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A recent hearing of the Energy and Power Subcommittee discussed the regulatory, market and legal barriers to exporting Coal and LNG. Critical issues were the length of time associated with the permitting process as well as the economic and climate impacts associated with the exports. Christopher Smith, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the DOE, testified that most of the foundation has been built and that future approvals should be expedited. Jeff Wright, Director, Office of Energy Projects at FERC, stated that many of the delays experienced were the result of filers submitting incomplete… [more]
View InsightPresident
Micro-Utilities, Inc.
The President was on target during his speech on climate change at Georgetown University when he announced new initiatives to curb the release of greenhouse gases and thereby slow down the effects of climate change. However, a key aspect to meeting this huge challenge is to set national goals based on specific timetables. Without President Kennedy setting a goal to land an American on the moon by a specific date, it is doubtful that we would have ever achieved this. President Obama’s goal-setting in his recent speech was incomplete and rather imbalanced. There was a goal to double renewable energy… [more]
View InsightJ.C. Ward Jr. Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering
Cornell University
The premise of Robert Stone’s newly released documentary, Pandora’s Promise, is that despite the scary features of nuclear radiation, nuclear power is the best chance we have to avoid the catastrophe projected from burning fossil fuels to power the growing world economy. The documentary’s approach is rather unique – former anti-nuclear environmentalists describe how and why they became pro-nuclear, in spite of even the recent major Fukushima Daiichi reactor disaster. It is important to add that Director Robert Stone is not arguing that standard “light water reactors” (LWRs) should be pursued, but rather newer designs, such as inherently safe breeder… [more]
View InsightVisiting Fellow
Hudson Institute
This discussion was co-authored by J. Eric Bickel, Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin. Measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have dominated public discourse about responses to man-made climate change. However, major institutional and political hurdles dim the prospects for controlling emissions. Solar Radiation Management (SRM) appears to promise at least some capacity to offset manmade warming. SRM would seek to manage physical processes that reflect sunlight back into space. For example, researchers have envisioned adding to the layer of aerosols already present in the lower stratosphere. All else remaining equal, global mean temperatures would fall even… [more]
View InsightThe increased focus on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic has identified numerous issues. Oil and gas exploration is a significant challenge for policy makers at all levels of government. In the recent Review of Shell’s 2012 Alaska Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Program, the Department of Interior identified seven critical principles for safe and responsible offshore drilling, including improved management of contractors and integrated government oversight. It has been noted that with the substantial oil and gas resources believed to exist in the Arctic, geopolitical considerations will greatly impact domestic policy. A Center for Climate and Energy Solutions… [more]
View InsightLast week Governor Dave Heineman of Nebraska approved the Keystone XL pipeline along a revised route, “which avoids the environmentally-sensitive Sand Hills region of Nebraska.” The final decision now rests in the hands of President Obama, who last year rejected the previous route on grounds that construction of the pipeline and the possibility of a spill could contaminate the Ogallala Aquifer in the Sand Hills region. For many environmentalists and opponents of the Keystone XL project, however, this revised route doesn’t address the bigger climate argument: Due to the high level of greenhouse gasses emitted during production of oil from… [more]
View InsightA recently released report by VeraQuest Inc. titled “VeraGreen: A Look at American Attitudes and Behaviors on Environmental Issues,” examines how Americans view environmental issues such as global warming and the involvement of government in the private sector. The report surveyed a stratified random sample of 3,506 online respondents to be nationally representative and has an error range of 1.66% at a 95% confidence level. The study was fielded between October 3 and October 11, 2012. Key Findings: 36% of respondents believe society does not put enough emphasis on environmental issues, compared to 21% that believe it’s too much emphasis. 51%… [more]
View Insight“Our National Energy Policy: Post-Election Prospects and Challenges” December 14th, 2012 National Press Club, Washington, DC See below for an abridged version of the transcript and a full video recording of the event. You can view or download the full transcript here. Opening Remarks: WILLIAM SQUADRON, President, OurEnergyPolicy.org Speakers: JAMES CONNAUGHTON, Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor with Exelon Corporation and Former Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality GENERAL JAMES L. JONES, USMC (retired), Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, Senior Advisor to the American Energy Innovation Council with the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Former… [more]
View InsightThe rapid proliferation of natural gas development has led to a variety of environmental concerns, such as air and water pollution, increased geological activity, and greenhouse gas emissions. A new paper from John Bistline, a doctoral candidate in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, investigates how “uncertainties in future natural gas prices, upstream methane emissions, the global-warming potential of methane, and the stringency of federal climate policy will influence optimal (GHG) abatement efforts” and the “future deployment of energy technologies.” Generating capacity decisions are made along long and largely uncertain planning horizons, and plants often come online into very… [more]
View InsightDenbury, a small energy resources firm focused on oil and natural gas, sees a bright future in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a process that pumps CO2 into oil wells to release hard-to-reach oil. EOR has been promoted as a way to simultaneously address climate change and improve recoverable oil reserves. The company surprised many recently after it traded its Bakken Shale assets – some of the most productive in the country – to Exxon Mobil in exchange for $1.6 billion in cash and parts of Exxon Mobil’s Texas and Wyoming stakes. Denbury will instead focus on utilizing EOR in its… [more]
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