Climate Technology

Notable quotable

"The military-industrial complex needs enemies."

-- Brian Williams, news anchor of NBC, on The Daily Show with John Stewart, July 31, 2008.

China’s renewables sector booming, study says

China’s renewable-energy sector is growing substantially despite the simultaneous growth of its famous dirty-energy sector, according to a study by nonprofit The Climate Group. While China recently took the lead […]

ExxonMobil rakes in record cash, spends only 1 percent on alternative energy

ExxonMobil broke its own record for the highest quarterly earnings in U.S. history, reporting $11.7 billion in profits for the second quarter. And as ABC reports, the company spent only […]

Oil companies’ continued record profits tick off Democrats, consumers

Major oil companies reported ginormous second-quarter profits this week, irking consumers and fueling harsh rhetoric from congressional Democrats. ExxonMobil reported a record-breaking profit of $11.68 billion — the highest of […]

Wind power industry hiring in huge numbers

Dear Kevin, I’ve heard lots of hype about wind power jobs, but I don’t know what kind of jobs we’re talking about. Can you describe a few? Thanks for your […]

Advocates pushing LEDs into the spotlight

Compact fluorescents have had their time in the sun; it’s time to herald the era of LEDs, say advocates. Light-emitting diodes are bright, extremely long-lasting, über-efficient, and can color-shift by […]

Surprise first-quarter profit for Honda, unsurprising giant loss for Ford

Despite an economy that has hit automakers hard, Honda Motor Co. on Friday reported an unexpected record profit for its fiscal first quarter, crediting demand for fuel-efficient Civics and Fits […]

Carbon Retirement sees opportunity in European allowances

Carbon Retirement -- you read it here first (or maybe second).

I don't normally endorse individual companies. But I have long thought European allowances were the best alternative to offsets and am delighted someone has made a business out of it.

The business opportunity is clear -- offsets suck. At a policy level, they can destroy the environmental value of climate legislation.

At a personal level, lots of vendors are selling very dubious offsets, including CCX. I can't imagine why you would waste your money on the most popular offsets, trees (certainly not a Northern forest -- heck, even offset seller Terrapass disses trees). And don't get us started on the other popular offset, RECs.

But I know some of you out there really want to be carbon neutral, and while you have bought 100 percent renewable power for your superefficient home that uses a geothermal heating and cooling system to replace natural gas, and you bought a Prius for the family car and you telecommute, you just haven't figured out how to avoid some driving and flying.

What to do? Buy real emissions credits from the European market and retire them permanently! Now that is the best idea since solar baseload.

Western states unveil draft cap-and-trade scheme

The Western Climate Initiative has unveiled a draft proposal for a regional cap-and-trade program that would kick off in 2012. The 11 states and provinces involved — Arizona, British Columbia, […]

Smart economic development policy for the 21st century

The following is an elaborated version of the brief talk I gave at my Netroots Nation panel. The U.S. economy is in serious trouble, mired in a period of slow […]