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Hooked on electricity
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
I woke up at 5 a.m. on Sunday. I wasn’t sure why. The house was quiet and there was a soundless rain outside. I was planning on snuggling back into bed for at least two more hours after checking on the old dog — assuming it was she-who -needs-to-go-out-at-exceedingly-early-times who woke me.
I decided to check on the teenagers too. And there in the in the “playroom” or Texas basement or whatever you call that room over the garage, was a nightmare of electricity consumption. The room was ablaze in light. The TV was blaring. The DVR was glowing. The 14-year-old asleep on the couch as only someone his age could be. He was sent to his room — where a light also had been conveniently left on.
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, conservation, consumption, Electricity, Fossil Fuels
Natural gas, it’s green, but in what sense?
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Pity the American public trying to figure out where to stand on natural gas. There’s a cacophony of appeals to our patriotism, pocketbooks and desire to be eco-correct.
The latest twist comes from politicians in Congress, accompanied by oilman and clean energy trumpeter T. Boone Pickens, who are promoting big tax [...]
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, carbon pollution, compressed natural gas, domestic fuel, Fossil Fuels, gas drilling, groundwater, Harry Reid, methane gas, natural gas, Orrin Hatch, pollution, Robert Menendez, Southern Methodist University, T.Boone Pickens, US gas
U.S. report on climate change: No time to waste
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The Obama Administration, via the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), issued a wake-up call today, a massive report on climate change called Global Climate Change Impacts in the U.S..
It concludes that the effects of climate change are here, they’re worsening and they must be dealt with soon if future generations are to enjoy ample food, water and comfortable living conditions
Quite simply, it’s a message about impending disaster. Average temperatures are getting hotter and could rise as much as 10 degrees by the end of the century. Our use of fossil fuels is mainly to blame. If we don’t stop polluting the air with heat-trapping gases, the ensuing climate changes will lead to drought, flooding, severe storms, stressed agriculture, thinning glaciers, earlier snow melts, rising sea levels, declining ecosystems and deteriorating air quality.
End of story. Literally.
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Tags: · Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, global warming, Greenhouse Gases, heat-trapping gases, sea rise, severe weather, U.S. Global Change Research Program, warming temperatures, water shortages
Making sense of Waxman-Markey
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
The first full day of hearings on that proposed law known as Waxman-Markey, which would promote clean energy, foster green jobs and set up a system to curb greenhouse gas emissions, began today, fittingly, on Earth Day.
 But how do we make sense of this sweeping piece of legislation that affects everything from the air you breathe to the refrigerator you use? You could watch the hearings on C-Span over the next few weeks. (If you are unemployed, have all day long to plop in front of the tube and can remain alert for extended periods while people discuss abstractions like “carbon allowances” and “international offsets” this might be for you!)
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Tags: · American Clean Energy and Security Act, cap-and-trade, Carbon sequestration, clean coal, clean energy, Climate Change, economy, Emissions, Fossil Fuels, global warming, Green jobs, petroleum, Waxman-Markey
ExxonMobil launches ‘cogeneration’ plant in Antwerp
From Green Right Now Reports
As long as the world is busy refining crude oil for gasoline and other petroleum products, it may as well try to maximize the benefits from the process.
That’s the aim of “cogeneration” plants, such as the newest one put into action by ExxonMobil in Antwerp, Belgium. The refinery there will capture heat from the refining process to generate electricity, “cogenerating” or making dual use of the refining process, according to a press release.
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Tags: · Add new tag, cogeneration, Electricity, ExxonMobil, Fossil Fuels, global warming emissions, heat, refineries, steam
Earth: The Sequel; Emissions Inventory: The Prequel
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
I always thought that Earth the Sequel could have been better named. It’s a catchy title, but it sounds like it could be a post-doomsday piece when, in fact, it is the opposite. The book by Miriam Horn and Fred Krupp canvasses the new landscape of green energy companies and entrepreneurs, showing us glimmers of a future economy freed of dirty fuels.
This past week, Discovery Channel brought us the video version of Earth the Sequel, which followed the road map of the book, but seemed even more uplifting. Maybe the infectious optimism of the green pioneers interviewed was more palpable on video, or maybe I just needed a mood-booster amid dour times.
It was heartening to hear the developers of wind, solar, solar-thermal and wave-energy projects talking earnestly and hopefully about the immediate future. (Though parts of the documentary were filmed before the economic meltdown last September.)
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, clean energy, coal, Fossil Fuels, Green Energy, Nuclear, oil, Solar Power, solar thermal, wave power, Wind Power
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