MAP Royalty, Inc.

1. Some blogs on Bush's Energy

2. Shareholder Resolution to Block GE From Advocating Global Warming Regulation... WINS!

3. Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him

4. Paid Summer Fellowship with the California Fuel Cell Partnership

5. Summary of Proposed CA Ballot Initiative: "The Clean Alternative Energy Act"

6. Black & Veatch is looking for someone to fill a wind engineering position in Kansas

7. Lester R. Brown Speaking in SF, Monday, Feb 6.

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1. Some blogs on Bush's Energy

SetAmericaFree's Anne Korin's response to State of the Union

One of most enthusiastic ovations was given to the President for setting a national goal to reduce 75% of our oil imports from the

Middle East by 2025. A breakdown of that target: Out of the 12 million barrels (mbd) the U.S. imports daily, only 2 mbd actually

come from the Middle East. By 2025 the U.S. is projected to import close to 20mbd, about 5 of which will come from the Persian Gulf. The

President's oil saving target is therefore 3.75mbd. This figure is far below the oil saving target which is currently being pushed by

Congress though the bipartisan bicameral Vehicle and Fuel Choices for American Security Act based on the Set America Free Blueprint for

Energy Security. Senate bill S.2025 advocates a 7 mbd reduction in twenty years and the companion House bill HR.4409 aims for 5mbd in

that time frame. There is no reason for the President to be more timid than Congress.

... and the LATimes...

Rather than mandate energy savings, Bush stayed with the basic approach of his administration, which opposes dictating to private industry.

In last year's energy bill, for example, the White House opposed a provision to cut back oil consumption by 1 million barrels a day by 2015.

Instead, administration officials said, automakers and other manufacturers would voluntarily turn to alternative fuels and more energy-efficient products when market forces made it profitable for them to do so.

meanwhile..

The Energy Department will begin laying off researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the next week or two because of cuts to its budget.

A veteran researcher said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol. Those are two of the technologies that Mr. Bush cited on Tuesday night as holding the promise to replace part of the nation's oil imports.

The budget for the laboratory, which is just west of Denver, was cut by nearly 15 percent, to $174 million from $202 million, requiring the layoff of about 40 staff members out of a total of 930, said a spokesman, George Douglas. The cut is for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.

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2. Shareholder Resolution to Block GE From Advocating Global Warming Regulation... WINS!

WASHINGTON, Feb 01, 2006 /PRNewswire

On January 17, 2006, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission denied GE's request to exclude a resolution filed by Action Fund Management principal Thomas Borelli requesting GE "to report to shareholders on the scientific and economic analyses relevant to GE's climate change policy [announced in May 2005]." (1- 2). AFM now requests GE justify its global warming policy in scientific and economic terms.

"Our opposition to global warming alarmism is based on three points," said AFM's Steve Milloy. (3) "First, we don't believe the available scientific data indicate that human activity is measurably changing global climate - history shows that natural climate change can be far more significant than any slight change in climate that may have occurred over the last 200 years."

"Second, even if human activity is altering global climate to some extent, such climate change might actually be beneficial - historically, civilization has fared better in warmer climatic conditions as opposed to cooler climatic conditions."

"Third, even if humans are undesirably affecting global climate, the best path forward may be adaptation to that climate change rather than harming the global economy through the expenditure of hundreds of billion dollars under the questionable rationale that greenhouse gas regulation can act as some sort of global thermostat."

"The bottom line is that we believe GE's support of, and advocacy for, global warming regulation may harm GE shareholders in the long run," Borelli pointed out. "GE's policies should be based on sound science and economics not public relations campaigns or capitulation to pressure from environmental activists. GE's future is tied to a growing global economy that depends on the availability of affordable energy. Global warming regulation, we believe, will make energy less available and more expensive, thereby harming the economy and ultimately GE's business prospects," explained Borelli.

The Free Enterprise Action Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through investment and advocacy that promote the American system of free enterprise.

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3. Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him

By ANDREW C. REVKIN

Published: January 29, 2006

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.

Dean Acosta, deputy assistant administrator for public affairs at the space agency, said there was no effort to silence Dr. Hansen. "That's not the way we operate here at NASA," he said. "We promote openness and we speak with the facts."

Mr. Acosta said the restrictions on Dr. Hansen applied to all National Aeronautics and Space Administration personnel whom the public could perceive as speaking for the agency. He added that government scientists were free to discuss scientific findings, but that policy statements should be left to policy makers and appointed spokesmen.

Dr. Hansen, 63, a physicist who joined the space agency in 1967, is a leading authority on the earth's climate system. He directs efforts to simulate the global climate on computers at the Goddard Institute on Morningside Heights in Manhattan.

The fight between Dr. Hansen and administration officials echoes other recent disputes. At climate laboratories of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, for example, many scientists who routinely took calls from reporters five years ago can now do so only if the interview is approved by administration officials in Washington, and then only if a public affairs officer is present or on the phone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?hp&ex=1138510800&en=0a858f5230677507&ei=5094&partner=homepage

..meanwhile, DEBATE ON CLIMATE SHIFTS TO ISSUE OF IRREPARABLE CHANGE -

WA Post 1/29/06

The lead-in:

"Now that most scientists agree human activity is causing Earth to warm, the

central debate has shifted to whether climate change is progressing so

rapidly that, within decades, humans may be helpless to slow or reverse the

trend. This "tipping point" scenario has begun to consume many prominent

researchers in the United States and abroad, because the answer could

determine how drastically countries need to reduce their greenhouse gas

emissions in the coming years. While scientists remain uncertain when such a

point might occur, many say it is urgent that policymakers cut global carbon

dioxide emissions in half over the next 50 years or risk the triggering of

changes that would be irreversible."

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4. Paid Summer Fellowship with the California Fuel Cell Partnership

California leads the world in advancing clean, energy efficient transportation technologies. Since 1999, the members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership (www.cafcp.org) have placed 108 fuel cell vehicles and 16 hydrogen fueling stations in California communities. In the coming years, many more vehicles and fueling stations will be implemented in the major metropolitan regions of the state. However, these projects are still considered unique, one-of-a-kind installations by local officials and regulatory bodies and not well integrated as part of a larger network. Building on prior work of CaFCP staff and under the guidance of the CaFCP's Program Manager, the fellow will conduct a thorough review and evaluation of existing California codes and regulations as they relate to hydrogen fueling station permitting, implementation and operation. This fellow will also review existing stations to evaluate accessibility criteria, including user agreements, insurance and technical interface, with an emphasis on integrating existing stations as part of a network. The fellow will interface with CaFCP technical staff and CaFCP members, including staff of the California Air Resources Board's Hydrogen Highway Network. The fellow will produce a final report summarizing the findings and recommendations. Some travel will be required. The California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCE) Fellowship is made possible by the Haas Center for Public Service Z'Berg endowment and is part of Stanford's Call to Serve initiative focused on encouraging great numbers of students to consider diverse government opportunities. Special thanks to the Stanford Alumni in Government Sacramento Club and the Student Affairs Office in the School of Engineering. An electronic application is attached. Please email meganfogarty@sbcglobal.net for more information.

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5. Summary of Proposed CA Ballot Initiative: "The Clean Alternative Energy Act"

Date: December 13, 2005

This memorandum provides a brief summary of "The Clean Alternative Energy Act," a California ballot initiative filed recently with the Attorney General and slated for the November 2006 ballot. The principal objective is to reduce our oil dependence and improve air quality by creating a portfolio of clean fuels, clean-fuel vehicles and clean-fuel infrastructure that would cut California's annual petroleum use in 2017 by 25% (4 billion gallons), with cumulative reductions through that time of 10 billion gallons. Funding would come from a modest extraction fee on oil from California lands; receipts of four billion dollars are expected over a decade. Every other major oil-producing state already collects such a fee. Consistent with Supreme Court precedent, the measure prohibits oil companies from passing the fee through to customers; in any case, given the nature of oil markets and the diversity of suppliers, prices to oil users would not be affected by these modest changes in California extraction costs. The fee would be graduated, rising and falling with oil prices (and local oil company profits). In sum, the initiative would not raise costs for consumers or add new demands on California's general fund.

The initiative establishes a governance structure in the form of a nine-member board (including the Secretary of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chair of the California Energy Commission, the State Treasurer, and six appointees with expertise in public health, energy efficiency, renewable energy, consumer protection, economics and finance issues). Competitive solicitations would precede all grants. Most of the funds collected from the extraction fee would be expended through three programs, all of which would aim to rush promising technologies to the marketplace:

* Gasoline and Diesel Use Reduction, $2.3 billion: these transportation-sector investments in clean fuels, vehicles and infrastructure would be guided by an integrated resource plan designed to "maximize petroleum use reduction while considering greenhouse gas reduction benefits."

* Research and Innovation Acceleration, $1.1 billion: these funds would be dedicated to research and development at California universities, and would address the full spectrum of energy-efficiency and renewable energy technology opportunities, in addition to those specifically involving transportation fuels and vehicles.

* Commercialization Acceleration, $400 million: the focus here would be one-time start-up costs for companies offering new clean technology products, including the certification of products, vehicles and distribution systems.

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6. Black & Veatch is looking for someone to fill a wind engineering position in Kansas

The optimal candidate would have an undergraduate and graduate degree in mechanical/electrical engineering with several years experience in the wind industry. Someone with a solid engineering background and a willingness to learn with some background in wind would also be a possibility.

Black & Veatch is a large, global engineering firm - and our wind footprint is growing. We have done over 2,000 MW of engineering and due diligence on wind projects in the past two years. Our wind projects range from Independent Engineering and full EPC of multi-megawatt wind farms to design, engineering, and construction of community wind installations around the country.

We are also looking for general renewable energy engineers and project managers. See http://bv.com/energy/eec/renewables.htm for info on what B&V is doing in the field of renewables.

To apply, visit www.bv.com and enter job # 042278 (wind job) 041721 (entry level job)

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7. Lester R. Brown Speaking in SF, Monday, Feb 6.

CHINA: FORCING THE WORLD TO RETHINK ITS ECONOMIC FUTURE

(A MEET THE AUTHOR PROGRAM)

Lester R. Brown, President and founder of the Earth Policy Institute; founder of the Worldwatch Institute; author of more than 50 books and papers including Plan B 2.0 and Who Will Feed China?

Convincing new evidence from China shows that its existing fossil-fuel-based, automobile-centered, throwaway economy cannot sustain progress much longer. Lester Brown will look at both China's current consumption of basic resources, which now exceeds that of the U.S., and at China's future consumption in 2031 when its income is projected to reach that of the U.S. today. Dr. Brown will discuss ways to restructure the global economy so that it can sustain economic progress through renewable energy, the reuse and recycling of materials, and a diverse transport system.

REGISTRATION 5:30 PM, PROGRAM 6:00 PM, BOOK SIGNING TO FOLLOW.

MEMBERS - FREE, NONMEMBERS - $15, STUDENT NONMEMBERS - $5 COSPONSORS- $7

WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL AUDITORIUM, 312 SUTTER STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, 94108

COSPONSORED BY STACEY'S INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE, INTERNATIONAL RIVERS NETWORK AND PACIFIC ENVIRONMENT

Reserve a spot for China: Forcing the World to Rethink Its Economic Future

(A Meet the Author Program)

Monday, Feb-06-2006

Opening Reception: Photo Exhibits on China's Three Gorges Dam

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8. DEBATE ON CLIMATE SHIFTS TO ISSUE OF IRREPARABLE CHANGE - Post 1/29/06

Great article in the Washington Post (front page) yesterday about climate

change, sounding on the themes of Al Gore's talk at Stanford in December.

Interesting, esp. given Hansen's "muzzling" at NASA. Look for our very own

Steve Schneider's quotes at the end of the article.