A lot of people who push carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) as a way of reducing greenhouse gases from coal-fired power generation neglect to consider the reason coal-fired GHGs are a problem in the first place. They are a problem because they are huge. In the U.S., half the electricity comes from coal. This translates into...
Gasified coal
A practical way to store hydrogen: remapping the route to the hydrogen economy
Mention the phrase “hydrogen economy” these days, and most people will laugh at you. That’s because the phrase reminds most people of the endlessly unfulfilled promises of fuel cell–powered cars and hydrogen refueling stations. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger, with his famous hydrogen powered Hummers, has dropped talk of the Hydrogen Highway in favour of something a bit more...
U.S. climate bill set for vote: watch and learn, Canada
Professional climate policy wonks are watching the spectacle south of the Canada-U.S. border, where a House bill on climate change will receive its first major political test Friday. Political wrangling over what industries get covered (or hit, depending on your perspective), and how they are covered (or hit) has virtually ensured that the bill...
Alberta oilsands face threats from the U.S.: if not Waxman, then Lieberman-Warner II
To read new posts, see the Canadian Energy Issues homepage Section 526 of the 2007 U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act prohibits U.S. federal agencies from buying fuels whose lifecycle emissions are higher than those of conventional petroleum. This means U.S. agencies cannot buy Alberta oilsands petroleum the way it is produced today. Which...
Nuclear power in the Alberta oilsands: steps, baby steps, and pre-baby steps
Imagine an oilsands operation in Alberta where the heat to make the steam that separates oil from sand is delivered from a small nuclear reactor, which arrives on a flatbed truck. At the site, the reactor is entombed in a below-ground bunker, where it could withstand a hit from a Russian AT-14 antitank missile...
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