Climate Energy
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It will take at least 30 years to safely close Fukushima
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was shut down in March, after earthquake and tsunami damage led to meltdowns, radiation leaks, and evacuations. But an expert panel, convened by Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, says that fully decommissioning the plant will take at least 30 years. Closing Fukushima Daiichi doesn't just mean shutting down damaged reactors. That […]
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Will other states follow Nebraska’s lead in fighting Keystone XL?
Nebraskan protesters outside the state capitol.Photo: Mitch PaineThe Keystone XL pipeline will cross six states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Opposition has been fiercest in Nebraska, whether because of a desire to protect the Ogallala Aquifer and Sand Hills or because of tremendous organizing by Jane Kleeb and Bold Nebraska (or both). Gov. Dave […]
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Rep. Cliff Stearns doesn’t understand how government subsidies work
Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.)Photo: Republican ConferenceCross-posted from Climate Progress. So far this week, four of the world’s top five oil companies have announced more than $24 billion in third quarter profits. And by the logic of Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), that should mean those oil companies deserve more subsidies, not less. Speaking at a town […]
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Distributed solar power gets more affordable
Solar economies of scale seem to be improving as the U.S. market matures, opening the door for much more cost-competitive distributed solar power.
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Don’t let Solyndra fool you: Solar PV is on fire
This post was written by J. Matthew Roney, research associate for the Earth Policy Institute. Additional resources at www.earth-policy.org. Solar photovoltaic (PV) companies manufactured a record 24,000 megawatts (MW) of PV cells worldwide in 2010, more than doubling their 2009 output. Annual PV production has grown nearly 100-fold since 2000, when just 277 MW of […]
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Why ‘market-based’ is poor criteria for solar policy
The energy market isn’t as free as we’d like to believe.Photo: USDAThis post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. When it comes to solar policy in the U.S., there are three flavors: tax or cash incentives, long-term CLEAN Contracts, and solar renewable energy credit […]
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The Obama admin opens up the best lands in the west for solar development
The Obama administration is putting forward 285,000 acres of public land in the West as prime territory for solar development. About half of the land is in California; the rest is spread over five states, including Nevada and Utah. These sites, the administration says, have no looming environmental or cultural conflicts, and they're close to […]
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The New York Times joins the energy and climate ignorati
The New York Times has its head in the sand when it comes to climate and energy.Here are excerpts from two erroneous and contradictory pieces in this week’s dreadful New York Times special section on energy: NYT 1: According to the most recent estimates of the Energy Department, world energy demand is going to increase […]
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Leaded gas goes the way of the dodo
The sign on the gas pump saying "unleaded" will soon be a quaint anachronism, like the sign on the plane saying "No Smoking." A successful push by the Natural Resources Defense Council to phase out leaded gas worldwide is rushing leaded gas towards the same fate as smallpox — total elimination by a public health […]