Climate Climate & Energy

A Hull of a Problem

The U.S. oil industry is engaged in a cynical ploy to dodge federal regulations that require safer tankers, putting the Pacific coastline, from Alaska to California, at risk for a huge oil spill, writes Jim Fulton, the head of the David Suzuki Foundation in Canada. In the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989, […]

How Ballard is leading the charge to spread fuel cells far and wide

"Our long-term goal is very simple," said California Gov. Gray Davis (D) outside the state capitol in Sacramento in April 1999. "Zero emissions in the air. Zero. Nada. Nothing. Zip." A crowd had gathered to hear Davis announce a major new state initiative, and to see the latest non-polluting automobiles to be unveiled by DaimlerChrysler and Ford. Running on electricity, the peppy performance of these cars dazzled the spectators. The two auto giants promised to have them in commercial production around 2003 or 2004. A new era of environmentally friendly transportation had begun.

I've Got Good News, and I've Got Bad News

In the spirit of celebrating every success, but only to the extent the success deserves, I would like to celebrate something that is kind of hard to describe. The rate at which things are getting worse is slowing down. We’re not going downhill as fast as we once were. The fever is high, but rising […]

No Jacket Required

Enviros try to put the R back in the NRC

Watchdogs say the Nuclear Regulatory Commission compromised public safety with its decision late last month to grant long-term renewal of the operating licenses for the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in southern Maryland. Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. Photo: Dan Hamilton. With the decision, the plant, tucked on a rural peninsula along the shore of […]

Gas 'n' Uh-oh

40 percent — petroleum’s share of global energy consumed in 1998 $246 — amount spent by the author on gasoline to drive a 1987 Honda Accord 5,700 miles on a cross-country road trip from Feb. 15 to March 15, 2000 $433 — estimated amount the author would have spent if he had driven a new […]

Planting Time on the Windmill Farm

Now's the time to make the big leap to clean energy

For the burgeoning clean energy industry, these are heady times. Having spent most of its years in uphill struggle, the industry has now climbed to the takeoff point. Wind and solar are the world’s fastest growing energy sources, their costs rapidly curving down toward competitiveness with fossil fuels. Fuel cells that provide clean electricity for […]

Off-Off-Shore Drilling

Higher prices at the pumps are a good thing — really

That whining sound you hear is American consumers (formerly known as American citizens) fretting over the rising cost of gasoline. Pump and circumstance. The current national average price of gas — $1.41 per gallon — is a full 25 cents higher than it was merely four months ago, and analysts predict that the price could […]