Joseph J. Romm's Blog, page 1224

BP CEO Tony Hayward: "What We've Done So Far Is To Pay Every Claim"

Embattled BP CEO Tony Hayward asserted that his company has paid "every claim" for damages caused by the offshore-drilling disaster that is flooding the Gulf of Mexico with millions of gallons of toxic oil.  TP explains why this is another lie.

In an interview with BBC's Andrew Marr on Sunday, Hayward lauded the BP claims processing procedure, claiming it only takes "48 hours" to get a check, instead of "what has taken 45 days traditionally in the United States." He asserted unequivocally ...

Energy and Global Warming News for June 9: 10 Eastern States Join Wind Energy Consortium; Climate Change Linked to Major Vegetation Shifts Worldwide; Are Concentrating PV Players Finally Getting Respect?

10 Eastern States Join Wind Energy Consortium

The governors of 10 East Coast states have joined federal authorities to form a consortium that will promote the development of offshore wind energy.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday the establishment of the Atlantic Offshore Wind Energy Consortium will promote safe and environmentally responsible development, enhance the nation's energy security, and create jobs.

Salazar says a regional renewable energy office has been set up to...

Post BP Disaster: Support grows for comprehensive energy bill that makes carbon polluters pay

As the BP oil disaster drags on, the public's desire for clean energy investments and increased oversight of corporate polluters has greatly intensified.  CAP's Daniel J. Weiss and intern Ariel Powell have the important data and charts from a major new poll.

The League of Conservation Voters commissioned a poll by the Benenson Strategy Group, President Obama's pollster in 2008, to measure public support for clean energy reform in the wake of the BP oil disaster.   The central finding is that

This is Climate Progress post #5000

WordPress says this is the 5,000th post on Climate Progress.

When I started at the rate of one post a day, I certainly never imagined I would be posting several times a day and hosting countless first rate guest bloggers.  Certainly, I wouldn't have increased the post rate if so many people weren't reading Climate Progress, so thank you all for that.

I'll have more to say retrospectively about the blog in the fourth anniversary of CP's launch this summer.

Let me take the opportunity of this...

NYT: "A nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem."

The American nuclear industry, primed to begin new construction projects for the first time in 30 years, is about as eager for an operating problem at an old reactor as the oil industry was for a well blowout on the eve of opening the Atlantic coast to oil drilling.

Let's file this under, "worst-case scenarios waiting to happen" — a file that has grown uncomfortably large in recent weeks (see BP calls blowout disaster 'inconceivable,' 'unprecedented,' and unforeseeable).

New York Times

Despite the devastation BP has caused, about a third of conservatives view the oil giant favorably.

As oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon well makes its way deep into the marshes of the Gulf Coast, and the wildlife toll mounts, the company announced today that cleanup costs have already reached $1.25 billion and are growing quickly. Given this devastation, it's not surprising that a vast majority of Americans — 72 percent — now have a negative view of the company, a new Rasmussen poll found. However, 22 percent still have a somewhat or very favorable view of the foreign oil giant.

Envir...

Tune in Wednesday to all-day climate forum

I will be speaking at an all-day climate forum Wednesday in Pasadena sponsored by Marketplace Public Radio.  You can watch it live 8 am to  5:30 pm Pacific Time (click here). I'll be on 11:30 am PT.

There is a great line up of speakers, including Kolbert, Mann, Santer, and Oreskes.  Here are the details on my panel, "Finding the Policy Path":

Michael Levi, Council on Foreign Relations
Dr. Joe Romm, Climate Progress
Moderator: Andrew Revkin, New York Times

Despite widespread agreement...

Energy and Global Warming News for June 8: Report: Renewables could provide 95% of world electricity by 2050; 'Smart' windows make buildings more efficient; Global fossil-fuel subsidies exceed $500 billion

Report: Renewables Revolution To Provide 95 Per Cent of Global Electricity By 2050

The world could produce 95 per cent of the electricity it needs from renewable sources by 2050, cutting greenhouse emissions from the energy and transport sectors by 80 per cent without jeopardising economic growth.

That is the conclusion of a major new 260-page report from a coalition of environmental groups that has been orchestrated by Greenpeace. It aims to show that it is economically and technically...

Department of Coastal Defense - Let's bring in the military's expertise to help with BP oil disaster

It's time to put America's skilled and dedicated military in charge of responding to the BP oil disaster, argue Daniel J. Weiss, Rudy deLeon, and Susan Lyon in this CAP repost.

In this AP photo, members of the U.S. Army National Guard B Company 711 put Hesco containers designed to absorb oil along the beaches of Dauphin Island, AL, on May 2, 2010. The Obama administration has authorized 17,500 National Guard troops from the Gulf Coast states to respond to the disaster.

The National Guard...

Lugar's energy plan is far too little, far too late

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) has released his new "practical energy plan."   It is only practical in the sense that it would do practically nothing to stop catastrophic global warming.  Below is a statement by CAP's Daniel J. Weiss on the plan followed by a a repost of the Union Concerned Scientists statement.

STATEMENT: Daniel J. Weiss on Sen. Dick Lugar's Proposed Climate Bill Alternative

"The Lugar bill is like the umpire's apology after he blew the perfect game call: it is a nice gesture...