Energy and Climate Change

“You can’t dismiss this as natural variability,” he said. “We’re starting to see the system respond to global warming.”

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has decided to pay for solar power on every house that Habitat for Humanity builds in Northern and Central California during the next year, about 65 homes in all.

The company says it has developed a superefficient way to burn wood to heat buildings — a breakthrough that could overhaul a largely unregulated industry long known for its polluting ways and attract customers looking to switch to a renewable energy source.

The commission wants California’s electric utilities to collaborate on creating one grand plan for improving energy efficiency throughout the state, rather than pursuing their own separate programs the way they do today.

“There’s been a groundswell in consumer interest in doing something positive for the world,” says Paynter.

Everyone knows about keeping up with the Joneses, but Ashton Hayes, a commuter village in western England, may be the first place where keeping up with the Joneses can mean saving money instead of spending it—by keeping down energy costs and consumption.

If you’re concerned about global warming, one has to look at nuclear.

Until now, owners of a large office building or other commercial property had to pay the utility bill for the entire facility and then recoup the money through rents.

Plug-in hybrids could bring gas-free commutes. But will they make it to market?

Politicians in England looking for ways to comply with a nationwide goal of carbon-neutrality by 2050 have proposed a phase-out of gas-fueled cars by the year 2040.