This post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.

Last week, two reports came out that look at how much it will cost to drastically reduce the pollution that causes global warming. Both used economic models to project how the growth rate would change. One used a realistic set of assumptions, and the other stacked the deck with extreme assumptions.

But both of them look at only one half of the real question. They ask “How much will it cost?” (Answer: Surprisingly little). But we also have to ask, “What do we get in return for that investment?”

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

Earth: The Sequel, the new book by EDF President Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn, is filled with interesting facts. Here are ten numbers that may surprise you.

Government Dollars

China spends 200 times more on solar energy than does the U.S., and the U.S. spends six times more on subsidies to the gas and oil industries than it does on renewable energy research. Hmmm…

• $6 billion - Amount the federal government gives to the oil and gas industries each year in subsidies and tax benefits, page 11.
• $1 billion - Amount the federal government spends each year on research into renewable sources of energy (this is less than ExxonMobil earns in a single day), page 11.
• $200 billion - Amount China has committed to invest in utility-scale solar power, page 65.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at Environmental Defense Fund.

There's no longer any serious disagreement about our need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to stop global warming. The debate now is about the best way to go about it. Opponents claim that the cost of adopting a cap-and-trade system would be ruinous to the U.S. economy. Leading economists who have studied the issue say that's wrong.

Now you can decide for yourself. Yale economics professor Robert Repetto synthesized the results of thousands of policy simulations from 25 economic models to identify the seven key assumptions that account for most of the differences in the models' predictions. He then used this information to create a new Web site that allows you to choose your own assumptions.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

On Monday, the Washington Post reported that new studies say carbon output must be near zero to avert danger. They referred to two recent studies, one published in Geophysical Research Letters and one in the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles.

I asked the scientists here at EDF about this. It turns out what's missing from the Washington Post article is the time frame. Yes, we have to bring emissions to near zero, but it doesn't have to be tomorrow. And moreover, this isn't news!

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

In yesterday's post, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp wrote about his new book with Miriam Horn, Earth: The Sequel.

The popular environmental blog Treehugger just published an interview with them about the book and their experiences writing it. They discuss emerging clean energy technology, and give interesting anecdotes about people they met along the way. Here are some excerpts:

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This post is by Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund.

Earth: The Sequel tells the story of an exciting race that is just beginning - the race to develop low-carbon energy in time to turn our greatest environmental crisis into our greatest economic opportunity.

Many people have expressed surprise that I'd write a book like this about a problem so serious. And global warming is serious. With each passing year, scientists get more and more alarmed at the increase and extent of disturbing impacts. But this book is not about the doom and gloom of global warming. In fact, it's just the opposite.

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This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

PG&E Gets Energy From Cow Manure - BioEnergy Solutions has a long-term contract to deliver 3 billion cubic feet per year of pipeline-quality, renewable natural gas to Pacific Gas and Electric - a first in California. The gas is produced from dairy cow manure. Energy Trust in Oregon is working on a similar project.

Framably Pretty Green Living Tips - There are dozens of small things you can do to reduce your carbon foot, and they add up to make a difference. But how do you remember them all? You could tape an ugly old list to the wall (which you'd never look at), or you can print out this colorful diagram. Gristmill describes it as "a Cliff Notes version of climate-friendly lifestyle choices."

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

There's a new book coming out on Monday that explores the hopeful side of global warming. Huh? What's that?

It's called "Earth: The Sequel", written by Fred Krupp (president of EDF) and Miriam Horn, and it's all about emerging technology in the fight to stop global warming. There are trillions of dollars pouring into clean energy solutions, and people are doing such cool things.

You can learn more about the book from an informative video narrated by Fred. You also can pre-order the book from here.

This post is by Sheryl Canter, an Online Writer and Editorial Manager at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Here are a couple of interesting news stories I came across this week:

Risks in Financing Coal. Last month, we posted about how banks are considering the risks in financing coal plants. Seems the federal government is considering the risks, too.  BusinessWeek reports that the federal government is "suspending a major loan program for coal-fired power plants in rural communities, saying the uncertainties of climate change and rising construction costs make the loans too risky."

Act Now or Pay More Later. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued a new report on how much it will cost to fix the environment - including (but not limited to) such problems as global warming. According to the Associated Press, the report says, "We need forward-looking policies today to avoid high costs of inaction or delayed action over the longer term." This agrees with other recent studies on the subject (see the University of Maryland, Tufts University, and McKinsey & Company).

This post is by Nat Keohane, Ph.D., Director of Economic Policy and Analysis at the Environmental Defense Fund.

My February 21 post, CBO Report: The Real Story, caught the attention of the folks at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Last Wednesday, I received a call from Terry Dinan, the senior analyst at CBO who wrote the report. A little while later I got a second call, this time from Peter Orszag, the Director of CBO.

In particular, they didn't like the attention-grabbing paragraph at the top that said:

…a careful reading reveals the report to be a theoretical exercise with no real-world relevance. It highlights the drawbacks of a version of cap-and-trade that no one advocates, and bases its efficiency analysis on a faulty premise.

I stand by what I wrote, as I'll explain in a moment. But a call from the Director of CBO is fairly attention-getting, as well. Moreover, Dinan and Orszag are smart and well-respected economists, and my conversations with them helped to sharpen my own thinking. So I thought I'd explain a couple of points in more detail.

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