September 2014

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Defends Natural Gas

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy defended today the Administration's reliance on natural gas to meet its greenhouse-gas reduction goals.
EPA's draft Clean Power Plan, also known as "111D," gives states flexibility to…

How Exelon Nuclear Shut Down One State's Energy Policy

Energy policy is on hold in Illinois because of Exelon's statement earlier this year that it may have to shut down several nuclear power plants, a state senator said in Chicago Wednesday.
"I don't think anybody knows yet what it is that Exelon may be…

6 Reasons For The Solar Boom

Reduced cost is the most obvious reason solar energy has blossomed across the United States in the last five years, aided by improved technology, but many factors have contributed to the boom, system installers and manufacturers said in Chicago…

Backyard Power Plants Can Back Up Solar, Rival Batteries

Scientists are scrambling to develop efficient, reliable batteries that can make solar and wind power less dependent on fossil-fuel back up, but an efficient miniature power plant may beat batteries to the punch, panelists at a smart-grid symposium…

Thich Nhat Hanh’s Strange Love Story

by Jeff McMahonWhen he was a young monk in Vietnam, the Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhất Hạnh fell in love with a nun. “As a monk, you are not supposed to fall in love,” he writes, “but sometimes love is stronger than your determination.” Nhất Hạnh…