Climate and energy

Coal drama. Utah has its own coal controversy going, this over a proposed 270 MW coal plant (Salt Lake Tribune). Only theirs is mixed up with a ballot initiative, which I am sure makes it even more interesting. At any rate, the utility in question has had the air permit for more than four years, but it went to the courts and is still there.

Coal, climate change and economic drama. Let’s review. Credit markets are drying up - and this affects construction of all energy facilities, be they wind, coal, natural gas, whatever. And what credit there is, is not going to go to ventures that are considered risky.

So. Is building fossil fuel generation increasingly considered risky and/or high-cost, given expected international and national carbon regulation?

For your answer, read this post from Climate Intel. Quotable:

This week, amidst the dislocations flowing from the global financial markets, lawmakers in the US and EU advanced legislation requiring geological sequestration of CO2 emissions from future coal-fired plants.  It remains to be seen how the unfolding economic landscape may affect the viability of any significant movement on new climate change legislation.  For the moment, however, these proposals are signs that some lawmakers realize that implementing a comprehensive climate change framework in five (or twenty-five) years means laying the legal and regulatory foundation now.

If you watch TV, you’ve seen the ads... Ever wonder who is paying for all the issue advertising - like the bright shiny faces telling you how great natural resource use X or Y is?

Answer: Many of them are industry front groups. Consumer Reports has joined together with the Center for Media and Democracy to create a neat-o website, Frontgroups.org.  It’s very interesting. Many of the names were strangely familiar.

Have you always wanted to read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, but…. well, but? Basically, there is now a dummies version - a new book called Dire Predictions. (As a dummy myself, I find this exciting). If you need some light reading to distract yourself from the stock market, I highly recommend it.

Everyone have a great weekend!

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org