Energy and Environment News Roundup – 4.1.14
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
World foots $1.9 trillion fossil fuel subsidy bill every year (via Recharge News)
Mining giant Chile prepping carbon tax to curb CO2 emissions (via Reuters)
Exxon: Highly unlikely world limits fossil fuels (via AP)
TRANSPORTATION
Hybrid vehicles more fuel efficient in India, China than in US (via Phys.org)
Study: Gasoline prices will fall if US exports crude oil (via Houston Chronicle)
Massachusetts plugs into electric vehicle rebates (via CleanTechnica)
With EV market in its infancy, Tesla still needs to take risks (via GigaOm)
RENEWABLES
Global wind power market declined 20% from 2012 to 2013 (via Navigant Research)
Latin America to add 53GW new wind by 2023 (via Recharge)
Merkel may ease cuts for onshore wind power to save jobs (via Bloomberg)
First Solar sees 20MW new solar capacity in Australian mining projects (via Renew Economy)
Support for solar energy climbs to nearly 80% of Americans (via Navigant Research)
Utilities enter the distributed generation era (via Navigant Research)
Wind farms have no sizable impact on house prices (via CleanTechnica)
Study: Michigan could triple renewable energy at low consumer cost (via Midwest Energy News)
3.3MW solar system tops San Diego airport (via Energy Manager Today)
NUCLEAR
Nuclear kingdom: Saudi Arabia’s atomic ambitions (via Breaking Energy)
CLIMATE
Report predicts cities’ reaction to climate change (via Environmental Leader)
Combating climate change may take a global vegetarian movement (via National Journal)
MIT researchers propose massive microbe bloom may have triggered Permian extinction (via Green Car Congress)
Baseball bats may be next victim of climate change (via Daily Climate)
NATURAL GAS
Chevron, Polish firm jointly explore for shale gas (via CNBC/AP)
Pennsylvania leases more than 1,400 acres under rivers and streams to natural gas drillers (via StateImpact Pennsylvania)
GRID
Green Charge Networks: In some markets, cost-effective energy storage is here (via Forbes)
Solar Decathlon houses make up solar village to test microgrid technology (via Renewable Energy World)
KEYSTONE XL
Silicon Valley’s elite comes out against Keystone XL (via Bloomberg Businessweek)
ENVIRONMENT
“Living with drought” website created for Nevada (via Environmental Leader)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
From energy guzzler to energy efficient – 5 ways to create an energy-saving home (via The Good Human)
OPINION
Is the SolarCity model the only way to scale residential solar? (via Greentech Media)
MIT climate scientist responds on disaster costs and climate change (via FiveThirtyEight)
Latinos benefit from green jobs: Dirty energy industry green with envy (via Huffington Post)