Deepwater Horizon Firm Gives Execs Safety Bonuses, with No Apparent Sense of Irony. By Jess Zimmerman, Grist, 4/4/11. “Transocean, the offshore drilling firm that ran the Deepwater Horizon rig, has given its top execs massive bonuses for having ‘the best year in safety performance in our company's history… Notwithstanding the tragic loss of life in the Gulf of Mexico, we achieved an exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate and total potential severity rate.’… Transocean said that executives would be getting a 3.8% raise, millions in stock options, and a cash bonus of 44.8 percent of their ‘target bonus opportunity. What’s that mean? Well, for the CEO (who’s not getting a bonus, having just gotten a promotion and a raise), ‘target bonus opportunity’ would be his full annual salary of $900,000, so he would be getting over $400,000.”

China’s Push into Wind Worries U.S. Industry. By Tom Zeller Jr. and Keith Bradsher, NYTimes, 12/16/10. “Goldwind and other Chinese-owned companies plan a big push into the American wind power market in coming months. While proponents say the Chinese manufacturers should be welcomed as an engine for creating more green jobs and speeding the adoption of renewable energy in this country, others see a threat to workers and profits in the still-embryonic American wind industry… By entering the United States, the Chinese industry is coming to a world leader in wind energy capacity: roughly 41 gigawatts, or enough to power the equivalent of 10 million American homes. Only China itself, which recently passed American output, generates more wind power -- 43 gigawatts -- although that is spread over a population more than four times the size of the population of the United States. But American wind output still meets only a small portion of the nation’s overall demand for electricity -- about 2% -- compared with countries like Spain, which gets about 14% of its electrical power from the wind.” Related NYTimes articles: Wind Power for Boston, Made in China, 12/16/10; To Conquer Wind Power, China Writes the Rules, 12/15/10.

Ford Begins to Ship All-Electric Transit Connect Vans. By Christina Rogers, Detroit News, 12/8/10. “Ford Motor Co. expects commercial plug-in vans and trucks to be as important to the emerging electric vehicle market as sales to consumers in dealer showrooms. That's why the automaker is getting in early. Ford began shipping its all-electric Transit Connect on Dec. 8, becoming the first large automaker to produce a commercial, plug-in van for the U.S. market in larger volumes... The $57,400 electric Transit Connect will have a range of 80 miles and come with a 10-year, 120,000 mile warranty, which reflects typical commercial use.”

Hertz Puts Electric Cars On The Fast Track, Starting In New York. NYTimes, 12/7/10. “Hertz announced it would be adding electric cars and plug-in hybrids to its urban and college fleets worldwide, starting with New York City, where they’ll be available in Connect at Hertz car-sharing locations beginning Dec. 15. The rental company is planning to offer the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Smart Electric Drive, Nissan Leaf, Coda sedan and Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.”

Nissan Sees Electric Car Envy in Critics of the Leaf. By Hiroko Tabuchi, NYTimes, 12/3/10. “Overhyped. Fanciful. Simply not viable. Skeptics have been harsh in their appraisal of Nissan’s grand plans for electric cars -- which the automaker will begin putting into practice with its all-electric Leaf compact, introduced in Japan on Dec. 3. Critics scoff at everything from the car’s limited driving range to what they consider its inflated price tag. But Carlos Ghosn, chief executive at Nissan and its sister automaker, Renault, dismisses the scoffing as his rivals’ lack of imagination -- and their envy… The Leaf, a hatchback that the Environmental Protection agency says has a range of 73 miles on a fully charged battery, will start selling later this month for $33,600, including destination charges, in selected markets in the United States. It went on sale in Japan for about $45,120, and will be introduced to European markets next year.”

Prius to Become Top Auto Seller Ever in Japan. By Yoshio Takahashi, WSJ, 12/7/10. “Few would have predicted that the apparent prince of eco-cars would be so mighty that it would become the best-selling model in the history in the country, beating the 20-year-old record posted by a Toyota mainstay volume model: The red-hot hybrid is set to unseat the Corolla to become the biggest-ever annual volume vehicle in Japan.”

Resource Scarcities and Climate Change Pose Concerns for Pentagon. By Thom Shanker, NYTimes, 12/12/10. “Countries thirst for oil, compete for minerals and confront climate change. The American military, with surprising allies, worries that these issues represent a new source of conflict. Intelligence institutions assume that the 21st century will be shaped not just by competitive economic growth, but also by disruptive scarcities… Now a new field of systematic study is opening within research centers, the Pentagon and intelligence institutions. It assumes that the 21st century will be shaped not just by competitive economic growth, but also by potentially disruptive scarcities -- depletion of minerals; desertification of land; pollution or overuse of water; weather changes that kill fish and farms. National security experts have begun to label such factors threats to “natural security” and to study them, often alongside environmental or advocacy groups. A basic question frames their thinking: What are the new relationships among resources, diplomacy, crisis and conflict?… Here are five scenarios, current or anticipated…”

Environmentalists Support Harvesting Christmas Trees. By Carlos Alcalá, Sacramento Bee, 12/2/10. “The Nature Conservancy is campaigning for people to use real Christmas trees, not the manufactured kind, as a way to lower our carbon footprint… [We are] all about trees,’ said Frank Lowenstein, Climate Adaptation Strategy Leader for the organization. ‘They clean our air, they clean our water.’ Even when you cut them down? ‘Real (Christmas) trees give real benefits,’ Lowenstein said. ‘Not in the one tree you buy, but in the stream of trees you support.’ His point is that a tree cut down from one of the nation's estimated 12,000 tree farms supports the continued existence of that farm. Fewer than one in 10 farm trees are harvested each year, said Vanessa Martin, California spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy… The ones that stay provide the benefits. Manufactured trees, by contrast, are largely petrochemical (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) products shipped from overseas with few environmental assets... And after the tree's served its purpose, it can be chipped and composted, used for energy generation or ground cover – something that most jurisdictions now do, instead of dumping it in the landfill. Also something you can't do with a PVC tree.”

Massachusetts Regulators Give National Grid Approval to Purchase Cape Wind Power. By Beth Daley, BostonGlobe, 11/22/10. “The state Department of Public Utilities gave permission on 11/22 for National Grid to purchase half of Cape Wind's power, removing the last significant hurdle for the controversial wind farm to start construction in Nantucket Sound next year. However, the agency refused to approve a second agreement for the sale of the other 50% of the project's power. Without a buyer for that power, Cape Wind's efforts to get financing for the proposed 130-turbine project could suffer, energy specialists say, with some suggesting only half of the turbines may now be built.”

Companies Fight to Keep Global Warming Data Secret. By Dina Cappiello, AP, 10/28/10. “Some of the country's largest emitters of heat-trapping gases, including businesses that publicly support efforts to curb global warming, don't want the public knowing exactly how much they pollute. Oil producers and refiners, along with manufacturers of steel, aluminum and even home appliances, are fighting a proposal by EPA that would make the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that companies release -- and the underlying data businesses use to calculate the amounts -- available online.

“While gross estimates exist for such emissions from transportation and electricity production and manufacturing as a whole, the EPA is requiring companies for the first time to submit information for each individual facility. The companies say that disclosing details beyond a facility's total emissions to the public would reveal company secrets by letting competitors know what happens inside their factories. More importantly, they argue, when it comes to understanding global warming, the public doesn't need to know anything more than what goes into the air.”

$6 Billion California Solar Plant Gets Federal Approval. MSNBC, 10/25/10. “Calling it a major milestone, the Obama administration on Monday approved what investors say will be the world's largest concentrated solar power plant and one that more than doubles all of U.S. solar output and can power at least 300,000 homes. The project in the Mojave Desert near Blythe, Calif., is the sixth solar venture authorized on federal lands within the last month. All are in desert areas.

“‘The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation’s renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future,’ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in announcing the approval. Construction on the $6 billion plant is expected to start by the end of 2010, with production starting in 2013. Developer Solar Millennium, a company based in Germany, says the plant will generate 1,066 construction jobs and 295 permanent jobs.”

A Cheaper Route to Solar Cells. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, 10/19/10. “A company that secured a Department of Energy grant to pursue a breakthrough idea in the manufacture of solar cells plans to announce on [October 19] that it has raised $20 million to commercialize its technique, which it says will reduce the price of solar panels by 40 percent. The company, 1366 Technologies of Lexington, Mass., has found a simpler way to produce the basic building block of solar cells: silicon wafers. It uses molten silicon to cast the wafers in their final form, six inches on one side and 200 microns thick, or about eight-thousandths of an inch. The current method is to cast the silicon in huge ingots or grow it in giant crystals and then saw off thin pieces, which wastes about half of the silicon."

New Portland Grocery Store Has More Parking for Bikes Than Cars. By A.K. Streeter, TreeHugger, 10/14/10. “New Seasons, an upscale Whole Foods-style grocery store that has enjoyed massive success in Portland, Oregon, is opening its seventh store this week. The newest store, in the dense (watch the web cam to see how dense) inner-city Hawthorne Street neighborhood, has something of a surprise. Rooftop parking for cars, and rows of bright blue staples in front of the store for bicycles. Well, perhaps that's not so incredible. What makes it much better is that according to Bike Portland, the sum total of bike spots (50) outnumbers the slim number of car parking spaces (36).

“Because parking is such an integral part of sprawl, here's some fun fast facts from Streetsblog on what we give up for the almighty car: 1) 99% of U.S. car trips begin and end with a free parking spot. 2) The average car is parked 95% of its time. 3) Office space typically requires 175 to 250 square feet per person. In comparison, curbside parking requires 200 square feet per vehicle, and garages require 300 to 350 square feet per vehicle.”

Big Oil Influencing University Climate Research, According to Study. By Margot Roosevelt, LATimes, 10/14/10. “Have hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from major oil companies compromised the ethics of energy research at such institutions as UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Stanford? That's what Jennifer Washburn, a longtime critic of academic conflicts of interest, contends in Big Oil Goes to College [PDF, 220 pp], a new report that delves into the details of contracts signed between 10 major U.S. universities and global oil companies. According to the 212-page study, released by the Center for American Progress… such companies as BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips have funded more than $800 million in potentially compromised research with few protections for academic independence.”

Shareholders Challenge Big Oil Efforts to Kill California Climate Law. ClimateBiz, 10/14/10. “Shareholders have filed resolutions with three oil companies asking for their respective boards of directors to review political spending and policies in light of their support for overturning California's climate change law. Occidental Petroleum, Valero Energy and Tesoro have collectively poured millions of dollars into the campaign for Proposition 23, which would suspend the Global Warming and Solutions Act of 2006, also known as AB 32, until the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% for lower for one year. Unemployment in the nation's most populous state now stands at above 12%.

“The Unitarian Universalist Association filed the resolution with Valero, while the Nathan Cummings Foundation was the primary filer in the Tesoro resolution. Green Century Capital Management filed the resolution with Occidental. ‘That Valero and the other companies are using company money for such overt political purposes is both inappropriate and reflects poor governance. Beyond stifling California's fast-growing clean tech economy, rolling back this law will delay the nation's much needed transition to a clean energy economy and greater energy independence,’ Mindy Lubber, president of the nonprofit Ceres, and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, said in a statement Wednesday.”

Walmart Doubling Sales of Produce from Local Farms. By Ariel Schwartz, Fast Company, 10/14/10.“It's becoming increasingly difficult to vilify Walmart, despite its tendency to put smaller retailers out of business. The retail giant last year unveiled an ambitious sustainability index for its suppliers, and now the it's announced plans to double the sales of fresh produce sourced from local farms in U.S. locations by the end of 2015. The move is part of a larger set of global sustainable agriculture goals unveiled by Walmart this week.

”Other goals for 2015 include selling $1 billion in food sourced from one million small and medium farmers, increasing income of those small to medium farmers by 10 to 15%, and providing training to one million farm workers in sustainable farming practices. Walmart also plans to invest over $1 billion in its global fresh food supply chain over the next five years. And in an apparent effort to lure customers who shy away from traditional big box retailers, Walmart will open up dozens of 30,000 to 60,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market grocery stores over the next few years.”

Amazon to Offer Green Shipping Options. By Jonathan Birchall, FT, 10/15/10. “The world’s largest online retailer has patented a system that would allow its customers to choose slower shipping methods or recyclable packaging to reduce the environmental impact of their online purchases... If implemented by the retailer, the system as described would give shoppers an unprecedented level of transparency concerning the environmental impact of their ordering decisions. It would also give each customer a reading on the cumulative environmental impact of shopping decisions and the option to purchase carbon offset credits.”

Offshore Wind Power Line Wins Praise, and Backing. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, 10/12/10. “Google and a New York financial firm have each agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion transmission backbone for future offshore wind farms along the Atlantic Seaboard that could ultimately transform the region’s electrical map. The 350-mile underwater spine, which could remove some critical obstacles to wind power development, has stirred excitement among investors, government officials and environmentalists who have been briefed on it.

“Google and Good Energies, an investment firm specializing in renewable energy, have each agreed to take 37.5% of the equity portion of the project. They are likely to bring in additional investors, which would reduce their stakes… ‘Conceptually it looks to me to be one of the most interesting transmission projects that I’ve ever seen walk through the door,’ said Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees interstate electricity transmission. ‘It provides a gathering point for offshore wind for multiple projects up and down the coast.’”

FTC Proposes Crackdown on Greenwashing. By Gabriel Nelson and Amanda Peterka, Greenwire, 10/6/10. “Under a set of environmental marketing guidelines that were proposed by the Federal Trade Commission today, businesses would soon have to tread more carefully when calling their products ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly.’ FTC’s draft guidelines tell companies not to make ‘unqualified general environmental benefit claims.’ Under current rules, those broader claims are fine as long as the businesses can provide evidence that the product is better for the environment in specific ways. The proposed change is part of a long-pending revision to FTC Green Guides, which would also set out the first federal ground rules for the marketing of carbon offsets and renewable energy credits.”

The Missing Link in Wider Adoption of Solar Power? Electricians. By Peter Behr, ClimateWire, 10/8/10. “The biggest roadblock for the commercialization of solar power in the United States is not the technology of the modules but the mundane back-end issues of permitting, installation, electrical controls and business practices, according to a report by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The report [Achieving Low-Cost Solar PV, PDF, 44 pp] summarizing the institute's design charrette in June, concludes that ‘balance of system’ (BoS) costs -- everything other than the modules themselves -- could be cut in half through streamlined, standardized approaches.”