energy
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Journalist interrogates head economist of International Energy Agency
Joe mentioned this the other day, but I want add my voice to the chorus. George Monbiot is in the midst of a kick-ass interview series. This week he met with Fatih Birol, chief economist for the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s new report is substantially more pessimistic about future energy supply than its previous […]
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2030 Challenge Stimulus Plan: Emission reductions, jobs, and economic benefits across the country
President-elect Obama has committed to economic recovery, energy independence, carbon-neutral buildings by 2030, and an 80 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Architecture 2030 has developed a groundbreaking economic stimulus plan [PDF] that simultaneously addresses all of these issues, with a single investment. Kristina Kershner and I presented the 2030 Challenge Stimulus […]
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Carter to Obama: Don’t chip a tooth!
“It was like gnawing on a rock.” — Former president Jimmy Carter, on his efforts to change America’s energy habits
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Normally staid IEA says oil will peak in 2020
Fatih Birol, chief economist to the International Energy Agency, told the U.K.’s Guardian this week: “In terms of non-Opec [countries outside the big oil producers’ cartel],” he replied, “we are expecting that in three, four years’ time the production of conventional oil will come to a plateau, and start to decline. In terms of the […]
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Why the much-ballyhooed utility decoupling is inadequate
I meant last week to note the extremely promising fact that Dems are talking about using the stimulus to funnel substantial money to states for energy efficiency projects — and tying that money to utility decoupling. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), in comments to the Northwest Energy Coalition earlier this month, said this is how it […]
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A united environmental community gets attention from the Obama team
Enviros come together to pitch Obama on green plan. Green groups in D.C. seem downright giddy about all the signals they’re getting from Obamaland thus far. From appointments to key posts to his pledge earlier this month to “launch a massive effort to make public buildings more energy efficient,” there’s a lot of anticipation that […]
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They all crush ‘clean coal’: Stanford study, part 1
When we last met Stanford professor Mark Jacobson, he was explaining why you shouldn’t buy a diesel car if you care about global warming. His new myth-busting study finds the following “Total CO2-eq of Electricity Sources”: (CSP is concentrated solar power, but I prefer solar baseload to that ambiguous acronym. CCS is carbon capture and […]
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No. 1: ‘It’s not guaranteed we have a solution for coal’
Obama formally named Steven Chu his nominee for energy secretary at a press conference Monday afternoon. Here are the top five reasons he is one of the best cabinet picks in recent memory: 5. His “views on climate change would be among the most forceful ever held by a cabinet member.” He said last year, […]
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Obama officially announces his green team
Barack Obama. Barack Obama officially rolled out his green team at a press conference on Monday afternoon. “In the 21st century, we know that the future of our economy and national security is inextricably linked to one challenge: energy,” said Obama. “The team that I have assembled here today is uniquely suited to meet the […]