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Whatever happened to carbon capture?

Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - By Richard Black - May. 12 (News Report) - The process was patented back in the 1930s, and it is reckoned to be one of the most important technologies we have for tackling greenhouse gas emissions. So you might well ask: "Whatever happened to carbon capture and storage (CCS)?" The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts global energy demand increasing by at least one-third by 2035. The majority of that increase will come from burning fossil fuels; and without capturing and storing some of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that result, this implies a significant addition to global warming.

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Game Over for the Climate

Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By James Hansen - May. 11 (Opinion) - 'Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read...that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves 'regardless of what we do.''

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Thousands Rejoice As Japan Shuts Off Nuclear Power

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NPR - May. 05 (News) - Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades.

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HANDS OFF APPALACHIA!: Occupy MTR Investor USB

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Writing Corner - By Beth Wellington - May. 04 (Special Report) - May Day, of course, originally commemorated Chicago's 1886 the Haymarket Massacre, when, during a general strike for the eight hour workday, an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed a public meeting, and police fired on workers, killing several demonstrators and resulting in the deaths of several police officers, largely from friendly fire. Mayday, of course, is also "mayday" used as a distress signal for aviators because it approximates the French term "m'aider", meaning "come help me!"

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Around the World on Solar Power

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By By BETTINA WASSENER - May. 03 (News Report) - Turanor PlanetSolar is expected to dock on Friday in Monaco, ending its 19-month journey.

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Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to say

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Molly Moorhead - Apr. 29 (Fact Check) - The price of gas is determined by a litany of complex and shifting factors (Brent derivatives, anyone?), few of which you’ll hear mentioned in :30-second political ads. But politicians are interested less in cause, more in effect. The effect in this case: your anger.

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Wind farms can increase night time temperatures, research reveals

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Damian Carrington - Apr. 29 - Study in US claims building of huge wind farms in Texas has increased night temperatures by up to 0.72C Large windfarms can increase local night time temperatures by fanning warmer air onto the ground, new research has revealed. The study used satellite data to show that the building of huge wind farms in west Texas over the last decade has warmed the nights by up to 0.72C. "Wind power is going to be a part of the solution to the climate change, air pollution and energy security problem," said Liming Zhou, at the University of Albany in New York. "But understanding the impacts of wind farms is critical for developing management strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability of wind power." West Texas has seen rapid expansion of wind farms , with turbine numbers rising from 111 in 2003 to 2358 in 2011. Zhou's team compared the land surface temperatures at the wind farms with other areas across this period and detected a clear rise at night. They note, however, that the effect on the ...

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South Sudan awaits big China loan

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 28 (News Report) - South Sudan's president called China one of his country's "economic and strategic partners" Officials in South Sudan say China has agreed to loan it $8bn (£4.9bn) for major development projects.

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Letters: Shale gas could fracture our renewables policy

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Apr. 24 - It beggars belief that fracking is recommended to be extended and earthquakes the only risk taken into account ( Gas fracking gets the green light , 17 April). Other risks are not just theoretical; appalling consequences have already happened on a wide scale in the US. Fracking has been carried out in rural areas where people's off-grid water supplies have been made unusable by pollution. There have been cases where people cannot use water from the tap at the kitchen sink because methane comes with it, with the risk of explosions. Only half the chemical-laden water used in the process is recovered. It is then kept in lagoons on the surface where it is allowed to evaporate volatile toxic chemicals into the air. We cannot afford the risk to our water supplies. We don't have the open spaces which have been affected in the US. Even now we are faced with water restrictions and drought. We don't have the necessary huge quantities of water available to be used and made dirty for ever. The landscape ...

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Carbon capture 'needs certainty'

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 19 (News Report) - Capturing and burying the greenhouse gas CO2 from power stations is viable - but long-term government support will be needed, a report says.

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New solar cells are more efficient

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Photonics Spectra - By Laura Marshall - Apr. 17 (News Report) - The new hybrid cell absorbs red as well as blue light to boost the electrical current. A typical solar cell generates a single electron for each photon captured. But by adding the organic semiconductor pentacene, the solar cells can generate two electrons for every photon from the blue light spectrum. This could enable the cells to capture 44 percent of the incoming solar energy.

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Antibiotics in your meat? The ethanol industry might be partly to blame

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:54:00 -0700

Grist - Apr. 11 - Last year, while touring a fairly small, pasture-based farmstead cheese company, I found myself in a giant feed barn with a group of curious foodies. It was one of the last stops before the cheese tasting, so no one wanted to linger. But I have a distinc

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Why We Should Stop Giving Handouts to Oil and Gas Companies

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Bill McKibben - Apr. 05 (Opinion) - Along with "fivedollaragallongas," the energy watchword for the next few months is: "subsidies."

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Punk Economics: Lesson 3

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

YouTube - By David McWilliams - Apr. 01 (Opinion) - Irish Economist David McWilliams discusses the dangers of playing games with liquidity, in Lesson 3.

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The spark that ignited a fire

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

durangoherald.com - By Heather Scofield - Apr. 01 (News) - The Southern Ute Indian Tribe is credited with leading the way for Native American tribes around the nation to develop and manage potential energy resources.

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As Fukushima Worsens, US Approves New Nukes

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - Mar. 31 (News Report) - Despite reports this week that the Fukushima nuclear situation may be even worse than previously thought, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has given approval today for two combined licenses for two nuclear reactors in South Carolina, only the second time in the last three decades that new nuclear plants have been approved in the nation. read ...

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More Pipeline Piffle (And An Alaskan Absurdity)

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson - Mar. 31 (News) - The misleading assault on the president’s energy policies continues. A conservative group’s TV ad claims “we will all pay more at the pump” because the administration “blocked” the Keystone XL pipeline. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell claims that the pipeline “could have brought 700,000 barrels of oil to the market

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Petrol crisis 'is our Thatcher moment', Tory MPs reportedly tell party members

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Damien Pearse - Mar. 31 - Unite accuses ministers of 'spoiling for a fight' after memo from MPs emerges comparing situation with 1980s miners' strike Tory MPs have compared the panic over fuel supplies to the 1980s miners' strike and urged party members to "humiliate" the unions by stockpiling petrol, it has been reported. In a private message from MPs to constituency associations, seen by the Daily Telegraph's Charles Moore , members were told: "This is our Thatcher moment." The message reportedly continues: "In order to defeat the coming miners' strike, [Thatcher] stockpiled coal. When the strike came, she weathered it, and the Labour party, tarred by the strike, was humiliated. In order to defeat the coming fuel drivers' strike, we want supplies of petrol stockpiled. Then, if the strike comes, we will weather it, and Labour, in hock to the Unite union, will be blamed." In his blog, Moore comments: "There is a key difference which ministers have not spotted. When Mrs Thatcher piled up the coal at power ...

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Report: Mine Safety Agency 'Could Have Prevented' Deadly Disaster

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Howard Berkes - Mar. 24 (News Report) - An independent review of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) enforcement at the Upper Big Branch (UBB) coal mine in West Virginia says the agency failed to spot "a number of enforcement deficiencies" at the mine which were major factors in the April 2010 explosion that took 29 lives. The report from an independent panel assembled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health contains this stunning conclusion: "...if MSHA had engaged in timely enforcement of the Mine Act...it would have lessened the chances of — and possibly could have prevented — the UBB explosion."

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Record-breaking laser pulse paves way for fusion

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New Scientist - Mar. 23 (News) - Record-breaking laser pulse paves way for fusion

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The Caucus: Romney Misleads on Obama and Energy Prices

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By By JOHN M. BRODER - Mar. 20 (Opinion) - In an interview and a Web video, Mitt Romney made misleading or unsubstantiated statements claiming President Obama sought higher gasoline and energy prices.

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Santorum-boosting PAC Slams Romney, Obama

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

FactCheck - By Robert Farley - Mar. 17 (Fact Check) - Two new TV ads from a pro-Rick Santorum super PAC attack Mitt Romney and President Obama on Republican hot button issues: debt, taxes and oil. But the ads mislead on several fronts.

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Orrin Hatch, fossilized

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Salt Lake Tribune - Mar. 17 - By david folland Published Mar 17, 2012 01:01AM MDT When I read Sen. Orrin Hatch’s op-ed (“Boost U.S. oil production,” Opinion, March 4), it evoked the picture of a man speeding down the freeway with head turned backwards, checking to be sure no one was coming up from behind. Indeed, looking to the past, it would appear that expanding oil exploration, as Hatch asserted, would be the best way to lower gas prices. However, ahead of us lies a serious pileup, and we are going to join the crash if we don’t turn our heads and look forward. That accide... ...

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A better understanding of Iran might save us from catastrophe

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Peter Beaumont - Mar. 11 (Opinion) - As Israel plays up the country's nuclear threat, the west should be seeking active dialogue with Tehran "Actions," said Samuel Johnson in his life of the English poet Abraham Cowley, "are visible." What are secret, Johnson added pointedly, are "motives". In the case of Iran's nuclear programme what we know of Tehran's actions and motives are the following. With some degree of "overall credibility" – according to the 2011 board of governors' report from the International Atomic Energy Agency – we know that Tehran, in all likelihood, made active studies of technologies associated with nuclear weapon design and payload design. By and large, the report believes, that activity ceased in 2003, coincident with the US-led invasion of Iraq. We know, too, because it has been even more visible, that Iran has come close to mastering the nuclear fuel cycle as well, including enrichment of uranium up to 20%. The problem with the present dangerous debate, as it has been framed ever-more closely ...

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Japan marks one year since quake and tsunami disaster

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Mar. 11 (News Report) - Services held to remember the earthquake and tsunami which killed thousands and left communities devastated one year ago With moments of silence and prayers, Japan has begun marking one year since the massive earthquake and tsunami struck the nation, killing just over 19,000 people and unleashing the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter century. At dawn in the devastated northeastern coastal town of Rikuzentakata, dozens of people from across Japan gathered to offer prayers in front of a solitary pine tree that stands amid the barrenness, a symbol of survival. Some returned to where their houses and those of friends once stood, and placed flowers and small gifts for loved ones lost in the disaster. Naomi Fujino, a 42-year-old Rikuzentakata resident who lost her father in the tsunami, was in tears recalling 11 March, 2011. With her mother, she escaped to a nearby hill where they watched the enormous wave wash away their home. They waited all night, but her father never came to meet ...

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