EPA Allows CA to Set Federal Emissions Standards

The Environmental Protection Agency announced it will allow California to set its own emissions standards for motor vehicles, which are stricter than current federal standards. California's standards match President Obama's May proposal for the auto industry, in which motor vehicles would have to meet an average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

Allowing California to set the standard is a reversal of the Bush Administration's policy. According to a provision in the original Clean Air Act, California could potentially adopt its own standards, which other states were free to follow. But when the state developed its own plan to curb emissions in 2004, it was met with roadblock after roadblock by the Bush Administration and the automobile industry. The EPA under Bush claimed California failed to demonstrate "compelling and extraordinary conditions" warranting the adoption of standards beyond the federal government's.

Obama's EPA revisited the request. California has agreed not to toughen the new standards before 2017, and the federal government plans to adopt the state's standards for the entire country. Although some skeptics remain, environmentalists as well as politicians nationwide are celebrating this as an opportunity to create jobs in the auto industry while reducing greenhouse gases.

Personal Democracy Forum: Day Two

It's day two here at the Personal Democracy Forum 2009 Conference. For a great roundup of all the sessions and speakers from yesterday, click here to read a great recap by Nancy Scola of TechPresident.

Day Two is off to a great start. Vivek Kundra, the first ever Federal Chief of Information Officer is currently talking about how we make sure that technology produces the dividends that it promises. The government currently spends over $70 billion dollars a year on technology. Kundra is currently unveiling of an interactive dashboard that will make available details about every major federal information technology project. He calls it version 1.0, and has been launched in beta. He just got a standing ovation from the crowd.

Later this morning, there's more great speakers, including Randi Zuckerberg of Facebook. More breakout sessions this afternoon include how the internet ecosystem can improve journalism, mapping the networked public sphere, and how social networks are changing politics, just to name a few.

PDF Day One: Afternoon Update

I'm sitting in The Allen Room (with a fabulous view) listening to a session called "Redesigning .Gov for Transparency and Participation." The topic is an enriching discussion about government website and data management.

This morning had a bunch of really interesting speakers. Notable, danah boyd challenged us to really think about the politics of class online. She had a great presentation about who is doing what online. Her presentation, which will be available online thanks to PDF, should start a conversation about race, class structure and politics moving forward. Additionally, Jeff Jarvis discussed a new model of government, involving citizen participation, and permission to fail. According to Jarvis, "We should do what we do best and link to the rest. I particularly enjoyed the fact that Jarvis spent the last 5 minutes of his presentation by asking audience members to contribute their ideas of what a "Google Government" would look like.

Personal Democracy Forum 2009

Both Steve and I are attending the 2009 Personal Democracy Forum. It's only 10:35 and the conference is off to a great start. Earlier this morning there was a discussion between Joe Rospars (of the Obama '08 campaign) and Mark McKinnon (of the McCain '08 campaign) on the impact of the 2008 election and what role the internet could/should be moving forward.

Mayor Bloomberg also give a keynote speech via Skype on how technology is improving government here in New York City. There are several more sessions this morning, I'm looking forward in particular to hearing from Jeff Jarvis, the author of "Reinventing Government: What Would Google Do?"

This afternoon features several breakout sessions and diverse panels. Some of those topics include building social economy, redesigning .gov for transparency and participation, community journalism, powering the youth vote and America 2.0. The day will finish up with a panel including Josh Silver, of Free Press, that will focus on the Obama Broadband Initiative and the Future of the Internet.

I'll be bloging over the next few days from sessions and panels that I find of interest. If you're interested in following the conversation but can't be here with us, search for #pdf09 on Twitter. It's already a trending topic!

Green Dining Best Practices

The Environmental Defense Fund and Restaurant Associates announced the launch of Green Dining Best Practices today, a list of comprehensive recommendations for sustainable food service born of a commitment to convert all 111 of RA's clients to green dining establishments by 2011.

Restaurant Associates, based in New York City, provides food and catering services to large corporations, museums, performing arts centers and schools. Their size and scope makes the EDF partnership particularly meaningful; Restaurant Associates is the largest company to date to make such a large commitment to sustainability. Because of its success in the food industry, RA is also in the unique position to prove that sustainability is not synonymous with financial death. At a celebratory luncheon today, President Ed Sirhal greeted the audience of journalists, educators and environmentalists with the clear message that Green Dining Best Practices is "at the intersection of profit and planet."

Some of the new practices implemented in pilot programs at RA clients Hearst and Random House include using local, in-season produce, buying sustainable seafood, saving water, lowering greenhouse gas emissions through lower electricity use, and installing bottle-less water dispensers.

Gwen Ruta, Vice President of EDF's Corporate Partnerships program, explained the creation process of Green Dining Best Practices. After studying the energy uses of commercial kitchens, she found that small changes can make big differences --coffee urns, for instance, were found to be the biggest energy-sappers in commercial kitchens. Chefs tend to turn them on in the morning and keep them simmering all day. Something as simple as turning off the urns a few times a day, according to Ruta, translates to big energy savings. Another eye-opener for Ruta was that packaging labeled "Biodegradable" or "Compostable" is not always the greenest choice. It turns out waste management in the United States does not have separate collection for compostable items, so they fester in landfills with the rest of the garbage. The best choice is to use old-fashioned, reusable dishware.

So far, with just two pilot programs, RA has calculated over $85,000 in savings. They are also proud to announce that in the past year alone, they removed 5,000 pounds of carbon-intensive meat from their menus and cut 275-tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

EDF's ultimate hope is that Restaurant Associates will continue to show the rest of the food industry that green practices save money. As for consumers, eating out just became a little more palatable!

Proof of Greenwashing!

Green is chic these days, and advertisers plugging all sorts of products are jumping on the eco-bandwagon. Eco-consciousness is definitely a good thing, but news out today warns the Federal Trade Commission has made virtually no effort in recent years to enforce its "Green Guides," issued in 1992 to protect consumers against some companies' baseless claims to environmental responsibility. "Green" has become more than just a color -- it is now a social, political, and economic issue. And in the advertising frenzy to sell "green" while it's at the height of its popularity, consumers are rightly confused.

Scot Case, Vice President of the environmental consulting firm TerraChoice, testified before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection earlier this month. In his testimony, Case claimed the environmental certification labels on 22 percent of all products are completely meaningless -- designs that look somewhat official or earth-friendly, but in reality have no substance. Worse yet, a frightening 98 percent of the thousands of products reviewed by TerraChoice were found to have committed at least one of its "Seven Sins of Greenwashing," a cute yet poignant list of no-no's perpetrated by manufacturers trying to falsely amp up their eco-cred. Included in the seven are "sins" such as the making of erroneous claims to environmental stewardship, or the championing of products free of toxins such as CFCs, which are banned anyway.

According to Case, "greenwashing is rampant," and what the United States needs to overcome it is a unified, enforceable environmental certification label that consumers can trust. Indeed, a walk down the cleaning supply section of any grocery store can make even the most conscientious shopper dizzy. Case recommends EcoLogo or Green Seal as trusted certifications to look for. He also recommends the standardization of labels that frequently pop up on products, such as "non-toxic," "natural," or "fragrance free."

Don't Forget the Ethnic Media

Bruce Trachtenberg of the Communications Network was kind enough to let me post a blog entry on their website today. The following is a reprint of that post, titled "Don't Forget The Ethnic Media". To read it on their website click here, or just read below.

Earlier this month I attended New America Media’s 2nd Annual National Ethnic Media Expo & Awards Conference in Atlanta. On the second day, I listened as Sergio Bendixen, president of Bendixen & Associates, and one of the preeminent experts in Hispanic public opinion research, shared findings from a survey showing an explosive growth in the number of consumers of ethnic media. According to Bendixen, over the last four years, ethnic media have picked up 8 million new readers, viewers and listeners.

What’s significant about this? Mostly it means that ethnic media (defined primarily as African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American) now reach nearly 57 million people in the United States -- more than one-quarter of the adult population. What’s particularly surprising is that this major increase in audience numbers is occurring just as mainstream media, especially metropolitan dailies, are struggling to keep their readers, viewers and listeners.

The challenge facing mainstream media (and by extension people who work in communications, too) is how to continue to reach people without knowing with certainty how they get their information these days. Is it from print and broadcast outlets? Or the web? What about iPhones and Blackberries, just to name a few options? As a result more and more traditional news providers are doing the best they can to both hold on to their "old ways" while also trying to make the new technologies work for them.

Perhaps because they’re enjoying such a phenomenal growth for their “traditional” products, there seems to be less of a rush among ethnic news media organizations to the internet, Web 2.0, social media, and other experimental production and distribution channels and business models.

Yet, these conversations are taking place, and ethnic media – like their mainstream counterparts -- are asking whether to adopt Twitter, and make iPhone applications and text messaging platforms as part of their offerings. But even without them, ethnic media are proving that by providing quality in-depth news and reporting, they still can successfully reach large audiences.

As a result, people in foundations who see ethnic audiences as key to their work should not overlook the reach of these newspapers, and television and radio stations. As an example, Bendixen also pointed in his talk that Asian-Americans prefer Asian language media because of what they consider to be a lack of in-depth reporting in more mainstream news outlets about their home countries. Similarly, ethnic media appear to have an inherent trust in and appreciation for their readers, listeners and viewers, something I would guess is declining for growing numbers of mainstream media outlets.

Another reason foundations should pay more attention to ethnic media is that they, like the sector they serve, are largely progressive, and are helping foster public discourse in a way that’s almost become foreign to the mainstream news media. Thus, if we fail to recognize the importance of America’s growing ethnic media sector, we similarly will miss an opportunity to engage a crucial -- and also fast growing -- sector of the American public.

Supreme Court and Post-Conviction DNA Testing

There was disappointing news yesterday for supporters of domestic criminal system reform efforts when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that convicts do not have a right under the Constitution to obtain DNA testing to try to prove their innocence after being found guilty. The court ruled against William G. Osborne, a convicted rapist from Alaska who was seeking access to post-conviction DNA in order to prove his innocence.

Although a very disheartening decision, it’s not necessarily as bad as you would think. According to ardent supporters of DNA testing, the ruling doesn’t automatically mean that prisoners that are innocence will be denied access to DNA testing. This case will actually have a very limited impact. As The Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Nuefeld puts it, “While this is a deeply flawed and disappointing decision, we have always said this case would have a very limited impact. In the vast majority of cases, prisoners are granted DNA testing under state law or because prosecutors consent to testing without a court order.”

Since 1992, 238 people in the US, some of whom were on death row, have been exonerated of crimes through DNA testing. According to the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with the Cardozo School of Law, Congress and 47 states have passed legislation granting DNA testing in at least some cases. In less than a dozen of these 238 cases were the convicted exonerated through DNA testing received through the federal court.

This decision is still extremely frustrating because the small number of people that are impacted by this decision will no doubt suffer greatly. For Osborne, his best hope is for legislators in his state of Alaska to pass a law granting post-conviction DNA testing. Alaska is one of six states without a law granting post-conviction DNA testing. No matter the circumstance, no one should suffer in prison because they were prevented from proving their innocence.

To read the press release from The Innocence Project on yesterday’s ruling and its expected impact, click here.

Tapping Wind Power at the Highest of Heights

A new study provides the first-ever global survey of high-altitude wind energy potential. Turbines of the future, as envisioned by scientists at The Carnegie Institution for Science and California State University, will look less like the looming windmills we're used to and more like kites with long, conductive tethers.

The study, which focuses on jet stream winds high above the world's five largest cities, concludes that high-altitude winds hold enough untapped potential energy to meet the world's demand 100 times over. Ideally, the turbine-kites would reach the fastest moving winds on the planet, jet streams blowing 20-50,000 feet above ground. And based on current designs, each kite-like turbine could transmit up to 40 megawatts of electricity through its tether. Since winds close to the ground are much weaker than those at higher altitudes, the 40 MW potential from just one high-flying kite is about the same amount of energy transmitted by 20 terrestrial turbines.

New York City has the highest wind energy potential of any city in the United States. Other cities with high potential internationally are Tokyo and Seoul. Although high-altitude turbines would be a huge step forward in the efficiency and utility of wind power, wind is never 100 percent predictable. Even the scientists involved in the new study concede that some sort of back-up energy source would have to be waiting in the wings. But even so, this new research coinciding with a globally heightened move toward "green energy" has renewable energy proponents very hopeful. Perhaps in years to come Times Square will be lit by kites above New York!

Obama Administration Releases Comprehensive U.S. Climate Report

The Obama administration's top science and climate advisers released a report yesterday reiterating, yet again, the reality of human-induced climate change -- one that is becoming increasingly difficult for skeptics to deny. Representatives from 13 federal agencies worked together to release the report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States," which is fully accessible online.

Released by the US Global Change Research Program, yesterday's report lays out observable changes that have occurred in the United States in past decades. It also includes easy to read charts predicting changes in coming decades, with projections ranging from best to worst case scenarios. For instance, a chart predicting the number of days per year that will spike over 90 degrees in Boston provides a range; by 2070, there could be close to 65 scorching-hot days if we follow the "higher emission scenario," and only slightly over 30 in the "lower emission scenario."

The web version of the report is quite easy to navigate, and were the subject matter not so grim it could even be sort of fun to browse through. The home page features an interactive map of the United States, where you can select any region of the country for a current and future snapshot of our changing climate. This snapshot is comprehensive, not only looking at encroaching coastlines and temperature hikes, but also at shifts in agricultural growing seasons, the expected northward movement of fisheries, electricity shortages due to overwhelming demand for air conditioning, and more. After you're done looking at the climate change prognosis by region, you can search by sector. The report provides seven to choose from: Water Resources, Energy Supply and Use, Transportation, Agriculture, Ecosystems, Human Health, and Society.

Despite all the bad news, "Global Climate Change Impact in the United States" leaves lots of room for positivity. Sixteen science and environmental groups released a statement praising the report, and the overwhelming reaction among environmentalists is one of relief. After eight years of roadblocks, the U.S. has an administration that is willing to look at scientific evidence and take action through the support of a growing green economy. With Waxman-Markey still up for debate, we can only hope yesterday's report will help strengthen policymakers' resolve.

Investigation Into Journalists Murder Continues

With all the news surrounding the jailing, murder and disappearances of journalists lately, it’s refreshing to have some good news to report. Reporters Without Borders announced today that there’s progress in the investigation into newspaper reporter Eliseo Barrón Hernández's murder on May 25th, which occurred in the north-central state of Durango, Mexico.

Five presumed members of Zetas, a paramilitary group involved in extortion and drug-trafficking, who were arrested on June 6th, have confessed to killing him with the aim of pressuring the local press to censor itself. Barrón was a crime reporter for the Milenio Torreón daily.

The five detainees are José Pedro Jauregui Jiménez, Raúl Francisco Rodríguez Valderrama, Víctor Alfredo López Ramírez, Oscar Cárdenas Castillo and Israel Sánchez Jaimes. Sánchez has allegedly confessed to firing the shot that killed Barrón on the orders of Zetas chief Lucio "Lucifer" Fernández, who was reportedly angered by the media's coverage of his activities.

"The confessions tend to confirm that Barrón was murdered because of his work as a reporter or, worse still, was sacrificed in order to terrorize his fellow journalists," Reporters Without Borders said. "It is important that the federal-level investigation should continue and should try to shed light on the accomplices that the killers may have had, especially as Barrón had been covering police corruption."

Since 2000, the number of journalists murdered in Mexico is 49. What’s important about this case is that since almost all of these murders are still unpunished although the identity of the masterminds is known in some cases, this provides a good opportunity to show that the murder of journalists cannot continue without impunity.

Press Freedom in Peru

It’s been a rough month for supporters of press freedom. Recent events in North Korea, Guatemala and Mexico do not bode well for a free and independent press. And today brings news of another country dealing with turmoil. Reporters Without Borders recently condemned as "bogus" and "dishonest" technical and official explanations given by the Ministry of Transport and Communications for banning broadcasting by the radio station La Voz de Bagua Grande in the town of the same name in Peru's north-west.

Reporters Without Borders called on the government because it was unhappy at the media's support for recent indigenous peoples' demonstrations, to respect rules for the station's approval including time limits fixed by itself. The radio station's license was cancelled by ministerial decree on June 8th, but since March of 2007 it has had a ten-year frequency concession. This agreement allowed La Voz de Bagua Grande a 12-month period for authorization and installation. The station director, Carlos Flores Borja, said he sent the ministry the documents required for certification on 29 January. This letter, supported by the municipality of Utcubamba, also said that the radio's initial site had had to be changed for safety reasons. The ministry used this reason on December 31st, 2008 to cancel the frequency authorization before the end of the probationary period.

In reality, La Voz de Bagua Grande has been in the government's sights since clashes shook the Amazon region at the start of June. At the height of the rioting, on June 5th, in which around 30 people died, the interior minister, Mercedes Cabanillas, publicly threatened to close the radio along with Radio Oriente, another station based in Yurimaguas, for their alleged "support" for violence against the security forces.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens, but let’s hope that La Voz de Bagua Grande continues to broadcast and bring information to the people of Peru.

Submissions for the 43 Annual Film and Video Festival

The Council on Foundations and Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM) are seeking submissions of films and videos for its 43rd Annual Film and Video Festival, to be held April 26th-27th, 2010 in Denver, CO.

The festival showcases films, videos, and television programs that have received support from foundations, corporate giving programs, and donor networks, with the aim of encouraging grantmakers to use media to advance their philanthropic goals. The festival promotes foundation support of creative, high-quality productions that expand the boundaries of the use of media for the social good. Submissions may target local, state, regional, national, and international audiences. This year, the committee will give special consideration to projects that demonstrate innovative strategies for distribution, outreach, public education, and civic engagement, such as the use of print or broadcast journalism, websites, networking, schools, libraries, or the meetings and conferences of nonprofit organizations.

Click here to read the submission procedures and eligibility requirements. All submissions forms, DVDs and entry fees must be received by June 26th. Projects will be reviewed by a program curator and a diverse screening committee consisting of grantmakers, filmmakers, and media users. 4 - 5 films are selected for the festival. If your film or video is selected for the festival, it will screen during the Council on Foundations Annual Conference, the Fall Conference for Community Foundations, and the Family Philanthropy Conference. A short clip will also be shown on the Film & Video Festival website.

"Cash for Clunkers" Moves Forward

The House approved a plan on Tuesday that would give drivers up to $4500 when they trade their old cars and trucks for new, more fuel-efficient ones. The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act (CARS), or "Cash for Clunkers," is being touted in some circles as a big step forward for climate and economy. Environmentalists, however, are not so easily convinced.

If passed in the Senate, consumers could get $3500 when they upgrade to a car that either gets 22 miles per gallon or at least 4 mpg more than the car they're trading in. The "cash" goes up to $4500 when the "clunker" is traded for a car getting at least 10 more mpg. The standard for light trucks and SUVs is lower, with just a 2 mpg and 5 mpg improvement garnering $3500, and $4500, respectively.

Many environmentalists say "cash for clunkers" is a greenwash -- an easy way to encourage Americans to buy new cars and feel good about it in an ailing economy. A March `09 Guardian article says about 15 percent of a car's carbon footprint comes from its manufacture, so unless you've been driving your car for twenty years or more it's actually "greener" to keep driving than it is to buy a brand new, more fuel efficient model.

The Senate is already debating Cash for Clunkers, and Senators Feinstein, Collins and Schumer are ready with a slightly more stringent counterproposal.

Looking at the Life-Cycle of Travel

For the environmentally-conscious traveler, choosing the best possible mode of transportation has thus far been pretty easy. One can simply compare the greenhouse gas emissions of a car versus a train or a plane. But researchers from UC Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have developed a new framework for calculating the full environmental costs of travel, taking the entire life-cycle of the transportation mode into consideration and making travelers' decisions smarter, although much more complex.

The new framework out of Berkeley, published yesterday in IOP Publishing's Environmental Research Letters, looks not only at end-result emissions, but also at all the environmental impacts weathered along the way. These impacts include energy source, type of power plant, construction and more. For example, the Berkeley team followed the transportation life cycle of a light railway system in Boston, and found it had a much larger carbon footprint than a comparable system in San Francisco. The emissions hike is due to Boston's energy supply, which draws 82 percent of its power from fossil-fuels, compared with 49 percent in San Francisco.

The Berkeley framework also takes into account the number of travelers on any given vehicle. For example, a half-full Boston light rail is only as efficient as a mid-size aircraft at 38 percent capacity.

The full-cycle method is particularly interesting now, as governments worldwide weigh various renewable energy sources in efforts to address the climate crisis. Nuclear may be "clean" to burn, but what is the environmental impact of nuclear waste, and what about mining and milling uranium, let alone building new plants? If your car runs on corn-based ethanol, how much chemical fertilizer was used and what is the environmental cost of the plant that produces the ethanol? (Search for "ethanol" on Grist.org for a stream of information and debate.) The framework provides a new way for us to make ever smarter decisions, although it does take some of the fun out of previously benign activities. The next time I take a walk in the woods, I'll be thinking about my sneakers, what they're made of, and where they came from.

Join the Waxman-Markey Conference Call

This Wednesday, June 10th at 4:30 eastern time, Green For All, the US Climate Action Network, the Energy Action Coalition and 1Sky are co-sponsoring a national conference call with Representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey. The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (also ACES or Waxman-Markey) is being hotly debated all over the web, so call in to hear about if from the source, and draw your own conclusions. Email billquestions@1sky.org with questions you'd like answered during the conference call. The call-in number at 4:30 is 1-800-391-2548, and the passcode is 28643226#.

Put a People-Powered Internet First

The Federal Communications Commission is busy crafting America's first national broadband plan and they're asking for your input. The crafting of a national broadband plan is one of the most important things the Federal Communications Commission has ever done. But it must do it right, and create a blueprint that puts a people-powered Internet first! The FCC needs to hear from you right now.

Free Press has drafted suggested language to ensure that your voice is heard: "An open and accessible Internet is essential to America's future. It will help revitalize our economy, improve our education and health care, engage millions more people in our democracy and give new meaning to freedom of speech. In crafting the national broadband plan, the Federal Communications Commission must protect Internet users from corporate gatekeepers who seek to keep prices high and speeds slow, limit access to content and stifle innovations and market choice. Net Neutrality must be a basic and enforceable rule of the Internet. The plan must also ensure that every American -- regardless of their race, income or location -- can connect to broadband at prices everyone can afford. Allowing powerful corporate interests to dictate the future of modern communications is a mistake that cannot be repeated. Our nation's health in the 21st century requires that the FCC puts a people-powered Internet first." Click here to add your name to the above statement, or you can submit your own comments if you prefer. Ensure that your voice is heard! For more information on the issue of a National Broadband Plan for Our Future click here.

New America Media Conference: Day Two

There's another fabulous line-up for Day Two at the New America Media Conference. I'm sitting in the opening plenary for the day which is focused on new findings on the outreach and impact of ethnic media and their relevances for communicating with the "New America'. Scheduled speakers include Sergio Bendixen, the President of Bendixen and Associates, Jenny Chin Hansen, the chair of the AARP Board of Directors, and Dr. Camara Jones, the Research Director of social determinants of health and equity at the CDC. Bendixen just reminded the room (which of course is probably the one group that doesn't need reminding!) that 51 million ethnic adults (1 in 4) use ethnic media.

After this opening plenary I'll be heading to the morning sessions, although I'm still not sure which Track I'll be attending! Track A will focus on strategies for expanding editorial lens and will feautre experts on immigrant rights and environmental justice. Track B focuses on expanding your revenue base in a recession and Track C focuses on how and why partnering with the ethnic media grows your brand and audience.

The luncheon expo "Ethnic Media and the Future of News" will feature Richard Rodriguez, a noted author and essayist. It will also feature ethnic media from across the country, and allow for networking with ethnic media exhibitors.

New Hampshire and Gay Marriage

Good news about the movement for civil marriage for same-sex couples. New Hampshire's governor signed into law legislation that will provide same-sex couples in New Hampshire beginning January 1, 2010. New Hampshire becomes the sixth state (after Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa and Maine) to recognize the civil rights of LGBT people to the protections, obligations and benefits of marriage.

New York may be next with the Assembly having already passed legislation and an active campaign underway in the Senate. Gov. Paterson has promised to sign civil marraige legislation as soon as it lands on his desk.

New America Media Conference: Day One

I've arrived in Atlanta! I'll be here for the next two days for New America Media's National Ethnic Media Expo & Awards Ceremony. Over 400 people are expected to attend the event (although very few of them are on Twitter I've learned!)

The schedule for the two days is jam-packed. This morning I watched a live demonstration that unveiled New America Media's hotline for emergency messaging, which was in part, funded by Overbrook. Although the Foundation has been a clear supporter of this project, I was anxious to hear the response from the over 100 + ethnic media representatives that were in the room. Luckily, they agreed about the necessary need for risk communications and that New America Media is primed to play a crucial role in the development of this software and technology. This project will launch a pilot version in the upcoming months. Want to get in on it? Text NAM to 36638 for breaking news and emergency alerts on your phone.

Right now I'm sitting listening to a discussion between the ethnic media in the state of Georgia and their efforts to include ethnic media in the 2010 US Census. The discussion is focusing on how best to ensure a complete count of the ethnic media, a segment that is clearly growing. This afternoon I'll be attending a media educators luncheon and strategy session between New America Media and journalism schools. It will be interesting to hear our media enrichment partners share their important work with the ethnic media sector.

Tonight is the official Media Awards Banquet, including a reception, dinner and awards program. It will also be the 200th birthday of the first Hispanic newspaper! It promises to be a busy few days, but I will keep everyone updated on the events.

Green Energy Growing across the Globe!

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report today with good news for clean energy projects and companies across the globe. Despite the recession, investment in sustainable energy grew by about five percent last year, up from $148 billion in 2007 to about $155 billion in 2008.

Before getting too excited, it's important to remember last year's five percent increase pales in comparison to the spikes in sustainable energy investment in recent years. (2008 investments were about four times higher than in 2004, yet only increased by $7 billion from 2007.) And even with political, economic and media attention on "going green," renewable energies still only account for about 6.2 percent of the power sector's capacity.

But considering the state of the economy, any rise in clean energy investment is greeted with open arms. President Obama supports a federal cap and trade scheme, and it is likely global leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December will push for a global network of carbon markets, putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions. According to the UNEP report, global investments in clean energy must reach $500 billion each year by 2020 in order to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report warned global carbon emissions must peak in 2015 to avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change, so this commitment to sustainable energy comes not a moment too soon. See UNEP's press release for clean energy highlights from countries around the world.