In a major speech on energy at the University of Miami, President Obama said rising gasoline prices are a "painful reminder" of the need for alternatives. He was on the offensive, trying to counter criticisms of the GOP presidential candidates -- including Newt Gingrich, who promised he'd get gasoline down to $2.50 a gallon.
Countering calls to "drill, baby, drill," Obama called the GOP candidates' ideas "bumper sticker" strategies, "not a plan." Reiterating his call for an end to oil and gas tax breaks, Obama called them "outrageous" and "inexcusable."
Also, some Democrats called for dipping into the U.S. strategic oil reserves to try to bring down prices. However, this notion seemed based on the misconception that the availability of oil in the U.S. has a big influence on the price.
Rising oil prices, argued Bloomberg columnist Caroline Baum, "tap into a barrel of nonsense," making people "go all wobbly in the head." Backing up that idea is Media Matters' laundry list of misconceptions common in energy reporting, which concluded that the only way to become less vulnerable to oil price spikes is to "use less oil. Period."
Move To Natural Gas -- But Will It Help?
In his speech, Obama announced a new $30 million research grant to boost the number of vehicles running on natural gas.
Natural-gas-powered trucks are becoming more popular among big fleets, refueling stations are spreading, and some companies are creating better storage tanks for compressed natural gas.
This push for natural gas vehicles is "the hottest energy fad in Washington," according to a Wall Street Journal editorial titled "Boone-Doggle," since the fad has been spurred in part by petroleum billionaire T. Boone Pickens and his "Pickens Plan."
Two former U.S. officials argued for a twist on the natural gas vehicle, calling for cars that can run on methanol, an alcohol that can be "efficiently and inexpensively produced from natural gas," according to an MIT report.
Globally, natural gas vehicles have increased exponentially, with most of the growth in the past decade in Asia and Latin America.
However, a new climate modeling study by Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft, found that switching from coal to natural gas would do little to slow global warming.
Meanwhile, in the Washington Post, a bipartisan group of current and former Congressmen, called for taxes on greenhouse gas emissions as a way to fight climate change, lower oil imports and raise revenue that could help spur clean energy industries and reduce the debt. Beyond the authors of this op-ed, there may be further bipartisan support for such a plan.
EPA Greenhouse Gas Limits Face Appeals Court
In federal court this week, energy industry groups challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
One line of argument being used is the science on climate change is not settled, so the EPA should not be allowed to regulate greenhouse gases. By putting climate science on trial, it's been dubbed the "Scopes trial for climate change."
The plaintiffs are also arguing that in issuing the "tailoring rule," which limits greenhouse gas rules only to the biggest emitters, the EPA overstepped its bounds.
The judge hearing the case found the tailoring argument strange, saying that if the alleged harm is regulatory burden, but the remedy is a heavier regulatory burden, then the plaintiffs' argument "doesn't even make good nonsense."
Gene Therapy for Climate Change
Climate Central lampooned geoengineering -- ideas for planetary-scale projects to cool Earth -- with its own set of not-so-serious proposals, including giving Maalox to livestock.
A research project at the Mote Marine Laboratory sounds like it might be another of these far-fetched plans, but it's for real. A geneticist is investigating gene therapy for coral reefs -- or, more specifically, for the bacteria that live symbiotically with the corals -- to help them adapt to climate change.
The Climate Post offers a rundown of the week in climate and energy news. It is produced each Thursday by Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.
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Raymond J. Learsy: Aspen Ideas, Natural Gas, Armenia Unheralded
End all breaks for fossils and nukes. End the 500M$ per reactor per year, even more for coal, and trillions for oil wars.
Plow all that and more into feed in terrific for rooftop solar, offshore wind, efficiency, plug in commuter hybrids, and waste bio char bio fuels.
90% of our oil use is fuel for vehicles.
90% of that is for commuting less than 50 miles to and from work.
Rooftop solar can charge plug in commuter cars and provide peak daytime electricity up to some 60% of our total energy needs.
Offshore wind is great for cities which are mostly coastal.
Waste bio char bio fuels is massively carbon negative and can provide all the backup fuel solar and wind need for 24/7 eletricity and energy.
Solar is cheaper that nukes. offshore wind and waste bio fuels are half that, and efficiency is half that again if not profitable.
These green technologies are now ready, doubling every year or so, to replace nearly all fossil and all nukes within 7 to 15 years. Making Green energy that fastest energy to install.
Solar cheaper than nukes and energy source amounts: http://cleantechnica.com/2011/08/23/solar-power-intro-3-key-solar-power-points-top-solar-power-news/ Note the fossil and nuke numbers are totals, the solar wind and waste are PER YEAR!