All Posts | The Energy Collective

Study: E15 Could Put Some Engines at Risk

May 20, 2012 by Mark Green
with 201 views

More on the potential risk to America’s car and truck fleet posed by E15 – gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol that has EPA approval: Just-released research indicates that more than 5 million existing cars and light trucks, which EPA says are OK for E15 use, could develop engine problems as a result.Why this discrepancy? The... [read more]

A Closer Look at Cities As An Energy Solution

May 19, 2012 by Marianne Lavelle
with 178 views

/p>Hubert Klumpner, co-founder of the Urban Think Tank in Zurich, Switzerland and Sao Paulo, Brazil, discusses the challenge and promise of cities in addressing global resource stresses, at the Powering Progress business forum Wednesday in Rotterdam. [read more]

Renewable Energy via Fuel Cells: Solid Oxide Comes of Age

May 18, 2012 by Christopher Miles
with 403 views

Studiotouch/Shutterstock

In our previous post, we outlined some of the ways that the Hydrogen Fuel cell is slowly making its way into the transportation energy mix. It’s benefits seem manifold: Hydrogen Fuel Cells release only water vapor, and once generated, Hydrogen can be stored for long periods with minimal loss. It also can be supplied... [read more]

Rethinking the role of government in cleantech

May 17, 2012 by Dallas Kachan
with 126 views

Arkady/Shutterstock

Another year, another wringing of the hands over tax credits and incentives for clean technology. It’s time to end government handouts in clean technology, policymakers need to focus on setting mandates and standards and start ratcheting back subsidies and credits. [read more]

U.S. Coal Generation Drops 19 Percent In One Year

May 14, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 383 views

Power generation from coal is falling quickly. According to new figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal made up 36 percent of U.S. electricity in the first quarter of 2012 — down from 44.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011.That stunning drop, which represented almost a 20 percent decline in coal generation over... [read more]

Are solar subsidies unnatural but unavoidable?

May 14, 2012 by Alex Chapman
with 378 views

Wind energy has become the favourite whipping boy in the renewable energy world. However, solar energy has its critics as well. Wind energy opponents are usually current or prospective neighbours of turbine installations. Solar energy naysayers are typically actual or would-be economists. [read more]

National Clean Energy Standard Would Lower Power Sector CO2 Emissions 44% By 2035

May 8, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 161 views

There’s no way around it: we need a price on carbon in order to rapidly reduce emissions. But absent that necessary policy, putting the investment structure in place to promote renewables can also have a substantial impact on lowering emissions. [read more]

Carbon offsetting of uranium mines?

May 7, 2012 by Barry Brook
with 352 views

———————South Australia is host to the single largest known deposit of uranium in the world, at Roxby Downs. The recent plans to massively expand production at its Olympic Dam mine will take uranium production from 4,000 tonnes of uranium oxide (tUO2) in 2010-2011 to 19,000 tUO2 by the early 2020s. This enlarged open-cut... [read more]

Mexico Sets Legally Binding Carbon Reduction Targets

May 4, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 271 views

Since Mexico’s legislative body passed sweeping climate change legislation on April 19, Mexico joins the UK as the only two countries in the world with legally binding emissions goals to combat climate change. [read more]

Broadening the EU ETS debate

May 3, 2012 by David Hone
with 140 views

The ongoing debate in Europe about the current state of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the low carbon price outlook is gaining momentum and importantly gaining advocates for action, including senior figures from both business and academia on both sides of the Atlantic. [read more]

Climate Change's Impact on International Arctic Security

May 1, 2012 by Jay Gulledge
with 381 views

Volodymyr Goinyk/Shutterstock

Is the Arctic region a bellwether for how climate change may reshape global geopolitics in the post-Cold War era? [read more]

Reduce CO2 and Slow Global Warming?

April 30, 2012 by Willem Post
with 476 views

People have been concerned about what global warming, GW, may do to their future well-being for at least the past 50 years. Governments and academia responded by performing studies to identify the causes and holding international meetings to get agreement on future actions. Current annual spending has risen to about $200 billion to... [read more]

The Latest Publication from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: 'The Energy Mix'

April 28, 2012 by David Hone
with 574 views

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) held its annual company delegate conference in Switzerland this week. For the WBCSD Energy and Climate team the event marked the launch of the latest WBCSD publication “The Energy Mix”. This is a document that started life back in the middle of last year, originally as a response to the reaction from a number of governments to the events in Fukushima. The initial aim was to inform policy makers on the implication of sudden changes in energy policy, such as the decision by the German government to rapidly phase out the use of nuclear power. But as the work got going, the document took on a number of additional dimensions. [read more]

Making Sense of Misleading Talk about Cap-and-Trade in Europe and the USA

April 26, 2012 by Robert Stavins
with 284 views

Various advocates have labeled the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the EU-ETS as near “the brink of failure” because of the recent trend of very low auction prices. Not true! [read more]

Five Reasons Planet Earth Likes the Smart Grid

April 23, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 415 views

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a new guide titled “Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living” that offers practical steps Americans can adopt to reduce carbon emissions. The largest contributor of carbon emissions is the internal combustion engine in a car. The UCS’s top recommendation is that... [read more]