Nathan Wyeth’s Posts

• Nice gigawatt if you can get it

  Low-carbon energy solutions in India may depend on Tata 4

  Posted 1 year, 3 months ago

  Amid analysis of the G8's latest climate pronouncement, the announcement of India's first national climate action plan received less attention than it otherwise might have. Even in the Indian media, the plan was also overshadowed by the release of a McKinsey & Co. report that projects massive power demand growth in the country -- 100 gigawatts more demand in the next 10 years than previously estimated. Yet the very same day, the government's Investment Commission called the "Ultra-Mega" coal plants that are central to India's strategy to meet that demand a "main reason for persistent capacity shortfalls."

  … Read More

• Celebrating Earth Day with Tom Friedman

  An interview with The 'Stache pre-pie-in-the-face 15

  Posted 1 year, 6 months ago

  Yes, Tom Friedman came to Brown University on Earth Day to unveil his new book and got hit by a pie.

  But he cleaned himself up, came back with a joke about surviving Beirut and Jerusalem but running into trouble in Providence, and went on to deliver a stem-winder of an address for an op-ed columnist essentially outlining his latest book.

  I found The World Is Flat to be a good window into business models in the 21st century. His new offering, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green… Read More

• Having naan of it

  India's 4,000 MW coal plant is a bad answer to electricity woes 2

  Posted 1 year, 7 months ago

  A few more thoughts on the 4,000 MW coal plant in India recently approved for international aid financing, which David and Joe have noted. I think this deserves attention because it's at the center of the biggest climate question out there: how to meet tens of thousands of megawatt hours of unmet and projected power demand in India and China without huge coal plants like this Tata Mundra "Ultra-Mega" plant. It's not simple. But following the logic for this project involves going down a "There Is No Alternative" rabbit hole.

  To people in India facing daily brown-outs or… Read More

• Just Green Beat it

  Youth activists in China gear up for an environmental video contest 0

  Posted 1 year, 7 months ago

  Almost two years ago, I had the chance to meet students in China working hard to raise environmental and energy issues on local campuses. Since then, I've tried to stay in touch and keep up with the progress of student organizations there.

  Since my Mandarin is a little rusty, I've done this in part by keeping in touch with a number of young Americans who are there working on various endeavors after graduating from college -- my future bosses, I am sure, by virtue of the language skills they're developing. One particularly cool project that's getting started is a… Read More

• Good gone wild

  700 college students and the Clinton Global Initiative in New Orleans for spring break 1

  Posted 1 year, 7 months ago

  Commitments to start social-change initiatives and spirited discussions of global issues -- these aren't typical results of 700 college students heading to New Orleans during spring break season. But last weekend, students from a diverse group of colleges, several dozen university presidents, and prominent social change agents -- not to mention Bill Clinton -- spent a day and a half on Tulane University's campus for Clinton Global Initiative University (with a cameo by Brad Pitt).

  Trying to live-blog an event while you're also trying to finish… Read More