There’s a tendency to believe that the effects of climate change will be felt more or less democratically around the globe. In reality, writes energy and foreign policy specialist Michael Klare, the harshest effects will fall on the poorest and most marginalized people. They will suffer mass annihilation – unless we take action. Courtesy of Tomdispatch. … [Read more...]
Large-scale fracking comes to the Arctic in a new Alaska oil boom
Largely unnoticed, international oil companies have been making discoveries of very large oil reserves in the Arctic region over the past year, writes author and lecturer Scott L. Montgomery.  According to Montgomery, the Trump Administration is likely to give permission to drill these new wells, a number of which will be fracked. He believes “the discoveries will write a new chapter in the U.S. oil industry’s dramatic ascent.” Courtesy The … [Read more...]
The battle for the future of nuclear energy
Nuclear is facing a desperate situation: the world could lose up to two times more nuclear than it gains by 2030, writes Michael Shellenberger, founder and president of the pro-nuclear citizens movement Environmental Progress (EP). According to Shellenberger, the nuclear crisis is caused purely by cultural, ideological and political factors. There are no technological and economic barriers to expanding nuclear power: existing designs are safe and … [Read more...]
Market design of 1980s not fit for today’s markets
The renewable flood is creating havoc in wholesale electricity markets. And this will only get worse, as storage and zero net energy buildings expand, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, editor of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. According to Sioshansi, the solutions applied today to keep the lights on do not address the fundamental flaws in market design. New solutions are needed. Courtesy EEnergy Informer. … [Read more...]
Do we need an Airbus for nuclear?
Author and pro-nuclear activist Michael Shellenberger recently wrote that the nuclear sector, to survive, must embark on a radical new course: create one company, comparable to Airbus in the aircraft sector, that will develop a standardized, efficient reactor design. Josh Freed and Todd Allen of think tank the Third Way and Ted Nordhaus and Jessica Lovering of think tank The Breakthrough Institute argue that this approach will not solve … [Read more...]
10 things you should know about the Clean Power Plan
The Trump Administration has taken action to revoke the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan – one of the major ways in which the U.S. government is implementing its pledge under the Paris Climate Agreement. According to Tomas Carbonell of the U.S.-based NGO Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Trump’s action has little public support. … [Read more...]
Alternative numbers: 6 ways Trump’s energy plan doesn’t add up
The Trump administration claims that its America First Energy Plan will generate $50 trillion in revenues for American society. According to Jeremy Proville and Jonathan Camuzeaux of EDF Energy Exchange this is an “alternative fact” for which the evidence is totally lacking. … [Read more...]
Unique project in Scotland: new floating near-shore wind farm needs no permit
Mike Parr, Director of independent energy consultancy PWR, has developed a unique near-shore floating offshore wind farm project in the Firth of Clyde off the western coast of Scotland. Thanks to its design as a vessel at mooring, writes Parr, the farm does not require any planning permits and thanks to its low cost, it does not need subsidies. The first of these floating wind turbines will be installed this month north of Turnberry golf course. … [Read more...]
Why the International Energy Agency still gets it wrong on fossil fuels
The IEA (International Energy Agency) has produced a remarkable and alarming report, together with IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), warning that “unprecedented” and “unparalleled” efforts are necessary “immediately” and “across all countries” to stave off climate disaster. Yet it still sees a significant role for fossil fuels in 2050. How is this possible? Greg Muttitt, Senior Advisor at NGO Oil Change International, argues that the … [Read more...]
Trump slams brakes on Obama’s climate plan, but there’s still a long road ahead
Badly looking for a political win that would both fulfill some campaign promises to his political base and satisfy the demands of rank-and-file Republicans in Congress, President Trump on March 28 signed an Energy Independence and Economic Growth Executive Order. According to Henrik Selin, Associate Professor in the Frederick S Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, the order is just an opening salvo in what is destined to become a … [Read more...]
Wind power blows away opposition in U.S.
What many regarded as unthinkable just a few years ago, is happening today: U.S. utilities are almost effortlessly handling ever increasing levels of intermittent wind power, writes Washington DC-based energy author Dennis Wamsted. What is more, Democratic and Republican politicians are lauding the unprecedented way in which wind and solar resources are transforming low-income rural areas. Wind power is here to stay, regardless of who sits in the … [Read more...]
California wants to go even greener – in defiance of Trump
While Donald Trump is turning back the clock on climate and renewable energy policy, politicians in California vow to maintain their ambitious "green" policies, writes Fereidoon Sioshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. State  lawmakers have even introduced new bills that go much further, requiring all new buildings to be equipped with solar power, and taking the State to 100% renewables. … [Read more...]
The nuclear industry must change — or die
The nuclear sector in the West has brought the current crisis partly upon itself by doing the exact opposite of what is known to work in industry, writes Michael Shellenberger. To survive, it must embark on a radical new course: create one company, comparable to Boeing or Airbus in the aircraft sector, that will develop a standardized, efficient reactor design. At the same time, governments should work together to increase confidence in the … [Read more...]
Toshiba in crisis – US nuclear revival ends almost before it starts
With Toshiba in a deep crisis over a massive writedown on its troubled US nuclear subsidiary, Westinghouse Electric, the US nuclear renaissance, which started five years ago, looks to be over already. Independent energy author Dennis Wamsted explains what went wrong. … [Read more...]
Donald Trump’s China First, Russia Second, America Third foreign policy
By letting his foreign policy be governed by a simplistic “America First” principle, Donald Trump is achieving the exact opposite of what he intends. His way of putting America First, is enabling China and Russia to position themselves as the paramount nations on the world stage, writes energy and foreign policy specialist Michael Klare. Courtesy of Tomdispatch. … [Read more...]
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