Fossil Fuels

What city contributed most to the making of the modern world? The Paris of the Enlightenment and then of Napoleon, pioneer of mass armies and nationalist statism? London, seat of parliamentary democracy and center of finance? Or perhaps Titusville, Pa. Oil seeping from the ground there was collected for medicinal purposes -- until Edwin Drake drilled and 150 years ago (Aug. 27, 1859) found the basis of our world, 69 feet below the surface of Pennsylvania, which oil historian Daniel Yergin calls " the Saudi Arabia of 19th-century oil . " For...

CONSUMERS AREN'T paying nearly enough for their energy, and that's a massive problem for the planet. Big Middle Eastern oil exporters hold the price of gasoline within their countries well below what it should be. Ukraine does the same with natural gas. In sub-Saharan Africa, electricity prices are artificially lowered. The United States isn't the worst actor — but it, too, is far from clean. In the most thorough accounting yet of what people pay for their electricity, petroleum, natural gas and coal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Many people are very concerned about climate change and how and why the Earth seems to be getting warmer. Steps to prevent this warming from continuing include recycling, reducing people's "carbon footprint" and finding ways to produce energy that doesn't pollute and that is renewable, which means it can be created again and again. Reducing your carbon footprint means releasing less carbon dioxide into the environment. Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide is one of the gases that contributes to the "greenhouse effect.

Regarding the Feb. 21 Metro article " Va. negotiators reach transportation deal ": What were these lawmakers thinking? Owners of alternative-fuel automobiles already pay a premium when they buy their cars. Now this proposal would sock them with a $100 annual tax? We buy these vehicles because of their reduced environmental impact, but this tax will discourage their sale. When the country is concerned with the economy, the environment, climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels and Mideast oil, why penalize those who are...

With Japan's oil and gas plants firing at full capacity, officials here say there is little chance of meeting a pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly over the next decade, a startling retreat for a country that once spearheaded an international agreement on climate change. The earlier, ambitious target to slash emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 has been overrun by a more urgent, short-term need: to burn fossil fuels and maintain a steady electricity supply in the wake of the...

AS THE United States searches for alternative ways to feed its addiction to petroleum, ethanol and other biofuels derived from organic material have been considered a miracle motor vehicle elixir. The energy bill signed by President Bush in December mandates that at least 36 billion gallons of biofuels a year be used by 2020. Yet separate studies released this month by Princeton University and the Nature Conservancy reveal that biofuels are not a silver bullet in the battle against global warming.

Regarding the Nov. 20 Food story "Is vegan turkey good enough to gobble?" : Staff writer Tim Carman's quip that "there's the issue of the fossil fuels required to produce these R&D darlings" was misleading, as making vegan mock meats requires far fewer fossil fuels than raising and killing animals, even the "organic, free-range" variety. Also, undercover investigations into hatcheries, factory farms, stockyards and slaughterhouses by groups such as Compassion Over Killing, Mercy for Animals and the Humane Society of the United...

In the March 25 editorial " A myopic energy debate ," The Post pointed out the dangers of rising sea levels and more severe storms off Virginia's coast, the result of a heating planet that is due in large part to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. The most carbon-intensive of those fossil fuels is coal, and Dominion Virginia Power burns an unconscionable amount of it. Because of major naval and shipbuilding facilities in Hampton Roads, this coal-burning is a pressing national security issue.

An enormous, 1.8-mile-thick cloud of soot, particles and chemicals hangs above Asia, threatening food supplies and health, the United Nations said yesterday. The haze, caused by auto exhaust, the use of fossil fuels, and slash-and-burn agriculture, alters the climate in ways that melt glaciers and diminish sunlight, the report said. The phenomenon occurs elsewhere but has been studied most over Asia. SOURCES: Associated Press, U.N. Environmental Program (www.unep.org)

Regarding the Feb. 21 Metro article " Va. negotiators reach transportation deal ": What were these lawmakers thinking? Owners of alternative-fuel automobiles already pay a premium when they buy their cars. Now this proposal would sock them with a $100 annual tax? We buy these vehicles because of their reduced environmental impact, but this tax will discourage their sale. When the country is concerned with the economy, the environment, climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels and Mideast oil, why penalize those who are...

The Dec. 31 editorial " California's climate-change experiment " did a good job highlighting some of the pitfalls of California's cap-and-trade law. Another core problem with that law is that, while the cap on greenhouse gas emissions is fixed, the price for those emissions is not. Without a predictable price signal, the private market will not invest in the innovative solutions that would effectively slash the use of fossil fuels. A better approach would be to impose a defined carbon tax on the fossil-fuel suppliers, with a set annual...

The Nov. 17 news article " BP settlement a boon to conservation group " reported the good news that $2.4 billion of the settlement stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. While this historic sum may partially avenge the animals and ecosystems ravaged by the spill, it is not enough. Reparations for the damage will not be achieved unless we ensure that the same thing will not happen again. This involves directing money into renewable energy to work toward eliminating...

With Japan's oil and gas plants firing at full capacity, officials here say there is little chance of meeting a pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions significantly over the next decade, a startling retreat for a country that once spearheaded an international agreement on climate change. The earlier, ambitious target to slash emissions 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 has been overrun by a more urgent, short-term need: to burn fossil fuels and maintain a steady electricity supply in the wake of the...

The June 4 editorial " Wind power " neglected two key points with respect to renewable-energy subsidies. The first is that we're still spending billions of dollars to subsidize fossil fuels, which we know are a dead end for us, for future generations and for the rest of life on the planet. Subsidizing wind power at least helps level the playing field with the subsidies that we're shoveling into the bank accounts of the fossil fuel industry. If there were a price on carbon to roughly reflect the damage it does to the...

Regarding the March 25 editorial " A myopic energy debate ": I wonder: Are people ignorant of the effects of climate change, or do they recognize the incredible obstacles to any significant effort to "solve" them? Is a potential catastrophe 50 to 100 years in the future beyond the comprehension of the average person? Are we aware of the vast wealth that the use of fossil fuels has given us and, if so, do we fear the loss of this wealth? The future is unknowable, and humans need some strong and immediate threat to our well-being to...

In the March 25 editorial " A myopic energy debate ," The Post pointed out the dangers of rising sea levels and more severe storms off Virginia's coast, the result of a heating planet that is due in large part to carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels. The most carbon-intensive of those fossil fuels is coal, and Dominion Virginia Power burns an unconscionable amount of it. Because of major naval and shipbuilding facilities in Hampton Roads, this coal-burning is a pressing national security issue.

The Nov. 17 news article " BP settlement a boon to conservation group " reported the good news that $2.4 billion of the settlement stemming from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will go to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. While this historic sum may partially avenge the animals and ecosystems ravaged by the spill, it is not enough. Reparations for the damage will not be achieved unless we ensure that the same thing will not happen again. This involves directing money into renewable energy to work toward eliminating...

Robert J. Samuelson claimed that President Obama's vision for America's 21st-century economy set aside "the standard logic of economic progress" ["Obama's Economic Mirage," op-ed , April 13]. He argued that Mr. Obama's proposed "cap-and-trade" program amounted to a tax on fossil fuels that would result in loss of economic productivity. Mr. Samuelson should reexamine his theory as it applies to Europe and Japan, where taxes on fossil fuels far exceed those in the United States.

Just as it pioneered curbs on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks a decade ago, California is championing standards that could transform the fuel that goes into their tanks. But its new rule, which requires lowering the amount of carbon in fuel sold in the state, has become embroiled in a fierce public battle and has been barred from being enforced. In light of tight state budgets, litigation over California's program and a strong lobbying campaign against them, the question is whether the ambitious climate policy...

Many people are very concerned about climate change and how and why the Earth seems to be getting warmer. Steps to prevent this warming from continuing include recycling, reducing people's "carbon footprint" and finding ways to produce energy that doesn't pollute and that is renewable, which means it can be created again and again. Reducing your carbon footprint means releasing less carbon dioxide into the environment. Many scientists believe that carbon dioxide is one of the gases that contributes to the...