Climate Energy

Why Washington state's coal fight matters

Activists in the Northwest are fighting plans to build a coal-export terminal in Washington state. The outcome of this battle could have lasting, substantial effects on China's energy habits and emissions.

Record heat, no solar means Texas is paying 40 times more for power

Texas is hotter than balls right now, and it's not just the state's farmers and wildlife that are paying the price for it: Last week, the state set a record for electricity usage that led to its grid operator paying a whopping $3,000/MWh for peak electricity. To give you some perspective on this, $3,000/MWh translates to $3/KWh, or 40 times the $0.08/KWh a resident of that state normally pays for electricity at home.

Concentrated solar power plants are all wet

Concentrating solar has promised big additions to renewable energy production with the additional benefit of energy storage -- but there's a catch.

BP funds push for more offshore drilling in oil-soaked Louisiana

A little more than a year after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP is funding a right-wing lobbying group that opposes regulation of offshore drilling.

By God, Donald Trump will not let this wind farm stand

Not satisfied with making (more of) a mockery of the electoral process, Donald Trump is now going after wind power, vowing to use "any legal means" to block a planned windfarm near his golf course in Scotland. Trump claims it's not simple rich-white-guy opposition to renewable power, or the fact that he's worried the turbines […]

EPA found over 20 years ago that fracking contaminates water

Fracking companies like to say that there’s never been a single case of fracking contaminating a water well. But, well, there has, and they’ve known that for over 20 years. An EPA report released in 1987 said that a tainted well in West Virginia was contaminated by fracking.

The report, which covers an 1984 incident, resurfaced this week in a New York Times article and a report from the Environmental Working Group.

The report details how fracking fluids or gels migrated from the fracking well to an active water well on a neighboring property, rendering it unusable.

Beyond budget cuts: top five policy priorities for clean energy

Even with cuts looming, there are feasible policy steps we could take toward clean energy.

Tar-sands pipeline gets support from fake Twitter accounts

What do Astroturf and the Canadian tar sands have in common? They're both made of petroleum, and now they've both got fake grassroots. An employee of the American Petroleum Institute, which supports the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline, has apparently been setting up multiple fake Twitter accounts to give the illusion of public support.

Michele Bachmann seriously believes in a lightbulb conspiracy

So what is it with Michele Bachmann and hating on energy-efficient lightbulbs? She's like a lightbulb crusader. Mother Jones has done some digging, and it turns out this is because she basically believes that a science fiction parody of environmentalism is going to ruin America.

Debt and (carbon) taxes: Obama's last chance for climate redemption

Just into Obama's hypothetical second term, when the Bush tax cuts are poised to expire, could be the best time to enact a carbon tax.