Climate Energy

Peak coal in China means the country's desperate for renewables

China's economic miracle is under severe threat from up to 30 GW in power shortages -- that's more than twice the output of the Three Gorges Dam. Coal plants are shutting down as the cost of fuel outpaces the government-controlled price of electricity. Domestic shortages have driven the price of fuel up 75 percent since 2007, but the Chinese government limits electricity price increases to only 15 percent.

'Solar home rule' could power the D.C. economy

Citizens of Washington, D.C. could generate jobs and keep more electricity dollars at home with rooftop solar power.

Secretary of Energy is a Keystone XL booster

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu hasn't said definitively whether he supports the Keystone XL pipeline. But he's heavily implied that he's a fan, laying out the project's potential benefits in an interview with energyNOW!. "It's not perfect," said Chu of the pipeline, which would increase greenhouse-gas emissions and quite probably leak to boot. But he […]

Obama can't catch a break on oil

He presided over record growth in oil rigs, pissing off progressives, but the GOP blames high gas prices on Obama's supposedly anti-drilling policies. Where is the love?

Germany sets renewables record

Renewable energy accounted for over 20 percent of power production in the first half of 2011, with solar power driving the most recent growth.

Critical List: Biden stumps for clean energy; the magical green properties of concrete

"The biggest mistake this nation has made in its entire history" would be not to invest in clean energy, VP Joe Biden said yesterday at the National Clean Energy Summit 4.0

The Russian government just cut a deal with Exxon to look for oil in that country’s sector of the Arctic. The next day, Russia raided BP’s Moscow offices.

George Monbiot argues that fracking without regulation is insane.

Daryl Hannah gives you her [lawyer's] number

Here's Daryl Hannah preparing to be arrested at the Keystone XL protests -- she's writing a contact number, probably for her lawyer, on her arm so she doesn't forget it. And that's a nice hand-lettered sign! Hannah was arrested today outside the White House gates, and I originally was going to lead with that video and title the post "Daryl Hannah in handcuffs" but then I felt dirty about it.

Close coal: D.C.-area coal-fired power plant to close

Just a month after Michael Bloomberg used it as a backdrop for his $50 million donation to the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, officials in Alexandria, Va., announced a plan to shut down the plant.

Despite everything, natural gas is still cleaner than coal

Back in April, the EPA officially recognized that drilling for natural gas releases more methane than the agency had thought and offered a new methodology for estimating methane emissions connected to natural gas. The Worldwatch Institute, which does sustainability research, and the Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors, who do pretty much what their name says they do, crunched the numbers and found that, despite this, natural gas still releases less atmosphere-clogging gas than coal.

James Hansen arrested at tar-sands protest

Prominent NASA climate scientist James Hansen, a vocal proponent of climate change action who has long warned about the greenhouse gas effects of tar-sands development, has been arrested while protesting outside the White House. Hansen went down there intending to be arrested, and it worked! So good job, Jim. Hopefully your message gets through.