Oil Sands Test of Obama’s Green Credentials (Financial Times)
The Obama administration faces a test of its environmental credentials in deciding whether to approve a pipeline carrying greenhouse gas-intensive oil sands fuel from Canada into the US.
Virginia Judge Nixes Permit for Coal Power Plant (Forbes)
A Richmond judge on Tuesday invalidated a permit for a coal-burning power plant being built in southwestern Virginia because of an improper mercury permit.
GM Says Chevy Volt Will Get 230 MPG (Washington Post)
General Motors announced that its forthcoming electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, will get fuel economy of 230 miles per gallon in city driving, but the conventional mpg standard doesn’t easily fit electric cars.
Climate Change Fight Will Cost World $300B a Year (Reuters)
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions to slow global warming and adapting to impacts such as droughts and rising sea levels are likely to cost about $300 billion a year, the top U.N. climate change official, Yvo de Boer, said.
Oil Industry Using Town Halls to Fight Climate Law (Wall Street Journal)
The American Petroleum Institute, along with other organizations such as the National Association of Manufacturers opposed to the climate legislation Congress is considering, is funding opposition rallies across 20 states over the August recess.
Baoding, China Becomes Clean Energy Hub in 3 Years (Christian Science Monitor)
Baoding, formerly an automobile and textile town, has been transformed in three years into the fastest-growing hub of solar, wind, and biomass energy-equipmentmakers in China. Consciously modeled on Silicon Valley, it has quadrupled its business.
Study Urges Tripling of Energy Efficiency Funding (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Wisconsin should explore tripling its funding for energy efficiency programs because the payoff would be nearly $1 billion a year in annual energy cost savings for consumers, a new study says.
Officials Consider Limits on Furnace Emissions in Northeast (ClimateWire)
Eleven Eastern governors are considering a blueprint for slashing carbon dioxide emissions from home furnaces, potentially sparking a widespread shift to residential heaters that burn wood pellets.
Coal’s Future Wagered on Carbon Capture (Washington Post)
Carbon capture and storage remains the elusive holy grail of the coal industry, a technology that remains expensive, energy intensive and largely untested.
