Dear friends,
A recent conversation led me to thinking that I should lay bare the inner workings of the wiffij. It’s kind of messy (fun fact: I’ve had two desk avalanches in the last week). The process generally begins when I read something disturbing in the news. Then, I often need to follow up by researching who is responsible, what should be done, and where we can apply pressure. None of this explains why there is so much paper on my desk.
Last week, I heard back from the International Maritime Organization, which I had contacted after learning that slowing speeds of cargo ships from 24 knots to 21 knots (a difference of less than 3.5 miles per hour) would cut fuel consumption by a third. I wanted to know how to get shippers to use this incredible opportunity to reduce emissions.
Someone named Natasha sent me a detailed response. She began by the process of proposing new regulations, which involves lobbying one of the IMO’s 175 Member States. Then, she moved on to some discussion of speed optimization measures
including “consider and analyse the use of speed optimization and speed reduction as a measure, taking into account safety issues, distance travelled, distortion of the market or to trade and that such measure does not impact on shipping's capability to serve remote geographic areas”.
So this is certainly something that Member States are discussing.
The guidelines for the mandatory Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) already refer to "speed optimization" as a potential approach to improve the energy efficiency of the ship, recognizing that speed optimization can produce significant savings.
You may also be interested in this short video on just in time - which is about speed optimization.
I got overwhelmed by all of the acronyms, although SEEMP and GloMEEP delighted me, even though I’m still not sure what the latter stands for.
You will be relieved to learn that I am not going to try to persuade you that we should lobby a member state to propose a new regulation. I’m trying not to rush, but the planet is rushing us.
The video suggests that there is an opportunity to reduce speeds in the last leg of a shipping route in a way that would not extend shipping time. The 2-minute video is delightful, if you’re interested.
After I got the email from Natasha, Lena (springling, climate and media person), sent me this bit of good news: Maersk has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and is aiming to lead the shipping industry by hitting the net-zero target ten years early, by 2040.
Lena has cautioned me about net-zero pledges, which are, too often not based on any science-based targets and lacking accountability mechanisms. They explained, however, that they create an opportunity:
When a company makes a net-zero pledge, it’s an opening to pressure them to take real action.
So we’re going to pressure big corporations, like Amazon, that rely heavily on shipping. Yep, we’re starting with Jeff!
Write to Jeff Bezos to urge him to compete to reduce shipping emissions faster. This is a ready-made action!
Here’s an alarming fact from Bill McKibben that is also full of potential:
If we switched to renewable energy, the number of ships crossing the ocean would fall almost in half. Because they're just carrying coal and oil and gas.
What a great reminder that we need a commitment to from our governor to invest in renewable energy, climate resiliency, and green jobs. Join today’s statewide Climate Mobilization. We need to come out in force.
Take action today at Hochul’s Manhattan office OR in Yonkers or Albany OR online.
There’s a slate of 12 bills that make up part of the Climate Can’t Wait initiative. I cannot make their short descriptions more succinct, so I won’t try. Some of these bills — like the Climate and Community Investment Act and Cryptocurrency Mining moratorium — are already familiar to you.
Climate Can’t Wait is a collaboration among many different environmental action and advocacy organizations and coalitions, including NY Renews, Food & Water Watch, Sunrise Movement NYC, and 350NYC.
Call NYS leadership today to talk about the urgency of passing the legislative package and investing in climate resiliency. There is a call script from Climate Can’t Wait.
Here is another welcome dispatch from Lena Greenberg, who is keeping their eyes on the dirty doings of the fossil fuel industry:
The House Oversight Committee will be broadening a probe it first opened last fall. In late October, representatives questioned fossil fuel executives on the industry's role in misleading the public about the climate impacts of extracting and burning fossil fuels.
In the 90s, a similar scene—minus masks and zoom windows—played out. Big Tobacco execs stood up in front of Congress and lied under oath that nicotine was not addictive. Shortly after, the industry paid up for its lies and damage to the tune of $368.5 billion.
The tobacco industry has continued to shapeshift—see Juul, for example—and also export the tobacco epidemic to the Global South, where regulations are often less stringent.
How is this good news, you ask? Well, the tobacco fight is distinct and ongoing; it also sets a precedent for the battle with Big Oil. The expansion of this investigation will continue to put Big Oil on trial, potentially concluding in massive liability payments and the industry going bankrupt. That's a ways off—but the next round of hearings, set for February 8th, will also put Big Oil's "net zero" pledges on trial. "Net zero" is the fossil fuel industry's (and many others') attempt to shapeshift, and convince the public that although there's a mountain of evidence they're guilty liars, actually there is Nothing To See Here.
A few months ago, it was a huge deal that fossil fuel execs had to appear in front of Congress, and that they lied under oath. On February 8th, it will be an even bigger deal that Congress is calling out the most modern iteration of the industry's deceit—because holding the industry liable for this, as happened with Big Tobacco, could yield the financial windfall that we need for a just transition to renewable energy.
The good people at 350.org are keeping an eye on climate policy and policymakers, because the quality of the policy is directly influenced by the people in the room. They are calling out Biden for appointing former oil and gas exec, Amos Hochstein, to oversee energy security at the Department of State.
Sign 350.org’s demand to keep fossil fuel puppets out of the White House!
Because it is Tuesday and last week was a bad week for good news, here is a seemingly random but entirely related selection of good news:
Hochul’s Executive Budget includes money for the DMV to waive fees for non-driver IDs for folks who are incarcerated. Getting proper identification is often a huge hurdle, among many, for people trying transitioning back into communities. This is an unalloyed good thing.
Also wonderful: Same-sex couples who were not able to marry are now able to receive Social Security survivor benefits. I’m sure there’s a lot of paperwork involved AND the policy change will provide income for many older people who were excluded from a system meant to prevent financial hardship.
Due to expected severe weather, Monday’s weightlifting workout has been cancelled. Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway. Don’t accept any money - that’s our Monday workout.
Women are leading nations in the Global South are doing so boldly and effectively.
Since taking up office, Barbadian prime minister Mia Mottley has changed the face of democracy in the country. She has been transparent, stands up publicly against injustices, and has created authentic ties between Caribbean countries. It is difficult to overstate what her commitment to collaboration across the region and internationally has done for Barbados, securing investment and developing infrastructure to enable a stable and sustainable economy during the Covid crisis. Countries like Barbados are often not the protagonist, yet Mottley put issues such as the climate crisis and international development to the front on the world stage.
Learn more about the NASA GLOBE Cloud Challenge!
Have a great day!
with love,
L