The Green Grok Blogs on Energy
Counting All the Carbon: A Waxman-Markey Wart
by Bill ChameidesJul 02, 2009
filed under: land-use changes, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, global warming, carbon cycle, bioenergy, carbon, carbon dioxide emissions, biofuels
To love something means accepting it, “warts and all.” Well, here’s one Waxman-Markey wart I don’t even like: its failure to count all the carbon.
Is There Enough Water to ‘Grow’ Ethanol?
by Bill ChameidesJun 23, 2009
filed under: natural resources, energy, corn, corn ethanol, legislation, water, ethanol, biofuels
A recent study points out that when it comes to water usage, where your ethanol is brewed really matters.
Statistically Speaking: New Fuel Resources - Worth Drilling For?
by Bill ChameidesJun 19, 2009
filed under: U.S. Congress, oil, natural gas, energy, legislation, oil drilling, oil reserves, policy, politics, oil resources
A bill just passed by a Senate committee would open the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling. What's the potential gain?
Cap and Trade Part 3 – You Ask, “What?” I Say, “How Wide?”
by Bill ChameidesJun 10, 2009
filed under: cap and trade, oil, transportation, automobile, economics, global warming, climate change, acid rain program, carbon dioxide emissions, agriculture, economy
Which greenhouse gas emissions do you find when you look under a cap and trader?
Commencement ... Now What?
by Bill Chameides, Wendy Graber, and Erica RowellJun 04, 2009
filed under: science, environmentalism, energy efficiency, Energy Star
Summer time and the living is easy. Or is it? If you're a student and you've just loosed yourself from the rigors of academia for a spell, where do you turn? What do you do? Here are a few web tools to help you figure out what's next.
GM Declares Bankruptcy
by Bill ChameidesJun 01, 2009
filed under: transportation, business, air pollution, automobile, automakers, health, Wall Street Journal, carbon dioxide emissions, General Motors
The end of an era, to be sure. But how did this happen? The result of meddling by “pointy-headed busybodies” or the inevitable march of time?
The Beach Boys Redux: Muscle Cars and National Security
by Bill ChameidesMay 28, 2009
filed under: fuel economy, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, transportation, automobile, Wall Street Journal, oil drilling, oil, Daniel Henninger, cars, policy, politics, fossil fuels
The Wall Street Journal wants to “drill, baby, drill.” But when it comes to fuel economy, it’s “burn, baby, burn” — and send those dollars elsewhere.
Update: Ag Chair Introduces Bill to Bypass EPA on Renewable Fuels
by Bill ChameidesMay 21, 2009
filed under: energy, farmers, climate change, corn, corn ethanol, Minnesota, Waxman-Markey climate bill, Collin Peterson, ethanol, agriculture, biofuels
Last week Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) took his ”I don’t trust anyone anymore” paranoia one step further. He offered up a bill that would not just bypass the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed renewable fuels standard, but the agency itself.
Obama Steers American Cars Into the 21st Century
by Bill ChameidesMay 19, 2009
filed under: fuel economy, greenhouse gas emissions, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), Statistically Speaking, automobile, automakers, cars, transportation, carbon dioxide emissions
When it comes to fuel economy standards, it’s a rare sight to see the automobile industry and the environmental community together on the same platform. But that’s the view we got today when the president announced new fuel economy standards for America’s fleets.
Indiana Governor: Cap and Trade Unfair to Hoosiers. Really?
by Bill ChameidesMay 18, 2009
filed under: cap and trade, economics, renewable energy, climate change, carbon capture and storage (CCS), legislation, politics, coal, Waxman-Markey climate bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act, Wall Street Journal, policy, carbon, carbon dioxide emissions, wind, economy
In Friday’s Wall Street Journal Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said "no thanks" to the Waxman-Markey climate bill. Why? Apparently it’s his stand against imperialism.
Biofuels Can Be Electrifying
by Bill ChameidesMay 12, 2009
filed under: science, fossil fuels, transportation, automobile, corn ethanol, gasoline, electric cars, cellulosic ethanol, cars, carbon dioxide emissions, renewables, biofuels, research
It was a bad week for ethanol. First EPA proposed disqualifying corn ethanol as a renewable fuel (see yesterday's Grok post). Then, a new paper questioned the whole concept of powering cars with ethanol.
EPA’s New Biofuel Standard: No Joy in Cornville
by Bill ChameidesMay 11, 2009
filed under: Bob Dinneen, corn ethanol, Renewable Fuels Standard, Collin Peterson, renewables, biofuels
Corn ethanol is a loser when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It’s a finding that upset one Congressman so much that he won’t “trust anybody anymore.”
Cash-for-Clunkers Agreement: Still Not Ready for Prime Time
by Bill ChameidesMay 08, 2009
filed under: U.S. Congress, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, climate change, legislation, global warming, cars, transportation, carbon dioxide emissions, Cash for Clunkers
Congress has been kicking around the idea of paying people to scrap their old cars and buy new, more fuel-efficient ones. On May 5, Democratic lawmakers and President Obama reportedly agreed on a one-year cash-for-clunkers proposal. Unfortunately, as far as the planet is concerned, the proposal ... well, kind of clunks.
Sympathy for the Oil Industry?
by Bill ChameidesMay 06, 2009
filed under: oil shale, oil, greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas, T. Boone Pickens, climate change, energy, oil reserves, global warming, oil drilling, Robert Samuelson, Washington Post, oil resources, pollution, global economy, economy
The poor oil industry. After years of record profits, things have soured with the collapse of oil and gas prices. And now I read of an Obama “bias” against the industry. Heavens!
The Affordability of the Proposed National Renewable Standard
by Bill ChameidesMay 01, 2009
filed under: U.S. Congress, climate, electricity, climate change, energy, economics, legislation, renewable energy, renewables
After extensive House debate last week, the draft Waxman-Markey climate bill is expected to enter the markup (or pin-the-amendment-on-the-bill) stage next week. Even the relatively innocuous renewable electricity standard is expected to be a target.
Climate Negativity From the Naysayers
by Bill ChameidesApr 27, 2009
filed under: cap and trade, alternative fuel, economics, solar, Bjorn Lomborg, Robert Hirsch, climate change, New York Times, climate skeptics, renewable energy, wind, Kyoto Protocol, Washington Post, James Schlesinger
First the globe was not warming. Then the warming wasn’t due to human activities. In a slow, rearguard action, the naysayers now have a new mantra: "It can’t be done -- it won’t work."
Cash for Clunkers, Here and There
by Bill ChameidesApr 24, 2009
filed under: fuel economy, transportation, cars, economics, automakers, Dianne Feinstein, automobile, carbon dioxide emissions, Cash for Clunkers, economy
The U.S. Congress is not the only (or first) group considering cash-for-clunkers programs. Similar incentives are underway on the other side of the big pond.
Cash for Clunkers Bill Could Be a Clunker
by Bill ChameidesApr 06, 2009
filed under: fuel economy, U.S. Congress, greenhouse gas emissions, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), automobile, Dianne Feinstein, cars, transportation, Betty Sutton, Cash for Clunkers
Rahm Emanuel said: “You never want to waste a serious crisis.” In other words, use the momentum of addressing one crisis to advance other important policy objectives. That’s what the "cash for clunkers" bills rattling their way through Congress will do, right? Maybe not.
Statistically Speaking: How Much Exxon Valdez Oil Remains?
by Bill ChameidesMar 20, 2009
filed under: crude oil, wildlife, oil, Statistically Speaking, fish, oceans, Exxon Valdez, oil spill, birds
Oil from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill continues to threaten wildlife and fish in the Prince William Sound ecosystem (see our post from Wednesday). But how much oil is left?
Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later
by Bill ChameidesMar 18, 2009
filed under: oil, waste, oil company, oil spill, oceans, Exxon Valdez, Prince William Sound, ecosystems, fossil fuels, pollution
Prince William Sound, 2009. Pictures of picturesque beaches and icy-blue waters might suggest that the effects of the 1989 oil spill are long gone. Dig a little deeper, and a very different picture emerges.
