Latest Articles

Notable quotable

“I really would like to vote for this bill because we desperately need an energy bill. The world and particularly the United States faces a real challenge on energy in the future. But I cannot vote for this bill primarily because of the corn ethanol mandate. A recent article in The Economist noted that our […]

Which circle of hell for illegal logging?

Sickening. Kevin John Moran of Camano Island, Wash., was just convicted of illegally cutting down 27 old-growth cedars on public land. They were between 400 and 700 years old. And they were dry-side trees, even rarer than the Northwest's west-slope titans.

But here's the worst that can happen to him:

Theft of government property is a Class C felony, which means a maximum sentence of 10 years or less, and a fine not to exceed $250,000.

Some of these trees were mature giants long before Europeans ever encountered the Pacific Northwest. They were protected on public land. They were our natural heritage.

But destroying them? That's just "theft of government property."

Sentencing is in February.

U.S. House approves toned-down energy bill, Bush to sign it tomorrow

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a toned-down version of an energy bill that will boost fuel-economy requirements for cars and light trucks to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 — the first such increase since 1975. The bill, which was approved by the Senate last week, also mandates using 36 billion gallons of […]

Grist contributor bashes ‘clean coal’

If you’d like to see our very own Sean Casten call the FutureGen clean coal project “maddeningly stupid” — about the only part of this segment that isn’t creepy and upsetting — you can do so here.

Coal utilities weigh in on the carbon policy

Something old, something new, something borrowed ...

For years, utilities have blurred the line between their interests and those of their customers (which are, under the rules of cost-plus rate-making, precisely opposed). Typically, this argument is used to frame rate cases in the form of, "if we can't raise rates on customer X, we'll be forced to raise rates on customer Y. Let us tell you how tragic that would be from customer Y's perspective, to cloud the fact that we're asking to increase rates on customer X."

I'm oversimplifying, but only just. Ameren is now applying this old idea to carbon policy, saying that the problem isn't what carbon policy will do to their shareholders (perish the thought!), but what it will do to their customers. Article from Restructuring Today ($ub req'd) below the fold:

The ethanol boom could trigger a ‘tipping point’ in the Gulf

Days after Congress voted to ramp up the government mandate for corn ethanol, bringing it to fully three times current production levels within a decade, we get bracing news from the Gulf of Mexico. Here is the AP: The nation’s corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And when that nitrogen […]

Thirteen stories of coal getting stiffed

The other day I was thinking I should gather together in one place all the stories from this year about coal getting rejected. And I was feeling lazy, and wishing someone else would do it for me. And look, someone else did! Check it out below the fold: Following are some of the coal plant […]

China drafting rules for humane slaughter of livestock

Under pressure from international animal-rights advocates and food-safety organizations, China has announced it’s drafting rules for the “humane” treatment and slaughter of livestock. The proposal recommends stunning animals before slaughter, ensuring as little time as possible passes between stunning and killing, making sure unloading platforms are at heights where pigs won’t injure themselves when offloading, […]

Sen. Domenici tries again to boost loan guarantees for nuclear power plants

The multifaceted appropriations bill making its way through the Senate contains language that would raise the limits on loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants. The language was added thanks to tireless nuclear booster Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), who has tried (and so far failed) to raise loan guarantees for nuclear plants by inserting provisions […]

How much global warming results from air travel?

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to pull together some data on how airplane travel affects global warming, as part of a broader project on transportation and climate change. My stunningly obvious conclusion: it’s complicated. Worse, different calculation methods yield wildly different results. Take, for instance, this brilliant chart (below) from the Stockholm […]