News: Author Archive
‘Just how bad has the coal ash situation gotten in the United States? So bad that the Department of Homeland Security has told Sen. Barbara Boxer D-Calif. that her committee can’t publicly disclose the location of coal ash dumps across the country.’
via Coal Ash Spills Too Dangerous To Reveal To Public, Says DHS VIDEO.
‘As the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill moves forward in the House, Big Ag interest groups are circling their plows and sharpening their pitchforks. Some of the largest corporations in the agribusiness sector—including the GMO-and-herbicide giant Monsanto—are pushing to control how agriculture would fit into the bill’s cap-and-trade scheme.’
Researchers and startups might tout flow or sodium batteries, but caves are going to be tough to beat when it comes to energy storage, says Robert Schainker, a senior technical executive at EPRI.
via Greentech Media: What Is the Cheapest Energy Storage Idea of Them All?.
‘Chalk up another casualty of climate change: Wind speeds in many parts of the U.S. seem to be decreasing, which could make life tougher for the wind industry.’
via Fickle Breezes: Study Says Climate Change Means Lower Wind Speeds – Environmental Capital – WSJ.
BEIJING Reuters – China must press ahead with new ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions for the world to have hope of containing global warming, a U.S. energy official said, urging cooperation to end distrust between the two biggest emitters.
via U.S. seeks tougher climate steps from China | Green Business | Reuters.
‘As we’ve detailed, nuclear waste is an expensive problem in the United States. The government is liable to utilities for billions of dollars, due to a failure to produce a central, national location for storing waste.’
‘SAN FRANCISCO — The vast $320 million desalination plant approved this week by San Diego’s regional water authorities is likely to serve as a test case for whether such a large project can meet its goals while safeguarding its Pacific environment.
Environmentalists have battled the project in lawsuits, raising concerns about the amount of fish that will be killed by the pumping process and about potential change to the aquatic ecosystem when leftover brine is returned to the sea. So far they have not won any victories.’
via In California, Desalination of Seawater as a Test Case – NYTimes.com.
‘COLUMBUS, Ohio — Federal regulators have not done enough to ensure that shareholders are aware of material risks to companies from greenhouse gas emissions, according to a pair of studies released Wednesday by environmental and investor groups.’
‘A promise that the Maldives will go carbon-neutral in 10 years is not just good for PR, says the country’s president Mohamed Nasheed. In this week’s Green Room, he argues that the goal sets an example for the developed world proving that a green country is not only practical, it is profitable.’
via BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Leading by an achievable example.