Climate Climate & Energy

Kansas coal plant air permit denied on basis of CO2

More bad news for coal / good news for humanity. This is a particularly delicious morsel, to be savored slowly, like a fine truffle. Roderick L. Bremby, enemy of coal, friend of the human race Photo: KDHE. For years now, a power company called Sunflower has been pushing to build two 700MW coal-fired power plants […]

Bad news abounds for Big Coal

If there’s anything that could drag me out of my hungover stupor today, it’s some bad news for coal, and luckily there’s plenty of it! Get this AP story: At least 16 coal-fired power plant proposals nationwide have been scrapped in recent months and more than three dozen have been delayed as utilities face increasing […]

Umbra on planes and cars

Hi Umbra, Which is less harmful to the environment when traveling long distances, flying or driving? A jet puts out a lot of exhaust, but since it carries a lot of people, maybe it’s less than having everyone drive themselves? Craig Denver, Colo. Dearest Craig, Jeepers it was fun to find out the answer to […]

Solar decathlon underway in D.C.

The Solar Decathlon is underway on the National Mall this week, and Inhabitat’s got some great coverage, including a Flickr set of the fully solar-powered homes built by university students.

Is wind worth it?

A former NRC official turns NIMBY?

The biggest GHG offenders will suffer the least from climate change

The United States is an awfully wealthy nation, as is the United Kingdom. It shows in our lifestyles and it shows in our carbon dioxide emissions -- we are energy rich, not necessarily in production but in consumption.

The BBC recently ran an article (opening paragraphs below) highlighting some research from a development organization, and the numbers tell a stunning yet very real story:

Nature on ethanol

The editors at Nature discover that corn ethanol sucks: Biofuels are unlikely ever to be more than bit-players in the great task of weaning civilization from Earth’s coal-mine and oil-well teats. But they may yet have valuable niches — including some that allow them to serve some of the world’s poor, both as fuels for […]

2007: A record-setting U.S. drought year

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) just issued its September report -- and the West and Southeast continue to scorch:

About 43 percent of the contiguous U.S. fell in the moderate to extreme drought categories (based on the Palmer Drought Index) at the end of September.

Here is the U.S. Drought Monitor (darker = drier):

Here are some of the drought records being set around the country:

A scary pro-coal op-ed

It's said that when John Paul Jones' ship the Bonhomme Richard was in tatters, and captain of the British ship Serapis demanded his surrender, Jones cried out, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Upon which a petty officer said to himself, "There's always some dumb bastard who doesn't get the word."

Both phrases live on in the Navy, the second one probably more relevant today. They both popped into my head when I read this scary coal-boosting op-ed piece from "up Nort'" in Minnesota.

Donald Brown on the ethical dimensions of climate change

Here’s a great 10-minute video on the ethical dimensions of climate change, by Donald Brown of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Transcript here. (Thanks Calvin!)