Climate Energy
All Stories
-
![]()
![]()
Which are cheaper — tradeable credits or feed-in tariffs?
Cross-posted from Climate Progress. A few years ago, a heated debate started within the U.S. solar industry about which was more cost-effective: solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) or feed-in tariffs (FITs). Now that we’ve had more experience with both policies, the question is again being asked. Researchers at the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) […]
-
Critical List: Rina heads to Cancun; French wildflowers are disappearing
Hurricane Rina is heading towards Cancun. The U.S. wants to start trade wars all over the place. First, the solar industry goes toe to toe with China, and now the House of Representatives is mixing it up by trying to exempt U.S. airlines from the EU emissions scheme. Multinational energy companies who want to exploit […]
-
![]()
![]()
Rep. Ralph Hall attacks his own badly designed clean energy standard
Ralph Hall.Photo: vexroboticsCross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the science-denying chairman of the House science committee, says a federal clean energy standard would be an “expensive new electricity tax on the American people,” based on a study he requested. An analysis by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of a clean energy standard (CES) […]
-
![]()
![]()
Top Obama official warns of consequences of Arctic drilling
Photo: NASACross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. Jane Lubchenco, a top marine ecologist and senior Obama administration official, is concerned that opening the Arctic to oil and gas development brings unknown risks to human civilization. In an exclusive interview with ThinkProgress Green, Lubchenco, the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discussed the vicious circle […]
-
![]()
![]()
Mark Ruffalo at Occupy Wall Street
Our favorite indie darling/anti-fracking activist was down at Occupy Wall Street last week, looking extremely handsome and encouraging people to join up with Tar Sands Action's planned protest at the White House next month. We like the "mic check" thing, where speakers at OWS use the surrounding crowd as a human amplifier — it keeps […]
-
![]()
![]()
Obama administration hires former TransCanada lobbyist
Apparently the Obama administration has given up on even pretending it can make an unbiased decision on Keystone XL. After hiring a TransCanada-affiliated firm to do the environmental assessment for the pipeline — a move so corrupt that even Congresspeople noticed — the administration has now taken on a former TransCanada lobbyist as a senior […]
-
![]()
![]()
Let’s cover Mt. Everest with solar panels
Less atmosphere between solar panels and the sun equals more power converted into electricity, says a new map of global solar irradiance. That means high-altitude communities — like every mountain chain from the Andes to Patagonia — could be the next frontier in producing solar power. In addition, the cool temperatures at altitude make panels […]
-
![]()
![]()
Big wind farms cost more than small ones
You'd think the biggest wind power projects would be the most cost effective. But that's not the case.
-
![]()
![]()
Is there room for the environment at the Occupation?
Solar power comes belatedly to Occupy Wall Street and D.C., but are people making the connection between economic hardships and the health of Earth?
-
![]()
![]()
Solyndra and Keystone XL: A case study of skewed coverage at Politico
Politico has hyped Solyndra as a "scandal" while giving comparably little coverage to the culture of cronyism surrounding Keystone XL approval.
