Energy

By Usman Butt | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Since the 2011 Arab Spring the United Arab Emirates has been taking an active role in a number of hotspots from Egypt, Libya to Yemen. The Gulf nation has spent $26 billion annually on its defence budget since 2016 and this is expected to increase […]

Featured

Israeli Scientists make Strides toward Recyclable Perovskite Solar Panels

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Solar panels have plummeted 80% in price during the past decade, but they are still relatively expensive and depend on mined silicon. They are also a big waste challenge, since they aren’t recyclable and they have toxic chemicals in them. Silicon panels last up to 30 years, but gradually lose […]

Climate Crisis

All Hands on Deck: Biden plans to fight climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before

The Conversation

By Bill Ritter Jr. | – Joe Biden is preparing to deal with climate change in a way no U.S. president has done before – by mobilizing his entire administration to take on the challenge from every angle in a strategic, integrated way. The strategy is evident in the people Biden has chosen for his […]

Germany

In Turnaround, New Onshore Wind jumps 50% in Germany adding 1.4 Gigs; Sector generates 20% of country’s Electricity

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn Benjamin Wehrmann | – ( Clean Energy Wire ) – Onshore wind power – the cornerstone of Germany’s decarbonisation plans – has suffered from chronically low additional installations in the past years. The industry seems to have achieved a turnaround in 2020, connecting almost 50 percent more turbines to the grid than […]

Featured

Biden to have Feds buy 650K Electric Vehicles, Promising rapid Fall in EV Prices

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden plans to create a million auto-worker jobs by replacing the enormous fleet of some 650,000 vehicles owned by the federal government with electric cars. He specified EVs that emit no carbon dioxide, which suggests he wants the government to buy pure EVs like General Motors’ Chevy Bolt […]

Climate Crisis

President Biden, We can do this too: Europe generates more electricity with Renewables than Fossil Fuels for First Time

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A new report from Ember and Agora Energiewende finds that in 2020, the 27 countries of the European Union generated more electricity with renewables (wind, solar, hydro) than with fossil fuels (coal and natural gas). The growth in renewables has all come from wind and solar. These two increased by […]

Epidemics

Will the Pandemic help Shift the world from Oil to Green Energy?

Middle East Monitor

By Elif Selin Calik | – ( Middle East Monitor) – It is crucial to an understanding of the global consequences of the coronavirus pandemic to consider the transition to alternative energy sources for the benefit of future generations. Covid-19 is affecting people all over the world, but a year ago it was just another […]

Climate Crisis

The first thing we do, let’s kill all the Coal Plants: How Joe Biden can save the Planet

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – My title is from William Shakespeare’s Henry the VI. In the original, Dick “the Butcher” is speaking of ways to overthrow the king and improve the country, and he suggests killing all the lawyers first. Nowadays, carbon dioxide is the thing preventing us from improving the country. President Biden has […]

Climate Crisis

7 Million more Germans resolve to power Homes with Wind, Solar in 2021: 15% already Do

Clean Energy Wire

By Kerstine Appunn | – Many Germans are starting the new year with “climate resolutions” – around 24 percent of them want to make more use of environmentally-friendly means of transport, 13 percent want to switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet and 9 percent plan to switch to green electricity in 2021, a poll […]