Energy and Environment News Roundup – 9.3.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
EU carbon market has longest rally since 2008 before September supply boost (via Bloomberg)
EU said to plan carbon-market aviation adjustment in October (via Bloomberg)
US and Europe may face off over reducing airline emissions (via Los Angeles Times)
MIT: Vehicle emissions cause 53,000 extra deaths a year (via AutoblogGreen)
Polish CO2 permit sales to start September 16 (via Reuters Point Carbon)
A carbon tax that America could live with (via New York Times)
Mind the carbon gap (via Grist)
COAL
EU coal demand starting decades-long slide (via Reuters Point Carbon)
RENEWABLES
Solar energy world capacity tops 102GW (via EarthTechling)
Renewable energy worth €17 billion to Germany in 2012 (via Recharge)
South Australia to reach 50% renewables within a decade (via CleanTechnica)
With rooftop solar on the rise, US utilities are striking back (via Yale e360)
California and Hawaii most attractive states for renewables (via Breaking Energy)
Nearly 40,000 new green jobs created across America during 2Q 2013 (via CleanTechnica)
AB 327: From California solar killer to net metering savior? (via Greentech Media)
25% of America’s residential solar is in one utility service territory (via Facts of the Day)
Mosiac bets on the environment (via New York Times)
How Xcel saved $22 million with weather and wind forecasting (via Renewable Energy World)
State agencies ponder changes to wind energy rules (via Post-Bulletin)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Caspian Sea could become natural gas hub (via Houston Chronicle)
Obama position on fracking leaves both sides grumbling (via The Tribune/McClatchy)
98 more Ohio earthquakes linked to fracking disposal well (via Columbus Dispatch)
CLIMATE
FEMA flood maps raising cost of insurance (via Boston Globe)
Is climate change pushing pests into northern farms? (via Mother Jones)
OIL
Booming oil production boosted US GDP estimate (via The Hill)
TRANSPORTATION
Study: China could soon find itself in traffic jam hell (via Green Car Reports)
Aviation industry unlikely to agree to emissions reduction deal until 2016 (via RTCC)
Number of US bike sharing programs doubled in 2013 (via EarthTechling)
Will Tesla alone double global demand for its battery cells? (via Green Car Reports)
KEYSTONE XL
Aerial photos show Keystone XL behind schedule (via Houston Chronicle)
Keystone delays seen giving time for climate concessions (via Bloomberg)
GRID
Tres Amigas seeks to break US grids out of isolation (via Midwest Energy News)
The rural path to a smarter grid (via SmartPlanet)
Transmission upgrades compensate for coal retirements in Ohio (via US EIA)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Argentina adopts US’s LEED-certified buildings program (via Sustainable Cities Collective)
$2 million fund boosts energy efficiency at Massachusetts colleges (via Energy Manager Today)
NUCLEAR
Japan to fund $470 million ice wall to stop reactor leaks (via Houston Chronicle/AP)
How the Fukushima ice barrier will block radioactive groundwater (via MIT Technology Review)
Radiation near Japanese plant’s tanks suggest new leaks (via New York Times)
ENVIRONMENT
China’s meteorological authority launches air pollution forecasts (via Xinhua)
Montana Supreme Court decision could change how crews fight wildfires (via The Missoulian)
POLITICS
German opposition to EU carbon market fix to wane after election (via Reuters Point Carbon)
Abbott warns of “trillion dollar” Australian carbon tax (via The Australian)
On Obama’s energy agenda, White House and OFA websites not always in sync (via Greenwire)
Judge refuses to toss climate scientist Mann’s defamation lawsuit (via The Hill)
OPINION
Fukushima’s radioactive legacy is just beginning (via Climate Central)
The oceans are acidifying at the fastest rate in 300 million years – how worried should we be? (via Washington Post)
Can the World Bank’s green bonds become a scalable climate solution? (via Energy Collective)
Labor Day 2050: Global warming and the coming collapse of labor productivity (via Climate Progress)
Why the Energy Department hires industry advocates as regulators (via Climate Progress)
Don’t overlook sugarcane ethanol in America’s renewable fuels debate (via Energy Collective)
Why Ron Binz is a good choice to run FERC (via Breaking Energy)
Should you divest from coal and oil? (via Christian Science Monitor)
Why have so many venture capitalists flopped in clean tech? (via Greentech Media)