(Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with Senator John Kerry and Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner during a media conference in Washington. Photo: AP) If you follow the climate and energy story, I’m not telling you something you don’t know – or couldn’t have predicted: the US […]
For the moment, please refer to my comment on Joe Romm’s tirade about President Obama’s “failed presidency” in light of the decision by the Senate Democratic leadership’s to punt on climate change and energy. If Obama had tried harder, Romm opines, we’d have cap-and-trade. I have enormous respect for Romm’s perspectives and his energy, but […]
As Russia fights to protect land sown with wheat, barley and other crops from record high temperatures, seventeen regions have declared emergencies because of the severe heat and drought. Summer heat may destroy crops in Russia With temperatures likely to remain as high as 36° Celsius (96.8° degrees Fahrenheit) for days to come, Russia’s Agricultural […]
In talking about the limitless potential for renewables last week, I mentioned the letter from three key ministers from France, Germany and the UK calling for more GHG reductions in Europe than are now in law. I also mentioned the backlash from some business interests. An article in the FT today describes a letter from […]
Stephen Schneider was one of the most influential climate scientists in the world. His career covered four decades. He did both the very heavy lifting of research and served to help the public understand the complexities of the subject and the stark reality that the science has been telling us for decades. He has been […]
While tackling drought and famine may be some of the top concerns for today’s developing nations, the steady growth of the demand for specialty foods in the United States over the past decade may have the potential to assist in the growth of their economies. Now making up almost 16% of U.S. food sales, the […]
We looked in the last post at the virtually limitless potential of renewables to supply all of our energy needs: electricity, heating and cooling, and transportation. Indications are that we are well advanced on this path. I tell people that if you’d told me a dozen years ago we were going to see the penetration […]
When I was at the Urban Green Expo last fall, the Energy Maha Guru Amory Lovins gave a riveting talk. He said: “The Renewable Revolution has been won. Sorry, if you missed it.” I let out a yell. Well, as I’ve been noting here, this is not mere hyperbole. Here’s more evidence. In Europe, they’re […]
This week, the highly controversial issue of genetically modified organisms (or GMO’s for short) was thrown into the limelight, when members of the European Union proposed a new policy meant to broaden the availability of such foods known to many Europeans as “Frankenfoods.” The flexibility of this new policy is aimed at enabling countries like […]
Larry Hagman, forever known as J.R. Ewing from “Dallas” (but better remembered by me as Major Tony Nelson, master of Jeannie the genie) is doing a series of ads for SolarWorld, one of the biggest PV manufacturers. Hagman has the largest solar array of any residence in the US, maybe the world. He has also […]
The Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) is an information and analysis tool on global climate change developed by the World Resources Institute. It contains a truly impressive array of databases and graphics, excellent for delving deeply into questions of who, what, when, where and why greenhouse gases are being produced. It has data for the […]
An AllAfrica.com article reports that state authorities and aid agencies in northern Nigeria are preparing to combat predicted food shortages. This follows poor and erratic rainfall in 2009 and predicted poor rainfall again this year. The Nigeria Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) warned that 12 million people across northern Nigeria could face a lack of basic […]
Recent studies undertaken by the University of Illinois state that new methods of crop development must be adopted in response to climate change if grain production is to meet future demand. Don Ort, a University of Illinois professor of crop sciences and USDA/ARS scientist argues that “global change is happening so quickly that its impact […]
After some reflection, I can think of nothing good to say about the Alberta tar sands. The best thing that most people say here is that Canada is not Saudi Arabia or Venezuela and therefore if the US is importing billions of barrels a year (4.28 in 2009), then we’re getting more (900 million) from […]