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When the TVA Board of Directors gets together in Knoxville Thursday, it will be their first announced gathering since the Dec. 22 Kingston coal ash disaster put the nation's largest public utility in an unwanted spotlight. One part of the Tennessee Valley Authority's operation that has received almost no attention is the board itself, which oversees the $10.4 billion a year federal corporation.

When the "Clean and Renewable Energy Construction Act" was introduced in the Missouri Senate, the bill's title evoked images of new wind turbines sprouting from the northwest Missouri plains and solar panels lining St. Louis rooftops. A more fitting image might be two more massive cooling towers rising in Callaway County. While the legislation proposed last month may one day aid the development of more renewable energy or a next-generation coal-fired power plant, there's little doubt that its primary purpose is helping AmerenUE build a second nuclear reactor. It would do so by removing a key barrier - a 1976 law that prohibits the utility from charging customers for the plant before it's complete.

TVA is near the end of its first phase of response to a massive coal ash spill in East Tennessee last month, stabilizing and preventing further spread of the sludge at an estimated cost of $1 million a day. The giant public utility is considering options for what could be the costliest, lengthiest and most complicated operations: removing the ash from land and water and restoring the area to pre-spill conditions. Advertisement The state must approve the Tennessee Valley Authority's "corrective action" plans and has given it a mid-March deadline to submit details.

Barack Obama's election has members of the alternative energy world sounding positively giddy, an enthusiasm not shared by their competitors in the oil industry. Obama's energy plans read like a wish list for the companies that make solar cells, wind turbines or alternative fuels. He wants to pump money into energy research and force all electric utilities to use renewable power. He has proposed creating a cap-and-trade system that would put a price on the greenhouse gas emissions that come from burning fossil fuels.

If California expands its renewable power generation to be a third of electricity delivered in the state by 2020, it may cost $60 billion, the state's utility regulator said in a report issued on Thursday. It is more costly to make electricity with renewable power -- solar, wind, geothermal and other sources that emit no or low amounts of global-warming greenhouse gases -- than with natural gas, nuclear and coal power plants.

"…collapse isn't inevitable, but depends on a society's choices". - Jared Diamond I have argued elsewhere that our American way of life is not sustainable[2], and I have presented compelling evidence to demonstrate that America is on the verge of imminent societal collapse[3]. The purpose of the following paper is to make the case that we-all Americans-through our distorted worldview and resulting dysfunctional resource utilization behavior, are responsible for our "predicament", and that we lack the collective will to take meaningful action to mitigate its catastrophic consequences.

Informing individuals about the resource use and environmental consequences of their energy consumption can be surprisingly difficult. Do you ever read the little flyers that your utility or your energy retailer puts in your bill? Nope, I don't either. But in general we're pretty clueless about our energy consumption, because we do not have timely information that shows us how much we're using, and how much we're spending, so we have little incentive to go out and find information about energy efficiency. Even my students, undergrads and MBAs at one of the best universities in the world, don't generally realize that, for example, 90% of the energy used in an incandescent light bulb produces waste heat, not lumens. In part the challenge is that it's an information push, and it's an information push in an over-informed world. Consumers rarely go out looking for ways to save energy (although $4 gas and possible recession have increased that information pull!).

* Opens federal waters beyond 50 miles from shore along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to oil and gas drilling, ending drilling bans that have been in effect for 26 years. States would have to agree to drilling for areas between 50 and 100 miles from land. * Rolls back $18 billion in tax breaks for the five largest oil companies and requires energy companies to pay billions of dollars in additional royalties from oil taken from the deep water areas of the Gulf of Mexico under questionable leases issued in the late 1990s. * Requires the release of 70 million barrels of oil from the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to put more oil on the market and lower gasoline prices. * Makes it a federal crime for oil companies holding federal leases to provide gifts to government employees, a response to a recent sex and drug scandal involving the federal office that oversees the offshore oil royalty program and energy company employees. * Provides tax credits for wind and solar energy industries, the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels, and purchase of plug-in gas-electric hybrid cars. * Requires utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from solar, wind or other alternative energy source. * Gives tax breaks for new energy efficiency and conservation programs including the use of improved building codes low-interest loans for energy efficient homes, and for companies that promote their employees use of bicycles for commuting.

Under fire for high gas prices, the industry is spending record amounts on influence in Washington. Plus: How it's playing in the presidential race. Top oil lobbyists Company spending so far in 2008 Company Amount in millions 1. Exxon Mobil $8.1 2. Chevron $6.1 3. BP $5.2 4. ConocoPhillips $4.4 5. Koch $3.8 6. Marathon $3.6 7. API $2.2 8. Occidental $1.4 9. Williams $1.2 10. Shell $1.2 Source:Center for Responsive Politics Top industries Spending on lobbying so far in 2008 Industry Amount in millions 1. Drugs $113 2. Insurance $76 3. Electric utilities $65 4. Computers $60 5. Oil and gas $55 6. Education $51 7. Air transport $50 8. Health Care $48 9. Manufacturing $48 10. Entertainment $48 Source:Center for Responsive Politics NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As angry voters spark a barrage of energy bills in Congress, the oil industry is spending record amounts of money protecting its interests. In what may be surprising to some, the most recent figures from the Center for Responsive Politics show that the oil industry gives a relatively small sum to individual political campaigns - it's 16th on a list of top 50 industries.

Bryan Carisone, a heating and air-conditioning contractor in Raritan, N.J., "absolutely loves" his new GMC Denali XL, an extra-large sport utility vehicle with televisions built into the leather seats. But in June, one week after he bought it, he pulled into a station on a near-empty tank and watched the total climb higher and higher - to $109.

"The climate bill unveiled by U.S. Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman on Wednesday would reward many businesses for cutting output of greenhouse gases but could add costs for those who do not. Stocks | Global Markets Kerry and Lieberman hope that companies who see opportunities in energy conservation and low-carbon power will convince lawmakers to support the bill which needs 60 votes to pass. Utilities such as FPL Group (FPL.N), Duke Energy (DUK.N) and Exelon (EXC.N) have lobbied alongside environmental groups for the climate bill as has General Electric (GE.N), a manufacturer of clean coal and natural gas systems for power plants and wind turbines. Here are some initial reactions to the bill from companies and business groups:"

Electric grids are getting smarter in an IBM lab in Texas as the promise of billions of US economic stimulus dollars fuels a drive to make power delivery more efficient and greener. A chunk of stimulus cash aimed at promoting a "smart grid" designed to foster renewable energy generation and let people and utilities better manage electricity use has IBM in alliances with a growing host of startups. "Smart grid was starting to get hotter, but post-stimulus it is dead center at IBM and in the venture community we deal with," said Drew Clark, director of strategy at IBM's venture capital group.

The cost to build a new nuclear power plant in Texas has risen to $10 billion, up from early estimates, but much below price tags of other proposed U.S. nuclear projects, an executive with NRG Energy Inc's nuclear development arm said on Tuesday. The "all in" cost to build two 1,350-megawatt nuclear reactors in South Texas has risen 40 percent from 2006 estimates which did not include financing costs, Steve Winn, chief executive of Nuclear Innovation North America (NINA), told the Reuters Global Energy Summit. While higher, NINA's current estimate is more than $10 billion under estimates from other nuclear developers that operate in states where regulators determine how much money utilities can charge customers for new power plants.

AP reports that falling natural gas prices in the US are making residential consumers happy for the time being, but notes that unconventional (shale) gas drilling has fallen off a cliff in recent months - Homes that use natural gas for heat could save big. The 60 million American homes that rely on natural gas for heat can expect substantially lower bills next winter thanks to a glut in supply and the weak economy. Just as distributors start to lock in contracts for the coming winter, natural gas prices have fallen almost 75 percent. Not all of that will show up as savings on the heating bill, but it should still mean noticeable savings. Utilities also generate about a fifth of the nation's electricity with gas, and many of their customers should notice price breaks as well.

In his keynote speech to the GridWeek 2009 Conference this morning, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu detailed his vision for implementing the smart grid and modernizing America's electrical system: a stronger, smarter, more efficient electricity infrastructure that will encourage growth in renewable energy sources, empower consumers to reduce their energy use, and lay the foundation for sustained, long-term economic expansion. Secretary Chu's presentation can be found here. During his remarks, Secretary Chu also announced more than $144 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the electric power sector, including $44 million in awards to state public utility commissions and $100 million in available funding for smart grid workforce training programs. "America cannot build a 21st Century energy economy with a mid-20th Century electricity system. This is why the Obama Administration is investing in projects that will lay the foundation for a modernized, resilient electrical grid," said Secretary Chu. "By working with industry leaders and the private sector, we can drive the evolution to a clean, smart, national electricity system that will create jobs, reduce energy use, expand renewable energy production, and cut carbon pollution."

Los Angeles will eliminate the use of electricity made from coal by 2020, replacing it with power from cleaner renewable energy sources, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. Consumers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest city-owned utility in the United States with 1.45 million electricity customers, will see higher power bills in the fight against climate change, he added in his inaugural speech for his second four-year term as mayor on Wednesday.

For years, residents of the tiny lakeside community near Kingston, Tennessee, watched as the local power plant mixed tons of leftover coal ash with water and pumped the heavy mud into a massive pond just up the road. "We never gave it a second thought," says resident Diane Anderson. To read more of Kelly Hearn's reporting on the TVA spill, check out "Toxic Coal in Tennessee," "Tennessee's Dirty Data" and "The Dredge Report." Share this article * * * * Add to Mixx! * * * Related * Also By * Radioactive Revival in New Mexico Environment Shelley Smithson: Navajos say "No!" as the return of uranium mining threatens to despoil their lands and health. * The Most Important Number on Earth Environment OntheEarthProduction : Bill McKibben, Noam Chomsky and Terry Tempest Williams discuss the urgent need reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million. » More * Tennessee Spill: Regulation Hazards Environment Kelly Hearn: The recent coal ash spill in Tennessee reveals the toxic fallacy that states should regulate industrial waste. * Letters Subscribe Our Readers & Kelly Hearn * Tennessee Spill: The Dredge Report Environment Kelly Hearn: The TVA's efforts to clean up after its massive coal ash spill may create even more health hazards. But on December 22 the pond collapsed, triggering a billion-gallon mudslide that knocked houses off foundations and roiled into the Emory River. State officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority, the federally funded utility responsible for the spill, scrambled to allay fears, saying that the ash wasn't toxic and that the drinking water was safe. But residents also heard about the litany of harmful substances in the ash, like arsenic and lead, and about studies linking it to cancer.

Congress is all but abandoning President Barack Obama's goal of producing fully one-quarter of the nation's electricity from renewable sources - wind, solar and the like - by 2025, though a push for at least some increase is making headway. Both the House and Senate are considering legislation that would establish the first national requirement for electric utilities to generate a certain percentage of their power from renewable energy - from wind turbines and solar cells to biomass and geothermal sources.

NRG Energy, based in Princeton, NJ, is a wholesale power generation company with ownership in 47 coal, oil, and natural gas plants worldwide. The company's portfolio of projects totals approximately 22,735MW in the United States, about half of which is generated in Texas. NRG also has plants in Australia, Europe, and Latin America with a total of about 1,216MW of generation

Alliant Energy produces electricity and sells electricity and natural gas to customers in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin - as well as providing transportation and environmental engineering and consulting.