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Key states have reached what they call a "meaningful agreement" at the Copenhagen climate summit. Five nations, including China and the US, reached a deal on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit temperature rises to less than 2C. US President Barack Obama said it would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go".

Key states have reached what they call a "meaningful agreement" at the Copenhagen climate summit. Five nations, including China and the US, reached a deal on a number of issues, such as a recognition to limit temperature rises to less than 2C. US President Barack Obama said it would be a foundation for global action but there was "much further to go".

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.

A new social media site for "experiments in local living" has been launched called "Live Local" which should be of interest to those of you interested in relocalisation and related ideas like the Transition Towns movement. The site aims to be "a place to share stories and ideas about improving your community", with the user generated ideas and stories being dubbed "experiments". live local is a project which we've developed as a joint social venture with Piers Dawson-Damer. The website is a place to share stories about improving our communities. It makes it easy for local residents to document their experiences and adventures meeting neighbours, discovering neighbourhoods, supporting local economies, saving energy, water and much more. At its heart the project encourages people to take more time to connect and engage with their community. I think its clear the alternative; working crazy hours to earn more money to more buy 'stuff' while leaving us little time to get to know our neighbours and spend time with family and friends, has spectacularly failed. Many of us crave a smarter way of living; one that makes us happier. As part of the launch of the site, they have issued the "live local challenge", which encourages people to "live local" for a week.

Generating electricity by burning coal is responsible for about half of an estimated $120 billion in yearly costs from early deaths and health damages to thousands of Americans from the use of fossil fuels, a federal advisory group said Monday. A one-year study by the National Research Council looked at many costs of energy production and the use of fossil fuels that aren't reflected in the price of energy. The $120 billion sum was the cost to human health from U.S. electricity production, transportation and heating in 2005, the latest year with full data. The report also looks at other hidden costs from climate change, hazardous air pollutants such as mercury, harm to ecosystems and risks to national security, but it doesn't put a dollar value on them.

Generating electricity by burning coal is responsible for about half of an estimated $120 billion in yearly costs from early deaths and health damages to thousands of Americans from the use of fossil fuels, a federal advisory group said Monday. A one-year study by the National Research Council looked at many costs of energy production and the use of fossil fuels that aren't reflected in the price of energy. The $120 billion sum was the cost to human health from U.S. electricity production, transportation and heating in 2005, the latest year with full data. The report also looks at other hidden costs from climate change, hazardous air pollutants such as mercury, harm to ecosystems and risks to national security, but it doesn't put a dollar value on them.

US Congressman Henry Waxman has unseated John Dingell to become chair of the powerful energy committee of the HoUSe of Representatives. Democratic members of Congress voted 137 to 122 for Mr Waxman, 69, to take up the committee chairmanship. Mr Dingell, 82, a representative from Michigan, had been viewed as a strong ally of the US car indUStry. Mr Waxman, who represents a California district, is a keen proponent of measures to ease global warming.

US lawmakers Tuesday sought to overturn a decades-old ban on offshore drilling voting in favor of a new energy bill which has been spurred by spiralling oil prices. The new bill, which was put forward by the majority Democrats in the HoUSe of Representatives, was approved by 236 votes to 189. It would allow drilling off the US coastline up to a distance of between 50 to 100 miles (80 to 160 kilometers) overturning a 1981 federal moratorium.

Congress may outlaw elements of oil futures trading that lawmakers found distorted demand and contributed to the 69% surge in prices in the past year. US legislators are considering limits on the number of oil contracts an investor can hold and may increase disclosure requirements. Speculators such as Goldman Sachs Group USe the practices to bet on price swings, which may drive up prices, though they have no intention of taking delivery of underlying goods, lawmakers say.

"A bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are aiming to nullify US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) efforts to clamp down on greenhoUSe gasses under the aegis of the Clean Air Act in a move that could deliver a body check to on of President Barack Obama's top domestic and international priorities. Charles Digges, 25/01-2010 Prospects that comprehensive climate legislation will be passed by the US Congress, and the EPA has been moving forward as something of a White HoUSe secret weapon to implement regulations that would put expensive limits on indUStrial and mobile pollution - painting a target on the back of the Agency's head at which indUStry and some members of Congress are taking aim. "

"The future of a US climate law is hanging in the balance in Congress as lawmakers gear up for crucial midterm elections amid a persistent economic slump, experts say. Further reducing the impetUS, UN climate talks in Copenhagen ended last month with a non-binding agreement to limit warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two CelsiUS) that did not set binding targets to reduce the emissions of gases scientists say are heating up the world's atmosphere to dangeroUS levels. Among the thorniest problems facing a possible US law is striking an agreement on creating a "cap-and-trade" market for greenhoUSe gases that would force heavy polluters to buy credits from companies that pollute less, creating financial incentives to fight global warming."

Cautious optimism. That was the term being used across all sectors of the renewable energy industry in the days and weeks following the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) as industry leaders tried to understand exactly what the package could do for their often struggling companies. Yet as the weeks have worn on, the American public's support for the measure has started to wane. Members of the renewable energy industry appear to be a bit more bullish on the opportunities that the bill creates. The stimulus package authorized us $67 billion in spending for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs and incentives, $20 billion of which is likely to directly help put projects on the ground. This attitude was on full display last week in Las Vegas at the Renewable Energy World North America Conference and Expo where the ARRA was a hot topic both on the floor and during the conference's industry roundtable discussion.

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.

In remarks focused on the promise of renewable energy and demand-side management, us Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff on Wednesday suggested that there may never be another new nuclear or coal power plant built in the country. Pointing to upwards of 1,000 GW of potential wind energy in the Midwest and West, new solar power production and storage technologies and emerging hydrokinetic power resources, Wellinghoff asserted that renewables are poised to play a substantial, gap-filling role in the us energy picture.

Reliable, accessible and affordable energy has been one of the primary pillars of American prosperity since the dawning of the Industrial Age. Unfortunately, many of the energy sources that we have always used have been seriously depleted or produce a dangerous build up of waste products in our common environment. As the people's representatives, Congress wants to help change that pattern by enabling and encouraging entrepreneurs, established corporations and private investors to make the long term investments that will be required to change a pattern of energy use that has been developing for almost 200 years. One attempt at making that possible was the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which established a program where the federal government would back loans for carefully selected projects whose payback profile did not exactly match the demands of the short term thinkers on Wall Street. Unfortunately, that bill put the burden of developing the program onto the Department of Energy, an organization that remains ill equipped for the task. Part of the reason is that the DOE is dominated by other considerations (protection of the nuclear weapons stockpile) and by the established energy industry that has no desire or incentive to make a big change in the current market.

John Holdren, science advisor to President Barack Obama, swung by Blighty today for some tea and crumpets with the Brits. But before embarking on a who's who tour of UK science policymakers, he joined the press in the basement of the US embassy for some all-American cookies and black coffee. Most of his hour-long round table was spent discUSsing climate change. He expressed some disappointment with the climate change legislation winding its way through the US Congress, but sees it as a make-or-break step for getting an effective international accord out of the UN's Copenhagen conference, which will take place in December. Some of the reporters expressed scepticism that a bill could be passed in time, but Holdren was optimistic, noting that the administration only needed around 12-15 additional votes in the Senate to pass the legislation. "I would still bet that it will happen, but I have to admit that it's going to be a challenge," he said.

"President Barack Obama has vowed the Gulf of Mexico spill would speed the end of US dependence on fossil fuels, but experts doubt reality can match his rhetoric. "The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now," Obama said in a primetime televised address from the Oval Office. Amid the worst environmental disaster in US history, supporters of renewable energy had hoped images of sullied coasts and dramatic engineering failings would spark jUSt such a revolution: the beginning of the end for fossil fuels."

"Stuart at Early Warning has a post on a study of the impact of rising fuel prices on different geographical regions in the US (which looks similar to a comparable study done in AUStralia a few years ago - The Impact Of Rising Oil Prices On Sydney Suburbs) - Peak Oil Stress Map. The map [below] is a first rough cut at where the stress of peak oil (or any oil shock) is likely to be greatest. It comes from taking county level data from the CensUS Quick Facts and extracting two variables: the average travel time to work (from the 2000 censUS), and the median hoUSehold income (from 2008 data). The idea is that if average travel time is long, that probably indicates that people in that county need a lot of oil to run their cars. On the other hand, if income is low, they are probably going to have more trouble paying for that oil. So I divided the travel time by median income, and then rescaled that index by its own average and standard deviation to produce a map of where the problems are likely to be greatest. "

-Amory Lovins, a renowned author and big thinker on energy, specializes in making the impossible real. His 4,000-square-foot Colorado home has no furnace, uses a few dollars' worth of electricity a month, and features an indoor tropical garden with banana trees and papaya plants. In conversation, he's quick to pull out his iPhone to show a car prototype inspired by the Hypercar, which is three to five times more efficient than conventional cars. He's the chief scientist and co-founder of nonprofit advisory firm Rocky Mountain Institute, which develops environmentally friendly solutions using business as a lever. Among the organizations it advises are Ford Motor, Wal-Mart, and the Pentagon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBC2YqFuZ8k From the people who brought you Economic Collapse... It's another Wall Street Dip Shit! Meet Mr. Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal, Heritage Foundation, and Cato Institute [Stephen Moore] "I'm not a believer in peak oil, I'm a big believer in the Julian Simon idea that these [oil] are infinite resources, not finite resources. And the reason for that is that oil comes from the human mind, it doesn't come from the ground! [T. Boone Pickens] I don't understand, Steve, when you said oil is not from the ground but it's in the human mind. What does that mean? [Stephen Moore] Well what I mean is that it's human ingenuity that uh...it used to be that people first discovered oil it was just this black gloop that came out of the ground and nobody had any use for it...Do you agree with that?

The efficiency and eco-credentials of solid fuel fires have seen such products witness a recent increase in popularity driven in part by the soaring cost of other forms of energy. solid fuel appliances increase in popularity Writing in the Guardian, Andrew Martin stated that while it is necessary to burn smokeless solid fuel, except in the case of where approved appliances are used, these products can offer a carbon neutral solution to heating. Mr Martin stated that wood used as a fuel is carbon neutral because the carbon dioxide that is emitted is captured by the growth of the tree.

The oil producers' cartel Opec has agreed to make a record cut in output, slashing 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current supply. Opec has made two other cuts since September, meaning it has cut a total of 4.2 million bpd in four months. Despite the record cut, oil prices continued to fall as US data provided fresh evidence of falling demand. US light, sweet crude for January fell as low as $39.94 a barrel, its first time been below $40 since July 2004.