Virginia
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Critical List: Earthquake shook nuclear plant too hard; new Energy Star labels for more efficiency
Last week's earthquake may have shaken a Virginia nuclear plant more than the plant was designed to withstand. There wasn’t much damage, but, uh, maybe it’s time to retrofit these older East Coast plants, just in case.
Since Energy Star labels have come to mean next to nothing, there are new ones. Look for "most efficient" Energy Star labels to find appliances that meet the highest standards for energy saving.
Japan passed a bill promising incentives for renewable energy, but companies are waiting for the government to hash out the details before they jump in. -
How a company you've never heard of could destroy the ocean ecosystem
Omega Protein, Inc. (a company you've never heard of) is quickly overfishing the Atlantic menhaden (a species you've never heard of). As a result, a number of fish that you have heard of -- striped bass, bluefish, tuna, dolphin, seatrout, and mackerel -- as well as the ocean ecosystem as a whole, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Long Island Sound (which you’ve heard of) are suffering.
Menhaden are tiny, bony, oily fish that humans can't eat, but which, according to marine scientists, are "the most important fish in the sea." Menhaden are the main consumers of phytoplankton, and without them, areas like the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound are clogged with algae. They are also a staple food for bigger, tastier fish, who, deprived of menhaden, are growing sad and malnourished.
In the past 25 years, the menhaden population has shrunk from 160 billion to about 20 billion. -
The most important fish in the sea
Menhaden are vital for a clean and healthy ocean ecosystem -- and they're in trouble.
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Biomass is the new coal
Dominion wants to convert three of its Virginia coal plants to run on waste biomass. Will biomass be a smart way to transition away from coal?
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Three Major Clean Energy Victories This Month
With so much in the news lately, you might have missed these three recent, major victories in the effort to move America beyond coal, so I wanted to share them with you: Illinois: Last week Governor Pat Quinn vetoed two bills that would have put natural gas customers on the hook for two new coal […]
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Behind the scenes in the big fight against coal
Down with coal!The climate fight hasn’t been going well lately. The Copenhagen conference in Dec. 2009 seemed to mark the effective end of international efforts to control carbon. The U.S. Senate couldn’t even bring itself to vote on cap-and-trade last summer. In November, a GOP committed to climate denial won new strength in the Congress. […]
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Town centers are the new death panels
Photo: Matthew ReichbachOh, those Teabaggers — always smacking you in the face with something unpleasant. This time it’s self-righteous outrage at the socialist erosion of our Freedom Sprawl. Because in the real America, you get in the car just to go to your kitchen. The Virginia state government is moving to require “urban development areas” […]
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Commuting in sprawl is hellish, so let's … encourage more sprawl?
Last night's epic fail of a commute in snow-crippled D.C. pointed up the perils of sprawl. But some Virginia legislators want more of it.
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The House’s vulnerable climate champions
Here are six House climate champions -- from Rep. Tom Perriello to Paul Kanjorski -- who are vulnerable in the upcoming elections.