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With the best of intentions ...

When the idea of a low carbon economy first raised its head some expected a sea change in public attitudes. This change would impact the regulatory framework, acknowledge the responsibilities of businesses,  encourage development of sustainable practices and generally save the world from itself. It seems that some observers are surprised at the slowness of the sea change. Perhaps the level of innovation required is not materialsing because the need, in fact, is not urgent enough in the minds of business, government or consumers. Over the last decade, governments have put in place frameworks for action, but the timing is over many years - a serious commitment which should encourage. On the other hand, perhaps we should not expect a huge change in lifestyle look and feel as we grow into an efficient low carbon society.

Isn't the problem that climate is a global issue, which encompasses so many aspects of day-to-day life. So it's at the same time the ultimate global and local issue, requiring us to change everything for everyone. Those expecting sea change will have to wait for quite a while.

The eternal debate n subsidies. This is a report on subsidies part of the government budget (though there are quite a few off-budget subsidies in energy as well). As usual, the report triggered a good old discussion on subsidizing renewables versus fossil, and on level playing fields.

With energy costs equivalent to 10% of the economy, and with lots of subsidies and taxes, the price consumers pay for energy is a grateful subject for spin doctors.

"The weaknesses of federal regulatory agencies have been exposed by recent high-profile accidents. Guest columnist Tom Carpenter fears the Department of Energy will reduce its oversight of cleanup at the nation's nuclear waste sites. By Tom Carpenter Special to The Times PREV of NEXT Related Millions of gallons of oil gush continue to rush unabated from BP's mile-deep well in the Gulf of Mexico, and 11 workers are dead from the massive explosion that caused the biggest oil spill in decades. Weeks before this event, the news was dominated by the preventable explosion that killed 29 West Virginia coal miners. In both cases, the not-so surprising news was that the mine and the oil rig had abysmal records of safety violations before the explosions yet were still allowed to operate by the captive regulatory agencies. Where is the government accountability? It is the government's job to assure that ultra-hazardous industries operate safely and responsibly. Is nuclear next? The Department of Energy sits on the nation's biggest nuclear nightmare. Its inventories of highly radioactive and toxic wastes defy comprehension. Washingtonians are familiar with the DOE's No. 1 accomplishment, the Hanford nuclear site, which holds the lion's share of the nation's radioactive detritus. Suffice it to say that the escape of even a small fraction of such material into the environment would constitute a Chernobyl-sized catastrophe."

"A new survey conducted by Applied Materials, Inc. reveals that two-thirds of Americans believe solar technology should play a greater role in meeting the country's energy needs. In addition, three-quarters of Americans feel that increasing renewable energy and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil are the country's top energy priorities. According to the survey, 67 percent of Americans would be willing to pay more for their monthly utility bill if their utility company increased its use of renewable energy and 49 percent of consumers polled would be willing to pay $5 or more each month for an increased amount of renewable energy-a 14 percent increase from the results of Applied Materials' 2009 survey. "Americans are becoming more aware of the need for responsible energy solutions, like solar power, and increasingly want their government to drive policy and investment aimed at finding alternative ways to power our homes and economy," said Dr. Charles Gay, president of Applied Solar, a division of Applied Materials. "With the right energy legislation in place, the U.S. could reap the benefits of one of the biggest economic job engines of this century - the clean energy revolution.""

It was only a matter of time to get one of these, but why not. All we need now is somebody comparing the price of oil to Coca Cola or milk and it'll be a full circle.

BERLIN (AFP) - The German government wants to build up to 30 offshore windfarms in a bid to meet its renewable energy targets, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said in an interview published Sunday. Tiefensee told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that the windfarms would be built in the Baltic and North seas and said some 2,000 windmills should soon be producing 11,000 megawatts of electricity.

The source of endless energy for all humankind resides just off Government Street in Burnaby, British Columbia, up the little spit of blacktop on Bonneville Place and across the parking lot from Shade-O-Matic blind manufacturers and wholesalers. The future is there, in that mostly empty office with the vomit-green walls -- and inside the brain of Michel Laberge, 47, bearded and French-Canadian. According to a diagram, printed on a single sheet of white paper and affixed with tape to a dusty slab of office drywall, his vision looks like a medieval torture device: a metal ball surrounded on all sides by metal rods and bisected by two long cylinders. It's big but not immense -- maybe 10 times as tall as the little robot man in the lower right corner of the page who's there to indicate scale.

For clean technology investors in China, the future is bright. There is a perfect positive storm of government policy, consumer awareness, capital, land, engineers and entrepreneurs lined up to create and sustain a very long run of successful investments.

According to a recent BBC feature, the impact of increasing the cost filling up from 15-20$ to 70-80$ are dramatic. The market for second hand SUV's has collapsed, real-estate in the outer suburbs looses value at a rate of 4,000$ per additional minute commuting time and the use of public transportation sees a marked increase.

This is an internal UK government report documenting the growing windpower potential within the country