NewsTrust - Green Technology - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Independent)

Reagan’s Road to Climate Perdition

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Consortium News - By Consortiumnews.com - Jan. 30 - Reagan’s Road to Climate Perdition

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On 10th Anniversary of Bush Tax Cuts, What We Could Have Had Instead

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Brad Blog - Jun. 08 (Opinion) - By way of marking today's 10th anniversary of George W. Bush's job-killing, society-crushing tax cuts for the rich -- which we recently illustrated via one very clear chart, as the largest factor, by far, in exacerbating our current public debt --here, courtesy of Think Progress, is just a few of ...

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Khosla Ventures Is Raising, Like, A Billion Dollars

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

TechCrunch - By Robin Wauters - May. 19 (Opinion) - Venture capital firm Khosla Ventures is raising $1 billion for its new fund, Khosla Ventures IV, an SEC filing reveals. From the looks of it, the new fund will be roughly the same size as the previous one (raised in September 2009).

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The Renewable Future

Sun, 15 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

TruthOut - By Achim Steiner, Helen Clark, Kandeh K. Yumkella - May. 15 (Opinion) - Renewable energy triggers sharply polarized views. For some, it is a costly white elephant; for others, it is humanity’s savior, promising to emancipate us (and our environment) from the “folly” of fossil fuels. So a hardheaded, credible, and, above all, impartial analysis, which would provide a much-needed dose of pragmatism and realism to the debate, is long overdue.

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The Maker

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Urbanite - By Marc Steiner - Jan. 01 (Interview) - Inventor and entrepreneur Saul Griffith on the nature of innovation, the power of kites, and why he canceled his newspaper subscription

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5 Awards For the World's Most Heinous Climate Villains

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Mike Roddy, Ian Murphy, AlterNet - Dec. 11 (Opinion) - As the world heats up and extreme weather increases there are a bunch of high-profile people who just don't get it, are handsomely rewarded not to get it, or both.

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Is REDD the New Green? Indigenous Groups Resist Carbon Market-Based Forestry Scheme to Offset Emissions

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Dec. 09 (Interview) - A controversial proposal to protect forests worldwide is on the table at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), would include forests in the emerging carbon markets, allowing governments and corporations to purchase permits to protect forests as a way to offset the carbon released into the atmosphere through its industrial pollution. Though often reported as a means to stop deforestation, there is widespread opposition to REDD from environmental and indigenous groups. We speak to Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project.

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Environmental Groups Confront Oil Industry-Backed Attempt to Repeal California's Landmark Emissions Law in Prop 23

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Michael Brune, Rebecca Tarbotton - Oct. 14 (Interview) - We turn to Proposition 23, a ballot initiative that would effectively repeal California's landmark global-warming emissions law. Two Texas oil companies with refineries in California, the Valerio and Tesoro corporations, launched a campaign to suspend implementation of the law until state unemployment falls to 5.5 percent for at least one year. We speak to the leaders of two environmental organizations opposed to Proposition 23, Michael Brune of Sierra Club and Rebecca Tarbotton of Rainforest Action Network.

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Exploring the Vast Potential of a Strange New Industry

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0700

0u812.wordpress.com - Oct. 01 (Opinion) - Our pressing need to develop a more sustainable society also provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop niche markets which may someday leave the corporate giants of today in the dust, where they belong.

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Assert Yourself, America; Don’t be an Illegal Trade Victim

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - Sep. 10 - Long-suffering victim is hardly the American image. Paul Revere, Mother Jones, John Glenn, Martin Luther King Jr. — those are American icons. Bold, wry, justice-seeking. So how is it that America finds herself in the position of schoolyard patsy, woe-is-me casualty of China’s illegal trade practices that are destroying U.S. renewable energy manufacturing and foreclosing [...] ...

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The Speech President Obama Should Give About the Iraq War (But Won’t)

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Informed Comment - By Juan Cole - Aug. 31 (Opinion) - Here is the speech that I wish President Obama would give about the Iraq War, but which neither he nor any other president ever will. Fellow Americans, and Iraqis who are watching this speech, I have come here this evening not to declare a victory or to mourn a defeat on the battlefield, but to apologize from the bottom of my heart for a series of illegal actions and grossly incompetent policies pursued by the government of the United States of America, in defiance of domestic US law, international treaty obligations, and both American and Iraqi public opinion.read more

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The Big Green Buy

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Christian Parenti - Aug. 03 (Opinion) - the so-called "price gap" is holding back clean tech: it is too expensive, while fossil fuels are far too cheap. The simple fact is that capitalist economies will switch to clean energy on a large scale only when it is cheaper than fossil fuels. The fastest way to close the price gap is to build large clean-tech markets that allow for economies of scale. So, what is the fastest way to build those markets?

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Not Obama Is Not Enough

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

National Review - By Victor Davis Hanson - Jul. 21 (Opinion) - Republicans will shortly need to stand for something more than just being against much of the Obama agenda. Only a superior and detailed alternative can win more lasting support than just a midterm correction.

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Nikola Tesla's Renewable Energy Vision

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - Jul. 12 - Nikola Tesla, one of history's great inventors who was born 154 years ago, envisioned a world without fossil fuels, recalls Lisa Pease. July 10, 2010

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Clean Fusion Power This Decade

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Long Now Foundation - By Ed Moses, Stewart Brand - Jun. 21 (Speech) - Finally achieving fusion energy may be closer than everyone thinks. For decades the dream has been to employ the reaction that powers stars to generate high-volume electricity without the drawbacks of fission reactors---no high-level waste, no weapons application, no risk of meltdown, no use of uranium, and (as with fission) no greenhouse gases. Ed Moses is director of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore Labs. Focusing massive amounts of laser light for a billionth of a second, the NIF is expected to demonstrate ignition of a fusion reaction (more energy out than in) for the first time in the coming year, followed by the prospect of a prototype machine for generating continuous clean energy by the end of this decade. That could change everything. The NIF itself is a spectacular work of "technological sublime." Imminent fusion power All the light we see from the sky, Moses pointed out, comes from fusion power burning hydrogen, the commonest element in the universe---3/4 of all mass. A byproduct of the cosmic fusion is the star-stuff that we and the Earth are made of. On Earth, 4 billion years of life accumulated geological hydrocarbons, which civilization is now burning at a rate of 10 million years' worth per year. In 1900, 98% of the world's energy came from burning carbon. By 1970, that was down to 90%, but it has not decreased since. It has to decrease some time, because there is only so much coal, oil, and gas. During this century every single existing power plant (except some hydro) will age and have to be replaced, and world energy demand is expected to triple by 2100. To head off climate change, fossil fuel combustion has to end by about 2050. The crucial period for conversion to something better is between 2030 and 2050. The ideal new power source would be: affordable; clean; non-geopolitical; using inexhaustible fuel and existing infrastructure; capable of rapid development and evolution. Moses' candidate is the "laser inertial fusion engine"---acronym LIFE---being developed at Lawrence Livermore. The question, Moses said, is "Can we build a miniature Sun on Earth?" The recipe involves a peppercorn-size target of hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium heated to 200 million degrees Fahrenheit for a couple billionths of a second. To get that micro-blast of heat, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) uses lasers---coherent light---at a massive scale. Laser engineer Moses notes that photons are perfect for the job: "no mass, no charge, just energy." Moses ran a dramatic video showing how a shot at the NIF works. 20-foot-long slugs of amplified coherent light (10 nanoseconds) travel 1,500 yards and converge simultaneously through 192 beams on the tiny target, compressing and heating it to fusion ignition, with a yield of energy 10 to 100 times of what goes into it. Successful early test shots suggest that the NIF will achieve the first ignition within the next few months, and that shot will be heard round the world. To get a working prototype of a fusion power plant may take 10 years. It will require an engine that runs at about 600 rpm---like an idling car. Targets need to be fired at a rate of 10 per second into the laser flashes. The energy is collected by molten salt at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and then heats the usual steam-turbine tea kettle to generate electricity. The engine could operate at the scale of a standard 1-gigawatt coal or nuclear plant, or it could be scaled down to 250 megawatts or up to 3 gigawatts. The supply of several million targets a year can be manufactured for under 50 cents apiece with the volume and precision that Lego blocks currently are. Moses said that 1 liter of heavy water will yield the energy of 2 million gallons of gas. Fusion power, like nuclear fission power, would cost less per kilowatt hour than wind (and far less than solar), yet would be less capital intensive than fission. For the constant baseload power no carbon is involved, no waste stream, no possibility of meltdown or weaponization, and there is no such thing as peak hydrogen.

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Obama signals need for new energy agenda

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By Teryn Norris - Jun. 17 (Opinion) - If cap-and-trade is dead, then what's next? The only serious alternative that could attract bipartisan support is a comprehensive national strategy for clean energy competitiveness and innovation -- including substantial new federal investment in research, development, demonstration, deployment, and manufacturing -- to accelerate America's transition away from fossil fuels, build a strong and competitive clean energy industry, and rapidly drive down the price of low-carbon power and transportation technologies. These investments could potentially be included as part of a comprehensive energy package, building upon the proposed American Clean Energy Leadership Act.

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Energy Transitions Past and Future

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Oil Drum - By Cutler Cleveland - Jun. 07 (Opinion) - In the coming decades, world oil production will peak and then begin to decline, followed by natural gas and eventually coal production. There is considerable debate about when these peaks will occur because such information would greatly aid energy companies, policy makers, and the general public. But at another level, the timing of peak fossil fuel production doesn't really matter. A more fundamental issue is the magnitude and nature of the energy transition that will eventually occur.

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Five Challenges of Next-Generation Biofuels

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Consumer Energy Report - By Robert Rapier - Jun. 07 (Opinion) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has just issued a report detailing the outlook and challenges of next generation biofuels. ...many would-be next generation fuel producers are making unrealistic assumptions about things like feedstock costs. Thus, where they project falling costs based on their optimistic projections, the USDA report forecasts that their biomass costs will be much higher than expected.

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We don’t know how to completely kick oil, but we do know how to get started

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By Jonathan Hiskes - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - Chris Nelder takes issue with my suggestions for upping transportation efficiency as a way to reduce the demand for offshore oil, saying they would “do absolutely nothing” to eliminate the need for risky deepwater drilling projects. In fact, he explains why a lot of oft-proposed green solutions aren’t going to do much good. Smart land use (which I also plugged) won’t remove the need for oil, he says. Nor will transit-oriented development, telecommuting initiatives, a cash-for-clunkers redux, or more efficient driving. Electric cars won’t make a difference any time soon. The Senate’s American Power Act won’t do enough. Solar and wind can’t scale up fast enough and require all sorts of new grid infrastructure. “To replace our offshore oil with wind, you’d need 195 Californias, or 74 Texases of wind, and probably 20 years to build it,” Nelder writes at Huffington Post. “Our challenge is far more difficult than most people imagine ... Scale and time-to-market issues bedevil most of the typical Green alternatives.” The pessimistic piece notes the inadequacy of nearly every policy and technology that’s touted as a solution to our national energy dilemma. Nelder focuses on the peak-oil problem and the risk of offshore drilling, though his point applies to global warming too: none of these policies or technologies are going to solve these problems in the time we need them too. If we do them all at once ... the numbers still aren’t in our favor. The particulars of Nelder’s post are fine. What rankles me is the argument that because we don’t yet know how to finish the task of kicking oil use (and, more broadly, eliminating greenhouse gas pollution), we should despair before we even start. My hunch is that building a nation that runs on clean energy is going to be both easier to start and more difficult to finish than the general public expects. At the beginning of the energy quest are efficiency and land-use steps that bring all sorts of side benefits. Compact, walker-friendly neighborhood design improves public health and cuts taxpayer spending on road and pipe maintenance. Better-insulated buildings save money, drive down the need for new coal plants, and cut ambient air pollution that causes illness and disease. Once we seize that low-hanging fruit, choices become more difficult, particularly around nuclear power. But I don’t see the point in harping about the endgame, playing the role of an expert discourager, when we’ve barely begun with the no-brainer steps. Let’s get started first. Related Links: Why BP’s really glad this week is over Clean Energy COMPETES BP oil heading toward Atlantic? Looks that way

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Planning for Disaster

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Ralph Nader - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - When the Executive Branch does not have worst case scenario planning for each kind of energy source-oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar and efficiency-the people are not protected.Enter the 24/7 oil gusher-leak by BP and Transocean - the rig operator - and the impotence of the federal government to do anything but wait and see if BP can find ways to close off the biggest and growing oil leak in American history. Where is the emergency planning or industry knowhow?read more

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Leading the World's Green Industrial Revolution

Sun, 30 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Tom Weis - May. 30 (Opinion) - A gaping gulf exists today between America's economic collapse, our melting globe, and the lackluster response of top leaders in the U.S. wind, solar and geothermal industries. You wouldn't know it, but these three industries, along with the energy efficiency sector, hold the key to ushering in a green industrial revolution for America, and the world.

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Why VCs Are Circling Wind Power for Once

Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

greentechmedia.com - By Michael Kanellos - May. 24 (Opinion) - ... alternatives to megawatt-sized turbines -- small, household turbines, vertical turbines, atmospheric dirigibles, Archimedean wind screws -- have been beset by long development cycles, technical snags, regulatory skittishness and lack of interest among consumers.

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Piñera and Coal-Burning Power Plants

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

santiagotimes.cl - By Alex MuÑoz - Apr. 20 (Opinion) - Chile has an extraordinary potential for the use of non-conventional renewable sources. We have vast places to take advantage of the wind — both in sea and land — and the sun, plus the benefits of tidal power.

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We Cannot 'Techno-Fix' Our Way to a Sustainable Future

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - Mar. 23 - by Rachel SmolkerThis week, California will host the Asilomar International Conference on Climate Intervention Technologies. The conference follows hearings last week in the US House of Representatives and a report from the UK Committee on Science and Technology, as well as a recent report from the Government Accounting Office, all following on the heels of earlier reports from the Royal Society. In short, there is a lot of high level interest in the topic.read more

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A bipartisan path forward on energy and climate

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Grist - By Dave Roberts - Mar. 19 (Opinion) - Efficiency should be at the heart of any bipartisan effort: it saves consumers money, creates jobs, benefits every single congressional district, and can be achieved quickly. As a comprehensive new report from the World Economic Forum and IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates puts it: "Of all the energy options, [energy efficiency] can provide the biggest 'amount' of energy in the near and medium term while contributing to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions." Strong energy efficiency provisions can easily save consumers more money than a price on carbon would cost them; most people, particularly low- and middle-income Americans, would come out ahead.

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