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Environmental Policy

Rethinking the role of government in cleantech

May 17, 2012 by Dallas Kachan
with 126 views
0

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]

In an Election Year, Time to Talk Energy

May 17, 2012 by Mark Green
with 121 views
0

Just a thought, but how great would it be if one of this fall’s presidential debates focused solely on energy issues?Past presidential debates have discussed the economy and jobs, national security and foreign policy, and of course all of those are important. Yet, when you think about it, energy is the nexus where all come together.... [read more]

Continuing the Dialogue with the White House

May 15, 2012 by Mark Green
with 96 views
0

Tom Grundy/Shutterstock

Takeaways from White House energy and climate adviser Heather Zichal’s appearance at Monday’s hydraulic fracturing workshop in Washington, D.C., hosted by API:Outreach – The oil and natural gas industry agrees with the Zichal and the administration that constructive dialog on energy issues is, well, constructive. Zichal:“I give [API... [read more]

Clean Tech Headed for Stagnation

May 14, 2012 by Matthew Stepp
with 466 views
18

To be sure, the U.S. clean energy industry has been in a period of rapid growth, largely due to historic federal investments in the research, development, deployment, and manufacture of clean technologies. From 2009 through 2014, the federal government will invest a total of $150 billion, or the equivalent in magnitude to government... [read more]

A Tale of Two Agencies: How the BLM and EPA Will (and Won't) Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing

May 11, 2012 by Briana Mordick
with 217 views
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NeonLight /Shutterstock

Despite being similar processes and posing similar risks to the environment, the way hydraulic fracturing is regulated is very different from the way the underground injection of other fluids is regulated.  This difference was made even more apparent when, on the same day, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the... [read more]

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

May 8, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 161 views
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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]

Facts, Not Excuses, Should Guide Decision on Re-Routed Keystone XL

May 7, 2012 by Mark Green
with 111 views
0

It’s good to hear that TransCanada has submitted its new application for a presidential permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The application comes just weeks after the Nebraska legislature approved a bill to move forward with a new route in that state that avoids the sensitive Sand Hills region.Even better news would be that the... [read more]

US & UK to jointly finance floating wind turbines

May 3, 2012 by Clifton Yin
with 313 views
2

Wikimedia Commons

Last week, the third annual Clean Energy Ministerial – a global forum for government ministers responsible for clean energy technology – came to a close, having led to the establishment of several notable initiatives on energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage-technology demonstration, and the sharing of data, among others. One... [read more]

Top EPA Official Steps Down amidst political controversy

May 1, 2012 by Nathanael Baker
with 148 views
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) administrator in the South and Southwest region (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas), Al Armendariz, has resigned after Republicans took aim at comments he made two years ago regarding how the EPA would "crucify" corporations that broke environmental laws.An... [read more]

Should Britain increase it's speed limit if it wants to reduce CO2?

May 1, 2012 by David Thorpe
with 137 views
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The Government is to take forward its proposal for increasing the motorway speed limit to 80 mph by trialling the new limit on selected managed motorways. Roads Minister Mike Penning said this week that his Department "is carrying out work to assess the potential economic, safety and environmental impacts of trialling 80mph speed... [read more]

The Hard Truth: Even Liberals are Big Fans of Oil Subsidies

April 23, 2012 by Robert Rapier
with 723 views
10

Survey Says…If you were to survey people and ask the question “Should we subsidize oil companies?” — the overwhelming majority would undoubtedly respond “No!” The notion that we are subsidizing oil companies generates outrage in many people, but in this article I will show why these subsidies aren’t going to go away any time soon. The... [read more]

Why natural gas is the ‘atomic bomb’ of the energy debate

April 20, 2012 by Corbin Hiar
with 752 views
2

The growing role of natural gas in the U.S. energy mix continues to confound and divide renewable energy experts and investors. Is America's abundant supply of shale gas a boon for the renewable industry, or undercutting it? [read more]

Beyond Boom and Bust: Report Overview

April 18, 2012 by Breakthrough Institute
with 263 views
2

Despite robust growth and recent improvements in price and performance, a boom in US clean tech sectors could now falter as federal clean energy spending declines sharply, according to a new report published today. [read more]

Dash for shale gas will not help save the climate or lower prices

April 17, 2012 by David Thorpe
with 312 views
0

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas, is said to be seismically "safe" in the UK, but critics say it will impede us from meeting our greenhouse gas reduction targets and stall investment in renewables.  DECC has published an independent evaluation of the seismic risks from hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, which... [read more]

Evaluating California's Cap and Trade Programme

April 17, 2012 by Kristin Eberhard
with 206 views
0

The nation is closely watching as California prepares to launch its first auction of pollution credits in a groundbreaking cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and potentially raise billions in revenue that can be reinvested in programs to reduce pollution and expedite the State’s transition to a clean energy... [read more]