Most recent 40 articles: Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy
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From Whale Oil to Wind Power: The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Disinformation Is an Ocean of Hypocrisy - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (May 8) |
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May 8 · Some years ago, I began to feel the most important thing I could do was learn how to replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. I had seen from an early age how oil dependency distorted and aggravated conflicts around the world, especially in the Middle East. For 30 years I have been an advocate for offshore wind development off New England’s coast and for the creation of institutions to support a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It was never going to be an easy task. New England has fewer energy production facilities and less experience with new energy development than most regions. In New England, the wind is powerful, but land with strong wind is ... Read more ... |
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Five Things the “Nuclear Bros” Don’t Want You to Know About Small Modular Reactors - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 30) |
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Apr 30 · Even casual followers of energy and climate issues have probably heard about the alleged wonders of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). This is due in no small part to the “nuclear bros”: an active and seemingly tireless group of nuclear power advocates who dominate social media discussions on energy by promoting SMRs and other “advanced” nuclear technologies as the only real solution for the climate crisis. But as I showed in my 2013 and 2021 reports, the hype surrounding SMRs is way overblown, and my conclusions remain valid today.Unfortunately, much of this SMR happy talk is rooted in misinformation, which always brings me back to the same question: If the nuclear bros have ... Read more ... |
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Calling Out Climate Lies for a Living - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 29) |
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Apr 29 · I have spent the better part of the last 12 years writing about lies. My colleagues call it “disinformation,” and I generally do, too, but let’s call it for what it is: lying. During this stretch, I have written more than 200 articles and columns, and most of them were either about CEOs who lie, experts who lie, scientists who lie, attorneys general who lie, legislators who lie, or a president who lies. And I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill white lies. I’m talking about lies that have grave consequences for the future of the planet. (I should add that I also wrote 65 columns featuring Q&As with scientists and experts who work for my organization, the Union of Concerned ... Read more ... |
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Earth Day 2024: The Climate Benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act Are Worth Celebrating - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 21) |
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Apr 21 · Leading up to Earth Day this year, I’ve been reflecting on the meaning and purpose of the annual celebration. Earth Day began under the Nixon Administration in 1970 as a day to support environmental protection and has grown to include nations and communities around the world in appreciation of Mother Earth. Of course, like any other holiday, there have been instances of co-optation where big polluters seek to cover up their dirty deeds and greenwash their image by sponsoring Earth Day festivities. But I’m looking to celebrate the positives. I’ve been to my fair share of trash cleanups, concerts, and craft fairs, but this year there’s one big policy I want to focus on ... Read more ... |
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Earth Day Is a Day to Celebrate the Environmental Progress We’ve Made in Recent Years - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 19) |
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Apr 19 · Earth Day each year marks an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come as a society. Personally, I find it an exhilarating time to be part of the U.S. environmental movement that birthed Earth Day out of outrage over rampant use of toxic chemicals. To address the global environmental and equity crisis of our generation, in the past three years Congress has passed two significant pieces of legislation advanced by the Biden administration that contain the most climate funding in the nation’s history: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, Congress has stubbornly refused to pass legislation that slashes carbon emissions ... Read more ... |
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What’s Stalling the Transition to a Modern Electricity Grid? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 16) |
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Apr 16 · Much of our electricity system is 50 to 70 years old, yet current plans for domestic manufacturing, electric vehicle fleets, community solar gardens and more clean energy all depend on a modern grid. New demands for electricity and the need to reduce climate-changing emissions are driving new grid planning efforts. The obstacles to new technology and more effective investments need to be addressed. How we do this, and how well it happens, depends on planning and collaboration across local, state and federal government. The ability of the current US power grid to handle growth in electricity demand is in doubt. We are already having blackouts in extreme cold-weather, due to ... Read more ... |
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The Gas Utility Industry is Gaslighting Us - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 11) |
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Apr 11 · During my first decade in Washington, D.C., my windows were caked with soot from the diesel buses that ran up and down my street. So when I found a place to live just a few blocks away on a street without buses, it was a relief. What I didn’t know is that my health was still at risk - from indoor pollution. Thanks to a recent test conducted by my local Sierra Club chapter, I learned that the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from the hoodless gas stove I’ve been cooking on for the last 30 years in my poorly ventilated galley kitchen exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum safe level of 100 parts per billion (ppb) for a one-hour exposure outdoors. (There is no EPA ... Read more ... |
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A Handy New Chart Shows Clean Energy’s Remarkable Progress - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Apr 2) |
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Apr 2 · Spring is a glorious time for renewable energy. Whatever the weather in March and beyond - in-like-a-lion blustery or out-like-a-lamb sunny - spring tends to be a season of strong electricity production from solar and wind in particular. Spring is also a glorious time for taking stock, since the official data on the previous year’s US electricity generation become available. And, this spring, that clean energy production is looking more impressive than ever. A new graphic from the Union of Concerned Scientists charts the portion of electricity coming from solar and wind over time in the United States. Drawing on data from the US Energy Information Administration, it depicts ... Read more ... |
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Paula García Knows Renewable Energy Is for the People - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Mar 26) |
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Mar 26 · “Careful with the plants, careful with the trees, careful with the animals,” her grandfather would repeat. Traveling to the southern region of Colombia as a young child, Paula García remembers being taught by her elders about the deep interconnectedness between humans and the natural world. During visits, her family would echo the teachings of their ancestors, perspectives that García still carries with her today. As early as the 1920s, United States-based oil and gas companies like ExxonMobil began exploring and exploiting Colombian oil, starting with ExxonMobil’s acquisition of the Tropical Oil Company of Colombia in 1920. The subsequent decades brought expansion, ... Read more ... |
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UCS Testimony on the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Mar 25) |
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Mar 25 · From March 25 to March 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is hosting a public hearing on the December 2023 proposed regulations governing implementation of the Section 45V Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen. My comments, to be presented on March 27, are copied below. They focus on four key issues from the full set of technical comments UCS submitted to the record in February: correctness of Treasury’s overall approach; necessity of the three-pillars framework; need for updating upstream methane emissions accounting; and concerns over treatment of biomethane and fugitive methane. *** Presented via telephone during the March 27, 2024, public hearing ... Read more ... |
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Reevaluating the Role of Fossil Gas in a Decarbonizing Grid - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Mar 11) |
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Mar 11 · Fossil gas power plants currently provide the largest source of electricity generation and capacity in the United States. To meet our climate goals and reach net zero emissions by 2050, most studies show that we need to dramatically reduce gas use for generating electricity, heating homes and businesses, and running industrial processes. But gas power plants have also played an important role in helping to maintain the overall reliability of the electricity grid by meeting peak power demands, such as on hot summer days when people turn on their air conditioners. However, as we replace fossil fuels with clean electricity for heating and transportation to meet our climate goals, ... Read more ... |
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California Regulators Increased Their Clean Energy Ambition. Will They Deliver? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Feb 15) |
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Feb 15 · Today, California took another important step in planning for the transition to clean energy, a step that’s been a long time coming. To reach the state’s goals of 100% clean electricity and economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has been tasked with planning the clean electricity transition via its Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) process. The CPUC has a significant amount of discretion over the process; for example, the CPUC can choose to what extent and by when electricity providers must reduce their emissions. Which brings me to the biggest news of the day: at long last, the CPUC has set an even more ambitious ... Read more ... |
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Ohio Ratepayers Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Money-Losing Coal Plants - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Feb 15) |
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Feb 15 · Large numbers of coal plants in the United States have been closing for quite some time now due to the declining economics of coal-fired power. It doesn’t make financial sense for many coal plants stay open due to competition from more affordable clean resources - such as wind and solar - as well as from other fossil fuel power plants, such as those fired by methane gas. But what if I told you that some coal plants are able to continue operating - and continue polluting - with little to no regard for how much money they’re losing? And further, what if I told you that these coal plants have been operating since the 1950s, and their ability to stay open is being aided by ... Read more ... |
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Grid Investments are Critical to Our Clean Energy Future - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Feb 13) |
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Feb 13 · Last November, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released an interdisciplinary study exploring the various pathways to meeting US goals to cut heat-trapping emissions economywide 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The good news? It’s doable - and the United States would reap significant health and economic benefits in the process. The simple fact is that ditching fossil fuels for low-cost clean energy resources is good for the planet, good for the US economy, and good for public health. But achieving this goal will have its challenges. It will take an unprecedented level of coordinated investment across all ... Read more ... |
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Ask a Scientist: Gas Plants Disproportionately Harm Marginalized Communities - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Feb 8) |
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Feb 8 · Just how bad is fossil “natural” gas? Its primary component is methane. Responsible for 12 percent of all US global warming emissions from human activities, methane traps significantly more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, making it 86 times more harmful for the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere. And, as it turns out, the infrastructure used to produce, store, distribute, transmit, and burn gas leaks like a sieve, making gas as bad as coal for the climate. Gas, which now generates 40 percent of US electricity, is considered by some to be critical to maintain grid reliability. But in fact, gas power plants are unreliable in extreme ... Read more ... |
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The Serious Risks Around Treatment of Biomethane in 45V - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Feb 2) |
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Feb 2 · In December, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations governing implementation of the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, passed as part of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act. A substantial portion of the guidance and supporting materials is dedicated to electrolytic production of hydrogen; i.e., using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. I break down key aspects of the proposal’s electrolyzer requirements, including the rigor of its core organizing framework and the risks posed by possible compliance flexibilities, in a separate blogpost, found here. But electrolysis isn’t the only hydrogen production pathway ... Read more ... |
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An Equitable Energy Transition in California will Take All of Our Voices - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Jan 23) |
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Jan 23 · The governing bodies that regulate California’s energy system are almost as complicated and arcane as the sprawling network of wires, poles, and power plants they oversee. Those looking to influence important regulatory decisions concerning where their energy comes from and how much it costs will find themselves wading through a sea of complex legalese and daunting bureaucratic processes. For anyone who isn’t an energy expert this can make substantive participation in the process difficult, if not impossible. That’s a problem – not just for energy cost and reliability but for the future of the clean energy transition. California needs a new approach. To ensure energy ... Read more ... |
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This Leap Year, Some Clean Energy Leaps to Watch For - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Jan 22) |
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Jan 22 · When it comes to the transition to clean energy, 2023 was quite a year for progress: record-breaking amounts of solar installed in the United States, a solid drop in carbon emissions from the US power sector, more than one million electric vehicles sold in the country for the first time, “breakneck” growth in renewable energy globally, and more. But the fact that 2024 is a leap year seems apt for a period in which the US clean energy market seems poised to leap to a whole new level, in exciting and even startling ways. Here are a few predictions about what to expect in the coming year. Solar and wind have been clean energy generation superstars for a while now, and 2024 ... Read more ... |
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Proposed Electrolyzer Requirements for the Hydrogen Tax Credit: Strengths and Risks - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Jan 18) |
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Jan 18 · In late December, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released proposed regulations for the Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The tax credit, passed as part of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, provides a generous incentive for the production of clean hydrogen. Today, hydrogen is overwhelmingly produced through a heavily polluting fossil fuel-based process. It is a climate problem, not a climate solution. But hydrogen can be cleanly produced and, with the right guardrails in place, that clean hydrogen can then be used to clean up polluting parts of the economy that can’t readily convert to running on renewable electricity. That makes ... Read more ... |
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Five Factors are Driving Offshore Wind - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Dec 19) |
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Dec 19 · Offshore wind has been getting a lot of attention lately - some good, some less good. As in other parts of the economy, high interest rates hit the offshore wind industry hard, given the billions of dollars required upfront to build a single project, and inflation didn’t help. Supply chain crunches also have hit, including with the supply of the special ships that help install these huge machines. The results include two developers cancelling their offshore wind power contracts with states and utilities, another cancelling two projects altogether, and hesitation elsewhere. The good news-bad news balance, though, would seem to tip decidedly in favor of a whole lot more offshore ... Read more ... |
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How Gas Plants Fail and Lead to Power Outages in Extreme Winter Weather - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Dec 14) |
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Dec 14 · Winter is once again here, bringing great festivities and respite via holidays, but also great worries to energy regulators, grid operators, and communities about dangerous winter storms that can spread across large parts of the United States and negatively affect electric grid reliability. Power plants that use methane gas as a fuel will be relied upon to keep people warm and out of the dark, since gas plants are the country’s largest source of generating capacity. Unfortunately, these power plants have been far less reliable than expected in several extreme winter storms over roughly the last decade, and have failed disproportionately compared to other resources. But ... Read more ... |
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Offshore Wind Will Add Power When New England Needs It Most - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Dec 10) |
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Dec 10 · Last Christmas Eve, in the middle of an historic cold snap, the New England power grid came close to going dark. Thirty-six different power plants failed to deliver promised energy, and grid operator ISO-New England (ISO-NE) was forced to implement emergency operating procedures, stopping just a few steps short of asking the public to help by voluntarily cutting back on electricity use. ISO-NE was not the only grid operator to face unexpected power plant outages that day, but in a region where electric rates had recently skyrocketed, the appeal for customers’ help would have been particularly frustrating; rates had been driven up specifically to accommodate an expensive ... Read more ... |
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Overcoming Unprecedented Oil and Gas Industry Influence at UN Climate Talks - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Dec 5) |
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Dec 5 · Fossil fuel industry influence has been front and center in the UN international climate negotiations - the 28th conference of the parties (COP28) - in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is alarming but not surprising, given that the nations of the world are finally working toward an agreement to phase out fossil fuels. They know it’s the end of the fossil fuel era, and they’re showing up in force because they’re scared. Vested interests of the fossil fuel industry are pulling out all the stops by co-opting leadership roles, flooding the official negotiating space with lobbyists to water down text, and attempting to distract negotiators with bogus voluntary initiatives. ... Read more ... |
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We Need an Agreement to Phase out Fossil Fuels at COP28 - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Dec 4) |
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Dec 4 · We’re well into the first week of COP28, the annual UN climate talks, and have secured a promising early win on operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund. The United States has made important announcements on standards to limit methane emissions, along with a contribution to the Green Climate Fund. But things are definitely getting harder here in Dubai. It’s not just the poor air quality, long lines, and excessive fossil fuel company representation; nations are still too far apart in their positions on a fossil fuel phaseout, the top priority for this COP. To meet our climate goals, nations collectively have to cut global heat-trapping emissions roughly in half within this ... Read more ... |
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If the US Meets Its Climate Goals, We Can Save Money and Lives - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 30) |
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Nov 30 · Communities and ecosystems continue to suffer the consequences of human-caused climate change, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels across our economy. The full lifecycle of fossil fuels, which includes exploration, extraction, processing, storage, transportation, combustion, and waste disposal, threatens the health of our planet and communities - with the burden disproportionately being borne by communities of color and low-income communities. The case for phasing out of fossil fuels and making a just and equitable transition to clean energy has never been more clear. Recently, The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a modeling analysis, Accelerating ... Read more ... |
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Michigan Policymakers Must Keep Working Toward an Equitable Clean Energy Future - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 27) |
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Nov 27 · Michigan legislators recently passed a series of energy-related bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign into law tomorrow. The package represents progress on a number of fronts. It adds Michigan to the growing list of states, including Illinois and Minnesota, that have adopted standards to increase renewable energy on the grid and move toward 100-percent decarbonization of the power sector. It also will expand energy efficiency programs, streamline utility-scale renewable project siting approvals, and more. But the package also is significant for what is not in it. Specifically, it weakened or completely eliminated environmental justice communities’ key priorities ... Read more ... |
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Taking Stock Ahead of UN Climate Conference: Five Things to Watch for at COP28 in Dubai - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 20) |
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Nov 20 · The annual UN climate conference, COP28, is slated to take place from November 30-December 12 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the climate crisis continues to deepen, the stakes at these annual negotiations are acutely high. This year, they take place against the backdrop of relentlessly rising heat-trapping emissions, record-breaking temperatures, extreme climate impacts in the United States and around the world - and yet, unbelievably, there has been a continued expansion in fossil fuel production and use and a yawning emissions gap in countries’ climate efforts to date. Lest one thinks this disconnect is a failure of the global climate architecture, the ... Read more ... |
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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 16, 2023) |
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Nov 16, 2023 · Last year, Congress passed the most ambitious climate bill ever enacted, the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions. However, several analyses - including a recent one by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) - have concluded that the IRA, even when coupled with the bipartisan infrastructure act and other federal and state climate policies, will not be enough to meet US carbon emission reduction goals. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the United States ... Read more ... |
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Stepping Up to the Challenge: US Can Meet Climate Goals if Policymakers Take Immediate, Concerted Action - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 16, 2023) |
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Nov 16, 2023 · There is so much bad news about climate change these days. Global temperature records are being shattered, climate impacts are worsening rapidly around the world, and the latest IPCC report makes clear that critical global climate goals are on the verge of slipping from our grasp. So today I’m glad to share some good news: a new UCS study that gives me fresh hope and determination to keep fighting for necessary actions to drive deep cuts in US heat-trapping emissions. An interdisciplinary team of UCS experts set out to explore how the US can meet its goals to cut heat-trapping emissions 50%-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050. ... Read more ... |
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Walkable Neighborhoods and Public Transit are Part Of the Clean Energy Transition - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Nov 15, 2023) |
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Nov 15, 2023 · By expanding renewable power, phasing out fossil fuels, electrifying as much of the economy as possible, and deploying other technologies, the U.S. can achieve its climate goals by 2050 - and a new report from UCS shows how. Transportation is the largest contributor to US global warming emissions, and we have choices around how we transform it. Electrifying cars and trucks is essential to solving the challenge. But vehicles are energy-intensive. By expanding public transportation and rail, and by planning our communities in ways that let people meet their needs with biking, walking, and shorter driving trips we can make the clean energy transition more achievable and ... Read more ... |
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We Need Large-Scale Solar. A New Agreement Points the Way Forward - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Oct 16, 2023) |
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Oct 16, 2023 · The solar energy sector is big and getting bigger. That’s a really good thing given the central role we expect and need solar to play in a just transition away from fossil fuels. But solar’s growth, especially in large arrays, has made it much more visible in communities and landscapes across the country, sparking a lot of conversations about land use, technology options, community engagement, and how best to site the many more megawatts of solar we need. That’s why it’s great to have a new “collaboration agreement” on large-scale solar, the result of a multi-year effort with scores of experts, nonprofit groups, and solar developers to address issues of siting and ... Read more ... |
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Gas Has Reliability Issues. Why Is the Tennessee Valley Authority Doubling Down on It? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Oct 12, 2023) |
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Oct 12, 2023 · In our series on the increasing unreliability of fossil gas, my colleagues at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) have laid out why growing concerns about grid reliability should not be met simply by increasing the number of gas plants on the grid. In fact, too many gas plants are the problem, not the solution. Furthermore, it’s also clear that with the increase in extreme weather driven by climate change, gas plants are threatened by the very conditions they’ve helped contribute to. Here where I live in the Tennessee Valley, customers experienced the first rolling blackouts in the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) last year. The TVA is the public power ... Read more ... |
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What Happened in the California Legislature in 2023? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Oct 04, 2023) |
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Oct 04, 2023 · When I started with Union of Concerned Scientists back in January, the California legislative session was just ramping up. As bill introductions trickled in, it became clear there would be plenty of opportunities for UCS to leverage our science-based research to inform world-leading policy solutions. As the trickle of bills became a rushing river of committee hearings, budget negotiations, and floor votes, not only did we stay afloat, but we built a solid, evidence-backed raft that will keep us skillfully navigating the treacherous white waters of the California legislature. Now that I have reached the extent of my white-water rafting knowledge, here is a recap of our ... Read more ... |
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NEPA, the “Magna Carta” of Federal Environmental Laws, May Be About to Improve - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Sep 26, 2023) |
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Sep 26, 2023 · The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, is often called the “Magna Carta” of environmental laws. For many communities, the NEPA process is a vital–sometimes the sole–tool they have to try to ensure their voices are heard and that environmental justice considerations are part of federal decision-making processes. Section 101 of the statute states the aim of the law simply: “to create and maintain conditions under which [people] and nature can exist in productive harmony.” A draft proposal from the Biden Administration to update NEPA’s implementing regulations is currently open for public comment until September 29th and is worthy of your support. Signed into ... Read more ... |
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Can the Inflation Reduction Act Advance Climate Justice? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Sep 20, 2023) |
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Sep 20, 2023 · One year ago, UCS worked in coalition with many other organizations to help pass the landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a law with historic climate provisions that includes numerous programs, policies, and a $369 billion investment that will drive significant cuts in heat-trapping emissions across our economy. The number of provisions in the IRA aimed at accelerating the transition towards clean energy are plentiful and evident, but most programs were not written into law with the intent to center marginalized communities. And, some programs missed the mark entirely and create the risk of continuing to prop up fossil fuel extraction, which would harm communities and our ... Read more ... |
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Energy Equity: How Can Power Utilities Get It Right? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Sep 20, 2023) |
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Sep 20, 2023 · Like many other public-serving institutions throughout society, electricity and gas utilities are facing calls to be more equitable in their operations, planning, and treatment of customers. But exactly what is energy equity and what does it mean for utilities to address energy equity directly or consider energy justice more broadly in their work? Energy equity involves confronting the asymmetric suffering faced by the most disadvantaged groups in our communities in the context of access to energy resources. For example, think of how unequal burdens manifest themselves amid Danger Season, when a range of climate impacts hit increasingly hard. It is a time when ... Read more ... |
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Will World Leaders Step Up to Deliver at the UN Climate Ambition Summit? - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Sep 18, 2023) |
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Sep 18, 2023 · On September 20, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres is hosting a Climate Ambition Summit seeking to galvanize greater climate action from world leaders. Coming on the heels of the powerful 'March to End Fossil Fuels’ last weekend, this summit continues the pressure on governments to meet the urgency of the moment. Despite this year’s grim series of extreme climate-fueled disasters and record-breaking temperatures - part of a trend of worsening climate impacts - global heat-trapping emissions continue their alarming rise. The big question, though, is whether world leaders will show up and deliver - or will they, once again, fail us? Back in March of this year, when ... Read more ... |
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Extreme Summer Weather Threatens Gas Power Plants. Here’s How. - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Sep 12, 2023) |
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Sep 12, 2023 · Despite the clean energy transition that is well underway in the United States, methane gas, or natural gas, remains the largest source of U.S. electricity generation. By a lot. Renewables are continuing to increase their share of the power sector, rising to almost 23 percent of the nation’s electricity supply last year, which was higher than the generation from both coal-fired and nuclear plants. This is made possible in large part by the steep cost declines of wind and solar. But despite the more favorable economics of solar and wind compared to gas, that figure is only a little more than half of gas’s share of about 40 percent. However, one important attribute of gas ... Read more ... |
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One Year After the IRA, UCS Is Hard at Work Bringing Its Benefits to Bear - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Aug 30, 2023) |
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Aug 30, 2023 · What I remember most was the shock, then jubilation, among my colleagues at UCS last summer. After months of working to influence the whipsaw negotiations on a federal budget reconciliation bill that would unlock massive funds for climate action, even the most diehard among us were starting to lose hope that our partisan Congress would pull it together on climate. This political rollercoaster ride was also unfolding across last year’s Danger Season, stressing the urgency of the need to act big, and act now. Then, suddenly, we learned that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had passed the Senate. And just as suddenly, on August 16, 2022, the bill became law: the ... Read more ... |
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A Hot Summer for Clean Energy in Michigan - Union of Concerned Scientists - Energy  (Aug 30, 2023) |
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Aug 30, 2023 · It’s Danger Season right now for climate impacts around the United States and the world. While we confront extreme heat, wildfires, and intense storms, crucial work to reduce global warming pollution and mitigate the worst effects of climate change continues. One notable example is in Michigan, where utilities are phasing out coal plants and momentum is building for legislation that would support an equitable clean energy transition. In July, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) approved a momentous settlement agreement regarding the electric utility DTE Energy’s plan to provide electricity to its 2.3 million customers for the next 20 years. Some of the most ... Read more ... |
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