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Sierra Club admits taking money to promote natural gas over coal

February 7, 2012 by Rod Adams
with 168 views
0

On February 2, 2012, the Sierra Club allowed a Time magazine blog to break a poorly kept “secret” whose existence had threatened to get out of hand. In a post titled Exclusive: How the Sierra Club Took Millions From the Natural Gas Industry—and Why They Stopped Bryan Walsh described how one of the oldest, largest, and best endowed... [read more]

Cincinnati Explores 100% Renewable Energy Plan

February 7, 2012 by Jonathan Smith
with 78 views
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Cincinnati is working on a new power aggregation deal right now that could lead to the entire city being powered from 100 percent renewable energy sources. The deal, city officials say, could be finalized within the coming months and be in place for consumers by summer 2012. Such a move would make Cincinnati the largest city in the... [read more]

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Australia: Solar Flagships extends deadline, re-opens bidding

February 7, 2012 by Bea Gonzalez
with 51 views
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The Australian government has given the Areva-led Solar Dawn project a six month reprieve, and has re-opened bidding for the PV portion of its national solar program. The Solar Dawn consortium proposing to build a 250MW solar thermal plant in south-west Queensland as part of Australia’s Solar Flagships program has won a six month... [read more]

Is Climate Change Bringing the Arctic to Europe?

February 7, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 296 views
1

Less Summer Arctic Sea Ice Cover May Mean Some Colder, Snowier Winters in Central Europe [For Now] [T]he probability of cold winters with much snow in Central Europe rises when the Arctic is covered by less sea ice in summer. Scientists of the Research Unit Potsdam of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in... [read more]

The Dawn of a New Day for Autos

February 7, 2012 by Steve Seidel
with 124 views
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A lot has changed in the two years since I made my first visit to the Washington Auto Show. Back then, gas prices averaged $2.68 per gallon and the Nissan LEAF looked like a “car of the future” compared to the other vehicles on the showroom floor. Now, prices at the pump are 25 percent higher, averaging $3.50 per gallon in 2011, and fuel... [read more]

Four Smart Grid Innovations that are Utility Painkillers

February 7, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 147 views
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The electricity value chain of generation, transmission, distribution and consumption has a number of challenges, or pain points, to overcome to deliver all Smart Grid benefits.  Electric utility Smart Grid investment decisions are made on the basis of what reduces or eliminates pain.  There is no “one size fits all” answer in... [read more]

Regulatory Efficiency: A Must for Electricity Infrastructure Renewal

February 7, 2012 by Jim Burpee
with 110 views
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We at the Canadian Electricity Association have publicly raised, many times, that our electricity sector faces a complex challenge over the next two decades. In order to meet Canada’s increasing demands for electricity, we must invest in electricity infrastructure. That means renewing, replacing and adding to the generating stations and power lines that power the economy. [read more]

Liquid Wood, Anybody?

February 6, 2012 by Stefano Ratti
with 395 views
1

One of the most abundant forms of renewable energy available in the United States is wood residue from forestry operations. The carbon in wood residue is bound to go back to the atmosphere, either as carbon dioxide (CO2) as a result of combustion (natural or controlled fire), or through methane (CH4), as a result of decomposition.... [read more]

International nuclear markets gain momentum

February 6, 2012 by Dan Yurman
with 453 views
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China restarts approvals, moves to 3G designs The China Daily reports in its English language editions Feb 1 approvals of new nuclear reactor projects in China will take place at a pace of three-to-four projects per year. According to Xiao Xinjian, a nuclear energy industry expert, six projects that had already received approval prior... [read more]

Public Opinion, the Media and Climate Change

February 6, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 370 views
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A must-read study published Monday in the journal Climatic Change debunks some pervasive myths about public opinion and climate change. The lead author, Dr. Robert J. Brulle of Drexel University, gave me an exclusive interview. [read more]

Why I am opposed to Northern Gateway

February 6, 2012 by Simon Donner
with 149 views
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After a few months of thinking, I came to the conclusion that there is no choice but to oppose the construction of the Northern Gateway pipeline. There are many worthy arguments on either side of this issue, from the economy to First Nations rights, and from the preservation of the BC coastline to the reality of oil consumption here and... [read more]

Dwarfing Cape Wind with a Patriot-sized wind farm

February 6, 2012 by Rich Maltzman
with 151 views
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Take a look at the two areas above. The top one represents Cape Wind, about which we’ve posted several times. Now, a new area has been set aside for a wind farm which, according to a story in today’s Boston Globe, “could produce as much as 4,000 megawatts, 10 times as much electricity as the proposed Cape Wind project, which is slated to... [read more]

The Future of Oil & Gas: Exploring New Innovation in Old-Fashioned Energy Webcast Recap

February 6, 2012 by Sheila Oliva
with 242 views
4

In case you missed it, last week The Energy Collective hosted a webcast on the topic of oil and gas and what the future held for these fossil fuels. As recent research has shown, despite the unprecedented levels of growth and attention wind, solar and biofuels receive as energy sources, the globe’s hunger for energy will guarantee that... [read more]

New Cuban Crisis Threatens Florida's Coasts

February 5, 2012 by nrdc switchboard
with 569 views
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Ever since Cuba’s intent to drill within 70 miles of Florida’s coast has become known, concerned Floridians have been reeling with how to protect our treasured Florida Keys. For many Floridians, this is a very charged issue. It’s no secret that having Cuba drill for oil is itself a hugely political issue-- exiles and many others outraged... [read more]

Decarbonizing California requires relying more on electricity, once it's low carbon

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 166 views
7

A 2006 California law, Assembly Bill 32, obligates the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (30% below business as usual), and to 80% below that level by 2050 (90% below business as usual). How is it to done? A team from UC, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and elsewhere examines this... [read more]