How the stimulus revived the electric car.
ProPublica 03 Feb
Solutions
Politics
Other NewsEditorialsReduce gas escapes at well sites.Natural gas is widely touted as a clean alternative to coal and other fossil fuels. But evidence that the drilling process itself releases quantities of dangerous methane gas into the atmosphere should prompt a closer look at the supposed advantages of natural gas' role in the energy supply. Stroudsberg Pocono Record 06 Feb Buyers will be key to state goal of cleaner cars.The California Air Resources Board has pushed the envelope yet again. But the history-bending rules will do what they are designed to do – reduce pollution and cut greenhouse gases – only if the public buys the new clean cars in the volumes predicted. That's the big uncertainty. Sacramento Bee 01 Feb Mr. O'Malley's misguided effort to aid Maryland wind projects.Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to erect wind turbines off Maryland’s coast, eventually generating perhaps a third of the state’s electricity. But it’s a bad deal for nearly everyone in Maryland — including people who believe, as we do, in moving away from fossil fuels. Washington Post 31 Jan Taking the long view on the world's energy supplies.Now researchers are warning that energy sources we normally think of as innocuous could affect the planet's climate too. If we start to extract immense amounts of power from the wind, for instance, it will have an impact on how warmth and water move around the planet, and thus on temperatures and rainfall. New Scientist 31 Jan Mileage regulations are good for air and for California.The cries will surely come, and were already being heard last week: "We can't afford more government interference now! Let the private sector work! This is more job-killing regulation!" In the (useful) cliche of the moment, go call a wahhhmbulance. Pasadena Star-News 30 Jan Edano should be open about energy plans.It would be best if we could get along without nuclear power generation. Our experience this summer could provide a model for how Japan can move toward a future without nuclear power. It is, therefore, vital that the government’s preparations are sound. Asahi Shimbun 29 Jan California air board's vision of green cars requires huge new sources of electicity.California is taking a bold step toward transforming the automobile industry with its highly ambitious new rules mandating a steady increase in the sales of ultralow and zero-emission vehicles. Contra Costa Times 29 Jan In defense of clean energy.After months of standing by as Republicans tried to gut environmental laws and discredit his clean energy initiatives, President Obama blasted Republicans for their single-minded commitment to fossil fuels, argued the case for a diversified energy strategy and dared to talk about climate change. New York Times 28 Jan OpinionCo-operation in a world of scarce resources.From competition among hunter-gatherers for wild game to imperialist wars over precious minerals, resource wars have been fought throughout history; today, however, the competition appears set to enter a new - and perhaps unprecedented - phase. Al Jazeera 06 Feb Britain's green-minded climate change minister resigns: Why that's good for the environment.From a distance it must be hard to feel excitement at the news of the resignation of Britain's energy and climate change secretary. But this domestic hiccup matters to anyone with an interest in the fate of climate change targets agreed by EU countries back in 2007. Economist 06 Feb Nuclear is not the answer - but not why you'd think.If we are to maintain a planet whose energy inputs are in equilibrium with our outputs, then energy from the Sun is the only possibility. The nuclear reaction taking place inside our nearest star is the only form of energy we can harness at a scale fit to service the billions of us eking out a living on this globe without changing the balance of our energy in-energy out equation. Australia ABC News 06 Feb Chris Huhne's exit gives Cameron the chance to end the scourge of wind turbines.Under Mr Huhne’s stewardship, Britain has been saddled with the most fanatical deep green energy policy in the world. Those who have been horrified by this lunacy are pinning their hopes on Mr Huhne’s successor, fellow Lib Dem Ed Davey. London Daily Mail 06 Feb Let's use sustainable renewable energy sources.Undeniably and regrettably so, increasing demand, seen growing 29 percent this year, will be met by exploiting dangerous carbon-emitting fossil fuels such as coal that has been instrumental in driving the menace of global warming and climate change. Harare Herald 06 Feb Green claims for wind power are a lot of hot air.The big freeze has not just caused major disruption across the country. It has also exposed the hollowness of fashionable green rhetoric about global warming. London Daily Express 06 Feb Time is ripe for wind energy.Though the 2010 census reported a stagnant population growth in Nebraska, a state relatively unaffected by the recession, a statewide transition to capitalize on wind energy potential could revolutionize and reinvigorate the Nebraska economy to one fit for the world of tomorrow. Lincoln Journal Star 04 Feb Once, men abused slaves. Now we abuse fossil fuels.Pointing out the similarities (and differences) between slavery and the use of fossil fuels can help us engage with climate change in a new way. The Guardian 03 Feb |
Battery boom.Battery makers' factories are built or nearly completed. Yet they also find themselves uncomfortably out in front of their biggest customers—the automakers—and in need of other homes for their products while they wait for the coming electric vehicle revolution. Chemical & Engineering News 06 Feb Diesel makes a clean break.Diesel-powered vehicles used to get a bad rap for being noisy, dirty and slow. But they have been getting an image makeover thanks to "clean diesel" that emits less pollution - a change that could shake up the race with eco-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles. Osaka Daily Yomiuri Shimbun 06 Feb How to make electricity using plants and sunshine.An international consortium of scientists have created a truly green solar cell—and one that can be made from something as common as grass clippings. Scientific American 06 Feb Wind farms can actually increase climate change by raising temperatures and causing downpours, warn academics.They have long been championed as a way to combat global warming by creating clean energy. But wind farms can actually alter the climate according to a new study by a group of American scientists. London Daily Mail 06 Feb Dueling claims on Obama's energy record ignore production boom and reasons for it.You wouldn’t know it from the Republicans, but these are boom times for American energy. And you wouldn’t know it from President Barack Obama, but he has very little to do with that. Associated Press 06 Feb UK's new energy secretary confirms green targets.Britain's newly-appointed Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey on Monday confirmed the country's commitment to its green energy targets and its focus on growing the offshore wind power generation capacities. Reuters 06 Feb 100 Tories call for wind-farm subsidy cuts.The Scottish Government has launched a robust defence of its flagship green energy policy after concerns were raised by more than 100 Tory politicians about the cost of subsidies paid for onshore wind farms. Edinburgh Scotsman 06 Feb On Keystone pipeline, GOP plays Buffett card to counter Dems' Koch claims.Senior Capitol Hill Democrats battling the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline are casting the project as a sop to the Koch Brothers, billionaire industrialists who pour money into conservative causes. The Hill 06 Feb Sacrificing the desert to save the Earth.Industrial-scale solar development is well underway in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The federal government has furnished more public property to this cause than it has for oil and gas exploration over the last decade — 21 million acres, more than the area of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties put together. Los Angeles Times 05 Feb Euro Parliament backs low-carbon road map.A European Parliament committee this week approved an EU "road map" to a low-carbon economy that seeks to go beyond current greenhouse gas reduction targets. United Press International 05 Feb Massachusetts greenhouse gas pollution sources described by EPA.Power plants throughout eastern Massachusetts are the largest industrial sources of greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change in the state, according to new data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Milford Daily News 05 Feb A solar farm's slow going.When Bob Keares proposed building Pennsylvania's largest solar farm, he expected a warm reception, certainly from environmentalists. Since announcing his intentions, however, he has been confronted by the expected opponents, but also some he never unexpected: environmentalists. Philadelphia Inquirer 05 Feb Wind farm subsidy cut urged by British conservatives.More than 100 Conservative MPs have written to the prime minister urging him to cut subsidies for wind turbines. BBC 05 Feb Oregon community college partners with SolarWorld and SolarCity for solar-power project.The jarring juxtaposition of sheep grazing quietly beneath hundreds of new solar panels will soon take shape on Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus. Portland Oregonian 05 Feb Carbon tax only a good start for Australia, report says.A carbon price alone will not be enough for Australia to meet its target of a dramatic cut in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century, an analysis by the Grattan Institute has found. Sydney Morning Herald 05 Feb Cutting carbon is one way of creating jobs.The Calderdale city council is ready to endorse an ambitious £366 million scheme to create 450 jobs, slash energy costs and help save the planet. Halifax Evening Courier 05 Feb Scots told: Insulate your homes or pay more in tax.Scots who do not insulate their homes should be forced to pay higher council tax or face increased stamp duty on their property, according to a leading figure in the sector. Edinburgh Scotsman 05 Feb Kwimba district for cheaper sustainable energy.The Chairperson of the Tanzania Specialist Organisation on Community Natural Resources and Biodiversity Conservation says that in 2011 Kwimba district in collaboration with TASONABI and other stakeholders have initiated a programme for construction and use of improved biomass stoves. Dar es Salaam Daily News 05 Feb Height of wind turbine questioned in Quincy, MA.Some residents of Quincy, MA are concerned that a planned Moon Island turbine would mar the view from their homes. But city officials point out that the turbine would be more than a mile away from the nearest residence. Boston Globe 05 Feb How Steven Chu lost his battle with Washington.Steven Chu arrived in town as one of Obama’s most celebrated appointees, with an ambitious mission: Use a backwater Cabinet position to reinvent America’s energy system. Now Chu may have no choice but to preside over a similarly dramatic retreat. New Republic 04 Feb Could 2012 be year of the wind turbine?Britain is building more wind turbines this year than ever before with almost 800 turbines due to start spinning across the countryside and around the coast over the next 12 months. The Telegraph 04 Feb Clark softens approach to sustainability as part of B.C.'s new energy strategy.Premier Christy Clark announced a new provincial energy strategy that moves away from BC Hydro's self-sufficiency targets in favour of a new liquefied natural gas industry. Vancouver Sun 04 Feb Debate over jobs spills into U.S.-China solar spat.A long-running dispute about whether China's cheap solar panels are good or bad for the U.S. solar industry is now, too, becoming about jobs—tens of thousands of them, according to a new analysis. Inside Climate News 04 Feb Alpha, Patriot announce coal production cuts.Alpha Natural Resources announced late Friday that it plans to idle several Appalachian coal mines and reduce work schedules at others, citing reduced coal demand as more electricity utilities move toward using natural gas. Charleston Gazette 04 Feb Renewable energy costs are starting to come down.The price of renewable power contracts signed by California utilities more than doubled from 2003 through 2011 but has now started to plunge, according to a long-awaited state report issued Friday. San Francisco Chronicle 04 Feb Solar power incentives lose their shine.In England, the fledgling solar industry has been flourishing, but the halving of government subsidies has thrown it into confusion. The Telegraph 04 Feb Democrats counter energy security claims about Keystone pipeline project.Democrats this week opened an aggressive front to counter the Republican push to green-light the Keystone XL pipeline, alleging the project will do little to improve U.S. energy security. The Hill 04 Feb Microbes transform wastewater to energy.At Penn State, engineers are creating a promising new energy technology. They’ve designed a microbial fuel cell, using bacteria to clean wastewater and produce electricity. Living On Earth 04 Feb Wind power sector eager to deliver on B.C. power promise.As Christy Clark’s Liberals tie British Columbia’s economic future to an unprecedented natural gas boom, proponents of the province’s renewable energy resources hope for an opportunity to join in. Vancouver Sun 04 Feb Pressure is on Obama to finalize national solar plan.Pressure has begun to build for President Obama to make good on his State of the Union pledge to greenlight vast solar installations on public lands by year's end, with supporters seemingly growing antsy that it's either that or nothing in 2012. Inside Climate News 04 Feb |
