Climate Climate & Energy
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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 […]
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LCV calls out Chevron hypocrisy
The League of Conservation Voters beat me to punch in trashing Chevron’s recent greenwashing ads, with "I Will Point Out Hypocrisy": In train stations, at bus stops, online, even on our coffee cups, Chevron ads are trying to convince us that the key to ending our energy crisis is individual action. Over pictures of everyday […]
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I finally got to see Bill McKibben in action
I’ve read Bill McKibben’s work. I’ve admired Bill McKibben’s work. Hell, I’ve even been lucky enough to edit Bill McKibben’s work. But not until Friday did I meet the man in person. A featured speaker at Greenbuild, McKibben — tall, slight, and soft-spoken — held a crowd of hundreds in thrall as he outlined the […]
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Carbon is forever
Nature reports that a quarter of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels hang around, essentially, forever. If humanity is to avoid sending the climate into a runaway chaos state, we have to emit far less carbon, fast.
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The New York Times blows the bark beetle story
The so-called paper of record ran a major story Tuesday on the country’s most infamous climate-driven pest, “Bark Beetles Kill Millions of Acres of Trees in West.” Great story, other than neglecting to mention climate change. It’d be like an article on an outbreak of avian flu that left out any discussion of birds. So […]
