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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (21883)	7/15/2010 6:07:03 PM
From: Eric	Respond to of 86356

Renewables see 'resilient growth' in 2009 The building of new renewable energy sources continued to outstrip new fossil fuel power plants in Europe and the US during 2009, a report has shown. The UN-backed study said renewables accounted for 60% of new electricity generation capacity in Europe. And in the US, green electricity accounted for more than half of the generation capacity built last year. The authors added that renewables were set to outpace conventional energy sources across the globe next year. The global status report, produced by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), said green power had reached a "clear tipping point" during 2010. "Renewables comprised fully one-quarter of global power capacity and delivered 18% of global electricity supply in 2009," it stated in its review of the preceding 12 months. The authors said the year was "unprecedented in the history of renewable energy, despite the headwinds posed by the global financial crisis, lower oil prices and slow progress with climate policy". One of the forces propelling the sector's strong showing, they added, was the "potential to create new industries and millions of new jobs". The findings also showed that emerging economies were also embracing the new technologies, especially China, which added 37 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity last year - more than any other nation in the world. Eastern promise China was also capitalising on the global market for green energy products, manufacturing about 40% of the worlds photovoltaic panels and 30% of the globe's wind turbines (up from 10% in 2007). The report said that more than 100 countries had established a renewable energy policy, up from 55 nations in 2005. It also estimated that about 70 million households around the globe had installed solar hot water heating systems. "Favourable policies in more than 100 countries have played a critical role," said REN21 chairman Mohamed El-Ashry. "For the upward trend of renewable energy growth to continue, policy efforts now need to be taken to the next level and encourage a massive scale-up of technologies," he added. Another report, released to accompany the REN21 findings, said 2009 saw the second highest annual investment in renewables. The assessment of global investment for the UN Environment Programme, produced by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said $162bn was invested during 2009, down 7% from the record high of $173bn in 2008. The reduced investment was a result of the global economic downturn, but the authors said 2009 was "one of resilience for sustainable energy" that saw a record level of investment in wind power, particularly as a result of projects in China and the North Sea. Challenging times However, they warned that the austerity measures being introduced by a growing number of governments during 2010 could present fresh challenges over the coming months. Responding to the report, Unep executive director Achim Steiner described the past year as one of "resilience, frustration and determination". He said: "Resilience to the financial downturn that was hitting all sectors of the global economy and frustration that, while the UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen was not the big breakdown that might have occurred, neither was it the big breakthrough so many hoped for." Yet there was a determination, he added, especially among developing nations, to transform the current economic uncertainty into an "opportunity for greener growth". Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said the relative stability of the sector showed that "clean energy was not a bubble created by the late stages of the credit boom, but was instead an investment theme that would remain important for the years ahead". But Mr Steiner warned: "There still remains, however, a serious gap between the ambition and the science in terms of where the world needs to be in 2020 to avoid dangerous climate change." bbc.co.uk

To: Road Walker who wrote (21883)	7/15/2010 6:13:36 PM
From: Jorj X Mckie	4 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

No celebrating the capping of the leak? I should have known. Anything slightly good that happens during a Dem administration is BAD. Politics before everything. I've lived too long. I never imagined scum like you why would celebrating or not celebrating have anything to do with a democratic administration? It's not like Obama, Pelosi and Barney Frank put on deep sea suits and plugged the hole. BP plugged it up as they should have. The dems don't get credit for plugging the hole just because they have political control in this country.

To: Road Walker who wrote (21883)	7/15/2010 9:03:17 PM
From: Brumar89	Respond to of 86356

Boy, you are desparate to vent your personal animosity, aren't you? I don't post anything about the capping of the leak and you charge that means I consider it "BAD" and am not "celebrating" because its a Dem administration. ----------------------------------------------------- Re the leak, yes, its great they stopped it and oil is finally not going into the water. The real permanent end will come when the relief well really kills the well though. The well isn't killed yet, just the leak contained. Even when that happens I probably won't "celebrate". You see I already know thats going to happen. I have never believed the leak would continue forever, fouling the GOM for eternity, turning the Gulf "into a sewer" as you said sometime ago. Its simply a bad thing that will be fixed. Furthermore, I never had a great deal of emotional obsession about oil in the water per se (thus I feel no emotional release when the oil stops going into the water), other than the impact it had on shrimpers and fishermen. Now if they could bring back the people who died on the rig, THAT would be something I'd celebrate. I guess you can see I consider the impact on PEOPLE the big thing about this well blowout ..... the people who died, the people losing jobs and income, shrimpers, fishermen and oil workers. It will be a bigger thing for me to be happy about when the drilling moratorium is lifted and fishing restrictions all go away.