Week of 2/10/2012

The Buzz’s EDITOR’S PICKS OF THE WEEK…

Sierra Club faces backlash from members after revelation of secret gas industry funds

Is the United States on the verge of energy self-sufficiency and export leadership?

Related: Shale bed oil and gas transactions fast becoming‘new normal’ in energy biz

Bureaucrats and politicians didn’t create the current domestic natural gas boom

Editor’s Note – The following is a very interesting – and disturbing – ABC News report. Note the Tesla corporate official’s comment on the price of their electric car: “I don’t know how you define wealthy.” The news story is fully developed in the third link.

Private equity firm buys assets of defunct Beacon; taxpayers could see some return

FirstEnergy to close three more power plants in response to EPA rules

Ohio attorney general calls for tougher oil and gas drilling laws

The Buzz’s FEATURE OF THE WEEK...

Fisker Automotive wants more taxpayer dollars as it struggles to survive

Related: Green automaker, praised by VP Biden, idles staff to preserve cash

More: Fisker shuts down work on Delaware auto plant after DOE blocks loan

The Buzz’s CLIMATE-ENERGY POLITICS & RELATED Links…

Over objection of chairman, NRC votes to approve first nuke permit in decades

House committee to investigate EPA’s knowledge of fraudulent renewable fuel credits

State regulators vote to nix New Mexico’s participation in regional cap and trade

House advances bill to convey Keystone XL pipeline approval to FERC

Related: Inspector general’s report gives impetus to pipeline supporters

Friday night Solyndra document dumps follow pattern of releasing embarrassing news

Related: House committee still not satisfied, wants more records on Solyndra

Judicial Watch sues DOE for documents relating to loan for ailing electric car maker

Energy secretary on defense ahead of report on DOE’s handling of loan program

The Buzz’s CLIMATE SCIENCE & SCANDAL Links…

Tracking a scientific claim about global warming that proved frigidly wrong

They were Hima-Lyin’ about one of the ‘inconvenient truths’ of global warming

You have to laugh when iconic glacier ice melt isn’t proven by facts and figures

Climate scientists surprised by coastal residents’ reaction to sea level change prediction

Political ‘elites,’ not climate scientists, blamed for public’s dimming view on warming

Nader backs out of global warming debate with climate skeptic Sen. James Inofe

The Buzz’s OHIO Links…

Schools in Central Ohio feeling pinch of AEP’s latest PUCO-approved rate hike

Related: Static aimed at AEP by schools and local governments about jump in rates

More: State regulators try to explain hefty AEP bill increases to small business owners

Colorado-based company announces plans to build natural gas processing facility

Exxon targets Belmont County for its first Utica Shale drilling operation

Are oil and gas companies in Ohio paying their state tax on an ‘honor system?’

AEP Ohio might sell coal-fired Mitchell plant to sister company Appalachian Power

Solar company owners want change in property tax assessment for clean energy

Utilities across Ohio report less demand due to mild winter temperatures

Proximity of Toledo Express Airport causes developers to cancel wind farm project

Duke Energy pulls out of Cincinnati street car deal over cost of facilities relocation

Chesapeake debuts system for recycling ‘fracking’ wastewater

The Buzz’s NATIONAL Links…

Energy costs consume one-fifth of annual income for half of American homes

Alaska issues key permit for restart of 50-MW coal-fired power plant

Pennsylvania fines Chesapeake Energy $565,000 for violation of environmental rules

Chicago area suburban governments form co-op for power aggregation

The Buzz’s INTERNATIONAL Links…

Euro Zone needs to invest $274 billion in power grid to create single energy market

In UK, government’s assurance of lower energy bills goes up in a puff of green smoke

Brits could band together in huge consumer blocs to demand best energy deals

European grid experts worry about blackout risks from integration of renewable power

Chinese solar factories slash production in response to threat of U.S. tariff

The Buzz’s RENEWABLES, ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY, FUELS Links…

California now gets five percent of its energy from wind-powered generation

World’s largest wind farm in Thames River Estuary erects first turbine

Bonneville Power proposes to reimburse wind farms during peak hydro periods

Nevada solar project relying on molten salt storage moves forward

World’s largest wind turbine manufacturer logs $220-million loss in 2011

Buzz’s ENERGY EFFICIENCY & CONSERVATION Links …

Are energy-saving tips popularized media and utilities really going to produce savings?

75-inch laser TV earns Energy Star efficient award for lowest watts per inch

‘Rebound effect’ finally being acknowledged as one of drawbacks to efficiency

Report claims energy efficient appliances could flatten TVA power demand

The Buzz’s ELECTRIC CARS, HYBRIDS, TRANSPORTATION Links…

Domestic natural gas bonanza might be game-changer in American transportation

Mitsubishi electric knocks Honda Civic CNG off top of ‘greenest car’ heap

Arizona House bill would levy tax on electric cars of 1.43 cents per mile

Just what the green world needs: Self-propelled, battery-powered unicycle

Competition from its own Cruze aside, GM frets about Chevy Volt sales in January

The Buzz’s OPINION AND ENERGY POLITICS-REGULATION Links…

Why is public opposition growing to environmentalism and greening of America?

Wind energy lobby frantically working for extension of production tax credit

Energy Secretary Steve Chu, half-baked fantasies and the cold, hard facts

President Obama’s war on coal undermines American manufacturing jobs

Over-regulation fever among activists takes aim at chemical industry, too

The Buzz’s WEEKLY STINGERS...

West Virginia coal association president predicts a ‘perfect storm’ for industry

Related: Elimination of coal-fired power ‘just not going to happen,’ says AEP chief

Needed fossil fuel backup generation means wind power will never be ‘clean’

Montana Public Service Commission fines city for failing to purchase RECs

California PUC makes public prices paid for renewable energy since 2003

Colorado’s governor isn’t so sure about reality of climate change any more

The Buzz’s HALL OF SHAME…

Golden age coming: Once wind and solar farms are paid for, energy is free (right?)

Religious right and ‘green evangelicals’ clash on EPA regulations

Editor’s Note – This rather long Q&A with Fritz Vahrenholt in Der Spiegel, a leading German publication, is worth the read, front-to-back.

‘I feel duped’ on climate change, says influential German renewable energy exec

The Buzz’s WEIRD, SAD, FUNNY, UPLIFTING AND UNBELIEVABLE Links…

Study claims social media can be more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol

Russian researchers drill into Antarctic lake covered for 14 million years

Judge rejects lawsuit that claimed killer whales at SeaWorld parks were ‘enslaved’

Thieves leave congregation in cold after stealing $62,000 HVAC system

Bacon lovers, rejoice! You can now get milk shake in your favorite flavor