Climate Energy

Japan’s government allowed evacuations into radiation plume’s path

In the aftermath of Fukushima, Japanese people are registering less trust in their government, and stories like this one are the reason why. The entire community of Namie evacuated out of the area surrounding Fukushima to a safe haven, only to find later that they were still in the path of radiation, and the government had tools that indicated as much.

When a large plume of something nasty — chemicals, biological hazards, or radiation — is released into the air, it doesn't stay in one place. It's not always obvious where it will go, though. Winds and air pressure systems shift. Obstacles like tall buildings, forests, and mountains can have an impact. Predicting a plume's path is sort of like predicting the path of a nasty storm, only the consequences of being wrong are a little more dire than a few wet people who didn't bring an umbrella to the office.

Trucks and buses get efficiency standards for the first time ever

President Obama has announced the first ever emissions standards for trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles. They'll be shooting for a 9 to 23 percent reduction in fuel consumption by 2018, depending on the type of vehicle. Big rigs will need to achieve approximately a 20 percent reduction, for example; garbage trucks will need more like 10 percent.

Utilities cash in when you go solar

Net metering offers a lot to utilities and very little to ratepayers and solar array owners.

What wind turbines can learn from fish

Wind turbines are loners. They need to give each other space to be effective. But a new design for wind farms, using a different type of turbines than the giant-fan kind going up all over the place, takes a page from a very social group of animals -- schooling fish -- to create the same amount of energy with shorter turbines, in a smaller area of land.

These wind farms use vertical-axis turbines, which are often described as looking like egg-beaters.

What life is like inside the Fukushima evacuation zone

Photographer Max Hodges has a photo essay on Google+ about his travels in the Fukushima evacuation zone. This mysterious ninja, Shoji Kobayashi, had been living there since the nuclear disaster began, gardening and trying to salvage tsunami-damaged keepsakes. 

Critical List: Al Gore curses about climate skepticism; garden thieves steal tomatoes

Sometimes even Al Gore can’t resist cursing when he talks about climate skeptics. Listen here.

EPA's scientific integrity policy doesn't do a particularly good job at its intended purpose: protecting scientists from political influence.

Heavy-duty trucks have to meet fuel efficiency standards too. No word yet on monster trucks.

Why Washington state's coal fight matters

Activists in the Northwest are fighting plans to build a coal-export terminal in Washington state. The outcome of this battle could have lasting, substantial effects on China's energy habits and emissions.

Record heat, no solar means Texas is paying 40 times more for power

Texas is hotter than balls right now, and it's not just the state's farmers and wildlife that are paying the price for it: Last week, the state set a record for electricity usage that led to its grid operator paying a whopping $3,000/MWh for peak electricity. To give you some perspective on this, $3,000/MWh translates to $3/KWh, or 40 times the $0.08/KWh a resident of that state normally pays for electricity at home.

Concentrated solar power plants are all wet

Concentrating solar has promised big additions to renewable energy production with the additional benefit of energy storage -- but there's a catch.

BP funds push for more offshore drilling in oil-soaked Louisiana

A little more than a year after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, BP is funding a right-wing lobbying group that opposes regulation of offshore drilling.