"Prospects for nearly emissions-free coal power in the United States have dimmed in the wake of the US Department of Energy's decision to pull the plug on a 'clean coal' demonstration plant called FutureGen, observers say."
"Under the deal, 13 partners – including China, Australia, Britain, and Germany – would have paid 26 percent of the cost with the DOE paying 74 percent. A key part of FuturGen was the potential environmental impact, some environmentalists say because China's coal-fired power plants are among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases." 02-08
"A new report by French scientists in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences finds that king penguins could be wiped out over the coming decades due to global warming."
"If global warming means they're not getting enough food, the conditions below the penguins could be even worse. Temperature rise due to climate change is occurring quicker at the poles than the rest of the planet — on the Antarctic Peninsula, temperatures have risen five times faster than the global average over the past 50 years." 02-08
"In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, home values rise an average of $20 for every $1 reduction in annual utility bills." 03-08
"Worldwide investment in biofuels rose from $5 billion in 1995 to $38 billion in 2005 and is expected to top $100 billion by 2010, thanks to investors like Richard Branson and George Soros, GE and BP, Ford and Shell, Cargill and the Carlyle Group. Renewable fuels has become one of those motherhood-and-apple-pie catchphrases, as unobjectionable as the troops or the middle class."
"But several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Corn ethanol, always environmentally suspect, turns out to be environmentally disastrous. Even cellulosic ethanol made from switchgrass, which has been promoted by eco-activists and eco-investors as well as by President Bush as the fuel of the future, looks less green than oil-derived gasoline." 04-08
"Even before the federal government creates a national cap — which is generally considered inevitable — the economy will need a bridge, economic nudges, so that the private sector can test carbon capture and storage before scaling it up. More than 30 states are looking at legislation that would give carbon storage technology a boost. Some call for comprehensive studies of the technology, while in Wyoming — one of several states identified as having underground carbon storage potential — laws are already being written to address questions about ownership of and liability for the underground CO2 vaults. These laws will help U.S. "geo-bottling" incubate while the federal government catches up to state and private efforts. At Duke University's Climate Change Policy Partnership, for example, researchers are modeling optimal routes for gas pipelines, based on engineering, social and environmental factors, to move the CO2 from plant to storage site." 04-08
"Global investors plowed $148 billion into new wind, solar and other alternative energy assets last year, in what the United Nations describes as a 'green energy gold rush' gaining speed the last several years." 07-08
"Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is putting his clout behind renewable energy sources like wind power."
"The legendary entrepreneur and philanthropist on Tuesday unveiled a new energy plan he says will decrease the United States' dependency on foreign oil by more than one-third and help shift American energy production toward renewable natural resources." 07-08
"A bipartisan group of 27 American elder statesmen is sending an open letter to both presidential candidates and every member of Congress saying the United States faces 'a long-term energy crisis' that threatens the security and prosperity of future generations if swift action is not taken." 07-08
"Boosters tout most often the sheer magnitude of the energy market and the minimal penetration of any one green technology. Currently, a mere 1.5 percent of American electricity generation comes from renewable sources." 07-08
"Now that alternative energy is the new darling of Silicon Valley, investors are pumping cash into a raft of obscure technologies, from wave power to algae fuel. Despite the sluggish economy, alternative-energy start-ups received a record $2 billion in venture capital funding in the second quarter of 2008, a 58 percent increase from a year earlier, according to Cleantech Group, a market research firm. Today, clean technology—which includes alternative energy producers—accounts for 20 percent of all venture capital funding, up from just 1 percent in 2001, says John Balbach, a Cleantech managing partner." 07-08
"The Environmental Protection Agency is telling its pollution enforcement officials not to talk with congressional investigators, reporters and even the agency's own inspector general, according to an internal e-mail provided to The Associated Press."
"In a statement issued Monday, the Office of Inspector General said it did not approve of the language in the e-mail and was engaged in discussions with enforcement officials to ensure the electronic dispatch would not hinder its access to information."
" 'All EPA officials and employees are required to cooperate with OIG,' the statement said. 'This cooperation includes providing the OIG full and unrestricted access to EPA documents, records, and personnel.' " 07-08
"The ubiquitous thin white bag has moved squarely beyond eyesore into the realm of public nuisance, a symbol of waste and excess and the incremental destruction of nature. But where there's an industry at risk, there's an attorney, and the plastic bag's advocate in chief is Stephen L. Joseph, head of the quixotically titled Save the Plastic Bag campaign." 07-08
"Giant sheets of ice totaling almost eight square miles broke off an ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic last week and more could follow later this year, scientists said on Tuesday."
"In a development consistent with climate change theories, the enormous icy plain broke free sometime last week and began slowly drifting into the Arctic Ocean. The piece had been a part of the shelf for 3,000 years." 07-08
"To pre-empt complaints about Beijing's typically horrendous air pollution — the Chinese capital ranks among the world's most polluted urban areas — city officials embarked on a massive cleanup operation in the months and weeks leading up to the Games." 08-08
"When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.""Politicians in Washington have long known about the grid’s limitations but have made scant headway in solving them. They are reluctant to trample the prerogatives of state governments, which have traditionally exercised authority over the grid and have little incentive to push improvements that would benefit neighboring states."
"In Texas, T. Boone Pickens, the oilman building the world’s largest wind farm, plans to tackle the grid problem by using a right of way he is developing for water pipelines for a 250-mile transmission line from the Panhandle to the Dallas market. He has testified in Congress that Texas policy is especially favorable for such a project and that other wind developers cannot be expected to match his efforts." 08-08
" 'These results suggest that we need to be concerned about what the children are breathing while at school,' says Patrick Breysse, a scientist with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who helped oversee USA TODAY's efforts." 12-08
"The nation's farms no longer have to report to authorities the toxic, smelly fumes released from manure."
Editor's Note: Methane is 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. An inexpensive vaccine is available to prevent methane in the stomachs of cows without hurting their digestion. 12-08
"The Bush administration is trying to make sure in its final days that federal air pollution regulations will not be used to control the gases blamed for global warming." 12-08
"President-elect Barack Obama has selected two of the nation's most prominent scientific advocates for a vigorous response to climate change to serve in his administration's top ranks, according to sources, sending the strongest signal yet that he will reverse Bush administration policies on energy and global warming." 12-08
"The sludge, a byproduct of the ash from coal combustion, was contained at a retention site at the Tennessee Valley Authority's power plant in Kingston, about 40 miles east of Knoxville."
"Environmental advocates say the ash contains concentrated levels of mercury and arsenic."
"The plant sits on a tributary of the Tennessee River called the Clinch River. At least 300 acres of land has been coated by the sludge -- a bigger area than the Exxon Valdez oil spill." 12-08