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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
ECO:nomics: A chat with Jim Rogers
Duke Energy CEO defends the need for free permit allocations |
David Roberts |
25 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| One of the most interesting political dynamics emerging around climate policy is the clash between coal utilities and utilities that rely more on natural gas and nuclear. (Most of the former are regulated, while most of the latter are, to one extent or another, deregulated or restructured.) Gas and nuke utilities stand to benefit from a cap-and-trade program that prices carbon steeply and quickly, since their fleets are already (relatively) low-carbon. Coal utilities ... |
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| Topics: business, carbon trading, climate, energy, greenish companies, interview (all these topics) |
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Why FutureGen had to die
The blind alley of more coal |
John McGrath |
25 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Thomas Homer-Dixon, whose book I adore, has written an op-ed in The Globe and Mail arguing in favor of large government investments in carbon capture and sequestration technology. His advocacy of CCS has long confused me -- my reading of his book suggested (to me, anyway) that large-scale CCS was precisely the kind of technology we should avoid like the plague. To recap: Homer-Dixon builds on the work of Joseph Tainter, who argues that societies respond to pressures ... |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, coal, energy, fossil fuels, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
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'Ahead of the Curve: Business Responds to Climate Change'
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David Roberts |
24 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here is an absolutely stellar video from Sea Studios productions called "Ahead of the Curve: Business Responds to Climate Change": (via Steve Clemons) |
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| Topics: business, climate, energy, politics (all these topics) |
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No (Dutch) nukes
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David Roberts |
24 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Netherlands is opting for carbon sequestration and renewables over nuclear power. What does this mean? Why, clearly it reinforces what you have always said! |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, energy, Netherlands, nuclear power, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Power Up
Rise in U.S. power plant emissions outpaced electricity demand in 2007 |
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19 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 12:11 PM on 19 Mar 2008 Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants rose 2.9 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to data analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project. That's the largest annual increase in nine years and outpaced demand for electricity, according to the report. And the impact will last well beyond a year, warns EIP Director Eric Schaeffer: "Because CO2 has an atmospheric lifetim ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, fossil fuels, greenhouse-gas emissions, James Hansen, news (all these topics) |
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Nader on the Record
An interview with Ralph Nader about his presidential platform on energy and the environment |
Amanda Griscom Little |
19 Mar 2008 |
Grist Feature |
| This is part of a series of interviews with presidential candidates. Ralph Nader. Photo: Sage Ross He brought you the seat belt. He launched a consumer advocacy empire. He got 2,883,105 votes in the 2000 presidential election, which critics argue helped put George W. Bush in the White House. Ralph Nader has earned fame -- and infamy -- for many d ... |
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| Topics: climate, elections, energy, interview, politics, presidential race 08, Ralph Nader (all these topics) |
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On the Ball: Good sports
The athletics news you can't live without |
Sarah K. Burkhalter |
16 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here's a fun game for the whole family: You name a sport; I'll tell you how it's jumping on the green bandwagon. Ready? OK! Baseball: Milwaukee Brewers first basement Prince Fielder has become a vegetarian after his wife gave him a copy of the book Skinny Bitch. He's probably not in their target demographic, but whatevs. Photo: Kingdafy Major League Baseball has teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council for a Team Greening Program, de ... |
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| Topics: bikes, carbon neutral, cars, China, climate, energy, green building, Olympics, Prius, sports, United Kingdom, wildlife (all these topics) |
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ECO:nomics: Presidential energy advisors
Campaign energy wonks clarify candidates' differences on climate change |
David Roberts |
15 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| As Adam pointed out, it seems to have become conventional wisdom among media that the presidential candidates' positions on climate change are roughly identical. But the campaigns themselves don't see it that way. That became clear during a panel featuring the candidates' top energy advisors. Obama was represented by Jason Grumet, whose day job is running the Bipartisan Policy Center. The Clinton campaign sent Gene Sperling, senior fellow at both the Council of Fo ... |
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| Topics: carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, energy, politics, presidential race 08 (all these topics) |
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Shhhh!
Bush administration quietly acknowledges climate plan is doable |
Miles Grant |
14 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Hey, did you notice that new analysis the Environmental Protection Agency just put out? The one on the economic impacts of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act? No? None of this ringing a bell? That's just the way the EPA wants it. Like it was putting a scandal-ridden aide out to pasture, the administration quietly released the report on Friday afternoon and has tried to bury the important findings. But while the release may have been stealthy and the presenta ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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Compromise vs. strong action
Don't hold your breath on Lieberman-Warner passing in 2008 |
Joseph Romm |
14 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I can't imagine anyone believing we would see 60 Senate votes this year for an unwatered-down climate bill. The center-right folk want big compromises, like a poison-pill safety valve (see below). But Sen. Boxer (D-Calif.) has little motivation to gut her legislation, since next year will probably bring more Senate Democrats and definitely bring a president who wants to take action, rather than one who has done everything in his power to block action and destroy the ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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A glass potentially more than half full
What's right with the WCI? |
Clark Williams-Derry |
11 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last week, my colleague Eric de Place dinged the Western Climate Initiative -- an effort by Western states and provinces to develop a carbon market with a strict, declining cap -- for kicking the can down the road on transportation fuels. Of course, the WCI has not ruled out the possibility of capping emissions from the transportation sector. They've just delayed a decision until they run some more economic analysis. So there's no reason to gnash our teeth o ... |
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| Topics: carbon tax, carbon trading, climate, energy (all these topics) |
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Separating rate theory from rate fact
How will the auction vs. allocation debate affect power prices? |
Sean Casten |
11 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last January, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) convened hearings on the ways allocation of CO2 permits under a cap-and-trade system will impact power prices and utility profit margins. The short version, drawn from the evidence of Kyoto and other systems that have given credits away for free, is that while free allocations lower power prices in theory, in reality prices rise just as much as they would otherwise -- but they increase margins for exempt generators (i.e., coal plant ... |
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| Topics: business, carbon trading, climate, energy (all these topics) |
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Thought: Control
Waxman and Markey introduce bill to ban new dirty coal plants |
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11 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 10:09 AM on 11 Mar 2008 House Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced the "Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act of 2008," which would do pretty much what it sounds like: prevent new coal plants in the U.S. unless they're built with advanced pollution controls. Says Waxman, "The altemative is senseless -- locking in decades of additional global war ... |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, coal, Ed Markey, energy, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, news, politics, US House of Representatives (all these topics) |
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Coal: getting expensiver
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Sean Casten |
11 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| More details on the new, really-really-expensive AEP coal plant in West Virginia. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote that the 17 percent rate increase announced by AEP would not be the last one, given the cost of this plant. Two days later, here they come. Specifically, 'Customers could start paying as early as next year with rate hikes starting at $1 per month in 2009 and eventually climbing to $7.70 per month. AEP customers could pay nearly $160 million du ... |
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| Topics: carbon sequestration, climate, coal, energy, West Virginia (all these topics) |
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Monday linkfest
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David Roberts |
10 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| My browser's getting crowded. Time for a link dump! Yes! magazine has an entire issue devoted to climate change. There's tons to see, with good pieces from Bill McKibben and Peter Barnes, but I particularly liked this hopeful rundown of solutions. It's odd that I love reading about solutions but I don't write about them much. Not sure why that is. Remember how the Bush administration spent 7.5 years battling and thwarting binding carbon emissions treaties and then sa ... |
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| Topics: cars, cellulosic ethanol, climate, energy, ethanol, green living (all these topics) |
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Blocking state leadership on global warming
Johnson made a decision that should have belonged to Congress |
Joseph Romm |
09 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Last week, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson published the official explanation of his decision to deny a waiver of preemption for California's program to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles. Robert Sussman, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, has a very good discussion of the misguided reasoning Johnson uses. The bottom line: The role of state programs under a comprehensive climate change framework may be a legitimate subject for deba ... |
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| Topics: California, cars, climate, energy, fuel efficiency, greenhouse-gas emissions, politics (all these topics) |
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What's wrong with the WCI?
The Western Climate Initiative's first proposal ducks biggest climate problem |
Eric de Place |
07 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Western Climate Initiative is a path-breaking effort. Insufficient federal progress prompted seven states and two provinces to join together to reduce climate pollution by means of an economy-wide cap-and-trade program. It's a momentous opportunity, and many folks have been working hard to ensure that it's a success. Unfortunately, there's now cause for serious concern. Yesterday evening, WCI released its draft proposal (PDF). It proposes an initial cap that ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, business, carbon trading, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, legislation, Oregon, Washington (all these topics) |
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Dingell to debut House climate bill in April
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David Roberts |
06 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Dingell says he'll release a draft of a House climate change bill for comment and feedback in mid-April (sub rqd). |
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| Topics: climate, energy, John Dingell, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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The fixed vs. the negotiable
Rising electricity demand is a choice, not an inevitability |
David Roberts |
06 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Discussions of public policy frequently take place inside frames that are difficult to discern clearly without effort. Which goals are fixed and which are negotiable? Which changes are acceptable and which are not? Take, oh, homelessness. The brute fact is that we could solve homelessness in the U.S. tomorrow if we so chose. We could house and feed every homeless person for the rest of their life. It would be expensive, but not that expensive, relative to what we s ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy (all these topics) |
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Bush's sleight of hand
Renewable energy subterfuge |
Joseph Romm |
05 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The following is a guest essay by Daniel J. Weiss and Nick Kong. It was originally published on the Center for American Progress website. ----- Photo: whitehouse.gov 'Watch what we do, not we say,' Attorney General John N. Mitchell accurately warned at the dawn of the Nixon administration. This could also be a fitting epitaph for President Bush's energy policies. Despite frequent claims of support for renewable energy over the years, the record show ... |
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| Topics: climate, energy, George Bush, politics, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Dismal science
Do Big Oil and Big Tobacco share a similar smokescreen? |
Miles Grant |
04 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Stepping into the Heartland Institute's '2008 International Conference on Climate Change' was like walking into an alternate reality. To the rest of us, climate science is settled, the solutions are sensible, and the time for action is now. But in the Marriott Grand Marquis Times Square, the only science comes from industry-funded think tanks; climate action will destroy humanity; and the underdog in this fight is ExxonMobil. Photo: Justin Shearer Perhaps m ... |
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| Topics: Big Oil, climate, climate change skepticism, climate science, energy (all these topics) |
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Nobelity
Nine Nobelists on the big problems |
JMG |
04 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Saw a good DVD this evening, after what seemed like several weeks where all the worst things were unfolding faster and faster and I was looking for something not quite so grim as the current headlines.Nobelity is worth a look. Two ideas of special note for Gristies. The film starts off with a discussion with physicist Steven Weinberg of the University of Texas, whose Nobel was for figuring out the electroweak force that unified two of the four fundamental forces in nature. ... |
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| Topics: climate, climate change skepticism, energy, movies (all these topics) |
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Vicious life cycles
Can we trust carbon labeling? |
Clark Williams-Derry |
03 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| About a year ago, I was cautiously bullish on British supermarket giant Tesco's pledge to start putting carbon labels on its food. But I think that their progress so far -- which I'll get to in a minute -- suggests an important lesson about the policy risks of treating a fuzzy exercise as if it were completely reliable. Tesco's idea was that the chain and its suppliers would pay for objective, comprehensive reviews of the greenhouse-gas emissions from th ... |
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| Topics: business, climate, consumerism, energy, shopping (all these topics) |
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They Doth Protest Again
U.K. activists will hold big protest at coal plant this summer |
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03 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:45 AM on 03 Mar 2008 Activists in the U.K. have announced that an annual weeklong climate camp, held last year to protest expansion of London's Heathrow Airport, will this summer be held at the site of a proposed coal-fired power plant in Kent. Which is not to say, of course, that they're not still pissed about Heathrow. source: The Guardian From the Archives Unfortunate ... |
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| Topics: air travel, climate, coal, energy, England, grassroots activism, news (all these topics) |
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Climate policy, auctions, and economic justice
The core progressive issue in the fight over climate legislation |
David Roberts |
03 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The following post was originally published on The Nation's guest blog, Passing Through, where I was in residence throughout February. It is a rudimentary introduction to cap-and-trade and the question of allocating permits, an argument (or three) in favor of auctioning permits, and a review of the political state of play around the question. The point is to get people up to speed on the crucial debate over permit auctions, which should be a central focal point for ... |
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| Topics: carbon trading, climate, energy, legislation, politics (all these topics) |
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