Climate Climate & Energy

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  • Policy fixes to unleash clean energy, part 2

    In part 1, I outlined five questions that ought to be answered before we have any conversation about energy policy reform. Here is my answer to the first question: What are the primary existing regulatory barriers to the deployment of cleaner energy? They are legion. But they can be lumped into three broad categories: utility […]

    Sean Casten Climate & Energy

  • Massive moisture-driven extreme precipitation during warmest winter in the satellite record —

    Memo to anti-science crowd:  Precipitation isn’t temperature! Another massive mid-Atlantic precipitation event, another piece of nonsense from the anti-science crowd.   Kevin Mooney of the American Spectator actually wrote an article titled, “Snowmageddon” Versus “Overwhelming Scientific Evidence,” which asserts:   This is the first time since record keeping started that two storms of such magnitude have […]

    Joseph Romm Climate & Energy

  • N.Y. Times and Elisabeth Rosenthal Face Credibility Siege over Unbalanced Climate Coverage

    UPDATE:  Climate scientist Ken Caldeira has just sent me an email titled, “I can’t believe the New York Times has done it again …” that I’ll reprint in its entirety at the end. You can contact the NY Times public editor, Clark Hoyt, at public@nytimes.com. The NYT has published arguably its worst climate story ever, […]

    Joseph Romm Climate & Energy

  • Obama plan would educate clean energy scientists and engineers

    Last week, the Obama administration introduced a proposal that every college student and educator in the country should know about. It represents the nation’s first comprehensive federal program for clean energy education, and it’s a critical step toward regaining American leadership in one of the most important industries of our time. Over the past two […]

    Teryn Norris Climate & Energy

  • The hidden costs and benefits of things we take for granted

    Raj Patel has an interesting list of “things that aren’t as cheap as you think,” with an always-welcome reminder that many industries and social practices have costs that don’t appear in the sticker price. These “externalities” are offloaded to the public; they represent, in effect, enormous subsidies. Free marketeers hate market-distorting subsidies, right? For the […]

    David Roberts Climate & Energy

  • Are utilities’ plans for shoring up hazardous coal ash dams good enough?

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released action plans submitted by 22 coal-fired power plants to improve the safety of the massive dammed surface impoundments where they store toxic coal ash, but environmental advocates question whether the plans do enough to protect the public from disaster. That’s because in the absence of federal regulations treating […]

    Sue Sturgis Climate & Energy

  • The little solar that could

    I spotted a rare critter on the streets of San Francisco this week — a smiling, optimistic businessperson. Then again, Ron Kenedi is in the solar panel business.  “The big news as I see it is the demand — demand keeps growing everywhere,” says Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Solar, the renewable energy arm of […]

    Todd Woody Cities

  • Hottest January in UAH satellite record

    Yes, the mid-Atlantic region appears headed toward an epic snow storm as “amazing moisture feeds into what is already a gigantic system,” according to the Capital Weather Gang. But while the anti-science crowd will no doubt tout that as evidence we aren’t warming — just as they did with the “cold snap” in early January […]

    Joseph Romm Climate & Energy

  • American Spectator has nice things to say about me!

    I don’t normally agree with the uber-conservative American Spectator — and vice versa (see here).   But there is, as they say, a first time for everything. In a piece titled, “Norm Coleman’s Right-Wing CAP,” their assistant managing editor writes about the Center for American Progress (CAP), where I work: Another feature that sets CAP apart […]

    Joseph Romm Climate & Energy

  • Penn State inquiry finds no evidence for allegations against Michael Mann

    An academic inquiry into the so-called “climategate” email scandal has concluded that a well-known U.S. scientist did not directly or indirectly falsify data in his research. The review, by a panel of senior administrators at Pennsylvania State University, found no evidence that climatologist Michael Mann had manipulated research that indicates humans are causing global warming. […]

    Joseph Romm Climate & Energy