New Energy
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Progress on Texas Wind Energy Jobs
November 20th, 2009
The dispute over whether or not a Texas wind farm receiving federal subsidies would source its components from a Chinese manufacturer has come to a more agreeable solution, with the partnering companies agreeing to open a 1,000 person turbine factory in the US more » Featured Issues
Big Oil Claims Climate Bill Would Shift Jobs Offshore, But Completely Ignores Border Tariff
By Bill Scher
October 28th, 2009
At today's Senate hearing on the Kerry-Boxer clean energy jobs and climate protection bill, the oil refinery lobby claimed, "this legislation will export carbon dioxide e more »
Building a Smart Grid, Smartly
By Eric Lotke
October 27th, 2009
President Barack Obama announced today $3.4 billion in government grants to help build a "smart" electric grid. Like many Obama initiatives, it’s a smart first step. But much more is needed and one piece is rarely mentioned at all. more »
Senate Climate Bill To Protect Trade-Exposed Industries
October 26th, 2009
This past Saturday, 350.org kicked off the largest, most diverse, international day of action in the history of the environmental movement. more »
The Case
Why New Energy
The current energy policy is socking our pocketbooks. Families will spend $2,300 more this year to fill up their cars and $1,700 more for home heating oil than at the beginning of the Bush presidency.
And it’s socking our planet. The warning signs of catastrophic climate change are all around us. Arctic ice is melting at a record pace. Wildfires are burning hotter and longer. The lake that supplies water to Phoenix and Las Vegas is drying up. A record number of Category 5 hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic Ocean this decade. Hunting seasons and wildlife habitats are beginning to be adversely impacted.more »
The Challenge
Turning to domestic oil is not a serious option. Not only will that do nothing to reverse global warming, but the oil simply isn’t there. The United States has less than 2% of the world’s oil reserves and imports 60% of the oil we use. We can’t drill our way out of the hole we’re in. The reality is: world oil production is at or near its peak. Global demand for oil—up to 86 million barrels a day—has exhausted spare capacity.
more »
The Facts
The New Apollo Program
The New Apollo Program is a comprehensive economic investment strategy to build America’s 21st century clean energy economy and dramatically cut energy bills for families and businesses. It will generate and invest $500 billion over the next ten years and create more than five million high quality green-collar jobs. It will accelerate the development of the nation’s vast clean energy resources and move us toward energy security, climate stability, and economic prosperity. And it will transform America into the global leader of the new green economy.more »
Repower America
What does it mean that all electricity generation within 10 years will be met only by zero-carbon sources of power? The We Campaign, with assistance and advice from dozens of energy experts, assessed the potential for meeting electricity demand from a combination of well-understood sources: improved energy efficiency, renewable sources like wind, solar, and geothermal, and fossil fuel power plants that capture and store their carbon pollution. Generation from existing carbon-free sources like conventional hydropower and nuclear power plants was assumed to remain unchanged from current levels. The assessments uncovered a variety of plausible Repower America scenarios. more »
The News
Americans Support Obama On Energy Issues
August 31st, 2009
Northwest Glaciers Shrinking Faster
August 7th, 2009
The Case
The benefits of a nuclear Iran
This is not a headline you would ever see in the mainstream US press and I wish to make it clear that the benefits of nuclear technology for any purpose other than short term energy security in the face of declining world oil production are in my opinion questionable.
Out of left field, a smorgasboard of geopolitical bones of contention.
Enjoy.more »
The U.S. Chamber Needs To Get Its Story Straight
The U.S. Chamber seems to be going to great lengths these days persuade Congress that it really wants to help pass climate legislation. But a very different message is coming through its blogs, tweets, and unscripted comments.more »
Latest from our Bloggers
nov
23
2009
10:30 am
10:30 am
Today, President Obama meets with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with the Copenhagen climate summit two weeks away and their two nations very far apart on any climate agreement. Any international agreement will require the US, India and China to find some common ground.
On Saturday's LiberalOasis Radio Show, airing on WHMP in Western MA, I discussed the international fault lines that must be overcome for a successful Copenhagen summit with David Roberts of Grist.org. Listen below.
nov
5
2009
4:22 pm
4:22 pm
Today, Sen. Barbara Boxer rammed through the Environment and Public Works Committee her version of clean energy jobs and climate protection legislation without any amendments, in order to circumvent the Republican boycott of the committee proceedings. more »
oct
16
2009
2:55 am
2:55 am
It's remarkable how often economists ignore physical reality. Whether they're suggesting that economies can act as perpetual motion machines or suggesting that resource availability is meaningless to economic growth, I'm always prompted to think they should make science classes a mandatory part of the economics curriculum. more »
oct
15
2009
9:15 am
9:15 am
There was a certain irony in the U.S. decision to hold the recent G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh to show off the former steel town’s success at creating green jobs. Pittsburgh transformed itself from a polluted and declining industrial metropolis into a clean and booming green one by crafting deliberate economic development policies to support the growth of clean-energy industries. more »
oct
14
2009
9:57 am
9:57 am
Wonk Room's Brad Johnson reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham faced a legion of angry right-wing Teabaggers for working with Sen. John Kerry on carbon cap legislation. more »
oct
7
2009
12:51 pm
12:51 pm
In July I speculated that Sen. Lamar Alexander might lead some Republicans to back a climate protection bill if Democratic leaders made some concessions regarding nuclear power. The prospect was tantalizing, as I noted then: "The Democratic caucus is not solid enough on climate issues to presume GOP votes are unneeded. Anyone giving a positive signal is at least worth feeling out."
But Alexander quickly buried that possibility, setting wildly impossible goals for nuclear and ramping up intellectually incoherent attacks on the House climate bill.
Now, the possibility of Republican support for "cap and trade" legislation is getting renewed attention. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham explicitly raised the possibility of a deal, involving more nuclear power and offshore drilling, and Democratic leaders are hearing him out. ClimateWire reports: more »
oct
7
2009
9:45 am
9:45 am
