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Featured Columnist—Joan Melcher

Joan Melcher is a freelance writer based in Missoula, Mont. A regular contributor to Miller-McCune.com, she also has written recently for High Country News, Miller-McCune magazine and BioCycle.

Most recent articles

Clean energy surge fueled by wind, solar and biofuels

Report predicts global revenue at $385 billion by 2021

Western water studies bring together fed experts and state managers

Addressing projections of future supply and demand

Measuring the costs of sustainability anywhere you are

A way to determine the best use of investment for sustainable projects

May 17, 2012

Water on California farms: Converting crisis to opportunity

It's all about successful management

By Richard Worzel, the California Farm Bureau Federation

Global water shortages may be inevitable, but they offer opportunities to farmers who can successfully manage water supplies.

The looming shortage of fresh water is not unique to California—it's rapidly going global. This will be seen by many as a major problem, but California farmers have the opportunity to turn it into a significant advantage if they play it

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In climate of cheap gas, forecast for renewable energy finance is cloudy

An investment banker's perspective

By Denis Du Bois

Cascadia Capital CEO Michael Butler knows renewable energy finance. His investment banking firm has been a key player in some of the clean technology sector's most significant transactions. His forecast for renewable energy is "near term cloudy." The rush of investments into natural gas is siphoning capital that would have gone into the renewable energy sector. Renewable energy is a viable industry long term, it's just going to

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Texas A&M algae biofuel tests show promise

Its 13 research centers are part of DOE consortium

By AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

Over the past two years, Texas AgriLife Research has been operating as a component of a $44 million, multi-institution, multi-state consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct algae research and development for commercial, domestic biofuel production. Additional funding was awarded in part as a result of research advancements at AgriLife’s Pecos facility and expands the scope of

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Clean energy surge fueled by wind, solar and biofuels

Report predicts global revenue at $385 billion by 2021

By Joan Melcher

Revenues directed to the cleantech industry worldwide surged by 31 percent in one year — from $188 billion in 2010 to $246 billion in 2011, fueled by double-digit growth rates in wind and solar deployment and an increase in pricing for biofuels. So says a report, Clean Energy Trends 2012, compiled by Clean Edge, a cleantech research and advisory firm founded in 2000 with offices in San Francisco and Portland.

Authors project

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Solar challenges in California’s Mojave desert

Building renewable energy into the Space Port

By Anne Fischer, Solar Novus Today

The Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, Calif., motto is “Imagination flies here.” Many firsts have launched from its runways: the first non-governmental rocket ship, the first plane to circle the globe without refuelling, the first rocket-based plane. Today it’s home to Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, Paul Allen’s StratoLaunch, the National Test Pilot School and many other

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Benefiting from unconventional oil

Fossil fuel revenue policy in four Western states

By Headwaters Economics

As oil production from the Bakken formation continues to set records in North Dakota, the sheer pace and scale of the boom is still unfolding. The intensity of industrial activity in western North Dakota translates into mounting concerns about the ability of local and state government to respond to growing infrastructure needs and service demands. After a recent tour of the region, North Dakota state

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Western water studies bring together fed experts and state managers

Addressing projections of future supply and demand

By Joan Melcher

The Los Angeles River basin could experience a water supply shortage of 800,000 acre-feet per year by 2025 if recent estimates are correct. But there is hope: a water basin study will help plan for securing adequate water into the future, taking into account climate change and population growth.

The LA basin study is part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART program, which is tackling the issues of water availability

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Readers Respond

From the bottom up: The future of renewables

great article

By Phil on 2011 11 30

Western community college launches smart grid tech courses

Kids these days just get smarter and smarter

By Phil on 2011 11 30

Oil & gas versus renewables: A tale of two conferences

Not a surprise to learn about this stark contrast. Should anyone wish to understand the very fundamental reasons why there is this difference in “energy levels” between the oil and gas industry and the RE industry, read “Power Hungry” by Robert Bryce for a very donw-to-earth assessment of what the future of global energy is for the next few decades.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Hungry-Myths-Energy-Future/dp/1586487892

By Graham Russell on 2011 05 12

What clean energy needs to succeed

Did anyone mention alternatives to electricity for transmission, firming storage, and integration of diverse, stranded, renewable energy resources? Carbon-free gaseous hydrogen and liquid anhydrous ammonia fuels, via underground pipelines, distributed for transportation and combined-heat-and-power (CHP), mush as we now do with natural gas, are attractive alternatives.

By Bill Leighty on 2011 04 26

Nuclear power: What we know now

I am a complete layman when it comes to this conversation but I think I represent an average energy consumer nervous about nuclear. I love the lack of emissions but still do not trust the safety, despite the vast strides made. The repeated story is, “It’s safe. we don’t make those mistakes anymore”, which sounds just like what was said before the last big mistake. In this story, Mr. Graham refers to regulation and oversight as the reason it is impossible/not likely to have negative consequences. Regulation however depends on the administration in Washington and regulations get weakened for political reasons, and hence are not trustworthy when it comes to safety. Now, I can be convinced that nuclear can be safe, and while that day may or may not come, the arguments that we know so much more now, and that government regulation keeps us safe, do not hold much water with me. Thanks for the stories though—helpful in my learning process and informative.

By Steve on 2011 04 13

Nuclear power: What we know now

I think it is profoundly obsurd to think that ” industry and government regulations” is the justification for safety. When has the Government regulated anything to perfection. Mr. Graham has too much faith in Bureaucrats. More like a game of Rue let. What happens if they don’t comply or simply make a mistake?

By Robert on 2011 04 12