U.S. energy policy
Perhaps more than any other sitting U.S. President, Barack Obama has been Commander in Chief through some of the most obvious examples of what climate change will do to America. The last few weeks alone have given us severe droughts in some areas of the country while others have seen unprecedented flooding; The state of Colorado is battling some of the worst wildfires in their history; and massive heat waves are engulfing large swaths of America. And let’s not forget the massive snowstorms in the winter of 2010 – 2011.
Just how important is the U.S. Production Tax Credit (PTC) for renewable energy that is set to expire in December? Ask Ditlev Engel, CEO of Vestas Wind Systems, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer. Engel predicts the U.S. wind turbine market will drop a whopping 80% next year if the incentive vanishes as expected.
Investment in renewable energy surged again in 2011, according to two new reports issued by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21).
A new survey from Stanford University shows that American support for government action on global warming has dropped over the past two years.
In a recent intimate talk filmed at TED's offices, energy theorist Amory Lovins discusses a 50-year energy plan that can eliminate America's addiction to oil and fossil fuels as well as cut natural gas consumption by one-third by 2050. The system would shift toward renewables and more efficient use of energy.
Despite all the political rhetoric, the bottom line hasn't changed: carbon emissions are increasing in every corner of the planet. This is largely due to the fact that the global economy is so unequivocally tied to fossil fuel consumption.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) administrator in the South and Southwest region (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas), Al Armendariz, has resigned after Republicans took aim at comments he made two years ago regarding how the EPA would "crucify" corporations that broke environmental laws.
Human beings use different kinds of energy for different purposes all over the planet every hour of the day and night.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its 17th annual greenhouse gas inventory, and the results are concerning, especially for climate scientists that are clamouring for a reduction in carbon emissions.
A few weeks ago, I wrote to the President urging him to make North America more energy self-sufficient and to promote common-sense regulatory controls for all forms of energy in our hemisphere - while at the same time continuing to encourage both sustainable energy projects and responsible energy use.
