When the U.S. military calls climate change a “threat multiplier” and “a serious threat to national security,” it makes anyone stand up and pay attention. From direct land impacts and food and water shortages, to the displacement of millions of people, climate change is not taken lightly by our armed forces. Earlier this week, two… Keep reading →
The White House transmitted its Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request to Congress on February 2, 2015. Overall, the budget includes over $7.4 billion in funding for clean energy technology programs across the federal agencies.
Labor, business, and environmental leaders have formed a unique coalition that will urge Illinois lawmakers to pass new standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy, leading to tens of thousands of new, local jobs. Members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, including Environmental Defense Fund, argue that the state should not settle for an old… Keep reading →
Following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 proposal to regulate carbon emissions from electric power plants and other major sources, federal energy regulators have scheduled a series of public technical conferences on how the Clean Power Plan may affect electric reliability, wholesale electric markets and operations, and energy infrastructure.
President Obama’s proposed budget for 2016 invests heavily in his agenda to combat climate change. “The failure to invest in climate solutions and climate preparedness does not just fly in the face of the overwhelming judgment of science — it is fiscally unwise.” – The White House, as reported by the National Journal The proposal… Keep reading →
Gasoline prices have been falling steadily for months. Now a gallon may be purchased for substantially less than three dollars in many regions of the country. That’s welcome news for consumers, but environmentalists, regulators and first responders have been asking whether there are risks associated with this happy development that may not be obvious and which should be addressed.
Energy policy, a key part of President Barack Obama’s 2014 State of the Union address, played a muted role in the speech he delivered one year later. It was ironic, given the significant actions to reshape the U.S. energy profile and forestall climate change that the administration has taken and that continue to unfold. The… Keep reading →
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages 90 percent of Texas’ electric grid, has been busy. In the last two months of 2014, the agency released two very lengthy reports examining the future of a lower-polluting power grid in light of upcoming EPA clean air protections, in particular the Clean Power Plan. As… Keep reading →
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a fledgling technology still mostly relegated to demonstration projects in the U.S. and other parts of the globe. While not yet commercialized, its prospects of putting coal-fired plants on the same footing with natural gas facilities – from a carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions perspective – gives it an innovative… Keep reading →
In the future, when we look back on 2014, I believe it will be remembered as the tipping point for climate action. In the Northeast, we’ll remember the devastating early-season snowstorm that caused over a dozen deaths. In the Southwest, many will remember the third-straight year of a drought that seems without end. And, nationally, many… Keep reading →
