakers, global warming is more than just an issue. It's an opportunity to send more tax dollars to their pet parochial projects," said Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group.

Citizens Against Government Waste singled out for particular criticism the $150,000 secured by Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) to buy a solar-powered house for the Troy Chamber of Commerce. Knollenberg spokesman Trent Wisecup said the house, being built by students from Lawrence Technological University, would be put on display to show ways to reduce carbon emissions.

"I don't think it's pork," Wisecup said.

"I think it's actually a great example of how a local university is working with engineering kids to do something that shows how they can protect the environment."

richard.simon@latimes.com

Spending bills

Here is a look at some of the environmental and energy spending contained in fiscal 2008 House appropriations bills:

Interior and environment: Boosts spending for climate-change research by more than half, to $264 million. Includes $50 million to create a climate change commission to study and recommend initiatives and $2 million for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.

Energy and water: Provides $1.9 billion for the Energy Department's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Includes $200 million for solar energy and $235 million for vehicle technologies. Also provides $150 million -- about $20 million more than the president's request -- for climate-change research.

Commerce, justice and science: Allocates nearly $1.9 billion -- $164 million more than the president's request -- to address climate change. Includes $10 million for a "global-warming reduction incentive program" and $10 million for climate-change education.

Transportation, housing and urban development: Directs Housing and Urban Development to incorporate "robust green building" standards in housing programs.

State and foreign operations: Encourages the U.S. Export-Import Bank to increase investment in renewable energy projects.

Legislative branch: Contains $3.9 million for the Green the Capitol initiative, including $2.7 million to shift from coal to natural gas for heat, and $100,000 to install more energy-efficient lightbulbs.

Source: House Appropriations Committee