Posts tagged gas prices

SmartReads: Earth Day Edition

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Be sure to stay on top of what’s green and clean this Earth Day by reading this week’s Earth Day edition!

As always, send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.

CLEAN ENERGY

New York Times: Lead By Example, Clinton Tells Sustainability Forum – “Chill out – sometimes this stuff takes years.” That was Bill Clinton’s wry observation on Thursday as he addressed a sustainability conference in New York City, expressing frustration over how long it is taking for the country to move forward on clean energy and energy efficiency. [April 19, 2012]

New York Times: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Headed Up Again – After dropping for two years during the recession, emissions of the gases blamed for global warming rose in 2010 as the economy heated up, the Environmental Protection Agency reports. [April 16, 2012]

USA Today: New energy-efficient light bulb goes on sale Sunday – How much would you pay for an amazing, state-of-the-art light bulb? Shoppers will be asking themselves that very question at Home Depot and other outlets starting Sunday – Earth Day – when the bulb that won a $10 million government contest goes on sale. [April 16, 2012]

The Bay Citizen: Berkeley Couple Create Lifesaving ‘Solar Suitcase’ for Hospitals – The week before last, the city of Berkeley took time to honor two of its citizens. Laura Stachel and her husband Hal Aronson were issued with a proclamation and words of praise from Mayor Tom Bates…because they are literally helping to save people’s lives on a regular basis, and are doing so through a combination of smarts and sheer determination. [April 16, 2012]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Bloomberg: Electric Cars Cost $1,200 a Year Less to Run, Study Says – Drivers of electric vehicles such as General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Motor Co.’s Leaf may save as much as $1,200 a year compared with operating a new gasoline-powered compact car, scientists studying improved fuel economy found. [April 16, 2012]

Arizona Daily Sun: Hybrid, electric cars see record sales in March – Americans are buying record numbers of hybrid and electric cars as gas prices climb and new models arrive in showrooms, giving the vehicles their greatest share yet of the U.S. auto market. [April 15, 2012]

POLITICO: Opinion: Stop bashing electric cars – It’s not often that you hear national elected officials and media pundits rooting against a growing American industry — especially when it’s reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil. It’s also unusual for them to argue against job creation, global competitiveness, even against innovation. [April 19, 2012]

GAS PRICES

Washington Post: $4 gas reinforces trend toward lower U.S. fuel consumption – Are American motorists finally changing their gas-guzzling ways? As prices have neared and in some cases topped $4 a gallon, drivers have cut their consumption of gasoline to its lowest levels in a decade, driving less and buying cars that are more fuel-efficient. [April 17, 2012]

GENERAL GREEN

POLITICO: Political races run hot on energy – Soaring gasoline prices have members of Congress and their opponents running scared all across the country — and trying to seize the advantage. [April 15, 2012]

Forbes: Hive Lighting: Energy-Efficiency For Hollywood – Lights set mood. Moviemakers know this. Hence the painstaking efforts that are made to ensure that the right tonality is chosen for each picture. That said, movie and TV sets can use thousands of kilowatts per production. [April 16, 2012]

SmartReads: Week of April 13

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.

CLEAN ENERGY

Huffington Post: America’s Pastime and Its Clean Energy Future – Baseball is back and the outfield has never looked so green! [April 10, 2012]

Yahoo! News: US grabs lead over China in clean energy race – The United States has regained the lead in the clean energy race, investing $48 billion last year to surpass China, which held the world’s top spending spot since 2009, said a study Wednesday. [April 11, 2012]

Pew Report: Global Clean Energy Investment a Record $263 Billion in 2011 – Global clean energy finance and investment grew to $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5 percent increase over the previous year, according to new research released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. [April 11, 2012]

Arizona Republic: Arizona’s solar energy plans vex military – A solar tower nearly twice the height of the Empire State building. Hundreds of spinning 200-foot-tall wind turbines. A 500-mile high-voltage power line from central New Mexico to southern Arizona. Those are among the projects the renewable-energy industry sees in Arizona’s future. [April 7, 2012]

SmartPlanet: How is the US Air Force adapting to renewable energy? – For fuel-consumptive industries, the shift to renewable energy can be an expensive process — one that requires extensive planning, investment, and occasionally battles in the political arena. [April 11, 2012]

The Guardian: Windfarms do not cause long-term damage to bird populations, study finds - A major new study has quashed fears that onshore windfarms are causing long-term damage to bird populations, but found new evidence that some species are harmed when windfarms are built. [April 12, 2012]

Bloomberg: Wind Power Seen Surging as Custom Barges Cut Set-up Costs – Offshore wind-power producers from Dong Energy A/S to RWE AG (RWE) are building custom ships at record rates to reduce the cost of the technology that’s three times as pricey as electricity from coal plants. [April 10, 2012]

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

New York Times: Real-Time Data to Reduce Electric Use – WHEN Max Dunn walks through his kitchen in San Jose, Calif., he often glances at the home energy monitor that sits on the countertop. The monitor resembles a car’s GPS device and connects wirelessly to the home’s power meter. [April 10, 2012]

Treehugger: How Smart Meters Transform Our Relationship to Energy - From a DIY remote to turn off any TV to the notion of outlawing standby buttons on electronics, we’ve seen plenty of novel ways to cut back on pointless use of energy. But how much do we actually spend on energy that is literally doing nothing for us? [April 6, 2012]

GAS PRICES

LA Times: Higher gas prices cause less public anger this time – Gas prices have soared about 15% in the last six months, hitting $3.94 a gallon on average nationwide, and $4.29 in California. [April 6, 2012] 

SmartReads: Week of April 6

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads.

CLEAN ENERGY

Arizona Republic: APS to use state land for solar plant - The Arizona State Land Department will earn $10 million during a 35-year lease for its first solar power plant, a Yuma project that will power Arizona Public Service Co. [April 4, 2012]

NREL: Solar Leases Attracting New Demographic – The sun is shining on homeowners in less affluent neighborhoods who are discovering they can afford solar energy after all — by leasing rather than buying the panels on their roofs. [April 3, 2012]

Grist: Blown away: Wind power growing faster than other top electricity sources – A new picture is emerging in the U.S. power sector. In 2007, electricity generation from coal peaked, dropping by close to 4 percent annually between 2007 and 2011. Meanwhile, wind-generated electricity grew by a whopping 36 percent each year. [April 4, 2012]

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Bedford-Katonah Patch: 66 Local Leaders Take Action to Reduce Emissions and Save Homeowners Money – The Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium (NWEAC) hosted the 2012 Regional Leadership Summit, bringing together an influential group of more than 200 municipal and community leaders for an evening dedicated to advancing regional sustainability initiatives. [March 31, 2012]

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Green Car Reports: Plug-In Car Sales Soar In March, Led by Chevrolet Volt - Car sales overall continued their upward trend last month, but sales of plug-in cars soared in March to more than 3,800 units. The bulk of those sales came from a resurging Chevy Volt, which logged its highest-ever single-month sales figure. [April 3, 2012]

GAS PRICES

NPR: Oil Scare Turns FedEx On To Energy Efficiency – The rising cost of oil isn’t just a hit to the family budget. Businesses are hurt, too. Few are more affected than firms like FedEx. [April 2, 2012]

POLITICO: Gas prices fuel congressional campaign rhetoric – President Barack Obama isn’t the only candidate who has to worry about gasoline price spikes. Take a look at members of Congress and their challengers, who are going all out to express concern about the plight of American motorists — often with personal stories of their own sticker shock. [March 30, 2012]

GENERAL GREEN

Huffington Post College: Green Lethargy Among College Students? Not So Fast! by SmartPower’s Brian F. Keane - As we begin Earth Month, it would seem that we’re seeing conventional wisdom turned on its head. I’m talking, of course, about the widespread assumption that college students are spearheading the renewed green movement across our nation. [April 6, 2012]

Bloomberg: Buffett Says Shortcuts on Environment Can Risk Profits – Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said companies won’t last if they fail to consider the impact of their businesses on the environment. [April 2, 2012]

Southern California Public Radio: NBA tips off Green Week 2012 – NBA Green Week is the latest initiative in the NBA’s ongoing push for sustainable lifestyle changes. [April 3, 2012]

GreenBiz: Just Undo It: Nike, NASA partner on waste innovation challenge – Nike is joining with NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State to identify 10 “game changing” innovations that transform waste systems in both developed and developing countries. [April 2, 2012]

The New York Times: On Facebook, Some Friendly Energy Rivalry – So, would you stop washing your clothes in warm water if your best friend tried doing it in cold and said her jeans were coming out clean? Would you be more likely to weatherize your house if your college roommate said that it had cut her heating bill by 30 percent? And if your mom got one of those power strips that turn off devices that suck electricity in the middle of the night, would you do the same? [April 3, 2012]

SmartReads: Week of March 23

SmartReads is a weekly summary of all the latest clean energy and energy efficiency news. Send us your tips on Twitter using the hashtag #SmartReads. 

CLEAN & RENEWABLE ENERGY

Huffington Post: Top 10 Green Spring Cleaning Tips by SmartPower’s Brian F. Keane – Since we survived winter — if you can call it that — and have already begun the transition to spring, I wanted to share some of my favorite green, spring cleaning tips. And of course, with Saint Patrick’s Day just behind us… what better time to be green? [March 19, 2012]

AOL Energy: Wall Street Speaks On Renewable Energy: Focusing On Fundamentals – As some of the most tempting government financial incentives begin to fade from the renewable energy space ahead of deadlines at the end of 2012, bankers and project developers specializing in renewable energy projects are reworking their models. [March 20, 2012]

New York Times: Obama’s Energy Blitz – After taking heat over gasoline prices, President Obama visits a photovoltaic plant in Nevada and oil fields in New Mexico to underline his “all of the above” energy policy. [March 21, 2012]

Bloomberg: Solar 15% Returns Lure Investments From Google to Buffett – U.S. solar developers are luring cash at record rates from investors ranging from Warren Buffett to Google Inc. (GOOG) and KKR & Co. by offering returns on projects four times those available for Treasury securities. [March 19, 2012]

GAS PRICES

NPR: What’s Making Americans Less Hungry For Gasoline? - The price of gasoline keeps rising for Americans, but it’s not because of rising demand from consumers. [March 22, 2012]

Huffington Post: U.S. Oil Drilling May Not Improve Gas Prices, Study Says – It’s the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show. [March 21, 2012]

GENERAL GREEN

Politico: ‘Global Warming’ Gets A Rebranding – Shhhh! Don’t talk about global warming! There’s been a change in climate for Washington’s greenhouse gang, and they’ve come to this conclusion: To win, they have to talk about other topics, like gas prices and kids choking on pollutants. [March 21, 2012]

MSNBC: Could This $30 Million Green Tower Be the Future of World Cities? – An office building that lasts 250 years with no monthly electricity or water bills? It may sound like an environmentalist’s pipe dream, but it will soon be a reality, say the builders of what they hope will be the biggest office tower in the nation that produces as much water and electricity as it consumes. [March 20, 2012]