All Posts

EU climate policy/shutterstock

The world is clearly not on a 2°C pathway, but does that mean our primary focus should be on seeking greater national ambition to correct the trend? A more pragmatic strategy may be a real focus on the necessary tools and practices related to mitigation.[read more]

Robert Gubbins / Shutterstock.com

Tesla used the DOE loan to transition its business model from building high-end roadsters to accelerate the development of its relatively affordable Tesla Model S sedan.[read more]

Department of Defense

DOD has ramped up its energy innovation investments to address strategic challenges impacting warfighters and addressing the geopolitical consequences of climate change. But sequestration threatens to slow, or even halt, these efforts.[read more]

energy storage

A host of startups are working on software to optimize on-site energy storage systems to avoid peak demand charges, meet demand response calls, or keep the lights on during emergencies.[read more]

US energy supply

In order to navigate these conversations about sustainable energy and climate change, it helps to have a look at our current consumption patterns. So how much do we consume? And what do we use energy for?[read more]

Tom Reichner/Shutterstock.com

Responsible production of the newly discovered oil and gas in the Bakken and Three Forks formations can promote energy independence. The US has already seen a reduction of 10% in net oil imports in the last year.[read more]

renewable energy storage/shutterstock

 

Wind and solar power generated 3.5% and about 0.1%, respectively, of US electricity last year. To what extent could more and cheaper storage enable wind and solar to function as the equivalent of high-utilization, baseload generation?[read more]

climate change and water

Experts from around the world have gathered in Bonn, Germany to “synthesize major global water research achievements in the last decade and help assemble the scientific foundations to articulate a common vision of Earth’s water future."[read more]

domestic oil

Anyone with an interest in energy policy knows that a full frontal assault has been launched against the Renewable Fuel Standard. Big Oil has gone on the offensive, spreading myths and misinformation about renewable fuels.[read more]

price of carbon

Instead of charging polluters a fee for dumping their carbon dioxide into our shared atmosphere, we are all paying the cost of the consequences of attempting to store about 30 tons per year in our air.[read more]

power of the Web

The internet cannot climb onto your roof to install a solar panel. But there is a movement afoot where social media, IT, big data and mobile communications could upend how we use limited resources in the future.[read more]

Arctic Ocean acidification

After three years of ongoing research by an international team of scientists, a study commissioned for a first-ever comprehensive assessment of Arctic Ocean acidification was presented last week.[read more]

renewable energy/shutterstock

Renewable energy is ideologically very attractive. But such ideological perfection can easily switch off the critical thinking of environmentally-conscious individuals and this is exactly what we are seeing at the moment.[read more]

DOE Secretary Moniz

In his first official remarks as Energy Secretary Tuesday, Ernest Moniz focused on an aspect of energy policy that lends itself to consensus perhaps a bit more easily than others: the need for greater efficiency.[read more]

solar energy in UK/shutterstock

In last week’s Guardian Jeremy Leggett had a post that seems to argue that solar energy is the UK’s best option for keeping the lights on. Well, how about solar?[read more]