Energy and Environment News Roundup – 7.27.12

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

Energy firms face growing global natural gas price divide (via Wall Street Journal)

US Chamber of Commerce to promote shale gas boom in campaign (via Reuters)

Zoning limits in pro-industry Pennsylvania shale gas drilling law struck down (via Bloomberg Businessweek)

North Dakota predicts sixfold natural gas growth by 2025 (via Minneapolis StarTribune)

GRID 

Virtual power plants help bring renewables to the grid (via Revmodo)

Hydro-Quebec launches V2G-V2H power exchange projects (via Green Car Congress)

OIL 

Shell scales back Arctic drilling plans (via Houston Chronicle)

RENEWABLES 

Wind power will grow by 100TWh per year, says IEA (via Renewable Energy World)

World wants far fewer wind turbines this year (via Reuters)

German renewables output hits record high in first half 2012 (via Reuters)

Study shows renewable energy potential in every state (via CleanTechnica)

Big money continues to flow into SolarCity and Sunrun’s third-party solar (via Greentech Media)

Michigan utilities spent $6 million to defeat renewable energy ballot proposal (via Michigan Live)

EMISSIONS 

Pulling carbon from air should be pursued despite costs, study says (via Yale e360)

UK carbon targets promise $10 billion boost to IT market (via BusinessGreen)

Tracking companies’ carbon emissions using public data (via GreenBiz)

NUCLEAR 

Nuclear expansion on track despite Fukushima: OECD report (via Reuters)

Heat sends US nuclear power production to 9-year low (via Bloomberg)

TRANSPORTATION 

Only 6% of US utilities offer electric vehicle tariffs (via Autoblog Green)

Ride-sharing services flex their muscles and expand their reach (via New York Times)

COAL 

Coal-export schemes ignite unusual opposition, from Wyoming to India (via High Country News)

Mountaintop removal mining may have harmed 22% of streams in Southern West Virginia (via Chemical & Engineering News)

Enviros threaten lawsuit against coal plant dubbed “worst in the West” (via Greenwire)

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT 

Study finds many US cities unprepared for future heat waves (via Washington Post)

Could Africa hold the answers to America’s drought woes? (via ClimateWire)

Farmers may gain amid drought with US-backed insurance (via Bloomberg)

Drought forces lighter barges as Mississippi River water level drops (via Reuters)

The American West in flames: get used to it (via Grist)

Drought’s silver lining is fewer tornadoes across US (via Climate Central)

ENERGY INDUSTRY 

Water problems stop and hinder power plant operations in Midwest (via Facts of the Day)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

Demand doubling for Brazil energy efficiency projects (via Bloomberg)

National policies key to green building achievements (via GreenBiz)

10 ways to improve data center efficiency (via Greentech Media)

GREEN BUSINESS 

Target, Nike, Levi’s join forces on sustainable clothing (via Forbes)

OPINION 

A climate and energy stalemate (via New York Times)

A carbon tax is more viable than cap-and-trade (via Energy Collective)

Why we need to pay more attention to the role of landfills in global warming (via Climate Progress)