Climate Climate & Energy
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Joseph Romm’s critique of EDF’s contest is misguided
This post was originally published on Environmental Economics. —– Joe Romm’s analysis is mostly spot on — and if a post starts like this, you already know what comes next. This time he responds to a $10,000 contest organized by EDF (yep, my employer) that asks for submissions to help explain: “What is a carbon […]
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Deregulation and inequality are bad for both the economy and the environment
Now that financial apocalypse has been (possibly) delayed a few weeks, let’s focus on the mortgage crisis and see what it teaches us about financial regulations in general. Mortgages once were great investments. When lenders were highly regulated and careful never to lend more than the underlying value of homes, mortgages provided a higher return […]
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A point of no return as alarming as the tundra feedback
A new study in Nature Geoscience ($ub. req’d, abstract below) projects that “a warming of 4 degrees C causes a 40 percent loss of soil organic carbon from the shallow peat and 86 percent from the deep peat” of Northern peatlands. And that amplifying carbon cycle feedback is dangerous for three reasons: The northern peatlands […]
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Report envisions various scenarios for global economy in 2030
What will our world look like in 2030? It depends on global response to climate change, says British think tank Forum for the Future, laying out five possible scenarios in a new report. Will we enjoy the “Energy Efficiency” scenario, where staying on the cutting edge of innovation keeps the low-carbon economy strong? Or will […]
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The financial crisis could open up new opportunities for sustainability thinking
It’s official: we haven’t had a financial crisis like this since at least 1603, and commentators here in the U.K. seem to agree that things can never be the same again. Capitalism, if not in question, will be a very different beast from now on. Think donkey on short leash. It’s all a bit frightening, […]
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Utilities moving in on distributed generation solar markets
There’s a new phenomenon afoot. Across the U.S., utilities are getting involved in distributed generation solar markets like never before. In March, Southern California Edison submitted an application to the California Public Utilities Commission to install 250 to 500 MW of solar photovoltaics, in projects of 1 to 3 MW, on leased rooftops distributed throughout […]
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What would you do with $700 billion?
A little while back CNN hosted an interesting discussion called “dreaming of a climate bailout.” It ran through a few ideas for what $700 billion could do if spent on green initiatives. (3,700 90MW offshore wind farms! Etc.) It’s worth reading. Also dear to my heart is this elegant op-ed from James Carroll. It points […]
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‘What is a carbon cap and how will it cure our oil addiction?’
A contest to explain something that isn’t true — what a novelty. If I were running a contest, it would be, "What is a carbon cap and why should it not cover the transportation sector?" But I digress. So I get an email from the Environmental Defense Fund asking me to direct my readers to […]
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The cheapest sources of new electricity are also the cleanest
This slide comes from a recent powerpoint presentation by FERC Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff — hardly what you’d call a green radical (click for a larger version): Note that the cheapest sources of new delivered electricity are also the cleanest. Happy news, right?
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Economic downturn and falling oil push green off the priority list, yet again
I keep saying this, possibly to the point of tedium, but I really want to drive it home: as long as going green is viewed as an expensive and vaguely altruistic undertaking, it will never be a top priority. Evidence is everywhere right now. After several years of ceaseless focus on climate and pop culture […]
