Category Archives:USGBC

25
Apr

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 4.25.14

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

OIL 

Shale boom sends US crude oil supply to highest level since 1930 (via Bloomberg)

US regulators to propose enhanced oil tank car standards (via Reuters)

US pipeline and oil-by-rail regulator making 9% staff cut, confounding experts (via InsideClimate News)

TRANSPORTATION 

FTC officials back Tesla’s direct-to-consumer car sales model (via Reuters)

Consumer Reports finds plug-in retail experience underwhelming (via Autoblog Green)

Is Tesla planning another electric vehicle factory in California? (via Los Angeles Times)

Improving the performance of hybrid powertrains (via Navigant Research)

RENEWABLES 

UK onshore wind power will lose subsidies, say conservatives (via Bloomberg Businessweek)

Central Asian hydroelectric water wars heat up (via Huffington Post)

Solar PV set to surge 50% in Africa and Middle East in 2014 (via Recharge)

GE renewable investments exceed $10 billion (via BusinessWire)

US solar energy capacity grew an astounding 418% from 2010-2014 (via CleanTechnica)

EPA releases list of top 100 US organizations using renewable energy (via Solar Industry)

Financing lessons residential solar can teach the commercial and industrial sector (via Renewable Energy World)

Google and Apple announce new renewable energy investments (via RTCC)

New York State pledges $1 billion for solar through 2023 (via Bloomberg)

SunPower lands another strong quarter, launches new solar holding company (via Greentech Media)

Fisherman’s Energy to file legal appeal for New Jersey offshore wind rejection (via Recharge)

ENERGY INDUSTRY 

GE said to be in talks to buy France’s Alstom (via Bloomberg Businessweek)

Why electric utilities have an image problem (via Navigant Research)

Battle between fossil fuels & solar intensifies (via Sustainable Business)

50,000 Pennsylvania electric customers switch suppliers on price swings (via Philadelphia Inquirer)

CLIMATE 

Corals may withstand higher temperatures, says study (via RTCC)

Top 12 ways the world can eliminate agriculture’s climate footprint (via Phys.org)

UK supermarket: 95% of fresh produce already at risk from climate change (via The Guardian)

Study links polar vortex, California drought to climate change (via The Hill)

84,000 lives threatened by sea level rise in New England (via Climate Progress)

Lower Manhattan 20x more likely to flood than in 1844 (via ClimateWire)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

Putin, Merkel call for gas talks over Ukraine (via Reuters)

Trade implication of US energy policy and LNG exports (via Center for American Progress)

Baker Hughes to reveal all hydraulic fracturing chemicals (via Houston Chronicle)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

USGBC launches real-time green building tool (via Environmental Leader)

Following pipeline delay, KXL politics may derail energy efficiency bill (via Greenwire)

Think you’re better at saving energy? Three charts suggest a reality check. (via Outlier)

KEYSTONE XL 

US support for Keystone hits 61% in new poll (via The Hill)

How Obama shocked Harper as Keystone Frustrator-in-Chief (via Bloomberg)

How Canada’s incoherence on climate is killing Keystone (via Rescuing the Frog)

GRID 

Britain installs first grid-scale battery (via Reuters)

Smart grid companies raise $101 million to kick off 2014 (via Renew Grid)

“LEED-like” standard launched for electric grids (via Energy Manager Today)

ENVIRONMENT 

China takes on pollution with biggest environmental law changes in 25 years (via Bloomberg)

Brazil’s coffee crop prayers for rain met with deluge threat (via Bloomberg)

Drought area expands in Plains and California (via Farm Futures)

For first time in 15 years, drought hits 100% of California (via Los Angeles Times)

Plastic bottle recycling increases 53% in 12 years (via Environmental Leader)

OPINION 

The new abolitionism (via The Nation)

Maddow: Will US energy companies disrupt Obama’s Russia policy? (via Washington Post)

The real story behind falling renewable energy investments (via World Resources Institute)

Solar power is booming but will never replace coal – here’s why (via Forbes)

Posted:   |   Categories: africa, Alstom, Angela Merkel, apple, battery, Brazil, california, canada, climate, Climate Change, coal, Consumer Reports, drought, Electric Vehicle, Energy Efficiency, energy storage, environment, EPA, ev, Federal Trade Commission, Fisherman's Energy, Flooding, fracking, France, FTC, GE, global warming, google, green building, grid, Hydropower, Keystone XL Stephen Harper, LEED, LNG, MENA, middle east, natural gas, Natural gas exports, new jersey, New York City, new york state, News, offshore wind, oil, Oil train, pennsylvania, PHMSA, Polar vortex, Recycling, renewables, Russia, Sea level rise, Shaheen-Portman, Shale oil, smart grid, solar, SunPower, Tesla, Transportation, uk, Ukraine, united kingdom, USGBC, Vladimir Putin, wind
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27
Mar

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 3.27.14

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

OIL 

Spain’s oil deposits and fracking trigger energy gold rush (via The Guardian)

US now producing 10% of world’s crude oil (via The Hill)

New York State seeks more data on crude oil rail operations (via New York Times)

Battle begins over plan to send oil trains through California cities (via Climate Progress)

UTILITIES 

UK’s big six utilities face competition probe (via Bloomberg)

FERC orders gas and electricity suppliers to work together (via Reuters)

RENEWABLES 

Citigroup says “Age of Renewables” has begun (via Renew Economy)

Global solar deployment edged out wind in 2013 (via Solar Industry)

New wind power blows UK green electricity to record levels (via BusinessGreen)

Renewable energy starts 2014 off strong in US (via Renew Grid)

Study finds wind power cost competitive with natural gas in US (via Phys.org)

New US wind power installations plummet 93% in 2013 (via Houston Chronicle)

US solar market grappling with impact of federal tax credit expiration (via Greentech Media)

Kansas Senate approves bill ending renewable energy standards (via Kansas City Star)

Solar turf wars: NRG Energy buys roof diagnostics, Sunrun allies with Sungevity (via Greentech Media)

Watch how fast wind farms spread across the US (via Climate Central)

CLIMATE 

New UN IPCC report is cautious on making climate predictions (via Yale e360)

No pause in global sea level rise (via Scientific American)

Disasters led to $45 billion in global insurance losses in 2013 (via ABC News/AP)

Report says climate change is world’s “gravest security threat” (via RTCC)

Top scientists say global warming caused record Australian heatwave (via The Telegraph)

2013: Extreme weather, extreme damage in US (via Center for American Progress)

Obama talks climate change in new Showtime documentary (via Huffington Post)

NATURAL GAS 

Trade deal would ease US natural gas exports to Europe (via Reuters)

Fracking’s earthquake risks push states to collaborate (via Bloomberg)

Keystone XL battle plan may not fit enviros’ fight against LNG exports (via E&E Daily)

ENVIRONMENT 

China’s rivers at the brink of collapse (via Huffington Post)

Big challenges for reclamation of ravaged tar sands lands (via Yale e360)

House GOP wants to make it nearly impossible for Obama to create new national monuments (via National Journal)

USGBC wants all students educated on sustainability by 2040 (via GreenBiz)

Poll: Californians cutting water use amid drought (via San Francisco Chronicle)

COAL 

Poll finds support for more coal ash regulation in North Carolina (via News Observer)

TRANSPORTATION 

Modern diesels pollute over 20% less than those from 10 years ago (via Autoblog)

100% drop-in aviation biofuels “closer” to reality (via Renewable Energy World)

US high-speed rail gets a boost with 32-train order for Siemens (via CleanTechnica)

GRID 

Germany’s $2.8 billion transmission link with Norway threatened (via Bloomberg)

OPINION 

New Zealand’s “Kyoto forests” sow the seeds for a massive emissions surge (via The Guardian)

Have we reached the clean energy tipping point? (via GreenBiz)

Is a super El Nino coming to shatter extreme weather and global temperature records? (via Climate Progress)

Here’s why British Columbia’s carbon tax is so popular and effective (via Grist)

How the US natural gas boom just caused more US coal exports (via Climate Progress)

Why Nest’s valuation is higher than Opower’s: Hardware, consumers, homes (via GigaOm)

Posted:   |   Categories: australia, barack obama, biofuel, british columbia, california, carbon tax, China, Citigroup, climate, Climate Change, coal, coal ash, Coal ash spill, deforestation, diesel, drought, El Nino, Extreme weather, FERC, fracking, germany, global warming, grid, high speed rail, investment tax credit, itc, kansas, Keystone XL, Liquefied natural gas, LNG, natural gas, Natural gas exports, Nest, new york state, new zealand, News, North Carolina, norway, NRG Energy Sunrun, oil, Oil exports, Oil train, Opower, Renewable energy standard, renewables, Russia, Sea level rise, solar, Spain, Sungevity, tar sands, Transportation, uk, UN IPCC, united kingdom, USGBC, wind
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19
Aug

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 8.19.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

CLIMATE 

UN panel finds humans 95% likely cause of climate change (via The Hill)

More frequent heat waves by 2020 “almost certain” (via Climate Central)

Global flood damage could exceed $1 trillion annually by 2050 (via Mother Jones)

Climate change brings another flood onslaught in Pakistan (via Pakistan Daily Times)

Worst Colorado River drought in century prompts feds to cut Lake Powell releases (via Deseret News)

Many Floridians face rising tide of flood insurance costs (via Sun Sentinel)

KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS 

Interior Department says Keystone XL could harm parks, wildlife (via The Hill)

TransCanada acknowledges tar sands crude could sink if spilled (via EnergyWire)

Steyer launches $1 million anti-Keystone XL ad push (via The Hill)

RENEWABLES 

Despite slowdown, China to hold wind power market leadership to 2020 (via Renewable Energy World)

Czech lawmakers axe renewable energy support (via Recharge)

European climate policy drives wood pellet boom in North Carolina (via News Observer)

New hydropower laws could add 60GW of clean energy to US grid (via CleanTechnica)

Investors welcome new environmental standards for solar (via BusinessGreen)

Energy cane “could yield five times more ethanol than corn” (via Environmental Leader)

Texas claims cheapest solar installations as prices drop nationwide (via Houston Chronicle)

California Solar Initiative aims to preserve project resources as funding ends (via Energy Manager Today)

EMISSIONS 

Australia’s carbon markets to survive federal election (via Bloomberg)

California to discuss additional compliance options for cap-and-trade program (via Bloomberg BNA)

Waste carbon dioxide could be used as energy (via RTCC)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

Shale gas company halts fracking at British site (via New York Times)

Shale grab in US stalls as falling values repel buyers (via Bloomberg)

Methane leakage from Utah gas rigs higher than EPA estimates (via RTCC)

Aubrey McClendon is back, with deals in the Utica (via Forbes)

GREEN BUSINESS 

Sweden named “most sustainable country in the world” (via BusinessGreen)

Auto manufacturers aim to produce vehicles at sustainable facilities (via Energy Manager Today)

Investors slow to embrace sustainability, Accenture says (via Environmental Leader)

US rare earths mining rush enters its “survival moment” (via Greenwire)

OIL 

Shale gas and oil production soaring in 2013 (via Houston Chronicle)

Experts clash on estimates of oil spilled into Gulf (via Houston Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION 

America’s new vehicles are more fuel efficient than ever (via Greentech Media)

Electric car charging at work: The next big push (via Green Car Reports)

Is Tesla Model S the best way to sell politicians on EVs? (via Green Car Reports)

Hybrids take 7% of California market in 1H 2013; PHEVs 0.7%, EVs 1.1% (via Green Car Congress)

GREEN BUILDING 

USGBC report highlights growth in green building industry (via Bloomberg BNA)

Arizona hosts world’s largest net-zero energy building (via CleanTechnica)

GRID 

UK’s first large-scale battery storage project goes live (via Renew Grid)

Designing grid batteries to live long and prosper (via Greentech Media)

Distributed generation grabs power from centralized utilities (via Forbes)

Trees vs. transmission: Utility arborist seeks better approach (via Midwest Energy News)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

EIA publishes state fact sheets on residential energy consumption and characteristics (via US EIA)

Smart windows just got a lot smarter at saving energy (via Breaking Energy)

How much is a Nest thermostat worth? (via Breaking Energy)

ENVIRONMENT 

We’ve covered the world in pesticides – is that a problem? (via Washington Post)

In West’s expanding tinderbox, questions about development (via Stateline)

10,000 homes threatened as Idaho wildfire spreads to 92,000 acres (via NBC News)

Bare trees are a lingering sign of Hurricane Sandy’s high toll (via New York Times)

OPINION 

The future China chooses will dictate the future of Earth (via The Guardian)

Can climate science be rendered conservative-friendly? (via Grist)

Can hacking the stratosphere solve climate change? (via NPR)

Could suburbs become the future of renewable energy? (via ClimateWire)

Is Washington in a “post-policy era”? (via Washington Post)

Obama Administration rushes to expand fracking on public lands despite frightening evidence (via Climate Progress)

Posted:   |   Categories: arizona, Aubrey McClendon, australia, battery, BP, california, California Solar Initiative, cap and trade, China, climate, Climate Change, colorado river, Czech Republic, deforestation, distributed generation, drought, eia, Electric Vehicle, emissions, Energy Efficiency, energy storage, environment, ethanol, europe, ev, Flood, Florida, fracking, Geoengineering, global warming, green building, green business, grid, Gulf of Mexico, Heat waves, Hurricane Sandy, hybrid, Hydropower, Idaho, interior department, IPCC, Keystone XL, Lake Powell, LEED, natural gas, Nest, Net zero building, News, North Carolina, Ohio, oil, oil spill, pakistan, Pesticides, Rare earths, renewables, Shale gas, Shale oil, solar, Sugarcane, Sweden, tar sands, Tesla Model S, texas, Tom Steyer, TransCanada, transmission, Transportation, uk, united kingdom, USGBC, Utica Shale, Wildfire, wind
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23
Jan

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 1.23.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS 

Nebraska governor approves new Keystone XL route (via New York Times)

Nebraska approval puts Keystone pipeline decision squarely on Obama (via Globe and Mail)

US State Department: no Keystone decision before end of Q1 2013 (via Reuters)

Obama’s own words turn up heat on Keystone decision (via Politico)

Sierra Club to engage in civil disobedience for first time in opposition to Keystone XL (via San Francisco Chronicle)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

Four of five British have not heard of government’s energy efficiency Green Deal (via BusinessGreen)

Senate bill targets energy efficiency for climate strategy (via Politico)

DC, Virginia, Colorado top US in 2012 LEED certifications (via Energy Manager Today)

Berkeley Lab predicts more energy efficiency incentives in South, Midwest (via Energy Manager Today)

California to invest $2.5 billion retrofitting energy-wasting schools (via Forbes)

RENEWABLES 

China’s solar market boomed in Q4, accounting for third of global demand (via Forbes)

Japan’s solar tariff may drop 12% as costs sink, BNEF estimates (via Bloomberg)

Global insurers see opportunity in renewable energy (via Recharge)

EU proposes duties on US bioethanol imports (via Reuters)

Chinese solar panel imports drop amid new US tariffs (via Houston Chronicle)

Total solar scenario for Earth: plenty, with room to spare (via EarthTechling)

Ikea to double spending on renewable energy to $4 billion (via Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg) 

Taller wind turbines boost state energy self-reliance (via CleanTechnica)

New bill proposed for Maryland offshore wind (via Recharge)

Wind farm towers: taller and slower with more power (via Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Wind energy company could be required to track, protect condors (via Bakersfield Californian)

EMISSIONS 

Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to EPA pollution rule (via The Hill)

Court ruling casts doubt on future of EPA monitoring program (via Greenwire)

California greenhouse gas emissions drop for 3rd year (via Sustainable Business)

TRANSPORTATION 

A123 expects Wanxiang sale to be finished by Feb 1 (via Autoblog Green)

Lux Research: Boeing “should have used a safer battery” (via Environmental Leader)

More electric car charging stations open in Atlanta (via Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

COAL 

Sen. Rockefeller reshaping his federal mine safety legislation (via Register-Herald)

Coal trains: what is the impact? (via Skagit Valley Herald)

The people and process behind Bellingham’s coal port decision (via Crosscut)

Iowa utility agrees to stop using coal at five generators (via Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Betting on Indiana coal: Duke wants ratepayers to fund retrofits, enviros cry foul (via Midwest Energy News)

GRID 

Australian utilities reluctant to invest in smart grid (via Renew Grid)

How much electric supply capacity is needed to keep US electricity grids reliable? (via US EIA)

In fuel cells, the US plays catch-up (via Pike Research)

CLIMATE 

Poll shows country split on climate change (via The Hill)

In inaugural address, Obama makes a moral case for action on climate change (via Washington Post)

Obama signals new executive authority focus on climate change (via Los Angeles Times)

Obama could bypass Congress to fulfill climate pledge (via Bloomberg)

Death from above: Chicago’s bird casualties offer clues on climate change (via Grist)

GREEN BUSINESS 

Shareholders challenge Exxon, Chevron over climate risks (via GreenBiz)

NATURAL GAS 

Natural gas vehicles remain less prevalent in US than elsewhere (via Houston Chronicle)

Huntsman Corp. joins campaign against US natural gas exports (via Houston Chronicle)

NUCLEAR 

An early nuclear warning: was it for naught? (via New York Times)

Fish caught near Fukushima shows radiation level 2,500 above safety standards (via Daily Mail)

OPINION 

A quick, awesome must-read on climate change (via Mother Jones)

Will Germany banish fossil fuels before the US? (via Grist)

Enough with our cult of the presidency – the climate’s fate rests with Congress (via Grist)

The climate change endgame (via New York Times)

The 14 fossil-fuel projects poised to f*ck up the climate (via Grist)

Posted:   |   Categories: A123, Atlanta, australia, barack obama, battery, Berkeley Lab, biofuel, boeing, Boeing Dreamliner, california, Chevron, chicago, China, climate, coal, Coal export, Coal train, colorado, Congress, Dave Heineman, duke energy, Electric Vehicle, emissions, Energy Efficiency, EPA, ethanol, EU, European Union, ev, ev charging, Exxon, feed-in tariff, fuel cell, fukushima, germany, green business, grid, Ikea, indiana, japan, Jay Rockefeller, Keystone XL, LEED, maryland, Mine safety, natural gas, Natural gas export, Nebraska, News, nuclear, offshore wind, Reliability, renewables, retrofit, sierra club, smart grid, solar, Solar trade war, tar sands, Tariff, Transportation, uk, united kingdom, USGBC, virginia, Wanxiang, Washington DC, Washington State, wind
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