The public radio program "Living on Earth" asked me to come on the show to talk about my reporting on Copenhagen's carbon-neutrality plan. Here's a link to the audio.
My latest at Forbes: How much would electricity cost in the United States if the retail price reflected the health impacts of burning fossil fuels? A paper recently published by researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency finds that accounting for such costs would add an average of 14 to 35 cents per kilowatt-hour to the retail cost of electricity. Nationwide, these hidden health costs add up to as much as $886.5 billion annually, or 6% of GDP
The Copenhagen cycling phenomenon has to be experienced to be believed. Statistics alone can't convey what it's like to be in a city where so many people get around by bike. Armchair travelers can now virtually cycle like a Copenhagener courtesy of a website called Cyclodeo. The site presents user-generated videos synced with Google Maps that give visitors a cyclist's-eye view of cities. Cyclodeo also gives urban planners, city officials, and policymakers anywhere the ability to learn from, compare, and experience the cycling infrastructure of some of the world's great biking cities.
My new Forbes post: California is the nation窶s largest solar market. Despite the success, and because of its solar potential, most observers believe California can do even better. A new Interstate Renewable Energy Council paper offers nine recommendations for how California can boost local clean energy, especially rooftop solar, in the state.
I argue in this piece that a months-long debate by federal agencies over how to address the climate change impacts of coal-export terminals planned for the Pacific Northwest signals the need for a national climate plan. The United States must address how it will assess and account for the climate change impact, in and outside its borders, of major projects such as the construction of coal-export terminals and the Keystone XL pipeline and the below market price sale of coal from Wyoming窶s Powder River Basin.
My latest at Forbes: Earlier this month, Bill Quirk (D-Hayward), a freshman state lawmaker, introduced a bill (AB 284) that requires California to plan for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions through 2050. The state's landmark global warming law, AB 32, only mandates GHG reductions through 2020. Quirk's bill would require the California Energy Commission to convene a new “Road to 2050 Board” whose members would be charged with studying both the “best process for meeting a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent of the 1990 emissions level by 2050” and the “integration of renewable electrical generation into the electric grid in a manner to ensure cost-effectiveness and reliability.” The bill might also prompt state lawmakers to begin talks about drafting a successor bill to AB 32.
My latest at Forbes: Estonia recently opened the world's first nationwide fast-charging network for electric vehicles. The network of 165 quick-charging stations, which can deliver a 90% charge to the battery in under 30 minutes, are strategically dispersed across the country. Along highways, the stations are no more than 60 kilometers (37 miles) apart, installed at gas stations, cafes, shops, and other high-visibility spots.
My new Forbes post: President Obama's extensive comments on climate change in his second inaugural and State of the Union addresses suggest the administration is ready to act if Congress will not. Of most concern to environmental advocates and industry representatives alike is the administration's willingness to take on existing power plants, responsible for roughly one-third of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Recent signals suggest the White House is ready to take executive action on climate in Obama's second term.
In my latest Forbes post, I report on the launch of Clean Energy Sacramento, a program that enables commercial and residential property owners to install energy-saving equipment at no upfront cost. Under this type of financing, the property owner agrees to repay the cost of improvements such as a more efficient chiller or rooftop solar panels through an annual property tax assessment lasting up to 20 years.
In my previous Forbes post, I described an award-winning block-by-block energy retrofit project that weatherized nearly 75% of the homes in Murray City, Ohio. Here, I explain how and why the project succeeded, and I share seven lessons learned for those interested in replicating the model in their town.
In my latest Forbes post, I look at an unprecedented block-by-block retrofit project in Murray City, Ohio. Over 14 months, the project succeeded in weatherizing nearly 75% of the town's more than 200 homes. Look for part II, where I present the lessons learned, tomorrow.
In my latest Forbes post, I look at results from Los Angeles' LED street light conversion project. Next month marks the four-year anniversary of the project, and the results are impressive: 114,067 units replaced, $5,325,793 in annual electricity savings, and 63.3% electricity savings over the incumbent high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lights. At full deployment, the city expects to save $10 million annually in avoided utility bills and maintenance.
In my new Forbes post, I look at the potential impact of Prop 39, which California voters approved on November 6. The measure closed a tax loophole that favored out-of-state companies and cost California about $1 billion annually. Over the next five years, an estimated $2.5 billion in revenue authorized by Prop 39 will flow to pay for retrofits in public buildings in California. Both Gov. Brown's just-released budget plan and a pending bill in the Legislature would send most of the funds, some $500 annually, to the state's cash-strapped schools.
My latest at Forbes: Denmark’s energy minister introduced legislation earlier this month that would cool the country’s red-hot solar market. The new rules trim generous subsidies that in conjunction with the falling price of panels had triggered exponential growth in the number of residential solar energy systems added to the grid this year. Homeowners have installed so many rooftop photovoltaic (PV) arrays in 2012 that Denmark exceeded its 2020 solar energy target (200 MW) eight years early.
In my latest Forbes post, I draw on my experience covering the UN climate talks to give readers perspective on the negotiations underway in Doha, Qatar. On Monday, UN climate chief Christiana Figueres opened the annual end-of-year international climate negotiations. Over two weeks of talks, delegates from nearly 200 countries gathered in Doha, Qatar, will struggle to achieve incremental gains in a global effort to prevent runaway climate change. In this post, I describe some of the underlying dynamics that make the talks so fraught with frustration.
In my latest Forbes post I update one I published in January on new regulations that will make it easier to build renewable energy projects on tribal lands. The Department of the Interior announced new regulations on Tuesday that tribes hope will unlock economic development and renewable energy production on Indian lands. The final rule updates Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regulations guiding the leasing approval process on tribal lands last modified in 1961.
My latest at Forbes: California regulators recently approved plans by the state’s largest utilities to make an innovative financing proposal called on-bill repayment available to their commercial customers. The programs, which will enable property owners to avoid the upfront cost of energy improvements, are scheduled to launch in late March 2013.
My latest at Forbes: A historic waterfront property in San Francisco will receive an energy efficiency overhaul courtesy of a creative financing scheme that eliminates the upfront cost to install new equipment. Pier 1, home to real estate firm Prologis, Inc., is the first retrofit project closed under the City of San Francisco’s GreenFinanceSF property assessed clean energy (PACE) program.
The devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy has focused minds on the urgency of improving the climate resiliency of coastal cities exposed to the fury of extreme weather events and rising seas. On July 2, 2011, a cloud burst inundated Copenhagen with 6 inches of rain in less than three hours, flooding cellars, streets, and key roads. In response, Copenhagen developed a Climate Adaptation Plan to protect the city against storm surges and floods.
In my latest Forbes post, I look at a OECD report that confirms Copenhagen is a cleantech leader but cautions that the city must continue to invest in the low-carbon transition to maintain its first-mover advantage. The OECD finds Copenhagen’s cleantech sector is not only driving regional economic growth, its green firms outperformed other sectors during the economic downturn. The OECD suggests strategies Copenhagen, and aspiring cleantech cities everywhere, can use to stay competitive in the global cleantech race.