Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.3.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
Atmospheric carbon to hit five-million-year record (via Phys.org)
63% of firms don’t report GHG emissions, says report (via Environmental Leader)
EU companies submit 500 million UN carbon permits in 2012 (via BusinessGreen)
EU leads new push to ban HFC greenhouse gases (via RTCC)
EU factories double use of UN carbon credits in 2012 (via Bloomberg)
RENEWABLES
India targets minimum of 15-18GW new wind additions by 2017 (via Panchabuta)
EU to propose duties on Chinese solar panels (via Reuters)
Spain tops 50% renewables for second month in a row (via Renew Economy)
Is Japan the next big solar PV market? (via Renewable Energy World)
Russia set to build its largest wind farm (via Windpower Monthly)
TVA approves more than 250 renewable energy projects (via Renew Grid)
Hawaiian electric companies hit 13.9% renewable energy record (via Renew Grid)
Farmer and family-owned wind rises in Iowa (via CleanTechnica)
Smart turbines with batteries will feed Texas grid (via EarthTechling)
Increased renewable energy mandate wins another vote in Colorado (via Renew Grid)
Shared renewables bills moving forward in California (via CleanTechnica)
CLIMATE
UN agency: Arctic ice loss “disturbing” sign of climate change (via The Hill)
Atlantic coastal waters are hottest since measurements began (via Grist)
Australia joins climate displacement group (via World News Australia)
White House warned on imminent Arctic ice death spiral (via The Guardian)
Drought and heat may fuel early wildfire season in West (via Climate Central)
Southern California wildfire season off to sinister start (via Los Angeles Times)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Nearly half of US fracking sites overlap with water-stressed regions (via WRI Insights)
Natural gas vehicles haven’t caught on yet – could that ever change? (via Washington Post)
New York state court upholds town zoning laws to ban fracking (via Reuters)
GRID
Will utilities embrace distributed energy? (via MIT Technology Review)
Distributed energy storage benefits on both sides of the meter (via Renewable Energy World)
A123 reborn as technology incubator A123 Venture Technologies (via Autoblog Green)
COAL
Alpha Coal: Appalachian coal’s decline is “structural” (via Charleston Gazette)
Wisconsin wins coal battle, loses energy war (via CleanTechnica)
Midwestern coal gasification plant and proposed CO2 pipeline appear near termination (via ClimateWire)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The $40 billion hiding in US buildings (via Renewable Energy World)
Demand response revenue for commercial buildings will surpass $712 million annually by 2018 (via Navigant Research)
Greening hospitals would cut health care costs (via Sustainable Business)
OIL
Russia’s April oil output near post-Soviet record (via Bloomberg)
Gulf spill cases against former BP employees advance (via Houston Chronicle)
Time for California to tax oil extraction? (via San Jose Mercury News)
POLITICS
Senate committee vote set for EPA nominee (via The Hill)
OPINION
What would “wartime mobilization” to fight climate change look like? (via Grist)
All renewables, all the time (via Navigant Research)
Fatality rate for oil & gas workers 7 times national average rate (via Facts of the Day)
Climate change and the carbon bubble reality check (via The Energy Collective)
The giants of the green world that profit from the planet’s destruction (via The Guardian)