Executive Director
I became Executive Director of Black Rock Solar in February 2011 after 17 years working for International Rivers, first as Campaigns Director from and then, from 2005 as ED. I wrote a book, Silenced Rivers: The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams, and numerous reports, articles, op eds, and blog posts on issues linking dams, water and energy policy, flood management, climate change, human rights and international development. Black Rock Solar installs photovoltaic power systems for tribes, non-profits in Nevada at low or no cost.
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Dan Rather Does Carbonomics
Wed, 11/25/2009 - 6:09pm
Dan Rather (ClizBiz on Flickr) International Rivers' research on bogus emission reductions from Chinese hydro dams is featured in the 52-minute show. I'm interviewed about the Xiaogushan Dam, which has been approved by the UN to sell offsets under the Clean Development Mechanism. The offsets are being bought by German utility RWE to enable them to continue burning dirty coal. The World Bank helped the Xiaogushan project developers get offset income by persuading the CDM that the dam would only be built if the developers could get this income, and that if they couldn’t sell offsets, more coal would be burned in China. Yet at the time the World Bank applied to the CDM, the dam was already well under construction and slated to be completed regardless of whether or not they could sell offsets. So no emissions decrease in China, and an increase in Germany. Not a smart recipe for dealing with the climate crisis. In addition to Chinese hydro and other CDM follies, the Dan Rather "Carbonomics" episode also covers US voluntary offsets (probably even worse than CDM credits, given that the market is entirely unregulated) and offsets from forestry. The US section includes the operator of a New Jersey landfill explaining that the tens of thousands of dollars in (rip-)offset income they’re very happy to receive courtesy of the Chicago Climate Exchange is entirely irrelevant to their decision to trap their methane emissions. Unfortunately "Dan Rather Presents" can't be streamed free on-line. But you can pay a measly $1.99 and download it from iTunes (search "carbonomics").
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