InsideClimate News: Exxon Concealed Tillerson's 'Alias' Emails in Climate Fraud Probe, NY AG Claims
While he was chief executive of ExxonMobil, current Ssecretary of State Rex Tillerson used an alias email account for eight years to discuss climate change and the risks it posed to the company's business, according to investigators for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Those investigators say the company concealed the shadow emails despite a 2015 subpoena for Tillerson's communications issued as part of a sweeping investigation of the oil giant in connection with possible financial fraud.
Schneiderman's office disclosed the existence of the email account assigned to Tillerson on Monday in a letter to Judge Barry Ostrager, which accused Exxon of failing to turn over all relevant documents required by the subpoena.
Windpower Monthly: Siemens Installs 3.15 MW Low-Wind Prototype
The SWT-3.15-142 turbine uses 69-meter blades, manufactured by LM Wind Power. The hybrid-carbon blades were developed as part of joint project between the two companies.
Siemens said it expects its new 3.15 MW prototype to be able to generate 10 GWh a year at average wind speeds of only 6 meters per second.
The turbine will go through testing at the site in Drantum, Denmark, and is due to be ready for serial production by the end of the year.
Fox News: In Kentucky Coal Country, a Potential Embrace of Nuclear Power
Donald Trump promised to bring back coal jobs, but even the country's third-largest coal producer appears to be hedging its bets on a comeback. Kentucky is on the cusp of doing what was once unthinkable: opening the door to nuclear power.
The Republican-controlled state legislature is close to lifting its decades-long moratorium on nuclear energy in a state that has been culturally and economically dominated by coal. Politicians from both parties have promised for years to revive the struggling coal industry, with Trump famously billing himself as "the last shot for miners." But as the coal industry continues its slide, even Republican lawmakers are acknowledging a need for alternatives.
MIT Technology Review: Intel’s $15 Billion Mobileye Buyout Puts It in the Autonomous Car Driver’s Seat
Intel has announced that it plans to acquire the autonomous car hardware firm Mobileye for a cool $15 billion. It’s a weighty sum, but the purchase gives Intel cutting-edge machine-learning technology that lies at the center of the nascent autonomous car industry.
The buyout of Mobileye, one of our 50 Smartest Companies of 2016, is the second-largest ever made by Intel. It’s also by far the largest autonomous car acquisition to date, and another sign that the self-driving vehicle sector looks set to explode in the coming years.
Climate Progress: The Trump Administration Really Doesn't Want This Climate Lawsuit to Go to Trial
The lawsuit, brought by a group of 21 children and young adults against the federal government, alleges that the United States government has violated the plaintiff’s constitutional right to a healthy environment. The lawsuit is based on the old legal doctrine of public trust, which holds that it is the government’s responsibility to preserve certain natural resources for public use. Under the public trust doctrine, the children’s attorneys argue, the government must protect the commonly held atmosphere -- and is failing to do so by taking inadequate action to fight climate change.
The lawsuit was initially filed against former president Barack Obama. When Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, the plaintiffs in the case replaced Obama with Trump, noting that the case had taken on even greater urgency in the face of an administration that blatantly rejects the mainstream scientific consensus on climate change.