February 25, 2008

Various strategies are on the table to cut global warming pollutants. Installing long-lasting light bulbs and planting trees are two. But a potentially more aggressive step is now underway -- the tightening of lending rules to coal-fired powered plants.

Some investment banks and environmental interests have developed the "Carbon Principles." Now, those participating banks must examine both the economic and environmental costs that come with financing coal facilities that are blamed for a third of all carbon dioxide releases that contribute to global warming.

There's a growing recognition that carbon constraints are coming sooner rather than later. The premise behind previous proposals is to put a price tag on carbon dioxide emissions that would make the continued use of coal-fired power plants expensive when compared to alternatives. Under such a regime, utilities would pay more to operate coal facilities. Quite simply, the banks do not want to get saddled with those potential liabilities.

ESCANABA - Energy audits and energy-efficiency upgrades are a great way for businesses to save money as well as positively impact the environment, said a guest speaker at Escanaba's Economic Summit at city hall Wednesday.

"Energy audits are a great investment because you need to learn, in all these areas, where you can save," said Kevin Cook, president of G-ENERGY and a board member of Michigan Green.

Cook said right now is the "perfect storm of energy" because economics are really important, people are interested in the green movement, and businesses are seeking energy independence.

February 22, 2008

The clean coal facility to be co-sponsored by the federal government and private enterprise may turn to dust. The plant, dubbed FutureGen, has been scrapped for now in favor of building smaller coal gasification units around the country that could minimize harmful pollutants and capture and bury carbon dioxide emissions.

The decision dismays those who say that FutureGen is further along than other coal gasification facilities that promise to be non-polluting. Those proponents say that they will first try and work with the U.S. Department of Energy to assure that the plant is built in Mattoon, Ill. But if the differences cannot be resolved, then they plan to ask Congress to force the agency's hand.

February 15, 2008

President Bush's positions on the environment and the development of clean energy technologies have evolved during his seven years office. In his last year, he seems determined to be remembered as a leader who fostered more renewable energy while pushing the traditional fuels to be cleaner.

In his State of the Union address to the nation, the president said that the country would invest $2 billion over three years into a global energy fund to advance new technologies to slow the growth of global warming emissions. Since Bush took office, the federal government has committed nearly $18 billion to research, develop and promote clean and efficient technologies and help get them to market, his office says. The private sector has responded in kind with significant investments, ranging from corporate research and development to the venture capital markets.