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| EPA issues report on U.S. climate change indicators | | EPA News | Heat waves, storms, sea levels, glaciers, and wildlife migrations are just a few of the environmental indicators that show measurable signs of climate change. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States, looks at 24 key indicators that show how climate change impacts the health and environment of the nation's citizens.
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| EPA fracking study to take “lifecycle” approach | | Colorado Energy News | One of the most controversial aspects of the natural gas industry’s expansion in Colorado over the past decade has concerned the use of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” - the injection of chemical fluids into natural gas-containing rock formations to release trapped gas. Read More...
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| U.S. wind industry enjoyed record growth in 2009 | | Wyoming Energy News | The wind power industry enjoyed record growth last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association, and the trade group says growth could be even higher if lawmakers could find agreement on a national renewable electricity standard. Read More...
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| SRI wins $4.5M carbon capture study contract | | San Francisco Business Times | SRI wins $4.5 million grant to study carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate, or AC-ABC, method. It’s meant to be used at gasification plants, which use new technology to convert coal to gasses before burning. Read More...
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| New wind farms in the U.S. do not bring jobs | | ABC News | Despite all the talk of green jobs, the overwhelming majority of stimulus money spent on wind power has gone to foreign companies, according to a new report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University's School of Communication in Washington, D.C Read More...
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| Study: States can legally implement feed-in tariffs | | Environmental Leader | States can offer feed-in tariffs (FIT) but the programs must be tailored to meet federal requirements, according a legal analysis report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), reports Renewable Energy World. FIT programs are designed to promote renewable energy production. Read More...
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| Wind energy job growth isn't blowing anyone away | | Los Angeles Times | Even though a record 10,000 megawatts of new generating capacity came on line, few jobs were created overall and wind power manufacturing employment, in particular, fell -- a setback for President Obama's pledge to create millions of green jobs. Read More...
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| Slowdown in warming linked to water vapor | | Wall Street Journal | Climatologists have puzzled over why global average temperatures have stayed roughly flat in the past decade, despite a long-term warming trend. New research suggests that lower levels of water vapor in the stratosphere may partly explain the anomaly. Read More...
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| Water vulnerable to climate change | | Billings Gazette | The mountain snows that replenish most surface water in Wyoming, the fifth-driest state, are vulnerable to climate change and likely to be affected by rising temperatures, a new report says. Read More...
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| Imported from Asia: Ozone | | ENN | Ever wonder how the western U.S. has high ozone levels when the winds usually blow in off the Pacific Ocean? Did you think it was all from the cars clogging the freeways? Turns out, it is caused in part from emissions of ozone generating air pollutants from Asia. Read More...
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| Carbon trading may reach $395b in 2014 | | Environmental Leader | The connection between carbon capture and sequestration and the carbon emissions trading market is growing, as carbon credits accrued from CCS plants will be traded at carbon exchanges, generating more revenue for CCS project developers, according to a new report from ABI Research. Read More...
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| World misled over glacier meltdown: Report | | Economic Times | A warning that most of the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 owing to climate change is likely to be retracted after the United Nations body that issued it admitted to a series of scientific blunders. Read More...
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| Final report issued from western states energy gathering | | Wyoming Energy News | The final report of the Western States Energy & Environment Symposium — held last October in Jackson Hole - targets key actions and consensus among states to benefit energy production, transmission and environmental policy in the West, organizers have announced. Read More...
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| Colorado: State report casts doubt on Colorado CO2 goals | | Denver Business Journal | A new report from the Governor’s Energy Office says there is no way that Colorado’s utilities can cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 unless major investments are made and older coal-fired power plants shut down. Read More...
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| New Mexico faces transmission bottleneck - report | | Smart Grid News | An electricity transmission report submitted to a New Mexico interim legislative committee said the state has the potential to produce staggering amounts of renewable wind, solar and geothermal energy—but doesn't have nearly enough transmission capacity to accommodate it. Read More...
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| Interior agencies showing marked shift in leasing policies | | Land Letter | Contrary to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's pledge that the Obama administration is not "anti-oil and gas," energy producers say evidence is mounting that federal agencies intend to curtail energy development on public lands, especially in the fossil fuel-rich West. Read More...
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| Emissions intensity falling globally | | Environmental Leader | Emissions intensity, the amount of carbon generated from fossil fuel use per unit of gross domestic product, fell globally in all but two years between 1994 and 2006, according to a World Bank study. Read More...
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| Report: Water use in the U.S. less in 2005 than in 1975 | | ENN | Just when you think all human activities are making the environment worse, news comes that our efforts to improve efficiency and reduce environmental impacts are doing some good. According to a new U.S. Geological Survey report, the U.S. is using less water now than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, despite a 30 percent population increase during the same time period. Read More...
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| Forest study sees upside of climate change | | Los Angeles Times | While gradually warming global temperatures long have been seen as an environmental threat, a study released Monday suggested that the forests of the Pacific Northwest could see a substantial gain in productivity as the thermometer climbs. Read More...
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| 2 Utah areas on list of West's 'imperiled' land | | Associated Press | A sportsmen's group has placed two Utah wildlife areas on a list of the West's 10 most imperiled places to hunt and fish because of threats posed by oil and gas development, the Deseret News said in a story published Sunday. Read More...
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| Press accuracy rating hits two decade low | | Pew Research Center | The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows. Read More...
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| Report shows optimism for clean-technology market | | Wall Street Journal | A group of Western companies says it can see a $500 billion to $1 trillion market annually for clean technology in China, according to a report published Thursday meant to highlight how a big new industry might develop in the world's most-populous nation. Read More...
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| Study: Oil, gas industry major contributor to U.S. economy | | Oil & Gas Journal | The oil and natural gas industry supports more than 9 million U.S. jobs while contributing to the national economy as both an employer and purchaser of U.S. goods and services, according to a new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the American Petroleum Institute. Read More...
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| Trade war looms in solar space | | Reuters | Fair competition or Save the Planet? That could ultimately be at play as China and the West, long at odds over trade in steel, textiles and auto parts, risk being sucked into a row over protectionism in renewable energy equipment such as solar panels. Read More...
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| Global warming could forestall ice age | | New York Times | The human-driven buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere appears to have ended a slide, many millenniums in the making, toward cooler summer temperatures in the Arctic, the authors of a new study report. Read More...
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| Paper addresses the real drivers of CCS in China and policy implications | | Stanford University | The capture and permanent storage of CO2 emissions from coal combustion is now widely viewed as imperative for stabilization of the global climate. Coal is the world’s fastest growing fossil fuel. This trend presents a forceful case for the development and wide dissemination of technologies that can decouple coal consumption from CO2 emissions—the leading candidate technology to do this is carbon capture and storage (CCS). Read More...
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| Oncor plans experimental transmission-line study | | Fort Worth Star-Telegram | Oncor Electric Delivery wants Uncle Sam to kick in $3.5 million, on top of $3.8 million that the company would put up, for a technology study designed to help it get quicker and more-accurate real-time information on power loads and spare capacity on its transmission lines. Read More...
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| Study: Candle-lit dinners add to pollution | | Washington Times | Holy smokes. Grab the fire hose. Somebody notify Al Gore and maybe Ralph Nader. Candle-lit dinners -- with the flickering flames, those delicate glows -- are an unrecognized source of indoor air pollution. Read More...
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| New economic study of Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill | | Heritage Foundation |
The idea behind cap and trade is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by putting a price on the right to emit carbon and other greenhouse gases on businesses. Since 85 percent of America’s energy needs are met through carbon-emitting fossil fuels, cap and trade would be a massive tax on energy consumption if enacted. Read More...
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| Wyoming CBM effect on groundwater studied | | Oil & Gas Journal | The Wyoming State Geological Survey, in association with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Buffalo, Wyo., field office, has released a report about groundwater monitoring in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River basin. Read More...
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| Report: Energy efficiency could save Americans $1.2T | | RenewableEnergyWorld.com | As the Senate gears up to consider climate and energy legislation in the coming months, a new report released last week concludes that elevating energy efficiency to a national priority could save American consumers U.S. $1.2 trillion by 2020. Read More...
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| Study says Wyoming coal essential to secure energy future | | Wyoming Energy News | In case you missed it, a study by the Wyoming Mining Association on the economics of coal in the Powder River Basin concluded, not surprisingly, that the natural resource will be an essential part of the nation’s energy future even as the country moves toward cleaner power sources. Read More...
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| Nanotechnology could enable fuel cells to become more competitive | | AZo Journal of Materials Online | Fuel cells can compete with batteries, the internal combustion engine and the power grid. Hydrogen can compete with any fuel now produced and cause no pollution but its price is higher than gasoline or natural gas because it is difficult to transport and store. Nanotechnologies will provide the technological keys that enable fuel cells and hydrogen as a fuel to become competitive and commonplace. Read More...
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| Solar power generation to double by 2010 | | Environmental Leader | A glut in solar panel capacity may mean this is the best opportunity for businesses to buy their own solar installations. New research suggest that global solar capacity may double by 2010, led by incentives in the U.S. and China. Read More...
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| Princeton proposes alternative carbon capping scheme | | Environmental Leader | Princeton University researchers have proposed a new way of addressing carbon emission reductions, by targeting individuals, which they hope will win support of both developed and developing countries ahead of the Copenhagen meeting in December to negotiate a new treaty on climate change. Read More...
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| Wyoming clean coal research plant running by 2012 | | Casper Star-Tribune/AP | Construction of a $100 million research plant to refine and improve technology on turning coal into clean-burning natural gas will start next year with the goal of having the plant up and running by late 2012, officials said. Read More...
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| Chamber study blasts proposals to raise oil, gas taxes | | PennEnergy/Oil & Gas Journal | Imposing $80 billion of new taxes and fees on the oil and gas industry would increase U.S. dependence on foreign oil, raise costs to consumers, jeopardize U.S. jobs, and erode U.S. economic competitiveness, a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce report said. Read More...
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| Study: U.S. technology key to China and climate | | Associated Press | Finding an economical way to capture carbon dioxide from existing coal burning power plants is key to getting China to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions as well as for U.S. efforts to combat global warming, says a study released Friday. Read More...
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| Study: Renewable energies' potential untapped | | CNET News | The National Research Council published a report that finds that renewable energy sources could supply 10 percent of U.S. electricity supply in 2020 with existing technology. The report notes the primary barriers to deeper penetration in the near and medium term are cost, policy, and insufficient transmission lines. Read More...
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| Lasers are making solar cells competitive | | Solar Glazing Magazine | Solar electricity has a future: It is renewable and available in unlimited quantities, and it does not produce any gases detrimental to the climate, according to researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute. Read More...
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| Is the sky the limit for wind power? | | Science Daily | A new study by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and California State University identifies New York as a prime location for exploiting high-altitude winds, which globally contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times over. Read More...
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| Wyoming: Soil carbon sequestration study begins | | Casper Star-Tribune | Scientists believe increasing the carbon in soils may help reduce the rise of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere that contribute to global warming. But how the process might affect the big sagebrush habitat in Wyoming is currently unclear, researchers say. Read More...
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| Report identifies the top 10 utilities for solar | | Solar Industry | The Solar Electric Power Association has released its "2008 Top Ten Utility Solar Integration Rankings" report, which identifies the utilities in the U.S. that have the most significant amounts of solar electricity integrated into their portfolio, and records the increased collaboration of the U.S. electric utility and solar energy industries. Read More...
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| Alternative energy industry outlook | | istockAnalyst.com | Assuming that GDP growth is slightly negative for the next 3 to 4 quarters while the credit markets gradually strengthen, let's consider the outlook and opportunities for the Alternative Energy industry over the next 6 to 12 months. Read More...
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| Study doubts bill’s effect on coal use | | Houston Chronicle | The climate change bill that passed through a House committee last week wouldn’t create windfall profits for all coal-fired power plants as some critics claim, but it could undermine efforts to encourage power producers to use other fuels, according to an analysis of the legislation by an international consulting firm. Read More...
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| Study: Renewables aren't the only clean options | | Western Business Roundtable | As Congress gets serious about passage of legislation mandating use of specific "clean" energy production technologies, a ground-breaking new study shows why driving energy policy toward narrowly defined renewables-only proposals doesn't make much sense from an environmental standpoint. Read More...
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| Study: Threat from West Antarctica less than previously believed | | University of Bristol | The potential contribution to sea level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) have been greatly overestimated, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Scientists estimate global sea level would rise 3.3 metres, not five or six, as previously thought. The Atlantic and Pacific seaboards of the US, even in the case of a partial collapse, would experience the largest increases, threatening cities such as New York, Washington DC and San Francisco. Read More...
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| The Top 10 green living myths | | Christian Science Monitor | The web site Climate Culture has released a list of the 2009 Top Green Myths, things that you do – or don’t do – because you’ve read or been told they’re good or bad for the environment. Surprisingly, they may or may not be producing the green results you’re expecting. Read More...
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| Carbon- dioxide emission storage sites considered | | iStockAnalyst/The Times-Tribune | Depleted oil and gas wells, unmineable coal beds and salt caverns in northcentral and western Pennsylvania are likely candidates to store carbon dioxide emissions, a key step in developing clean coal technology, according to a new state report. Read More...
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| Ernst & Young LLP Q2 Oil & Gas Outlook | | PR Newswire | A tremendous amount of volatility and uncertainty remains in the oil and gas industry. Among the key trends to watch closely in coming months are signs of stabilization in the US and global economy, US government responses to environmental stresses and looming geopolitical issues, which are applying pressure to OPEC, according to Ernst & Young LLP's quarterly short-term outlook. Read More...
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| DOE releases new oil shale development report | | Wyoming Energy News | Last week the U.S. Department of Energy released a detailed report that addresses a topic of significant import to Wyoming. The study is essentially an oil shale primer for regulators, policymakers, and the general public, and it acknowledges the key challenge for future extraction will be protecting and conserving water resources. Read More...
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| Americans less focused on environment during recession | | The Arizona Republic | A year ago as Earth Day approached, Americans seemed smitten by the environment. Energy-efficient lightbulbs flew off the shelves. Hybrid vehicles hummed along as the new highway status symbol. Al Gore's big-screen PowerPoint in the Oscar-winning film "An Inconvenient Truth" ignited new interest in climate change. Green was the new everything.� Read More...
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| Report: Natural gas production will grow through 2020 | | Fort Worth Business Press | Unconventional natural gas production will account for more than half of North America’s gas supply by 2030, according to report by Houston consulting company Ziff Energy Group Ltd. Unconventional shales accounted for about 30 percent in 2000. Read More...
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| DOE releases deep shale gas primer | | Oil & Gas Journal | Protecting and conserving water resources will be the key challenge in developing domestic deep shale gas, the US Department of Energy said as it released a primer for regulators, policymakers, and the general public on Apr. 14. Read More...
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| Study: Western climate plan would prolong the recession | | Heartland Institute | A climate action plan under development by states participating in the Western Climate Initiative would deepen and prolong the current recession in the Western states by substantially raising energy prices, concludes a new study by Management Information Services, a highly regarded economic analysis firm that conducts studies for both renewable and conventional energy organizations. Read More...
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| AWEA releases annual wind energy industry report | | Business Wire | Wind energy leaders in several categories maintained their #1 positions even as other leaders emerged in new categories, while 24 states saw new wind turbine and component manufacturing facilities opened, expanded or announced in 2008, according to the annual wind energy industry rankings report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Read More...
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| Mining still supports region's economy, UMD study says | | Duluth News Tribune | Mining remains a mainstay of northern Minnesota’s economy, according to a new report from the University of Minnesota Duluth. It found that in 2007 — the most recent year for which data was available — Minnesota iron ore mining generated more than $1.5 billion in wages, rents and profits. Read More...
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| Opinion: Oil drilling will stimulate our state economy | | San Francisco Chronicle | On Thursday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will hold a public hearing in San Francisco on the future of expanded development of America's vast energy resources. At stake will be whether continued, or expanded, offshore petroleum production will be allowed. While the topic can be made complex, it affords perhaps the simplest stimulus to our ailing economy. Read More...
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| Spain: Every 'green' job destroys 2.2 jobs | | EnerPub | While some U.S. politicians point to Spain as a model for how government subsidies can create "green jobs," a new study documents that every renewable job created by the Spanish government destroyed an average of 2.2 other jobs. Also, each "green" megawatt installed in Spain destroyed 5.39 jobs in non-energy sectors, the study found. Read More...
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| Do green jobs cannibalize other jobs? | | Reuters Blogs | President Obama has promised to help create millions of new green jobs, saying that doing so will spur the U.S. economy toward recovery — and has held out Spain as having “surged ahead” of the rest of the world by investing in renewable energy. Read More...
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| Cap-and-trade system has risks, report says | | Houston Chronicle | Pending U.S. climate change laws could create a market for carbon dioxide emissions much like the risky mortgage-backed derivatives market that contributed to the global recession, according to a report set for release today. Read More...
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| Study: OCS development could create 35,000 new Alaska jobs | | Rigzone | Offshore development off Alaska's coasts could create an annual average of 35,000 new jobs in Alaska and $72 billion in total new payroll over a 50-year period, according to a study by the University of Alaska Anchorage's Institute of Social and Economic Research and Northern Economics Inc. Read More...
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| Survey: Americans endorse both new energy sources and old | | Gallup | Americans endorse increased government efforts to encourage energy production from alternative sources of energy, but at the same time do not believe the government should reduce its financial support for the production of energy from traditional sources. Only 30% think the government should decrease the monetary support and incentives it provides to producers of energy from oil and gas. Read More...
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| Editorial: Weigh economics of climate policy | | Little Chicago Review (Sen. John Barrasso) | Here at home and all across America, folks are dealing with the reality of an economic meltdown. This is real and immediate. Washington must not add to the problem by increasing the price of energy on families in Wyoming. Read More...
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| Report: Solar, wind and biofuels grew 53% in 2008 | | Colorado Energy News/Clean Tech Blog | Despite growing economic uncertainty over the last year, three major clean-energy sectors — solar photovoltaics (PV), wind power, and biofuels — kept up a blistering growth rate, increasing 53 percent from $75.8 billion in 2007 to $115.9 billion in revenues in 2008, according to the Clean Energy Trends 2009 report released today by Clean Edge, Inc. By 2018, Clean Edge forecasts that these three sectors will have revenues of $325.1 billion. Read More...
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| Thinking small about the grid | | Forbes | In its Clean Energy Trends 2009 report released on Tuesday, Clean Edge listed the development of micropower and microgrids as one of its five trends to watch. Read More...
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| INGAA Foundation considers CCS pipeline issues | | Oil & Gas Journal | The INGAA Foundation Inc. has released the first study of possible pipeline carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) facilities requirements under a national mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction program. Read More...
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| Geothermal power continues strong growth, new industry report shows | | RenewableEnergyWorld.com/GEA | A new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows strong growth in new geothermal power projects continuing into 2009. "There has been a 25% increase in new geothermal projects from August of 2008, when the last GEA report was released. There is also an increase in overall production potential by 35%," notes Kara Slack, the report's author. Read More...
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| The Secret: Link between climate change & water scarcity | | SustainableBusiness.com | Global climate change is exacerbating water scarcity problems around the world, yet few businesses and investors are paying attention to this growing financial threat, according to the report Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Businesses and Investors issued by Ceres and the Pacific Institute. Read More...
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| Solar and wind groups lobby FERC to lead grid expansion | | Greentech Media | Renewable energy advocates released a report outlining why the federal government, not the states, should have more say in approving transmission projects. A new lobbying effort is underway by solar and wind energy advocates – building new electric transmission lines across the nation. Read More...
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| Geothermal 101: Basics of Geothermal Energy Production and Use | | Geothermal Energy Association | The GEA released a new report entitled "Geothermal 101: Basics of Geothermal Energy Production and Use." The report provides definitions, descriptions and figures on geothermal energy and cites key national reports that provide further information. The GEA report provides an in-depth look at geothermal energy on a national, economic and environmental level. Read More...
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| Study touts ethanol's potential, but says gas prices key | | Houston Chronicle/AP | The U.S. could produce enough ethanol to displace nearly a third of all gasoline use by 2030, but gas would have to cost more than it does today for the plan to work, according to a study released last week by Sandia National Laboratories and General Motors Corp. Read More...
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| Energizing America: Facts for Addressing Energy Policy | | API | The United States is at an historic turning point for the country and its energy policies. But many Americans lack a full understanding of the oil and natural gas industry. API has assembled this oil and gasoline primer to encourage a constructive public policy debate that leads to a new fact-based comprehensive energy policy. Read More...
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| U.S. and China in Race to the Top of Global Wind Industry | | AWEA | The United States passed Germany to become world #1 in wind power installations, and China’s total capacity doubled for the fourth year in a row. Total worldwide installations in 2008 were more than 27,000 megawatts (MW), dominated by the three main markets in Europe, North America and Asia. Read More...
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| Off-limits US oil, gas worth $1.7 trillion to government: study | | API | The development of America’s vast domestic oil and natural gas resources that had been kept off-limits by Congress for decades could generate more than $1.7 trillion in government revenue, create thousands of new jobs and enhance the nation’s energy security by significantly boosting domestic production, a study released Monday shows. Read More...
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