Via Rich Sweeney, and interesting project to test adding solar energy to existing fossil fuel plants: Both projects involve adding steam generated by a solar thermal field to a conventional fossil fuel-powered steam cycle, either to offset some of the coal or natural gas required to generate electric power or to boost overall plant power …
David Satterthwaite argues that the oft-repeated claim that cities generate three quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions is just plain wrong. Writing in the current issue of the journal Environment and Urbanization, he charts what sounds a lot like one of those oft-repeated urban legends: Perhaps this was an estimate for the United States, …
Continue reading ‘Cities Getting Bad Rap on Climate Change?’ »
The Myth of the Cooling Consensus was the second most read AMS paper last month.
Rich Sweeney may be an Al Gore enthusiast, but he’s got some good questions about the gritty details of Gore’s “renewable in 10 years” plan.
Last week, I argued that U.S. military spending ought to be considered in a tally of energy subsidies. Daniel Hall thoughtfully disagrees: You can certainly find estimates that imply total U.S. energy subsidies are north of $100 billion a year, but I haven’t seen any estimates that look rigorous or convincing. This study put out …
The GAO looks at the energy-saving benefits of a reduced speed limit. The answer? Dunno. For high speeds, going slower for sure saves gas, but there’s the whole lawlessness thing… However, other factors, including drivers’ compliance with a reduced speed limit, would affect the actual impact of a lower speed limit on the amount of …
From Wednesday morning’s Financial Times, an example of what happens when the price of oil drops. It’s Saudi Arabia, reviewing the capital investment it was planning back in the olden days, when oil was expensive: Mr Buraik said he expects other countries to conduct their own reviews in the wake of changing dynamics. “People would …
I realize that serious economics commentators do their beer blogging on Fridays, but I just got ’round to reading this in Friday’s Financial Times: Cold, refreshing, helps you forget – the charms of beer are pretty recession-proof. However, what was a lifestyle choice when consumers were flush with cash rapidly becomes an overpriced foreign beer …
The New Mexico legislature has repeatedly failed to grapple with the problem of who owns deep brackish groundwater, and how its use will be regulated. My colleague Sean Olson has a story in this morning’s Albuquerque Journal that illustrates the mess that has resulted, as folks with development interests elbow one another out of the …
Continue reading ‘Legislative Failings and New Mexico Water Wars’ »
An interesting new working paper by Hall et al. looks at the role of energy subsidies in the developing world as a problem – and potential solution – in dealing with climate change: Many non-OECD countries currently subsidize energy, and particularly fossil fuels, thereby creating an opportunity for subsidy reform or elimination that would have …