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Tag: Energy


andjohan (CC BY 2.0)

Wind Power ‘May Be Less Than Thought’

There may be limits to how far society can rely on wind power to replace fossil fuels, scientists say—limits imposed by the effect of numbers of turbines sited close together.

Posted on Mar 1, 2013 READ MORE



j / f / photos (CC BY-SA 2.0)

‘World Can End Poverty and Limit Warming’

A U.N. scheme to guarantee everyone access to clean energy could help keep global temperature rise below 2°C, but only with sharp cuts in emissions of all the main greenhouse gases.

Posted on Feb 26, 2013 READ MORE



Argonne National Library (CC BY-NS-SA 2.0)

Water Demand for Energy to Double by 2035

The amount of fresh water needed to produce energy for the world is set to double within the next 25 years as civilization’s reliance on coal and biofuels increases, the International Energy Agency projects.

Posted on Jan 31, 2013 READ MORE



photophilde (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Powder Keg in the Pacific

China’s determination to assert control over disputed islands in the potentially energy-rich waters of the East and South China Seas spells trouble not just regionally, but potentially globally.

Posted on Jan 23, 2013 READ MORE



Flickr/Paul Hocksenar

The Natural Gas Bubble

The natural gas industry is waging an aggressive public relations campaign to bolster investor confidence, despite evidence showing that shale gas is an unreliable resource and that the production process releases large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

Posted on Jan 4, 2013 READ MORE



jonasclemens (CC BY 2.0)

1,200 New Coal Power Plants Planned Worldwide

Despite warnings from scientists and environmental groups that global warming will be unstoppable if carbon emissions do not peak within a few years, 59 countries, led by China and India, are planning to expand their coal-powered energy sources.

Posted on Nov 20, 2012 READ MORE


Needs

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Posted on Nov 18, 2012 READ MORE



InsideClimate News/Osha Gray Davidson

How Germany Is Getting to 100 Percent Renewable Energy

There is no debate on climate change in Germany, where architects of the clean energy movement estimate that from 80 percent to 100 percent of the country’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2050.

Posted on Nov 15, 2012 READ MORE


Romney Would Hand Oil Decisions to the States

“[W]hat Romney seeks to do is roll back 50 years of environmental legislation in the United States,” says Nation magazine defense correspondent Michael T. Klare in a podcast discussion of his new piece “The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources.”

Posted on Oct 27, 2012 READ MORE


Bright Idea

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Posted on Oct 9, 2012 READ MORE



AdamSelwood (CC BY 2.0)

The New ‘Golden Age of Oil’ That Wasn’t

Last winter, fossil-fuel enthusiasts began trumpeting the dawn of a new “golden age of oil” that would kick-start the American economy, generate millions of new jobs, and free this country from its dependence on imported petroleum. But the future may prove far more recalcitrant than these prophets of an American energy cornucopia imagine.

Posted on Oct 5, 2012 READ MORE


Don’t Fall for Corporate Blackmail

They may balk at regulation, but unlike textile or electronics firms, fossil fuel companies are extracting a resource that is relatively rare, altogether finite and—most important—tied to specific geographies.

Posted on Jun 21, 2012 READ MORE



david drexler (CC BY 2.0)

Is Barack Obama Morphing Into Dick Cheney?

In the way he has engaged in the geopolitics of oil as part of an American struggle for dominance among the major powers, President Obama’s global energy policies bear an eerie likeness to former Vice President Dick Cheney’s.

Posted on Jun 21, 2012 READ MORE



eggrole (CC BY 2.0)

Study Raises New Concerns About Fracking

A study into the safety of gas drilling in New York state’s Marcellus Shale concludes that natural faults and fractures, exacerbated by the effects of fracking, could allow chemicals to reach the surface and contaminate drinking water supplies much sooner than experts previously predicted.

Posted on May 3, 2012 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS



Azzazello (CC-BY)

A Tough-Oil World

The world still harbors large reserves of petroleum, but they are of the hard-to-reach, hard-to-refine, “tough oil” variety that will be more costly to extract, refine and buy at the pump.

Posted on Mar 14, 2012 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



Thierry Ehrmann (CC-BY)

The Bipartisan Nuclear Bailout

Democrats and Republicans agree on one thing: They’re going to force nuclear power on the public, despite the astronomically high risks, both financial and environmental.

Posted on Mar 7, 2012 READ MORE  |  15 COMMENTS



Lars Christopher Nøttaasen (CC-BY)

How China Has Benefited From America’s Hostility to Iran

Truthdig contributor and former “60 Minutes” producer Barry Lando argues that China has cleverly exploited poor relations between Tehran and Washington, to the point that the Middle Kingdom now imports more oil and gas from Iran than the U.S. does from Saudi Arabia.

Posted on Nov 23, 2011 READ MORE  |  12 COMMENTS



Siemens Drops Nuclear Power

The German conglomerate is getting out of the nuclear power business. Siemens built every one of Germany’s existing nuclear power plants, all of which were scheduled to be shuttered by 2022 following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi meltdown. (more)

Posted on Sep 18, 2011 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Richard Bitting (CC-BY)

The Russians Are Coming (or Not)

Correction: Back in 2007, a Russian official announced a scheme to build an underwater rail system linking Siberia to Alaska. Such a railway would require the longest tunnel ever built and expenditures of about $94 billion (by one estimate). More than four years later, the transcontinental railway was in the news again. (more)

Posted on Aug 29, 2011 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



AP / David J. Phillip

The Biggest Little Hypocrite in Texas

It is unfathomable that yet another Texas blowhard governor has emerged as a front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.

Posted on Aug 16, 2011 READ MORE  |  96 COMMENTS


The Power Behind a Clean Energy Future

This week on Truthdig Radio in collaboration with KPFK: Why a battery breakthrough is the key to clean energy; how boosting the minimum wage could lift the economy; we check in with immigration; and Robert Scheer talks about the sinful love between the tea party and Goldman Sachs. Also: On the ground in Gaza. Update: Full transcript.

Posted on Jul 6, 2011 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT



Photo illustration from an image by Colin Grey

The Power Behind a Clean Energy Future

This week on Truthdig Radio in collaboration with KPFK: Why a battery breakthrough is the key to our clean energy future; how boosting the minimum wage could lift the economy; we check in with immigration; and Robert Scheer talks about the sinful love between the tea party and Goldman Sachs. Also: On the ground in Gaza.

Posted on Jul 6, 2011 READ MORE


Japan’s Meltdowns Demand New No-Nukes Thinking

New details are emerging that indicate the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan is far worse than previously known, with three of the four affected reactors experiencing full meltdowns. Meanwhile, in the U.S., massive flooding along the Missouri River has put Nebraska’s two nuclear plants, both near Omaha, on alert.

Posted on Jun 21, 2011 READ MORE  |  18 COMMENTS


America’s Energy Ethos: Do, Regardless of Harm

I thought we would witness the recent Fukushima reactor meltdown or footage of Americans setting their tap water on fire and at least agree to stop pursuing energy policies that we know endanger our health and safety—if not out of altruism, then out of self-interest.

Posted on Jun 9, 2011 READ MORE  |  17 COMMENTS



The Last Mountain / Vivian Stockman

Robert Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Inconvenient Truth’ Moment

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. beamed from the big screen this weekend, featured prominently in documentary filmmaker Bill Haney’s latest film, “The Last Mountain,” which opened Friday to positive reviews in New York and Washington, D.C.

Posted on Jun 5, 2011 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



Bjoern Schwarz (CC-BY)

Germany Puts an Expiration Date on Nuclear Power

Just two and a half months after Japan’s nuclear disaster kicked off a global rethink, Germany’s governing coalition has committed to closing down all of the country’s nuclear power plants by 2022. Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will replace nuclear, which ... (more)

Posted on May 29, 2011 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS


Our Imagination Deficit

While the United States remains utterly frozen in a debate about budget deficits and all the things that government shouldn’t do, other countries are marrying public and private resources to make themselves stronger and more competitive.

Posted on May 29, 2011 READ MORE  |  31 COMMENTS


How the U.S. Should Respond to the New Arab World

Revolutions are known for devouring their children, but the people making the current revolution in the Middle East may prove indigestible.

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 READ MORE  |  13 COMMENTS



AP / Shawn Poynter

Fight for a World Without Coal

The writer and philosopher Wendell Berry, armed with little more than a copy of William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and his conscience, has been camped out for three days with a handful of other activists in the governor’s outer office in Frankfort, Ky.

Posted on Feb 14, 2011 READ MORE  |  50 COMMENTS


Climate Benefits of Natural Gas May Be Overstated

The United States is poised to bet its energy future on natural gas as a clean, plentiful fuel that can supplant coal and oil. But new research by the Environmental Protection Agency is casting doubt on the assumption that gas offers a quick and easy solution to climate change.

Posted on Jan 25, 2011 READ MORE  |  12 COMMENTS


Is America Too Corrupt to Keep Up?

As “Buy China” policies now economically supercharge the world’s most populous nation, the White House and congressional Republicans have opposed many of the very “Buy America” proposals that might help us keep up—and that obstruction has come at a steep price.

Posted on Jan 21, 2011 READ MORE  |  45 COMMENTS



AP / Mikhail Metzel

Russia to Help Venezuela Build Nuclear Power Plant

With a little help from its friends, Venezuela is now one step closer to building its first nuclear power plant. After a two-day stint in Moscow, President Hugo Chavez has received the support of Russia for the construction of a nuclear power station aimed at diversifying the country’s energy supply.

Posted on Oct 15, 2010 READ MORE  |  35 COMMENTS



Open Call: Obama’s Town Hall

The casting call for Obama’s town hall, dealing with the media’s masturbation shame, and what Stephen Hawking has to say about God.

Posted on Oct 12, 2010 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



Wayne National Forest / Alex Snyder (CC-BY)

A Little Missed Sunshine

When first lady Michelle Obama started an organic garden at the White House, she sparked a national discussion on food, obesity, health and sustainability. But the green action on the White House lawn hasn’t made it to the White House roof, unfortunately.

Posted on Sep 14, 2010 READ MORE  |  17 COMMENTS



AP / ISNA, Mehdi Ghasemi

Russia Set to Power Up Iran Nuclear Plant

After 40 years and countless international scoldings, Russia has announced it will begin loading uranium-packed fuel rods into Iran’s first nuclear power plant, officially classifying the reactor as a “nuclear installation.”

Posted on Aug 13, 2010 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



AP / Hasan Sarbakhshian

And Now, Even More Sanctions Against Iran

The Iranian government is apparently of the opinion that sanctions are not “an effective tool,” particularly when those sanctions are imposed against Iran from elsewhere in the world, such as the more stringent ones that the European Union just adopted, for example.

Posted on Jul 26, 2010 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Flickr / rahim (CC-BY)

China Now Consumes More Energy Than Anyone Else

The United States’ century-long reign as the world’s greediest energy nation is over. China has usurped the throne, as expected, though Beijing reportedly disputes the title. The International Energy Agency, which keeps track of these things, also points out that China’s per capita consumption is below the global average and far less than the U.S.’

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS



Tesla Motors

How Clean Are Electric Cars? Depends on the State

With high-profile deals, expanding infrastructure and a growing list of models, the electric car is finally arriving, but, as they say, your mileage may vary. Charge that Tesla Roadster in Georgia, where they burn coal to power the grid, and you may as well be driving a Prius.

Posted on Jul 19, 2010 READ MORE  |  15 COMMENTS


A New Deregulatory Push in the Energy Heartland

In recent weeks, politicians from the capital to Colorado have provided ample evidence that the fossil fuel industry remains as powerful as ever in the wake of the Gulf Coast apocalypse.

Posted on Jul 1, 2010 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS


Palin

Palin Gets Energetic About Obama’s Speech

Sarah Palin was at the ready, all coiffed and skeptical, after President Obama addressed the nation about the oil spill catastrophe Tuesday night. And guess what? She’s not buyin’ what he’s sellin’.

Posted on Jun 16, 2010 READ MORE  |  13 COMMENTS


Putting the ‘I’ in Environment

While British Petroleum and federal regulators are certainly at fault for their reckless behavior, every American who uses oil—which is to say every American—is incriminated in this ecological holocaust.

Posted on Jun 10, 2010 READ MORE  |  53 COMMENTS



ecopolitiology.org

Wind Farmers Head Out to Sea

You’ve heard of offshore oil drilling, how about offshore wind farming? The first offshore wind project has been approved to be built five miles off the Massachusetts coast over the objections of Cape Cod residents and vacationers who worry it might disturb their view. The $1 billion project could power 400,000 houses.

Posted on Apr 28, 2010 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


NYSE
AP / Henny Ray Abrams

Stock Market at 19-Month High

Even in the face of an extended recession, devastating double-digit unemployment and a barrage of political charges that President Barack Obama’s health care reform will decimate the economy, the U.S. stock market finished the week at a 19-month high.

Posted on Apr 24, 2010 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS


Massey Disaster Not Just Tragic, but Criminal

Massey Energy runs the Upper Big Branch mine in Montcoal, W.Va., where 29 miners were killed last week. The loss of life is tragic, but the UBB explosion is more than tragic; it is criminal.

Posted on Apr 13, 2010 READ MORE  |  19 COMMENTS


Will We Forget the Miners Again?

There is a dispiriting and, yes, heartbreaking sameness about how we respond to mining disasters.

Posted on Apr 8, 2010 READ MORE  |  45 COMMENTS


offshore drilling
Wikimedia Commons / Joint Pipeline Office

Obama Proposes Offshore Drilling Plan

If you thought “drill, baby, drill!” was only a right-wing slogan, think again. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama outlined a plan for doing a little drilling for oil and gas off a few sections of our nation’s coastline, including the East Coast, Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted on Mar 31, 2010 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS


Clean Coal, ‘Dirty Business’

A new documentary investigates the “true social and environmental costs of coal power” and debunks the myth of clean coal. America and China both use much of the world’s energy and have much of its coal. This fight is only going to heat up. Check out extensive clips after the jump.

Posted on Mar 29, 2010 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



Flickr user George Lu

China Is Beating the Pants Off the U.S. in Clean Energy

China invested nearly twice as much money—$34.6 billion—in clean energy projects in 2009 as the United States. The ecological impact of China’s economic boom could be a factor, but so could ... (continued)

Posted on Mar 25, 2010 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS



aquamarinepower.com

The Prince of Tides

Hoping to become the “Saudi Arabia of tidal energy,” the Scottish government is offering 10 million pounds to spur innovation in wave power. Some say the incentive is unnecessary, since private companies are already racing to figure out the best way to generate electricity from the ocean.

Posted on Mar 23, 2010 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


Ensign
Wikimedia Commons / United States Senate

E-Mail Trail Leads to Trouble for Sen. Ensign

More legal and political fallout is on the way for Sen. John Ensign as a result of his affair with a former aide’s wife. The New York Times reported Wednesday that new e-mail evidence has emerged suggesting the Nevada senator knew he was trying to help said aide, Douglas Hampton, land lobbying work after Ensign’s relationship with Hampton’s wife, Cynthia, was over.

Posted on Mar 10, 2010 READ MORE


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