“Earlier this year, President Obama released a plan for moving forward on his national strategy to advance U.S. security and stewardship interests in the Arctic. Today, in keeping with the goals and tenets of his strategy, NOAA unveils its Arctic Action Plan—a document that provides NOAA scientists, stakeholders and partners a roadmap to make shared progress in monitoring, understanding, and… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Energy
Guardian – Emails expose BP’s attempts to control research into impact of Gulf oil spill
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials discussing how to influence the work of scientists: “BP officials tried to take control of a $500m fund pledged by the oil company for independent research into the consequences of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, it has emerged. Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show BP officials openly… Continue Reading
Eleven states generated electricity from nonhydro renewables at double U.S. average
EIA: “About 6.2% of total U.S. electricity supplies in 2013 were generated from nonhydro renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal, up from 5.4% in 2012. But 11 states produced electricity at more than twice the national average from these sources—accounting for between 14% and 32% of their net electric generation—according to… Continue Reading
Earth Month Tip: Clean the area around the outdoor components of your HVAC system
“Did you know as much as half of your household energy use goes to heating and cooling? Airflow problems can reduce your HVAC system’s efficiency by up to 15% and contribute to carbon pollution. In fact, dirt and neglect are the top causes of heating and cooling system inefficiency and failure. Check out EPA’s A Guide to… Continue Reading
EPA Publishes 19th Annual U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
News release: “ The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 19th annual report of overall U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions today, showing a 3.4 percent decrease in 2012 from 2011. The Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, which is submitted annually to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, presents… Continue Reading
Twelve states produced 80% of U.S. wind power in 2013
“In 2013, 12 states accounted for 80% of U.S. wind-generated electricity, according to preliminary generation data released in EIA’s March Electric Power Monthly report. Texas was again the top wind power state with nearly 36 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity. Iowa was second, with more than 15 million MWh, followed by California, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon,… Continue Reading
GAO Report – Petroleum Refining
PETROLEUM REFINING: Industry’s Outlook Depends on Market Changes and Key Environmental Regulations, GAO-14-249: Published: Mar 14, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 14, 2014: “Stakeholders GAO contacted and information reviewed by GAO identified the following three major changes that have recently affected the domestic petroleum refining industry: Increased production. U.S. and Canadian crude oil production have increased, leading to lower costs… Continue Reading
Crude oil reserves at start of 2013 reach highest level since 1976
“U.S. crude oil proved reserves rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2012, increasing by 15% to 33 billion barrels, according to the U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves (2012) report released April 10 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves were the highest since 1976, and the… Continue Reading
The World Bank – Ending Extreme Poverty
Prosperity for All: Ending Extreme Poverty, April 10, 2014 “By 2010, global extreme poverty had declined to 17.7 percent, leaving still more than 1.2 billion people confined to live on less than $1.25 a day. In 1990, an estimated 1.9 billion people (or 36 percent of the world’s population) were living in extreme poverty. To stay on… Continue Reading
Report – Galvanizing Clean Energy Investment in the United States
Peter Ogden, Mari Hernandez, and Ben Bovarnick | Center for American Progress. April 3, 2014: “The United States has long been a top destination for clean energy investment, which has helped it to capture many of the near-term economic, energy security, and environmental benefits that stem from expanded domestic clean energy generation. Since 2004, in fact, clean energy investment… Continue Reading
Monthly Labor Review – April 2014
Lawrence R. Klein Award recipients announced for 2013 04/02/2014 Unemployment continued its downward trend in 2013 04/01/2014 Nonfarm employment continued its road to recovery in 2013 03/28/2014 Women not yet “on board” 03/28/2014 A better way to measure pay differentials among industries 03/19/2014 Investment in higher education by race and ethnicity 03/11/2014 Single mothers and welfare: a new perspective 03/11/2014 New college… Continue Reading
McKinsey – The disruptive potential of solar power
April 2014 | by David Frankel, Kenneth Ostrowski, and Dickon Pinner: “The economics of solar power are improving. It is a far more cost-competitive power source today than it was in the mid-2000s, when installations and manufacturing were taking off, subsidies were generous, and investors were piling in. Consumption continued rising even as the MAC Global Solar Energy… Continue Reading
