Energy and Environment News Roundup – 7.10.14
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
CLIMATE
From Sao Paulo to Hong Kong, cities report economic climate threat (via Bloomberg)
UK defense ministry details global security impacts of climate change (via ClimateWire)
Loss of snowpack and glaciers in Rockies poses water threat (via Yale e360)
Sea level rise cuts across political divide in Norfolk, Va (via GreenBiz)
ENERGY POLICY
Why China’s energy consumption will keep rising (via Energy Collective)
U.S. public lands fading as fossil fuels source (via Climate Central)
Federal government still spending billions to subsidize fossil fuels (via Huffington Post)
RENEWABLES
Solar, wind to beat coal on costs in China, India by 2020 (via Renew Economy)
One-third of Germany’s power came from renewables in first half 2014 (via Yale e360)
Upcoming auctions position Brazil for major solar growth (via Solar Industry Magazine)
EIA projections show hydropower growth limited by economics, not resources (via US EIA)
Mercom Capital charts top solar deals of second quarter (via Solar Industry Magazine)
Chicago to announce new rooftop solar discount program (via Chicago Tribune)
Food waste is so yesterday – think biogas instead (via GreenBiz)
What you need to know about how clean energy yielcos work (via Greentech Media)
COAL
Coal’s last gasp in Europe (via The Economist)
Most U.K. coal plants to shut by 2023 on climate rules (via Bloomberg)
Mountaintop removal coal mining decimates Appalachian fish populations (via EcoWatch)
Missouri governor signs law blocking coal-related ballot measures (via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
EMISSIONS
Zero carbon and economic growth can go together, says UN study (via The Guardian)
Australian Senate rejects carbon tax repeal (via Reuters)
Australian PM seeks carbon price repeal next week after losing vote (via Bloomberg)
EU Parliament to consider carbon price fix this fall (via The Hill)
China’s Tianjin carbon market extends permit deadline again (via Reuters)
The shocking truth about British Columbia’s carbon tax: It works (via The Globe and Mail)
OIL
Swaps could be next way around oil export ban (via Houston Chronicle)
TRANSPORTATION
China makes new electric vehicles tax-free (via The Guardian)
Nissan launches “no charge to charge” program for Leaf buyers (via CleanTechnica)
ENVIRONMENT
One-fifth of the Amazon may have been savannah before Europeans arrived (via Mongabay)
Freedom Industries fined $11,000 for historic West Virginia chemical spill (via Climate Progress)
The weird and wonderful world of indoor farming (via Think Progress)
NATURAL GAS
Fracking could supply one-third of UK gas by 2035, says National Grid (via RTCC)
GRID
Modi budget plans $250 million to boost solar, grid to end India blackouts (via Bloomberg)
Transmission issues plague power-starved southern India states (via Panchabuta)
Washington State grants $14.3 million for energy storage systems (via Bloomberg)
NUCLEAR
Tepco says it has turned corner on Fukushima nuclear cleanup (via Bloomberg)
Wisconsin reactor’s demise shows plight of nuclear towns (via Bloomberg)
KEYSTONE XL
Nebraska court date pushes final Keystone XL decision past midterms (via Washington Post)
POLITICS
House Republicans threaten to subpoena EPA over carbon rules (via The Hill)
White House threatens to veto energy spending bill over environmental riders (via The Hill)
Forget LeBron, it’s free agency season for green groups (via National Journal)
Study says rich Republicans are the worst climate deniers (via Mother Jones)
OPINION
Here’s what the world would look like if we took global warming seriously (via Vox)
Sixty years after birth, it’s time for solar cells to get serious (via GigaOm)
Why we need a carbon tax (via Huffington Post)
Fix the climate problem? Easy – cut U.S. emissions to 1901 levels (via Bloomberg)
How Silveo could succeed where Solyndra failed (via Greentech Media)
Why Washington State’s $14.3 million energy storage program is so different from others (via Greentech Media)