Howie Chong

A report by the Environmental Law Institute outlines how energy is subsidized in the United States from 2002 to 2008.  Not only are fossil fuels subsidized by nearly $60 billion more than renewables, but for every dollar that conventional fossil fuels are subsidized directly more than $3 are given to companies in the form of tax breaks.

So here’s the question:  would the fossil fuel industry be self-supporting if there were no direct or tax subsidies from governments?

(via BoingBoing)

Cynthia Warner, the former head of Global Refining at BP, is now President of Sapphire Energy, a company whose goal is to produce high octane fuels from sunlight, carbon dioxide and algae.  Fast Company has a story on her and on the race to create high density, portable fuel from algae.

a granny-friend carbon-free transition (photo by roblisameehan)

Earlier this week, BP announced that it has already spent $3 billion on the Gulf Oil cleanup. Along with the $20 billion fund that the company has promised Obama, the total cost of the oil spill is building dramatically.

Most experts say that this is just the beginning. The Exxon Valdez led to a $4 billion settlement but affected a small fraction of the people that the gushing gulf spill will ultimately effect.  The price tag for this cleanup and the subsequent settlement may rise to the point where people have begun to ask whether or not BP might go bankrupt fixing this egregious environmental disaster.

Some of these people include those who administer the pension plans of millions of ageing workers. It turns out that a significant number of private and public pension funds in the US and the UK hold BP stock. It therefore begs the question: how do we decarbonize our economy if entire generations of retirees are dependent on carbon-intensive industries?

Continue reading »

Despite the economic slowdown (which, by some sources, is actually on the recovery), global levels of greenhouse gas emissions are at their all-time high.

Continue reading »