The University of Chicago

Energy & Environment

  • Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Making Use of Carbon Capture and Sequestration

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    Bradley Crawford

    MIT’s Howard J. Herzog explores the central issues involved in transforming carbon capture and storage (CCS) from a boutique technology to a broadly commercial one.

  • A Sunny Perspective on the Future of Solar Energy

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    Evan Johnson

    Solyndra’s recent bankruptcy has sparked much debate about the market viability of solar energy. And while solar may not be as cost-effective as fossil fuels are now, a recent analysis finds that “solar power technologies in the US and Spain are likely to approach competitiveness with fossil-fired generation by around…

  • Fuel of Uncertainty

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    Bradley Crawford

    Biofuels are either essential to our energy independence and efforts to combat climate change or a boondoggle that threatens global food security. The World Bank’s Govinda R. Timilsina and Ashish Shrestha analyze this disconnect in “How Much Hope Should We Have for Biofuels?”, which weighs findings from dozens of studies…

  • Greening the Rust Belt

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    Mike Sitkowski

    As the economy struggles to rebound and the foreclosure crisis takes its toll on American cities, vacant land and abandoned buildings continue to abound. For America’s once-great manufacturing cities, the impact has been even greater as metropolitan areas throughout the Midwest struggle to find an identity in a post-industrial world.…