Editor’s Note – Fascinating account of how a once respected organization devoted to saving wildlife and habitat has adopted a global warming agenda that provided funds for the eviction of farmers from their land in Tanzania.

Tight governmental budgets lead to decline in weather, climate satellite launches

How does global warming cause a lightning bolt to zap your house and burn it down?

Point and Counterpoint:

Why is public confused about climate change? Two stories convey opposite messages:

1. Wind farms can drive up nighttime temperatures by fanning warm air to ground

2. Wind farms combat climate change; small temp variations don’t bear on warming

The Buzz’s OHIO Links…

FirstEnergy employee charged in theft of over $28,000 in copper from yards, job sites

Gov. Kasich in battle with renewable energy lobby over inclusion of co-generation

FirstEnergy’s Ashtabula, Eastlake and Cleveland power plants will keep running

Cadiz in Harrison County looks to hydraulic fracturing for economic stimulus

Ohio University groups collaborate to write campus climate action plan

China investment muscle is showing up in Ohio Utica shale play and bid for utility

AEP skeptical of NRDC’s estimates of health decline and deaths linked to power plants

Proposed electric security plan for AEP would hike customer rates five percent

Uranium enrichment plant in Piketon remains stymied by political standoff

Cincinnati announces deal for energy needs to be met by renewable sources

FirstEnergy Solutions to hold ‘energy summit’ for Cincinnati area businesses

No permits issued yet for owner of injection well linked to Youngstown ‘quakes

AEP will still pursue diversity of fuel sources for generation, but with less coal by 2020

Where to dispose of hydraulic fracturing wastewater becomes more of a problem

Ohio Ethics Commission chides Marietta College professor for conflict of interest

Could Ohio face voluntary electric use curbs or brownouts due to war on coal?

The Buzz’s NATIONAL Links…

Indiana: Duke Energy settlement unsettles utility's fiercest foes

Indiana: Cost over-runs on power plant drag on Duke’s net income

Iowa: State ends $2.5 million grant for Menlo energy firm

Kentucky: Mason County eyed for $1-billion pumped storage generation project

Massachusetts: Utilities cutting rates for electricity

New Hampshire: Lawmakers ‘declaw’ RGGI

New Jersey: Shedding light on the energy tax issue

North Carolina: Duke, Progress won’t charge for $450 million in merger costs

Oklahoma: Oklahoma law directs state agencies, colleges to save energy

Oregon: BPA reins in wind farms

Texas: State electricity officials weigh supply concerns ahead of summer’s heat

Utah: Salazar lands Utah drilling deal

Virginia: Speakers rail against Dominion Virginia Power plans

The Buzz’s INTERNATIONAL Links…

Japan shuts down last of its 50 nuclear power plants as thousands celebrate

CEO of Italian nuclear engineering company shot outside home, terrorism not ruled out

European Union’s green climate fund suffers from zone’s economic uncertainty

China to boost construction of green buildings

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

Proposed 50-MW solar project south of Zanesville, Ohio, passes environmental review

Seven giant manufacturers come together to form Global Solar Council

Shell can’t make ‘numbers add up’ for ambitious North Sea wind farm development

The Buzz’s ENERGY EFFICIENCY & CONSERVATION Links …

Electronics makers threaten to drop out of Energy Star because of rising costs

Venerable Empire State Building slashes energy use by 20%, efficiency fixes ongoing

GE to introduce 27-watt LED bulb aimed at replacing 100-watt incandescent

How to tackle the consumer obstacles to mass marketing LEDs

Energy auditor training primes Minnesota farms for energy efficiency

IBM's 'building whisperer' sees retrofit boom

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

Toyota’s RAV4 electric SUV sports Tesla engine and $50,000 price tag

Why does anyone need 1,088-horsepower car, even if it is electric?

Electric vehicles’ carbon footprint depends on the state

Major automakers producing ‘fake’ electric cars to meet California standards?

Challenge of making consumers buy electric vehicles becomes more critical

In Arizona, AAA adds electric car battery recharging to its roadside assistance

Electric car sales success could depend on attracting apartment dwellers

New ABB Terra 51 direct-current car-charger could top up battery in 15 to 30 minutes

Even in green-leaning Oregon, only 1,000 drivers are behind wheels of electric cars

Toyota Prius PHEV leads all sales of alternate drive cars in April; only 370 Leafs sold

China backs off on ambitious electric vehicle goals, concentrates on cleaner gas engines

Electric car sales in Europe ‘tepid’ as city dwellers opt for club leases of tiny EVs

Three-wheeled Aptera could see new life: Chinese company eyes manufacturing restart

Dual-fuel trucks could run either on compressed natural gas or gasoline

The Buzz’s ENERGY OPINION AND COMMENTARY Links…

Energy Secretary Chu’s PMA memo shows no sensitivity for higher consumer costs

Idea of deriving fuel from pond scum not new and probably not practical at scale

Editor’s Note – See the article about “killer algae” below in the Weird News section.

Denver Post: Keystone pipeline route revision avoids sensitive area, should be pursued

Shale gas downside: Wells quickly play out; producers are creating natural gas bubble

‘How long will you falter between two opinions?’ Elijah vs. apocalyptic prophets

Editor’s Note – I had forgotten about 1970s population growth doomsayer Paul Ehrlich and his environmental apocalyptic claptrap until reading this essay.

The Buzz’s WEEKLY STINGERS...

Wind turbines erected by Minnesota municipal utilities ‘basically for public relations’

Minnesota co-ops pay for wind power ‘… We don’t need, we can’t use and can’t sell’

Renewable energy standards are ‘hidden tax’ on consumers, claim reform groups

Environmental nonprofits find cash cow in suing government agencies

The Buzz’s HALL OF SHAME…

Gaffe by baseball announcer Tim McCarver equates climate change with more homers

Let electricity rates go up in the eight states that block national RES, including Ohio

Greenpeace activists board icebreakers headed out for Arctic oil and gas exploration

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

‘Major new climate finding…’ Dinosaur flatulence might have heated up the Earth

Look out for carnivorous algae! And wait until this is blamed on global warming, too

At Miami’s Jungle Island zoo, orangutans learn to communicate with Apple iPads

Goodwill winds up with prehistoric pottery piece found at Native American burial site