Week of 2/3/2012

The Buzz’s EDITOR’S PICKS OF THE WEEK…

Auction price of power expected to double after FirstEnergy plant closing decisions

2012 is make-or-break year for wind power industry subsidies in U.S. Congress

Related: Renewable energy might not need subsidies to compete, say officials

Ohio seeks to avoid becoming ‘dumping place’ for brine used in hydraulic fracturing

Chesapeake Energy uses carbon-dioxide foam, less water in ‘fracking’ wells

The Buzz’s FEATURE OF THE WEEK...

Is Belmont County, Ohio, on the short list for huge ethane cracker project?

Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia vie for Shell’s new petrochemical refinery

River, highway and rail access crucial to sites under review for $2-billion project

The Buzz’s CLIMATE-ENERGY POLITICS & RELATED Links…

GOP to link drilling and oil exploration with transportation measure in U.S. Congress

Related: House Republicans introduce $260-billion energy and infrastructure bill

Coalition in Maine seeking RPS referendum fails to gather enough signatures

Natural gas advocates say Obama bent on sabotaging sector while publicly praising it

Murkowski accuses President Obama of having ‘Al Gore moment’ on oil drillling

‘Everything on the table’ as House committee ponders contempt charge over Solyndra

Related: White House spokesman claims continuing Solyndra probe is political ploy

More: Review of DOE loan guarantee program soon to be made public

House Republicans want White House to scuttle pending GHG regulations

Interior Secretary Salazar: No major environmental impact from offshore wind farms

The Buzz’s CLIMATE SCIENCE & SCANDAL Links…

Environmentalists want weather forecasters to report consensus on climate change

Release of new data shows planet’s temperature has not warmed in past 15 years

Green energy’s negative effects can influence and change the planet’s climate

What’s causing public to no longer be concerned about threat of global warming?

The one thing that ‘heralds of climate catastrophe’ fear the most is a little sunshine

Debunking the global warming scientific consensus on basis of original survey

USDA: Updated plant hardiness map shouldn’t be construed as global warming proof

The Buzz’s OHIO Links…

Will electricity rates rise if Ohio abandons its renewable energy mandate?

FirstEnergy Corp. seeks solar credits to offset power generated in Buckeye State

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) writes letter opposing more support for Piketon project

Proposed Marcellus Shale pipeline project across Ohio appears to be in limbo

Man arrested who dressed as Duke Energy worker to burglarize southwest Ohio home

Van Wert County officials finalize electric aggregation contract, will get $10 per meter

It’s landowners versus environmental activists in Athens County ‘fracking’ dispute

AEP brings combined cycle, natural gas-fired generation plant online near Dresden

Chesapeake appears headed to court with landowners over lease language disagreement

Thieves steal truck, 7,500 feet of copper wire and damage building near Monroe

The Buzz’s NATIONAL Links…

Door-to-door energy solicitors becoming nuisance in many communities

Related: Energy marketing has become one of the nation’s fastest growing industries

Paducah, KY, uranium enrichment plant could be on the funding chopping block

Failed insulator in switchyard caused shutdown of Illinois nuclear power plant

Regulators knock Southern California Edison for overloading its power poles

Those who oppose smart meters can keep old analog devices, but for a price

TVA’s ban of protesters wearing of costumes at meetings draws federal lawsuit

The Buzz’s INTERNATIONAL Links…

Can Germany’s green energy sector continue to grow without government subsidies?

Japanese cabinet proposes new nuke power rules, including 40-year reactor lifetime

In Japan, greenhouse gas emissions climb after cutback in nuclear power generation

The Buzz’s RENEWABLES, ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY, FUELS Links…

U.S. solar industry split over tariffs on imported Chinese panels and materials

Renewable energy systems and condominium covenants, often at odds, await litigation

Wind and solar power sites co-located perhaps could improve performance of both

Largest solar array in Utah will power Salt Palace Convention Center

Buzz’s ENERGY EFFICIENCY & CONSERVATION Links …

Canadian government ends popular home energy efficiency grant program

Simple energy efficiency measures could save apartment dwellers big bucks

Columbia University maps energy consumption, building-by-building, in NYC

Streetlamps along U.S. National Mall retrofitted with energy efficient LEDs

Ad campaign touts savings and comfort of ductless heating and cooling systems

The Buzz’s ELECTRIC CARS, HYBRIDS, TRANSPORTATION Links…

Small claims court finds for plaintiff in Honda hybrid fuel mileage lawsuit

Largest oil companies don’t include electric car proliferation in their business outlooks

Electric cars won’t be successful until break-through technology eases consumer worry

Are micro-hybrid and ‘mild’ hybrid vehicles the next hot items in alternative drive?

Editor’s Note – We will hear more in the coming days of the bankruptcy of green companies buoyed by taxpayer funds in the form of loans and guarantees. The following items are about a two-seater electric car with a $42,000 price and a very suspicious paper trail involving international corporations.

Cautionary tale: Indiana electric car factory down to two employees, uncertain future

Related: Failure of taxpayer-supported battery maker linked to Think City endeavor

More: Volvo and electric motorcycle manufacturer stand by bankrupt battery maker

Will London become electric car capital of Europe? Brits not yet convinced

Wittingly or not, California Air Resources Board created giant auto emissions loophole

Did General Electric get cold feet after promising to spend $1 billion on electric cars?

German study: Making gas cars more efficient can achieve greater emission reductions

Canadian condo resident could see plug pulled on his Chevy Volt recharging

Car companies throw out the spare tire to help achieve new fuel economy goals

Prize of $1 billion for U.S. automaker which sells 60,000 gas cars that get 100 mpg

The Buzz’s OPINION AND ENERGY POLITICS-REGULATION Links…

How does President Obama’s mercury logic balance with push for CFL bulbs?

Obama’s ‘low-energy America’ at odds with dream that built this nation

California’s aggressive auto emission reduction targets are ‘doubling down on dumb’

The Buzz’s WEEKLY STINGERS...

Invasive California Energy Commission also takes aim at cell phone battery chargers

Who killed Obama’s climate agenda? Voters and a blogger named Anthony Watts

Town chooses solar over wind power due to economics of project and resident concerns

Renewable energy advocates fear impact of cheap, abundant natural gas

Cyber attacks on U.S. grid could cause blackouts lasting nine to 18 months

Seattle’s weatherization program will fail to meet its goal to create 2,000 green jobs

Related: Only 95 students trained in green jobs program have found work

UN climate group praises Chile for clamping down on gangs of glacier ice thieves

The Buzz’s HALL OF SHAME…

Sierra Club accepted $26 million from natural gas industry while fighting coal

Insurers will be required to disclose climate change risk responses in three states

Southern California Edison refuses to connect Forest Service and other solar systems

Woman steals Elcon utility truck and leads officers on high-speed chase

Massachusetts utility’s consumers don’t want higher-priced green electricity

The Buzz’s WEIRD, SAD, FUNNY, UPLIFTING AND UNBELIEVABLE Links…

Medina, Ohio, man charged for illegally keeping pet alligator in his home

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist calculates his tax rate at whopping 74 percent

Bill proposed to make Wizard of Oz dog, Toto, the state breed of Kansas

NASA joins scientific groups in trying to debunk Mayan doom’s-day prediction

Cold War-era U.S, spy satellites to be displayed at Dayton Air Force museum

Burmese pythons in Everglades are decimating populations of other animals

Can this be said for tofu? Tub of lard, 64 years old, judged still ‘fit for consumption’

More demonstrations of the Northern Lights can be expected from solar storms