Almost forty years ago, President Nixon exhorted the country: “By the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving.” Today, more than 30 years later, the United States may actually be… Keep reading →
A mixture of business, academia and government is forming a Clean Technology Entrepreneur Center (NYC CTEC) in downtown Brooklyn. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is kicking in up to $750,000 in seed funding over two years to create space for 20 startups focused on energy efficiency, resilience, climate adaptation and other technologies.… Keep reading →
The next ten years are likely to bring dramatic and surprising changes to the US energy sector, and solar could become a much larger part of the mix, said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at the Energy Information Administration 2013 conference in Washington, DC on Monday. Moniz’s speech focused in large part on the intersection of… Keep reading →
Logging could result in large amounts of carbon being released from deep in forest soils, according to a new study. It’s a timely report given Europe’s growing embrace of wood as a carbon neutral energy source. That Europe is relying on wood to meet its renewable energy goal of 20 percent by 2020 might surprise… Keep reading →
Pipeline transportation and energy storage giant Kinder Morgan is expanding its terminal business into owning, leasing and acquiring natural resource properties. Despite coal being a dirty word with regard to power generation and climate change, Kinder Morgan will purchase coal reserves and lease them to mining companies for development and royalty compensation. While Kinder Morgan… Keep reading →
Today the International Energy Agency released a World Energy Outlook special report: Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, which highlights the need for intensive action before 2020. The analysts suggest 4 policy measures that can limit global temperature increase with no net economic cost. The US carbon market shows signs of life, with carbon credit prices hitting… Keep reading →
Forget “Planes, Trains & Automobiles,” the 1980’s John Candy/Steve Martin comedy classic, the world’s first solar-powered plane and the world’s largest solar-powered boat are on their way to the city that never sleeps. Solar Impulse is an innovative demonstration project designed to develop and showcase cutting-edge materials and solar technology. Breaking Energy met with project… Keep reading →
The Department of Defense is seeking ways to transition to more efficient and sustainable energy use to support operations, but a smaller pool of available funding is pitting these efforts against a range of other pressing national security interests. The nexus of energy, climate change and national security is an area that demands the US… Keep reading →
Air pollution increased rapidly along with industrial growth during the last century. Major pollutants include SO2, NOX, suspended particulate matter, and carbon. Recently, CO2 has been suspected of being a major greenhouse gas that may contribute to what some call the climate change phenomenon. The relationship between CO2 and climate change remains unclear. Fossil-fuel burning… Keep reading →
The Council on Foreign Relations’ International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) Program has chided the US for its failure to provide leadership in efforts to combat climate change. IIGG’s Climate Change report card gave the US a middling-to-poor C-minus for its performance on tackling global climate change. The US was lumped in with China in… Keep reading →
