Climate Technology

Bush admin proposes low royalty rates in push for U.S. oil-shale development

The Bush administration proposed rules [PDF] for U.S. oil shale development Tuesday that include charging lower royalty rates for oil-shale production on public lands than it does for other oil and gas drilling. The lower royalties are meant to encourage oil-shale production since, as it turns out, the energy- and pollution-intensive process of cooking rocks […]

World Bank overstates commitment to environment, says internal watchdog

The World Bank overstates its commitment to financing sustainability-minded projects in developing countries and should greatly improve its efforts, according to an internal review. Official estimates hold that the bank put $59 billion into environment-focused projects between 1990 and 2007; while the bank’s coding system makes it difficult to figure out specifics, the Independent Evaluation […]

Author Elizabeth Royte chats about the bottled-water boom and backlash

Elizabeth Royte.Photo: Rod MorrisonJournalist Elizabeth Royte drinks tap water, but she spends a lot of time thinking about the bottled kind. In her new book, Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It, Royte investigates the causes and consequences of the bottled-water industry’s astounding growth. With her refillable water bottle in hand, […]

Consumers tiring of ads with sketchy eco-claims

As every business and its mom tries to get in on the eco-friendly craze — actual recent press release to hit our inbox: “Portable hot tubs go green!” — consumers seem to be tiring of omnipresent greenwashing, say analysts. “After 18 months, levels of concern on any issue tend to drop off,” says Jonathan Banks […]

New Nature Conservancy prez chats about jumping from Goldman Sachs to the green scene

The stereotypes of biz-begrudging enviros and planet-pillaging business leaders were upended years ago. These days, green groups and corporations team up on everything from preserving land to pushing for climate regulations. Now, in the latest example of cross-pollination, they’re even swapping executives. Mark Tercek Photo: Mark Godfrey/The Nature Conservancy Mark Tercek, who took the helm […]

Major U.S. cities ranked by relative walkability

Software company Front Seat has released a ranking of the most walkable U.S. cities, rating the relative distance to and density of businesses like grocery stores, bars, book stores, and coffee shops to calculate an overall walkability score. San Francisco took top honors, followed by New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia; the lowest scoring […]

A brief primer on variable vs. fixed costs

For those of us in the power industry, media discussions of the economics of power generation reveal an almost complete misunderstanding of how power is priced. Depending on our vested interests, we may find this either frustrating or beneficial -- but in all cases, it's false.

Herewith I attempt to explain from whence the confusion arises -- and why it is so critical for the clean energy community to understand this math and its consequences ... and to more accurately articulate the economics of those options we prefer.

Low-carbon energy solutions in India may depend on Tata

Amid analysis of the G8's latest climate pronouncement, the announcement of India's first national climate action plan received less attention than it otherwise might have. Even in the Indian media, the plan was also overshadowed by the release of a McKinsey & Co. report that projects massive power demand growth in the country -- 100 gigawatts more demand in the next 10 years than previously estimated. Yet the very same day, the government's Investment Commission called the "Ultra-Mega" coal plants that are central to India's strategy to meet that demand a "main reason for persistent capacity shortfalls."

As reported by India's Financial Express, the climate change "National Action Plan" consists of a laundry list of programs to be initiated -- or more likely, repackaged -- on solar power, energy efficiency, agriculture, and a few others. Based on previous performance in the power sector, agriculture seems to be the most promising of those programs (especially considering the Indian government's success in raising productivity during the Green Revolution). One can hope India will have the same success, and be able to utilize the same distribution mechanisms, in efforts to create seed varieties adaptable to drier climatic conditions.

If McKinsey is right, India's demand will soar to 315-335 GW by 2017, from 120 GW installed capacity today. To supply that demand reliably would require over 415 GW of installed capacity -- that's triple what the creaky Indian power sector produces now. And about 10 times what even the dozen planned Ultra-Mega plants could hope to supply.

Aviation industry is into greening, to an extent

The aviation industry talked up greenness Wednesday at the world’s biggest air show in Farnborough, England. At a sustainability summit, Giovanni Bisignani of the International Air Transport Association called climate change an “emergency situation” and said airlines are the best suited to address it: “No other industry is as responsible, united, and ambitious.” Indeed, the […]

Wal-Mart, mining companies team up to trace path of jewelry supply chain

Retail giant Wal-Mart is joining with Conservation International as well as mining companies Rio Tinto and Newmont Mining to launch a pilot project that lets customers trace the path of their jewelry from mine to mega-store. Marketed as Wal-Mart’s “Love, Earth” brand jewelry, the items stand out from others in that once they’re purchased, customers […]