Texas fracking ban faces industry challenge.
Wall Street Journal 06 Nov
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Friday, November 7 2014
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Other NewsEditorialsUp the speed on renewable energy.According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the number of household solar power systems in Bangladesh has jumped from 25,000 to 2.8 million in the last 10 years. This is important progress and needs to be supported more widely. Dhaka Tribune 06 Nov Let Oregon fuel standard law die.Today, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality holds a public hearing on its low carbon fuel standards, a scheme to push Oregonians to use cleaner fuel. Its benefits are in dispute. If the state Department of Environmental Quality is unwilling to end the exercise now, the Legislature should do it come 2015. Bend Bulletin 06 Nov Responding to climate change with a carbon tax.Coal, oil, and gas must go (in that order). Let's not invest in new mines, wells, pipelines, terminals, or refineries intended for 50–75 years of use. We will be out of the fossil fuel age before then. Let us hope that if the UN climate treaty in Paris fails, a carbon tax can help us respond. Environmental Science & Technology 06 Nov Measures needed to reduce financial fears over decommissioning reactors.With the deadline for applications to renew licenses for aging reactors in Japan approaching, the government needs to act swiftly to create a mechanism to make it easier to decommission reactors. Asahi Shimbun 05 Nov Immediate global action needed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.What should be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a task essential for stopping the impact of global warming? The international community must immediately take action in this respect. Daily Yomiuri Shimbun 05 Nov Another report won't slow climate change.The latest United Nations report on climate change is a collection of previously published findings and grimly familiar statistics. Nonetheless, it raises anew a crucial question: How can we move from admonition to action? Bloomberg News 04 Nov Enjoying conservation and low-cost power in the Pacific Northwest.Thurston County residents enjoy some of the lowest energy rates in the nation, thanks to the Bonneville Power Administration, created by Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. BPA sells to public and private power companies at cost. Olympia Olympian 04 Nov If the Senate turns over, prepare for a meltdown.Most election models indicate that the Republicans can plan to take control of the Senate after the votes are tallied Tuesday, which means that anyone who cares about the environment should strongly consider either sedition or sedation. Newark Star-Ledger 04 Nov Quinn stalls drilling in Illinois.The boom in shale drilling has led to jobs and income gains in North Dakota, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Illinois could be another gusher, but not if Governor Pat Quinn keeps interfering. Wall Street Journal 04 Nov OpinionFrom divestments to protests, social licence is the key.A licence to dig is no longer enough for today’s mining and extractive companies. Stakeholder approval is progressively becoming a “must have” for mining companies around the globe — a requirement these companies widely acknowledge through what’s known as a “social licence to operate." The Conversation 07 Nov We have nothing to lose in creating a new electric utility.Santa Fe is poised to create a new municipal electric utility. Across the country, states are faced with replacing power from 1950s’ coal. A majority of states are replacing coal, with its global warming and local health impacts, with renewable energy, storage and efficiency. Albuquerque Journal 07 Nov Not all conservatives have their heads in the oil sands.George Shultz will turn 94 next month, but his interest in public issues persists. His latest interest is climate change. He’s bought an electric car, placed solar panels on his house and has been telling those in his party and beyond: “The climate is changing. If you don’t like the science, use your eyes.” Globe and Mail 07 Nov China evolving to coal consumption peak and strong climate commitments.We are confident that China can meet coal consumption control and CO2 objectives as it continues to develop its economy in a more balanced way, while addressing its air pollution and climate change challenges. Huffington Post 06 Nov How to manage carbon prices: Lessons from the Northeast.Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration posted a revealing graph that could be interpreted as suggesting that efforts to prevent high carbon prices in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) emissions trading market have failed. The Hill 06 Nov Denton’s ban on fracking should be allowed to stand.So what will it be local control or Austin big-footing the will of City of Denton voters? Well, it looks the big-footing has begun. Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter chided Denton voters for having “fallen prey to scare tactics and mischaracterizations of the truth.” Dallas Morning News 06 Nov Climate change activists come up short in midterm elections.All told, Tom Steyer put $74 million into the midterms. Nearly all of it went to NexGen Climate Action, so the question is was that $74 million well invested? National Public Radio 06 Nov What is the carbon limit? That depends who you ask.How much carbon can we safely emit into the atmosphere without the planet suffering dangerous climate change? It would be good to know. Yale Environment 360 06 Nov The social justice of coal.Demonize coal. Keep the poor in the dark. And, above all, keep pushing the fantasy that U.S. government action (with or without the approval of Congress) is essential to dealing with climate change. That — in a nutshell — is the climate-change strategy of the Obama administration. National Review 06 Nov |
Where do fracking fluids go? Scientists create the first detector.A team of researchers claims to have figured out how to trace leaks and spills of fracking fluids—and even detect their presence in treated water. Business Week 07 Nov Elections a 'bloodbath' for environmental policy, advocates say.Just days after a United Nations panel warned that failure to dramatically and quickly curb the burning of fossil fuels would do "irreversible damage" to the planet, the U.S. electorate on Tuesday voted in a Congress even more committed to the carbon status quo. Al Jazeera America 07 Nov OK given to restart nuclear plant in Japan.A local governor in Japan gave final approval Friday to restart a nuclear power plant in southern Japan, the first to resume operations in the country under new safety rules imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns caused by an earthquake and tsunami. Associated Press 07 Nov Climate change denier Jim Inhofe in line for Senate's top environmental job.The Senate’s top environmental job is set to fall to Jim Inhofe, one of the biggest names in US climate denial, but campaigners say Barack Obama will fight to protect his global warming agenda. The Guardian 07 Nov Republican election gains bode well for more EPA oversight, Keystone pipeline.Republican gains in the midterm elections put one of the Senate's top climate change skeptics at the helm of a key committee and likely mean that legislation to approve the Keystone XL pipeline and fund the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository could pass. Bloomberg BNA 07 Nov Republican gains in Washington Legislature spoil plans for a West Coast bloc of climate action states.A mixed bag of electoral victories in Washington state and Oregon opened room for the climate agendas of the states' green-minded governors. But failure to tip the Washington Senate left environmentalists just shy of the across-the-board victory many had hoped for. ClimateWire 07 Nov Tar sands producers report waterfowl deaths in tailings ponds.Almost 100 aquatic birds died this week in oil-sands tailings ponds as fog during annual migrations increased the numbers of waterfowl near bitumen processing. Bloomberg News 07 Nov Chevron’s $3 million backfires in Richmond election.Richmond, California, voters handed Chevron a resounding rejection in Tuesday’s election, defeating all four candidates supported by the oil giant despite Chevron outspending its opponents by a 20-to-1 margin. San Francisco Chronicle 06 Nov Republican wave unlikely to sweep away Obama's major rules.Despite their impressive gains on Tuesday, Republicans do not appear to have flipped enough seats to undo most of President Obama's environment and climate change agenda. Greenwire 06 Nov Nearly 100 birds land in three oilsands tailings ponds.The Alberta Energy Regulator is investigating after at least 96 birds landed on tailings ponds at three mines in the Athabasca oilsands. Oilsands mining companies are legally required to keep birds off tailings ponds containing toxic substances including bitumen, toluene and heavy metals. Edmonton Journal 06 Nov Pennsylvania DEP revises proposal to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants.The state Department of Environmental Protection has revised a rule it proposed in April to limit emissions from coal-fired power plants that was widely panned by environmental groups and deemed “too lax” by federal environmental regulators. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 06 Nov EU plans 'supergrid' to boost security, renewables.The European Union, nervous about Russia cutting off gas supplies and keen to cut emissions by developing renewable energy sources, aims to link all 28 member states to one electricity grid. Climate News Network 06 Nov On L.A.'s new e-highway, trucks will hook up for a silent, zero-emission drive.A new experiment will transform a stretch of L.A. freeway into an electric road. Using the same type of overhead wires that power electric streetcars or some buses, the road will automatically charge passing trucks. Fast Company 06 Nov How the GOP could shake up US energy policy.President Barack Obama has made energy -- and the national transition toward alternative and renewable energy sources -- a signature focus of his administration. But with both the House and Senate coming under Republican control in January, some of those initiatives might be delayed, derailed or halted entirely. CBS News 06 Nov Tesla pledges to boost output as loss widens.“Demand is not our issue; production is our issue,” CEO Elon Musk said on a call with investors. He reiterated a goal of being able to make up to 100,000 vehicles by the end of next year, and said the company would spend $350 million in its current quarter to increase capacity. Wall Street Journal 06 Nov Solar latecomer France builds Europe's largest plant.France has made up some lost ground against its neighbors with the start to construction of what will be Europe's biggest photovoltaic solar power plant. Solar power capacity has grown slowly in France compared to Germany, Spain or Italy. Reuters 06 Nov Plans for controversial UK biomass plant thrown out.Councillors have refused plans for a controversial biomass power plant in Avonmouth, which campaigners claimed could cause health problems for residents. Dressed in gas masks and armed with placards, protesters swamped the council’s College Green building Wednesday. Bristol Post 06 Nov Did Steyer's $65M gamble pay?Are Tom Steyer and his camp creating infrastructure or wasting money? San Jose Mercury News 06 Nov Energy group sues fracking ban.A North Texas city that sits atop a natural gas reserve is preparing for an extended court battle. Associated Press 06 Nov Hyundai aims to tackle fuel efficiency problems.Hyundai Motor Co. said it and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. aim to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles by 25% over the next six years, by expanding the use of high-strength steel to make them lighter and developing new engines and transmission systems. Wall Street Journal 06 Nov China's solar power push.As the world’s largest emitter of carbon, China has decided that one of the best ways to clean up its polluted air is through solar power. The country has led the world in solar installations for the last two years and will likely do so again in 2015. Business Week 06 Nov SolarCity swings to profit on ramped-up installations.SolarCity Corp. swung to a profit in the third quarter as the solar panel company continued to ramp up installations ahead of a key federal tax credit cut. Wall Street Journal 06 Nov Save money this winter: Solar heat collectors and geothermal pumps.Earth, wind, and fire could give gas and electric a run for their money. According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, more than two-thirds of Americans support government policies that funnel more funding for alternative energy research. South Bend WDNU TV 06 Nov High hope on solar.The Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Idcol) yesterday celebrated the installation of three million solar home systems (SHSs) in the country. The three million SHSs installed under an Idcol programme are currently generating 135 megawatts of electricity in the off-grid areas, where electricity may not reach in the near future. Dhaka Daily Star 06 Nov Little-known panel set to approve key fracking rules.After more than two years of hearings, protests and public outcry, the fate of hydraulic fracturing in Illinois comes down to a meeting Thursday of an obscure, stodgy and largely unwatched committee called the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Chicago Tribune 06 Nov |
