Climate Energy
All Stories
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A must-read report on shale gas
The report could offer the beginnings of a blueprint for compromise on fracking regulation.
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DOE panel calls for more study of fracking emissions
The panel's findings acknowledge that studies have produced conflicting results about just how "clean" the natural-gas industry is.
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Six of seven fracking committee members have ties to natural gas industry
The government is convening a panel of experts to weigh in on how (and whether) fracking can be made safer. Yay! Six of the seven committee members have financial ties to the natural gas industry -- including the chairman, who's a board member of two energy companies and has received $1.4 million from them over three years. Boo!
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Critical List: Energy panel supports fracking disclosure; Walmart's move to wind power
An Energy Department panel wants to require natural gas companies to disclose what chemicals they're using in hydrofracking projects.
Green groups have an idea for how to cut the country's debt: stop subsidies to oil and gas companies.
But (of course!) most of the members of the Super Congress are opposed to regulating greenhouse-gas emissions. -
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Replacing a crappy old coal plant with green urban development: today D.C., tomorrow …?
Just outside D.C., a filthy old coal-fired power plant could be replaced with a residential and commercial development and revitalized waterfront.
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A $50 million tipping point?
Michael Bloomberg's contribution to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign could have many ripple effects and force the U.S. to quit coal for good.
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Coal-fired power plants close down rather than clean up their emissions
As a result of the EPA's new rules mandating lower toxic emissions, coal-fired power plants are closing their doors. The coal industry is complaining that the new rules are too expensive, will hike electricity rates, and cost jobs. The EPA has these facts on its side, though, according to Business Insider:
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Japan’s government allowed evacuations into radiation plume’s path
In the aftermath of Fukushima, Japanese people are registering less trust in their government, and stories like this one are the reason why. The entire community of Namie evacuated out of the area surrounding Fukushima to a safe haven, only to find later that they were still in the path of radiation, and the government had tools that indicated as much.
When a large plume of something nasty — chemicals, biological hazards, or radiation — is released into the air, it doesn't stay in one place. It's not always obvious where it will go, though. Winds and air pressure systems shift. Obstacles like tall buildings, forests, and mountains can have an impact. Predicting a plume's path is sort of like predicting the path of a nasty storm, only the consequences of being wrong are a little more dire than a few wet people who didn't bring an umbrella to the office. -
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Trucks and buses get efficiency standards for the first time ever
President Obama has announced the first ever emissions standards for trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles. They'll be shooting for a 9 to 23 percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2018, depending on the type of vehicle. Big rigs will need to achieve approximately a 20 percent reduction, for example; garbage trucks will need more like 10 percent.
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Utilities cash in when you go solar
Net metering offers a lot to utilities and very little to ratepayers and solar array owners.
