BEIJING (AFP) — China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world’s fastest growing market for wind energy technology, state press said.
News Roundup
China triples wind power capacity goal: AFP
May 4th, 2009House climate bill markup plans uncertain as Dems lack votes
May 3rd, 2009Prospects of a House subcommittee markup next week on a major energy and global warming bill appear dim as the panel’s Democratic leaders head into the weekend without a clear signal that they have enough votes to move the legislation.
via House climate bill markup plans uncertain as Dems lack votes – NYTimes.com.
Joel Brokaw: A Global Warming Solution Rises from the Junk Heap?
May 1st, 2009‘In desert regions around the world, large parabolic shaped mirrors are beginning to crop up that may finally make solar energy deliver on its promise. What makes them so special from other solar complexes is the device they’re connected to — an updated version of a 19th-century engine that used to pump water to the rooftop storage towers dotting New York City’s skyline. A Stirling engine, no larger than a household washing machine, converts sunlight into electricity six times more efficiently than other technologies in common use. When scientists do the math, the numbers begin to add up. In fact, researchers at Sweden’s Chalmers Institute of Technology estimate that the entire world’s daily consumption of electricity could be supplied by a Stirling solar farm equivalent to 6 percent of the Sahara Desert area.’
via Joel Brokaw: A Global Warming Solution Rises from the Junk Heap?.
Al Gore calls on world to burn less wood and fuel to curb 'black carbon' | guardian.co.uk
April 28th, 2009‘Soot from engines, forest fires and partly burned fuel is collecting in Arctic and causing north pole to warm at alarming rate
The world must burn less diesel and wood, Nobel peace prize-winner Al Gore said yesterday, as the soot produced is accelerating the melting of ice in polar and mountainous regions.’
Al Gore "Strongly Urges" Support of Climate Legislation
April 27th, 2009April 24, 2009. Al Gore appeared before before the House Energy and Commerce Committee to support the proposed climate change bill:
“…moreover the best way to secure a global agreement that guarantees that other nations will also reduce their global warming pollution is for our country to lead the world in meeting this historic challenge”
Emission Free: 5 Huge Renewable Energy Projects to Watch For : Red, Green, and Blue
April 25th, 2009Quick summary of several large energy projects. Though emission free is a bit of an overstatement for a variety of reasons.
see Emission Free: 5 Huge Renewable Energy Projects to Watch For : Red, Green, and Blue.
China Plans 20 Dams on Yangtze River But Transparency Issues With EIA Process Remain : Red, Green, and Blue
April 25th, 2009The Chinese government has announced that it plans to build as many as 20 hydro electric projects on the Yangtze river by the year 2020. The projects would be aimed at quenching China’s increasing power demand and helping in flood control. However, many domestic and international experts warn about the ecological sensitivity of the area might not be strong enough to cope with such massive infrastructure projects.
Professor Dan Kammen speaking about Obama climate and energy policy
April 24th, 2009UC Berkeley Professor Dan Kammen, coordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and an advisor to Obama during the 2008 campaign, describes recent changes in Climate Change policy since Obama has been in office. In particular Kammen focuses on policy reversals announced by EPA’s Lisa P. Jackson which allow California to set higher air quality standards than national, and the pivotal decision to consider CO2 as a harmful greenhouse gas.
Dan Kammen speaking at UC Berkeley on Obama’s climate change approach
BBC NEWS | Next decade ‘may see no warming’
April 20th, 2009‘The Earth’s temperature may stay roughly the same for a decade, as natural climate cycles enter a cooling phase, scientists have predicted.
…The key to the new prediction is the natural cycle of ocean temperatures called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), which is closely related to the warm currents that bring heat from the tropics to the shores of Europe.’
via BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Next decade ‘may see no warming’.
Environmental Gains Lose Priority in China Amid Downturn – NYTimes.com
April 18th, 2009“DUANJIALING, China — Less than a year ago, officials were pressing mines and factories along this limestone belt of northern China to shut down or move away to clear the air of dust and smog for the Beijing Olympics.
Now, amid the global economic downturn, priorities have shifted.
Cumbersome environmental reviews have been accelerated, state bank loans are flowing freely again and workers are welding the grinding mills of Sanhe Yongsheng Cement, one of the new cement plants under construction not far from China’s capital.”
The article goes on to mention rapid approval of projects:
“In the rush to invest $585 billion in stimulus spending and revive flagging industrial production, China has at least temporarily backpedaled on some environmental restraints imposed, though with limited impact, during the country’s long boom.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection, citing the urgency of fighting the downturn, adopted a new “green passage” policy that speeds approval of industrial projects. In one three-day stretch late last year, it gave the green light to 93 new investment plans valued at $38 billion.”
via Environmental Gains Lose Priority in China Amid Downturn – NYTimes.com.