September 11th, 2018 by Joshua S Hill in Clean Technica The rapid growth of clean technologies is expected to cause fossil fuel demand to peak in the 2020s, according to a new report from Carbon Tracker, serving to put at risk trillions for investors ignorant of or unwilling to participate in the transition to a low-carbon economy. The new report from independent financial …
How unstable the fracking industry is
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/01/opinion/the-next-financial-crisis-lurks-underground.html excerpt: The fracking industry’s financial foundation is unstable: Frackers haven’t proven that they can make money. “The industry has a very bad history of money going into it and never coming out,” says the hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, who founded one of the world’s largest short-selling hedge funds. The 60 biggest exploration and production firms are not generating enough cash …
CO2’s Role in Global Warming Has Been on the Oil Industry’s Radar Since the 1960s
Historical records reveal early industry concern with air pollutants, including smog and CO2, and unwanted regulation. By NEELA BANERJEE et al., 13 Apr 2016 Documents reveal that the risks of climate change were being discussed in the inner circles of the oil industry in the 1960s, earlier than previously documented. Credit: Photo of Exxon’s Bayway oil refinery in New Jersey by …
In all clean electric California generation would only take 39% of the land area fossil fuels do today
Mark Jacobson on Clean Technica, 26 Aug 2018 SB 100, a bill now pending in the California legislature, would transition California to 100% zero-carbon, effectively all renewable, electricity by 2045. Our studies provide a way to do this for all energy sectors (electricity, transportation, heating/cooling, and industry). Robert Bryce, a Senior Fellow of the Manhattan Institute, a think tank that …
The 5 most important questions about carbon taxes, answered: A carbon tax can lower emissions, but it needs to be high
By David Roberts@drvoxdavid@vox.com Updated Jul 23, 2018 Carbon taxes are in the news these days. In recent months, not one but two conservative national carbon tax proposals have emerged, disrupting the usual partisan dynamic on climate policy. First there was the proposal from the Climate Leadership Council, a group of (mostly older, retired) Republicans and centrists, which was released last year but recently gained the backing of a …
Judge: Atlantic Coast pipeline failed to assess the health impacts the project would have on minorities, as required under federal law.
By Phil McKenna, Inside Climate News, May 18, 2018 A federal court has invalidated a key permit for the Atlantic Coast pipeline project that would carry natural gas from West Virginia to North Carolina. Now civil rights advocates are working to build their environmental justice case in hopes of further stymying the project. Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images A federal court has invalidated a …
The Public Has Been Ignored for Too Long on Pipelines: The government’s own watchdogs agree: Regulators have been ignoring local communities and siding with industry way too often.
By Todd Larsen, June 29, 2018 In school, we’re taught that the U.S. is a nation of laws, and no one is above the law. But for communities nationwide fighting natural gas pipelines, they quickly find that the law is stacked against them. Imagine receiving notice one day that a pipeline is going to cut through your property — maybe just …
Rhode Island Attorney General sues fossil fuel companies for knowingly contributing to climate change
In a case that he described as the first of its kind in the nation, Kilmartin announced the Superior Court complaint on Monday alongside Gov. Gina Raimondo at the Narragansett seawall, an iconic stretch of Rhode Island’s 400-mile coastline that is under threat in the face of rising seas and more severe storms. NARRAGANSETT — Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin …
Some Rare Good Climate News: The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Weaker Than Ever
By Bill McKibben, Grist, 24 June 18, From Wall Street to the pope, many increasingly see fossil fuels as anything but a sure bet. That gives us reason to hope f you’re looking for good news on the climate front, don’t look to the Antarctic. Last week’s spate of studies documenting that its melt rates had tripled is precisely the kind of data that …
End of the ‘gas rush?’ Renewables, storage reaching cost parity, report finds: As battery costs decline, researchers say localized portfolios of clean energy could challenge gas plant investments.
Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive, June 11, 2018, End of the ‘gas rush?’ Renewables, storage reaching cost parity, report finds: As battery costs decline, researchers say localized portfolios of clean energy could challenge gas plant investments. The U.S. power mix is rapidly changing, but utilities still want the same thing — a resource mix that delivers the most reliable and safe …