Washington Post: “California’s Kern County, home to the city of Bakersfield, bills itself as the “Wind Capital of the West.” But a Washington Post analysis of a massive new U.S. Geological Survey database of over 57,000 commercial wind turbines suggests that the county is being overly modest: It is, in fact, the wind capital of the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Energy
These 20 Water-Stressed Countries Have the Most Solar and Wind Potential
World Resources Institute: “Most power generation consumes water, whether to cool steam in thermoelectric plants or power turbines for hydropower. And the global demand for both water and electricity will continue to increase substantially in the coming decades. Although growth is generally a good thing for the economy, it challenges nations—particularly ones that are water-stressed—to… Continue Reading
Map of all Nuclear Reactors in the world and the history of their decline
FastCompany – This Map Of All The Nuclear Reactors In The World Is A Reality Check: “There are fewer nuclear reactors than you may realize. And by the time more are financed and built, the Arctic ice will be all gone anyway…A new map from Carbon Brief shows the location of every reactor ever built… Continue Reading
Emails Suggest Interior Dept. Prioritizing Fossil Fuel Interests Over Wildlife Well-Being
Pacific Standard – Records reveal that, following requests by fossil fuel industry groups, a top official at the Department of the Interior appeared to take credit for helping to delay new federal protections for a once-endangered species. “The Texas hornshell is a sleek green-gray mussel that once thrived in the Rio Grande watershed, its habitat… Continue Reading
Report: Boosting Energy Efficiency Would Bring Vast Health Benefits
Environmental Working Group: “A new report estimated the sweeping public health benefits that a 15 percent reduction in energy demand would yield in one year. The February report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, or PSR, found that the savings from modestly cutting energy demand in… Continue Reading
The Smart Grid: Status and Outlook
CRS report via FAS – The Smart Grid: Status and Outlook. Richard J. Campbell, Specialist in Energy Policy. April 10, 2018. “The electrical grid in the United States comprises all of the power plants generating electricity, together with the transmission and distribution lines and systems that bring power to end-use customers. The “grid” also connects… Continue Reading
The World’s Wilderness: Going, Going and Soon Gone?
Outside: Recent studies have arrived at the same blunt conclusion: the world’s last, big wildlands are disappearing at an alarming rate. Is there anything to be done? ““We are running out of wilderness,” James Watson, director of the science and research initiative at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told fellow scientists last summer at the International… Continue Reading
Study: wind and solar can power most of the United States
The Guardian – John Abraham: “In order to combat climate change, we need to rapidly move from fossil fuel energy to clean, renewable energy. The two energy sources I am most interested in are wind and solar power; however, there are other sources that have great potential. Some people doubt how much wind and solar… Continue Reading
Study – Taste test gauges how recycled wastewater performs against bottled and tap water
EurekAlert: “Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, recently published a study of recycled wastewater that did not focus on its safety-which has long been established-but rather its taste. After years of drought, the notion of drinking recycled wastewater has gained momentum in California. Thoughts turned to all the water being discarded–to supplementing “conventional” groundwater… Continue Reading
CRS – Is the Grid More Secure? Not Yet!
NERC Standards for Bulk Power Physical Security: Is the Grid More Secure? Paul W. Parfomak, Specialist in Energy and Infrastructure Policy. March 19, 2018. “Although the electric power sector seems to be moving in the overall direction of greater physical security for critical assets, many measures have yet to be implemented and the process of… Continue Reading
Cyberattacks Put Russian Fingers on the Switch at Power Plant
“New computer screenshots released by the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday made clear that Russian state hackers had the foothold they would have needed to manipulate or shut down power plants.” Nicole Perlroth and David Sanger in the NYT: Cyberattacks Put Russian Fingers on the Switch at Power Plants. “The Trump administration accused Russia… Continue Reading
Urban Heat: Can White Roofs Help Cool World’s Warming Cities?
Yale Environment 360: “Summers in the city can be extremely hot — several degrees hotter than in the surrounding countryside. But recent research indicates that it may not have to be that way. The systematic replacement of dark surfaces with white could lower heat wave maximum temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius or more. And with… Continue Reading
