Week of 3/2/2012

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

Clean energy bond amendment clears ballot board but draws first political fire

Entertaining Canadian online video debunks myths and fears about smart meters

GenOn will deactivate 3,140 MW of coal generation, including two Ohio plants

Gov. Kasich wants ‘complete overhaul” of Buckeye State’s energy policy

Protesters gather at investor-owned utility offices in Ohio to protest tax breaks

Wright-Patterson and Ohio Air National Guard test biofuel in F-16 Fighting Falcon

The Buzz’s Feature of the Week…

Gasoline prices jumped up by eight percent during month of February

Iran sanctions backfired? Americans paying more for gas, producers reaping profits

GOP launches preemptive strike against release of oil from U.S. strategic reserve

No appetite for releasing oil stockpiles in Europe, say IEA and EU officials

United States exported more fossil fuels in 2011 than anytime since 1949

Saudi Arabia activating idle oil rigs to counter possible loss of Iran crude

DOE’s Chu says goal is to wean U.S. off oil, not reduce price of gasoline

Related: Gingrich calls DOE chief ‘anti-energy secretary’ and calls for his resignation

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

Will announcement of shorter Keystone route help Obama or give GOP more ammo?

Related: Former President Clinton says it’s time to ‘embrace’ Keystone XL pipeline

DOE Secretary Steven Chu pursues the silver bullets of energy technology

Soaring gasoline prices could cripple President Obama’s re-election bid

Kentucky’s Hal Rogers assails EPA Administrator Jackson over coal mining permits

It’s ba-a-a-ack! Bingaman resurrects his clean energy standard for doubtful Congress

Business and industry groups present oral arguments against GHG regulations

EPA’s Jackson: Hydraulic fracturing is ‘perfectly capable of being clean’

The Buzz’s CLIMATE SCIENCE & SCANDAL Links…

‘Fake but accurate’ science… Global warming activists lie to defend their cause

Koch Foundation jousts with New York Times editors over ‘Fakegate’ article

Heartland Institute sends letter to Fakegate suspect’s employer about investigation

Fakegate example for climate scientists of why skeptics don’t believe them

Worried about global warming? Chances increase for solar mega-storm by 2020

 The Buzz’s OHIO Links…

FirstEnergy Solutions gobbles up more customers, CEO Alexander brags

It’s back to the drawing board for American Electric Power-Ohio in rate case

AEP cites pending fiscal crisis in asking PUCO for higher capacity fee for switching

Related: AEP warns it could cut jobs and investment unless PUCO acts speedily

The Wilds might become dotted with shale bed oil and gas drilling rigs

Budget billing customers of Columbia Gas will see 35-percent reduction

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing want Ohio ban until safety concerns are resolved

State’s Utica shale bed development has potential for 65,680 jobs by 2012

Power sector manufacturer Timken to proceed with Stark County steel mill investment

Lake Erie wind farm pilot project gets power purchase agreement, but details sketchy

Drilling service claims it could create 700 high-paying jobs in Massilion

Fracking leases being marketed for up to 67,000 acres in Athens and Meigs counties

Chesapeake Energy expected to soon begin installation of gas gathering pipelines

Solar-powered, public-private partnership in Richland County might create new jobs

New transmission pipeline and feeders to be built through heart of Utica shale counties

FirstEnergy to NRC: Weather caused cracks in concrete of Davis-Besse nuke plant

 The Buzz’s NATIONAL Links…

In New Jersey, environmentalists and business lobbies war over regional cap and trade

Xcel Energy wants to exclude Boulder, CO., residents from green power and DSM

Closure of Sunoco refinery near Philadelphia could affect one-fourth of NE capacity

The Buzz’s INTERNATIONAL Links…

Fukushima nuclear plant still fragile, with makeshift repairs including taped hoses

‘Green Deal’ in the UK aimed at making old, leaky building more efficient

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

‘LittleSun’ solar lantern could lighten the night in non-electrified rural regions

In Kenya, portable solar electricity kits seen as boon for poor households

Study claims bat deaths at wind farms caused by turbine blades, not air pressure

Buzz’s ENERGY EFFICIENCY & CONSERVATION Links …

Chicago to spend $225 million making city buildings more energy efficient

Nevada Public Utilities Commission eyes paring back efficiency programs

Duke Energy set to expand ‘Save-a-Watt’ program in North Carolina

Program unveiled to upgrade streetlights with LEDs at little upfront cost

Government-funded home weatherization programs shrinking in several states

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

Nissan Leaf now becomes available to car buyers in all 50 states

Toyota expands its successful family of hybrid vehicles with 53-mpg Prius c model

Could new battery technology bring about $20,000 EV with 300-mile range?

Car salesmen know you only put incentives on vehicles that no one wants to buy

Smart charging stations for electric cars can take advantage of off-peak pricing

Interesting analysis in Dallas-Forth Worth media about benefits of EV commuting

Ailing electric carmaker Fisker brings in former Chrysler chief as new CEO

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

Even Environmental Defense Fund acknowledges shale bed fracturing isn’t going away

If algae were the bio-fuel magic bullet, wouldn’t turtles already rule the highways?

Rep. Markey and his ilk trying to ban natural gas exports are economically misguided

Challenge of EPA’s GHG regulation will ‘assuredly return’ to U.S. Supreme Court

Sen. Inhofe on climate science: ‘United Nations rigged this thing all the way through’

Europeans have little sympathy for U.S. as gas prices edge toward $4-$5 per gallon

Failure of U.S. ethanol policy includes effect on domestic and global food prices

The Buzz’s weekly stingerS…

Closure of Arizona’s Navajo coal-fired plant could mean $18 billion loss for state

Steve Miller, president and CEO of Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, will retire

Borrowing from environmental playbook, Shell sues activist groups over drilling

Impending startup of Prairie State power plant shows coal is far from dead

How to view carbon dioxide not as a pollutant, but as a valuable commodity

Environmentalists take aim at proposed coal export terminals on West Coast

The Buzz’s HALL OF SHAME…

Another solar manufacturer with DOE loan guarantee is in financial trouble

Related: More woes for First Solar; company will further scale back, delay new factory

Dying to be green: Fuel poverty stems from Britain’s green energy initiatives

Well, duh! Compulsive CO₂ counter finds rural living produces more emissions

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

Bambi to the rescue! Darting deer foils assault on Oxford, Ohio, woman

Buck Compton, one of original ‘Band of Brothers’ soldiers, dies at age 90

Warrants issued for forester and biologists in embezzlement of spotted owl funds

Related: Government plans to kill barred owls to help population of spotted owls

Woman accused of setting 3,500-year-old tree on fire while high on drugs

Fossil record shows dinosaur fleas were giants compared to today’s bloodsuckers