Climate Change
Zoi confirmed for EERE post
Energy efficiency isn’t the sexiest topic in the world, but it may be among the most important (see this study, showing how much and how cheaply the US could cut GHG emissions by ramping up the efficiency of buildings and appliances). Good news: Today, Cathy Zoi was confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a post within …
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CONTINUE READINGBill would emphasize wildlife on public lands
Reps. Ron Kind (D. WI) and Walter Jones (R. NC) have introduced a new bill, dubbed the America’s Wildlife Heritage Act (H.R. 2807), in the House. The bill is intended to shift the balance of power over the nation’s multiple-use lands (those managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management) a bit away …
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CONTINUE READINGAn Open Letter to Climate Change Denialists
Dear Climate Deniers: From the point of view of the blog, it’s good news that you have found us — it means that we’re reaching readers who are well outside our usual circle of friends and acquaintances. And we also welcome dissenting views, even when we think they’re unfounded, so you folks are welcome to …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate change affecting the U.S.
The US Global Change Research Program has just issued a report on Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. For people who have been paying attention, there’s not much new here. But this report, authored by a team of distinguished scientists from inside and outside the government, endorsed by the White House (see this …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Does the CBO Report on Waxman-Markey Actually Mean?
The Congressional Budget Office issued its report on the Waxman-Markey bill recently. The Washington Times immediately trumpeted: “CBO puts hefty price tag on emissions plan: Obama’s cap-and-trade system seen costing $846 billion.” This is quite misleading. Actually, the CBO report tells us virtually nothing about the economic costs of the bill or how much consumers …
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CONTINUE READINGImportant New Climate Change Story
In a new and crucial climate change development, the Los Angeles Lakers have won their 15th World Championship. (For the northerners, that’s 11 more than the Warriors and Kings combined.). Hooray! Now, all we need to do is figure out how to pay for the parade….
CONTINUE READINGSelling the deteriorating atmosphere?
In February, I wrote about the quandary of how to refer to the effects of increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases so as to better communicate the seriousness of the problem and reach new audiences (recognizing that “global warming” is both too mild-sounding and politically polarized, and “climate change” isn’t much better). How about the phrase “our deteriorating atmosphere” as a substitute? An initially-confidential …
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CONTINUE READINGIs EVERYTHING Related to Climate Change?
I don’t want to seem obsessed with a single issue, so I keep trying to come up with topics that have absolutely no relationship with climate change. But I can’t seem to find any. The fact is that energy is such an integral part of our economy that almost all activities connect one way or …
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CONTINUE READINGFutureGen Back on Track
The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that it will restart FutureGen, a large-scale demonstration project to determine the feasibility of capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide generated from coal-fired power plants. As Dan described in an earlier post, the Bush Administration had cancelled FutureGen based on cost-overruns, overruns that turned out to be based in …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia and clean-tech jobs
Pew is out with a study measuring clean-energy jobs, businesses, patents and venture capital investments by state, and California ranks first on all fronts. The study also concludes that the number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007. While California’s number 1 …
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