Climate Climate & Energy
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Big Auto can’t sue Rhode Island over car emissions standards, judge rules
Big Auto cannot sue to keep Rhode Island from enforcing tighter vehicle emissions standards, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said, essentially, that pending cases were pointless and a waste of time, seeing as automakers have already lost similar battles in California and Vermont.
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Beltway paper runs two of the dumbest stories of the decade on climate science
See David Roberts’s follow-up post on this topic. — Today brings two of the most jaw-droppingly moronic stories I’ve ever seen, both in Politico, both written by Erika Lovley, who one can only assume is either the most dimwitted, gullible reporter in D.C. or … um, I can’t think of another explanation. Remember those articles […]
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‘Second generation’ or not, biofuels contribute to Peak Soil
The Seattle Times has another story peddling the fantasy that there are "second generation biofuels" that magically appear without use of energy, land, or water (not to mention subsidies). The most revealing comment in the piece pushes that idea that biologic systems generate "waste," and that "waste" is a huge resource that’s going unused. Apparently […]
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Do we ‘have to’ keep using coal?
This AFP analysis distills crusty conventional wisdom: "coal-fired power plants, which generate about half of US electricity and 40 percent of US greenhouse gas output, will have to be the backbone of America’s power grid for decades because US coal is plentiful and relatively cheap." This is wrong on so many levels that its levels […]
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Speak now against the rape of Coal River Mountain
Dear Al Gore, Two months ago at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, you declared that, "If you’re a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience […]
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James Hansen’s recent post on climate change
James Hansen recently posted a new letter on climate change called “Tell Barack Obama the Truth — The Whole Truth” [PDF] on his website. In it, he lays out many of his ideas on how to avert climate catastrophe, and I will cherry-pick a few quotes here: A carbon cap that slows emissions of CO2 […]
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Vast majority of feds’ flex-fuel cars still run on straight gasoline
The federal government has poured billions of dollars into building up a fleet of 112,000 flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on an ethanol blend — but the attempt to move away from fossil fuels has so far largely failed, as 92 percent of the vehicles still run on straight gasoline.
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Cemetery in Spanish town doubles as solar power plant
A small Spanish town crammed for space has started using its cemetery as the primary site for a solar power plant, affixing solar panels atop many of the mausoleums. “The best tribute we can pay to our ancestors, whatever your religion may be, is to generate clean energy for new generations,” said a solar rep […]
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A taxonomy of denial
As a climate scientist, I have become fascinated with climate skeptics. What makes them tick? Do they believe what they’re saying? A while back, I suggested cognitive dissonance may play a role. Public Radio International has an interesting story on denial. Turns out that, much like a Neapolitan ice cream, it comes in several flavors: […]
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Solar baseload outshines ‘clean coal’ — and it always will
Concentrated solar thermal power — aka solar baseload — remains hot. The Daily Climate has a nice update: All told some 60 plants are either under construction or under contract worldwide — with most in either Spain or the United States — for a total capacity just north of 5,700 megawatts. Here is the world […]
