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« July 2007 | Main | September 2007 »
Florida has been chosen to host two major biofuels conferences, including the Renewable Fuels Association's National Ethanol Conference in Orlando Feb 25-27 2008.
The National Biodiesel Conference is also being held in Orlando on Feb 3-6 2008.
Click here to hear an interview with Bob Dineen, president of the RFA. He says the Bush administration's farm bill proposal is not adequate to meet for cellulosic ethanol targets.
- David Adams
Cuba is hoping to develop its wind energy resources to relieve its dependency on foreign oil. Cuban officials believe wind could potentially produce 50% of the island's energy needs. An experimental $3.4 million wind farm was inaugurated earlier this year on the Isle of Youth in a joint venture with French company Vergnet.
Click here to read more from Inter Press Service.
- David Adams
The US is trying to put the best face on divisions with European leaders over talks this week on climate change. Despite US refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, US officials stress there are other "areas of cooperation" with Europe. European leaders say the US approach relies too heavily on voluntary measures.
Click here for a story from AP in Vienna.
- David Adams
Energy futures jumped Wednesday after the government
reported larger-than-expected declines in gasoline and oil inventories
and an unexpected decline in refinery activity. Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $1 to $72.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This comes after experts were predicting oil would fall due to increased inventories and increased output from refineries coming back on line.
Click here for more news.
- David Adams
The University of Florida (UF) has selected a site owned by Florida Crystals Corporation to build a cellulosic ethanol research and demonstration plant in Palm Beach County.
This $20 million project is being financed through a state grant. The project will seek to convert sugarcane bagasse and other biomass into ethanol.
Florida Crystals is also currently engaged in a partnership with Florida International University to conduct research into similar cellulosic ethanol technology using sugar cane bagasse.
Click here for more details.
- David Adams
An alert reader has pointed me to a useful roundup of Florida's place in the alternative energy stakes by Benoit Wirz on the GreenBiz website. Many of the projects and companies mentioned have been featured on this blog previously, but the article provided a useful summation of where the state is at.
Benoit Wirz is a partner with US Global, LLC,
a South Florida company that funds companies and develops projects in
energy, technology and real estate. Benoit is primarily responsible for
the firm's energy related activities, and is currently focused on
identifying alternative and renewable energy investment opportunities
in Florida.
Click here to read the article.
- David Adams
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) yesterday announced $33.8 million in funding to support the development of enzymes used in the process of making cellulosic ethanol.
This biofuels effort focuses on production from non-food materials and agricultural waste such as corn stover, switchgrass, and prairie grass.
“These enzyme projects will serve as catalysts to the commercial-scale viability of cellulosic ethanol, a clean source of energy to help meet President Bush’s goal of reducing our reliance on oil,” said DOE Assistant Secretary Andy Karsner. “Ethanol from new feedstocks will not only give America more efficient fuel options to help transform our transportation sector, but increasing its use will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The use of enzymes is one way to break down pretreated cellulosic material into more simple sugars, a key process in the production of biofuels.
Click here for DoE press release.
- David Adams
Here's a tip from Roberta Fernandez, a global warming consultant in Florida who is one of Al Gore 'climate change messengers.'
She says it' s product that is especially good for businesses that have lots of high tech stuff.
"It's a new surge protector/power strip that will actually shut off what you plug into it! It's called a Smart Strip. Your equipment is still protected against power surges. If you typically leave everything on (this also counts for sleep mode), you'll save 73%. The savings associated with turning off just your computer can be as high as $11.55 per month. I just bought one for the office desk and one for the entertainment center. With all of my peripherals, they should will pay for themselves in about 2 months.
Click here to visit the Smart Strip website.
Both heating and cooling your home take large amounts of energy, more than we use for any other appliance. But according to researchers at National Geographic's The Green Guide, you will probably consume more energy heating your home than cooling it.
Click here to learn more from NPR's Morning Edition.
- David Adams
As temperatures around the globe rise, the world's mountains are changing. In the Alps, retreating glaciers, more landslides and rockfalls are causing shifts not only in the physical environment, but in jobs, town budgets, and attitudes.
Click here for a story from NPR's Morning Edition.
- David Adams
The BBC's technology program has a useful feature on the energy use of personal computers - and ways to reduce your energy consumption.
Click here for the story.
Click here for Local Cooling, a website that promotes energy efficiency and personal computers.
- David Adams
The things people will do to raise awareness about global warming! Now that includes getting extremely cold - and naked - on the slopes of a melting Swiss glacier.
Nearly 600 men and women volunteers took off their clothes for Greenpeace and posed for US photographer Spencer Tunick who specializes in group nudity shots.
Click here for a story from the BBC.
- David Adams
U.S. sales of subcompacts such as the Fit and compacts such as the Honda Civic reached a record 2.7 million in 2006, analysts report. Small car sales are expected to set a new record this year despite an overall weakening in the U.S. auto market.
The boom has left some automakers scrambling, reports the Associated Press. Foreign automakers control 76 percent of the U.S. small car market. The Toyota Yaris was the best-selling subcompact in the first seven months of this year, while the Toyota Corolla was the most popular compact car, according to Autodata Corp. The Chevrolet Aveo is the only domestic subcompact in the U.S. market right now.
Click here for the latest small car sales figures from the AP
- David Adams
It looks at though oil prices will remain unaffected by Hurricane Dean, but major flooding in the MidWest is threatening the US corn harvest which has been expecting a bumper crop to relieve prices due to increased demand from the expanding ethanol industry.
Hurricane Dean flooded a major Mexican oil city, but there was no known damage to any of the country's production facilities on shore or in the Gulf of Mexico, the state-owned company said. However, Tropical Storm Erin, which was itself a product of the high pressure system that kept Dean away from the southern US states, is causing havoc in the MidWest corn belt. Flooding is reported in seven states from Nebraska to Michigan. It is being described by weathermen as the heaviest rainfall in more than a century!
I spoke today with Edith Munro, information coordinator at the Iowa Corn Growers Association and she tells me it's too early to estimate crop damage. "We'll know better in a couple of weeks," she said. Hopefully by then it will have stopped raining, though there seems to be no end in sight.
Some areas have been harder hit than others, with corn fields in lower lying river valleys being the most vulnerable.
The good news is that the corn crop was well ahead of schedule when the rains came. The delicate stage of pollination took place a long time ago and the kernals are almost filled, said Munro. "When the plants are that far along they can survive better. the plant is pretty much done growing," she said, adding that corn husks also help protect the kernels.
The corn harvest has already begun in places like Texas, and will commence soon in Iowa. Munro said that the flooding could delay the harvest in parts of the MidWest. Farmers will have to let the ground dry out a bit before they can send in the harvesters.
The US Dept of Agriculture recently predicted a record corn harvest of 2.511 billion bushels in Iowa. The state is still hoping to meet that goal which would surpass its record of the 2.24 billion bushels in 2004.
According to the Aug. 10 USDA crop production report, Iowa is expected to harvest 13.95 million acres of corn for grain this year. The same report projects that five states will produce at least a billion bushels each, something that has never happened before, Munro told me.
In Ohio the corn harvest is doing well despite flooding. "Many areas weren't touched by the flooding and remained dry," says Natalie Walston at the Ohio Corn Growers Association. "Some crops will be lost in the flooded areas but farmers planted more than enough corn this year for food, feed and fuel -- 4 million acres--to compensate for any potential losses. That's up 22 percent from last year."
The US Dept of Agriculture is due to release its next crop progress report in the second week of September.
The news may not be so good for soy bean growers. The soy bean crop is not so far along and the plants will die if submerged under water for more than three days.
Click here for a report from the DesMoines Register.
Click here for a report from Dow Jones on the Ohio Corn Growers Association website.
- David Adams
A new study by a Stanford University atmospheric scientist, Mark Jacobson, finds that converting America's cars and trucks from gasoline to ethanol might not cut smog at all, or could slightly worsen it.
Jacobson used a computer model to predict the effects of a large-scale ethanol conversion on pollution and death rates from respiratory illness. Tailpipes of ethanol cars spew formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and other pollutants, all of which can damage lungs.
Formaldehyde and Acetaldehyde are both lung irritant and carcinogens.
Click here for story by Jim Waymer in Florida Today.
- David Adams
Uncertainty still haunts Mexico's corn and tortilla industry after last year's dramatic rise in corn prices. While many people blame the US ethanol boom for driving up corn prices, Mexican farmers are now planting more corn themselves. But will that be enough to restore stability to the market?
Click here to read an analysis in The Guardian newspaper (UK).
- David Adams
Spain is making use of its 300 sunny days per
year by powering thousands of homes with the world's first commercial
solar-thermal tower plant – and running it doesn't generate any
greenhouse gases. Spanish company, Solucar, a subsidiary of Abengoa, leads the world in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology.
Click here for a story from today's Morning Edition on NPR.
- David Adams
High temperatures forecast for Wednesday triggered an electric power advisory from the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council on Tuesday.
"It’s generally just a heads up that we are expecting to have high loads," said Sarah Rogers, president and CEO of the council. The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, based in Tampa, is a nonprofit dedicated to assuring the reliability and adequacy of the state’s bulk electricity supply.
Rogers said she expected Florida will have enough power, even if the largest power plant in the state unexpectedly went off line.
Utilities are advised to avoid any non-critical maintenance that might reduce their generating capacity. Floridians are asked to try to curb their electricity use during peak demand from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. That means raising the indoor temperature a few degrees, and turning off unnecessary appliances and lights.
"If you can do the laundry and run the dishwasher early in the morning or later in the evening, that will help everyone out," Rogers said.
Taken together, the peak energy use of the utilities under the council’s purview reached an all time high Monday, when both Tampa Electric and Progress Energy set new summer peak records.
Tampa Electric reported that peak power use at about 5:09 p.m. Monday hit 4,352 megawatt hours, compared with the previous record of 4,256 megawatt hours set Aug. 8. The utility also set a new record for total energy consumed during the day. It’s more than 666,000 customers consumed 76,199 megawatt hours, compared to a previous record of 75,826 set on Jan. 24, 2003.
Progress reported a high of 9,671 megawatt hours Monday between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., surpassing their previous summer record of 9,406 megawatt hours set Aug. 16, 2005. The utility has nearly 1.7-million customers and a capacity of more than 9,000 megawatts.
"Our system is operating as designed, and we don’t anticipate any issues meeting demand, but we always encourage our customers to be as energy-efficient as possible," said Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of Progress Energy Florida. "We recommend our customers take some simple, easy steps to reduce energy use, which can also help save money on their bills."
This June 16 story by Times staff writer Ivan Penn details 10 ways to cut your home power use. You can also check out Progress Energy’s conservation information, and Tampa Electric’s program.
Click here to read more in the St Petersburg Times.
- Asjylyn Loder
The debate in Washington over government-regulated carbon dioxide emissions is starting to heat up. Marketplace's Sam Eaton reports on the differing views of sticks and carrots in emission reduction, including 'cap and trade' or a carbon tax.
Click here to listen to the report on American Public Media.
- David Adams
Instead of sniping and griping about the lack of democracy in Venezuela, the U.S. government should take measures to penalize oil imports from dictatorial nations, suggests Andres Oppenheimer, the Miami-based columnist who is one of the most widely read Latin America analysts. Oppenheimer also recommends that the U.S. raise taxes on Hummers and over-sized SUVs, as well as demand better fuel eficiency from the auto industry.
"The United States could do more than anybody to stop Chávez's megalomania if it stopped subsidizing it. Indeed, the United States is spending $34 billion a year on oil imports from Venezuela," he writes.
"The White House should impose a $2 a gallon tax on U.S. gasoline imports from petro dictatorships around the world, or a 50 percent tax on Hummers and other needlessly gigantic SUVs, or demand Detroit carmakers double the fuel efficiency of American cars," he continues.
"Reducing America's foreign oil addiction should be the single most important issue in the 2008 presidential election. In addition to being the most effective U.S. weapon against Middle Eastern countries that support terrorism, it would weaken oil-rich autocrats like Chávez, and would help reduce global warming."
Click here to read Oppenheimer's column, 'Derailing Chavez's power grab' in The MIami Herald
.
- David Adams
My colleague Robert Collier has a long article in The San Francisco Chronicle addressing China's car-buying boom which is fueling that country's greenhouse gas emissions.
"Only a decade ago, cars owned by individuals were rare, and bicycles were the main mode of transport. Now, streets are clogged bumper-to-bumper, and total car ownership is expected to surpass the U.S. level by 2025," he writes.
China's middle class is living the American dream for the first time. What is China doing to balance the new consumerism with environmental health concerns?
Click here to read the entire article.
By the way, this article is Rob's last for the Chronicle after 16 years working on the paper's staff.
After large budget cuts and layoffs at the Chronicle, he is joining the University of California at Berkeley, where he will be visiting scholar at the Goldman School of Public Policy, focusing on the politics of global warming. "Berkeley is the principal U.S. center for research and policy development on climate change and alternative energy, so I figure I'm going to the right place," he writes. He plans to write a book on about China and global warming.
- David Adams
The European Union's goal of producing 10% of its gasoline and diesel from renewable sources by 2020 is not the best way to reduce carbon emissions, according to a report in Science magazine.
Saving and restoring forests were a better option, they write, arguing that trees could absorb up to nine times more CO2 than the production of biofuels could achieve on the same area of land.
Click here to read more from the BBC.
Here's a useful graphic from the BBC explaining the carbon cycle:
The scientific principle behind biomass is the carbon cycle.
As they grow plants absorb carbon dioxide (C02).
The carbon (C) builds tissues and feeds the plant while the oxygen (02) is released.
When plant material is burned the carbon re-combines with oxygen.
The resulting carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere.
The contribution of biomass to the greenhouse effect is therefore far less than for traditional fossil fuels.
- David Adams
A national conservative group, chaired by former Congressman Dick Armey, has launched a biting campaign that attacks Gov. Charlie Crist and his recent executive orders aimed at reducing greenhouse gasses.
"When people heard Charlie Crist’s promises to follow in the conservative legacy of Jeb Bush and voted for him to be governor of Florida, they didn't expect to get Nancy Pelosi."
The group, FreedomWorks (formerly known as Citizens for a Sound Economy), has an online petition (not the kind that would go on the ballot) asking people to tell Gov. Crist to "end his efforts to appease the far left and the liberal media, and should instead work toward reasonable and responsible energy policy that increases supply and reduces prices."
To read the Freedomworks press release and petition click here. To read a pretty enlightening Washington Post story about how Freedomworks has signed up a lot of members who may not have ever heard of the group, click here.
--Jennifer Liberto and Craig Pittman
Arctic sea ice will likely have melted to a record low by next month, and it's due in part to the greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming, researchers at the University of Colorado have announced.
According to a report by Reuters, they had predicted a 33 percent chance of a record low in April, but changed the forecast after a rapid disintegration of sea ice during July.
Sheldon Drobot, who leads Arctic ice forecasting at CU-Boulder's aerospace engineering department, said the melting could open the Northwest Passage along the northern coast of North America and connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to shipping by as early as 2020 or 2025, he said. That could be a cheaper option for many shippers than the Panama Canal.
Of course there's also that little problem with rising sea levels...
To read the full Reuters report, click here. Or you could read what the BBC has to say about it here.
--Craig Pittman
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday that it is accepting grant proposals to develop renewable energy technology. "Investments in cutting-edge ventures ensures a stronger economy and a cleaner environment for the next generation of Floridians," DEP Secretary Mike Sole said in a statement. The maximum grant is $2.5-million.
Limo company owner Moshe Leib is upset that Hillsborough County officials won't allow him to operate a Toyota Prius as part of his limo fleet at Tampa airport.
Apparently the county's Public Transportation Commission doesn't consider the Prius to be limo material.
Now a state politician has come to his defense. Florida State Representative, Rick Kriseman, says the county needs to take a look at its rules.
"If the Toyota Prius is luxurious enough for drop-offs and pickups at the Academy Awards, surely it's good enough for Tampa International Airport," he wrote in a letter to the county.
Kriseman is a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Council and serves as the Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Energy.
Click here to download Kriseman's letter
Click here to read a story in The St Petersburg Times
- David Adams
Click here for a feature on the Republican environmentalist mayor of St Petersburg, Rick Baker. He's no Al Gore, but Baker has been credited with turning Gov Charlie Crist onto alternative energy. For baker protecting the environment is a common sense business decision.
Click here for a story in The St Petersburg Times
- David Adams
Florida Gov Charlie Crist is promoting a 'Green Lodging' plan to encourage hotels to be more environmentally conscious and conserve energy. The Florida Green Lodging Program was established in 2004 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The latest hotel to be certified is the Sirata Beach Resort on St Petersburg Beach. This brings the list to 29 certified hotels, including The Four Seasons and the Intercontinental in Miami. Others seeking certification include the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort in Aventura, the DeSoto Ocean View Inn in Hollywood, and the Woodmont Hotel in Tamarac.
Read more about it in The Miami Herald.
- David Adams
Florida Power & Light Company, Florida's largest power utility has confirmed its plans to expand its nuclear portfolio. In an interview with the Miami Herald, FPL President Armando Olivera says the company plans to file the necessary papers by the end of September to expand two nuclear facilities at Turkey Point (Miami-Dade County, South Florida) and in St Lucie County (on Florida's east coast).
The Herald reported that Olivera said he didn't know of any organized opposition yet in South Dade to the proposed nuclear expansion but wouldn't be surprised if some developed.
I wonder what planet he's been living on! Someone needs to give him a reality check.
Click here for the story.
- David Adams
In his column today in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof provides a good run down on the latest global warming science reporting.
Click here to read 'The Big Melt.'
- David Adams
Click here for a story on NPR's Morning Show about Finland's nuclear waste storage plans.
- David Adams
For the first time in decades, the country's energy companies are gearing up to build new nuclear power plants. David Whitford, editor-at-large at Fortune magazine, speaks with John Ydstie on NPR's Morning Show.
Click here to listen to the interview.
- David Adams
The New York Times today offers its readers this interesting feature on small businesses in Washington who are buying renewable energy certificates. The story report on a group of small businesses who bought wind energy credits and are saving about 9% on their energy bill.
Click here for the story.
- David Adams
"Sugar is the new oil," that's the line from actor Jimmy Smits that CBS is using to pitch its new Sept TV drama, Cane. No, it's not about biofuels and sugar cane-ethanol.
Instead, it's a tale that charts the "steamy and seductive" intrigues of a Cuban sugar family. Jimmy 
Smits stars as the newly proclaimed heir to the Duque family’s sugar cane and rum empire.
It's interesting that CBS has chosen to put a sugar theme into the fall lineup. It may have nothing to do with the ethanol boom, but it may help educate the public about the value of sugar - past and present.
The story line has prompted comparisons to the Cuban-born Fanjul sugar family in West Palm Beach. But the Fanjuls have apparently been assured by CBS that the plot is pure fiction. Click here to read the opinion of Glenn Garvin, the Miami Herald's TV critic.
- David Adams
Tampa-based Seminole Electric Cooperative said it plans to purchase 90 megawatts of power from two of Michigan-based Landfill Energy Systems' landfill gas-to-energy projects beginning in October. That’s enough energy to power 50,000 homes, the non-profit cooperative said. Landfill Energy Systems will build, own and operate two plants in Brevard and Seminole counties that will capture landfill methane to produce electricity. Seminole Electric Cooperative’s member systems provide power to 1.6-million individuals and businesses in portions of 46 Florida counties.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist has appointed an Energy Action Team to help promote legislation on greenhouse gas emissions and reduction of dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The Action Team has 21 members, including several environmental activists, as well as cellulosic ethanol pioneer, Dr Lonnie Ingram, professor of microbiology at the University of Florida.
Click here to read more in The St Petersburg Times
- David Adams
Brazil's president Inacio Lula da Silva, says his country is doing a better job of protecting the Amazon rain forest - and thus its greenhouse gas emissions are down.
On Friday, the Environment Ministry announced the Amazon lost a total of 5,400 square miles of forest cover between August 2005 and July 2006, 25 percent less than the same period the year before. Environmental officials said they expect deforestation to drop by about a third in the August 2006-July 2007 period, to about 3,700 square miles.
Click here for more.
- David Adams
Ocean waves could meet as much as 10 percent of U.S. power needs, say some analysts. But fishermen worry plans to harness it will leave them
high and dry. Click here to listen to Marketplace Morning Report from American Public Media.
- David Adams
The corn harvest in the US is expected to be 24% higher this year, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Due to the high price of corn, farmers planted the
most acres since 1944.
The harvest is estimated at a record 13.054 billion bushels, up from 10.535
billion bushels last year, though this will depend on the weather cooperating during the next month.
This may provide some relief for food producers, especially hog and poultry farmers, who have been complaining about high corn prices. But analysts say US corn acreage will likely have to increase again in 2008 to meet increasing demand from the ethanol industry.
Vehicle fuel efficiency standards are at the heart of the debate over how to tackle global warming and our dependence on foreign oil.
Congress is divided on whether to set a higher 35-mpg standard. The auto industry opposes it, and so does the Bush administration.
St Pete Times energy correspondent and Fueling Station contributor, Asjylyn Loder, takes a look at the issue and asks why US auto companies make profits selling smaller gas-sipping cars in Europe (such as the Opel Astra, see photo), but are leery of offering them to US consumers.
Click here to read Asjylyn's article.
- David Adams
In my family we used to call it the 'Bubble Car,' the tiny Fiat 500 that was Italy's most popular car in the 60s and 70s. I remember spending summer vacations as a child in Italy in the early 1980s and seeing them everywhere.
Well, it seems the European trend for small cars has prompted the revival of the 500, or Cinquecento, as the Italians call it.
The new 500 was launched July 4 on the 50th anniversary of the original, which began production in 1957. In less than a month, Fiat has sold more than 57,000 of the new 500.
Despite being a sporty drive, Fiat says the car can do 67-miles-per-gallon. It's also considered safe, with seven air-bags.
Fiat apparently has no current plans to sell the car in the US, though it says that could change.
Click here for a video.
Click here for a report in The New York Times
Lots to read in my morning newspapers today.
One of my former colleagues at the St Petersburg Times, Monica Davey, has a good story in The New York Times looking at how the ethanol boom has turned farmland into a hot market. While this is good for existing farm owners, it's making it harder for a younger generation who grew up on farms to buy their own land.
Click here to read Monica's article.
- David Adams
The nuclear power industry is gearing up for a potential comeback. Expect to hear a lot more from them in the near future. For example, in Florida, FP&L has made no secret of its plans to present several new nuclear projects.
A group calling itself the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, or CASEnergy, has also been promoting the need for a national debate over nuclear power. (The group is financed by the Nuclear Energy Institute). 
It has recruited some heavy-hitters including Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to champion its cause. (the organization is also co-chaired by activist-turned-capitalist Patrick Moore, a co-founder and ex-member of Greenpeace.)
I spoke to Todd Whitman the other day about nuclear's future. While environmentalists will take some convincing about the merits of nuclear energy, here are her main arguments:
In order to meet a 40 per cent increase in energy demands by 2030, we have to consider a broad range of alternatives, she starts out. "Conservation can only get us so far," she adds.
The nuclear power industry has come a long way since the early days and is a safer and more efficient energy source than the public realizes. "When people get the facts it's not the scary thing that it has been seen as in the past," she says.
Todd Whitman recognizes that the issue of nuclear waste remains the achiles heel of the industry. The US could do more to tackle the issue of waste, she says, and has fallen behind other countries such as France.
Currently the US stores its waste in holding pools and above ground facilities that have a lifespan of about 100 years. We are already 50 years into that, so something needs to be done soon. The approval for the waste site at Yucca mountain in Nevada has yet to be given.
In France new technology allows the efficient recycling of spent rods which contain large amounts (up to 90%) untapped energy. Apparently the French can get that down to 2-3% according to Todd Whitman. "That offers enormous potential," she says, pointing out that it will be economics that is going to drive the nuclear resurgence.
Background: There are 103 operating nuclear reactors in the United States now -- more than any other country. The United States hasn't licensed a new nuclear plant since 1978.
Click here for an article from the St Petersburg Times about Florida's nuclear future, 'Crist's nuclear bolt sends flutters.'
- David Adams
The story of how ExxonMobil and other companies paid for a PR campaign to raise doubts about global warming has been told in bits and pieces over the years. But now Newsweek has put the whole tale together, and it makes for quite a read, detailing who paid for what and which scientists let themselves be co-opted. As the story points out, the political fallout from this campaign continues today with Congress passing an energy bill that fails to raise fuel-economy standards for cars. To read the story click here.
--Craig Pittman
President Lula of Brazil is off on a six-day, five nation swing through Latin America and the Caribbean this week, including Mexico and Jamaica, to promote biofuels cooperation. After signing a biofuels cooperation agreement with the US earlier this year, it seems that Lula is being more aggressive in pursuing its goals. We've seen a lot of biofuels promotion within the US by the Bush administration, but less outreach to Latin America.
Is the US going to let Brazil dominate this new technology? Maybe American private business needs no further encouragement. We've already seen some aggressive investing in the region from some of the big agri-business companies.
Click here to read more on Lula's trip.
- David Adams
As predicted the House of Representatives passed a far-reaching energy bill during a rare Saturday session.
The bill promotes promote conservation and the use of renewable resources, while removing tax breaks for the oil and gas interests.
However, the energy bill omitted several proposals, including a tougher fuel-economy standard for vehicles contained in a Senate
package that was passed in June. It will be interesting to see how this all emerges from the committee process after Congress returns from the summer recess.
Click here for more details.
- David Adams
Someone sent me this interesting article from Reuters on biogas use in Europe.
Click here for the full article.
Here are the highlights:
* Germany leads the world with around 70 percent of the global market and produced 1,100 megawatts of electricity from biogas last year, enough to supply over a million homes.
* Britain, which wants to raise its share of renewable energy, only produced around one-25th of this.
* Biogas prevents methane created by decaying organic matter from entering the atmosphere in its pure form, and is renewable. It is generated in two main ways: by putting organic waste in sealed containers, or by capturing gas emitted by landfill waste dumps.
* Almost all Britain's biogas comes from landfills, and is often converted into electricity.
* Landfill gas makes up a quarter of British renewable energy, giving electricity to some 900,000 households.
* Britain only recycles around 15 percent of its household waste. That's far less than most European countries like top recycler the Netherlands at around 60 percent.
* The European Union set a target of increasing renewable energies to 20 percent by 2020 in last year's Energy Review. It now stands at 2 percent in Britain, the country's Renewable Energy Association (REA) says. The EU as a whole sources 6.5 percent of its energy from renewables, with Latvia the highest at 47 percent, the EU says.
- David Adams
Hybrid vehicles look set to make record U.S. sales this year.
An estimated 187,000 hybrids were sold in the first six months of 2007, accounting for 2.3 percent of all new vehicle sales, according to J.D. Power and Associates. J.D. Power is forecasting total sales of 345,000 hybrids for 2007, a 35 percent increase from 2006 when the current record of 256,000 was set.
Currently, the Toyota Prius continues to be the bestselling hybrid model, accounting for just more than half of all hybrids sold. It was the 6th best selling car in May! But competition is growing. Seven new hybrids are set to hit the market before the end of the year.
- David Adams
Congress is getting ready to debate a sweeping energy bill that could fulfill promises by Democrats to improve energy efficiency and use of renewable sources - the so-called 'win-win' strategy of reducing global warming and cutting dependence on foreign oil.
But the Democrats are baulking over a key issues, including fuel efficiency standard for the auto industry (the notorious CAFE standards.) Will they or won't they? It looks like caution, some would say cowardice, is likely to rule the day. Congress is also nervous about a second provision that would require electric utilities to produce 15 percent of their power from renewable sources.
Click here for The New York Times analysis.
- David Adams
More news from Europe's sizzling summer.
The water supply to residents of the Turkish capital Ankara has been reduced to two days on, two days off because of a severe drought that has seen water levels in reservoirs fall to less than 5% of their capacity. This is apparently due to lower than usual snowfall in the winter.
In Istanbul the temperature has hit 43C.
Click here for news from the BBC.
- David Adams
Following its runaway success with hybrid cars, Japan is bringing the world hybrid trains.
Click here for a report from the AP.
- David Adams
Would you like to know the environmental record of the candidates running for president? Check of this new feature on Grist. 'How Green is Your Candidate?'
- David Adams
My intrepid friend and reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, Rob Collier, has just been to China to write about the impact of global warming.
The glaciers in western China are shrinking rapidly, he reports, endangering hundreds of millions of people who depend on the waters flowing eastward through the Yellow River.
The good news is that Beijing, may finally be waking up to the threat of global warming.
Rob hiked to the remote area of Anyemaqen where he found that the 5-mile-long Halong Glacier has shrunk by several hundred yards since it was last photographed in 2005.
Click here to read his fabulous article published today.
- David Adams
 Global warming, gas prices, "green" living – how can you keep up with it all? The Fueling Station is your source for energy and environment news in Florida and beyond. From alternative energy to wetlands, Times reporters David Adams, Asjylyn Loder, Craig Pittman and Catriona Stuart provide the latest news, and let you know how it impacts your life, your pocketbook and your world. We welcome your ideas, experiences and opinions.
E-mail the blog authors:thefuelingstation@yahoo.com. |
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