Energy Literacy Advocates Newsroom
Energy Literacy Advocates (ELA) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public education and advocacy group dedicated to improving the energy literacy of all sectors of our democracy in order to empower a comprehensive national energy policy that is responsible and sustainable. Stay tuned for updated energy news!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Transportation Department Raises Fuel-Economy Standards
The 8 percent gain announced this week from Washington carries out a 2007 law intended to curb emissions and fuel use.
To read the full article in Bloomberg detailing this mandate, click here.
Labels: automakers, CAFE standards, efficiency, energy policy, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 1:16 PM
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Obama Announces Government Plans for the US Auto Industry
After the dismissal of General Motors (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner Sunday, Obama stated the government would continue loans to GM for 60 days, during which time GM must improve its plan to restructure and demonstrate viability over the long term.
Chrysler, the other major recipient of government funds, was guaranteed 30 days of working capital so it can conclude a merger with Fiat. However, Obama stated in his announcement today that bankruptcy may be the best option for Chrysler if a merger fails.
Other developments coincided with Obama's announcement today. According to Forbes, the government will honor GM and Chrysler car warranties, in an effort to ensure US consumers consider buying cars from these companies. The IRS today also announced that car buyers with incomes below certain income levels can deduct from their taxes auto excise taxes and state and local sales taxes this year.
Labels: automakers, economy, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 11:51 AM
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Friday, March 27, 2009
Cash For Clunkers
Read a news article about the program here.
Labels: automakers, energy policy
posted by Jamie Lang at 1:22 PM
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Tesla Motors Unveils Plans for All-Electric Passenger Car
Tesla also plans to open a dealership in Chicago soon, the first of a seven this year. The Windy City showroom will be Tesla’s third and the first outside of the company’s home state of California.
Tesla burst onto the alternative vehicle scene and became famous for its high-performance, all-electric sports car, the Roadster.
To read the full article in Scientific American, click here.
Labels: automakers, energy, renewables
posted by Amanda Voss at 8:26 AM
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
Some Investors Predict Oncoming Energy Price Surge
While demand is down, many oil analysts predict that the oil price has bottomed out.
The data "suggest the market balance between supply and demand is tighter than it was a year ago when we were trading $110 a barrel," Citigroup energy analyst Tim Evans said. "Over the longer cycle, I don't like to bet against OPEC."
To read the full article, click here.
Labels: oil price, oil prices, oil supply, oil supply/demand
posted by Amanda Voss at 4:33 PM
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Ford Demonstrates Changing Strategy with Board Appointments
These appointments signal the change in direction Ford seeks. While Ford avoided low-cost bridge loans from the government bailout, it has still been mauled by the worst car market in almost 30 years. Ford lost a record $14.6 billion in 2008.
According to Ford's press release announcing the appointments, Anthony Earley is slated to help Ford "... deal with the serious issues of energy independence, energy security and sustainability."
Labels: automakers, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 10:20 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Climate Lobbyists, Climate Bills Escalate in D.C.
According to the New York Times, since January politicians have introduced more than 20 bills mentioning climate change, including proposals that would prohibit taxes on the emissions of domestic animals and would require metropolitan planning organizations to incorporate climate in their transportation blueprints. In the 109th Congress, by comparison, members of Congress introduced only 60 or so bills on the topic over a two-year period from 2005 to 2006.
The surge in climate-related lobbying is also revealing how broad reaching many energy reforms can be, as diverse industries, interest groups and municipalities come to the bargaining table.
To read the full New York Times report, click here.
Labels: climate change, global warming, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 8:00 AM
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Obama Links Clean Energy Progress with Budget Proposals
According to the Associated Press release, Obama planned to make the case Monday for a budget proposal that invests billions in research designed to reduce climate change and guarantees loans for companies that develop clean energy technologies. Obama has tied his first budget proposal as president to a renewable energy program to help the United States move toward energy independence.
Details of the budget specific to energy include $39 billion at the Department of Energy and $20 billion in tax incentives for clean energy. Obama's 10-year budget proposal contains spending of nearly $75 billion to make permanent existing tax cuts for energy research and experimentation.
To read the full article, click here.
Labels: energy, energy policy, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 8:28 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 20, 2009
Oil Prices Surge, Fall As Week Ends
Increasing U.S. stockpiles of oil also drove oil prices down.
Oil continues to reflect the volatility of the market, and the economic downturn. Market speculations on oil prices are currently being gauged against predicted timeframes for national and worldwide economic recovery, contents of national oil stockpiles, and consumer and industrial demand.
To read today's market analysis for oil commodities in Bloomberg, click here.
Labels: economy, oil price, oil supply/demand
posted by Amanda Voss at 7:11 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Largest Independent Oil Refiner Buys Up Ethanol Plants
The purchase comes as a boost for the ethanol market. VeraSun filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy in the fall of 2008, amidst economic woes. Valero plans for the plants include using the ethanol produced there to blend with traditional gasoline, satisfying the 10 percent blend requirement.
The Valero purchase of an ethanol plant is the first in the U.S. by a traditional refiner, pumping cash into the industry at a time of tight credit. It also signals a new alignment of traditional and renewable energy industries.
Given the economic travails facing renewable energy industries, the ethanol industry is additionally pressing the Obama administration to raise the 10 percent blend limit in most gasoline blends to as high as 15 percent to bolster demand for biofuels.
To read the full article, click here.
Labels: biofuels, economy, oil companies, renewables
posted by Amanda Voss at 7:34 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fight Over U.S. Offshore Drilling Renews
As the Obama administration outlines its energy plans, it is caught between oil companies, who are reminding the president of his campaign pledge to allow some drilling offshore, and environmental groups, who are demanding a reinstatement of the drilling ban that Congress lifted in September.
Obama's administration has demonstrated both stances towards the issue. Since taking office, it has scrapped Bush administration rulings that would have opened up vast new areas for offshore drilling well into the next decade. Conversely, the administration allowed the Interior Department today to move forward with a long-planned auction of leases in the Gulf of Mexico that includes 4.2 million acres that had been off limits since 1988.
With America importing 60% of its daily needs, the discussion will ultimately center around the role of domestic supplies in the energy economy.
To read the full article in The New York Times, click here.
Labels: oil price, oil supply, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 7:50 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Offshore Energy Regulation Settled
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar expressed relief at the settlement, which had threatened to entangle prospective renewable energy projects.
The FERC will have the primary responsibility to manage the licensing of wind, tidal and ocean current projects.
To read the full article in the Washington Post, click here.
Labels: energy sources, renewables, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 10:10 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 16, 2009
Saudi Oil Minister Advocates the Critical State of Fossil Fuels
These comments came after the latest OPEC meeting, where members agreed to hold production steady, given the tenuous state of the world economy.
In extolling the continued need for, and reliance upon, fossil fuels, Naimi additionally accentuated the issue of lagging technology in alternative fuels. "... there is no excuse to pin our hopes only on alternatives which today are just supplemental energies," he said. "Our immediate focus, then, must be to make fossil fuels cleaner and more efficient."
To read the full article in Reuters, click here.
Labels: energy, oil price, oil supply/demand, renewables
posted by Amanda Voss at 8:31 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 13, 2009
IEA Lowers Forecast Again
"The International Energy Agency on Friday lowered its estimate for global oil demand in 2009 as the crisis curbs demand in the United States, Russia and China.
The agency said demand would drop for a second consecutive year for the first time since 1982-1983.
In its closely watched monthly survey, the IEA cut its forecast for demand this year by 270,000 barrels a day to 84.4 million barrels a day — 1.5 percent lower than a year earlier.
The Paris-based agency said demand for oil last year was estimated to have slid 0.4 percent to 85.7 million barrels a day.
The IEA said that "the eventual resumption of global demand growth will largely depend upon much stronger economic performance than is currently the case" among the world's biggest energy consumers, and that the latest indicators are "not encouraging."
Members of OPEC have responded to lower demand by cutting output.
The IEA estimates that global oil supply fell in February to 83.9 million barrels a day, down 1 million barrels a day from January and down 3.4 million barrels a day from a year earlier."
To access the link to this article, click here.
Labels: energy, oil price, oil supply/demand
posted by Amanda Voss at 10:53 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Bailing out "American" Car Companies
"Should we save General Motors? Let me rephrase that. Suppose we must choose between salvaging American International Group (AIG) or General Motors (GM) but we can’t save both. Put that way, there is no choice—clearly we must save the automakers, though not in their present form. I am going to take the long way around through the global derivatives market to explain how our priorities got so out of whack."
To access the full article, click here.
Labels: automakers
posted by Amanda Voss at 7:56 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Interior Secretary Salazar Reveals Department's Energy Agenda
Salazar cited offshore wind projects on the Atlantic coast as a key to meeting renewable energy goals in America.
Additionally, Salazar promised to review oil and gas exploration leases on public lands. So far this year, proposed tests to explore oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming have been sidelined by Interior Department rulings.
To read the full Associate Press release, click here.
Labels: election 2008, energy, energy sources, environment, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 10:34 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 9, 2009
"New" Energy Faces Recession
Despite the $94.1 billion contained in the U.S. stimulus plan for "new" energy sources, industry consensus is that the infusion of public money will work only if alternative energy groups can also get private investment.
While measures like a cap-and-trade program on emissions, or a gas tax, would help spur on the renewable energy industries, the resultant increase in energy costs to the public might be untenable given the current economic environment.
To read the full Wall Street Journal report, click here.
Labels: economy, renewables, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 7:18 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 6, 2009
Reid Indicates Support for New Multi-Issue Energy Bill Strategy
Reid had previously outlined a three bill strategy for enacting President Obama's energy policies, but his combination of energy standards with the controversial cap-and-trade program into one bill has now drawn both criticism and praise. While some organizations lauded his efforts at attempting to quickly enact energy policy change, others are concerned that the cap-and-trade program's inclusion in the bill will endanger the passage of other, less controversial, energy measures.
The bill now faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where it will need 60 votes.
To read the full article in the New York Times, click here.
Labels: climate change, energy, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 9:39 AM
0 comments
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Technology Funding for American Automakers Coming Soon
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the money would be available in weeks.
To access the article, click here.
Labels: automakers, efficiency, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 9:48 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
EPA Issues Most Energy Efficient City Rankings
Los Angeles currently has 262 Energy Star ranked buildings. To be awarded the Energy Star designation, buildings must use at least 35% less energy than average buildings and emit 35% less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
San Francisco came in second in the country. Rounding out the top 10 in 2008 were Houston; Washington; Dallas-Fort Worth; Chicago; Denver; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Atlanta; and Seattle.
Labels: environment, renewables
posted by Amanda Voss at 8:36 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 2, 2009
USDA Signals Support for Domestic Biofuels
Vilsack also highlighted the cooperation between the USDA and the Department of Energy to forward research efforts and identify new feedstocks for biofuels. The two agencies are parterning in hopes to identify valuable fuel stocks which can alleviate the pressue on foodstocks. Last year, corn-based ethanol received heightened scrutiny, as it drove up food prices and presented ethical debates on food versus fuel production.
“My view is that we have the capacity and the ability to do both and need to do both. If we’re to meet the President’s instruction that he wants more energy production out of our farm fields and ranches, and if we are going to turn this economy around and become less reliant on fossil fuels, we’ve got to create more biofuel,” Vilsack remarked.
To read the entire article, click here.
Labels: biofuels, renewables, u.s. energy policy
posted by Amanda Voss at 11:12 AM
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