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  • Memo to PBS’s NewsHour: You can do better than that

    So Joseph Romm is watching an otherwise interesting story on “efforts to convert algae into clean fuel,” by the otherwise very solid Tom Bearden of PBS’s NewsHour. Then, boom, he drops the media’s favorite wishy-washy hedge.

  • When will we stop paying the hidden fossil fuel tax?

    Last week, the nation suffered from major sticker shock when we learned that our use of fossil fuels comes with a hidden price tag of $120 billion per year.  Thanks to the results of the National Research Council’s report on energy and the environment, some of the extra costs of dirty energy were exposed.  (Full […]

  • Methane leakage runs up a $50 billion bill

    Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, so when it’s leaking by the ton, it’s a $50 billion problem. The New York Times described the phenomenon of methane leakage in a recent article which raised questions about the true costs of this waste.  The EPA estimates that 3 trillion cubic […]

  • At Governator’s climate party, EPA chief aims to calm small business worries

    LOS ANGELES — EPA administrator Lisa Jackson unveiled a modest proposal on Wednesday: If a company wants to build a new power plant or refinery, or fix up a smoky old belcher, it will have to use the best available technology to control greenhouse gases. That’s it. Oh, and the Dunkin Donuts of the country […]

  • All wet on sea level rise — the remix [VIDEO]

    My video series, Climate Denial Crock of the Week, has been slowly gaining an audience among people who need ammunition around the electronic water cooler. (Thanks to Real Climate and Climate Progress for the shout-outs.)  Send links to these videos to that irritating troll on your blog, or your nice-but-clueless-about-climate neighbor who needs some good […]

  • The problem with unspoken assumptions

    Steven Hayward’s OpEd in the Wall St. Journal this week (“No: Alternatives Simply Too Expensive“) annoyed me the first time I read it. But on re-reading it today, I’m struck by two things: 1. First, what he gets right: CO2 is fundamentally different, and can’t be treated in the same way we have dealt with […]

  • A Clean Energy Bargain

    Earlier today the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a Policy Brief summarizing economic analysis of clean energy and climate protection legislation that we have been working on for more than a year. We know that the Senate debate on this legislation will turn largely on economic issues, so we used two well-known national energy […]

  • A Clean Energy Bargain

    Earlier today NRDC released a Policy Brief summarizing economic analysis of clean energy and climate protection legislation that we have been working on for more than a year. We know that the Senate debate on this legislation will turn largely on economic issues, so we used two well-known national energy models to examine the impact […]

  • How much energy does the U.S. waste?

    We must save all the energy we can!At the broadest level, everything we can do to address climate change/national security/energy balance of trade and just about any other meaningful social question associated with our energy use falls into one of three categories: 1. Use less downstream energy.  Turn down the thermostat, ride your bike to […]