Energy
Concentrating solar, or 'solar thermal', is an old technology getting an update as solar power spreads across the Southwest.
The Christian Science Monitor
In order to reduce New York City's dependence on natural gas, Mayor Bloomberg is proposing an offshore wind farm and skyscraper-mounted turbines.
The Globe and Mail
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced plans to install windmills on some of the city's skyscrapers and bridges.
WCBS New York
Planners in Montgomery County, MD are nixing a proposed bike path because of its nearness to 'ecologically sensitive parkland'. Bicycle proponents think this argument doesn't hold water. Says one,'they're already running a big highway through there.'
The Washington Post
One of Congress' newest members sees it fitting that Americans should drive slower to save fuel - an appropriate sacrifice for a war she sees partly waged for oil. Her first bill, HR 6458, lowers speed limits to 60/65 mph (urban/rural areas).
The San Francisco Chronicle
Solar power will get a big boost from two facilities planned for California, which will together be capable of generating 800 megawatts of power.
The New York Times
Using the term 'oil supply crunch' as opposed to 'peak oil', this British report indicates that the oil crisis will hit by 2013, with prices jumping to $200/barrel. It states that the problem is not insufficient oil but obstacles to its extraction.
BBC News
Blog post
In a much discussed speech, ‘A Generational Challenge to Repower America,’ Al Gore challenged America to hit the off-switch on foreign oil and re-power itself with home-grown carbon-free energy– namely wind, solar and geothermal.
The predicted outcome Gore said would be a bold, energy independent nation ready to lead the world into the 21st century. However, such an effort, he asserted, would require “commitment to changing not just light bulbs, but laws. And Laws will only change with leadership.”
The city of Austin considers a multi-billion dollar investment in a "biomass" power plant, burning wood waste in East Texas as a carbon-neutral, renewable energy source.
Austin American-Statesman
Boise considers resurrecting their streetcar system after an 80 year absence.
The Boise Weekly
With heating oil expected to be 36% more expensive, natural gas twice that amount, and LIHEAP funding lower than it was in the 1980s, there are grave warnings that the northeastern U.S. could be facing a "frozen Katrina" this winter.
The Nation
In British Columbia, a proposal to require all new buildings to be carbon-neutral is being considered. The rule would require that buildings have no carbon footprint by 2020.
The Globe and Mail
American businesses and consumers are changing their habits and finding ways to save energy.
Wall St. Journal
The public has relegated global warming well behind other issues, including high energy prices. This article examines the role of environmental groups in this backslide as the public warms to more drilling to reduce gas prices.
Politico
<p>The cost of home heating is expected to rise considerably this winter, but with utilities unable to obtain credit, Washington deadlocked on how to deal with it, and LIHEAP underfunded American households are in for a tough winter.</p>
The New York Times
Astride the maze of rivers east of San Francisco that crisscross California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta stand two imposing edifices — the pumping stations that supply water to vast swaths of the state.
When operating at full throttle, the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant, managed by the state of California, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's C.W. "Bill" Jones Pumping Plant, have the capacity to entirely reverse the flow on the delta tributaries upon which they sit.
Miller-McCune
<p>Suburban growth in the DC area has been fueled by low gas prices and abundant freeways. Expensive gas has changed this growth paradigm as commuters shift to public transit and seek close-in homes. Will government respond to the change in the market?</p>
The Washington Post
<p>Alex Steffen of WorldChanging proposes that globalization could soon change direction as transportation costs increase.</p>
WorldChanging
<p>Rock Port, Missouri, population 1300, has become the first community in the country with more wind power that it can use.</p>
National Public Radio
<p>Andres Duany and other experts discuss how the convergence of high gas prices and the foreclosure crisis may reverse years of cheap gas and cheap exurban land. He's pushing mixed uses and reformed zoning in suburbia, and he's betting on Texas.</p>
U.S. News & World Report
