Climate Energy

The dirty little secret behind the ‘transmission debate’

Utilities are working to protect their profits again by blocking action on the creation of a better and cleaner electricity grid.

Banks inflate solar value for tax credit

Solar leasing has broadened participation in the distributed generation revolution. Unfortunately, this revolution has been co-opted by high finance.

More coal in the U.S. means more pollution for China

A new report says U.S. coal exports mean more pollution in China.

Quiz: How much coal is in your life?

Take Sierra Club's quiz to find out how much of a threat coal poses in your life.

Half of all geothermal energy is left over from birth of solar system, say scientists

Well, hello there, enormous quantities of heat that's just beneath our feet and could potentially be tapped to provide enormous amounts of base-load electricity! Where'd YOU come from? The birth of the planet, you say? No sh*t!

Using this gigantic underground, water-filled neutrino detector, scientists have finally gotten a better idea of exactly where the Earth's heat comes from:

Keystone XL pipeline would screw over farmers, threaten aquifer

The Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline, which would cut through family farms and aquifers, is leak-prone and won't come with a solid cleanup strategy.

Ain’t no mountain high enough: Taking down Massey Coal

An effective combination of civil disobedience and legal reform is actually taking shape in the fight against mountaintop-removal mining and Massey.

House votes against energy-saving lightbulbs

The House passed an amendment that prohibits spending to enforce lighting efficiency standards established by 2007's energy law.

Most of the U.S. could be energy self-sufficient

With a little development elbow grease, we could be in pretty good shape for the day the energy apocalypse comes and states have to split into small self-reliant compounds. The majority of U.S. states -- 31 of the 50 -- could be completely self-sufficient with locally-produced renewable energy, according to a report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. In fact, most states could produce many times more energy than they need. They've got South Dakota down as having the potential to produce 32,431 percent of its energy usage! (There's also a bigger map and an interactive map that is actually not all that interactive as far as I can tell.) 

Mark Ruffalo on fracking: ‘Gas is a bridge to nowhere’ [VIDEO]

The actor, activist, and frack-fighter spoke with Keith Olbermann Wednesday about how the gas industry is "the dirtiest, slimiest, most arrogant, and negligent that you can imagine."