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Norway Refuses to Drill for Billions of Barrels in Arctic
The largest party in Norway’s parliament has delivered a significant blow to the country’s huge oil industry after withdrawing support for exploratory drilling off the Lofoten islands in the Arctic, which are considered a natural wonder. Read the entire article at The Independent. The move, by the opposition Labour party, creates a large parliamentary […]
Conservative Republican Group Calls for Carbon Tax
A group of Republican elder statesmen is calling for a tax on carbon emissions to fight climate change. The group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former secretary of the Treasury, says that taxing carbon pollution produced by burning fossil fuels is “a conservative climate solution” based on free-market principles.
World’s biggest defence company to make energy from landfill
Read the full article online at http://newatlas.com “Lockheed Martin is making progress with its plan to be a global player in the clean energy market. Last month, executives at Lockheed Martin’s Owego, New York plant cut the ribbon on a new self-sustaining bioenergy system that is helping power the facility, converting 3,560 tons of […]
Biofuels Worse for Climate Than Gasoline, New Study Finds
Read the full article online at http://www.ecowatch.com “A new study released by the University of Michigan in the Aug. 25 journal of Climate Change is causing a ripple through the fuel industry, as it contends that more carbon dioxide is actually released through biofuels than gasoline. Biofuels were always pegged as being more environmentally friendly because […]
Solar Cost Hits World’s New Low
“Chile awarded a contract to sell solar power for $29.10 per megawatt hour (MWh), the lowest ever across the planet. This surpasses the record set in May of a $29.90 per MWh bid in Dubai for an 800 megawatt (MW) solar project. “
Five ways cities are acting on climate
Cities aren’t waiting for the rest of the world to make huge strides in confronting the climate crisis. In December 2015, almost the entire world (195 nations to be exact) agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and do their part to solve climate change as part of the landmark Paris Agreement. After years of negotiation and discussion, the world is closer than ever to finally shifting away from dirty fossil fuels and working together to reverse the dangerous upward trend in warming global temperatures.
California Freeways Will Soon Generate Electricity
“Energy conservation is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about freeways jammed with idling vehicles. But in California, which has some of the most congested freeways in the country, that’s about to change. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a pilot program in which piezoelectric crystals will be installed on several freeways. No, these aren’t some kind of new-agey crystals with mystical powers. Piezoelectric crystals, about the size of watch batteries, give off an electrical discharge when they’re mechanically stressed, such as when a vehicle drives over them.
What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar?
The global economy is in a massive transition from a fossil-fuel-based energy system to one using sophisticated renewable energy technologies. For tens of thousands of fossil fuel workers, though, the energy industry outlook is not promising. For coal industry workers, the future looks particularly bleak. However, research I conducted with Edward Louie of Oregon State University offers hope for a better future based on retraining workers. Our study (published in the journal Energy Economics) quantified the costs and benefits of retraining coal workers for employment in the rapidly expanding solar photovoltaic industry—and it explores different ways to pay for this retraining.
New York and California Lead in Clean Energy
For a glimpse of what New York’s just-announced clean energy standard could mean to the state’s economy, look West.
Chile Has Too Much Solar Energy
Read the full article on http://www.bloomberg.com “Chile’s solar industry has expanded so quickly that it’s giving electricity away for free.Spot prices reached zero in parts of the country on 113 days through April, a number that’s on track to beat last year’s total of 192 days, according to Chile’s central grid operator. While that may […]
