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Geoengineering research, getting real
Geoengineering research is emerging from the laboratory. Government-funded scientists in the UK are moving forward with a pair of small-scale, carefully-controlled experiments–one to test the qualities of particles that could be used to block the sun’s rays, and another in which droplets of water will be pumped into the air using a one-... [read more]
Americans lead charge into the abyss
Yet another poll is out that details one more time how far American opinion on climate change is moving in the wrong direction. Since July 2006, the percentage of Americans who think “there is solid evidence the earth is warming” has dropped from 79% to 59%, and the overall portion blaming it on human activity dropped from 50% to 34%.... [read more]
Guest Post by Bill Becker - Climate Action: Down to Business
This is the first two parts of a multi-part series by guest blogger William Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. 1. THE SITUATION There will come a time when governments are forced to act on global climate change. Its impacts will be increasingly devastating and undeniable. Its costs will swell... [read more]
Is new global warming poll cause for despair?
News flash: Americans are confused about global warming. Of course, that's not exactly earth-shattering news, considering the bevy of polling data released during the past year, much of which has shown declining majority support for the view that global warming is primarily caused by human activities — a view held by the vast majority of climate scientists. [read more]
Public Opinion Issue Intensity Leans Republican, Except When it Comes to the Environment
In 9 of 15 issues examined in a recent AP-GfK Poll (pdf), more Americans who expressed intense interest in an issue voiced strong opposition to Obama's work on it, including the economy, unemployment, federal deficits and terrorism.Respondents were about evenly split over the president's efforts on five issues and strongly approved of... [read more]
Save the World or Beat China? How to Sell Cleantech Investment to America
Many of the issues we face with renewable energy and clean tech in general are technological problems, but I would argue many more of them have to do with framing the issues and convincing people to change. Technology won’t do it by itself, the adoption and change of behavior will be the hard part. We can learn a lot of lessons... [read more]
Public Still Believes in Climate Change
The majority of Americans do believe that Earth's climate is warming and they want the government to take action, according to Stanford Professor Jon Krosnick and his Political Psychology Research Group, but they still don't want to pay higher taxes. These findings echo Breakthrough's own social values research demonstrating strong... [read more]
Post BP Disaster: Support grows for comprehensive energy bill that makes carbon polluters pay
As the BP oil disaster drags on, the public’s desire for clean energy investments and increased oversight of corporate polluters has greatly intensified. CAP’s Daniel J. Weiss and intern Ariel Powell have the important data and charts from a major new poll. The League of Conservation Voters commissioned a poll by the Benenson... [read more]
Boycotting Anti-Nuclear Activist Companies & Celebrities
Podcast – download the MP3 File Here During a recent conversation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a friend asked if anyone in the group was boycotting BP. This led to a lively discussion about the effectiveness of boycotts and the inevitable question, “Who do you boycott?” Before I answer that question, I want to make... [read more]
Support for offshore oil drilling, dirty energy production gets dispersed by BP oil disaster
In the wake of the largest oil disaster in U.S. history, two just released polls by USA Today/Gallup show that Americans are increasingly skeptical of increased offshore drilling. In the one month since the April 20th explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig, support for more offshore drilling has dropped by nearly 20 percent – a... [read more]
US: thumbs up for offshore drilling
At least that’s what a CNN poll says: 57% strongly or mildly still favor offshore drilling? Ouch. I bring this up to make an uncomfortable point about the level of disconnect between what we energy and enviro geeks obsess about and what jiggles the needle for mainstreamers. There’s a disturbing and tiresome tendency for all of us to... [read more]
Opinion polls underestimate Americans’ concern about the environment and global warming
When asked “What do you think is the most important problem facing the country today?” about 49 percent of respondents answered the economy or unemployment, while only 1 percent mentioned the environment or global warming. But when asked, “What do you think will be the most serious problem facing the world in the future if nothing... [read more]
Swift action unlikely on climate bill
President Obama has a better chance with banking reform than he does saving the planet Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced today a nearly 1,000 page climate and energy bill which hit the Senate floor with a resounding thud. Despite a politically savvy Christmas tree of political appeals to various energy and environmental... [read more]
An informed public is key to acceptance of nuclear energy
Guest post by DV82XL. He is a Canadian chemist and materials scientist (and regular, valued commenter on BNC). For his previous article on the 2010 Nuclear Security Summit, see here. Governments are coming to recognize nuclear power as an attractive option because of its near absence of carbon dioxide emissions and the... [read more]
Why public support is thin for nuclear energy
The New York Times points out it’s visibility is cloaked by the faults of a few plants Here’s a startling and trenchant thought that advocates for nuclear energy need to take to heart. It appeared in the New York Times April 21st. “The nuclear industry is just so far removed from people’s lives, they don’t have much feeling for it,”... [read more]
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International nuclear markets gain momentum (533 views)
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Is Climate Change Bringing the Arctic to Europe? (664 views)
New Cuban Crisis Threatens Florida's Coasts (590 views)
International nuclear markets gain momentum (533 views)
Scott Edward Anderson is a consultant, blogger, and media commentator who blogs at The Green Skeptic. More »
Marc Gunther is a writer, speaker and consultant, who focuses on business and the environment. More »
Christine Hertzog is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid. More »
Jesse Jenkins is the director of energy and climate policy at the Breakthrough Institute. More »
Robert Rapier works in the energy industry and writes and speaks about energy and the environment. More »
Geoffrey Styles is Managing Director of GSW Strategy Group, LLC and an award-winning blogger. More »
Dan Yurman is a nuclear energy blogger and writes regularly for Fuel Cycle Week. More »
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3rd Annual Utility Customer Experience Management Conference
When: Wed, 2012-02-08 08:00
Outage Delivery Optimisation Forum 2012
When: Wed, 2012-02-08 08:30
CSP Today South Africa 2012
When: Wed, 2012-02-08 09:00
Africa Energy Indaba
When: Tue, 2012-02-21 08:00
NERC CIP Compliance Training
When: Thu, 2012-02-23 08:00
2012 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit
When: Mon, 2012-02-27 12:27
