Energy
On Renewable Energy, Is the Senate Bill Worse Than Nothing?
The energy bill passed Wednesday by the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee has renewable energy provisions so weak that a dozen environmental groups teamed up to condemn it. Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists called the renewable standards in the bill “pitiful”, and added that the legislation could actually lead to less …
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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 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 READINGAs Digital TV Goes, So Goes the Smart Grid?
Today, we bid a nostalgic farewell to analog television, as all broadcast stations are required to deliver a digital signal. Do the challenges the nation has faced in making this not-so-momentous transition suggest a bumpy road ahead as policymakers push for a “smart” electric grid? Should low income and minority consumers be especially concerned? Most …
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CONTINUE READINGBreathless in Bombay
…is not just the name of a terrific volume of short stories by Murzban Shroff (mandatory reading if you come here): it is a condition that most residents here deal with daily. But the government is actually beginning to do something about it, which should be highly embarrassing to their US counterparts. This is a …
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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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CONTINUE READINGGreen Buildings: LEEDing to Trouble?
Green construction is all the rage among legislatures, regulators and the building industry. Incentives and mandates abound at the federal, state and local level, but so too do risks of failure to meet the certification standards when all the dust settles after construction is complete. The Harvard Law School Environmental Law and Policy Clinic recently …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia environmental justice advocates sue Air Resources Board over climate scoping plan
UPDATES: California Air Resources Board Chair (and former UCLA colleague) Mary Nichols comments below. The Complaint in this action is available here (caption page separately available here). A coalition of California environmental justice advocates has filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the California Air Resources Board‘s scoping plan for AB 32, the landmark climate …
CONTINUE READINGBiofuels Could Be Good for Your Health (Especially If You Live in New York, Chicago, or L.A.)
A recent study at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab indicates that biofuels may have health benefits: Although there are a number of uncertainties that must be addressed for a more accurate picture, these early results show that a biofuel eliminating even 10-percent of current gasoline pollutant emissions would have a substantial impact on human health in …
CONTINUE READINGIndia’s New Government and Climate Change: Good News, Bad News
The Congress Party’s unexpected strong victory in the 2009 elections has also brought one of the strongest Cabinets in recent times. For those interested in the upcoming climate talks, however, it also presents some challenges. At the end of the day, climate policy will not be a focus of the government, but there are some …
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