About Social Media Today
Posts by Bill Chameides Subscribe 
Climate Change: China, U.S. Not Doing Enough
Global greenhouse gas emissions are higher than ever. What’s to be done?“Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map,” a special report [pdf] by the International Energy Agency (IEA), was released on Monday, and the findings are sobering. (See related story: “...
Forests Fuel Brazilian Hydropower
Map of Xingu River (pink) and the site of Brazil’s Belo Monte Dam (arrow). (Kmusser/Wikimedia Commons)In the Amazon you don’t need to burn wood for a forest to contribute to energy production.Once Upon a Time…People thought the worth of a...
Spectra Natural Gas Pipeline: Another Controversy?
Spectra NJ-NY Expansion Project mapA new pipeline promises new natural gas supplies for New York City. Some tout the economic and environmental benefits that will come from it. Others decry the potential problems it brings. (Source: Spectra)...
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: EPA Cries Foul on Keystone XL & Gov't Forecasts Fall Short
Two news items surrounding greenhouse gas emissions moved over the past week. One on the trajectory of said emissions from government number-crunching. The other on what the proposed Keystone pipeline might mean for emissions.We start with Keystone...
Climate Change and the Peak Oil Flip-Flop
There’s a new twist in the “peak oil” debate. Is it good news for the climate?Peak Oil Question Remains, Debate ContinuesEver since M. King Hubbert advanced the theory of peak oil in 1956, experts and non-experts alike have been debating about...
Congress & Ethanol: Biofuels Love Gone Wrong?
The ethanol mandate in gasoline is starting to sting.Trouble BrewingIn a news article published in Science magazine last week, journalist Robert Service writes: “This year is shaping up to be decisive for ‘cellulosic’ ethanol made from corn...
Computers and Appliances: Today's Home-Based Energy Hogs
The Energy Information Administration is touting the fact that “heating and cooling” now comprise less than half of our residential energy usage. But that’s only half the story.Used to be that most of our residential energy bucks went...
Shale Gas and Tight Oil: Boom? Bust? Petering Out?
The oil and gas industry promises “a few days of fracking” for “decades of … production.” But is it true?Believe it or not, some people don’t buy the fracking boom story. Some predict bust. Others, more of a petering out. What gives? Let’s...
State of the Union: Obama Straddles Climate-Energy Fence
Can we lower carbon emissions and also push more and more oil and gas production?The environmental community got a shot in the arm following the 2012 election. After it had languished as a non-issue throughout the presidential campaign, Obama gave a...
John Sununu: We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Energy Policy
History suggests he’s wrong.Republican John E. Sununu represented New Hampshire in both the U.S. House and Senate before being defeated in his re-election bid for senator in 2008. His tenure in Congress was largely characterized by support for...
Gas Prices: How Low Can They Go?
Hoping for lower prices at the pump? Don’t hold your breath. Here’s why.During presidential election years, pretty much anything can become a political football. And so it‘s not surprising that with gasoline prices well above $3 a gallon, the cost...
Will Congress Take the Wind out of Wind Energy's Sails?
A lack of wind won’t stall our future renewable energy economy, but Congress might.Debunking the Myths That Take the Wind out of Wind Energy’s SailsWind has its downsides. It’s intermittent; it’s too expensive. Fair points, but there are ways around...
