Climate Energy
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Achtung! German Motorists Boycott Ethanol
The German government’s plan to follow our lead and force a ten percent blend of ethanol down its citizen’s throats has hit a snag. Unlike here in the States, German consumers can choose to buy gasoline without ethanol in it. So, that’s what they’re doing even though it costs more! I took the above photo […]
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Forward-looking power utilities support EPA air toxics rule
As Grist readers know, EPA recently released its proposed Air Toxics Rule, which would regulate the emission of mercury and other brain-warping, lung-destroying nasties. We’re still in the public comment period, so the PR battle is in full swing. Republicans and dirty utilities have raised Cain over the rule, screeching that it will be too […]
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Wisconsin gov. Scott Walker ruins everything, including wind power
Can you get much more low-down than Scott Walker and his cronies? It's not enough that the Wisconsin governor stripped collective bargaining rights from unions in pretty much the slimiest way possible, or that important people who support him have been advocating both violence and fake violence as a way to silence opposition. No, he […]
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Obama administration can’t wait to sell China all the coal it can burn
Here’s a recipe for climate catastrophe: First, authorize enough new coal production in Wyoming to yield 3.9 billion tons of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Then authorize a new export terminal in northwest Washington to ship that black gold to Asia, where the other half of Chimerica will burn it to power the factories we shipped them […]
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How the U.S. narrowly avoided its own Fukushima-style disaster in 1992
Turkey Point nuclear power plant in Miami-Dade county, Florida.Photo: ShelahDThe U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is refusing to update its worst case scenario models for the flooding of coastal U.S. nuclear power plants. Potentially, this puts the backup safety systems at reactors like the Turkey Point plant in Miami-Dade county, Florida, at risk of damage or […]
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Bingaman tries to make policy out of Obama’s hopey-changey Clean Energy Standard
Is Obama wasting Sen. Bingaman’s time?Photo: The White HouseIn his State of the Union speech, Obama introduced an ambitious plan to encourage clean energy in the U.S. At least I think it was ambitious. Kinda hard to tell — it was vague. Thinking about it since, I’ve come to see the Clean Energy Standard (CES) […]
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Afghan-produced biofuels could be one good thing to come out of the war
In a larger sense, nobody wins in the war in Afghanistan. But Marine sergeant Brian Nelson is hoping that in one particular instance — encouraging Afghans to convert some of their crops to biofuel — everyone can win. Marines win because they can help meet their alternative energy goals. They want to cut fuel usage […]
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Cats and wind turbines vie for the title of ‘biggest avian menace’
Finally, we are starting to get answers to that universal question: Who would win in a fight, cats or wind? If the fight is "who can kill the most birds," the cats are way ahead, says a new study in the Journal of Ornithology. For sheer avian death tolls, wind turbines can't even hold a […]
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U.S. energy policy as a teenage boy
With all the media frenzy around the Japanese nuclear situation, one topic hasn’t been covered much : Why don’t the Japanese love fossil fuels? Not only have they pushed hard into nuke but they’re also world-beaters in photovoltaics, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency. How come? The economic incentives are pretty obvious: Japan doesn’t have any […]
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Bingaman tells the truth about gas prices, is lonely in doing so
So I’m reading in Politico about Democratic fecklessness. (Yes, half my posts begin this way.) The problem is, whenever gas prices go up, Republicans benefit. They have a simple, powerful message ready to go, right off the shelf: drill here, drill now, pay less. Not enough drilling: that’s why gas prices are high. Drilling more: […]
