North America’s Energy Revolution Will Have a Ripple Effect Around the Pacific The Economist: To find out how much energy security has mattered in the Pacific’s recent history, ask the Japanese. At the museum of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honours the country’s war dead (sometimes controversially), an exhibit suggests, with a jarring note… Keep reading →
As the recent midterm elections have thrust American politics to the media’s forefront, battles for political power are fresh in our minds. While Democrats and Republicans are not the contestants in governments outside of the U.S., struggle for power among groups whose ideals clash are the bedrock of political systems everywhere, including Germany, where politics… Keep reading →
At the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), each project in our portfolio that comes online is an important achievement in our all-of-the-above energy strategy. In the five years since it issued its first conditional commitment, LPO has helped launch the utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar industry, deploy the next generation of concentrating solar power, revitalize the U.S. nuclear industry, commercialize cellulosic biofuels,… Keep reading →
EPA Proposes To Remove 72 Chemicals From Approved Pesticide Inert Ingredients List: On October 22, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comment on a proposal to remove 72 chemicals from its list of substances approved for use as inert ingredients in pesticide products. 79 Fed. Reg. 63120. EPA reportedly is responding to petitions submitted by the Center for Environmental Health, Beyond Pesticides, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and others that have asked EPA to issue a rule requiring disclosure of 371 inert ingredients found in pesticide products. EPA developed an alternative strategy designed to reduce the risks posed by hazardous inert ingredients in pesticide products more effectively than by disclosure rulemaking. EPA outlined its strategy in a May 22, 2014, letter to the petitioners, which is available online. Many of the 72 inert ingredients targeted for removal are on the list of 371 inert ingredients identified by the petitioners as hazardous. The 72 chemicals are not currently being used as inert ingredients in any pesticide product and include:
Denmark has joined the club of European countries that have planned to become much more or completely reliant on renewable sources for their energy needs. The country plans to have 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050, and to eliminate fossil fuels in vehicles by that deadline too. Denmark already relies on wind turbines for… Keep reading →
The FERC has issued a draft EIS for Jordan Cove’s proposed LNG export terminal at Coos Bay and the associated natural gas transmission pipeline proposed by Pacific Connector On November 7, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Jordan Cove Energy Project LP’s proposed liquefied natural gas… Keep reading →
In 2012, the average American family spent 2.7 percent of their household income on home energy bills. While this might not sound like a lot, it adds up to almost $2,000 a year in energy costs. And much of that energy — 20 percent or more — is wasted on things like air leaks, poor insulation, and inefficient heating… Keep reading →
In a surprise announcement last evening from Beijing, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed to ambitious cuts in carbon emissions over the next 15 years with the hope of preventing catastrophic global warming. The joint announcement calls for the United States, by 2025, to reduce carbon emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels and for China to reduce net carbon emissions starting in 2030 or earlier and to increase the overall share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent by 2030. The announcement lays the groundwork for a global agreement to reduce carbon emissions at the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris in December 2015.
A good deal of the buzz generated by America’s ongoing energy revolution has centered on the way surging domestic production is changing the crude oil imports picture. No question, it’s a pretty one, with net imports as a share of consumption falling to levels not seen in nearly three decades. That’s great news for job creation,… Keep reading →
For the first time, the world’s two largest greenhouse gas emitters have pledged to reduce carbon pollution. This is a game changer, writes Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece. The agreement between the United States and China will be a giant boost for clean-energy markets. Having the world’s two largest… Keep reading →
