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Swedes aim to phase out fossil fuels by 2020

To counteract today's totally bummer crop of news, a cheery development from my peeps, the Swedes:

Prime Minister Goran Persson announced this week that Sweden will try to end its dependency on fossil fuels in 15 years by, among other things, ramping up use of wind power, boosting research into renewable-energy technologies, and providing incentives for renewable power and clean cars. Swede dreams are made of this ...

Senator wants to waive EPA regulations in Katrina disaster area

James Inhofe -- Republican senator from Oklahoma, chair of the Senate Environment Committee, and tormentor of enviros -- yesterday introduced a bill that would let the EPA waive for 120 days any environmental regulations that could stand in the way of the Katrina response effort.

Never mind that EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said environmental rules weren't hampering post-hurricane cleanup.

British Airways eases passengers’ minds

If you're flying British Airways anytime soon (say, to see the London Design Show), check out this news: the airline is now charging an optional fee for passengers to offset the impacts of travel. The surcharges (the amount varies depending on the trip's length) will be donated to Climate Care, an Oxford-based company that cancels out carbon with partners ranging from a bank to a yoga center.

Is British Air's move a step in the right direction or, as one critic put it, a way to "make passengers feel less guilty about their unsustainable lifestyles"? Would you pay more for a plane ticket if the money "cancelled out" your carbon? Should more airlines get on board?

From Teri to the Thames

Katrina’s ka-ching No national environmental crisis would be complete without celebs cashing in. We bring you Teri Hatcher, who’s unveiled a line of ugly (oops! did we type that out loud?) T-shirts to support hurricane relief. Meanwhile, Michael Moore may be considering a Katrina disast-umentary. That’ll show the penguins who’s boss. My cup runneth over […]

Katrina prompts new energy proposals — some green, most not

Hurricane Katrina has triggered a whirlwind of new energy proposals in Congress — some gratifying to environmental activists, most galling. The long-awaited energy bill that President Bush gleefully signed into law a mere month ago started looking sadly outdated when viewed against a backdrop of slackened oil production along the Gulf Coast, crippled refineries, gasoline […]

Quick on the Thaw

Melting Arctic sea ice may have hit point of no return, scientists fear Experts on the climate of the Arctic have been busy this summer altering their dire predictions for a globally warmed future — to make them even direr. According to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of […]

Gas Dismissed

Federal judge throws out multistate suit against CO2-spewing utilities A U.S. federal judge yesterday delivered a big blow to eight states that had been pushing for power plants to cut their carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to stave off global warming. A coalition of the states plus New York City had filed suit against […]

Hurricane You Hear Me Now?

Warming oceans linked to increase in powerful hurricanes and storms Severe hurricanes and cyclones have become more common worldwide as ocean temperatures have increased, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Georgia Tech climatologist Judith Curry and colleagues studied satellite data from the past 35 years as well as computer models before […]

Uh …

[Former FEMA Director Mike] Brown told the Times that he had such difficulty dealing with [Louisiana Governor Kathleen] Blanco that he communicated with her husband instead.

Pollsters aren’t asking the right questions about energy issues

There's more to this article than the headline, but the headline alone says quite a bit: "Poll: 8 in 10 want drivers to drop SUVs." That's another tentative -- though possibly shallow -- sign that high gas prices are turning Americans against their gas guzzlers. Of course, since SUVs, trucks, and minivans have commanded roughly half of the new-vehicle market in recent years, one wonders if this means that 3 in 10 people want other drivers to drop their low-mileage vehicles.

Other poll responses are equally telling. Seven out of 10 respondents want the government to fight rising gasoline bills by establishing price controls. Of course, holding down prices makes us consume more gas than we otherwise would. Plus, in a world of limited petroleum supplies, price controls could lead to all sorts of other problems -- shortages, rationing, etc. (As The Washington Post's Robert Samuelson reminds us, Cheap Gas Is a Bad Habit.)

Seven out of 10 also support new government spending on transit. But almost six in 10 now think it's more important to explore for new sources of energy than to protect the environment; and five in 10 favor opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development, up from just 42 percent earlier in the year.