E-mail this to a friend
Printable versionClick on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Pain at the Pump and Beyond
Editorial, New York Times
The surge in the price of energy couldn’t come at a worse time. The average price nationally of regular gasoline has shot up to a record $3.28 a gallon. Combine that with the collapse of the housing market and the seizing financial sector, and it is putting a boot to the gut of an economy that is either already in a recession or close to one.
The Bush administration can’t be entirely blamed for the pain at the gas pump. But its shortsighted energy policies - zealously focused on increasing the energy supply, with little attention paid to conservation and greater fuel-efficiency - means the country is far too dependent on oil that is both ruinously expensive and ruinous for the environment.
There are several reasons for oil’s dizzying price spiral.
... If any good can come out of this mess, it would be an understanding - by corporations, consumers and government - that the era of cheap oil is truly over. With that, the country could finally focus on developing clean alternative energy sources and reducing oil consumption, a strategy that has served other countries well.
(25 March 2008)
Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar
Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
EVERYONE knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue - green - has entered the lexicon.
Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs - an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change.
No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly in the next few decades, because state governments have mandated that even more energy come from alternative sources.
But some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term for politicians and others to bandy about. Some say they are not sure that these jobs will have the staying power to help solve the problems of the nation’s job market, and others note that green jobs often pay less than the old manufacturing jobs they are replacing.
Indeed, such is the novelty of the green-job concept that no one is certain how many such jobs there are, and even advocates don’t always agree on what makes a job green.
(26 March 2008)
Related from SightLine: Green-Collar Jobs: The Secret History.
For Carbon Emissions, a Goal of Less Than Zero
Matthew L. Wald, New York Times
IF the world is going to sharply reduce the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by midcentury, then many businesses will have to go carbon neutral, bringing their net emissions of the greenhouse gas to zero.
But some could go even further by removing more CO2 than they produce. Instead of carbon neutral, how about carbon negative?
In academic and industrial labs worldwide, researchers are working on technologies to reach that goal. Success could create the ultimate green business - for example, one that produces fuel whose emissions are more than offset by carbon dioxide stored during production. The businesses would be successful if, as anticipated, Congress puts a tax on emissions or starts a trading plan that makes carbon credits valuable.
For some experts, it’s not a question of whether businesses will go carbon negative but w
(26 March 2008)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post this article to . . .
|
Published on 26 Mar 2008 by Energy Bulletin. Archived on 26 Mar 2008. United States - Mar 26by Staff FAIR USE NOTICE: |
Digg
del.icio.us
Reddit