Could cheap gas slow growth of renewable energy?
All Things Considered 03 Feb
Economics
Energy
More Solutions StoriesEditorialsBuyers 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 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 One climate change solution.Even die-hard climate change skeptics must acknowledge the photographic evidence from satellites showing how soot from auto exhausts, wood stoves and other sources has darkened Himalayan glaciers and the arctic ice sheet, accelerating melting. Charleston Post and Courier 30 Jan Germany's solar crack-up.Germany enjoys, if that's the right word, a thriving solar-energy industry. But the cost of this success, to taxpayers and electricity users alike, has risen to astronomical levels. Wall Street Journal 26 Jan California's clean-car agenda.The need for steady progress toward cleaner tailpipes and engines can't be denied. The air board is taking on the huge but necessary challenge, one that might need adjusting if the facts warrant. But there's little question that cleaner cars should soon rule the road. San Francisco Chronicle 24 Jan Cheap, renewable electricity -- but not for California.Instead of embracing hydroelectricity, right-thinking California environmentalists generally want to tear out dams. But it's absurd to think that dams are as dirty as an old coal plant. Redding Record Searchlight 23 Jan Sooner rather than later on wind energy tax credit.Though 2011 was one of Vestas Wind Systems' best years on record in North America, the forecast for its U.S. operations grows gloomier by the day as Congress comes closer to failing to extend a wind production tax credit. Denver Post 18 Jan OpinionNuclear 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 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 Fight against climate change is uphill ride.To combat combat change requires people, business, government and international bodies to work together to make changes that will safeguard our planet's resources and enable our economies to produce sustainable growth and new green jobs. Jewish Chronicle 02 Feb Can the UK achieve its carbon targets without nuclear power?I personally feel there is too much idealism in the argument that we can completely do without nuclear energy. But perhaps the Germanys of this world will prove me wrong? The Guardian 02 Feb Delmarva classrooms take on climate change.Yes, there is still more to learn about climate change. But enough credible science is out there to convince me that we need to act. Whether or not we agree on the primary causes or priority solutions, we need to do everything we can. We need to behave more responsibly. Worcester County Times 02 Feb |
Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering.A small group of leading climate scientists, financially supported by billionaires including Bill Gates, are lobbying governments and international bodies to back experiments into manipulating the climate on a global scale to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Guardian 06 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 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 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 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 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 Car deal criticized as hurting green sales.When California’s air regulators approved new car-pollution rules to cut down on smog and global warming, they included a provision that critics described as a loophole that could substantially reduce the number of electric vehicles sold in the state in coming years. San Francisco Bay Citizen 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 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 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 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 Super bowl tackles climate change.The NFL has a plan in their playbook to tackle the carbon dioxide emissions caused by energy use at the six major Super Bowl facilities. Discovery Channel 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 Can 'gamification' make your life more sustainable?A service provider for the green consumer says it is revolutionizing the way people approach sustainability, and the key to that revolution, it says, is games. ClimateWire 04 Feb New generation of nuclear reactors could consume radioactive waste as fuel.A generation of "fast" nuclear reactors could consume Britain's radioactive waste stockpile as fuel, providing enough low-carbon electricity to power the country for more than 500 years, according to figures confirmed by the chief scientific adviser to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The Guardian 03 Feb |