Climate Politics

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  • How the U.S. narrowly avoided its own Fukushima-style disaster in 1992

    Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Miami-Dade county, Florida.Photo: ShelahDThe U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is refusing to update its worst case scenario models for the flooding of coastal U.S. nuclear power plants. Potentially, this puts the backup safety systems at reactors like the Turkey Point plant in Miami-Dade county, Florida, at risk of damage or […]

    Christopher Mims Energy

  • U.S. energy policy as a teenage boy

    With all the media frenzy around the Japanese nuclear situation, one topic hasn’t been covered much : Why don’t the Japanese love fossil fuels? Not only have they pushed hard into nuke but they’re also world-beaters in photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency. How come? The economic incentives are pretty obvious: Japan doesn’t have any […]

    Sean Casten Energy

  • Bingaman tells the truth about gas prices, is lonely in doing so

    So I’m reading in Politico about Democratic fecklessness. (Yes, half my posts begin this way.) The problem is, whenever gas prices go up, Republicans benefit. They have a simple, powerful message ready to go, right off the shelf: drill here, drill now, pay less. Not enough drilling: that’s why gas prices are high. Drilling more: […]

    David Roberts Energy

  • Germany’s solar panels produce more power than Japan’s entire Fukushima complex

    Germany is the world leader in installed solar photovoltaic panels — and they also just shut down seven of their oldest nuclear reactors. Coincidence? Maaaaybe… Anyway, it's worth noting that just today, total power output of Germany's installed solar PV panels hit 12.1 GW — greater than the total power output (10 GW) of Japan's […]

    Christopher Mims Energy

  • Five reasons every wonk in DC is humping the leg of natural gas right about now

    The Times wants you to know that our energy crisis is over, because there’s at least one abundant fossil fuel still standing between civilization and the abyss of energy poverty. In a piece remarkable for its complete failure to mention the option of renewables, a bunch of old-economy energy analysts describe a 21st century that […]

    Christopher Mims Energy

  • At Chernobyl, it was all under control

    A memorial rests in the shadow of the Chernobyl nuclear plant.Photo: Matti PaavonenThis piece was written by John Perlin. As a visiting scholar last year at the Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells, I met Valery N. Bliznyuk, a visiting professor at Linz and a permanent faculty member at Western Michigan University. His fascinating work in […]

    Miller-McCune Energy

  • Rahm Emanuel could be f**king great for America’s cities

    Rahm Emanuel as mayor of Chicago? This is going to be f**king great.Photo: Adam FagenSo can the bull-headed, bare-knuckled, notoriously foul-mouthed Rahm Emanuel help save America’s cities? In May, the former Obama chief of staff will be sworn in (and yes, his ex-boss has made that joke) as mayor of Chicago. And the nation’s mayors […]

    Sarah Goodyear Cities

  • Drilling down on oil

    It may be true, but domestic oil drilling won’t help.This post originally appeared on the Great Energy Challenge blog, in partnership with National Geographic and Planet Forward.  It’s an unfortunate fact that stress has a way of making people crazy. At the moment, rising oil prices are creating a lot of stress. One of the […]

    James Barrett Energy

  • Congressional asshats get the old, white parody they deserve

    Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” has never felt fresher than in this stirring rendition from our friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council. But that’s sort of damning it with faint praise. Upton BillYou know Fred Upton’s Bill will make you ill I thought he’d never be a smokestack guyBut now he hates clean air I […]

    Christopher Mims Politics

  • Al Gore hasn’t written his new book and people already hate it

    Al Gore is penning a new book about “the political, social and economic forces that are shaping what America and the world will become in ensuing decade.” It sounds exactly like Fareed Zakaria’s The Post American World. Even though his book has yet to be written, people with exclusive access to the inside of the […]

    Christopher Mims Politics