Energy

Environmental Activists Bring Coal Fight to Seacoast

$Larry Gibson of Dorothy, W.Va., overlooks the Kayford mountaintop removal mining site. Gibson, whose family has owned land here for 235 years, calls the method as \"the genocide of Appalachia.\" (Jeff Gentner / AP file)$

There's 600 miles as the crow flies between New Hampshire and West Virginia's mountain coal country. Worlds apart. No connection beyond a national affiliation.

Posted in Activism, coal, Energy, mountain top removal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2009
12:27 PM

CONTACT: Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
Jack Gillis, 202-737-0766

Despite $1.90 Pump Price, a Large Majority Americans Remain Concerned About Gas Prices and Oil Import Dependence

New Survey Shows Intention to Purchase Cars with Much Higher Fuel Economy

WASHINGTON - February 3 - According to the latest Consumer Federation of America (CFA) energy survey, despite the decline of pump prices from $3.50 in April 2008 to $1.90 today, a large majority of Americans remain concerned, most greatly so, about gas prices (76%) and dependence on Middle-Eastern oil (76%). Moreover, in their next car purchase, they intend to buy a vehicle with fuel economy averaging five miles per gallon greater than the mileage of their current vehicle.

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CFA is a nonprofit association of some 300 consumer groups that, since 1968, has sought to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.

Posted in Energy, transportation

Experts Say Vt. Yankee's Nuke Waste Is Here to Stay

MONTPELIER - Don't count on Yucca Mountain or any other national solution for the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel, a consulting group told lawmakers Thursday.

As the Vermont Legislature considers Vermont Yankee's proposal to continue operating past its 2012 expiration date, lawmakers should assume that all the radioactive spent fuel left will be stored on-site in Vernon, nuclear consultants said.

Posted in Energy, global warming, nuclear power, nuclear waste

Repudiate the Carter Doctrine

Twenty-nine years ago, President Jimmy Carter adopted the radical and dangerous policy of using military force to ensure U.S. access to Middle Eastern oil.

Posted in Energy, foreign policy, obama, oil

Is the US About to Treat the Rest of the World Better? Maybe...

The tears are finally drying – the tears of the Bush years, and the tears of awe at the sight of a black President of the United States. So what now? The cliché of the day is that Barack Obama will inevitably disappoint the hopes of a watching world, but the truth is more subtle than that. If we want to see how Obama will affect us all – for good or bad – we need to trace the deep structural factors that underlie United States foreign policy. A useful case study of these pressures is about to flicker on to our news pages for a moment – from the top of the world.

Posted in Energy, foreign policy, obama

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2009
10:08 AM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Kate Slusark, 212-727-4592

First US Offshore Wind Facility Gets Green Light in Nantucket Sound

After Clearing Final Hurdle, Cape Wind Project Set to Repower Historic Cape Cod

WASHINGTON - January 16 - The Cape Wind project, a first-of-its-kind utility-scale offshore wind energy facility, today cleared its last environmental review before it can start building and begin repowering thousands of American homes in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Links:

Posted in Energy, renewable energy

Energy Nominee: Coal, Nuclear an 'Important Part' of Power Mix

WASHINGTON - Energy-Secretary-Designate Steven Chu told a Senate Committee on Tuesday that the incoming administration would have an increased commitment to alternative energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal, but also made clear coal and nuclear would be part of the energy mix.

Chu, who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 and is currently director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, made the comments during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Chu is expected to win confirmation easily.

Posted in coal, Energy, nuclear power, Politics

Saving the Economy, One Furnace at a Time

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.

Posted in alternative energy, Energy

International Energy Agency 'Blocking Global Switch to Renewables'

The international body that advises most major governments across the world on energy policy is obstructing a global switch to renewable power because of its ties to the oil, gas and nuclear sectors, a group of politicians and scientists claims today.

The experts, from the Energy Watch group, say the International Energy Agency (IEA) publishes misleading data on renewables, and that it has consistently underestimated the amount of electricity generated by wind power in its advice to governments.

Posted in Energy, oil, renewable energy, Sustainability

Europe's Heating Goes Off

BUDAPEST/SARAJEVO/BRUSSELS - Russia has shut down all gas flowing to Europe, sparking fear and anger in the bitterly cold Balkans, where hundreds of thousands of people were forced to weather sub-zero temperatures without heating, schools were closed and firms shut down production.

Posted in Energy