Climate Change

"The Economist" has two great articles in their "Technology Quarterly," one on the state of wind power globally and the other on the Masdar Initiative.  "The Economist," as you no doubt know by now, has terrific coverage on energy, the environment and climate change.  I wrote about the Masdar Initiative, along with some other big-vision […]

While thousands of delegates and interested parties from all over the world start their second week of deliberations and meetings in Poznan, the EU has been laying the groundwork for a summit at the end of this week in Brussels.  In January, the European Commission agreed to work toward an ambitious program of a 20% […]

Coal Mining Debris Rule Is Approved is the story from the "NY Times" earlier this week.  National environmental groups and regional groups like the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition were, understandably, up in arms.  The NRDC, for instance, said in their release:  "The EPA's concurrence and approval of this defective rule governing coal mining is ecologically […]

I have flagged the "FT's" stellar coverage on climate change and energy on numerous occasions.  I just want to stop to highlight the release this week of the third in their three-part series on climate change this year.  The first tranche of stories was on science, the second on politics.  This week they look at […]

Obama buzz felt at global climate talks reads the headline from the A.P. John Kerry, the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, is quoted. “”America is back,’ says Sen. John Kerry, underscoring that Barack Obama’s election signals a U.S. intent to regain a leadership role on climate change. “After eight years of obstruction […]

UN Climate Negotiations Kick Off in Poznan is the headline from Climate-L.Org, the "knowledge management project" run by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).  (I flagged these meetings last month under IGO Update at the blog.)  Nearly 11,000 folks "from government, business and industry, environmental groups and research institutions" are gathering in Poland for […]

Federal Efficiency Initiative – As I think I’ve noted before, DOE and EPA have often struggled mightily against political headwinds and still managed to get some heroic work done.  (They’ve also, to be sure, caved, on more than a few occasions over the years, to pressure from on high, abdicating their responsibilities.  See under “California […]

Coal, obviously, is one of the biggest roadblocks to averting catastrophic climate change.  China, the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, gets 75% of its electric power from coal.  The US, number two on the carbon dioxide hit parade, gets half of its electricity from coal-fired plants.  Worldwide in 2006, coal (and peat) generated 41% […]

I've been so jazzed by the coup d'état in the House of Representatives (see last two posts below plus this from early this month) that I've neglected some other big stories.  There are some great ones out there.  GHG Cap in the UK , MPs pass landmark climate change bill is the story from AFP.  […]

Henry Waxman did it. Waxman beats Dingell to chair energy committee is the story from Reuters. In a secret ballot vote of 137 to 122, the Democratic Caucus in the US House of Representatives voted to install a smart, tough, progressive to the chair of the most significant committee (in the House) by far for […]

House Panel Backs Waxman Over Dingell As Energy Chair is the story from ABC News. This news is not just big. It’s “yooge” as Bernie Sanders would say. Dingell may have finally created more discontent than the Democrats could support. It also may be that Waxman has been perceived as the right man for the […]

This video from President-Elect Barack Obama talking to the attendees at the Governors' Global Climate Summit is unequivocal.  (See my post from November 13 below on the summit.)  Obama reaffirms his support for a vigorous cap-and-trade regime and for truly robust federal support for renewables. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/hvG2XptIEJk” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] Read more about this […]