Weekly Climate

This week on SolveClimate, we looked at the start of climate change talks in the U.S. Senate and a hearing that suggested nuclear power could play a greater role in climate legislation, to the dismay of some clean energy advocacy groups.

We asked how the proposed federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), severely weakened by the U.S. House before it passed the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) bill, might get strengthened in the Senate.

But would an improved RES be enough to give the bill real teeth? Not according to NASA climate scientist James Hansen, who explained why the ACES bill was "no more fit to rescue our climate than a V-2 rocket was to land a man on the moon."

The hurdles to any climate bill passing the Senate remain huge. At least 15 Democrats from coal-reliant states are on the fence and likely to demand serious concessions for their votes, just as their counterparts did in the House. With that in mind, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed back the deadline for committee votes to Sept. 28 to allow more time to negotiate deals.

This week on SolveClimate we highlighted some important climate roles and progress made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a decision that will reverberate nationwide, the agency granted California and 13 other states permission to set vehicle standards that are tougher than the federal government's and based on greenhouse gas emissions for the first time.

We learned that Obama's EPA is requiring Sunflower Electric to restart the permit process if it wants to build a controversial Kansas coal plant. Former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had fought Sunflower's efforts, but her successor approved the coal plant in a back room deal six days after taking office.

The EPA was firm: The proposed coal plant must meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

Also on the topic of coal, the EPA released a once-secret list of 44 coal ash ponds that pose the highest danger to human life if they were to break.

This week on SolveClimate, we continued to follow closely the course of the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) climate bill.

After months of negotiations and three hours of heated debate, the legislation squeaked through the House by a vote of 219 to 212 on Friday evening. Forty-four Democrats voted against it, while eight Republicans sided with the majority.

During the week leading up to the vote, the critically weakened bill drew praise from most of the big green groups. Except for Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, who called on Congress to vote no and write a truly climate-protecting bill instead. Twenty of America's top climate change scientists pleaded with lawmakers to toughen the ACES bill.

This week on SolveClimate, we covered the cautionary results of the ten-year report of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. In sum: The consequences of human-caused climate change are here and will get worse if nothing is done.

The report arrived as the ACES bill continued its journey to the floor of the U.S. House; as Al Gore's group rolled out its national ad to rally support for renewables; and as the Senate Energy Committee approved its version of a 'clean energy' bill, which earned praises and appreciation from Big Oil.

We examined the East-West battle that is brewing in Congress over an enormous expansion of the electric grid, and discovered that Duke Energy is considering ordering the first new nuclear power plant in the U.S. in 30 years.

This Week on SolveClimate, we continued our coverage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act as it wends its way through the U.S. House of Representatives. Co-sponsor Rep. Henry Waxman called on environmental groups to support the ACES bill as is and forecast that the bill would hit the House floor in just two weeks. 

An analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office killed the myth that the legislation would be too costly. Big Ag wants a big payoff via the bill and is putting its congressmen to work arguing for major changes in biofuels rules. Twenty environmental groups urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to strengthen the bill's weak renewable energy standard. In related news, two proposals for a federal green bank are being considered by Congress.

The UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, closed on Friday with concerns over snail-like progress. On financing for poorer nations, the negotiations produced ideas but no agreements. Worst of all, it appears China is not willing to commit to any reductions of its global warming emissions, while the U.S. is backing away from this request altogether.

This week, SolveClimate took a look at the carbon credits that would come solar's way under the weakened American Clean Energy and Security Act. Turns out, they would amount to very little.

We covered the plans of a key congressman to impound the bill if corn-based biofuels don't get a federal boost. Adam Siegel asked the burning question: Why are advocates for ACES prepared to take scraps from the table rather than fight for an adequate law?

We explained how the Florida legislature's decision to quash Gov. Crist's Climate Action Plan killed the chance for 150,000 new jobs and $40 billion in increased economic activity. We also analyzed how energy efficiency is being "nudged" into the national conscience.

In the news, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that CO2 emissions would leap 40 percent by 2030 if a global climate treaty isn't forged. A group of Nobel Laureates made an urgent plea for science-based climate action. And a new study said desert solar could meet a full quarter of the world's power needs by 2050.

It was a busy week at SolveClimate as the House Energy and Commerce Committee spent four days debating a watered down version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act and then passed the bill 33-25, with four Democrats joining all but one Republican in opposition.

We picked apart its polluter-friendly portions, examined its inadequate clean energy commitment, revealed a major coal union's support and analyzed coal stocks, which saw a sudden upward surge as the bill advanced.

Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, blasted big utilities and their coal-state apologists for wrecking ACES. Adam Siegel suggested cutting "clean energy" from the name altogether. And Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, chided the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for trying to kill climate action.

President Obama announced the nation's highest increase in fuel efficiency standards in decades, then met with an advisory group of CEOs and economists who urged him to give businesses a carbon price signal. Twelve retired admirals and generals made the national security case for clean energy. They also delivered an appeal to the American people to protect the planet.

In other news, Australia put a billion dollars into big solar. And Cisco unveiled its first end-to-end smart grid solution.

This week at SolveClimate we learned that polluter-friendly pols stripped the ACES climate bill to its bones. Greenpeace withdrew support. The 'clean' coal front group ACCCE told a dirty lie. And the 'smoking gun' on the EPA endangerment finding was a non-story after all.

In other news, Chinese solar giant Suntech said it's coming to America. Grid parity is getting close for Britain's rooftop solar sector. And President Obama may have killed the hydrogen car. 

From South America, evidence emerged that beef is eating up more Amazonian rainforest than thought. Andean water wars are deepening as glaciers melt away. And Chevron's toxic-dumping case in Ecuador is inspiring awe – and more lawsuits.