The Canadian Minister of the Environment has announced that coal burning power plants must drastically cut emissions or face closure by 2025. The pronouncement signals a national shift towards more efficient, less polluting natural gas plants. The measure is expected to reduce Canadian emissions by approximately 15 megatonnes, which equates to taking 3.2 million vehicles off the road. The exact......read more
Algae is being studied globally for its potential in various commercial and environmental applications, from biofuels to animal feed to industrial grease. In Senftenberg, Germany, the "Green Mission" project is studying the organism for a new, different purpose. Scientists from European energy giant Vattenfall are looking to algae as a way to reduce emissions at Germany's abundant......read more
In the absence of government action, citizens are turning to the courts to put controls on the emissions that cause climate change. The U.S. Supreme Court announced this week that it will hear a lawsuit that aims to hold coal-fired power plants accountable for contributing to climate change, a decision that has major implications for the public's right to fight corporate pollution. In the......read more
A GOP-led effort to block Obama administration climate change rules passed a crucial first step Thursday, when a House subcommittee voted to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The bill, tabled by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman (and climate change turncoat) Fred Upton, would prohibit consideration of CO2 and other......read more
Plant Plastic: Drinking soda is bad for you, yes, but petroleum-based plastic bottles bad for everyone. In 2012, Pepsi will drop the world's first fossil fuel-free plastic bottle, made from 100% plant-based materials like switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. Bike Share, Yo: Inhabitat reports that Brooklyn will join Washington D.C., Boston, Denver, and Minneapolis as the first cities in the......read more
Don't Believe the Hype: In spite of common opinion, nuclear energy is not the most dangerous source of power. Not even close. Using these stats, author/thinker Seth Godin offers up a simple graphic showing that coal is by far the deadliest energy source per terawatt-hour of power produced. "For every person killed by nuclear power generation, 4,000 die due to coal." Whoa. (via GOOD) Good Green......read more
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar just announced that vast coal reserves on federal land in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming will be put up for auction over the next five months. This will lead to approximately 758 tons of coal being excavated. With the abundance of alternative energy sources available, and the Obama administration's stated commitment to move the country toward a cleaner......read more
Nothing ever works out as planned. Just ask President Obama, who came into office equipped with an ambitious energy plan that addressed climate change and American dependence on foreign (read: Mideast) oil. Within two short years, a massive financial meltdown, an unprecedented offshore oil spill, and a GOP-controlled Congress has demolished that strategy, sending the administration back to the......read more
Natural gas is hailed by proponents as the crucial link between dirty fossil fuels and renewable power. But two new studies, to be published this week, suggest that natural gas development may be doing more to warm the planet than burning coal. The research reports, discussed in an NYT article by Tom Zeller Jr., say that newly developed techniques for tapping natural gas reserves — such as......read more
In conjunction with Asthma Awareness Month, Peabody Energy, the largest private-sector coal company in the world, announced its "Coal Cares" campaign. The program provides anyone living within 200 miles of a coal-fired power plant with a free inhaler and $10 towards medicine to treat asthma. The inhalers come in a variety of styles including Dora the Explorer, diamond plated, and Justin Bieber......read more