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The nuclear tragedy in Japan and the disturbing upheaval in Libya and the Middle East have dominated the headlines, but it also serves as a haunting reminder that America’s own energy security may be in peril unless we accelerate efforts to more fully develop energy alternatives that are reliable, safe and sufficient to meet our future needs.
Achieving energy independence has been a laudable but daunting goal since the first energy crisis in 1979. Fortunately, the Obama administration and Congress have embraced policies intended to spur investment and development in renewable energy projects, but it will take a major effort by the private sector and the support of government at all levels.
The private sector is doing its part. They have invested heavily in new, innovative technologies, assembled the engineering and technical support, arranged the necessary financing, and have been engaged at all levels to secure the Federal and local permitting and ultimately the requisite utility and distribution outlets.
Solar Trust of America (STA) is one of many American companies that are investing millions and utilizing proven technology to achieve California’s ambitious goal of 33 percent renewable energy by year 2020. Such goals are unlikely without private-public collaboration.
It is our job to harness the solar potential in areas like STA’s thermal solar project site near Blythe in Southeastern California, utilizing our parabolic trough technology that will ultimately produce 1,000 megawatts of bankable electricity that is sufficient to supply 300,000 households with electricity, avoiding over 2,000,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Our business model is unique in that it encompasses the entire American-based supply chain that involves engineering and technology specialists, financing through private equity funds, creating new demands for steel and other metals, project development and construction of the facilities, and management and operation of the plants.
Finally, it is a job

The uprisings in the Middle East and the growing austerity-induced unrest among workers in the US and Europe have provided new hope for environmental movement leaders who for years have struggled to mobilize the pubic to confront the looming catastrophes of growth-capitalism.
A good example is climate leader and 350.org founder, Bill McKibben. In February, McKibben authored a short blog post celebrating Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to step down. He wrote of the revolution as a teachable moment for the climate movement, suggesting that if “a real people’s movement” could bring down an apparently immovable tyrant like Mubarak a similar movement could bring down the fossil fuel giants.
McKibben is right. As the overlords of the current world order, fossil fuel companies do have a lot to fear from a powerful popular

Japan’s Fukushima disaster, stoking fears we’ve tried to bury since James Bridges’s 1971 epic “The China Syndrome,” is a sobering reminder of the fragility of our planet’s energy sources. As if on cue, 24-hour cable news studios were filled with experts who lamented our reliance on unsafe nuclear power and dirty fossil fuels. And we, the American people, wrung our hands, wondering why “they” aren’t doing anything to fix the problem.
The pattern repeats itself all too often: crisis, followed by a spike in consumer interest in renewable energy and a rapid return to normal, as we hop into our big cars and laze around our energy-guzzling

Nuclear power is not evil; it’s the devil. Evil of our own making can be overcome. The devil cannot be overcome, not even if we ourselves conjure him into being. This is why staking our future on nuclear power is a pact with the devil.
Spokesmen for the nuclear lobby claim nuclear reactors are

The disaster in Japan is almost beyond comprehension. Without minimizing the scale of the humanitarian tragedy, it is already possible to discern the emerging economic debate.
Stock markets immediately anticipated the potential benefits to Japan’s construction industries and their suppliers. Policy makers in the U.K. and Europe, who are busy implementing austerity measures to curb budget deficits, should take note.
The valuable argument coming from the ashes of this crisis is simple: Japan can afford to rebuild.
The Bank of Japan is clear about

The biggest single source of electricity in the United States is coal-fired power plants. And that electricity is way too expensive. The Environmental Protection Agency this past week proposed a rule to make that electricity much cheaper.
You see, burning coal has the unfortunate side effect of releasing mercury and arsenic into the air. It is generally agreed that burning coal for electricity puts at least 48 tons of mercury into the air — the largest unregulated source of

Nearly every week it seems there are new papers on how ecosystems are responding to climate change, as well as how climate change is affecting species extinction rates. Last week was no different: one paper shows shifting biomes in Alaska, and another compares modern rates of extinction to the “great” extinctions of Earth’s history. The paper on extinction makes for a fascinating read, addressing the key question: how do today’s human-driven extinctions compare to the major biodiversity catastrophes of the past?
Other studies, detailed below, increase our knowledge of the world's largest ice sheets, and one study reveals more complexities of growing crops for use as biofuels. These studies, and a number of others published between March 1-7, are summarized here:
Paper Title: Has Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived?
Journal: Nature
Authors: Anthony

The last seven presidents, starting with Gerald Ford, have decried our dependence on foreign oil. Americans clearly recognize the danger of being dependent on petroleum that comes from areas of the world that are unstable and/or hostile to American interests. But, the dependence of our transportation sector on foreign oil is now more than a national security concern; it provides a robust economic opportunity and has created a fierce global race that we could lose if we don’t innovate.
Ninety-four percent of all our cars, trucks, ships and planes are dependent on

The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday is a disaster from which Japan may need years to recover. It is a disaster, however, from which the Japanese and by extension world nuclear industry may never recover. The meltdowns at up to six reactors that the Japanese are now struggling to contain are of a scale that easily rivals that of the last two major disasters, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. What is different is that the Japanese meltdowns are occurring a quarter century after Chernobyl in a country, unlike the former Soviet Union that has substantial transparency.
A generation after the last two disasters, there is an expectation that nuclear facilities are far

Exactly a week ago on March 3, young climate change activist Tim DeChristopher was convicted for disrupting oil and gas lease sales on public lands in southern Utah. He is an international celebrity right now. Hundreds of articles have come out on this story: you can read news stories here and here; opinion pieces here and here; and interviews with Tim, here and here.
Late last year when the Obama administration was contemplating giving Shell the key to go drill in the Arctic Ocean, I used humor and wickedness as a last resort to stop the

My name is Johann Hari, and I am an addict. If you restrict the supply of my drug — as has happened over the past month — I become panicky and angry. If you cut it off entirely, my life will fall apart. I want my fix, I want it cheap, and I want it

A Harvard University study published on Feb 17, 2011, has determined that the true costs of using coal to generate electricity in America are between $330 and $500 billion dollars annually. The study, “Mining Coal, Mounting Costs — The Life Cycle Consequences of Coal” by the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment examines the costs for so-called “cheap coal” that don’t show up on the monthly electric bill: the so-called “externalities” or hidden costs. In a time of huge budget deficits, Americans — and our leaders in Washington — should be looking at these costs.
All businesses try to externalize their

Let’s consider for a moment the targets the federal government chooses to make an example of. So far, no bankers have been charged, despite the unmitigated greed that nearly brought the world economy down. No coal or oil execs have been charged, despite fouling the entire atmosphere and putting civilization as we know it at risk.
But engage in creative protest that mildly disrupts the efficient sell-off of our landscape to oil and gas barons? As Tim DeChristopher found out on Thursday, that’ll get you not just a week in court, but potentially a long stretch in the pen.
Tim is a hero not because he knew what he was getting

Oil prices started to surge even before upheaval in the Middle East had spread to oil producing states. Now the specter of civil war in Libya is intensifying fears of spiraling prices, shortages, pipeline stoppages and, above all, of contagion.
This stark reminder of the impact of oil on the global economy should bring a timely dose of reality into the U.S. energy

Pro-democratic movements in the Middle East are in the midst of their rendezvous with destiny, but America’s destiny can no longer be linked with the fates of dictators, military juntas, and theocratic regimes. We must develop energy independence; we must Make It In America.
America must develop a national energy plan that prioritizes the need to (1) Make It In America, (2) transition away from dirty fossil fuels, and (3) secure energy independence. The events unfolding in the Middle East – and subsequent spikes in fuel prices – demonstrate America’s need to transition away from unclean energy from an unstable part of the world.
We spend 16 percent of our defense budget – more than $100 billion – securing oil shipments in the Straits of Hormuz and elsewhere, and there is little doubt that American foreign policy has been perversely shaped over the years by the raw calculus of oil politics (see:

Dan Rather takes a look at fast nuclear reactors and what we should be doing about it on Tuesday at 8pm on HDNet.
On Tuesday’s program, Rather speaks to Eric Loewen, a nuclear scientist at GE-Hitachi in charge of advanced reactor design.

read full news from www.huffingtonpost.com

Forget the rantings of the “spotted owl” crowd — when Exxon says we’re running out of oil, we should get nervous. In the company’s most recent fiscal report, it revealed that for every 100 barrels of oil it has pumped over the past ten years it has replaced only 95. While some will use this as an opportunity to renew calls to drill our way to freedom, a non-renewable resource will always remain just that. At some point it simply runs out.
If ever we are to confront meaningfully the issue of energy reform, we will first need to confront the three-headed hydra standing in the

There are some universal goals that every US citizen can agree on: less environmental pollution, less catastrophic weather resulting from climate change, a better future for our children. Many people would also like to have lower taxes and smaller government. An important way for us to achieve ALL these goals is through bringing our populations to sustainable levels humanely.
How do taxes and population size connect? One of the insidious effects of population growth is that we create a much greater increase in needs and problems than the proportional increase in population itself — numbers do

WASHINGTON, DC (February 18, 2011) – Despite this being a Friday, the diligent staff in the office of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) — aided by the Congresswoman herself — examined the gist of hundreds of amendments being offered by Republicans to their bill, H.R. 1, the Continuing Resolution to fund the government for the next seven months.
After much debate,

As the nation’s beloved author/farmer philosopher Wendell Berry settled his 76-year-old lanky frame onto the floor of Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s office last night, he picked up a copy of The Tempest. But in joining other protesters in this extraordinary sit-in to halt reckless mountaintop removal mining, including a coal miner and inspector who dedicated 40 years of his life to the industry, a Harlan County activist whose brother was killed in a mine, a nurse who has served black lung-affected coal miners for decades, and some of the country’s top Appalachian labor and history scholars, Berry was not taking part in any Shakespeare spectacle.
When Prospero commands in the classic play, “We are such stuff, as dreams are made on,” Kentuckians, who have lived among the ravages of strip-mining for a century–and mountaintop removal operations since 1970–were making it clear that they can no longer wait for the elusive dream of coalfield justice and democracy in their own homeland of central Appalachia.
(Photo of Wendell Berry reading The Tempest by Silas House)
When Martin Luther King wrote his game-changing letter for the Civil Rights movement on the need for civil disobedience, “Why We Can’t Wait” from the Birmingham, Alabama jail in 1963, the neighbors and families of these same Kentuckians were already in the throes of a growing movement to stop the devastation from unyielding and increasingly lawless strip-mining operations.
While King sought “to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation,” besieged strip-mined residents in Knott County in eastern Kentucky organized their own sit-ins and protests to keep unchecked strip-miners from destroying their historic homelands and hillsides and watersheds. They exclaimed to the world: “We feel we have been forsaken.”
As early as 1965, a 50-car convey of coalfield residents made the same trek as today’s protesters to the governor’s office in Frankfort, and called on him to enact enforceable laws to keep absentee coal companies from “ruining our farms and fields and streams.”
Yesterday’s meeting between the sit-in activists and

During his State of the Union address, President Obama threw down the innovation gauntlet to Congress and the American people in declaring that 80 percent of our nation’s energy will come from clean energy sources by 2035. This ambitious target is both necessary and achievable — and local governments have been demonstrating for years why and how that’s the case.
Why it’s a worthwhile goal
While President Obama framed his clean energy target as a way to boost American innovation — and, in turn, “win the future” — there are several other reasons why this goal is particularly worthy of a 21st century Apollo Program. Following the State of the Union, both Mayor Patrick Hays of North Little Rock, Arkansas and I made the case that significantly increasing clean energy production in line with the President’s target is necessary for the sustained prosperity and well-being of all Americans. Indeed, clean energy has been a proven job creator: through the decade preceding the financial crisis — at a time when Washington was largely deaf to calls for support for the clean energy sector — clean energy jobs grew at a faster rate than the overall jobs growth rate, employing over 700,000

President Obama’s second State of the Union address set forward a bipartisan framework aimed at unleashing a clean energy revolution in America. Touching on everything from solar and wind power (hooray!), to nuclear power, to “clean” coal (sigh), the president seemed to leave no stone unturned in his quest for actionable solutions.
But ironically, he did omit one major point of potential bipartisan cooperation — one that could greatly accelerate our nation’s transition to a clean energy economy. The Department of Energy estimates that wind power from tribal lands could satisfy 14 percent of total U.S. electricity demand, and the tribal solar resources could generate 4.5 times the total amount of energy needed to power the entire

By Tina Gerhardt and Lucia Green-Weiskel
The most concrete goods delivered by last week’s bilateral state summit between President Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao came not from heads of state but from CEOs, as US and China-based businesses signed a deal through which China agreed to buy $45 billion worth of American exports.
President Obama argued that these deals would create jobs the U.S. but as Robert Reich reported, that’s not exactly right: “It will create more profits for American companies but relatively few new jobs.”
“Clean energy” companies signed most of the deals. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Brookings Institution and the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy hosted a series of meetings on the “US-China Strategic Forum on Clean Energy Cooperation” in conjunction with the summit.
China’s VIPs included CEOs from the largest coal and nuclear companies: Wang Binghua from State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation; Zhu Yongpeng from Guodian Corporation, one of China’s largest energy companies; and Zhang Xiwu from Shenhua Group, China’s largest coal company. US guests of honor included James

by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
During the State of the Union address earlier this week, President Barack Obama spoke at length about clean energy, with nary a mention of climate change. This is the new environment in which America’s energy policy is being made. Just two years ago, Democrats were rallying to combat climate change, one of the most worrying challenges the country faces. But now, Obama has apparently given up his plan to openly fight climate change during his