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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
Just the Tip of the Bloomberg
Mayor has big clean-energy goals for NYC |
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20 Aug 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:54 AM on 20 Aug 2008 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted clean energy Tuesday at, aptly, the National Clean Energy Summit. He said his city has issued a formal request to companies for ideas on how to source electricity from the wind, sun, and waves. "Perhaps companies will want to put wind farms atop our bridges and skyscrapers, or use the enormous potential of powerful offshore winds miles out in ... |
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| Topics: business, energy, local politics, New York City, news, placemaking, politics, renewable energy, wave and tidal power, wind power (all these topics) |
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Globalization death watch, part III
Either we'll be green or we'll be poor |
Jon Rynn |
19 Aug 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The United States trade deficit is threatening to upend globalization as we've known it. The rise in the price of oil has been leading to a similar result: an international trading system in which there is much less trading. Now, that may actually be a good thing, in the long-run, but in the case of the United States it might happen in a very chaotic way. This problem that has been accelerating since George W. Bush took office: The United States has been buying many mor ... |
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| Topics: business, economy, green jobs, international politics, politics (all these topics) |
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Solid to Liquid Can Be a Gas
Crow Tribe strikes $7 billion deal for coal-to-liquids plant on reservation |
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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 ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, economy, energy, news, oil, politics (all these topics) |
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The (renewable) electron economy, part 1
The shape of the oil crisis |
Michael Hoexter |
05 Aug 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is the first in a series on how we can build an energy future based on our best science and no longer critically dependent upon exhaustible and polluting fossil fuels. Lines formed at gas stations during the 1973 OPEC oil embargo. Too often, discussions of our future energy system simply reflect the current array of political forces in Washington or the novelty-hungry attention of the media and not the long-term viability of technologies and proposed sol ... |
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| Topics: business, energy, oil, oil and gas drilling, politics, public transportation, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Notable quotable
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Jon Rynn |
01 Aug 2008 |
Gristmill |
| 'The military-industrial complex needs enemies.'-- Brian Williams, news anchor of NBC, on The Daily Show with John Stewart, July 31, 2008. |
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| Topics: business, politics, quotables (all these topics) |
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It's Us Against Chem
Feds rush to weaken workplace safety rules on toxics before term ends |
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23 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:10 AM on 23 Jul 2008 The Bush administration is trying to push through a new workplace safety rule to weaken workers' protections against toxic chemicals before Bush's term ends, according to The Washington Post. The rule, which has not been made public, would mandate a reevaluation of the methods used to measure risks to workers from toxic exposure in the workplace. The rule would also requir ... |
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| Topics: business, news, politics, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Something to 'Hyde
Companies knew about high formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers, Dems say |
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10 Jul 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:03 AM on 10 Jul 2008 Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said RV trailer manufacturers knew that the trailers they sold to the government had excessively high levels of formaldehyde but didn't disclose the information for fear of bad press. The trailers, which were used to house hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast, have been a touchy subject at FEMA ever since occ ... |
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| Topics: business, news, politics, toxics, United States (all these topics) |
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Green coal baron?
NYT Magazine's fawning piece on Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers |
Frank O'Donnell |
22 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There's no doubt about it: Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers is the most adept figure in corporate America at making himself look better than he is. He's proven it again in an extremely flattering profile in The New York Times Sunday Magazine. The piece refers to Rogers as 'one of the electricity industry's most vocal environmentalists.' Indeed, the piece reports that many 'prominent environmentalists' are his 'friends' and quotes in particular Eileen Claussen, he ... |
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| Topics: business, cap-and-dividend, carbon trading, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Big bad boom
Radioactive deja vu in the American West |
David Roberts |
20 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is a guest essay from Chip Ward, author and board member of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. It was originally published on TomDispatch and is republished here with Tom's kind permission. ----- In the American West, we take global warming personally. Like those polar bears desperately hunting for dwindling ice flows, we feel we're on the frontlines of the new weather regime. The West is drying up. For example, canyon-hugging conservationists ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, energy, environmental movement, nuclear power, politics, water pollution (all these topics) |
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What do oil lobbyists think about drilling for oil?
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David Roberts |
19 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here, MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell discusses McCain's plan to drill, drill, drill with RNC deputy chairman and McCain supporter Frank Donatelli: What Mitchell didn't tell you: Before joining the RNC, Donatelli was a registered lobbyist. For whom, you ask? What type of clients? Three guesses! Oh, fine, you got it the first time: ExxonMobil Corp. and Dominion Resources. But why would MSNBC viewers need to know that? |
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| Topics: Big Oil, business, lobbying, oil, oil and gas drilling, politics (all these topics) |
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Better Living Through Chem-Mystery?
E.U. chemical-registration and testing law kicks in; industry gets huffy |
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12 Jun 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:58 PM on 12 Jun 2008 The European Union's comprehensive chemical law, REACH, is finally starting to take effect, requiring manufacturers and importers of chemicals to begin registering their products with a new regulatory agency. The REACH law was heavily diluted between its first introduction and final passage due to heavy pressure from the chemical industry, but it's still ... |
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| Topics: business, European Union, international politics, news, politics, toxics (all these topics) |
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Action on Solar Investment Tax Credit Delayed
Lack of credit threatens solar industry |
Michael Moynihan |
11 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Originally posted at the NDN Blog. The failure of the Senate to obtain cloture on the Solar Investment Tax Credit -- coming on the heels of the collapse of climate change legislation last Friday -- should send a wake up call to the environment and clean technology communities that a new more forceful strategy is needed to make progress on climate change and energy independence. At a moment when the U.S. economy is suffering from the effects of a full blown oil sh ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, economy, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Opening another door?
As GM announces plant closings, Obama touts green jobs |
Kate Sheppard |
03 Jun 2008 |
Gristmill |
| General Motors Corp. announced this morning that it is closing its Janesville, Wis., assembly plant, which produces SUVs and pickup trucks, along with three other North American plants that churn out gas-guzzlers. CEO Rick Wagoner says it's because the company is moving toward more fuel-efficient vehicles, as fewer Americans are buying big automobiles these days. The Janesville plant will be ending production of medium-duty trucks by the end of 2009, and bigger truc ... |
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| Topics: Big Auto, cars, Muckraker, news, Barack Obama, politics, business (all these topics) |
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Show Them That You Car
Obama talks up green while courting manufacturers |
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14 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:52 PM on 14 May 2008 Barack Obama courted manufacturers in Michigan Wednesday, touting proposals to boost both green energy and the auto industry. He talked up a plan to auction carbon credits and use the funds to boost clean technology (and, in turn, green jobs), and said he would help the U.S. auto industry get back on its feet while encouraging investment in hybrids, electric vehicles, and other fuel-efficie ... |
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| Topics: Barack Obama, Big Auto, business, green jobs, news, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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More anti-intellectualism from the Clinton camp
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David Roberts |
06 May 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Cringe along with Terry McAuliffe, who explains why economists don't know nothin': |
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| Topics: business, economy, energy, Hillary Clinton, oil, politics (all these topics) |
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Fly on the Wall Street
Finance, energy, and the environment: markets and opportunities |
Emily Gertz |
25 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last night, I went to a panel at the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street (no, really!) on what's financially hot or soon will be in non-coal, non-oil energy technologies. I love these kinds of events; typically, what comes of them is reality-based information, dealing with who has the money, where it's going (or ought to go), and what will get it there, in order to transform our energy system. I come away from these things more hopeful than from any number of poli ... |
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| Topics: business, energy, politics, renewable energy, Sierra Club (all these topics) |
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Start Your Engines
Feds set fuel-economy benchmarks for automakers |
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22 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 11:14 AM on 22 Apr 2008 Federal regulators will propose benchmarks Tuesday for automakers to hit on their way to reaching a fuel-economy requirement of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. Auto fleets will have to average 27.8 mpg by 2011 and 31.6 mpg by 2015 -- a more aggressive timetable than was required by Congress. That's 35.7 mpg for passenger cars in 2015 (new cars averaged 31.3 mpg last year) and 28.6 mpg for light truc ... |
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| Topics: business, cars, climate, fuel efficiency, news, politics, regulation (all these topics) |
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Fortune Brainstorm Green
A discussion of climate policy downplays cap-and-trade |
David Roberts |
21 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Now we're getting into the nuts and bolts climate policy, with the following folks: The Hon. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr. Attorney General State of California John E. Bryson Chairman and CEO Edison International Alexander "Andy" Karsner Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy U.S. Department of Energy Jonathan Lash President World Resource ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, legislation, politics, carbon trading (all these topics) |
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By Our Power Combined
California utilities scuffle over cap-and-trade |
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21 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 8:42 AM on 21 Apr 2008 California is well aware that reducing greenhouse-gas emissions is easier said than done. The state's attempts to craft an effective cap-and-trade system are causing infighting among public utilities and their privately owned counterparts. Public utilities, which source more of their power from coal, protest that they're going to end up paying out the nose to the state and seeing the money red ... |
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| Topics: business, California, carbon trading, climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, news, politics, regulation, state politics (all these topics) |
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We'll Always Have Paris
Meeting of major economies ends with little progress |
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18 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 2:42 PM on 18 Apr 2008 A U.S.-led gathering of major economies in Paris this week concluded, as previous meetings have done, with little progress. The 17 countries bashed President Bush's climate speech for a while, then argued about whether to set a goal of halving global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. (Guess who's against it?) French president Nicolas Sarkozy made himself quoteworthy, saying that climate ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, international politics, news, politics (all these topics) |
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Taking care of rural coal workers
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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 ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, green jobs, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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Saving the planet: sometimes as important as saving jobs
Maryland House committee kills climate bill |
Joseph Romm |
10 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Kari Manlove, fellows assistant at the Center for American Progress. ----- After reporting last week on the climate policy progression carving its way through the Maryland Senate, the same measures were defeated in a Maryland House committee this week. Supposedly, the bill was killed by pressure from industry and labor lobbyists, ironically accompanied by steelworkers draped with 'Save Our Jobs' t-shirts. First of ... |
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| Topics: business, legislation, Maryland, politics, state politics (all these topics) |
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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 ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, mining, politics, shenanigans, West Virginia (all these topics) |
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Asking the right question
The implicit assumption in Pielke Jr.'s Nature commentary |
David Roberts |
04 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Can we beat global warming with existing technology? I said here that "nobody believes" we have the technology available today to tackle global warming. Gar responded: yes, someone believes it, namely me. Lindsay Meisel from the Breakthrough Institute responded: yes, lots of enviros seem to believe it, and no, it's not true. Thinking more about this, it strikes me that that the question itself is deceptive. It's no wonder people seem to be talking past eac ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, climate change mitigation, politics, tech (all these topics) |
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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 ... |
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| Topics: business, coal, energy, legislation, politics, state politics, US EPA (all these topics) |
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