In an effort to reduce water pollution, the state of Washington initiated a ban on dishwasher detergents containing phosphates. Spokane County was the first to implement the ban last year.
Now while Washington isn't the only state to implement such a ban (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan,' [...]
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the nation's worst oil spill. It was on March 24, 1989 when the Exxon Valdez dumped 11 million gallons of crude into the fishing waters of Prince William Sound. It was a tragic day, indeed.
I know, I know. It's [...]
If you take a look at OpenSecrets.org's database, you can find a current list of lobbying expenditures for any number of industries – including the oil and gas industry.
Turns out, in the past ten years, the oil and gas industry has ponied up $741,985,214 for lobbying' [...]
Since 2007, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received applications for 17 new nuclear reactor operating licenses, and now estimates that it will get a total of 22 applications for 33 reactors by the end of 2010.
Nuclear advocates have seen this as a sort of validation of [...]
Last week, I wrote a piece about two recent reviews of the Ford Fusion Hybrid. Essentially, I was questioning the positive coverage, as most of it, in my opinion, seemed a bit lacking in substance.
However, looking back, I realized I may have come off as a [...]
We often talk a lot about the high or volatile cost of oil, and how this impacts consumer and investor behavior. For instance, when gasoline crossed the $4.00 per gallon mark, demand for hybrid vehicles soared, and millions in funding started to flow into the high-performance [...]
Someone must have a really good press agent to get this one so much attention.
According to a U.S. News and World Report review, two automotive publications have published comparisons of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid against the Toyota Prius and Camry Hybrid, with Ford winning both.
Now that the stimulus bill has passed, I'm surprised I haven't seen any bumper stickers yet, declaring the ever popular propaganda mantra, “Don't Blame Me, I (fill in the blank).” The “fill in the blank” this time around, would likely read “Didn't Support The Stimulus.”
Spending much of [...]
I never really expected to see this latest stimulus plan fly through Congress without some serious debate. After all, this is a lot of money we're talking about here. And this is on top of what's already been shelled out to failing banks run by CEOs [...]
A Senate committee in Kentucky just passed a bill that could potentially allow for the new construction of nuclear power plants in the Bluegrass State. Essentially, the bill would repeal a 1984 law that placed a moratorium on nuclear power plant construction until the [...]
Reading the news yesterday morning, I came across a quote from Michael Morris, the CEO of American Electric Power, in regards to President Obama's goal of doubling renewable energy in three years. Morris said that as a practical matter, Obama's target is too ambitious.
Interestingly enough, American Electric [...]
How appropriate it was to hear Sam Bodman, the Energy Secretary under the Bush administration, make the following statement last week in regards to Obama's plan to double our output of renewable energy in three years....
“I think it's going to be extremely difficult to get [...]
So what will it take to get the big auto-makers to manufacture new, more fuel-efficient vehicles? How about massive losses, uncertain oil prices, and a big fat recession.
While the auto industry should have been on this like white on rice at least ten years [...]
Every year around this time, I get the itch to move far away from the cold, gray streets of Baltimore. It's not that I dislike Charm City, but when the mercury falls below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the lure of warmer climates becomes overwhelming. So to ease [...]
Tomorrow morning, the gym will be quite crowded with new members hoping to start the year off right. It is one of the most common new year's resolutions of all time, and also one that sounds good in theory...but in practice, rarely lives up to expectations. [...]
So it looks like a copy of Barack Obama's inauguration speech has been leaked.
Here's an excerpt...
“Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can [...]
I've been receiving a lot of questions lately about how the Obama administration's energy policies will affect the renewable energy sector. After all, the President-elect has been very vocal about insisting on the need to develop new, cleaner forms of energy, stating in very clear [...]
This past Sunday I saw a very interesting commercial about clean coal. A group called, Thisisreality.org ran the spot during Meet The Press. Essentially, the ad calls out the coal industry for touting clean coal technology – which doesn't actually exist in the U.S. Here's [...]
Well I guess it was just a matter of time before the opposition to a new, potentially progressive environmental policy began to spread across the media like roach trails on a dirty counter top.
It's no secret that President-elect Obama is likely to push for a massive [...]
The free-range turkey we bought for this year's Thanksgiving was ordered through a local organic and natural foods store. And it was about three times the cost of the conventional turkeys they were selling at the mega-supermarket.
But our turkey was raised naturally, without genetically-modified feed grown with [...]
You know times have changed when a German solar energy company is offering to throw General Motors a bone and shell out $1.26 billion for one of its subsidiaries.
German solar powerhouse, SolarWorld issued a press release yesterday, stating that the company plans to bid [...]
The much anticipated International Energy Agency (IEA) report was released today, and basically told the world exactly what renewable energy advocates have been screaming from the rooftops for the past decade – energy demand is rising dramatically, and massive investment in new energy infrastructure development is an [...]
