Perhaps —no, undoubtedly — only the World Bank would host an event to discuss the fiscal systems different countries have to divide oil and gas revenue. The conference, held in Washington DC by the Bank’s Oil, Gas and Mining division, concludes today. While some systems are unitary (like, on balance, Indonesia), many today are federal. […]
As you might imagine, I subscribe to a number of feeds on climate, energy and sustainability. Here are a few that I highly recommend to you. Nature Reports Climate Change, from the Nature Publishing Group, is an excellent resource on climate science and related matters. Its companion blog, Climate Feedback, has timely and compelling coverage […]
I would be remiss in not pointing you to a blockbuster paper by Amory Lovins from September that I’ve only just now read. I scanned his article in Grist at the time in which he thoroughly debunks Stewart Brand’s support for nuclear power. Here are the four myths he shatters: variable renewable sources of electricity […]
Democracy produces stability only when it actually responds to the needs of the people. So India is taking steps to neutralize a Maoist rebellion in eastern India by increasing payments to local people being displaced by mining development. The government will introduce a new bill, probably in the current session of parliament, to raise the payout […]
John Kerry gave a speech this past week in which he said that he is “on a short track” to introducing climate and energy legislation that can be passed. Kerry said he’d been working with key administration officials and Senators to create a package. In a Reuters article on this, Carol Browner is quoted as […]
I wrote last month about The Reaction to EPA’s proposed regulations on greenhouse gases. The virus of fear is spreading. People who should know better, in my opinion, namely eight Democratic Senators from coal, oil and industrial states, wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson warning her, for all intents and purposes, to back off. Coal-State […]
Usually, I don’t drag myself into my own blogs but the Bloom Box is the sort of energy project ultimately supposed to be aimed at people — homeowners — like me. Like most homeowners, I am not a tech geek, and, in theory, I am attracted to the idea of the Bloom Box. However, I […]
States are going against the green energy wave and reverting back to the status quo: fossil fuels. In Wyoming, elected officials are mulling a legislation to add a tax to wind farms. In Vermont, the state senate voted to shut down a 38-year old nuclear power plant that is receiving a 20-year extension to operate. […]
The Department of Energy has announced substantive backing in the form of loan guarantees for an exciting concentrated solar power (CSP) project in California. The plant will generate 400 MW of electricity using the same “power tower” approach I saw when we were on vacation in Spain this past August. For backing this project, I […]
Hard to say, this past week, who was madder and more affronted about a missed opportunity: Evgeni Plushenko, the Russian figure skater who won Olympic silver but felt he deserved gold, or Argentina, which found out that a British company was exploring for oil in the nearby but British-held Falkland Islands. Despite losing a short […]
There is growing concern that the foundering condition of soil in China could facilitate a food crisis in the world’s most populated country. As millions of Chinese farmers migrate toward cities from rural countrysides, the influx of people into urban areas creates a greater demand for meat, grain, and dairy products. But China’s soil is […]
Here’s a not-unexciting little story, courtesy of the good people at Green Energy Reporter, on a potential breakthrough in distributed generation. The Bloom Box is a super fuel cell. It’s super because it’s so small, so efficient and, if they get the price down, can penetrate markets just about anywhere. Google and eBay are satisfied […]
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