Grist | Topics | 54 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 54
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Step one: Subsidize us Business association lays out recommendations for energy policy	David Roberts	02 Oct 2008	Gristmill
The Institute for 21st Century Energy is a project of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which bills itself as a bipartisan trade association. In fact, it has effectively become part of the Republican machine, dominated by -- and lobbying fiercely for the interests of -- Big Oil, Big Auto, Big Pharma, and other such Bigs. Earlier this week, the Institute released its long awaited Blueprint for Securing America's Energy Future [PDF], which contains more than 75 recommend ...
Topics: energy subsidies, coal, renewable energy, utilities, energy efficiency, investing, business, energy, tax incentives (all these topics)

Xcel-lent Adventure In landmark deal, utility will disclose climate-change risks		28 Aug 2008	News
Posted at 12:21 PM on 28 Aug 2008 In a first-of-its-kind deal, utility Xcel Energy has agreed to give its investors detailed information about the risks that climate change poses to business. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed Xcel and four other utilities in September, asking them to determine whether their plans to build new coal plants posed undisclosed risks to investors -- from lawsuits and the c ...
Topics: business, climate change impacts, coal, energy, investing, New York, news, progress, utilities (all these topics)

Solid to Liquid Can Be a Gas Crow Tribe strikes $7 billion deal for coal-to-liquids plant on reservation		08 Aug 2008	News
Posted at 8:41 AM on 08 Aug 2008 The Crow Tribe on Thursday agreed to host a massive new $7 billion coal-to-liquids plant on its reservation land in Montana. The plant would produce about 50,000 barrels a day of diesel fuel when it opens, and eventually up to 125,000 barrels a day. Coal for the plant would come from a yet-to-be-developed mine on nearby Crow land with an estimated 9 billion t ...
Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, news, oil, politics (all these topics)

Nice gigawatt if you can get it Low-carbon energy solutions in India may depend on Tata	Nathan Wyeth	16 Jul 2008	Gristmill
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 c ...
Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, India (all these topics)

Mountain Madness New coal plant approved in Virginia, may fuel mountaintop-removal mining		26 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 11:53 AM on 26 Jun 2008 An embattled $1.8 billion coal plant slated for Wise County, Va., was granted pollution permits Wednesday by a state regulatory board, allowing construction to proceed. The company that will be building the 585-megawatt plant, Dominion Resources, promised local officials it would only source coal from within Virginia; that move is expected to fuel increased mountaintop-remo ...
Topics: business, climate, coal, energy, news, Virginia (all these topics)

ABEC is dead, but long live coal Americans for Balanced Energy Choices gets new name, t-shirts	Sean Casten	17 Apr 2008	Gristmill
ABEC has re-branded themselves the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. See here for an interview with President Stephen Miller, who does an admirably media-savvy job of laying out their talking points and PR strategy. His key points: 'If we push too hard, too fast, we will force fuel switching away from coal.' 'The president and the congress have a role to play to make sure the public sector invests in coal-fired power.' We've spent a lot of money ...
Topics: advertising, business, coal, energy, messaging (all these topics)

Coal victory in West Virginia	David Roberts	15 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Virginia's State Corporation Commission today rejected American Electric Power's request to build a massive ($2.23b) new dirty coal plant in West Virginia. Why, you ask? The commission said the plant's estimated price, which dates back to November 2006, isn't credible. It also said AEP has no plans to provide a detailed, updated estimate until it gets full regulatory approval. So picky!
Topics: business, coal, energy, West Virginia (all these topics)

The education of Warren Buffett Why did the guru cancel six coal plants?	Ted Nace	15 Apr 2008	Gristmill
One of the biggest climate stories of 2007 never made it to the business pages. It's about how Warren Buffett, with no fanfare, quietly walked away from coal, cancelling six proposed plants. Warren Buffet. Buffett used to love coal. His involvement with it began when Berkshire Hathaway bought MidAmerican Energy Holdings in 1999. MidAmerican was a big operator of coal plants, and with natural gas prices edging toward a huge leap upwards -- bringing coal back in ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, fossil fuels, renewable energy (all these topics)

Taking care of rural coal workers	David Roberts	14 Apr 2008	Gristmill
This WSJ piece on the battle over coal in rural (and important electoral swing) states is frustrating. On one hand, you have enviros, characterized as urbanites concerned exclusively with global warming. On the other hand, you have rural residents, characterized as concerned exclusively with keeping their mining jobs. Why is there no mention of the ways Dem candidates and enviros are attempting to address those concerns? No mention of the ways Obama and Clinton propos ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, green jobs, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics)

Cheap clean coal now dirty, expensive	David Roberts	13 Apr 2008	Gristmill
The WSJ energy blog points out that skyrocketing demand for coal in the developing world is rapidly driving up the commodity price. (And WSJ proper points out that rising prices for coal mean rising prices for steel.) Meanwhile, Reuters says 'clean coal' is 'elusive' and the head of one of Australia's biggest energy companies -- AGL -- says that coal's days are numbered: ... Michael Fraser said it is unlikely any new coal generators will be built without significa ...
Topics: Australia, business, carbon sequestration, climate, coal, energy (all these topics)

Having naan of it India's 4,000 MW coal plant is a bad answer to electricity woes	Nathan Wyeth	10 Apr 2008	Gristmill
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 invol ...
Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, India (all these topics)

Out of the frying pan ... Dynegy targeted by Sierra Club in new anti-coal campaign	Ted Nace	08 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Check out Clean Up Dynegy, the brand new website for the Sierra Club's campaign against the company Sierra calls 'America's Coal-Fired Polluter Number 1.' The campaign is significant in that it represents the first attempt by anti-coal forces to single out a single company on a nationwide basis. It kicked off in late February with mass call-ins to Dynegy headquarters originating from twenty states -- 'thousands of calls,' according to the Sierra Club. Already, the cam ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, grassroots activism, Sierra Club (all these topics)

The 2030 Blueprint Solving climate change can save billions, boost the economy, and create jobs	Edward Mazria	07 Apr 2008	Gristmill
A new report from Architecture2030 shows that solving the climate change crisis can save billions of dollars, stimulate a deteriorating U.S. economy, and create high quality jobs (full report here). Complex problems sometimes require the simplest of solutions. One of the most important questions facing those attempting to solve the climate crisis is, 'How do we reduce CO2 emissions dramatically and immediately?' The simplest answer is, 'Turn off the coal plants.' ...
Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, green jobs (all these topics)

Blankenship to reporter: 'You're liable to get shot' Massey wins W. Va. Supreme Court case; not doing so well in public relations	David Roberts	05 Apr 2008	Gristmill
A while back, a case against mountaintop-removal giant Massey Energy reached the West Virginia Supreme Court, which overturned a previous judgment fining the company. But then pictures turned up of Massey CEO Don Blankenship canoodling around the French Riviera with one of the court judges and two female 'companions.' Oops. The court decided to re-hear the case, minus the offending judge. Then another judge, who had said that 'the pernicious effects of Mr. Blankens ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, mining, politics, shenanigans, West Virginia (all these topics)

The Big Lump gets thumped King Coal's year of rejection by banks, judges, and a lot of other folks	Ted Nace	03 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Earth Policy Institute just released this revelatory chronology of really sad, horrible, and depressing events in the life of the coal industry since February 2007. What's next -- will Santa be switching to lumps of dirt? Feb. 26, 2007: James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a leading climate scientist, calls for a moratorium on the construction of coal-fired power plants that do not sequester carbon, saying that it makes no sense to build ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, legislation, politics, state politics, US EPA (all these topics)

Fossil Fools Day roundup Activists worldwide target coal plants and banks	Ted Nace	01 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Rainforest Action Network's Matt Leonard provides this roundup of Fossil Fools Day actions targeting coal plants, coal minings, and the banks funding it all. Rising Tide (North America, U.K., and International units) spearheaded these efforts and others. Cliffside: 8 Arrested as North Carolina residents shut down construction at Cliffside coal plant At 6:30 a.m., North Carolina residents locked themselves to bulldozers to stop the construction of Duke Energy's massive C ...
Topics: business, campus activism, coal, energy, fossil fuels, grassroots activism, greenwashing (all these topics)

Survey says ... environment and economy not mutually exclusive! Americans favor conservation and see economically sound opportunities in protection	Anna Fahey	29 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Standard survey questions often uphold (or manufacture) false dichotomies. Case in point: the perpetual practice of pitting the environment against the economy. Nonetheless, these questions can reveal interesting trends over time. And every now and then, the numbers show that the public sees right through 'either/or' questions that just don't add up -- like recent research that shows Americans link economic opportunity to environmental protection. First, recent trends ...
Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, green jobs, natural gas, oil (all these topics)

Casten gospel reaches NYT	David Roberts	27 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Congrats to our own Sean Casten for getting the following letter to the editor in The New York Times: Re "States' Battles Over Energy Grow Fiercer With U.S. in a Policy Gridlock" ("The Energy Challenge" series, March 20): Proponents of coal-fired power argue falsely that coal is cheap. Coal is a cheap fuel. But who cares? Coal can't run an iPod. And electricity from coal -- which also includes fuel, maintenance and capital recovery costs -- ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, renewable energy (all these topics)

Another entrant in the $1/watt solar sweepstakes Cost of solar cells may be driven down dramatically	David Roberts	26 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Well lookie here! A series of manufacturing process improvements could make the cost of electricity from silicon-based solar cells comparable to today's prices for coal generation within about four years, according to a company emerging out of stealth today. The company, 1366 Technologies, will be using technologies developed in MIT labs to reduce the manufacturing costs of standard-issue multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. They say they can ultimately reduce ...
Topics: business, carbon sequestration, coal, energy, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics)

Tell us something we don't know The Kansas City Star: New coal plants are expensive	Sean Casten	21 Mar 2008	Gristmill
The Kansas City Star reports: Electric bills are poised to soar for customers of utilities building coal-fired power plants. Coal-based electric utility executive responds: We're moving forward regardless of what you namby-pamby, cheap-energy-loving hippies think.* Michael Dworkin then raises the obvious question: You've got to ask: 'Do you think we have reached a point where it economically doesn't make sense?' It will be interesting to see how this af ...
Topics: energy, coal, business, Kansas (all these topics)

Latest hot commodity: coal As coal prices rise, U.S. coal exports boom	Tom Philpott	21 Mar 2008	Gristmill
Environmentalists have helped scuttle more than 50 coal-fired power plants in the U.S. in the past year. That's fantastic. But the movement to stop coal won't help the climate unless it can globalize; for the climate, coal burned in China traps just as much warmth as coal burned in Texas. Nor will stopping more U.S. coal-fired power plants help save communities in the mining zones of Appalachia from environmental and economic devastation. That's because U.S. coal ...
Topics: business, coal, consumerism, energy, international politics (all these topics)

Letting what market figure out the best way? A cap-and-trade system will not by itself eliminate dirty energy's unfair advantages	David Roberts	19 Mar 2008	Gristmill
On p. 57 of Fred Krupp's (generally excellent) new book Earth: The Sequel, it says this: In essence, renewable standards, subsidies, and other mandates assume that the government has all the answers, rather than letting the market figure out the best way to produce clean energy at the lowest cost. I'm never satisfied with how people talk about this stuff. On one side you have this sort hankie-waving fear of besmirching the virtue of the virgin market. On the oth ...
Topics: business, carbon tax, carbon trading, coal, energy (all these topics)

Massey incest redux	David Roberts	22 Feb 2008	Gristmill
So, remember how two justices on the W. Va. Supreme Court have recused themselves from the Massey case? One was photographed frolicking on vacation with Massey CEO Don Blankenship on the French Riviera. The other has publicly criticized Blankenship. The latter fellow said that a third judge -- Justice Brent Benjamin, who received $3.5 million in support from Don Blankenship in his 2004 election -- should also recuse himself. Well, Benjamin has offered an answer: scre ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, politics, shenanigans, West Virginia (all these topics)

Massey incest Mining CEO so insinuated in W. Va. politics that they can't find judges to hear his case	David Roberts	20 Feb 2008	Gristmill
So, you may recall that loathsome mountaintop-removal mining outfit Massey was hit with a $50 million judgment a while back. They appealed it up to the W. Va. Supreme Court, which overturned it. Later, it turned out that Massey CEO Don Blankenship (an evil bastard) had been photographed frolicking with one of the judges in Monte Carlo, accompanied by, um, female consorts. So that judge dropped out of the case. Now the WSJ brings word that another judge is recusing ...
Topics: business, coal, energy, litigation, mining, politics, West Virginia (all these topics)

Boogie Woogie Google Boy An interview with Google's green energy czar, Bill Weihl	Amanda Griscom Little	07 Feb 2008	Grist Feature
The phrase "to Google" has become synonymous with "to search." But soon it may connote something altogether different: "to green." That is, if the internet titan can successfully pull off its latest world-changing endeavor. Bill Weihl. In late 2007, the dot-com giant announced its intention to make renewable energy cheaper than coal. The RE<C pro ...
Topics: business, carbon neutral, carbon offsets, coal, energy, energy efficiency, greening biz operations, greenish companies, interview, renewable energy, solar thermal power (all these topics)

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