01/05/12 10:00am

Article By: energyNOW News Roundup

energyNOW! publishes a daily roundup of top news and opinion on energy and the environment. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement.

TRANSPORTATION

Delta, Lufthansa to pass EU’s carbon costs onto customers (via GreenBiz)

First Ford Focus electric heads to Google (via Autoblog Green)

Chevy Volt misses first-year sales target (via CNET)

MIT professor: high auto weight and horsepower nullify gains in efficiency (via New York Times)

NUCLEAR

EDF CEO rules out nuclear plant closures (via Reuters)

EMISSIONS/CLIMATE/ENVIRONMENT

China to levy carbon tax before 2015 (via Reuters)

Will melting Arctic ice provide a silver lining for shipping’s emissions? (via GreenBiz)

Climate change models may underestimate extinction, study shows (via BusinessWeek)

RENEWABLES

Israel to build two solar thermal plants for 180MW (via Reuters)

Revival of iconic California condor threatens state’s wind farm boom (via Forbes)

GRID

German power grids say coping with shortfalls (via Reuters)

Chicago’s smart-grid plan to create more than 2,400 jobs (via Chicago Tribune)

CLEAN TECH

Scientists create living LED screens out of glowing bacteria (via Los Angeles Times)

Tendril opens up home energy Web services (via CNET)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

CDC scientist: tests needed on gas drilling impact (via MSNBC/Associated Press)  

Way to avoid possible earthquakes could cost $10 million (via Houston Chronicle’s Fuel Fix)

Energy giants undeterred by quakes seek shale stakes in ‘Runway to Growth’ (via Bloomberg)

State plans to relieve pressure in brine well to quell quakes (via Columbus Dispatch)

OIL

Europe takes bold step toward a ban on Iranian oil (via New York Times)

BP fund resumes payments to spill victims (via Reuters)

Oil price would skyrocket if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz (via New York Times)

Oil industry: ‘Huge political consequences’ if Keystone XL pipeline rejected (via The Hill)

GREEN BUSINESS

Walmart wants to start a conversation on sustainability with its new green blog (via TreeHugger)

Note: energyNOW!'s initial support comes from the American Clean Skies Foundation, which is funded in part by Chesapeake Energy. energyNOW! is editorially independent – neither the foundation nor its backers control what we say or do.

These are just some of the stories we're following today. Be sure to check our Twitter& Facebook feeds for any breaking news or stories that aren't on this list.