climate

A group of business executives on Tuesday issued a call for action on energy policy, arguing the cost of moving to cleaner energy technologies in the next decade will avert costs from climate change.

The Copenhagen Climate Council, an organization formed to create awareness for global climate negotiations in December, issued the statement at the conclusion of the World Business Summit, a three-day conference in Copenhagen of businesses and climate experts.

"The Copenhagen Call" document is a set of recommendations to policy makers, listing six policy changes required for businesses to make investments that will lead to lower … Read more

The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed an energy and climate bill on Thursday that puts a cap on greenhouse gases in a way designed to give heavy polluters years to transition to low-carbon technologies.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, sponsored by Congressmen Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, passed through the committee after four days of marathon "markup" sessions where dozens of amendments were considered.

The bill calls for a cap-and-trade system designed to reduce greenhouse gases and a mandate that would require utilities to get a portion of their electricity from renewable energy … Read more

But you can point north if you wear a belt of a dozen or so magnets all the time. We'll explain. Also Palm Pre is coming for $200 and we have some rumored next-generation specs. Oh and about 300 car stories, 'cause you know. Cooley is on the show.

Palm Pre to arrive June 6 for $200 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10244423-1.html

Next-gen iPhone specs, launch date revealed? http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/next-gen-iphone-specs-launch-date-revealed/

Biz Stone on Twitter: … Read more

Policies now being considered to boost renewable electricity generation and efficiency at utilities will make it cheaper to comply with caps on greenhouse gas emissions, said members of the Energy Future Coalition, a group of business, environmental, and labor advocates.

Both the the House and Senate are expected to move ahead with energy and climate change bills in the coming weeks.

The Waxman Markey bill in the House combines both energy and climate regulations in a single bill, while the Senate is working on separate efforts. Committee markup meetings in the House and Senate are expected, starting as early as … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--With hearings on an energy and climate bill scheduled to begin next week, "energy czar" Carol Browner on Monday said the Obama administration favors regulating greenhouse gases through "comprehensive legislation" rather than through the Environmental Protection Agency.

Browner spoke at a summit at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted by Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey, who chairs the Energy and Environment subcommittee of the House's Energy and Commerce Committee. The committee two weeks ago released a draft of energy and climate legislation that provides incentives for efficiency and renewable-energy technologies.

Following a Supreme Court … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Congressional hearings will begin next Tuesday on an energy and climate bill that backers say will spur innovation in clean energy technologies and use the marketplace to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions.

One of the bill's sponsors, Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Edward Markey, hosted a forum on clean energy policy and climate change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday where he announced the planned hearings.

Two influential figures in the Obama administration--Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, and John Holdren, the director of the Office of Science and Technology … Read more

What was once the world's tallest skyscraper now aims to be the greenest.

New York's iconic Empire State Building, which played a starring role in the movie "King Kong," is set to undergo a retrofit that could cut the 102-story building's energy consumption by up to 38 percent. The energy-saving measures will initially cost approximately $20 million and will take an estimated two years to implement, according to press materials.

The program includes upgrades of the 1931 Art Deco building's 6,500 windows, radiator insulation, a new air-conditioning and heating system, air handler replacements, … Read more

I always thought a stray meteorite would just smack into the world in, oh, 2020, and that would be that.

Or, perhaps, around 2015, everyone would become a celebrity and have a simultaneous nervous breakdown, brought on by excessive drug abuse, causing a Koresh-like disappearance of humanity.

But no, the year to prepare all your insurance policies for is 2030.

By that year, according to Professor John Beddington, the U.K. government's chief scientist, food and energy demand will have risen by 50 percent and fresh water by 30 percent. And the global population will have risen to around … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--The central theme of former Vice President Al Gore's speech, concluding the Web 2.0 Summit on Friday afternoon, was electricity.

He spoke of "the electrifying redemption of America's revolutionary declaration that all human beings are created equal," as emphasized through Barack Obama's election victory on Tuesday, and how it "would not have been possible without the additional empowerment of individuals to use knowledge as a source of power that has come with the Internet."

Gore reiterated what so many people have said before--that the Obama campaign was a vindication for how … Read more