Thursday, July 22, 2010

Reid puts Energy Bill on Ice: with a Chilling Effect on Solar and Wind?

by jamess


The Energy Bill has been shelved for now -- another Price exacted by the Do Nothing Party.

Senate Halts Effort to Cap CO2 Emissions
Democrats Forgo Centerpiece of President Obama's Energy Plan, as Cap-and-Trade Fails to Lure Broad Support in Congress
By Stephen Power, Wall Street Journal -- July 23, 2010

Mr. Reid refused to declare the idea dead. But Thursday's decision called into question when or whether any legislated cap on greenhouse-gas emissions would reach Mr. Obama's desk.

Now, businesses, such as wind-turbine makers, that had bet on a greenhouse-gas provision to make alternatives to coal and oil more cost-competitive must recalculate how long it might take for that to happen.

[...] the solar industry is growing at the rate of about 40% a year in terms of electrical power installed and is likely to continue to grow, said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Corp.'s Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group in Huntington Beach, Calif.


We need some new Senators (at least 60), who actually care about Energy Independence -- enough to act.



continued at Daily Kos...

Democrats abandon comprehensive energy and climate reform

by DarkSyde

Senate Democrats announced Thursday they have all but given up trying to get the required 60 votes needed to vote break the Republican filibuster on a comprehensive climate bill that would address greenhouse gas emissions:

Instead, Democrats will push for a more limited bill that would seek to increase liability costs that oil companies would pay following spills such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico and would create additional incentives for the development of natural gas vehicles and provide rebates to people who buy products that reduce home energy use. They did not release details of the proposal, but Senate Democrats said they expected to find GOP support and pass it in the next two weeks.

Just a reminder dems: if you don't act you still have made a choice. Check out recent federal energy subsidies. Note that tax breaks for fossil fuels alone, where most GHGs come from, are greater than all other federal energy subsidies combined. Image courtesy of the Environmental Law Institute (Detail .pdf), used with permission.



continued at Daily Kos...

BP Ecocide v15.0: Encyclopedia of the Gulf

by vets74

Bit o' brilliance.

Katja Schulz, Species Pages Coordinator at National Museum of Natural History's
EOL

struck gold with an idea she suggested to SkyTruth.

Katja has altogether too much education and experience. She did Tree of Life work before coming to Smithsonian. (She's way too smart for web blither.) Her strategy is K.I.S.S. simple:

Build a Before/After image warehouse:

  1. Collect images of the Gulf Coast now. Identify date, time, and shooting location.
  1. Recreate the same images after ecological changes occur.

Can we call this:

EOGulf

Schulz's EOL system could support an EOGulf project. Add spacial/mapping data and adopt USCGS standards. Google/site has an EOGulf stub.

The better to prepare for corporatist denials as with Exxon Valdez and Chernobyl. Tag these crimes like it was Abu Ghraib.

Greenpeace, SkyTruth and more BTF :::



continued at Daily Kos...

Congressional Candidates’ Views on Clean Energy, Climate Change: VA-05

by Lowell Feld NRDC Action Fund

This is the first in what will be a continuing series by the NRDC Action Fund on the environmental stances of candidates in key races around the country.   Today, we examine Virginia’s 5th Congressional district, a district - stretching south from Charlottesville to the North Carolina border. Currently, the 5th CD is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Tom Perriello (D).



continued at Daily Kos...

Democrats Pass On Climate Bill Now

by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse

Democrats will not move forward with climate change bill this summer. Instead, the Democrats will push a bill to respond to BP's Gulf oil gusher and some "tightening of energy efficiency standards." Sen. Kerry characterized their new goal as "admittedly narrow."  At a news conference today, Sen. Reid "blamed Republicans for refusing to cooperate,"stating that "We don't have a single Republican to work with us."



continued at Daily Kos...

Energy COOL Roofing is Cool

by A Siegel

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has advocated cool roofing as a very high payoff tool to improving energy efficiency in the built environment, reducing heat island impacts, and helping to move us forward in climate change mitigation.  Tuesday, Secretary Chu announced a series of initiatives to spur cool roof deployment in (on) Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and the rest of the Federal government.  In short

Secretary Chu has directed all DOE offices to install cool roofs, whenever cost effective over the lifetime of the roof, when constructing new roofs or replacing old ones at DOE facilities. With cool roofs, these federal buildings will consume less energy, offset additional carbon emissions, and save taxpayers money.

Cool roofs are one of the most cost effective paths to save money, reduce wasteful energy use, cool cities, and help mitigate climate change impacts.



continued at Daily Kos...

Game Changer: EPA Asserts Tar Sands Pipeline Environmental Analysis is Inadequate

by Bruce Nilles

This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) blasted the State Department's draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline - asserting that the EIS is "woefully deficient" because "the Draft EIS does not provide the scope or detail of analysis necessary to fully inform decision makers and the public, and we recommend that additional information and analysis be provided."

The Keystone XL is a massive pipeline designed to carry tar sands oil from Canada into the U.S., and we've long called its EIS inadequate. Now our nation's environmental watchdog is putting its weight and expertise behind that assessment.



continued at Daily Kos...

BP Catastrophe Liveblog Mothership: 58

by Gulf Watchers

The current ROV DIARY: Daily Kos Gulf Watchers ROV #233 - It Ain't Over Yet - BP's Gulf Catastrophe - Yasuragi

Rules of the Road

  • We take volunteers for subsequent diaries in the sub diaries or ROV's as we have playfully coined them.
  • Please rec this mothership diary, not the ROVs.
  • Please be kind to fellow kossacks who may have limited bandwidth and refrain from posting images or videos.

PLEASE visit Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier's diaries to find out how you can help the Gulf now and in the future. We don't have to be idle! And thanks to Crashing Vor and Pam LaPier for working on this!



continued at Daily Kos...

An Open Letter to My President, re: The Big Idea

by gravyday

I think this is the moment, Mr. President. This is the point when something needs to happen. The country has been waiting breathlessly. There’s a lull in the news cycle. And the news has been pretty bleak this year. We need a jolt. A wake-up call. A Big Idea. We need a little reboot of hope. We need something big. And now is the time.

The grueling buzz of the Health Care fiasco is starting to wear off; and though you succeeded where many before you failed, when the dust settled, you looked the worse for wear. After that a mine exploded. Then an oil rig. Now one of the most devastating ecological disasters in recorded history has only now started to ebb after 3 months, while the consequences are likely just beginning. We’re weary after 9 years of war. We’re poor after 3 years of recession. Also it’s really hot.

We need something to smile about. Something to look forward to. Something to cheer for. Something to hope for again.

But What?



continued at Daily Kos...