Daily Archives: July 28, 2010

Unlimited liability for Gulf spills would kill development

July 28, 2010 8:14 pm by Sheila McNulty

Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips’ chief executive, says that the unlimited liability some are proposing in Congress to punish operators for further spills in the Gulf of Mexico is inappropriate. That would raise the question of how many of the smaller companies operating in the Gulf could afford to get back out there to work following the lifting of the moratorium and even whether the risk reward equation would favor going out into the waters again for the biggest of companies. He said to analysts:

We will not develop the resources if we have that situation.

It may have sounded like a threat, but it is also a realistic assessment of the situation.

Continue reading: “Unlimited liability for Gulf spills would kill development”

NOAA finds “human fingerprints” on climate

July 28, 2010 6:56 pm by Fiona Harvey

A report from the NOAA in the US has found that data from ten key climate indicators all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable.

It is the first major piece of new research since the “Climategate” scandals.

It found that, relying on data from multiple sources, each indicator proved consistent with a warming world. Seven indicators are rising: air temperature over land, sea-surface temperature, marine air temperature, sea level, ocean heat, humidity, and tropospheric temperature in the “active-weather” layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth’s surface. Three indicators are declining: Arctic sea ice, glaciers and spring snow cover in the northern hemisphere.

Read the full report here:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate.

Posted in Uncategorised | Permalink

UK energy scenarios: working with a flawed model

July 28, 2010 5:52 pm by Akanksha Awal

In the UK’s first ever annual energy statement, Chris Huhne, UK energy and climate change secretary, asked researchers, industry experts and members of the public a series of questions about the country’s energy priorities. The answers to these questions, he announced, will help form the basis of Britain’s pathway to energy security by the year 2050.

In line with David Cameron’s “Big Society” idea, the annual statement is accompanied by a “Call for evidence” and a software, essentially an excel spreadsheet, which models energy supply and demand to show alternative energy policy scenarios. The package is the government’s attempt to raise public support for the upcoming energy policy that will be announced later in the year.

But the spreadsheet currently does not contain any information on costs of any of the technologies, which is essential for the decision-making process that would shape public opinion on the subject. This crucial omission makes the tool ineffective for policy-makers and members of the public seeking to engage with Britain’s energy policy.

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Tags: Climate Change
Posted in Politics | Permalink

US renewable energy no longer a priority

July 28, 2010 2:54 pm by Sheila McNulty

Everyone has known for some time that renewables are not the priority for the US that they once were. Nonetheless, the latest data from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reveals just how far back the country has slipped in its efforts to move toward a clean energy future.

Continue reading: “US renewable energy no longer a priority”

Posted in Politics, Renewables | Permalink