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worldwatch institute

3 Studies Confirm Shale Gas Is Not Worse Than Coal

August 31, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 1,383 views
11

For most of this year the enormous potential of shale gas has been clouded by controversy over its alleged climate impact. This began with the draft and later the leaked pre-publication version of a paper from a Cornell professor suggesting that the greenhouse gas emissions from gas were no better than those from coal and might even be... [read more]

New Report Shows China’s Clean Energy Lead Increasing

November 5, 2010 by Teryn Norris
with 478 views
0

China’s ambitious efforts to dominate in clean energy sectors have been widely documented of late, but a new Worldwatch Institute report, “China’s Growth in Clean Energy Matches Ambition,” concludes that these trends have been underestimated if anything.  Since “Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant” benchmarked China’s clean energy... [read more]

Exhibit India:The Case for Decarbonization

April 12, 2010 by Breakthrough Institute
with 210 views
1

India's recent proposal to tax coal (per ton) and allocate the money to a "National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF)" to finance clean energy innovation largely flew under the radar, but the policy is notable for two important reasons. First, India's plan is a prime example of the right way to put fees on dirty energy to work -- using them to... [read more]

Wanted: A cultural revolution

January 12, 2010 by Marc Gunther
with 153 views
5

“It’s no longer enough to change our light bulbs. We need to change our culture.” So says Erik Assadourian, senior researcher at the Worldwatch Institute and project director of a provocative and timely new book called 2010 State of the World: Transforming Cultures from Consumerism to Sustainability. Its argument is simple: The most... [read more]

Copenhagen Forum Demonstrating the Breadth of the Natural Gas Sales Effort

December 14, 2009 by Rod Adams
with 265 views
0

American Clean Skies Foundation, Worldwatch Institute, and the U. N. Foundation sponsored a panel discussion titled The Evolving Role of Natural Gas. Panelists include: Holmes Hummel, Senior Advisor for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy Ian Smale, Group Head, Strategy and Policy, BP Dr. J.... [read more]

NPR Focuses on The Little Guys Who Bring You Domestic Natural Gas

September 25, 2009 by Rod Adams
with 179 views
0

I have spent many hours listening to NPR radio stories while commuting back and forth from Annapolis to Washington since the summer of 2001. I enjoy the in-depth coverage and the lack of the usual kind of shouting commercials. There are times, however, when I get disappointed. This past week has been one of those times as NPR's morning... [read more]

Document alert: Climate Change Reference Guide

August 6, 2009 by Lou Grinzo
with 96 views
0

The Worldwatch Institute has just released a terrific (and freely downloadable) publication, the Climate Change Reference Guide [17 page, 569KB PDF]. The CCRF is an excellent introduction to anthropogenic climate change that includes basic science and historical data, a glossary, and the expected impacts of climate change for various... [read more]

Document alert: Low-Carbon Energy

July 30, 2009 by Lou Grinzo
with 125 views
0

Worldwatch Institute has released a freely downloadable document, Low-Carbon Energy. From the summary on the report’s web page: Technologies available today, and those expected to become competitive over the next decade, will permit a rapid decarbonization of the global energy economy. New renewable energy technologies, combined with a... [read more]

Biofuels: burning up (your) dollars

July 9, 2009 by Marc Gunther
with 190 views
3

Farm state politicians, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists have sold biofuels to rest of us as a way to revive rural America, attack the problem of global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In response, investors and taxpayers have poured many millions of dollars into corn ethanol. The returns have been skimpy. That,... [read more]

Two degrees of separation

June 30, 2009 by Lou Grinzo
with 739 views
2

One of the “magic numbers” in energy and environmental issues is 2C, as in we can only allow 2C degrees of warming over pre-industrial levels before we trigger truly nasty consequences. I’m sure that like me, most people reading this site have seen this number quoted endlessly. But where did it come from, I wondered, and how valid is... [read more]