Renewing Support for Renewables. By Nancy Folbre, NYTimes, 3/28/11. “The biggest positive result of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi could be renewed public support for the development of renewable energy technologies. Many influential policy makers, including President Obama, continue to insist that we must expand nuclear power to help meet our energy needs. But plenty of experts disagree… renewable energy sources (including hydropower and biofuels) already account for almost the same share of total energy consumption in the United States as nuclear power… The cost per kilowatt hour of generating electricity from wind and solar power has declined steadily in recent years and is projected to decline further… The cost of nuclear power, by contrast, has increased, even without factoring in the huge social costs imposed by accidents... In Nuclear Power: Climate Fix or Folly, Amory Lovins, a physicist with the Rocky Mountain Institute, and two colleagues argued that expanded nuclear power does not represent a cost-effective solution to global warming and that investors would shun it were it not for generous government subsidies lubricated by intensive lobbying efforts…

“Can wind, water and solar power be scaled up in cost-effective ways to meet our energy demands, freeing us from dependence on both fossil fuels and nuclear power? Yes, they can, say two highly respected scientists, Mark Z. Jacobson of Stanford University and Mark A. Delucchi of the University of California, Davis. In 2009 they published A Plan to Power 100 Percent of the Planet with Renewables in Scientific American. The article persuasively addresses a number of concerns, such as the worldwide spatial footprint of wind turbines, the availability of scarce materials needed for manufacture of new systems, the ability to produce reliable energy on demand and the average cost per kilowatt hour. A more detailed and updated technical analysis can be found in a two-part article (see Part I [PDF, 16 pp] and Part II , [PDF, 21 pp] recently published in the journal Energy Policy)…

“The proven dangers of nuclear power amplify the economic risks of expanding reliance on it. Indeed, the stronger regulation and improved safety features for nuclear reactors called for in the wake of the Japanese disaster will almost certainly require costly provisions that may price it out of the market. The role of the market, however, is small relative to political battles over relative levels of subsidy to fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewable energy. While both the fossil fuel and nuclear power industries are dominated by large companies with considerable political clout, renewable energy is a more decentralized, small-business-oriented sector that often finds itself outmaneuvered on Capitol Hill.

“As Professors Jacobson and Delucchi put it, ‘The barriers to a 100% conversion to wind, water and solar power worldwide are primarily social and political, not technological or even economic.’”

~ Nancy Folbre is an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Is Energy Efficiency Blue, Red or Both? By Leslie Kaufman, NYTimes, 10/25/10. “The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its annual scorecard this month, comparing states’ policies and benchmarks. All of the Top 10 states in energy efficiency were blue, while those at the bottom of Energy Efficiency Scorecard were nearly all red.” See top 10 and bottom 10, listed in article.

Study Claims that Offshore Wind Turbines Could Produce Nearly Half of East Coast Energy Demand. By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes, 9/28/10. "The Atlantic coast has more energy to give via wind than it does from oil or gas, according to a study [Untapped Wealth, PDF, 48 pp] sponsored by Oceana, an environmental group. The group contends that using wind turbines to make electricity instead of drilling rigs to produce hydrocarbons would not only cut the chance of accidents like the Deepwater Horizon spill in the gulf but would also reduce the use of coal on land, the group said. This is important to Oceana because air pollution from coal eventually ends up in the ocean, making the water acidic and raising the water temperature, which causes other problems for ocean life… The study considered wind from waters 30 meters deep or less, easily shallow enough for wind turbines, and between 3 and 24 miles from the coast, ignoring shipping channels and other competing uses. That production would allow 127 gigawatts of power, the report said. This is vast, since the total of all generators of all types in the United States is only about 1,048 gigawatts." See chart.

Are American Homes More Energy Efficient? Not Exactly. By David A. Fahrenthold, WashPost, 9/30/10. "The amount of energy that the average American requires at home has changed little since the early 1970s -- despite advances in technology that have made many home appliances far more energy efficient. Dishwashers use 45% less energy than they did two decades ago, according to industry data. Refrigerators use 51% less. But on a per-capita basis, Americans still require about 70 million British thermal units a year to heat, cool and power their homes, just as they did in 1971.

"A key reason, experts say, is that American homes are getting bigger, which means more space to heat and cool. And consumers are buying more and more power-sucking gadgets -- meaning that kilowatts saved by dishwashers and refrigerators are often used up by flat-screen televisions, computers and digital video recorders. These trends 'have balanced each other out. It's been a wash, basically,' said Lowell Ungar of the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy."

Providing Cleaner Cookstoves. By Amy Yee, NYTimes, 9/30/10. "Each year more than 1.5 million people worldwide die prematurely from lung cancer, emphysema, childhood pneumonia and other ailments caused by indoor air pollution -- fumes from open cooking fires -- according to the World Health Organization. In addition, millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are generated every year because about three billion people worldwide rely on open cooking fires. The easy solution would be to switch to cleaner fuel, like liquefied petroleum gas or kerosene. But these fuels are too expensive for many people in developing countries.

"Groups like Envirofit, a nonprofit organization based in Colorado, are offering another solution: clean cookstoves. Envirofit says that its stoves reduce harmful emissions 80% compared with traditional cooking fires, use 60% less fuel and cut cooking time 50%. In addition to creating a healthier environment at home, women and children can devote less time to foraging for fuel… The push for clean cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution was elevated from a public health backwater to a high place on the global agenda last week, when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of the United States kicked off the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in New York, at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. The $60 million public-private campaign, led by the United Nations Foundation, aims to have 100 million households using clean, efficient cookstoves by 2020."

Who Will Become the Masters of the 'Smart Grid'? By Peter Behr, ClimateWire, September 23, 2010. "If there is a consensus within the smart grid sector, it's on the necessity of getting consumers to use new digital meters, energy displays, appliance controls and pricing innovation to reduce their use of electricity. This has been the mantra of the GridWise Global Forum in Washington this week, a convention of utilities, smart grid vendors, consultants and regulators."

Price Matters. Commentary by Tom Friedman, NYTimes, September 26, 2010. "Beijing just announced that it was providing $15 billion in seed money for the country's leading auto and battery companies to create an electric car industry, starting in 20 pilot cities. In essence, China Inc. just named its dream team of 16-state-owned enterprises to move China off oil and into the next industrial growth engine: electric cars… Europe is using $7-a-gallon gasoline to stimulate the market for electric cars; China is using $5-a-gallon and naming electric cars as one of the industrial pillars for its five-year growth plan. And America? President Obama has directed stimulus money at electric cars, but he is unwilling to do the one thing that would create the sustained consumer pull required to grow an electric car industry here: raise taxes on gasoline. Price matters."

Renewable Energy Bill Introduced With Bipartisan Support. By Timothy Gardner, Reuters, September 21, 2010. "A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill on Tuesday [9/21] that would require utilities to generate minimum levels of renewable power which environmentalists welcomed but analysts said had slim chances of passing this year. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat and chair of the Senate's energy committee, and Sam Brownback, a Republican, introduced the bill which would create a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) requiring utilities to generate 15% renewable power by 2021. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stripped a Renewable Electricity Standard out of the broader oil spill bill in July saying climate measures would not get a single Republican vote. But the bill introduced on Tuesday has some support as it is nearly the same bill as one that passed Bingaman's committee last year.

"Supporters of the bill said two other Republicans, Senators Susan Collins and John Ensign, also support it. Steel workers, utilities that have strong renewable portfolios, and environmentalists seeking to spur reductions in greenhouse gas emissions have pushed for the bill saying it would create jobs to help the country compete with China in production of wind turbines and solar power panels… The bill introduced Tuesday would set incremental mandates requiring power companies to generate 3% of their power from renewable sources such as wind, solar, ocean waves, and geothermal by 2012. It requires 6% renewable energy by 2016, 9% by 2017, 12% by 2019, and 15% by 2021."

Washington D.C. Launches Nation's Largest Bike-Share Program. By Matt Martinez, Grist, September 20, 2010. "Washington D.C. and Arlington County debuted Capital Bikeshare on Monday [Sept. 20]. It's the largest bike sharing program in the United States -- 1,100 bikes at 100 kiosks in the District and Northern Virginia. (Denver and Minneapolis are the other two cities in the US with significant bike share programs.) The previous iteration of the District's bike share system, SmartBike, launched in 2008. Operated by Clear Channel Communications, it never really caught fire… Capital Bikeshare is modeled on the bike share service in Montreal. It's a public-private partnership -- funded by user fees and operated and maintained with private companies. D.C.'s program is operated by Alta Bicycle Share, based in Portland, Ore."

U.S. Energy Use Dropped by 4.6% in 2009. By Leslie Tamura, Washington Post, September 7, 2010. "A bright spot in the nation's flickering economy is that Americans used less energy last year than in 2008, according to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which recently published its findings online. 'Part of the reason is [that] the whole economy shrank,' said A.J. Simon, an energy analyst at Livermore who calculated that overall energy use in the country dropped from 99.2 quadrillion BTUs in 2008 to 94.6 quadrillion in 2009. 'People are doing less stuff overall, using less oil, saving money.' Another reason, Simon added, is that the residential, industrial, commercial and transportation sectors of the economy are using more products that are energy-efficient."

Urban Cycling in L.A. Spawns its Own Peddlers. By Cyndia Zwahlen, LATimes, August 30, 2010. "Carol Agay loved the retro-style wire bike basket that came with her new yellow cruiser, except that her keys and cellphone kept falling through its holes. So the Costa Mesa resident came up with a fashionable but practical solution: a basket liner that kept her items secure while she was riding. And she included drawstring handles so that off the bike, the liner could be transformed into a handy tote. So many female bicyclists stopped her to ask about the invention that Agay transformed it, again, into something else: a business… The liners… appeal to cyclists looking for fashionable and functional gear for casual commuting, shopping trips and social rides. This movement, dubbed urban cycling by some, is in contrast to hard-core road cycling, with its spandex outfits, and rugged mountain biking, with its own gear and garb. Urban cycling has gained in popularity as a practical, more social alternative to more sport-centric bicycling… The attire looks like everyday clothing, with some alterations… to make it more bike friendly… Los Angeles clothing companies, Swrve and Shifty, cater to urban cyclists... online as well as at [urban bike stores like] the Flying Pigeonand Orange 20 Bikes... Last month, Los Angeles released a draft bicycle plan that would increase the city's bikeways - including designated paths and lanes - to more than 1,630 miles in the next five years from the existing 339 miles."

Shipping Companies Eye Arctic Northeast Passage. By Pierre-Henry Deshayes, AFP, September 3, 2010. "Ship owners are showing growing interest in a fabled trade route to Asia which climate change is beginning to open up at last as polar ice recedes. On Saturday the first non-Russian vessel to make an intercontinental commercial voyage through the Arctic Northeast passage will set sail from Norway for China. The route is thousands of kilometers (miles) shorter than traditional passages, promising to reduce travel time dramatically, along with fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions… Opting for the northern route will also allow ships to avoid the danger of pirates and other attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean... Due to global warming, scientists say they expect the Arctic ice cover to completely disappear during the summer months in coming decades… But for the foreseeable future, the northern route remains a luxury that will be afforded only to ice-class ships, with reinforced hulls, like the Nordic Barents."

Broadway is Busy, with Pedestrians, if Not Car Traffic. By Michael M. Grynbaum, NYTimes, September 6, 2010. "It is Manhattan's most famous thoroughfare, known around the world for its theater marquees and giant Macy's. It has come to symbolize the outsize aspirations and swagger of New York. But under the Bloomberg administration, Broadway has been transformed… And city officials are considering a further expansion of the pedestrian space along the corridor, although they say there is no current plan to close it to cars entirely. The changes -- perhaps the swiftest re-engineering of a major New York roadway ever -- have made the street more palatable to pedestrians and bicyclists, making it a microcosm of a broader plan by the city to reallocate road space traditionally used by cars. Transportation officials say that accidents have decreased and nearby avenues in Midtown are less backed up."

Framing the New Broadway: 'Green Ribbon' or 'Narrow Passageway'? By Charles Komanoff, Streetblog.org, September 7, 2010. "The article, by Times transportation reporter Michael Grynbaum, is exemplary in many respects. It thoughtfully lets transportation guru Jeff Zupan declare that the stepwise transformation of Manhattan's central thoroughfare is boosting the status of pedestrians throughout town… The article's true soul may reside in the lone everyman quoted, whom Grynbaum describes as 'a daily car commuter from Queens who was parked on Broadway at 33rd Street the other day 'know they're trying to beautify the city, but it's killing the drivers. It's frustrating. They don't want you to drive into the city.'…Framing the city's ongoing traffic disaster in these terms may be crucial to maintaining Broadway as a permanent 'green ribbon,' not to mention winning the rest of the livable streets agenda, from pedestrians' rights to traffic pricing, that can make New York a city fit for working and living."

New York City Attempts to Limit Emissions with Compressed Natural Gas Buses. By Michael Graham Richard,Treehugger, September 2, 2010. "The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the 'MTA') has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ('CNG') heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses... Based on testing by the U.S. Department of Energy, 'model year 2004 CNG engines produced 49% lower nitrogen oxides emissions and 84% lower particulate matter emissions versus transit buses equipped with model year 2004 diesel engines.' This is particularly important because in urban areas, NOx and PM are the pollutants that accumulate the most and cause smog and bad air quality. On the CO2 front, the reduction should be of about 25%, depending on the source of the gas (a bigger reduction can be had if biogas from carbon neutral sources is used). The main downside is that methane emissions can be higher, but this can be mitigated by minimizing leaks and making sure that the refueling is done properly."

Norway Says Green Taxes Spur Economic Growth. By Alister Doyle, Reuters, September 13, 2010. "Green taxes are among ways to spur jobs and economic revival despite less focus on environmental solutions since the U.N.'s Copenhagen summit in 2009, Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on September 13… 'We see a very close link between climate issues and economic recovery. Investments in green technology are part of the solution,' he said."

Offshore Projects in Northern Europe Hampered Supply Shortages. By Selina Williams, WSJournal, September 13, 2010. "Northern Europe's ambitious plans for adding offshore wind power are getting off to a rough start -- because of weaknesses in the supply chain. The U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and other Northern European neighbors are gearing up to add giant wind farms up to 120 miles off their coasts. The move is part of their efforts to shift to renewable power sources to meet tough European Union climate-change targets for 2020 and ensure the region isn't too dependent on imported supplies of natural gas... The supply shortages threaten to delay or add billions in extra costs to an endeavor that's already immensely expensive. At today's prices, it will take around $185 billion to meet the European Wind Energy Association's target of 40 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2020. That's enough electricity to supply around 34 million households."

Greece Seeks to Boost Economy With Renewable Energy. By Angeliki Koutantou, Reuters, September 13, 2010. "Greece unblocked renewable energy projects worth 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) as the cash-strapped country struggles to attract new investments to boost its ailing economy, the energy regulator said on Monday. The Mediterranean country has offered subsidies to renewable energy firms, but red tape and skewed incentives have led to a huge applications backlog of 40,000 megawatts, rather than to the construction of new units. Greece's Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) said it approved last week several green energy schemes across the country, with a total capacity of 840 megawatts, and pledged to speed up procedures for the licensing of other projects… Although Greece is one of the sunniest and windiest countries in Europe, wind and solar power accounted for just 4% of electricity output in 2009, compared with more than 60% generated from burning lignite, a polluting form of brown coal. Greece has pledged to raise the renewables share to 40% by 2020."

Wind Power Wanes with Fading Federal Incentives. By Jeff Brady, NPR, September 6, 2010. "Wind power, one of the largest segments of the renewable energy market, will experience a sharp decline in growth this year. The slowdown comes as a surprise because the stimulus bill, which President Obama signed into law 18 months ago, included a big boost for renewable forms of electricity in the form of $43 billion for energy projects. Last year, 10,000 megawatts of wind power were brought online in the United States -- that's enough to power nearly 300,000 homes. In 2010, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, that number will be 57% lower. It will be the first time in six years that the growth rate of the wind industry will actually decline... Right now, if you build a wind project, the government will, essentially, cut you a check for 30% of the cost. But that incentive is running out of rope and scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. That deadline prompted a lot of activity lastyear. 'Everybody moved their projects forward into 2009 to take advantage of it,' says George Sterzinger, executive director of the Renewable Energy Policy Project. But now, he says, some developers are waiting to see if the credit will be extended. And with natural gas relatively cheap now, some utilities are choosing to build gas power plants rather than wind farms."

Fuel-Economy Stickers Unveiled. ClimateWire, September 7, 2010. "U.S. EPA and the Department of Transportation issued two new designs for the fuel-economy stickers affixed to the windows of new cars. The designs aren't final -- they won't appear until the auto class of 2012, and the agencies have requested public input during the next two months. But the labels are distinct. One design would feature a large letter grade for a car's fuel economy and emissions levels. The other design would feature numbers: the car's miles-per-gallon score and the estimated annual cost of filling its gas tank or battery."