Global Climate | ModeShift

Opposition to Biomass Impedes Clean Energy Development

by Keith SchneiderApril 4, 2010September 9, 20102

Mode Shift has reported the clean energy transition is being impeded by civic opposition to wind projects, solar projects, new transmission lines, and geothermal projects.Â This post is the latest in the series and focuses on wood biomass. The Portland Oregonian, in an article in March, counted 18 states where wood biomass energy proposals are encountering stiff civic resistance. One of those states is Michigan, where a plan by Traverse City Light & Power to …

Spreading Ticks and Other Climate-Related Actions

by Keith SchneiderApril 1, 2010April 1, 20102

Just in time for April Foolâ€™s Day, the National Wildlife Federation today released its analysis of shifting habitats of ticks and other migrating critters with a tongue in cheek title, â€œThey Came from Climate Change.â€ â€œThe horrifying hordes of Climate Invaders are upon usâ€“creeping up from lower elevations, attacking from foreign countries, and settling into areas where once they were unable to survive,â€ notes the marketing copy. The current vibe is irony and humor. The …

Koch Industries Finances Climate Denier Factions

by Keith SchneiderMarch 31, 2010March 31, 20100

The work to achieve a climate and energy bill in the United States is moving with considerably slower momentum this spring than it did at the same time last year. A number of factors contribute, not the least of which is the time and focus that the White House and Democrats in Congress devoted to enacting a national health care bill, which passed earlier this month.Â Another factor is the flagging U.S. economy and the …

New Transmission Lines Invite Public Uproar in 7 States

by Keith SchneiderMarch 29, 2010September 9, 20100

On March 2 more than 60 residents of Canyon City, Idaho appeared at a public hearing to consider a new 500-kilovolt transmission line that might run through their county. Most weren’t happy about it. “They brought us in late and they haven’t fulfilled their public involvement responsibilities,” said Ken Holliday, a rancher. The public concern that residents displayed about Idaho Power’s 250-foot corridor, and the 150-foot tall towers that would command its route, is a …

Resistance to Solar Energy in California, Southwest

by Keith SchneiderMarch 28, 2010September 9, 20101

The Solar Energy Industries Association last week made public a national poll that found strong citizen support for adding the energy of the sun to the nation’s portfolio. The timing of the results was meant to coincide with the Federal government’s review of big solar thermal projects proposed on public lands in the West. The poll, though, masks another emerging clean energy trend in the desert. A good number of citizen activist groups are pushing …

In Washington, Climate and Energy Moves A Bit

by Keith SchneiderMarch 25, 2010March 25, 20100

Now that passage of health care legislation proved that Congress is still capable of acting on big ideas, Washington this week was aflutter with action on the climate and energy bill. White House Legislative Affairs Director Phil Schiliro, and the president’s energy and climate adviser, Carol Browner, met mid-week with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Topic: developing a strategy to corral the 60 votes needed to pass the measure in the Senate. The same day …

Let Wind Energy Blow? Not In These Places

by Keith SchneiderMarch 24, 2010September 9, 20105

Next month Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scheduled to rule on a proposal to build one of the most contentious clean energy projects in the country. It is a 420-megawatt offshore wind farm in Massachusetts called Cape Wind. Audra Parker, the young leader of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, has emerged as a local public interest celebrity as a result of her work to prevent developers from constructing 130 turbines five miles out in …

Climate Conference Embraces Copenhagen Accord

by Keith SchneiderDecember 19, 2009December 24, 20110

COPENHAGEN â€”Â Seven countries, led by the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, this morning declined to accept the Copenhagen Accord that was reached late last night. But in a procedural move designed to put the agreement into effect, the conference decided to â€œtake noteâ€ of the accord instead of formally approving it. Photo: J. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue NGO experts explained that the decision by the other nations who are parties to the conference to …

Analysis: U.S. Senator Inhofeâ€™s Denier Rhetoric Not Heard in Copenhagen

by Keith SchneiderDecember 18, 2009June 18, 20140

COPENHAGEN â€” On the day that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed up to the United Nations climate conference to say that the U.S. would contribute to a global clean energy and climate action fund that could grow to $100 billion by 2020, Senator James Inhofe also appeared in Copenhagen. Earlier this month the Oklahoma Republican, one of Capitol Hillâ€™s fiercest critics of climate action, told reporters that he would travel to Copenhagen with a …

Late Night Deal At Copenhagen Conference Seen As First Step

by Keith SchneiderDecember 18, 2009December 24, 20110

COPENHAGENâ€”What a day here in Copenhagen. For much of the afternoon and well into the evening the cold and dark seemed to settle more deeply today on this city of 1.2 million. As morning turned to night no agreement was signed to save the planet. The meditation and prayer rooms were noticeably more busy in the Bella Center. After months of work this year, and 12 days of negotiation at the United Nations Climate Change …