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Inspector general will investigate Keystone XL
According to a memo posted by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the State Department's inspector general will conduct an investigation into the Keystone XL permitting process. Fourteen members of Congress requested an audit two weeks ago, citing irregularities in the environmental review for the pipeline. Just to recap: At TransCanada's suggestion, the State Department hired environmental […]
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We could replace coal power with geothermal — 10 times over
The United States has so many viable spots for producing geothermal energy — i.e. tapping into the heat of the Earth’s core to generate power — that the country's geothermal potential is equivalent to "10 times the amount of coal capacity in place today," according to Climate Progress. Southern Methodist University developed this geothermal map […]
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Polling reveals that being anti-clean energy is bad politics
Perry wants to end all energy subsidies. Photo: Gage SkidmoreCross-posted from Climate Progress. Anyone who cares about addressing climate change and strengthening America’s economic competitiveness knows that being anti-renewable energy is terrible policy. Turns out, it’s bad politics too. A new poll conducted by ORC International for the nonpartisan Civil Society Institute finds that 77 […]
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Fact Check: Keystone XL will not reduce oil imports from Middle East
Cross-posted from ThinkProgress Green. The Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline will not reduce dependence on imports from the Middle East, an analysis conducted for the Department of Energy revealed a year ago. The hope of getting away from oil from the volatile region is a favored talking point by proponents. “The Keystone project has the potential […]
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California pushes back against energy imports
This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Western grid operators have been making plans for large-scale renewable energy imports into the California electricity market, prompting the governor’s senior advisor for renewable energy facilities to write a “self-reliance” response. Here are a few highlights […]
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Evil mad scientists are clearly behind all energy innovations
Internet hilarity repository Cracked has a roundup of energy solutions that sound more like mad scientist plots. They go from "human body heat" all the way up to "giant invisible energy death ray," and they're pretty awesome. Here, for example, is an electric eel powering a Christmas tree! In perhaps the most uncreative vision of […]
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Each American consumes as much energy as a 40-ton dinosaur
Yesterday, at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas, where retired petroleum geologists talk about how we're all going to end up like Viggo Mortensen's character in The Road, emeritus professor William Catton pointed out that every American uses so much fossil fuel energy that if it were […]
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Keystone XL backers try to get OWS on their side
Climate leaders like Bill McKibben have visited Occupy Wall Street and put out the message that the movement should oppose the Keystone XL pipeline. But proponents of Keystone XL are also trying to use OWS to press their case. David Dayen caught this bit of politicking on a website called Jobs for the 99%: Hollywood’s […]
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‘Going Boulder’ means voting for local energy self-reliance
Photo: Zane Selvans This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. By a razor-thin margin, Boulder, Colo., citizens gave the city a victory for energy self-reliance on Tuesday, approving two ballot measures to let the city form a municipal utility. If the city moves […]
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Fracking causing earthquakes in England and Oklahoma
Natural gas fracking caused an earthquake in England. And a spate of quakes in Oklahoma. And while the idea that fracking for natural gas causes earthquakes has been floating around, these quakes offer stronger proof that fracking seriously messes with the environment. And while these quakes, peaking in intensity around the high 2s on the […]
