LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Hosting his second
annual all-star gathering of clean energy proponents at University of
Nevada, Las Vegas on Monday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of
Nevada called for "a new revolution ... a clean energy revolution" to
restore American prosperity and global leadership.
Comparing the National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 to the original
American Revolution, Reid told participants why the date of the
meeting, August 10, is important to him.
It is one of evolution's crowning achievements - a mini green power
station and organic factory combined and the source of almost all of
the energy that fuels every living thing on the planet.
The world is heading for a catastrophic energy
crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of
the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a
leading energy economist has warned.
Higher oil prices brought on by a rapid increase in demand and a stagnation,
or even decline, in supply could blow any recovery off course, said Dr Fatih
Birol, the chief economist at the respected International Energy Agency
(IEA) in Paris, which is charged with the task of assessing future energy
supplies by OECD countries.
The
United States today spends some $400 billion a year importing oil from
countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela.
Think for a moment what an incredible impact that same $400 billion a
year could have on our country if that money were invested here and not
abroad, in such areas as weatherization, energy efficiency, sustainable
energies like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, public transportation and automobiles that are energy efficient or don't use fossil
SANDWICH, Mass. - Imagine
A renewable-energy source so large it can provide enough power for
750,000 homes, or a quarter of all homes in London, especially when the
fuel is free. It’s called the London Array, and when built it will be
the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The first phase of the
project, announced May 12, is financed by the DONG Energy, of Denmark,
E.ON, of Germany, and Masdar, of Abu Dhabi.
As the prospective price of new reactors continues to soar, and as the
first "new generation" construction projects sink in French and Finish
soil, Republicans are introducing a bill to Congress demanding 100 new
nuclear reactors in the US within twenty years. It explicitly welcomes
"alternatives" such as oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge and "clean coal." Though it endorses some renewables such as
solar and wind power, it calls for no cap on carbon emissions.
Shell, I have to report, is the new Exxon. The company that back in
December was filling this and other newspapers with double-page adverts
promoting its conversion to a "new energy future" of wind farms, hydrogen fuels, fuel made from marine algae and much else, has pulled the plug.
Two lethal words went thankfully unspoken in President Obama's address to the nation this week---atomic energy.
Unfortunately, two others---"clean coal"---were included.
An increasingly desperate reactor industry just tried to sneak a $50 billion loan guarantee package into the stimulus bill. But for the third time since 2007, it got beat by a powerful national grassroots movement and key Congressional leaders.
Nuke pushers now want reactors painted "green" in a renewable standard Congress may soon set.
Like most Americans, I'm guarding my dollars, but when my furnace died during Seattle's coldest winter in decades, I needed to replace it. And when I did, with a high-efficiency Trane model made in Trenton New Jersey, the costs and gains underscored key lessons about what we need to do to craft a stimulus package that actually builds for America's future. My new furnace saves energy and fights climate change. It promotes American jobs, and pays back its costs in a reasonable time frame.
LOS ANGELES - Hawaii is to become the first US state to create a transport infrastructure
that will allow cars to run almost entirely on electricity.
The plan involves building up to 100,000 charging stations in car parks and
streets by 2012 and importing electric vehicles manufactured by a joint
venture between Nissan and Renault.
Motorists who buy the cars will be able to purchase mileage plans - including
recharging services and battery swaps - or use the charging stations on a
pay-as-you-go basis.
