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Sustainable Energy

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This collaboratory is focused on discussions about Sustainable Energy.

This mission of this collaboratory is to focus on discussions about Sustainable Energy.

Members

Kathy Gilbeaux Katie Rast Maeryn Obley mdmcdonald

Email address for group

sustainable-energy@m.resiliencesystem.org

EPA Report on Fracking in Texas Raises New Concerns

An inspector general's report says the EPA was justified in investigating claims of water contamination near a fracking site in Texas.

latimes.com - By Neela Banjeree - December 24, 2013

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency was justified in intervening to examine possible risks of gas drilling to Texas drinking water, the agency's internal watchdog reported Tuesday.

But environmentalists say the report raises fresh concerns about the EPA's 2012 decision to halt its investigation into possible well-water contamination in Parker County, Texas.

The EPA inspector general's report is the latest analysis to spotlight the regulator's handling of high-profile cases of alleged drinking-water contamination near natural gas drilling sites.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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The U.S. Is A Gas-Guzzling Horror Show, In 1 Chart

Gas consumption chart, worldwide.Image: International gas consumption chart.

huffingtonpost.com - December 16th, 2013 - Maxwell Strachan

No country in the world knows how to fill 'er up quite like the good old U.S.A., not even the countries that keep gas prices well below market rates. If you need proof, take a look at this chart, via a new report on fuel subsidies by UC Berkeley Business Professor Lucas W. Davis.
The chart graphs gas consumption per person against the average price of a gallon of gas in 128 countries.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Researchers Link Earthquakes In Texas To Fracking Process

      

CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

thinkprogress.org - By Katie Valentine - December 6, 2013

Researchers at Southern Methodist University have linked a string of 2009 and 2010 earthquakes in Texas to the injection of fracking wastewater into the ground, according to a new study.

The researchers examined the group of more than 50 earthquakes that hit the area of Cleburne, Texas in 2009 and 2010, and found that they could have happened because of wastewater injection wells associated with fracking operations. Before 2008, the Fort Worth Basin of Texas had never experienced an earthquake.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

STUDY - Analysis of the Cleburne, Texas, Earthquake Sequence from June 2009 to June 2010

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Voltaic Systems - Solar Chargers

voltaicsystems.com

Voltaic Systems makes products that produce and store their own power to run your electronics anywhere. We are based in New York City and ship directly to customers and our partners worldwide from warehouses in New Jersey and the Netherlands.

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/

About - Voltaic Systems

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House Panel Advances Plan to Pare Border-Crossing Pipeline Reviews

submitted by Margery Schab

fuelfix.com - by Jennifer A. Dlouhy - November 20, 2013

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee on Wednesday advanced legislation that aims to speed up the government’s review of pipelines and power lines that cross U.S. borders into Mexico and Canada, over the objections of environmentalists and the Obama administration.

Bill supporters, including Democrat Gene Green of Houston and Michigan Republican Fred Upton, said the measure is necessary to put Congress’ stamp on a presidential permit process for border-crossing energy infrastructure projects that has developed from executive orders issued over decades.

The measure effectively would require federal agencies to approve proposed border-crossing energy projects within 120 days unless they are deemed to be against the national security interest of the United States — a lower bar than the public interest threshold generally in place today.

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House Votes to Block Federal Fracking Rules

submitted by Margery Schab

thehill.com - by Pete Kasperowicz - November 20, 2013

The House passed legislation Wednesday evening that would block the Department of the Interior from regulating hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in states that already have their own regulations in place.

Members passed the bill 235-187 with the help of 12 Democrats; two Republicans voted against it.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

govtrack.us - H.R. 2728

rules.house.gov - H.R. 2728

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RWI Insider Interviews: The Municipal Perspective on Waste Conversion Projects

submitted by Al Cisneros

renewable-waste.com

This brief provides an essential insight into the experience of municipal waste conversion projects so far, and explains some of the ways municipalities overcome the multitude of challenges they face.

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How The Department Of Energy Is Working To Reduce The Cost Of Solar By 75 Percent

Climate Progress, Katie Valentine, October 24, 2013 

It’ll soon take just one day to get a solar permit in Chicago, thanks to a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s down from the 30-day wait that Chicagoans had to endure previously if they wanted to install small-scale solar projects on their homes or businesses. The grant will also help the city cut fees for solar panel installations by 25 percent, to $275.

Chicago’s grant is just one of $60 million worth of solar grants announced this week by the Department of Energy. The grants are housed under the Energy Department’s SunShot Initiative, a program announced in 2011 with the goal of reducing the cost of solar energy by 75 percent. The grants announced this week will go toward initiatives including increasing diversity in the solar industry, making installing solar cheaper and easier for Americans, and helping kickstart solar businesses. 

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Superheroes of the Solar Fields


bloomberg.com - October 14th, 2013

Solar is a $140 billion dollar industry. Qbotix, a Silicon Valley robotics firm, wants a piece of the pie. Their "SolBots," each sporting a superhero name, move through the solar fields adjusting panels once every 45 minutes maximizing the efficiency of the sun and increasing the value for the owner. Bloomberg Television's Rachel Crane reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Chevron Goes to Trial in New York Over $18 Billion Ecuador Award

A Chevron gas station sign is pictured at one of their retain gas stations in Cardiff, California October 9, 2013. 
Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

reuters.com - by Bernard Vaughan - October 14, 2013

(Reuters) - Chevron Corp will try to convince a U.S. judge this week that a group of Ecuadorean villagers and their U.S. lawyer used bribery to win an $18 billion judgment against Chevron from a court in Ecuador, in the latest chapter in a long-running fight over pollution in the Amazon jungle.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - Wikipedia - History - Lago Agrio Oil Field

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