Posted by Rebecca McDaniel on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 @ 07:10 AM
From the NY Times:
"WASHINGTON - The Senate bill aimed at reducing global warming pollution will initially grant billions of dollars of free emissions permits to utilities and industry but will require the bulk of the money be returned to consumers and taxpayers, according to newly released details.
The bill will also provide a cushion to energy-intensive manufacturing companies to ease the transition to a lower-carbon economy and to help them compete internationally, although the subsidies will disappear over time. The measure also sets a floor and ceiling on the price of permits to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases."
Full article here.
Posted by Rebecca McDaniel on Mon, Oct 19, 2009 @ 11:43 AM
From The NY Times:
"The federal government made billions of dollars available in the stimulus package for weatherizing homes of low-income people. But what about everyone else?
A report to be released later this morning, from the office of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Council on Environmental Quality, outlines a strategy for persuading more Americans to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient. Such improvements could save up to $21 billion each year, the report said.
The 14-page document, entitled "Recovery through Retrofit," does not commit additional dollars, although the billions in February's stimulus package for state energy offices will help. But it does emphasize ways that the government can help homeowners to overcome some of the difficulties in getting access to information and financing for efficiency improvements."
Full article here
Posted by Rebecca McDaniel on Wed, Oct 14, 2009 @ 08:22 AM
From the NY Times:
"After falling for two years, global oil demand is expected to grow in 2010, once the economy kicks back to life. But oil consumption in developed nations - including the United States, Europe and Japan - probably reached a high point in 2005, well before the current downturn, and consumption has been falling since, according to IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, a consulting firm.
Thanks to efficiency gains in the transportation sector, aging populations and the growth in renewable fuels and electric vehicles, demand was unlikely to return to its peak level, the Cambridge Energy researchers noted."
Full article here
Posted by Andrea Little on Mon, Aug 10, 2009 @ 10:30 AM
From The Green Blog: "The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology combined will receive $52.5 million from the federal government over the next five years to study ways to convert solar energy to power.Earlier this year, both universities were named among 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers across the nation that are being funded by federal stimulus dollars, as well as money from the US Department of Energy..."
Read more here.
Posted by Lindsey Swanson on Wed, Aug 05, 2009 @ 01:08 PM
From the NY Times:
"At the 2009 Bio World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, held in
Montreal last week, industry players and scientists found themselves
pondering two seemingly contradictory concerns.
One focused on how rapid advances in genetic engineering and
biotechnology can expand the market for cellulosic ethanol and other
“second-generation biofuels,” which are touted as low-emission
substitutes for corn ethanol (itself a partial substitute for gasoline)."
Read more here
Posted by Andrea Little on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 @ 02:15 PM
From Waste & Recycling News: "New England auto dealers, service stations, garages and fleet managers now have a green motor oil option.Dennison Lubricants Inc., a Lakeville, Mass., industrial lubricant distributor, will offer Safety-Kleen Systems Inc.´s recycled EcoPower oil throughout New England. Plano, Texas-based Safety-Kleen collected more than 225 million gallons of used oil, recycling some 140 million gallons of it into oil products.
Recycled motor oil requires up to 85% less energy to produce a gallon of lubricating oil than making it from crude oil, said Eric Zimmer, senior vice president of marketing for Safety-Kleen. The recycled oil is..."
Read more here.
Posted by Lindsey Swanson on Wed, Jul 08, 2009 @ 02:39 PM
From the New York Times: "Fourteen conservation groups and a Colorado county sued the federal
government yesterday over 6,000 miles of electricity transmission
corridors on Western public lands, saying they link to coal-burning
power plants and not renewable-energy generators.
The lawsuit against the Interior, Agriculture and Energy departments
filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California says the transmission corridors perpetuate the use of
coal-fired power throughout the West and leave stranded or underserved
many areas with renewable energy resources."
Read more here
Posted by Mark Campanale on Wed, Jul 08, 2009 @ 02:14 PM
From Greenbiz.com: "If you thought automakers and banks were the only companies getting a blank check from the government -- think again.
As part of sweeping climate change legislation under consideration in Congress, energy companies and utilities will receive hundreds of billions of dollars from the government to help them comply with a new program to regulate greenhouse gases. Which companies will cash in and how much money will get back to consumers hit with higher energy prices are shaping a summer showdown in Congress.
Yesterday morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committeeheld the first in a series of July hearings to develop legislative policies to address climate change. While it was largely a cheerleading session by four top Obama Administration officials on the need for Congress to act quickly, the hearing kicks off a complicated set of negotiations to secure the 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster that would slow and even halt action on climate change this year."
Read more here
Posted by Lindsey Swanson on Wed, Jul 08, 2009 @ 02:04 PM
From celsias.com: "As the United States Congress battles over the costs, benefits, and
especially, definitions of its own national renewable energy standard,
coal-giant China announced a plan to get 15 percent of its energy
capacity from wind, solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020,
the state-run China Daily reports .
Perhaps sent as a signal to the U.S. and the rest of the world that
China is taking seriously the threat of climate change, the news of
China's new renewable energy targets should also be taken with a grain
of salt: the country is also expected to release a revised power supply
capacity target that is as much as fifty percent greater than targets
set in 2007."
Read more here
Posted by Andrea Little on Tue, Jul 07, 2009 @ 02:28 PM
From ENN: "U.S. power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide dropped sharply in the first half of the year as the electricity industry prepared for tighter regulation in 2010, Genscape said Monday.Sulfur dioxide emissions were down 24 percent compared to the first half of 2008, much more than would be expected due to the recession and lower..."
Read more here.