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The White House is currently blocking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from complying with a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that directed the agency to develop global warming pollution regulations under the Clean Air Act. Below is a statement by Brendan Bell, a Washington representative with the Union of Concerned Scientists:

The global power industry must take the lead in making energy efficiency a way of life, says Jonathan Leake Six kilograms of carbon dioxide a day. If that sounds like little more than an obscure scientific measurement, think again. In the years to come it's a figure we may have to get used to. Why? Because, say climate scientists, that's the maximum daily amount of carbon dioxide each of us can generate if humanity is to have a chance of keeping the rise in global temperature below 2C.

Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick structure called "graphene" as a new carbon-based material for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitor devices, perhaps paving the way for the massive installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power. The researchers believe their breakthrough shows promise that graphene (a form of carbon) could eventually double the capacity of existing ultracapacitors, which are manufactured using an entirely different form of carbon. "Through such a device, electrical charge can be rapidly stored on the graphene sheets, and released from them as well for the delivery of electrical current and, thus, electrical power," says Rod Ruoff, a mechanical engineering professor and a physical chemist. "There are reasons to think that the ability to store electrical charge can be about double that of current commercially used materials. We are working to see if that prediction will be borne out in the laboratory."

Wind turbines do not drive birds from surrounding areas, British researchers said on Wednesday, in findings which could make it easier to build more wind farms. Conservation groups have raised fears that large birds could get caught in the turbines and that the structures could disturb other species. But scientists fou

Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick structure called "graphene" as a new carbon-based material for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitor devices, perhaps paving the way for the massive installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power.

A former NASA scientist has used radio waves to transmit solar power a distance of 92 miles (148 km) between two Hawaiian islands, an achievement that he says proves the technology exists to beam solar power from satellites back to Earth. John C. Mankins demonstrated the solar power transmission for the Discovery Channel, which paid for the four month experiment and will broadcast the results Friday at 9 p.m. EDT. His vision is to transmit solar power collected by orbiting satellites as large as 1,102 pounds (500 kg) to lake-sized receiver stations on Earth.

Scientists at the Ohio State Institute for Materials Research recently announced that they have developed a new hyper-efficient solar material that is able to capture light from every spectrum of the rainbow. Whereas most photovoltaics are limited to collecting energy from a small range of frequencies, the new material is able to absorb energy from all spectrums of visible light at once. The breakthrough development heralds a new breed of extremely efficient solar panels on the horizon.

According to a Stanford University researcher, 'wind, water and sun beat biofuels, nuclear and coal for clean energy.' The scientist 'has conducted the first quantitative, scientific evaluation of the proposed, major, energy-related solutions by assessing not only their potential for delivering energy for electricity and vehicles, but also their impacts on global warming, human health, energy security, water supply, space requirements, wildlife, water pollution, reliability and sustainability.' Wow! The researcher found that some sources of energy were 25 to 1,000 times more polluting than the best available options. Some of his conclusions make sense, some are controversial, but read more…

The Scottish Government has created one of the biggest international innovation prizes in history - a £10 million challenge for advances in wave and tidal energy. At a ceremony this week in historic Edinburgh Castle, details of the 'Saltire Prize' were revealed to leading scientists, environmentalists and potential entrants after being finalised by a panel of international experts who comprise the prize Challenge Committee. Dr Anne Glover, Scotland's Chief Scientific Adviser and Chair of the Challenge Committee, said the Saltire Prize will be awarded to the team that can demonstrate in Scottish waters a commercially viable wave or tidal energy technology that achieves a minimum electrical output of 100GWh over a continuous two year period using only the power of the sea and is judged to be the best overall technology after consideration of cost, environmental sustainability and safety.

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Scientists at The Nature Conservancy in Montana have completed the first analysis of where wind generation facilities can be located with minimal risk to the state's wildlife and the environment. Wind provides great promise for a clean and renewable source of energy, but each year wind generation facilities kill tens of thousands of birds and important pollinators such as bats. . And yet, wind energy development has moved forward with very little science-based analysis that might help prevent this kind of environmental harm. The impacts of wind generation are greater than just the immediate airspace. Most turbines take up 40-100 acres of land, so large-scale wind farms can span thousands of acres. Each facility also requires roads and transmission corridors.

Twenty years ago NASA scientist, James Hansen told Congress that the use of fossil fuels was causing global warming. Earlier this year, Hansen and several co-authors published a paper titled Target Atmospheric CO2 that declared the amount of carbon reduction that needs to happen "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to put to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted."

Fast Company and New Scientist have reports predicting that cheap GaN based LED lights may soon make both ncandescent and compact fluorescent light globes obsolete - Better, Cheaper LEDs Ringing Death Knell of Fluorescent Bulbs. LED lighting has long been viewed as a superior alternative to compact flourescent bulbs. Although flourescents are more electrically efficient than old-fashioned incandescent bulbs, producing them requires a complex procedure that uses a little mercury--a big environmental and health no-no. Indeed many are questioning whether CFLs are actually an environmentally-friendly choice at all.

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Scientists have found new evidence that the Earth's natural feedback mechanism regulated carbon dioxide levels for hundreds of thousands of years. But they say humans are now emitting CO2 so fast that the planet's natural balancing mechanism cannot keep up.

The 2008 figures are in from the new REN 21 Renewables Global Status Report: Renewable power capacity (excluding large hydropower) increased a hefty 16 percent last year, which is remarkable given that world oil use actually declined. Growth in some renewable sectors was even more impressive. Biodiesel production increased 34 percent, and solar power took the prize with a 73 percent jump. Renewable energy has not entirely escaped the impact of the global recession - growth this year will almost certainly be slower - but it is clear that global energy markets have turned a corner. Political support and business investment in new energy sources have reached the point where the new industries appear hard to stop. REN 21 reports that 64 nations now have policies to promote renewable power generation. Scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs across the globe are responding with unprecedented innovation. Overnight, the energy business has begun to resemble the I.T. industry more than it does the energy industry of the past.

According to a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the combined efficiency and renewable electricity standard (CERES -- formerly RES) in the Waxman-Markey climate legislation will not increase renewable electricity generation and might actually reduce it. UCS concludes: "Bottom line: The Waxman-Markey RES does not ensure that any new renewable electricity will be developed beyond the renewables that are already projected to occur under the business as usual forecast by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)."

$300 million infusion reflects Obama Administration's broad, aggressive research and development strategy WASHINGTON D.C. --- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $300 million worth of investments that will boost a range of clean energy technologies - including carbon capture from coal, solar power, and high efficiency cars and trucks. The move reflects the Obama Administration's commitment to a broad based strategy that will create millions of jobs while transforming the way we use and produce energy. "There's enormous potential for new jobs and reduced carbon pollution just by implementing existing technologies like energy efficiency and wind energy, but we also need to develop transformative new solutions," said Secretary Chu. "As a scientist, I remain optimistic that these breakthroughs are within our reach, and investments like these are an important part of achieving them." Today's actions include:

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