Commentary

Congress should push for nuclear energy as a climate and energy solution—now.

There’s been a lot of attention on “cellulosic” ethanol, but that could be a nasty dead end, according to this analysis from a well-respected Washington environmental think tank.

The consumer, societal, and business benefits of grid moderniaztion are unclear, because the vast majority of grid-related stimulus funding appears destined to primarily expand, not cure, the ailing system we have today.

How many times have you heard it said: “If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we (you fill in the blank)?” On July 20 we commemorated the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong taking mankind’s first step on the moon and adding this unique point of comparison to our society’s lexicon. The only problem is that the analogy no longer is useful in today’s risk-adverse, technology-driven society.

By J. Wayne Leonard
A policy of allocating free allowances to hold down electric price increases, as some in our industry are advocating as part of climate change legislation, is well-intended but not the best choice for a cap-and-trade plan. An "auction and recycle" plan accomplishes the same goals yet is more consumer friendly.

By Dr. Richard W. Goodwin, PE
Of the 131 million tons of U.S. power plant waste or coal combustion by-products (CCBs), 36% are disposed of in landfills and 21% are disposed of in surface impoundments. Recent problems with surface impoundments and landfills have created a media furor and have prompted elected and appointed officials to demand more stringent regulatory control.

In the battle against climate change, most media attention has been paid to "cap-and-trade" schemes, under which countries set upper limits ("caps") on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and allow companies to sell ("trade") unused emissions rights to other firms. However, there is a second path to global warming salvation: Carbon offsets.

Most Americans simply don’t have clue about energy and environmental issues, according to a Zogby poll commissioned by the conservative Manhattan Institute.

Why Americans have tuned out global-warming hype, and why they are right to do so.

What does science teach us about how to test our ideas about the world around us? How do hypotheses differ from theory, and what does that distinction mean?