Eco-Friendly Insurance

The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, an insurance-based financial services provider, offers a new eco-friendly product for its customers in Oregon wishing to go green.

Dubbed "Eco-Rebuild," this new endorsement will supplement Farmers' homeowners insurance by allowing customers to replace destroyed property in ways that benefit the environment.

"We are excited to bring this product to the market and give our earth-conscious customers an option previously not available to them," Jeff Reinig, Farmers Insurance senior vice president of home product management, said. "This is quite literally an investment in our global future and we are excited to be the industry leaders."

The "Eco-Rebuild" product includes:

* $25,000 for extra costs incurred to rebuild or replace with "green" materials.

* If the house is an Energy Star Qualified Home, the endorsement covers the cost of upgrading damaged property to meet new Energy Star requirements.

* Reimbursement for recycling debris rather than disposal.

* Reimbursement for extra costs incurred by using other means of power in the event of loss of alternative power generating equipment.

Eco-rebuild will be available to Oregonians in July. Farmers Insurance also offers its customers a discount for owning a hybrid vehicle.

Google Earth carbon footprints

If you have ever used Google Earth to "fly to" different locations all over the globe, now a new Google Earth application, Vulcan, can be used to view carbon dioxide emissions where you live, work, and travel.

Purdue University researchers created the data by combining Landsat 5 satellite imagery, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carbon dioxide emissions data, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and U.S. Census Bureau population data. NASA and DOE funded the project under the North American Carbon Program (NACP).

"Vulcan" data has been available since April 2007, but only recently has Google Earth made it available in an easy to understand manner for anyone who has access to the Internet and Google Earth.

"From a societal perspective, Vulcan provides a description of where and when society influences climate change through fossil-fuel carbon dioxide emissions," said Kevin Gurney, an assistant professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Purdue University and leader of the Vulcan Project. "Users can see their county or state in relation to others, and see what aspects of economic activity are driving fossil-fuel emissions."

Vulcan's interactive maps provide greenhouse gases from 48 different uses of fossil fuels, including greenhouse gases from power plants, cars, industry, commercial locales, aircraft, homes, and from natural sources. As of now, the images are currently based on 2002 data but developers are in the process of updating the information with current data.

To download Google Earth visit, http://earth.google.com/.

Climate change's cost to Oregon

An increase in health problems, higher costs for food, health care and air conditioning, and even lowered property values are all potential threats to Oregon residents if climate change is to remain uncontrolled, according to a recent report.

The Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI), part of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon, and EcoNorthwest, an economic consulting firm with corporate headquarters in Eugene, recently released a report that analyzes how delaying reduction of carbon emissions and allowing climate change to proceed without attention would affect Oregonians.

"The probable costs of climate change are substantial, but the potential for catastrophic impacts resulting from greater climate sensitivity can't be ruled out," said Peter Dorman, a member of the steering committee of CLI's Program on Economics and economist and faculty member at Evergreen State College.

Rising temperatures will result in more asthma and heat-related illnesses while also reducing the quality of public health and decreasing productivity. Also, expect the value of some revenue streams and assets to change, such as when more frequent weather related events damage buildings or reduce property values. Some direct increases in expenses will be prevalent as well, such as higher costs for food, health care, and air conditioning.

After investigating these issues, the report's authors found that climate change would cost the state of Oregon a minimum of $3.3 billion annually by 2020, $5.1 billion by 2040, and $9.8 billion by 2080. This would represent more than four percent of current median household income in 2020, more than five percent by 2040, and more than seven percent by 2080.

The authors were intentionally conservative in their estimates and they consider these costs "non-negotiable" unless we significantly reduce emissions.

"In a way, reducing our carbon emissions is like buying insurance: It makes sense to absorb a small cost in order to reduce the chance of a disaster," Dorman said.

For more information or to read the report on Oregon, visit climlead.uoregon.edu/programs/climate_economics.html