Climate Climate & Energy

Tory leader David Cameron lauds “green coal”

British Conservative Party leader David Cameron said in a speech today that under a Tory government, Britain would be a world leader in “green coal” technology. Ahem: Coal. Is. Not. Green. That is all.

U.S. will be warmer than normal in early 2008, says weather service

The drought in the southeastern U.S. will keep on keepin’ on at least through March, according to a 90-day outlook from the National Weather Service. In fact, the agency predicts above-normal temperatures for most of the U.S. from January to March, thanks to La Niña and “recent trends.” Ooh, mysterious.

Boat aims to set speed record … powered by human fat

Here's a nice PR gimmick (and by nice, I mean totally disgusting): power your monster "eco-boat" with biodiesel made from human fat:

You can also make biodiesel from tallow (animal fats), fish oil, seaweed and algae. In fact, in an extraordinary show of dedication to the project, the skipper, Pete Bethune, underwent liposuction, and the fat (all 100ml) was used to make a small amount of Biodiesel for Earthrace!

I think this mostly shows an extraordinary dedication to clever marketing. Unfortunately for the earth, Bethune isn't all that chubby, so he enlisted a few "big, fat people" (his words) to squeeze out four gallons of biodiesel. All in, this represents about 0.06 percent of the fuel Bethune will need to set the "Round the World Speed Record by a Powerboat."

Colleges around the country take green steps

Are you thinking what we’re thinking? Yep: It’s time for a green college roundup! Maine’s College of the Atlantic has made good on its pledge to be a carbon-neutral campus, say school officials. “As far as we know, [COA is] the first in the world to make the commitment, and as far as we know, […]

Don’t tell Canis!

This is one of those stories where you don't know whether to be hopeful or depressed after reading it. Like drug addicts who will try snorting every powder in the house, we seem to be willing to subject any substance on the planet to the real acid test of our age: Will it help us keep carburbia going?

More on EPA’s waiver decision

Juliet Eilperin’s got a really crackerjack story on the California waiver in the WaPo. It’s devastating to Johnson. It also confirms a lot of stuff that I, a mere blogger, could only speculate about irresponsibly. First of all, the EPA staff was foursquare against this decision: EPA’s lawyers and policy staff had reached the same […]

TED talks

I keep seeing TED talks referenced here and there. I really need to start checking that site more often. Here are a couple of cool presentations. Amory Lovins on winning the oil endgame (sure to enrage all you car-haters out there): Larry Brilliant makes the case for optimism, or at least that’s what the talk […]

European automakers in a snit over proposed EU emissions cuts

A European Union proposal to reduce average new-car CO2 emissions 20 percent by 2012 — and to fine automakers that don’t meet the target — has revved up observers on all sides. German Chancellor Angela Merkel — a climate Cassandra whose country is home to industry giants including Porsche, BMW, and DaimlerChrysler — took a […]

Coal industry kicks off a PR campaign aimed at influencing lawmakers

Santa moonlighting on K Street? Photo: iStockphoto I heard from someone in downtown D.C. this morning who ran into a guy in a Santa suit who handed him a flier saying, "even Santa is rethinking his position on coal!" Yes, really. From The Hill: Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC) is sending 30 Santas to […]

Efficiency without renewable energy is not sufficient

Recently George Monbiot argued that humanity must figure out a way to leave the fossil fuels in the ground:

Most of the governments of the rich world now exhort their citizens to use less carbon. They encourage us to change our lightbulbs, insulate our lofts, turn our televisions off at the wall. In other words, they have a demand-side policy for tackling climate change. But as far as I can determine, not one of them has a supply-side policy. None seeks to reduce the supply of fossil fuel. So the demand-side policy will fail. Every barrel of oil and tonne of coal that comes to the surface will be burned.

In other words, things like fuel economy standards and efficient appliances won't help unless cars and appliances are powered by renewable energy (solar/wind/geothermal).

The problem might be more manageable if we divide it into three parts:

1. Active energy sources -- wind/solar/geothermal.
2. Passive energy sources -- mostly in buildings, as detailed in David's recent excellent post .
3. Design -- as in how to design cities, towns, and the their transportation systems.

Once we have moved to renewable electricity and passive systems as the source of almost all of our energy needs, then we can keep the rest of the fossil fuels in the ground.