Category: Blog entry
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Wind is Successfully Competing
Conway IrwinDecember 7, 2013 GreenTechMedia Morgan Stanley is seeing “vicious competition” between coal plants and wind farms in resource-rich regions. More efficient technologies, combined with low costs and strong wind resources, are making wind cost-competitive with some of the cheapest forms of fossil energy in the Midwest. “In the Midwest, we’re now seeing power agreements being…
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How Deep Do Property Lines Extend
By JIM MALEWITZ Published: December 5, 2013 The New York Times A case involving the disposal of industrial wastewater pits two interests that are dear to many Texans against each other: oil and gas resources versus private property rights. A decision by the state’s highest civil court could have major implications for both. The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on…
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Solar Jobs Could Brighten the Economy
By Marc Lifsher November 13, 2013, Los Angeles Times Los Angeles County could create tens of thousands of new jobs and reduce global-warming-causing carbon emissions if solar-voltaic panels are installed on just 5% of available rooftops, says a just-issued report. The study by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Luskin Center for Innovation at UCLA, released Wednesday, predicts that 29,000 installer jobs would…
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The Sun Shines In Vermont!
U.S. Solar Power Testing Site to Be Built in Vt. Representatives from Sandia, IBM, and the U.S. Department of Energy joined Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, second from left, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, right, to launch the regional center to help test solar technology on Monday, Nov. 4, 2013 in Williston, Vt. Officials announced the Vermont…
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Green Energy In Rutland
GMP Opens Energy Innovation Center In Rutland VPR November 20, 2013 By Nina Keck GMP’s new Energy Innovation Center in Rutland was created out of what had been two blighted downtown properties. Green Mountain Power’s new $2.75 million Energy Innovation Center opens today in Rutland. The facility was created out of what had been two blighted downtown…
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Biomass Thermal: The Logs That Break the Forest’s Back
Biomass Thermal: The Logs That Break the Forest’s Back A sector of the biomass incineration industry claims to be turning over a new “green” leaf by building smaller, slightly more energy-efficient facilities focused on heating rather than electricity. Meanwhile, behind the smokescreen, biomass thermal advocates are supporting much of the same forest-raiding, climate-busting, and lung-searing…
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Push for Ethanol Production Carries Costs to Land
- by Dina Cappiello and Matt Apuzzo, November 12, 2013, Source: AP The hills of southern Iowa bear the scars of America’s push for green energy: The brown gashes where rain has washed away the soil. The polluted streams that dump fertilizer into the water supply. Even the cemetery that disappeared like an apparition into a cornfield.…
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Bills Show Rate Changes from Biomass Incinerator
- by Christopher Curry, October 30, 2013, Source: The Gainesville Sun The October bills for electric customers of Gainesville Regional Utilities show the first of two rate increases scheduled for this budget year with the biomass plant coming online. Bills sent out this month to residential customers show higher rates than in August and September. Still, they…
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250 Scientists Concerned about Post-fire Logging
250 Scientists Concerned about Post-fire Logging November 4, 2013, Source: Yuba.net In an open letter to the U.S. Congress, 250 scientists request that Congress show restraint in speeding up logging in the wake of this year’s wildfires, most notably the Rim fire in the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park. The scientists raised concerns that currently proposed…
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$10 Million Taxpayer Money to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees to Biofuel
$10 Million Taxpayer Money to Convert Beetle-Killed Trees to Biofuel - by Ashley Sanchez, November 6, 2013, Source: ABC Fox Montana The University of Montana is awarded part of a $10 million grant to find ways to turn beetle-killed trees into biofuel. Pine beetle infestations have impacted more than 42 million acres of U.S. forests for more…