I’ve written about nuclear power here a number of times. To be upfront with you: I’ve been an opponent for almost 40 years, since long before Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. I have seen very little along the way to change my views. In the light of the specter of climate change, I’ve tried to […]
On the first anniversary of the financial crash, I have been thinking of the role oil played. Most pundits cite re-setting mortgage rates as the precipitate cause, but I believe the sudden spike in energy prices earlier that summer — and the resulting inflation in food and other prices — acted as the tipping point […]
I wrote last month about some exciting activities coming up, including the Brita Climate Ride. In Washington this week, the State Department is hosting meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF). (See my posts related to the MEF.) US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern is leading the US delegation. […]
In the past couple of weeks, the International Crisis Group, which monitors and comments on conflict situations around the world, has been focusing on the African country of Chad. Chad is neighbor to Sudan and starting point of what had been one of the most anticipated oil pipelines in history. ICG’s recommendations ask Chad’s government […]
The venerable World Resources Institute has a terrific new source for data and information – EarthTrends. I’ve been using some of their charts in my class on climate change at NYU. Further to my posts from Andalusia and the Algarve on concentrated solar power (here and here), EarthTrends has a terrific graphic on solar radiation […]
I wrote a letter to the “NY Times” in response to Tom Friedman’s column last week, Our One-Party Democracy, in which he says, essentially, that because the Chinese have an autocracy they are better at promoting renewable energy. The “International Herald Tribune” had my letter forwarded from the “NYT” and I had hoped they would […]
I know China’s economic philosophy is different than America’s but was it ever so glaring as a week ago, when it was reported that China “loaned” China National Petroleum Corp. $30 billion for yet more overseas projects? Can you imagine Uncle Sam doing this for Exxon? (Okay, maybe GM, but the terms were a lot […]
Norman Borlaug, credited as the “Father of the Green Revolution,” passed away at age 95 on Saturday. Borlaug, a plant pathologist, developed the use of high-yield wheat seeds in the 1960’s, instantly impacting supply of food globally, but particularly in drought-stricken areas such as Mexico and India. Borlaug’s contributions were cited by his many colleagues […]
What’s one got to do with the other? Fair question. I wrote about this relationship in May here. Statoil, the Norwegian oil company, has a big stake in the tar sands, and a number of leading Norwegian politicians and their parties want them out. Many, if not most Norwegians, infinitely to their credit, want to […]
The good folks at “The Economist” went to the North American Biochar Conference 2009 in August. I’ve been bitten by the biochar bug. See my post here, plus the article I wrote for Grist. The virtues of biochar – A new growth industry? has some good insights, many of which were gleaned from the papers […]
I wrote recently about some solid policy analysis that would move the US off its massive dependency on coal for electricity toward a greater reliance on natural gas – until renewables fully kick into their potential. (Limitless, not incidentally.) A few days after my post, there was a depressing article in the “NY Times” about […]
We were over in Europe in the summer of 2003, just a few days after the heat wave broke. It was plenty hot even then. In this article from the “FT” from last weekend, the experience of the proprietors of a famous French vineyard, returning early from their holiday, is recalled. “Instead of rows of […]
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