Energy and Environment News Roundup – 2.4.14

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

KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS 

Mining tar sands produces 2-3 times more air pollution than thought (via Smithsonian)

Keystone Pipeline report fallout: The latest (via National Journal)

Greens warn base will sit out election if Obama approves Keystone XL (via The Hill)

White House vows to keep Keystone call above “political influence” (via The Hill)

Canadian group pitches Alaska rail line for oil sands (via Houston Chronicle/AP)

CLIMATE 

Ocean temperatures spiked globally in 2013 (via Grist)

Adapting to sea level rise could save trillions (via Renew Economy)

Winter ice season now 24 days shorter than in 1950s (via Science Recorder)

January’s temperatures leave a nation blowing hot and cold (via Climate Central)

Northern Alaska lake ice shows “dramatic decline” in 20 years (via Climate Progress)

RENEWABLES 

FiT has lit up Japan’s solar landscape (via Recharge)

How solar shifted the peak during Australia’s heat waves (via Renew Economy)

Wind industry carries momentum into 2014 – will it last? (via Midwest Energy News)

Will solar energy in Hawaii be a test case for grid penetration? (via Energy Collective)

National Cooperative Bank arranges $82 million in financing for North Carolina solar projects (via Solar Industry)

EMISSIONS 

Australia’s new pollution plan starts to look like emissions trading (via Bloomberg)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

China building codes could cut energy use 22% (via Energy Manager Today)

DOE wants to make your phone charger more energy efficient (via National Journal)

OIL 

BP quarterly profit falls as divestments impact income (via Houston Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION 

“Insane” GHG savings from workplace EV charging, according to NASA (via CleanTechnica)

Nissan Leaf sales get January jump as Chevy Volt trends down (via Autoblog Green)

Tesla completes cross-country Supercharger drive in Model S EVs (via Autoblog Green)

GRID 

Europe introduces harmonized power market across 15 countries (via Reuters)

A next-gen battery tech is coming soon to the power grid (via GigaOm)

A123’s path back to grid-scale battery business (via Greentech Media)

NUCLEAR 

EPA seeks to modernize nuclear standards (via The Hill)

ENVIRONMENT 

California’s drought raises stakes for water tunnels (via Bloomberg)

Duke pipe break causes coal ash release into North Carolina river (via Bloomberg)

OPINION 

Should Obama approve Keystone XL? (via National Journal)

Ten key numbers in the Keystone XL pipeline report (via Washington Post)

Rejecting Keystone XL could damage US environmental movement (via Forbes)

How to convince your friends to believe in climate change…it’s not as hard as you think (via Washington Post)