Today’s Climate: October 2, 2009

Sen. Boxer: 70% of Allowances to Ease Energy Costs (Washington Post)

Senate Democrats will initially devote 70% of the pollution allowances in their new climate bill to making it easier for people to pay their energy bills, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer says in an interview to be aired Sunday on C-SPAN.

NATO Chief Warns of Climate Change Security Risks (AFP)

Climate change has "potentially huge security implications" and NATO countries should use the alliance to address the challenges it creates, the new NATO chief says.

UN: Climate Talks Stall on Targets, Finance (Reuters)

Efforts to convince rich nations to toughen emissions cuts have failed to make much headway at climate talks in Bangkok, the U.N. said today.

California Launches Largest Energy Efficiency Effort in US History (ENS)

The California Public Utilities Commission says it wants to make energy efficiency a way of life, and it has put its money where its mouth is by approving the largest energy-efficiency program in U.S. history.

Diesel Emissions Down Drastically at LA Ports (Los Angeles Times)

A year-old program to replace old cargo trucks at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has made tremendous progress, with an 80% decline in emissions expected by the end of 2010, a year ahead of schedule.

First Solar to Join S&P 500 (Reuters)

Standard & Poor’s announced that First Solar Inc. will join its flagship S&P 500 stock index. The move sent shares of the solar power company up 5.7 percent in after-hours trading.

Off-Shore Drilling Gets New Support (South Florida Business Journal)

Florida’s tourism industry has always lined up against oil drilling off the state’s sandy shores, but the industry’s resistance is softening in the midst of record budget shortfalls and high gas prices.

Senate Bill Could Pave Way for Hybrid Taxi Fleets (Boston Globe)

The Senate climate bill’s taxi provisions would let local governments set fuel efficiency standards for cabs, allowing cities like Boston to overcome federal court rulings that struck down their ambitious efforts to require all taxis to be hybrids.

Predicting Power Hour-to-Hour from Wind, Sun (Wall Street Journal)

Utilities are ramping up their focus on forecasting when renewable power sources are at a peak to avoid squandering power that still can’t be stored.

Wind, Solar Execs Eye US, China for Growth (Reuters)

U.S. and China markets are driving recovery in the global clean energy industry, after a sharp fall in investment this year, but uncertainty over government support is clouding the 2010 outlook.

IT to Finalize Global Carbon Footprinting Standard (Business Green)

The global IT and communications industry is on track to release a new methodology for measuring the carbon footprint of a vast array of IT products designed to provide a standardised approach for tracking the sector’s carbon emissions.

Control Of Carbon Nanotube Growth Promising For Efficiency (Science Daily)

Researchers have overcome a major obstacle in efforts to use tiny structures called carbon nanotubes to create a new class of electronics that would be faster and smaller and more energy-efficient than conventional silicon-based transistors.

Greentech IPOs: First A123, Who’s Next? (Greentech Media)

A123’s IPO has the greentech industry eager for the next one, but VCs say to expect a trickle, not a flood. Here’s a look at some names to watch.

White House Lukewarm on Climate Change? (Salon)

The fact that President Obama can’t commit to attend the most important conference on climate change since Kyoto does not speak well to America’s ability to make the radical changes necessary to cut emissions.