Lighting “consumes about 19% of the world’s electric power, more than all nuclear and hydroelectric plants can produce together (which is about 15% in total),” according to Grant Feller of the World Economic Forum. With significant future projected power demand and over a billion people without proper access to electricity (see Breaking Energy ‘energy poverty’… Keep reading →
In anticipation of the UN Climate Summit, the majority of media coverage around the event has been delivered from the perspective of industrialized and relatively wealthy countries. In an attempt to offer a new perspective, let’s take a look at international climate negotiations through the lens of a country that doesn’t always expect the lights… Keep reading →
Good science should spark debate. It’s the nature of the field, after all. You ask questions, search for data and then debate what it means or what actions the data should spur. Such a debate is underway now, and it is adding fuel to an old fire. In May 2014, Dr. Charles R. Frank of… Keep reading →
As oil production volumes from the Bakken Shale formation zoomed past 1 million barrels, farmers watched their grain inventories pile up because they have not been able to book rail shipping capacity fast enough. This article highlights shifting commodity production, pricing and transportation dynamics as the US oil output renaissance coincides with record grain production.… Keep reading →
Australia faces an unprecedented oversupply of energy according to the country’s energy market operator. “For the first time in the history of the National Electricity Market, no new thermal baseload electricity generation is required over the next decade…due to the continuing decline in electricity consumption,” Australian Energy Market Operator said in the report. That decline is due… Keep reading →
Two months after EPA announced its proposal to limit carbon emissions from power plants, outlines of the coming legal battles are emerging. EPA’s rule would require states to limit power plant carbon emissions through a variety of system-wide “building block” measures, including plant improvements; increased deployment of natural gas, renewable and zero-carbon energy sources; and… Keep reading →
This week is shaping up to be rough for the US coal industry. The EPA is holding hearings on plans to dramatically cut carbon-dioxide emissions released from US power plants and the Obama administration just published a report on the economic consequences of waiting to act on climate change. It’s enough to make one wonder… Keep reading →
In June 2014, the EPA released its proposed carbon emissions rules to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel power plants. This so-called ‘Clean Power Plan’ proposed a regulatory framework that mandates US power plants reduce GHG emissions 30 per cent by 2030 relative to their 2005 baseline. Taking center stage in this proposal… Keep reading →
EPA Chief Gina McCarthy goes before the Senate today for the first hearing about the agency’s proposed carbon emissions regulations covering existing power plants and she is “expected to get an earful from Republicans.” Monday night a group of business interests sent a letter to McCarthy calling for EPA to extend the comment period, alter… Keep reading →
As pressure to get institutional investors to divest holdings in fossil fuel-related companies increases, pension funds appear to be reacting slower than several college endowments. The logic advanced by climate activists is that as carbon pricing policies proliferate globally, companies that generate significant portions of their revenue from oil production or coal mining, for example,… Keep reading →
