Climate Climate & Energy
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UNC Decides to Move Beyond Coal; Plus Bonus Coal Ash News
Great news out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Today the University of North Carolina (UNC) announced that burning coal has no place in our clean energy future and is transitioning away from using pollution-rich coal power to power this nationally-ranked university. I attended the press with UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp as he outlined how they […]
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Municipal Energy Financing is Expanding: Is It Working?
Twenty states now allow cities and counties to finance energy efficiency retrofits and on-site renewable energy generation, with property owners repaying the loan with a property tax assessment. Five municipalities launched Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs in the past two years and these programs have spent $37.5 million to help enable close to 2,000 […]
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Corn industry brazenly turns Gulf disaster into marketing opportunity
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (the dull gray color southeast of the Mississippi Delta) seen by satellite on May 1 Photo: NASAAs if being bombarded with oil from below and chemical dispersants from above weren’t enough, the Gulf of Mexico also has to endure marketing rhetoric from a long-time tormentor: the corn industry. Industrial corn […]
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Away from the oil spill, signs of local progress
The Gulf oil spill story is too big to ignore right now. It’s a massive, toxic indictment of our dependency on fuels that fill our atmosphere with heat-trapping pollutants even when everything goes right. But there are other stories too big to ignore, including the story of people finding creative ways to escape the death […]
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Why do peak oilers and climate changers not get along better?
I’m currently attending Ohio State University’s Moving Ahead 2010 conference, focused on transitioning to sustainable transportation. I’ll be moderating a panel tonight. I think it will be filmed — I’ll let you know, assuming it’s not a disaster. I had an interesting experience this morning at a presentation by Robert Hirsch (oil industry vet, now […]
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The Scene in Louisiana: Disaster Looming
I’m in Venice, LA today, near where the leading edge of the Gulf Coast oil spill has started to ooze ashore. Despite the sense of looming disaster you get from talking to people here, there are at least two groups seeing an uptick in business: The staff at the bar & restaurant at the Venice […]
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Student Governments Urge Congress to Support Clean Energy Education
A group of more than 100 university and college student government presidents submitted a letter (PDF download) last week urging Congress to launch a national program for clean energy science and engineering education. The presidents – representing more than one million American students – warned Congress that advanced energy education is critical for U.S. leadership in the […]
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What a Difference a Spill Makes
There are so many questions the spill in the Gulf now raises. What will be the impact on offshore drilling — which has been one of the few growth sectors of US domestic oil production? What kind of political backlash will it produce? Already President Obama and the administration are in damage control mode. How […]
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Gulf of Mexico: from magnificent resource to industrial sacrifice zone
Fire and a vast oil spill, on top of one of the globe’s most productive fisheries. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard The Gulf of Mexico is a magnificent resource: a kind of natural engine for the production of wild, highly nutritious foodstuff. Here’s how the EPA describes it: Gulf fisheries are some of the most productive […]
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Senior military leaders announce support for climate bill
Senior military leaders announce support for climate bill The Pentagon affirmed earlier this year that “Climate change, energy security, and economic stability are inextricably linked.” Today an unprecedented 33 retired US military generals and admirals announced that they support comprehensive climate and energy legislation in a letter to Senators Reid and McConnell as well as […]
