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  • Hey, other tar-sands pipelines also suck!

    Lest you get too caught up in Keystone XL and forget that tar-sands oil is super-destructive in general, NRDC has a new report about how a completely different pipeline will also lead to ecological disaster. The Northern Gateway pipeline, which would run from Alberta to British Columbia, has the potential to be just as destructive […]

    Jess Zimmerman Energy

  • Government invests in robots that prevent oil spills

    As oil and gas companies wander ever further offshore in search of fossil fuels, the government's putting some money into technology that safeguards against oil spills. The amount they’re spending — $9.6 million — is a paltry sum as federal investments go. But the important thing here is the result, which is robots. And not […]

    Sarah Laskow Energy

  • America’s energy future: iPads vs. typewriters with guns

    This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. As Americans transition their electricity system to the 21st century, they should ask this question: Does it make sense to pursue strategies such as accelerating the development of new high-voltage power lines that reinforce an outdated […]

    John Farrell Energy

  • Feed-in tariffs responsible for most renewable energy

    Cross-posted from CleanTechnica. Feed-in tariffs are a comprehensive renewable energy policy responsible for 64 percent of the world’s wind power and almost 90 percent of the world’s solar power (see charts below). With simplified grid connections, long-term contracts, and attractive prices for development, that’s policy that works. Image: David Jacobs Image: David Jacobs The basic […]

    John Farrell Energy

  • China set to surpass U.S. in solar installation

    Cross-posted from Climate Progress. With European solar markets in decline, the industry is looking for the next hot solar region. Even with political troubles in the U.S., companies still see America as a good long-term bet. (And let’s remember, Europe’s slowdown doesn’t mean the region is going to stop being a major player.) But analysts […]

    Stephen Lacey Energy

  • Google drops renewable energy program

    Google announced yesterday that it's trashing its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal program, or or RE<C, as part of its "spring cleaning." (Ugh, Californians. It is nothing like spring right now.) This move puts RE<C in the same category as Google Wave, which was useless from the first moment it existed and was also offed […]

    Sarah Laskow Energy

  • Will Bill O’Reilly live up to his word and go solar?

    Time for O’Reilly to put his money where his mouth is.Photo: Justin HochCross-posted from Climate Progress. Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly likes to say he operates in a “no spin zone.” So when O’Reilly proclaimed recently that he wanted to install solar panels on his Long Island home, dozens of solar companies in New York […]

    Stephen Lacey Energy

  • Water. Coal. Texas. Sanity. One of these words does not belong.

    Texas’ water problems won’t be over anytime soon.Photo: SeanIn case anyone missed it, Texas had a big drought last summer — the worst one-year drought in the state’s history. Lakes dried, animals were slaughtered, cities imposed lawn-watering restrictions, the governor prayed for rain. Among the doom-and-gloom sector of the left, talk has been circulating of […]

    RL Miller Energy

  • Chevron on Brazil spill: ‘Oh whoops, our bad’

    Earlier this month, an oil well that Chevron was drilling off the coast of Brazil sprung a leak, and as many as 110,000 gallons of oil have spread over the sea bed and into the ocean. Chevron didn’t even notice at first — Brazil's state oil company had to sound the alarm about the spill, […]

    Sarah Laskow Energy

  • NYT Mag: Country folk understand fracking better than city folk

    The New York Times has a long article in this weekend's magazine about hydraulic fracturing in southwestern Pennsylvania. It tries to capture the culture of the place and to show the tensions for people who have an economic interest in drilling but are at risk of suffering health impacts. But it also manages to glance […]

    Sarah Laskow Energy