Monthly Archives: July 2011

The Silver Zipper Rides Again!

Ewe, a photo from NOLA.com, posted by S Maley on Flickr. On Friday, former Louisiana Governor and ex-con Edwin W. Edwards (D) escorted his new wife Trina through New Orleans’ French Quarter after their Friday wedding at the Hotel Monteleone, … Continue reading

Posted in Louisiana | 1 Comment

Solar Energy Flim-Flam

A local radio ad touts the benefits of residential solar systems: 30% Federal tax credit (unlimited, through 2016) 50% Louisiana state tax credit (residential only) You can sell electricity back to the grid Five to six year payout of homeowner’s … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Louisiana | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

BOEMRE Slowdown Costs 230,000 Jobs, $44 Billion in GDP

A new study from IHS-CERA, one of the leading energy think tanks, projects the cost of the Department of the Interior’s ongoing regulatory slowdown and its impact on the energy industry, employment in the coastal states, and the U.S. economy … Continue reading

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It’s Not Easy Going Green, Part III

Tiny start up Green Vehicles of Salinas, CA has gone belly-up. The city of Salinas had infused $540,000 since 2009, but it was not enough. The company had a hard time finding outside investors, and when an expected $2.7 million … Continue reading

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It’s Not Easy Going Green, Part II

This week, American Electric Power scuppered plans for a $668 million carbon sequestration project at the utility’s Mountaineer Power Plant in West Virgina. The Mountaineer project had been heralded as the flagship of “clean coal” technology: the process involves using … Continue reading

Posted in Climate, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dr. Steven Chu on ‘Common Sense’

Energy Secretary and Nobel Laureate Dr. Steven Chu defends the banning of conventional incandescent light bulbs as a ‘common-sense’ measure that is certainly a ‘win-win’ for consumers. (Caution: Clicking HuffPo links may cause a loss of IQ points.) Overall, consumers … Continue reading

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Germany’s Plan to Nix Nukes: Macht Nichts!

Well, that didn’t take long. In late May, and in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Germany announced that it would phase out nuclear power generation by 2022. Nine active nuclear sites currently supply 22% of German electricity. Another … Continue reading

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Who’s the Highest Paid State Employee in California?

That would be Dr. Jerry Rohlfing, a prison doctor who “has a history of mental illness” and whose treatment has been judged “substandard”. He’s currently working in the medical records office at the High Desert State Prison in Susanville, because … Continue reading

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Lee Fang on Oil Speculation and the SPR

Summertime 2011, and “investigative journalist” Lee Fang of ThinkProgress has replaced the BP Spill in my blogging life. Fang’s amateurish attempts to find scandal in oil commodities trading have become my new blog fodder. Fang puts forward the half-baked theory … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Energy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s Not Easy Going Green

It sounded like such a good idea. Back in 2009, NRG Energy Inc. hatched a plan to “go green” using switchgrass and sorghum as boiler fuel supplement. It was hoped that it might replace up to 10% of the coal … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Environment | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments