Free Republic

16 Million Trees Cut Down to Make Way for Wind Farms, Scottish National Party RevealsNearly 16 million carbon-catching trees have been cut down in Scotland since 2000 – in order to erect carbon-saving wind turbines – the Scottish National Party (SNP) admitted last week. An estimated 15.7 million trees – or about 1,700 per day – have been cut down on public land managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon revealed in a letter to Scottish Tory MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament) Liam Kerr, who called the news “astonishing.” Sacrificing trees to build wind farms...

EPA proposes greenhouse gas rule for new coal-based power plants On March 27, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed its New Source Performance Standard (NSPS), a long-delayed proposed regulation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-based power plants. The new rule requires coal-based generating sources to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour, which is a level met by natural gas-combined cycle power plants. Conventional lignite-based plants produce more than twice that amount. The proposed rule, which goes into immediate effect, means any new lignite-based plants would be required to install technology to capture...

Regulations: Call it cap-and-trade or bait-and-switch, but John Kerry and Joe Lieberman continue to tilt at windmills with a bill to restrain energy growth in the name of saving the planet.IBD Exclusive Series: American Freedom And Prosperity Under AttackThe bill introduced Wednesday and sponsored by the two senators is called the American Power Act, an Orwellian phrase if ever there was one. Like President Obama's offshore drilling program, for every "incentive" there is a restriction. It's as if Hamlet were to be appointed Secretary of Energy. The legislation has little to do with developing America's vast domestic energy supply. It's...

I have a foolproof plan for carbon sequestration. The costs are low, the effectiveness high. I have been conducting a trial right here in my own home. What we need is an army of Horuses. The concept is quite simple: no matter how little I feed Horus, he keeps getting bigger. Undoubtedly, he is sequestering carbon for reasons known only to his little cat brain. What we need to do is take advantage of this. I am sure that two or three Horuses assigned to every US household should offset the carbon footprint of each home. Yes, Horus produces poop,...

State energy officials would evaluate the future of nuclear power in California under a bill sent Thursday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill --introduced by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo --requires that the state Energy Commission examine the costs incurred by state and local governments for the continued storage of highly radioactive waste at California' two nuclear power plants. It also requires contingency planning for the loss of a large power plant --such as Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant --as a result of an earthquake. The bill was one of a package of three energy bills authored by Blakeslee...

One way to keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere is to put it back in the ground. In the first of two News Features on carbon sequestration, Quirin Schiermeier asked when the world's coal-fired power plants will start storing away their carbon. In the second, Emma Marris joins the enthusiasts who think that enriching Earth's soils with charcoal can help avert global warming, reduce the need for fertilizers, and greatly increase the size of turnips. J. LEHMANN Drop of the black stuff: terra preta contrasts strongly with normal soil in colour (above) and produces much more vigorous crops (below)....

CHECK THIS OUT. You'll need it to rebut Gore's enviro-craziness. Adrian