The White House website already has a page on the “New Energy for America” plan. They’re on it! An article in this week’s edition of “EERE Network News” from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, talks about President Obama’s inaugural address and its reference to renewables: how the US will “harness the sun […]
The Answer, My Friend – Wind Farm Off Cape Cod Clears Hurdle is the story from the “NY Times” the other day. As you know, offshore wind projects have been hurtling forward in Europe, but have lagged years behind in the US. The Cape Wind project generated an extraordinary and largely unforeseen backlash when it […]
The Asia Society held an interesting event the other day on the ins and outs of the melting of the Himalayan glaciers. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, the Chairman of the IPCC, was the keynote speaker. Dr. Pachauri highlighted this startling observation: There were 500,000 square kilometers of glacial cover in the Himalayas in 1995. At the […]
I want to present some more eye-catching, positive developments for your delectation. To paraphrase the Gershwins, “It’s very clear, renewables are here to stay.” Gulf Oil States in the Vanguard? – Why Not? In “Syriana,” a pretty cool movie if you haven’t seen it, an Arab Prince wants to move his country on from oil […]
Vaclav Klaus – The Czech President had an op-ed this past week in the “Financial Times” that grabbed some attention, more so because the Czech Republic has just assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union. I have written recently about the extraordinary leadership of the EU on energy and climate, for instance here and […]
The new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Henry Waxman, has reconfigured the committee. (See Le roi est mort. Vive le roi., among other posts, on the critical importance of Waxman replacing John Dingell as chair of the full committee.) Very significantly, the Subcommittees on Energy and Air Quality and Environment and Hazardous […]
Coal Ash – I wrote last week about the horrific spill of coal ash sludge in Tennessee. (See Jan. 1 below.) Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation is the story today from the “NY Times.” There are more than 1,300 of them, “most of them unregulated and unmonitored.” What do they contain? “heavy metals […]
I've lauded the many virtues of the "Financial Times" and its sister publication, "The Economist," on any number of occasions here, and referenced scores of their articles. This series from the FT, for instance, is well worth your time. Here is some more: In "The Economist" this week is a series on the Sea. Here's […]
First of all, I have to apologize for being off the air for so long. There’s a seven-year-old kid in the picture and Christmas, plus getting away for the last five days for some R & R for us, has all been a little consuming. I should’ve put some posts in the can prior to […]
Obama’s Team, Continued – Climate experts get key US posts is the headline from the BBC. John Holdren, a physicist, Harvard professor, and director of the Woods Hole Research Center, has been named Obama’s top science advisor. Holdren is a passionate advocate of early and decisive action on warming. See also this from Woods Hole […]
As of today, we now have the last of the top energy and environment players in place. President-Elect Obama has named former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar to Interior. See this, including a video of the announcement, from the WaPo. Obama said “How we harness our […]
I’ve posted my thoughts on what’s happened this past year and what the tea leaves tell me for the coming year here: 2008 in Review. Highlights? Obama’s election and his intentions as exemplified in his policy pronouncements and his picks for top positions, more serious environmentalists in key slots on The Hill and a focus […]
I’ve got an article in the latest issue of “Planning,” the magazine of the American Planning Association, on the smart grid. (If you don’t know the important work of the APA, you should definitely see what they’re about and the critical work that planners do, creating and recreating communities.) We look at how we generate […]
That's what European Union Commission President José Manuel Barroso said in light of the final agreement on climate change rules for the 27-nation EU. "We merit our leadership role," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, to whom considerable credit must be given for his intensive shuttle diplomacy recently to make the elements […]
I wrote about the EU meetings here earlier this week and about the UN gathering here last week. Brussels , The leaders of the 27 EU nations gathered today to go over a number of critical matters, not the least among them, energy and climate change. For the full agenda, see this from the EU. […]