28 May 2010

MIT Energy Conference Influences National Legislation

A fun note for a Friday: The MIT Energy Conference, which I covered in March here, here, and here was cited by US Senator Jeff Bingaman when he introduced Supply Star Act of 2010, a bill designed to bring about energy-efficiency improvements in supply chains, much like Energy Star has done for appliances.

The Senator indicated that the idea for the bill came from this year's MIT Energy Conference, where he and his staff were particularly influenced by a panel discussion titled, "Supply Chain Energy Use: Exposing Opportunities for Innovation in a Global Economy. (link to video)"

Bingaman specifically mentioned the MIT conference, saying that the hurdles surrounding optimization of supply-chain energy consumption "were discussed in some detail by an expert panel. The hurdles include a lack of information and analysis tools for important parts of far-flung supply chains, which often lie far upstream or downstream (and therefore out of sight) of a particular firm, as well as a lack of leverage with which to drive global suppliers toward more efficient practices."

The bill, Bingaman said, is aimed at helping to address this lack of tools and information.

Kudos to the student organizers of the energy conference for making an impact.

For more information: Student-run MIT Energy Conference influences national legislation


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20 May 2010

Green Skeptic on StockTwits TV with Howard Lindzon

I'm in San Diego and dropped by the StockTwits West studio to sit down with Howard Lindzon to talk about cleantech, oil and gas, and just have some fun:




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18 May 2010

BP: Latest Effort Captures 1,000 Barrels of Leaking Oil Per Day

According to a report in yesterday's Environmental Leader, BP successfully connected a mile-long tube into a broken pipe at the Deepwater Horizon well to start capturing some of the leaking oil, which is being siphoned to a ship at the surface.

BP said it is capturing about 1,000 barrels per day in the Gulf of Mexico, a drop in the bucket compared to the 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons/795,000 liters) it estimates to be leaking daily.

Read the full article here: BP Roundup – Latest Effort Captures 1,000 Barrels of Leaking Oil Per Day

The question is, do those estimates underestimate the amount of oil gushing from the sea floor?

Some scientists believe that oil is gushing out at a rate of somewhere between 25,000 to 80,000 barrels a day. The New York Times reported over the weekend that huge plumes of oil -- some 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick -- have been found underwater in the Gulf.

BP has resisted efforts to determine the size of the leak, preferring to focus on containment efforts. They hope to have the leak stopped by the end of the week.



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14 May 2010

Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act

I've been away this week and am just starting to catch up on the news.

Thanks to our friends at The Green Energy Reporter for pointing me to Brad Johnson's analysis of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act from Think Progress/The Wonk Room:

A First Look At The Details Of The Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act

The side-by-side comparison between Obama's Campaign Promises, the Waxman-Markey Bill, and the Kerry-Lieberman Bill is particularly useful.

The full text of the American Power Act is in PDF here: APABill.pdf

The Green Energy Reporter also published some of the reactions to the Bill: Reactions

CleanTechies provides a roll-call of business response to the Bill: Business

And Joe Romm at Energy Collective wrote about the offsets component of the Bill here: Romm

For a take on the Bill's impact on employment, see the Gerson-Lehrman Group's analysis.

Republican Senator James Inhofe also weighed in on the Bill, calling it "the same old cap-and-trade scheme that the Senate has defeated three times since 2003": Inhofe

Will it pass? It is hard to see it mustering the 60 votes needed without the support of Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, who was supposed to be the third sponsor of the Bill, and with the offshore drilling provisions causing Graham and others to pause in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf.



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04 May 2010

Epic Change Launches "To Mama With Love"

My friends Stacey and Sanjay at Epic Change have done it again! They've come up with a clever new viral awareness and fundraising campaign to support one of their favorite causes, Mama Lucy Kamptioni and her quest to build a home for children in her village in Tanzania.

Although you may not have heard their name, Epic Change was the force behind "Tweetsgiving," the Twitter-based campaign where participants sent a tweet of thankfulness that generated funding for Mama Lucy's school in Arusha, Tanzania, that now serves over 400 children.

With this new campaign, Epic Change is putting a new spin on Mother's Day.

They've just launched "To Mama With Love," a campaign to honor moms across the globe -- including mine -- and raise funds for one remarkable mama to change the world.

Epic Change hopes to raise $50,000 in just on week -- the campaign runs from May 3 - May 9, 2010 -- to fund a home for 50 children in Arusha, Tanzania.

How can you participate? It's easy. Show your mama you love her by creating a virtual scrapbook or "heartspace" on ToMamaWithLove.org site, including photos, videos, notes, and artwork and make a donation in her honor. (You can even send her a customized ecard with a link to her heartspace.)

In addition, Organic Beauty Now of San Francisco will donate $1 for every tweet (up to 2,000) that mentions #ToMamaWithLove to fund room for two students at the boarding facility.

So what are you waiting for? Show some love for your Mama!



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