Energy Literacy Advocates (ELA) is a non-partisan, non-profit, public education organization working to improve the energy literacy of all sectors of our democracy.

Boxer, Kerry Launch Campaign for Climate Legislation

posted by Amanda Voss at 2:12 PM 0 comments

Saudi Minister Touts $75 As Optimal Price for Oil

As oil prices continue their market fluctuations, Saudi oil-minister Ali al-Naimi highlighted $75 as the best price for oil. According to al-Naimi, $75 earns oil producers enough profits to keep up supply, while being just high enough to encourage continued alternative fuel development and investment.

Whether $75 represents the perfect median price is debatable, but the 1970s demonstrate that once pain at the pump dissipates, consumers return back to the norm. While the price Americans pay for gasoline has returned once again to "acceptable" levels, the question for us is whether or not we've learned our lesson. Will inexpensive fuel derail continued investment in alternatives, or have we put the blinders back on? If the blinders are back on, history warns that our inflexible demand for oil will be tested again.

For more on al-Naimi in the New York Times, click here.

Labels: energy sources, oil price, oil supply, oil supply/demand, peak oil, renewables

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:11 PM 0 comments

Walk-outs Show U.S. Split on Climate Change

posted by Jamie Lang at 12:00 PM 0 comments

American Infrastructure: Short-Term Memory

1885 and 1886 were formative years for the car. Gottlieb Daimler, in 1885, invented a prototype of today's gas engine, while 1886 saw the first patent issued for a gas-powered car, to Karl Benz. From 1900 to 1915, the number of cars in America leapt exponentially.

Yet, up to 1920, the railroad industry was king of American transportation. It wasn't until 1940 that buses began replacing streetcars in urban settings. In 1960, only 20 percent of American households had two cars.

Why the lesson in history and statistics? Because, despite the current American houshold average of 2.28 cars (that is, 35 percent of reported households had three or more cars), our obsession with the automobile is a relatively new romance. Likewise our dependence on oil. And these are key facts in reminding ourselves that a short-lived romance can be broken/changed/altered. What we have isn't set in stone. We seem to forget that our country predates the discovery and mass utilization of oil.

This doesn't mean we have to shirk the car instantaneously. A look back at the history of the car gives us hope for alternatives - in 1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed an internal combustion engine that ran off a mix of hydrogen and oxygen. The first diesel engines were planned to run off peanut oil.

Utilizing efficiency and innovation are our key strategies toward charting a sustainable path forward in energy policy for the US.

To read about diversification going on in the auto industry, visit treehugger.com by clicking here.

Labels: automakers, efficiency, energy sources, oil supply

posted by Amanda Voss at 1:00 PM 0 comments

On Capturing Low-Hanging Fruit

A reminder of optimism surfaced this week, mostly unheralded, in the race to control greenhouse gases and energy use. That gem is simply this - that if all US vehicles were reduced in weight by 0.1 percent, a 10 fold gain in reduction of carbon emissions could be captured, as compared to the gains from an 0.1 percent change in housing density.

Why does this represent the clarion call of optimism? While increasing design density is an au courant approach to cutting the carbon footprint here in the US, this report out of the University of Texas at Austin - and cited by the National Academy of Sciences - highlights low-hanging fruit (ie, an easier way). Cut down on the weight of cars, and you'll effect greater environmental gains than trying to convince people to shun the suburbs.

Pushing for higher mileage standards, lowering the weight of cars - these simple steps represent real and actionable policy goals that can be accomplished and put in place, and can yield real results. While silver bullets do not exist to resolve looming energy issues, like America's dependency on foreign oil, there are tangible ways to help put a dent in the problem.

posted by Amanda Voss at 2:14 PM 0 comments

Where are the High Mileage Diesels in the US

posted by Jamie Lang at 3:00 PM 0 comments

Electric Companies to Convert Fleets

FPL Group Inc and Duke Energy, two of America's largest electricity providers, committeed to switch all company vehicles to plug-in hybrids or all-electric models. The change will take effect January 1, 2010.

Between the two companies, 10,000 vehicles will be switched out. The companies touted lower fuel costs and decreased emissions as driving reasons behind the change.

For more on this story, click here.

Labels: electricity, environment

posted by Amanda Voss at 10:31 AM 0 comments

Carbon Emission Reduction Methods Debated

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:11 PM 0 comments

US Government Releases Additional $550 Million in Energy Grants

The US Energy and Treasury Departments awarded $550 million in grants today. Funds will go toward developing renewable energy production. In total, the US government has released $1 billion in grants aimed at clean energy.

The Obama administration has pledged to double domestic renewable energy production over the next few years, and these new grants will help push the administration's goal toward completion.

For more, click here.

Labels: economy, renewables, u.s. energy policy

posted by Amanda Voss at 11:56 AM 0 comments

White House Appoints Head of New DOE Agency

The White House appointed Arun Majumdar, of the College of Engineering at the University of California Berkeley, to head its new Department of Energy (DOE) agency. The new agency, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) will support high risk alternative energy technologies.

ARPA-E projects consider technologies which can lower foreign oil dependency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency. 3,500 companies applied for funds from ARPA-E this year.

ARPA-E is funded by federal stimulus dollars.

For more, click here.

Labels: energy, renewables, u.s. energy policy

posted by Amanda Voss at 1:01 PM 0 comments

Federal Reserve Meeting Alters Oil Prices

Energy prices fell sharply in the face of the G-20 Economic Summit in Pittsburgh, and a US Federal Reserve meeting. The Federal Reserve will determine whether to remove certain economic props put in place at the end of 2008.

Domestic fuel demand has dropped in America since the beginning of the recession, while China reported an unexpected drop in demand last month.

Other energy data reinforces the drop in energy demand: US oil stockpiles are up, and heating oil reserves are at a 27 year high.

For more, click here.

Labels: economy, oil price, oil supply/demand

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:47 PM 0 comments

New Renewables Project to Evaluate More Viable Biofuel

Researchers in Oklahoma's panhandle are keeping watch over 1,000 acres of switchgrass - a crop they hope will yield commercially viable biofuel.

The $2.2 million project, managed by Oklahoma Bioenergy Center and the Noble Foundation, is unique in its scope. While switchgrass-based fuels have given promising results, until this research, no real evaluation had been conducted on its viability.

Gasoline made from switchgrass offers several benefits over corn ethanol. Switchgrass does not require annual replantings, nor does it need heavy amounts of fertilizer or water. The crop can be grown on marginal soil. Most importantly, researchers cite that switchgrass is not a food crop, and will not drive up food prices or cause shortages.

The current US federal renewable fuels standard insures demand for biofuels. A recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analysis projected that switchgrass alone may produce 900 million gallons of ethanol by 2022.

Labels: biofuels, renewables, u.s. energy policy

posted by Amanda Voss at 10:16 AM 0 comments

Executive Order Alters CA Renewables Policy Debate

posted by Amanda Voss at 2:34 PM 0 comments

Renewable Energy Debate Offers Insights

If trends in California predict national policy trends, then the renewable energy policy debate heating up in that state warrants national attention.

State Democrats are pushing two bills which would mandate that the state have at least thirty percent of its energy supply from renewable resources. Which resources those would be, and how that renewable structure would be built, is the subject of intense debate among the energy industry and environmentalists.

The bills limit the amount of renewable energy that can be source from out of state, limiting state electricity suppliers. Environmentalists have opposed proposed Californian wind and solar farms, limiting renewable development locally. Additionally, an estimated $115 billion in transmission lines and investment may be necessary to allow access to renewable power.

While California legislators continue the debate, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger supports an increase in renewable standards.

For more on this debate, click here.

Labels: electricity, energy sources, environment, renewables, u.s. energy policy

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:23 PM 0 comments

Oil Production to Remain Steady; Global Demand May Raise

Joint statements will impact American energy and the oil markets, as today OPEC agreed to maintain current levels of oil supply while the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its global demand forecast.

IEA based its increased predictions on strong growth in the Chinese demand, with above average demand from the US market. This demand has helped keep oil at or above $70 a barrel, and drove a 62 percent increase in the price of oil this year.

Based on demand data, OPEC, which supplies roughly 40 percent of the world's oil, has pledged not to cut supply over the next few months.

For more, click here.

Labels: economy, oil companies, oil price, oil supply, oil supply/demand

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:09 PM 1 comments

As Congress Returns, Energy Policy Debate Heats Up

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:03 PM 0 comments

China Plans Largest Solar Field in the World

China announced approval today for a joint venture with Arizona-based First Solar Inc to develop what may become the largest solar field in the world.

First Solar is the largest manufacturer of solar cells, and will partner with China to install the cells in a 25 square mile blanket in Inner Mongolia.

The Chinese government has designated this area within Inner Mongolia as its renewable energy development zone, and hopes to eventually generate 12 gigawatts of renewable energy from solar, wind, biomass and other renewable sources.

The first production from this field, rated to be 30 megawatts, will begin in June 2010.

For more, click here.

Labels: electricity, energy policy, renewables

posted by Amanda Voss at 11:17 AM 0 comments

Oil Prices Drop due to OPEC, Economy

On the news that OPEC will maintain their current supply levels, oil neared an eight-week low in price. Additional details on US unemployment kept prices lower. The price of oil, per barrel, is predicted to close at, or lower than, $68.

OPEC, which supplies 40 percent of the world's oil, is scheduled to meet September 9 in Vienna. OPEC has orchestrated over 70 percent of the supply cuts this year, but is not predicted to cut supply at its upcoming meeting.

An additional factor dropping the price of oil is the end of the summer driving season in the US.

For more details, click here.

Labels: economy, oil companies, oil price, oil supply, oil supply/demand

posted by Amanda Voss at 12:02 PM 0 comments

New Geothermal Project Hits Major Snag

posted by Amanda Voss at 4:02 PM 0 comments

US Commerce Secretary Lays Gauntlet in Energy Race

posted by Amanda Voss at 2:00 PM 0 comments

Funding Released for Renewable Energy Projects

posted by Amanda Voss at 11:28 AM 0 comments