It’s been difficult to avoid the coverage in the media about the holes being poked in the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But the latest attack, this one on the part of the report that says drought can be very damaging to the Amazon forest, gets it blatantly wrong.

The Amazon forest, the largest remaining tropical forest in the world and home to enormous biological and cultural diversity, stores about 100 billion tons of carbon. In recent decades, the Amazon has become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, as clearing forest for agriculture and cattle ranching have increased. Globally, emissions from deforestation now account for about 15% of total global emissions annually — more than all emissions from transportation worldwide — and between 2000 and 2005, 60% of the deforestation in the world happened in the Amazon.

Since the mid-1990s, scientists have observed that in dry

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Shale Natural Gas Resources: Why Europe Doesn’t Stand Much Of A Chance In This Department

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research Monday, March 15, 2010

It’s time to start paying attention to the big, bad oil companies again. And not because the black gold has pushed past $80, either.

Their latest dash for deals signals a shift in how they hunt for new energy sources.

For a long time, the big oil companies believed that shale natural gas resources weren’t big enough. So they focused their multi-billion dollar exploration budgets on finding the next big oil field instead.

They never even came close, though they did end up fighting over the rights to Canada’s oil sands. But that fell flat too, as environmental activists pointed out issue after issue. The projects’ greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution and similar damage have led to full-out boycotts from

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Today, we released The Good Haul, a report that highlights how clean freight innovations improve reliability, while also reducing freight-related health and environmental risks.

The U.S. freight system needs to be modernized in a way that reduces environmental impacts. The Good Haul [PDF] profiles 28 projects, programs, and technologies around the U.S. and internationally that do just that. That is, they have simultaneously increased freight reliability while lowering air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

These cases studies include practice changes, like eco-driving, as well as new technologies, like the Port of Virginia’s hybrid diesel locomotive. The case studies also include large, planned freight hub clean up projects, such as the CREATE program in Chicago and the Clean Air Action Plan at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

None of the projects highlighted in The Good Haul are industry standards or have been adopted

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Arch Coal Inc. (ACI) that it purchased 35% equity interest in a Texas power plant as part of its ongoing pursuit of technology meant to reduce damaging greenhouse gas emissions. The Trailblazer Energy Center near Sweetwater, Texas is being developed by Tenaska Inc.  Arch's investment will be staged over time as the development of the project reaches key milestones. The fossil-fuel based Trailblazer plant is expected to be among the world’s cleanest power plants. The plant will act as a strategic source of carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications in West Texas. Moreover, Trailblazer will supply the Texas economy with an additional 600 megawatts of clean, secure, reliable electric generating capacity. In capturing 85% to 90% of the carbon dioxide emissions from the plant, Trailblazer will emit 70% less carbon dioxide than the cleanest natural gas-based power plants.  Moreover, Trailblazer will ship the captured ...

FuelCell Energy Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high efficiency, ultra-clean power plants using renewable and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government and utility customers. The company reported today that its hybrid power plant attained an average electrical efficiency of 62.5 percent, equipment up-time of 93 percent and reduced greenhouse gas emissions of up to 45 percent.

The power plant, located in Toronto, generates ultra-clean electricity while harvesting energy normally lost during natural gas pipeline distribution operations. The power plant is a joint development effort between FuelCell Energy and the Canadian gas pipeline company, Enbridge. It produces 2.2 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 1,700 homes. Funding for the project included $2.3 million from Natural Resources Canada and $500,000 from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Additional funding came from NYSEARCH, the research arm of the Northeast Gas Association.

In its first full year of operation, the Direct

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Biofuels: Don’t Let This Alternative Energy “Greendoggle” Fool You

by Dave Fessler, Energy and Infrastructure Expert Friday, March 5, 2010: Issue #1210

As the old sixteenth-century saying goes, “You can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.”

Translation: Sometimes, you can dress something up as much as you want, but it doesn’t change what it really is.

Or in the case of biofuel, what it isn’t.

And to coin a more recent adage, “putting lipstick on a pig” is exactly what biofuel advocates continue to do.

I’m interested in all forms of energy – fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear, etc. And like most Americans, it’s my wish to see us weaned off Middle Eastern oil in my lifetime. For example, in the following ways…

By moving towards renewable energy resources like wind, solar and geothermal. Nuclear fuel is also a viable way to gain greater energy independence – ...

Note to Congress: America’s Energy Solution Is Right Here

by David Fessler, Energy and Infrastructure Expert Friday, February 26, 2010: Issue #1205

A round of applause for the U.S. Congress.

In just one month, the bumbling bureaucrats have managed an impressive feat: From a 61% rating last month, voter unhappiness has now hit a record-high 71%, according to Rasmussen Reports.

That probably isn’t surprising to the majority of Americans. Most view Congress as inept, driven by the belief that politicians’ main goal is just to get re-elected. To wit: The Center for Responsive Politics says the 2010 battle for Congressional seats will cost $3.7 billion. Not exactly what our forefathers had in mind.

If only our politicians could actually accomplish something meaningful.

The 19-state Western Governors’ Association (WGA) shares that frustration. It penned a letter to Congress on February 11, in which it

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President Dmitry Medvedev says Russia's economy needs fundamental reform if it wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; the current goal is to reduce emissions by 25% of 1990 levels by 2020.  Shtokman Development might cancel its plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant within the Shtokman project, unless the global liquefied gas market shows positive development before its December 2011 deadline.  TNK-BP says it lowered its specific energy consumption for oil production by 3% in 2009, and is unveiling plans to develop its energy management systems for the coming year.  The $12 billion merger of Shell with Cosan could create Brazil's largest biofuels company.  The Lithuanian prime minister says that Poland's refiner PKN would be making a mistake if it ceded control on Lithuanian refinery Mazieiku.  ...

Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) and Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY) signed a Strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore the possibilities of collaborating in the biomass-to-energy business.   Bio-pellets are a renewable and carbon-neutral fuel made from biomass, which can include forest by-products. The biomass is compressed and molded into small, cylindrical pellets. Co-firing bio-pellets with thermal coal has proved effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.   The companies are specifically interested in assessing the feasibility of jointly investing in and operating a commercial-scale bio-pellet production facility in the United States by 2011. Depending on the success of the joint feasibility study, more facilities could follow. The bio-pellets will be produced using wood based biomass from U.S. forest resources or by-products. These bio-pellets will then be sold to utilities and industrial users for energy production.   The MOU brings together two industry leaders and leverages the strengths

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EI DuPont de Nemours & Company’s (DD) Circleville plant in Ohio received $50.73 million in tax credits for a new production line under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $50.73 million in tax credits will be used to expand production of high-performance polyvinyl films, part of the critical backsheet component of solar panels. The credit makes up only a chunk of nearly $125 million awarded to Ohio from the Recovery Act's Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program. The government plans to distribute about $2.3 billion in tax credits to create energy manufacturing jobs.   The funds, which were authorized through the Recovery Act's Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program, represent investment tax credits of 30% for facilities that manufacture energy equipment. To be eligible for the tax credit, manufacturers must produce solar, wind, and geothermal energy equipment; fuel cells, microturbines and batteries; electric cars; electric grids; energy ...