Fueling Station

Sarah Palin, global warming and the melting glacier next door

Times Editor — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:57:18 -0400

Just 13 miles from Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's office in downtown Juneau lies the famous Mendenhall Glacier. Every year some 400,000 people visit the glacier, the most popular one in Alaska. Every year there's less of it to see. According...

New power plant fueled by sugar cane waste in Brazil

Times Editor — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:42:58 -0400

Paris-based Areva announced Friday it has been awarded a contract to design and build a power plant fuelled by sugar cane bagasse by Brazil's largest private power generator, Tractebel Energia. The $42 million plant with a 33 MW capacity is...

PSC approves net metering agreements

Times Editor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:40:43 -0400

Sick of rate hikes? Now you can make your electric meter run backwards. State regulators today approved new "net metering" agreements that pave the way for customers who want to install renewable energy devices, like solar panels, on their homes....

Mowers, boat engines, weed trimmers must clean up pollution, says EPA

Times Editor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:21:45 -0400

"From lawn mowers and weed trimmers, to personal watercraft and speedboats," the Environmental Protection Agency announced today it's finally going to crack down on polluting emissions from small-horsepower gas engines. "EPA's new small engine standards will allow Americans to cut...

How to get rid of your gas guzzler. Have it stolen?

Times Editor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:16:53 -0400

Due to high fuel prices some car owners may be getting rid of their gas guzzlers by staging theft so they can collect on the insurance and buy a smaller car, the Miami Herald reports. While concrete evidence is lacking,...

Auto sales continue free-fall.

Times Editor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:41:14 -0400

Auto sales sank by 15.5 percent in August compared with the previous year. That is the fifth consecutive month of double-digit declines. And manufacturers predict a tough second half of the year, though falling gas prices has taken "a lot...

Arctic ice shelf breaks loose, another sign of rising temperatures

Times Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:35:45 -0400

One of Canada's remaining Arctic ice shelves, a 19-square-mile chunk, has broken off and floated away, "the most dramatic sign yet of how rising temperatures and retreating sea ice are creating 'irreversible' changes to the country's polar frontier," according to...

Ticked off about rate hikes? Mouth off

Times Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:18:02 -0400

Progress Energy's planned 31 percent rate increase has touched a nerve among local would-be consumer advocates. At least two new Web sites have invited consumers to register their discontent. First, there's www.fireprogressenergy.com, billed as "your voice against a powerful monopoly."...

'Consumer Reports' flunks Energy Star brands

Times Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:58:46 -0400

Socially responsible shoppers got a rude shock today, when Consumer Reports debunked the energy-saving claims of some major home appliance makers. The magazine, which tests consumer goods, found one refrigerator that claimed to use 540-kilowatt hours a year actually used...

Florida's first natural gas storage facility

Times Editor — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:43:51 -0400

Florida is slated to get its first natural gas storage facility, which will hold 8-billion cubic feet of natural gas in Martin County. Storing natural gas in-state will help utilities keep their power plants running and the lights on when...