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Lack of credit threatens solar industry

Originally posted at the NDN Blog.

The failure of the Senate to obtain cloture on the Solar Investment Tax Credit -- coming on the heels of the collapse of climate change legislation last Friday -- should send a wake up call to the environment and clean technology communities that a new more forceful strategy is needed to make progress on climate change and energy independence.

At a moment when the U.S. economy is suffering from the effects of a full blown oil shock, when the United States is fighting a hot war in the Middle East in part to protect access to oil in a volatile region, and when much of the domestic news consists of extreme weather reports -- from floods in the Midwest to school closings in the east due to dangerous temperatures though it is not yet summer -- it is hard to fathom the lack of leadership on energy issues coming out of Washington.

Eco-diaper bag has good cause, lousy price

As an expectant motha, I have to admit my editor’s eye now pauses on headlines I might normally have skipped before. Like, uh, “Collaboration Gives Birth to Innovative Eco-Diaper Bag.” Seems Seventh Generation, Healthy Child Healthy World, William McDonough, and two design and manufacturing firms have built a PVC-free, Cradle to Cradle-certified bag made from […]

Umbra on biking with kids

Umbra, Your columns have opened up a whole new world on transport by bike. I don’t have a question but am considering purchasing our second Xtracycle for our family. I can carry our toddler and all our groceries, or another adult, or a cooler full of beer on one side and camping gear on the […]

Give to Grist and make my face go away

I would hereby like to formally apologize to all Grist readers for looming over their browsers today like some sort of dystopic Ziggy. It’s part of our ongoing fundraiser — I guess our development department thinks it will drive you to donate to Grist, if only to end the pain. Speaking of that fundraiser. I […]

Protests erupt worldwide over fuel prices

Skyrocketing fuel prices show no sign of flagging, and no one’s happy about it (except the occasional holier-than-thou environmentalist). Truck drivers and transportation operators have threatened to strike, gone on strike, or are still striking in Britain, France, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, and Thailand. In some places truckers […]

The silver-lining of Lieberman-Warner’s demise

The demise of the Lieberman-Warner climate bill may not be a bad thing if it spurs environmentalists and politicians to ask: Is this the best way to cap carbon?

Let's be clear what Lieberman-Warner was. Yes, it contained a carbon cap. But mostly it was about spending or giving away trillions of dollars. It was, as Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) put it, "the mother and father of all earmarks," and every lobbyist in town was at the trough.

Words of wisdom from 40 years ago

Robert F. Kennedy, 1968:

We will find neither national purpose nor personal satisfaction in a mere continuation of economic progress, in an endless amassing of worldly goods. We cannot measure national spirit by the Dow Jones Average, nor national achievement by the Gross National Product. For the Gross National Product includes air pollution, and ambulances to clear our highways from carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. The Gross National Product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads ... It includes ... the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence to sell goods to our children. And if the Gross National Product includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry, or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials ... the Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America -- except whether we are proud to be Americans.

Hat tip: The Oil Drum. Read their entire post. Do it now.

House ponders investment in multilateral clean tech fund; greens argue it isn’t all that green

Last week, the House Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology (the HFCSDIMPTT for short) held a hearing about whether the United States should invest in a multilateral fund to support the deployment of clean energy technology in the developing world. There’s been talk of World Bank investment in clean […]

Maybe there’s hope after all

Unicorns!

Airline industry takes small steps to offset high fuel prices

To offset the impact of rising fuel prices, the airline industry is doing the obvious: retiring less-efficient aircraft, flying slightly slower, and plugging into electrical systems when parked at the gate. But even smaller steps, multiplied over a large fleet, can have a significant impact. Various airlines are carrying less water for the facilities and […]