The truth may now “be more important than ever”, as the New York Times proclaims, but finding it requires looking in the right places and raising fundamental issues, writes historian and author Andrew J. Bacevich. According to Bacevich, the foreign policy debate in the U.S. consistenly avoids the questions that really matter. Courtesy TomDispatch.com. … [Read more...]
The US quitting the Paris climate deal will only make things worse
Some argue that the U.S. leaving Paris would be beneficial to global climate policy, others believe it would be harmful. In this article, Jonathan Pickering of the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra argues that the US quitting Paris will make matters worse. In another article, Luke Kemp, Lecturer in International Relations and Environmental Policy at Australian National University, takes the … [Read more...]
The world would be better off if Trump withdraws from the Paris climate deal
Some argue that the U.S. leaving Paris would be beneficial to global climate policy, others believe it would be harmful. In this article, Luke Kemp, Lecturer in International Relations and Environmental Policy at Australian National University, argues the world would be better off if Trump withdraws from Paris. In another article, Jonathan Pickering of the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra takes … [Read more...]
A new energy bible: Samuele Furfari explains why technology is king
If you’re in the energy business, here is a new manual for you that lays out the essentials of what energy is and how it shapes geopolitics today. Professor and long-time European Commission official Samuele Furfari has condensed his 39 years of experience in the energy sector into a two-volume tome of more than 1,250 pages that goes right from the fundamentals of physics through Britain’s rule of the Middle East to modern day realities such as … [Read more...]
Biopower (part 3): what does the future hold?
The future of bioenergy is uncertain. The many constraints it faces suggest it could see very little growth. But the huge challenge of solving climate change makes some think it could be the savior of the planet in the long run. This is part 3 of a three-part series that first appeared on the Energy Transition blog, at energytransition.org. … [Read more...]
Are solar and wind really killing coal, nuclear and grid reliability?
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry wants to know whether solar and wind are killing coal, nuclear and grid reliability. Thanks to Texas, where Perry was governor, we know that a combination of wind and solar with fast-ramping natural gas, smart market designs and integrated load control systems will lead to a cleaner, cheaper, more reliable grid, write four researchers at the University of Texas. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Pitting wind and solar against nuclear power
With US electricity demand stalled, expanding wind and solar power is increasing the economic pressure on equally low-emission nuclear power, writes Geoffrey Styles, Managing Director of independent US-based consultancy GSW Strategy Group. He notes that the beneficiaries of renewable energy subsidies resist new state incentives for nuclear plants. But according to Styles, wind and solar should not come at the expense of nuclear power, as all are … [Read more...]
Biopower (part 2): Climate science for bioenergy is lost in the woods
Producing electricity from biomass is one of the most controversial and least understood forms of renewable energy. In this three part series, we first explored myths and facts about biopower. In this second installment we’ll try to make sense of a seemingly simple question – is biopower good for cutting our carbon emissions? It is anything but simple. This series first appeared on the Energy Transition blog, at energytransition.org. … [Read more...]
Jobs? Investing in renewables beats fossil fuels
For policymakers who are interested in job creation, investing in renewable energy is considerably more effective than investing in fossil fuels, writes Allan Hoffman, author of the blog Thoughts of a Lapsed Physicist and formerly with the U.S. Department of Energy. Solar and wind are powerful engines of job creation and economic growth. … [Read more...]
Myths and facts about biopower (part 1 of 3)
While wind and solar are widely popular, and nuclear and energy storage hotly debated, much less is said about the role bioenergy could play in the transition to a low-carbon society. In a three-part article, Bentham Paulos argues that bioenergy has an important role to play in the green future and exposes some of the myths around it. This article originally appeared in the Energy Transition blog. … [Read more...]
Production cuts vs innovation: why OPEC has lost the oil price war
OPEC and its cartel of friends must be sweating condensates in advance of their May 25th meeting, writes Peter Tertzakian for Oilprice.com. The oil price war, triggered almost three years ago, is far from over. Calling a truce with production cuts has been an ineffective strategy. In fact, it’s been a feeble strategy and nobody in the business should rely on its extension to be effective. Courtesy of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
The surprising story of the decline of electricity use in American households
Despite continued economic growth, American households use less electricity than they did five years ago, writes Lucas Davis of the Energy Institute at Haas School of Business. The reason may surprise you, notes Davis: it’s energy-efficient lighting. According to Davis it is not clear yet whether household electricity use has peaked or will rise again in future. Courtesy Energy at Haas. … [Read more...]
Costs of electricity generation compared: beware of simple metrics
With the rapid growth of renewables, comparing costs of different forms of power generation has become important for policymakers, investors and analysts. In these comparisons, the metric of LCOE (levelized cost of energy) is often used, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warns that this metric does not cover all the complexities involved. The EIA has written a short primer on comparing power generation costs. … [Read more...]
Trump on the wrong side of energy history
His most recent energy appointments show that president Trump insists on moving the U.S. away from clean energy. This goes against the global trend and will put this Administration on the wrong side of energy history, writes Allan Hoffman, a former official at the U.S. Department of Energy and contributor to a new handbook on the history and future of solar power. … [Read more...]
Tobacco and climate change liability: there are more similarities than you might think
While there are some important differences between liability for the damage of smoking and the damage caused by climate change, from a legal perspective there are also many significant similarities, write Martin Olszynski, Sharon Mascher (both at the University of Calgary) and Meinhard Doelle (Dalhousie University). Automakers and fossil fuel energy companies may want to start warning the public more explicitly about the risks of fossil fuel … [Read more...]
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