Energy
How Bad is the Spill?
These comparisons may be a little misleading — a bit like saying that we shouldn’t worry about 9/11 because a a hundred times more people died in the Battle of the Somme in World War I.
CONTINUE READINGEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Biofuels — And More!
Click here for videos of a conference at the University of Illinois Law School on the current state of play in the biofuels world.
CONTINUE READINGDeepwater Horizon and the Dark Side of the Stevens Legacy
If John Paul Stevens was the architect of modern environmental law, the Deepwater Horizon disaster shows the effects of one of his worst building projects.
CONTINUE READINGA Brief History of the Deepwater Horizon Blowout
2001. Manufacture of the BOP (Blowout Preventer), a huge block of steel and valves that that holds the well pipe.The BOP has the ability to slice through the pipe and seal the well. The BOP used by the Deepwater Horizon remains with the rig for the next nine years. April 19, 2010. Halliburton completes pumping …
Continue reading “A Brief History of the Deepwater Horizon Blowout”
CONTINUE READINGThe Looming Political Battle Over AB 32 & California’s Environmental & Economic Future
Today, proponents of an initiative measure designed to “suspend” California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) are scheduled to submit signatures to state election officials designed to qualify the measure for the November 2010 ballot. Bankrolled by two Texas-based oil companies, Tesoro Corporation and Valero Energy Corporation, the initiative measure would preclude …
CONTINUE READINGThe Odds of Failure
First, “human error” is a cop-out when you’re dealing with major technology. . . . Second, it’s probably true that this was a very unlikely way for any particular oil rig to go wrong, but that doesn’t mean much because there are a lot of rigs out there in the Gulf.
CONTINUE READINGEnergy Conservation, Southern Style
A new report finds lots of room for energy efficiency in the American South. Here are the main findings. Energy efficiency improvements could: 1. Prevent energy consumption from growing over the next 20 years. In the absence of such initiatives, energy consumption in these three sectors is forecast to grow by approximately 16 percent between …
Continue reading “Energy Conservation, Southern Style”
CONTINUE READINGClimate Change and Two Forms of Justice
Via David Brooks today, Jim Manzi from several months ago makes an intriguing argument regarding the equities of international climate change policy. Developing nations consistently say that developed countries should pay for the lion’s share of climate mitigation because developed countries have caused the problem. But says Manzi, What this ignores is that the reason …
Continue reading “Climate Change and Two Forms of Justice”
CONTINUE READINGA good time to think about off-shore energy
Rick recently pointed out the ironic timing of the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The news from the Gulf in the wake of that explosion just gets worse. The first report was that the well had sealed. Offshore wells have “blowout preventer” valves which are supposed to shut in the event of an emergency …
Continue reading “A good time to think about off-shore energy”
CONTINUE READINGKammen to be Energy Envoy
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Dan Kammen as a Senior Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Fellow to advise Western Hemisphere governments on clean energy issues. As one of the first ECPA fellows, Kammen, the Class of 1935 Distinguished Professor in UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group will consult with and offer …
Continue reading “Kammen to be Energy Envoy”
CONTINUE READING