Energy
No drilling for dollars this year
Earlier this week, Cara noted that the tentative state budget agreement struck between California Gov. Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders included permission for new oil drilling in the state’s waters off Santa Barbara, despite the fact that the State Lands Commission, the body responsible for issuing oil leases, had rejected the proposal in January. Cara also …
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CONTINUE READINGWater for Power Plants: A Major Concern All of Its Own
As the demand for freshwater grows and supplies dwindle, should water use become a major factor in choosing new sources of electric power? That is a question addressed recently in a hearing sponsored by a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology. The United States Geological Survey says that 48 percent of …
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CONTINUE READINGHow is Cap’n Trade’s brand faring? The Jon Stewart barometer
There’s been some good discussion of the pros and cons of the Waxman-Markey ACES bill at Ethan’s recent post criticizing cap-and-trade. One commenter worries that , whether or not the bill would ultimately succeed in reducing greenhouse emissions, the public perception of ACES is that it’s a corporate giveaway, which harms all efforts for environmental regulation. Red Desert …
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CONTINUE READINGNew California offshore drilling part of budget deal?
Lost in the swirl of reports on what may, or may not, be part of the California budget deal legislators appear to be closing in on is this detail, reported by the AP: Aides to the governor and Legislature spent their weekend rushing to work out legislative language that could resolve the remaining issues. . …
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CONTINUE READINGIs India Going Green?
According to a story in today’s NY Times, India is making a major push toward renewable energy: “We need to get our act together,” said Gauri Singh, joint secretary in India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which was set up 26 years ago, “because India is growing faster than anyone can imagine. Renewable energy …
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CONTINUE READINGGreetings from New England – Home to Green Jobs, But No Polar Bears
Residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts who stay close to home may not have seen a polar bear in – well – a long time, and the economy may be in a general slump. but the town fathers and mothers have seen a recent growth in green jobs. The Berkshire Eagle reports that The Center for Ecological …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Light Bulb Goes On!
From the New York Times: When Congress passed a new energy law two years ago, obituaries were written for the incandescent light bulb. The law set tough efficiency standards, due to take effect in 2012, that no traditional incandescent bulb on the market could meet, and a century-old technology that helped create the modern world …
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CONTINUE READINGSolar Energy on the Fast Track
Yesterday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced a series of initiatives to create a “fast track” for the development of utility scale solar energy facilities on Western public lands. This will include designating certain tracts of land as especially promising based on solar potential and land use compatibility, funding environmental …
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CONTINUE READINGEthanol and World Hunger
A new report, based on intensive modeling, raises serious concerns about the impact of first-generation biofuels such as corn ethanol. The picture for second-generation fuels, such as the cellulosic ethanol now being researched at the Energy Bioscences Institute, is much better. Note, however, that the source is somewhat suspect — the OPEC Fund for International …
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CONTINUE READINGCool Cars For California
Those California environmental regulators: there they go again… This past week, California’s Air Resources Board adopted first-ever regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include sun-reflecting window glass for all cars and light trucks sold within the state. The new rules take effect in 2014. It turns out that conventional vehicle windows waste a lot of energy. …
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