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Solar PV gets grid parity for 78 million Americans with 'balance of system' best practices

Cutting non-module solar photovoltaic (PV) costs with best design practices could make solar PV cost less than grid electricity for more than 25 percent of Americans. Half of the installed cost of a solar PV array is the solar module, but the other half (the “balance of system”) involves labor, assembly, and other components. With […]

Obama Has His First Opponent To Campaign Against: Extremism

In 2008, Americans were fed up. Wars, a terrible economy, dishonesty, a drift from our core beliefs. That November, Barack Obama said, “Change,” which may basically have meant, “Not that.” Not that direction for America. Not that economic policy. And it worked. America didn’t want that. America wanted something different. Now, reasonable people can debate […]

Earth Day Aftermath – – Hope or Despair?

On Earth Day last week, I saw a burger wrapper tossed from an old Buick and was stunned that anyone still thought it was OK to use our shared city habitat as a personal dumpster. Later that same day however, I saw a homeless man pick up a Styrofoam cup from the gutter and drop […]

A ton of carbon, an imported widget, and thou

It’s been a long time coming, but a team led by Glen Peters, of the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, has finally published a comprehensive “consumption-side” analysis of global greenhouse-gas emission, one that takes international trade fully into account.   Estimates of “outsourced emissions” or “embodied carbon” have been knocking around […]

Court strikes down federal overreach on transmission lines

With the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress gave broad powers to the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to identify “congested” transmission corridors.  The goal was to prioritize new high-voltage transmission development and to provide higher financial returns to transmission development companies.  The decision created a lot of controversy, […]

API shocker: Oil makes money!

In a transparent attempt to blunt impending justified rage over this week's profit reports from Big Oil, the latest piece of spin to emerge from the well-paid creative minds at the American Petroleum Institute is a real classic. The gist, in a nutshell, is that oil makes money -- a lot of money.

What mistakes did the progressive environmental community make in the climate bill fight?

The pro-action side made a number of mistakes, as I’ve said many times.  Here are three: Failure to create a grassroots movement that could seriously cost an opposing politician (as, say, the NRA can). Messaging flaws, especially by Obama, who simply didn’t use the bully pulpit to make his case to the public. Inadequate Senate […]

Nesting doll EV is an electric car with an electric trike inside

New cuteness rule: Anything that contains a smaller version of itself is adorable. Think about it: Kangaroos, koalas, Mandelbrot sets. (No? Adorable fractals? Nobody?) Ergo the McCar, from Chinese company Geely, is the cutest EV ever, because it's not just a sweet little full-electric or hybrid car. It also contains a tiny fold-up electric scooter, […]

Friday music blogging: Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell joined the Drive-By Truckers in 2001 to support them on their Southern Rock Opera tour; he left the band in 2007. In between, he worked with them on three albums that contain some of my all-time favorite songs. It’s a shame he left the band. I view this as a real Rogers/Gilmore, Plant/Page, […]

U.S. Gives South Africa Coal for Earth Day

An Open Letter on U.S. Support for New Coal Plants in Africa, from Mary Anne Hitt, Director of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, and Bobby Peak, Director of groundWork South Africa. Dear Export Import Bank President Fred Hochberg, As Earth Day approaches we write to express our shock and disappointment at the Export Import […]