How can renewable energy keep up the momentum?

In the last year, renewables have been booming, according to recent reports. But due to the recession, electricity demand isn't increasing as much as anticipated, and experts say that could translate into lower demand for all new sources of electricity, including renewables. On top of that, President Obama recently told Democrats that "we're not going to be able to ramp up solar and wind to suddenly replace every other energy source anytime soon, and the economy still needs to grow. So we've got to look at how to make existing technologies and options better." And in his State of the Union address, Obama threw his weight behind nuclear energy and offshore drilling.

For the immediate future, how can renewable sources of electricity position themselves to become the top energy source? How should Congress balance emerging technologies with existing ones? Is it wise for Obama to pour resources into adapting traditional technologies, like clean coal, or should he focus more on wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy?

4 responses: Gary Fazzino, Margo Thorning, William O'Keefe, Lewis Hay

Nuclear power and renewable energy won out over the fossil fuel industries in the administration's FY2011 budget proposal. The Energy Department plan would triple nuclear loan guarantee funding, yank its application to store nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, and cut tax subsidies for the oil and natural gas industries. DOE would allocate $11 billion of its $28.4 billion budget to nuclear security, an increase of 14 percent. It also would dedicate between $4 billion and $5 billion to clean energy projects. Unlike last year, the budget doesn't include a specific estimate for revenue from a market-based climate change bill.

What's the likely impact of this year's budget proposal? Will the additional money for nuclear loans -- which Energy Secretary Steven Chu said could fund up to 10 reactors -- finally usher in the next generation of nuclear power plants? Will domestic oil and gas development be hindered? What signal is the administration sending Congress by including a placeholder for market-based climate bill revenue? Are the changes likely to withstand congressional scrutiny?

5 responses: Paul Sullivan, Marian Hopkins, William O'Keefe, Larry Schweiger, William O'Keefe

In his State of the Union address, President Obama supported construction of new nuclear power plants, offshore oil and gas drilling, and development of advanced clean-coal technologies. In return, he called on Congress to pass "a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."

Will the White House's proposal energize Senate negotiations to curb U.S. emissions of global warming pollution? Can the nuclear, oil drilling and coal provisions win votes among fence-sitting moderates in both parties? Will the environmental groups stick with Obama, despite their past opposition to nuclear power, offshore oil drilling and new coal plants? Will corporate America rally behind the White House and push the Senate to act?

14 responses: Frank M. Stewart, Kevin Knobloch, Skip Horvath, William O'Keefe, Arjun Makhijani, Bill Snape, Jack Gerard, Marian Hopkins, Daniel J. Weiss, David Parker, Amy Harder, Gary Fazzino, Charles Drevna, Jon A. Anda

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, last week introduced a disapproval resolution -- essentially a congressional veto -- that would stop the EPA from controlling greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Murkowski, the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, argued that Congress, not EPA, should determine federal climate change policy.

Should EPA regulate carbon dioxide emissions? Is the Obama administration using the agency to force Congress to pass legislation? Could EPA regulation help industry plan for a low-carbon future? Should the agency's power be temporarily suspended to give Congress more time to hash out a bill? Or should EPA be barred from controlling greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act? How could this resolution affect the overall debate on climate legislation?

16 responses: Richard Revesz, Cal Dooley, Amy Harder, Margaret Kriz Hobson, Amy Harder, Hal Quinn, David Holt, Stephen Eule, Thomas Gibson, Carl Pope, Frances Beinecke, Jon A. Anda, Larry Schweiger, Bill Snape, Eileen Claussen, William O'Keefe

What are the alternatives to an economy-wide cap-and-trade system for controlling greenhouse gas emissions?

Has the drive for a cap-and-trade bill run out of steam? Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, for one, predicts that the Senate won't pass a cap-and-trade bill this year. If so, what are other options? Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, proposed a cap-and-dividend system, which would cap carbon emissions at the source, such as oil or coal producers or importers, rather than regulating power companies or manufacturers. Other senators have suggested setting up a utility-only cap-and-trade program to control greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector. Furthermore, some experts are speculating that a carbon tax would be more likely to be approved by Congress.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives? Is any effort to put a price on carbon doomed to fail this year?

15 responses: Margo Thorning, Steven Stoft, Tom Kuhn, Graciela Chichilnisky, Jon A. Anda, Janet Larsen, William O'Keefe, Margaret Kriz Hobson, Jon A. Anda, William O'Keefe, Paul Portney, Dirk Forrister, Alan Oxley, Bill Snape, Jon A. Anda

Should Congress do more to help revive the nuclear energy industry?

The Energy Department is expected to announce soon which companies will receive loan guarantees to build new nuclear power plants. DOE is authorized to hand out $18.5 billion in loan guarantees, which experts say is enough to cover construction of two to three plants. The electric companies would not receive the final guarantees, however, until their applications were approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Meanwhile, Congress is already considering new ways to encourage the electric industry to build new plants. In December, Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., released a climate change legislative framework that would also encourage nuclear energy development.

Will these benefits be enough to encourage construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.S.? The nuclear industry says it needs much more than the $18.5 billion in loan guarantees that it's slated to receive. The Senate trio's proposal still lacks detail, yet it's the only option on the table with a potentially robust nuclear provision. Should Congress consider other ways to help jumpstart the industry?

14 responses: Peter Bradford, Amy Harder, Paul Sullivan, Kyle Danish, Robert C. Sisson, Graciela Chichilnisky, Janet Larsen, Henry D. Sokolski, Kevin Knobloch, David Holt, David Kreutzer, Bill Snape, Marvin Fertel, William O'Keefe

What are the chances that the Senate will pass climate change legislation in 2010?

In December, the political calculations for controlling greenhouse gases dramatically changed.

• The Copenhagen climate change agreement signed by world leaders was weaker than many politicians were seeking.

• Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn; and John Kerry, D-Mass., unveiled the outlines for a new climate bill that's less ambitious than the measure passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The lawmakers were vague about when they would introduce the bill.

• Moderate Democrats in the Senate raised red flags on measures to curb carbon pollution through a cap-and-trade program.

• Republicans in the House and Senate announced plans to seek a congressional veto that would stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

What's next for Senate efforts to curb greenhouse gases?

17 responses: Kevin Knobloch, Dirk Forrister, Jim Kerr, Scott Moore, Margo Thorning, Carl Pope, Frances Beinecke, Chuck Gray, Robert C. Sisson, Alan Oxley, Daniel J. Weiss, Larry Schweiger, Denise Bode, Gene Karpinski, Robert J. Shapiro, William O'Keefe, Bill Snape

What have world leaders accomplished at the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen?

The U.S. and China, along with India and South Africa, forged a climate deal in the 11th hour of the summit on Friday, according to media reports. Details of that accord are still developing, but many are already saying it's falling short of expectations. In other notable developments: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged that the U.S. would contribute to a global fund of $100 billion to help poor nations' climate change efforts, and negotiators were close to a deal that would curb greenhouse gas emissions through forest preservation.

How do these achievements compare to expectations? Have negotiators done enough to advance international efforts to control emissions? Will Copenhagen affect U.S. efforts to pass domestic climate change legislation?

15 responses: Mark Muro, Bob Bendick, Henry Derwent, Ned Helme, Nancy Young, Kyle Danish, Steven Stoft, David Hone, Thomas J. Pyle, Paul Sullivan, Jonathan Wootliff, Bill Snape, Rob Stavins, Graciela Chichilnisky, William O'Keefe

How can President Obama balance the divergent climate change demands of world leaders and Congress?

Friday at the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen, Obama is expected to pledge to reduce the U.S.' greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and to commit the U.S. to paying "a fair share" of a $10 billion annual fund to help developing nations respond to climate change.

But world leaders are calling on America to step up its commitment to combating global warming. Meanwhile, conservatives and some moderates in Congress complain that Obama's plan is too far-reaching and costly and could hurt the U.S. economy. Can the White House satisfy both Congress and the world? What issues should Obama concentrate on in Copenhagen? Could U.S. action on specific provisions -- such as emission levels, financing or clean energy development -- help pave the way for a compromise?

9 responses: David Parker, Paul Sullivan, Thomas J. Pyle, Scott Moore, Michael C. Formica, Tom Kuhn, Rob Stavins, Bill Snape, William O'Keefe

Updated at 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 7.

Should leaders of the world halt efforts to control greenhouse gases until they've investigated recent charges that some scientific studies linking human activity to climate change may have been overstated?

In November, hackers released thousands of e-mails and other documents from a British university that allegedly call into question some of the scientific underpinnings of climate change. Opponents of global warming legislation claim that the e-mails prove that scientists manipulated the data. They want Congress and the EPA to suspend efforts to control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions until the charges are thoroughly scrutinized. However, Jane Lubchenco, a marine scientist who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Congress that the hacked documents "do nothing to undermine the very strong scientific consensus" backing climate change.

The purloined data was released as leaders of the world prepared to meet in Copenhagen to negotiate an international treaty to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Is there enough evidence that the science was exaggerated to stop efforts to control greenhouse gases? Or is it an anomaly being used by opponents to slow the momentum for meaningful change?

EPA Formally Declares Greenhouse Gases A Danger

On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its ruling that greenhouse-gas emissions endanger public health and welfare. The decision gives the Obama administration the legal basis to regulate carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Environmentalists and Democrats praised the decision, but critics say the agency should have postponed action until questions were settled about the scientific underpinnings of climate change.

Will the EPA's announcement help President Obama's hammer out a treaty to cut world emissions of greenhouse gases at the ongoing conference in Copenhagen? Will it boost Democratic efforts to pass climate change legislation in the Senate next year?

17 responses: David Parker, Larry Schweiger, Eileen Claussen, Gene Karpinski, William O'Keefe, Bill Snape, Carl Pope, Andrew Wheeler, Paul Sullivan, Robert J. Shapiro, Jon A. Anda, Robert C. Sisson, William O'Keefe, Arjun Makhijani, Terry Chapin, Bill Snape, Kevin Knobloch