Get Energy Smart! NOW!

According to the Detroit News, Congressman John Dingell plans to introduce ‘meaningful’ global warming legislation, but “Dingell didn’t think the auto industry should be the targeted in that bill, given the recent increase in fuel economy requirements. ” “We’ve had everybody else get practically a free ride and auto industry has to come up with […]

[Read more →]

Time for an Energy Conversation … An Energy Conversation about the Democratic Party presidential candidates and their approaches to energy and, closely related, global warming. For too long, I’ve owed it to myself to seek to write a discussion of the Democratic field and their energy policies.  The rather absurd challenge: that 100 pages of […]

[Read more →]

Who could’ve thunk it? GHW Bush lies at the core of a driving motivation in my life. The eldest President Bush was facing a reelection battle against Bill Clinton, and so advisers persuaded him to attend the world environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro, possibly the most optiistic moment in recent history.  Before he went, […]

[Read more →]

This evening, shortly after George W. Bush signed the weakened Energy Bill into law, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson announced that California (and the 16 states that had pledged to adopt California’s standards) will not be granted a waiver from the clean air act to put stricter pollution controls on vehicles and drive a higher CAFE standard than is included […]

[Read more →]

Today is the last day for placing questions and comments before the Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC)  (comments) about two major issues from Dominion Virginia Power. Wise County coal-fired power plant (application, 14 page pdf) PUE-2007-0066 A 500 kV transmission line to bring coal electricity to Northern Virginia from Ohio (application, 29 page pdf)  PUE-2007-00033 Green […]

[Read more →]

Physical infrastructure (buildings) is, in short-hand, responsible for about one-third of global energy use and one-third of global warming (rough-hand guide way to think).  There are many ways to change this equation, strengthening building codes is one clear arena.  In my community, for example, 20 years ago, the ceiling “R” (insulation level) requirement was R-13, […]

[Read more →]

When it comes to the Presidential campaign and global warming, there seems to have been a virtual blackout in the broadcast media. Search for the questions on this issue on that stalwart Meet The Press. If you find anything meaningful, let me know. And, well, that is about the level of coverage that is throughout […]

[Read more →]

 The Bloomberg article on industry lobbying against renewable power standards  contains, in addition to details related to Carbon on the City, an interesting item. force them to boost electricity generated by wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy to 15 percent of the U.S. total by 2020. That’s up from less than 2 percent today, and […]

[Read more →]

The Lieberman-Warner “Climate Security Act” (CSA) was passed out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee yesterday.  We (and I, strongly) have been told to shut up and celebrate. A Global Warming Bill is going to be debated on the Senate floor and, in any event, any faults don’t matter since Mr 26% will veto […]

[Read more →]

As it stands, reported out of the Senate Envronmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee, the Lieberman-Warner bill represents a Climate InSecurity Act or CISA.  Now, a core question: What would it take to move it from CISA to a true CSA (Climate Security Act)? For me, a key question is what would cause severe problems in […]

[Read more →]