A Conservative Spins Out The GOP’s Debt Endgame
Longtime GOP budget committee aide Steve Bell talks about how the debt ceiling standoff might end — and how his party could fare politically. It won't be pretty.
Volvo Meets DOE 10-Year Energy Intensity Reduction Target in One Year
Image: VolvoTrucks.com
Volvo Trucks' manufacturing plant in Dublin, Virginia has achieved a 30-percent reduction in energy intensity in just one year, making it the first company to meet a 10-year challenge established by the Department of Energy, the Read the full story on TreeHugger
Brazil Reaches Wind Energy Milestone
Photo: Stephen Messenger
Brazil has reached a renewable energy milestone, among the first of many as the nation pushes to meet its ambitious pledge to reduce carbon emissions. Beginning in June, Brazil now generates 1 gigawatt of electricity from wind turbines, sufficient to power around 1.5 million homes, and is the first in South America to do so. Currently, 51 wind farms are in operation throughout the Brazilian northeast and southern states and over thirty more are currently under construction thanks to a ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
‘Two Fords Freedom’ Ad From the 1950s (Video)
Rearview Mirror Sometimes, to better understand where you are, it's useful to look back at where you come from. The 'suburbia + 2 cars' model was sold to us as an improvement over the previous model, and on average we were willing buyers because the model did appear to deliver on some of its prom...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Despite Millions in Hourly Profits, Exxon Oil Spill Cleanup is Paper Towels and Duct Tape
Image: Screenshot from The Rachel Maddow Show
I know some people think that paper towels and duct tape can fix just about anything, but could someone please tell the guys at Exxon that this isn't always true? Watch the absurd video below....Read the full story on TreeHugger
The Weekend Recap: July 8 – 10, 2011
Screenshot from Vimeo
With ~30+ new posts on TreeHugger.com each weekday, we understand if you miss a post here and there. To keep you up-to-date, here's what we covered over the weekend, Friday through Sunday, July 8, 9, and 10....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Toyota to Bring Electric Version of Scion iQ to U.S. in 2012
Photo: Toyota
Think Small
Toyota has been a laggard so far in the 100% electric car market despite its decade-long leadership in hybrid vehicles. It looks like its big plan to catch up with its rivals (especially Nissan, GM, and Ford) is ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
New Weedkiller May be Causing Mass Tree Deaths in U.S.
White pine trees, a species under assault by Imprelis. Photo: bobistraveling via Flickr/CC BY
Unruly herbicides are making headlines again: A couple weeks ago, it was the fact that the world's top-selling weedkiller was causing birth defects. This time, it looks like the brand new herbicide Imprelis, manufactured by the chemical giant DuPont and okayed for use by the EPA, is causing mass tree deaths in a num...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Cruiser Charisma: A Future Living Seriously Off The Grid, Every Grid
All images Credit Jonas Loh with permission
For his project at the Royal College of Art, Jonas Loh studied intentional self-sufficient communities from Earthaven Ecovillage to the Amish. But he also had an opposing inspiration: "an extrapolation of current scientific research which embraces technological alteration of nature."
The result is Cruiser Charisma, that will let one live not only off the electrical grid, but every other system supplying us with every...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Thousands Climate Refugees Per Day Pushing Into Kenya & Ethiopia As Epic Drought Continues
The epic drought conditions in the Horn of Africa and East Africa that first began coming to light about ten days ago continue to intensify, with what are in effect climate refugees streaming into parts of Somalia and Kenya. In northern Kenya, the refugee camp at Daadab has 1,500 new people per day are arriving CARE reports. In the south-eastern part of Ethiopia a new refugee camp at Kobe, just opened a few weeks ago, the third in the regio...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Unions, Business Owners Face Off In Jobs Debate
As the unemployment rate hovers around 9 percent, the political left and right are seeking to advance their own takes on what to do about it. In Washington Monday, the AFL-CIO took part in a press conference to offer its view. Not far away, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held its own jobs summit.
Could the Resurgence of Soda Fountains Banish Bottled Waste?
Photo: Library of Congress
Starting way back in the early 1800s, folks relied on soda fountains to get their fizzy fix -- they'd head to department stores, diners, candy shops for the carbonated stuff. They peaked in the 40s and 50s, when everything was swell. Then, with the rise of chain drug stores and bottled drinks, they began their inexorable decline. Now, the only time we use soda fountains are when we head to fast food, and those are Read the full story on TreeHugger
Taiwan Tightens Laws on Shark Finning, But Not Enough…
Photo: Flickr, CC
Laws Need Teeth
Despite being top predators in marine ecosystems, sharks are more victims than anything else. Industrial fishing is killing millions of them each year, and some species have declined in numbers by more than 90% according to researchers (for example, hammerheads have declined by more than 99% in the M...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Perspectives on the Future of Energy
On Tuesday, 28 June I participated as an “Energy Expert” in an online event hosted by the Economist, looking at “Transitions from West to East”. While I was (thankfully) not responsible for answering the questions, I was able to contribute to the conversation by asking questions, making comments and tweeting my opinions. The event focused on three critical issues:
- The economic implications of rebalancing from West to East
- The political implications of rebalancing from West to East
- Thoughts on the future – economic and political change during a period of transition
To prepare for this, my colleague Marion and I took a look back at some of SustainAbility’s own thinking on the future of energy, the evolution of which has been increasingly captured on our blog and wider website in recent years. This resulted in the following compilation of material focusing on the three key themes discussed during the Economist session, which we thought readers might find useful.
Focus 1: The economic implications of rebalancing from West to East
- What will economic growth in the East mean for the world’s energy system over the next 40 years?
- How will energy security impact our lives?
- Can the world meet its energy needs?
- What can we expect to see happen to the real price of energy?
- Will rising energy prices force developing countries to adopt a cleaner energy approach to their economic development?
A Clear Path Forward on Energy – Behind one NGO’s strident anti-oil ad campaign lies a fairly practical vision for the future of sustainable energy.
Are We Starting to ‘Get’ the Oil Question? – Rising oil prices highlight the urgency of achieving independence from oil, and liquid transport fuels in particular.
Energy and Water on a Collision Course – Energy and water are each difficult issues in their own right, but they’re increasingly on a collision course in places like China.
Kentucky on My Mind – Externalities abound, but perhaps nowhere more so than with coal. Let’s hope decision-makers are poised to act.
Deepwater Horizon: A Great Depression for the Industry? – The oil industry should, instead of isolating one culprit, commit to addressing systemic failures that led to the spill.
Big Oil: A GLOSSary of Terms – Peeling away the gloss of oil industry terms reveals disturbing truths about the direction the industry is headed in.
Radar: The China Issue – How China’s growing role and influence on the world stage may have more to offer sustainable development than is commonly acknowledged.
Peak Oil: Why $40 Per Barrel Is No Cause for Complacency – Why peak oil still deserves attention even as global oil prices retreat due to recession.
Focus 2: The political implications of rebalancing from West to East
- Is it legitimate to expect emerging economies like India and China to adopt a cleaner energy approach than economies in the West did during their development?
- What is the likelihood of the international community agreeing a workable solution to climate change?
- How might the process of political change in North Africa and the Middle East affect the world’s energy system?
- What states or organizations should take responsibility for dealing with the political challenges that rebalancing raises for the world’s energy system?
Is Energy Independence Good Policy? – The goal of energy independence is not only impractical, but also unwise.
Op-Ed: US Energy Citizen Rallies – The long-term health of the petroleum industry requires that strong action is taken on climate change.
On Our Radar: China’s Happy Distraction – As resources and fuel supplies run dry and the economy slows down, China turns away from GDP towards greater happiness.
Navigating the looming China water/energy choke point – How government and business response to China’s water/energy choke point is critical to the world economy.
#FortuneGreen and The Future of Climate Policy – We must throw everything available at the challenge of climate change.
Focus 3: Thoughts on the future – Economic and political change during a period of transition
- What economic and political changes need to occur to ensure that the world is able to meet its long-term energy challenges?
- Are people confident that these changes will occur? What steps need to be taken to help make sure that they do? What alternatives do we have?
The Future of Energy – Sustainability experts and practitioners from 67 countries provide insight on what a sustainable low-carbon energy future could look like.
Nuclear’s Uncertain Future – It’s time for a rethink on the future of nuclear power, but the answers are far from clear.
Deepwater Horizon – The Beginning of the End, or More of the Same? – How will the Deepwater Horizon accident affect the future of the oil and gas industry?
Ventures in Energy Technology – A new energy joint venture gives a glimpse of a world beyond fossil fuels.
Tradeable Energy Quotas: Rational Action – Why energy rationing, not seen in the UK since WWII, may be exactly what’s needed to jumpstart climate action.
Hydraulic Fracturing – Have We Seen this Movie Before? – It’s increasingly impossible to not think about the future of energy.
On Our Radar: Renewables’ High-Stakes Proving Ground – Germany moves away from nuclear.
Changing Climate Will Drive Innovation – This is the year when the Davos crowd began to wake up to the real scale not only of the market risks linked to climate change but also of the commercial opportunities.
Issue Brief: Distributed Generation – Taking Control of the Power. Distributed generation (DG) – the generation of electricity and/or heating close to the point of use – is making a comeback.
Issue Brief: Fuel Cells – As a key technology for harnessing the power of hydrogen, the fuel cell has the potential to play a central role in averting climate change and improving energy security.
Contact us to learn more about our current thinking and services related to energy and climate change.
Unique Pig-Nosed Turtle Reaches Brink of Extinction
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Among all the world's turtles, the pig-nosed turtle is unique. Like a marine turtle, the pig-nosed has long, flipper-like appendages, but it also has movable digits like fresh water turtles. Indeed, it's the last surviving species of a family of turtles biologists believe represents an evolutionary link between fresh water and marine turtles.
According to a new survey, however, this last member of the Carettochelyidae family may Read the full story on TreeHugger
Astronauts Drink Their Urine in DIY Energy Drink
Image credit: NASA/Todd Mortenson
Unlike most boys, I've never really wanted to be an astronaut. And this latest piece of news just confirms my misgivings. The internet is full of stories that astronauts on the current shuttle mission will be testing a new system for recycling their own pee and sweat into a sugary energy drink. Yum, yum.
But it's not all bad. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
New York City Subway Sees Record Ridership: Why Taking the Train is Awesome
Photo: Unlisted Sightings via Flickr/CC BY
Today, more people are riding New York's subway than at any point since the nation was going to work six days a week in the 1940s. That's awesome. The New York Times has a story today on how the massive increase in weekend ridership is tying records from that era, and putting a strain on an aging, already stressed system in the process. But while the ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Fred Pearce On Peak Phosphorus: It’s Time For Pee-Cycling
Image credit Sustainable Phosphorus Futures
We have noted before that we are near Peak Phosphorus. Fred Pearce writes at Environment360 that it is A Critical Resource
Misused and Now Running Low. It is also, like oil, sourced in countries that are going through political turmoil, with 15% of the world's supply coming f...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Could Have 91 Serious Spills in 50 Years
We've already heard some figures on how bad the ongoing Yellowstone River oil spill would likely be if it was of the capacity of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline (roughly 20 times worse). Now environmental engineer John Stansbury has set out some scenarios which further detail how bad an oil spill would be with a higher capacity pipeline and just how often serious spills are likely to occur (hint, much more than operator TransCanada would like you to believe). ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
First Iowa Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Gets $105m Loan Guarantee From DoE
If it seems like you've read a variation of the above headline before you're not wrong, and as much as anything it's a sign of the rock road cellulosic ethanol and biofuels in general have had in the past few years. The details: The Department of Energy has given a $105 million loan guarantee to POET to build what hopes to be the first commercial-scale cellulosi...Read the full story on TreeHugger
