Energy and Environment News Roundup – 11.1.12

HURRICANE SANDY

Why did Hurricane Sandy take such an unusual track into New Jersey? (via Weather Underground)

Insurers face wild cards in assessing Sandy cost (via Bloomberg)

Hurricane Sandy power outages may be worsened by utility underinvestment, lack of planning (via Huffington Post)

Hurricane hunger: what happens when a city’s food network breaks down (via Grist)

ENERGY POLICY

Energy regulators to audit TransCanada operations (via Reuters)

US seeks $435 million penalty against Barclays over power market trades (via The Hill)

OIL

Shell ends Alaska offshore drilling for the year (via New York Times)

Does US shale mean cheap global oil by 2020? (via Reuters)

Drilling permits up as Gulf trends toward bigger, deeper facilities (via Houston Chronicle)

Oil refining’s fortunes rise (via New York Times)

RENEWABLES

EU energy chief backs new renewable goal post 2020 (via Reuters)

German solar power boom continues despite tariff cuts (via Reuters)

New solar module efficiency record set, 33.5% efficiency (via CleanTechnica)

China launches trade probes on EU solar products (via Reuters)

How robots are making solar power cheaper (via Forbes)

Top US states for wind power: hey, someone’s missing! (via Greentech Media)

CaISO creates new division focused on renewable energy market quality (via Renew Grid)

GREEN BUILDING

Hurricane Sandy changes the trajectory of green design (via Sustainable Design)

A great green city to rise in China (via EarthTechling)

TRANSPORTATION

Car dealers continue push to rethink 2025 gas mileage rules (via Green Car Reports)

Why SAE Combo vs. CHAdeMO battle could be a big problem (via Autoblog Green)

CalBattery working on 300-mile li-ion batteries at greatly reduced cost (via Autoblog Green)

CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT

Australian wheat exports plunging most in six years: commodities (via Bloomberg)

Scientists see extent of storm’s damage linked to climate change (via Greenwire)

Rep. Waxman seeks lame-duck hearing on Sandy climate-change links (via The Hill)

What’s the future of climate investment funds? (via WRI Insights)

NATURAL GAS

Fracking the economy (via AOL Energy)

Shale boom makes some Pennsylvanians richer – and some poorer (via Washington Post)

EMISSIONS

UN emission credits ‘may drop to almost zero’ (via Environmental Leader)

GRID

Smart meters help utility speed Sandy restoration (via MIT Technology Review)

Napolitano warns of cyberattack on utilities (via Politico)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

US businesses annually waste $60 billion on energy (via EnergyCentral)

Analysis shows engaged voters are more energy efficient (via Houston Chronicle)

POLITICS

Who Obama and Romney listen to on energy (via AOL Energy)

Four big energy issues that the election will decide (via Facts of the Day)

Sandy puts climate change back on the US election agenda (via Guardian)

Obama, Romney spar on climate and energy (via Renewables Biz/USA Today)

OPINION

Why America has fallen behind the world in storm forecasting (via Wall Street Journal)

Hurricane Sandy: a climate Pearl Harbor? (via Marc Gunther)

How global warming made Hurricane Sandy worse (via Climate Central)

OTHER NEWS 

An additional listing of clean energy and climate news is posted at Climate Progress