Gizmodo: Why on Earth Is China Shooting Crude Oil Into Space?
On April 6th, China’s SJ-10 satellite will launch into orbit from the remote Jiuquan spaceport in the Gobi desert. The event would be unremarkable if not for the satellite’s rather unusual payload: six titanium cylinders of crude oil, compressed to 500 times standard atmospheric pressure.
Launching stuff into orbit is expensive, and we don’t exactly need oil in outer space. (Most rockets today run on liquid hydrogen and oxygen.) But China’s not interested in building a fleet of gas-guzzling spacecraft. It’s interested in finding more oil on Earth to support its gas-guzzling cars.
Guardian: Australian Electricity Emissions Surge 5.5% Since Removal of Carbon Price
Australia’s emissions from electricity generation continue to rise and are now 5.5% higher than when the carbon price was repealed, new data reveals.
The environment minister, Greg Hunt, claimed recently that Australia’s total greenhouse emissions had “peaked” in 2005.
Declining electricity demand has been dampening electricity emissions and reducing the total increase in greenhouse emissions despite increases in emissions from land clearing and mining.
InsideClimate News: Keystone I Leak Raises More Doubts About Pipeline Safety
An oil spill that surfaced in South Dakota over the weekend prompted Canadian pipeline company TransCanada to shut down its Keystone I pipeline, a predecessor to the controversial Keystone XL project.
TransCanada had still not confirmed the leak as of Tuesday, calling it a "potential incident." According to Chris Nelson, chairman of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, the leak was first reported by a passerby. TransCanada reported to the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday that 187 gallons of oil had leaked, Nelson said.
WBUR: Legislative Negotiators Reach Deal on Solar Energy Roadmap in Massachusetts
Five months of negotiations resulted in a deal Tuesday between House and Senate leaders to raise the cap on the amount of solar energy that public and private customers can sell back to grid by 3 percent, while decreasing the value of the incentives for new projects.
The compromise would also allow utilities companies to petition the Department of Public Utilities to charge solar-producing customers a minimum bill to cover the cost of maintaining electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure, according to a summary obtained by the News Service.
Fast Co.Exist: A Texan Solar CEO Who Wants to Eliminate Subsidies Is Now a Fox News Darling
Sunnova CEO John Berger doesn't want any special government help to build his solar business. He just wants fair access to the electricity market. And at the moment, utility companies -- highly regulated and highly protected -- are standing in his way.
"Utilities are being monopolies, and essentially government agencies, not companies," he says.
It's this sort of straight-talking self-reliance that's endeared Berger to Fox News, who calls him an "ideal spokesperson for the solar industry."