Peter Glover: UK Energy Policy - Dumb And Dumber

UK Energy plc is not in the best of hands. Quite honestly, the Muppets could have come up with a more coherent script than that contained in the coalition’s new energy bill.

With investor interest in developing North Sea oil and gas fields running at an all-time high, and parts of the UK onshore and offshore sitting on potentially world class shale gas reserves, it beggars belief that David Cameron’s coalition partners could end up presenting UK energy as a bad news story.

Somehow they managed it.

Climate Change, Sea Level Rise Spurring Beach Erosion | Climate Central

As the ocean rises, beach replenishment will get even harder. “With even a 2-foot rise,” Pilkey said, “there will be just too great a rate of loss. Then the question becomes, ‘should I buy a house on the shore? Should I build one? Will my children inherit it?’ Probably not, in my view.”

...So if you’re heading for the beach this weekend, or any time this summer, it might be a good idea to take a good, hard look at the expanse of sand that surrounds you. It could be something you’ll want tell your grandchildren about.

Wind farms considering detection systems to prevent bird deaths - latimes.com

A standard De Tect avian radar unit sells for about $500,000

Solar energy industry is flourishing in Mass. - Boston.com

Massachusetts is no California when it comes to sun. But that isn’t stopping the solar energy industry from flourishing here.

Massachusetts, better known for long, cold winters, gloomy springs, and gale-driven nor’easters, is undergoing an unlikely solar power boom, attracting solar companies from around the country that are installing systems for homeowners, businesses, and institutions.

...“It’s not a matter of how sunny it is,” said Michael Bernier, a senior manager at Ernst & Young. The “thing Massachusetts has been really good at is setting up an environment that helps renewable energy projects get done.”

... SolarCity of San Mateo, ­Calif., a six-year-old installation company with 1,800 employees nationwide, entered the Massachusetts market in early 2011. The company installs solar panels at no cost to customers, then sells them power generated by the system, which SolarCity continues to own. The company is then able to take advantage of federal and state subsidies.