Nice Effort to Stem the Rising Price of Gas – $5 on the Horizon

Here is a brief but possibly, substantial effort to assist in America’s benefit in the price of gas. An overt appeal for a serious effort NOT TO BUY GAS FROM THOSE COMPANIES WHO BUY FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.  Are you interested in stopping $5/gallon Gas? … Continue Reading

Renewables future left blowing in the wind

Ireland has the potential to produce three times the country’s energy needs using renewable resources.

Ambitious plans to capitalise on renewable opportunities in Ireland appear to have stalled and it remains to be seen if the Government can get things back on track, writes JOHN REYNOLDS

THE GOVERNMENT’S jobs action plan talks of building upon our Emerald Isle image and capitalising on opportunities, particularly in renewable energy, to “green” the economy. But has the dream faded? … Continue Reading

Obama Administration Offers $35 Million for Biomass Research

The Biomass Research and Development Initiative will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass. Credit: Todd Johnson

The White House on March 22 announced an offer of up to $35 million over three years to support research and development in advanced biofuels, bioenergy, and high-value biobased products. The projects will be funded through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI), a joint program of DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). … Continue Reading

The War Against Oil is Being Won

by Dana Blankenhorn – With natural gas prices having tanked, and the President being given stick on the campaign trail over high gas prices and failed subsidies at Solyndra and elsewhere, it may be hard to see that the War Against Oil is being won.

But it is.

The War Against Oil is a long-term project, begun some years ago, meant to wean the market from its dependence on fossil fuels and create a new era of sustainable abundance. It is at the heart of today’s politics, oil interests having taken command of our politics 12 years ago and retaining an absolute stranglehold on the Republican Party. But this is, in the end, an economic struggle, and what ultimately matters is cost. … Continue Reading

Why Rising Gas Prices Could Backfire on the GOP in November

A gallon of regular is 19 cents higher than it was a month ago and 40 cents more than a year ago. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Eight months before the fall elections, Republican strategists are in a dour mood.

• The economy has begun to gain traction.
• Their leading candidate for president, Mitt Romney, is universally viewed as an uninspiring poster child for the one percent, with no core values anyone can point to except his own desire to be elected.
• Every time Romney tries to “identify” with ordinary people he says something entirely inappropriate about his wife’s “two Cadillacs,” how much he likes to fire people who provide him services, or how he is a buddy with the people who own NASCAR teams rather than the people who watch them.
• The polls show that the more people learn about Romney, the less they like him.
• The Republican primary road show doesn’t appear to be coming to a close any time soon.
• Together, Bob Kerrey’s announcement that he will get into the Senate contest in Nebraska and the news that Olympia Snowe is retiring from the Senate in Maine, massively increase Democratic odds of holding onto the control of the Senate.
• The Congress is viewed positively by fewer voters than at any time in modern history — and two-thirds think the Republicans are completely in charge.
• Worse yet, the polling in most presidential battleground states currently gives President Obama leads over Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

The one thing Republican political pros are cheering right now is the rapidly increasing price of gas at the pump and the underlying cost of oil.

The conventional wisdom holds that if gas prices increase, it will inevitably chip away at support for President Obama — and there is a good case to be made. After all, increased gas prices could siphon billions out of the pockets of consumers that they would otherwise spend on the goods and services that could help continue the economic recovery — which is critical to the president’s re-election.

But Republicans shouldn’t be so quick to lick their chops at the prospect of rising gas prices. … Continue Reading

Renewable Energy Rises 27% Since Obama Took Office, But Clean Car Policy Isn’t Working

Since President Obama entered office three years ago, renewable energy production in the US has climbed 26.9%, according to the Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) latest “Monthly Energy Review.”

For the three years ending November 30, 2011, domestic oil production has also risen, by 13.7%, natural gas production grew 13.4%, nuclear power decreased by 2.8% and coal production plummeted by 7.3%.

For the first 11 months of 2011, renewables accounted for 11.76% of domestic energy production, up from 10.83% for the same period in 2010.

In terms of actual production, renewables rose 13.4% in 2011, with hydropower supplying 34.9%, followed by biomass (26.6%), biofuels (22.0%), wind (12.7%), geothermal (2.4%), and solar (1.3%). … Continue Reading

US Tribal Nations To Benefit From Renewable Energy Funding

image via Sacred Power Corporation

The Department of Energy (DOE) is bankrolling $6.5 million in clean energy projects on Tribal Lands; which U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu says will allow Native American tribes to advance renewable energy within their communities by “assessing local energy resources and developing and deploying clean energy technologies.” … Continue Reading

White House response: Obama environmental record “historic” on fuel standards, climate change

President Obama SOTU address presses the need for increased Clean and Renewable Energy production with "all of the above" approach

Responding to concerns of leading progressives and donors in the Bay Area about President Obama’s environmental record, the White House says his Administration has achieved “historic fuel economy standards,” while taking unprecedented efforts to supporting development of renewable energies and reduce America’s reliance on foreign oil. … Continue Reading