Climate Change

Fellow Story

Torn's work on how global warming may release carbons in forest soils picked up by several outlets

Climate scientists have long been concerned about the possibility that warming temperatures will speed changes on the earth’s surface that will in turn accelerate global warming. The best illustration of such a feedback loop involves the melting of sea ice in the Arctic. The ice reflects solar radiation back into space rather than absorbing it. When it melts, it leaves open water that absorbs the heat rather than reflecting it. The more warm water there is, the more ice melts, and so on.
June 28, 2012
Fellow Story

Grumet quoted in AOL Energy article on idea of ending subsidies for renewables

Jason Grumet, President of the Bipartisan Policy Center, said there are approaches between simple extensions and cold turkey cutoffs, such as grid operators holding auctions specifically for renewable power. Grumet said the whole tax code should be overhauled to adapt to the new US energy picture, in which an abundance of natural gas has replaced fears of energy scarcity in just five years. Legislators need to rationalize any energy subsidies longer-term, he said, adding, "We need to avoid this year-to-year lobby fest."
June 27, 2012
Fellow Story

Orosz wins 2012 Energy Globe Award for first solar powered hospital in Lesotho

“Imagine taking some parts from a car, from an air conditioning system, some more parts from a plumber, and you build a machine that is run with heat instead of gasoline. Then you hook it up to a free energy source such as the sun, and what you get is a clean, sustainable, cost-efficient source of hot water, electricity and even cooling.” Since 2005, Matt and his team have been doing exactly that in Lesotho: Building a solar powered plant for a local hospital as a showcase project for other applications.
June 21, 2012
Fellow Story

Fitzgerald quoted on Oakland start-up using crowdfunding to fund solar energy projects

Garrett Fitzgerald is the sustainability coordinator for the city of Oakland, and says Solar Mosaic is a great alternative for people who are passionate about renewable energy, but do not have the financial or logistical capacity to install their own solar system. He said they are a model for combining social good with economic benefit. “These kinds of companies are the future of the green economy in Oakland,” Fitzgerald said. Read the full story
June 5, 2012
Fellow Story

Coleman part of Brookings event on innovations in shipping and the G-20's development and climate goals

In 2009, President Barack Obama and leaders of other developed countries committed to mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries confront climate change. However, in an era of fiscal austerity, it is clear that national contributions will need to be supplemented by innovative sources of finance to meet this goal. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund recently released a report on how the shipping industry could be one of these innovative sources of financing.
June 4, 2012
Fellow Story

Garbesi organizes competition to get college students to think big about energy efficiency

"Our interest is to push energy efficiency as rapidly as we can to address very, very serious problems of climate change," competition organizer Karina Garbesi said. Read the full story and watch a video
June 4, 2012
Fellow Story

Mulvaney quoted on release of 2012 Solar Scorecard rankings for PV manufacturers

"Photovoltaic manufacturers are increasingly reporting health, safety, and sustainability metrics on their websites and within annual reports. However, too many solar manufacturers are still unwilling to share their emissions information," said SVTC Research Scientist Dustin Mulvaney, who contributed to the Scorecard survey. "Part of a solar manufacturer's value proposition to its customers is its environmental credentials. Those who are transparent and make a genuine investment will be rewarded with consumer confidence."
June 4, 2012
Fellow Story

Sims Gallagher op-ed calls administration's preliminary tariff on Chinese solar panels "short sighted"

The Obama Administration’s preliminary decision to impose a 31 per cent tariff on solar panels imported from China is short sighted. The move could cause a trade war, hurt the US economy, jeopardize US security interests, and put the world further off course in terms of meeting its global climate change goals.
June 1, 2012
Fellow Story

Hyun featured on Commerce blog for contributions to president's vision of an America Built to Last

At the Commerce Department, I have the privilege to serve as Secretary Bryson's senior policy adviser on energy and environment issues.
May 31, 2012
Fellow Story

Aldy study on Americans' willingness to pay for national clean energy standard

In 2010 and 2011, Republicans and Democrats proposed mandating clean power generation in the electricity sector. To evaluate public support for a national clean energy standard (NCES), we conducted a nationally representative survey that included randomized treatments on the sources of eligible power generation and programme costs. We find that the average US citizen is willing to pay US$162 per year in higher electricity bills (95% confidence interval: US$128–260), representing a 13% increase, in support of a NCES that requires 80% clean energy by 2035.
May 31, 2012