energy efficiency
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Two reasons climate/energy policy assessments frequently undercount benefits
I forgot two other things I wanted to note about the CARB study showing that California’s climate program will positively benefit the economy and public health. First, and crucially, the press release notes that "the bulk of the economic benefits are the result of investments in energy efficiency that more than pay for themselves over […]
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Do we want an economy that’s a bit more Belgian or Belgian Congo?
A simple syllogism to expose the flaws in our GHG debate: Fossil fuels cost money. When burned, fossil fuels emit CO2. Therefore, burning less fossil fuel saves money and CO2. The logic is impeccable (even if not quite as entertaining as Lewis Carroll’s syllogisms). And yet our entire GHG debate continues to be framed as […]
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Immelt: yay RPS!
I’m on a conference call, listening to Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, chat with Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, about energy. I don’t have a recording, but I tell you, Immelt sounds more and more like a standard greenie — he’s stumping for a national RPS, 10-year extension of renewable tax credits, and a price […]
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How to green your entertainment center
When it comes to watching television, it’s practically your environmental duty to gaze at Adrian Grenier on Planet Green and cheer on Major League Baseball’s efforts to become more sustainable. (That’s what we tell ourselves, anyway.) But did you know the chemicals in that idiot box could be rotting your brain even more than the […]
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Gregg Easterbrook still knows nothing about global warming — and less about clean energy
Slate magazine is seen as liberal, but is in fact just another status quo publication promoting a do-nothing policy on clean energy and global warming. Why else ask for a review of Tom Friedman’s new call to action, Hot, Flat, and Crowded, from the American Bjørn Lomborg? And I don’t mean that in a good […]
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Senate energy event highlights importance of efficiency; Republicans don’t absorb the lesson
An early version of this post appeared on Get Energy Smart Now, with follow-up on Think Progress. —– The Senate held a Bipartisan Energy Summit on Friday, attended by some of the nation’s top experts from MIT, Google, CSIS, CERI, and Shell. (Regrettably, the nation’s top energy expert, Sarah Palin, was unable to bring her […]
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Castens and Recycled Energy Development featured in Forbes magazine
Don’t miss this profile of Tom Casten and his company, Recycled Energy Development, in the latest issue of Forbes. (Of course Tom spawn and Gristmill contributor Sean gets off some zingers, but they’re about ethanol, so don’t read them! I know how you people get.) Recycled energy — otherwise known as cogeneration, or combined heat […]
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Umbra on being an energy-efficient renter
Dear Umbra, I’m an apartment dweller in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it doesn’t get too cold or too hot. Still, my energy bill is much too high for my liking and I’m wondering what I can do to bring down the cost and the waste. Any suggestions for non-homeowners? Sarah J. Oakland, Calif. […]
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Energy efficiency, part 5: ‘The highest documented rate of return of any federal program’
I was at the U.S. Department of Energy when the Gingrich gang took over and tried to shut down all of DOE’s applied energy research, claiming it was a waste of taxpayer money. I helped organize a major report documenting the large return to the U.S. taxpayers of federal spending on energy efficiency (and other […]
