Climate Climate & Energy
All Stories
-
Czech Your Nukes at the Door
Germany has asked the Czech Republic to shut down the Temelin nuclear power plant near the borders of Germany and Austria. Austria became nuke-free in 1978, and German utilities agreed last month to close their 19 nuclear plants within 20 years. The Temelin plant, which began operating last fall, has provoked major protests from local […]
-
Surge, in General
Canada will see its pollution levels surge if it boosts its oil and natural gas exports to meet the needs of its power-hungry southern neighbor, according to a report released on Friday by the David Suzuki Foundation. For example, the report says a big increase in exports to the U.S. would cause greenhouse gas emissions […]
-
Electric Boogie
12,133 — per capita annual electricity consumption (kilowatt-hours) in the U.S. in 1997 1,381 — per capita annual electricity consumption (kilowatt-hours) in the rest of the world in 1997 21.5 — percentage increase in U.S. electricity consumption from 1990 to 1999 43 — percentage decrease in utility funding for energy efficiency from 1993 to 1998 […]
-
Climate change is threatening Arctic critters
The place to watch for global warming — the sensitive point, the canary in the coal mine — is the Arctic. If the planet as a whole warms by one degree, the poles will warm by about three degrees. Which is just what is happening. Polar bears are walking on thin ice. Ice now covers […]
-
Car and Drivel
With California regulators poised today to set in stone the state’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, automakers have been mounting a last-ditch effort to prevent the rule from being so tough. The rule would require that thousands of ZEVS be sold in the state by 2003. Among their complaints, automakers are contending that the electricity used […]
-
Hole Lotta Love
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said earlier this week that the feds would research new ways to dispose of nuclear waste instead of incinerating the waste in southeastern Idaho. He formally accepted the recommendations of a panel that was appointed a year ago to study the matter after enviro groups, ski bums, Harrison Ford, and others […]
-
Climate talks collapse over carbon sinks, and Americans just don't see the problem
Bill McKibben reports from The Hague: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Depending on how you spin it, the collapse of the climate negotiations in The Hague, Netherlands, could leave you confident that much progress has been made, despairing that a Bush presidency dooms the future of new talks, or convinced […]
-
Burning Rubber
6.5 million — number of tires recalled this year by Bridgestone/Firestone 270 million — number of scrap tires generated in the U.S. in 1998 500 million — number of scrap tires currently in U.S. stockpiles 35 — number of U.S. states that ban whole tires from landfills 59 — number of tire fires in the […]
