Study Concludes Colorado River Reservoirs Could Bottom Out from Warming, Water Management Business-as-Usual
Monday, July 20 2009
A study out of University of Colorado, Boulder, indicates that there could be about a 50% chance of depleting the Colorado River reservoirs in any given year by the 2050s. These reservoirs have the potential to hold 4 times the annual flow of the river, providing a major backup in case of drought or increasing demand that rises above what the river can provide.
However, as a result of climate change and increasing demand, if water management practices are not changed, every year could see a 50-50 chance of depleting these reservoirs and being forced to rely on the river flow alone. This would be dangerous because the natural flow of the river is variable and also may soon be inadequate to meet water demand.
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Researchers Outline Consensus Position on “Beneficial Biofuels”
Sunday, July 19 2009
Eleven researchers outlines what they believe to be the consensus position on what the biofuel industry needs to focus on to become more sustainable. They point out that biofuels are a great opportunity to lower GHG emissions, but that they must be done in a sustainable way.
They point out that biofuels should only be supported if they positively impact energy security, greenhouse-gas emissions, biodiversity, and the sustainability of the food supply. They suggest that the biofuels industry focus on perennial plants grown on degraded agricultural lands, crop residues, sustainably harvested wood and forest residues, double crops and mixed cropping systems, and municipal and industrial wastes.
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Plastic Bag Revolt Halves Nationwide Use to 450m
Friday, July 17 2009
The UK has cut in half it's plastic bag usage in three years, meeting a voluntary goal provided by the government.
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New PNNL Geothermal Heat Extraction Process Optimizes Low-Temperature Resources
Thursday, July 16 2009
A new method has been found by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists to capture geothermal energy from lower temperature energy sources.
In related geothermal news, a new study by NYU Stern Professor Melissa Schilling found that geothermal is producing the greatest efficiency returns per R&D dollar invested, with wind in second. Solar energy is quite a ways behind, and fossil fuel efficiencies are stagnant, if not dropping, despite getting a huge amount of the R&D budget.
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US Secretary of Transportation Says Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled Necessary for Substantive CO2 Reduction from Transportation
Thursday, July 16 2009
The US Secretary of Transportation mentioned in testimony before Congress that even with low carbon fuels and more efficient vehicles, the US needs to work to reduce it's vehicle miles traveled (VMT). He states that even assuming 55mpg vehicles in 2030, the US transportation sector will only see modest CO2 decreases without a corresponding decrease in VMT.
He advocates for more mixed use development, more public transportation opportunities, more walkable and bikeable cities, and more housing development near public transit.
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UC Berkeley Study Concludes Battery Switching Model Would Accelerate Mass-Market Adoption of Electric Cars
Tuesday, July 14 2009
A UC Berkeley study reports that their research predicts an at least 64% market share of electric vehicles if a battery swapping system is used. These systems rely on a subscription-based pay-per-mile sort of scheme where the car owner doesn't have to own the battery, lowering the cost of the vehicles. Read more about these sorts of systems in our <a href = "/Transportation/Charging-Stations/">Charging Stations section</a>.
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Vancouver Requires Charging Stations in New Condominium and Apartment Buildings, and Some Parking Lots
Saturday, July 11 2009
Vancouver, BC will begin requiring that developers of new condominiums and apartment complexes outfit 20% of available parking spaces with electric vehicle charging stations. The new regulations will take effect in 18 months and will also involve installing charging stations public parking lots.
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Declaration of the leaders of the major economies forum on energy and climate
Thursday, July 09 2009
The Major Economies Forum released it's statement on energy and climate change, announcing a belief that global temperatures should not rise above 2 degrees Celsius about pre-industrial levels. The statement mentions that climate change must be addressed in a way that does not compromise economic or social development.
In the statement, a global emissions reduction of 50% by 2050 is proposed, including an 80% reduction by industrialized nations. The statement also calls for roadmaps of plans from now to 2020 be presented by November 15, 2009.
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US Departments of Treasury, Energy Announce More Than $3B in Recovery Act Funds for Direct Payments for Renewable Energy Projects
Thursday, July 09 2009
The US Departments of Treasury and Energy announced that they will be providing about $3 billion in direct payments to renewable energy projects in lieu of tax credits in order to stimulate the economy. These payments would get money to the estimated 5000 qualifying projects faster than a tax credit would. The money is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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Survey Finds US Hybrids and Diesels Beat Gasoline Models on Full Cost of Ownership
Thursday, July 09 2009
An Intellichoice.com survey compared the 51 clean diesel and hybrid vehicles to their gasoline equivalents and found that 35 of them have a lower cost of ownership. The increase in sticker price was more than made up for in decreased fuel costs, tax incentives, lower maintenance costs, and a higher resale value. If the price of gasoline went up to $4.00 a gallon, 41 would have a lower cost of ownership.
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Zipcar Launches Car Sharing Club with Hybrids, PHEV and EV in London
Tuesday, July 07 2009
The Westminster City Council in London and ZipCar have announced a partnership to provide a car sharing service that will consist originally of 20 hybrid vehicles, with plug-in hybrids and full electric vehicles to be featured in the future alongside gasoline powered vehicles.
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Report: Toyota To Start Commercial Production of Plug-In Hybrids In 2012
Saturday, July 04 2009
Toyota announced that it will begin commercial production of plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012 in addition to plug-in versions of the Prius that they will begin leasing out at the end of this year.
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Crop plants get genomics centre
Friday, June 26 2009
Britain's biotechnology research council the BBSRC plans to open a research center that will decode the DNA of plants and animals used in agriculture better understand the genetic diversity of these crops, to increase yields, resist pests, and deal with climate change.
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California Adopts Cooler Cars Regulation
Friday, June 26 2009
Starting in 2012, cars sold in California will need to have windows that reflect or absorb almost half of the heat from the sun's rays hitting the glass.
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House Passes Landmark Climate Bill
Friday, June 26 2009
The House of Representatives narrowly passed the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act. This bill would put a cap on US carbon dioxide emissions, set up a market for the trading of emissions allowances, and encourage investment in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies.
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Sears Tower to Undergo $350M Green Remodel
Wednesday, June 24 2009
The Sears tower is getting $350 million in updates that will save an estimated 24 million gallons of water a year and cut the tower's energy consumption by 80%. Among the measures are a green roof, solar thermal systems, and wind turbines on various tiered roofs.
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Amended Waxman/Markey Energy and Climate Bill Removes GHG Emissions Standards for Aviation
Wednesday, June 24 2009
The latest version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (the US cap and trade bill) to be discussed in the House of Representatives removed provisions that would've created standards for aviation greenhouse gas emissions.
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Jump start for electric car trial
Tuesday, June 23 2009
The UK has started a 2 year program to lease out over 340 plug-in hybrid and full-electric vehicles for 6 months to a year at a time in 8 cities.
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Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed?
Tuesday, June 23 2009
A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) has done a more detailed analysis of all available wind resources and has found that there is more than enough wind out there to replace global fossil fuel usage. It found that, if off-shore wind were taken into account, even areas that are thought to be poor for wind power, such as Japan, has many times their current energy demand in available wind resources.
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Study: Hydrofluorocarbons Will Contribute Significantly to Global Warming by 2050
Tuesday, June 23 2009
The contribution of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), used in refrigerators and air conditioners, to global warming by 2050 is projected to be more than that of current global CO2 emissions from houses and office buildings.
These gases are substitutes for ozone-depleting gases, but they are also strong greenhouse gases. Their contribution to global warming is currently small, but can increase to the equivalent of 9-19% (CO2-eq. basis) of projected global CO2 emissions in business-as-usual scenarios by 2050.
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Flood protection in England 'needs doubling'
Friday, June 19 2009
A recent report has found that one in six homes in England are in danger of flooding, and that number is expected to increase dramatically as climate change brings higher sea levels, more rainfall in the Winter, and stronger storms.
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UK 'must plan' for warmer future
Thursday, June 18 2009
The UK Climate Projections 2009 report released last week addresses the aspects of climate change the UK is already likely to face, and those that still have the possibility of being avoided. On average, it estimates that the UK will see between 2 and 6 degree C temperature increases by 2080 along with an average of over 20% less summer rain and much of the country seeing increases in winter rain by 20%. Areas in the south of the UK, which are already water stressed are expected to see even greater decreases in summer rain than the average.
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Climate Change: What happens if we do nothing
Wednesday, June 17 2009
A new US government report analyzing climate change research has found that without reductions in emissions, the US will be facing drastic changes in our climate. It looks at the effects we have already seen and those we can expect to see 10, 50, and 100 years from now. It also talks about the effects we can expect in different regions.
For example, the Southwest and Southeast are expected to see continued and more drastic water shortages. The Northeast will likely lose its multibillion dollar winter sports industry and food industries like apple and maple syrup production. The Pacific Northwest is expected to lose cold water fishing industries, such as the salmon industry. Florida could see sea level rise that floods much of the Everglades and the Keys.
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On the Streets of China, Electric Bikes Are Swarming
Sunday, June 14 2009
There has been a recent boom in sales of electric bikes in China, accounting for about 90% of the electric bikes sold world-wide. These are a low-impact way to get around crowded cities.
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Australians demand climate action
Saturday, June 13 2009
Thousands of people have rallied all across Australia demanding more aggressive action from their government on climate change issues. Australia is one of the worst per capita emitters, in large part due to their vast reserves of coal.
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Reindeer herds in global decline
Thursday, June 11 2009
Climate change, logging, oil and gas prospecting, and other industrial activities are being blamed for the decrease in most reindeer populations around the world. A new study has found that populations all over the world were decreasing, with some being harmed by warming arctic temperatures and others by habitat destruction.
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Australia wind farm gets go-ahead
Tuesday, June 09 2009
Approval has been granted for the construction of Australia's largest wind farm, consisting of 600 wind turbines.
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Afghans issue first wildlife list
Tuesday, June 09 2009
Afghanistan has published its first list of threatened wildlife that can no longer be hunted or harvested. The list currently includes 20 mammals, 7 birds, and 4 plants, although they hope to expand the list to as many as 70 species by the end of the year.
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IATA: Airline Industry Targeting Carbon-Neutral Growth By 2020
Monday, June 08 2009
The international airline industry has pledged to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020, meaning that by 2020 their emissions will stay the same even if demand goes up. They has already been making increases in efficiency and are expected to lower emissions by 2% due to efficiency improvements (after already discounting for fewer flights due to the recession).
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Toyota Industries to Begin Selling Rechargers for EVs and PHEVs
Sunday, June 07 2009
Toyota will begin selling recharging stations for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles this summer in Japan. The charging stations are designed to be used in commercial and public spaces, although a residential model will be coming out soon.
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Hybrids in Japan Grabbed 12% New Vehicle Market Share in May
Saturday, June 06 2009
Hybrid vehicles accounted for 12% of the new light-duty vehicles sold in the month of May in Japan with hybrids grabbing the #1 and #3 spots in terms of most sold models. In the US, hybrids accounted for 2.8% of new vehicles sold in May.
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Japanese Firms to Construct Smart Grid Project in US
Friday, June 05 2009
A group of Japanese firms are looking to construct a small smart-grid system in an undisclosed New Mexico town that will incorporate solar energy and battery-storage systems. It hopes to provide this smart grid to 1000 residents by the end of 2010.
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Floating wind turbine launched
Friday, June 05 2009
The first floating wind turbine was put off the coast of Norway this week. These turbines are able to be anchored in water up to 600m (about 2000ft) deep, allowing them to be put far enough off shore to limit the disruptions to shipping channels, tourism, bird life and marine ecosystems typical off-shore installations cause.
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Rainforest is worth more standing
Friday, June 05 2009
A new analysis has found that Indonesian rainforest could be worth more left standing under a proposed scheme called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (Redd). This would make the trees more valuable standing than destroyed and replanted with palm oil plantations. These palm oil plantations have been contributing to climate change and also damaging the local ecosystem and endangering animals such as orangutans.
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Jungle residents protest development of Amazon rainforest
Friday, June 05 2009
Last year, Peruvian president Alan Garcia signed a series of laws vastly decreasing forest protection, opening up 111 million acres for potential development. The laws also authorize the government to approve development projects in the region without consulting existing residents. These and other laws essentially nationalize the ownership of much land, water and oil, in addition to other resources. Meanwhile, they push for formal, private ownership of agricultural land, which is incompatible with current communal systems and may reduce agricultural sustainability at a national level. As various jungle oil concessions were granted in April, Amazonian residents instituted a months-long road-block in protest of these laws, blocking oil lines and leading to a spike in oil prices in the capital. A State of Emergency was declared, allowing police to break the road block with violent measures on Friday, June 5. A reported 60 were killed that day, although some say the numbers are higher. Facing widespread popular resistance, the government temporarily suspended the laws on June 10. Protests continue throughout the country.
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China Begins Its Transition to a Clean-Energy Economy
Thursday, June 04 2009
Set in a bit of a political tone, this is the most comprehensive look at what China is doing to reduce it's emissions. There are some very impressive feats on here. I would recommend skipping the intro and conclusion and reading through the things it is doing (like a 40% tax on vehicles with over 4 liter engines or a 10% reduction in the energy intensity of the economy in 3 years).
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Better buildings soon? Energy and climate bill would set national energy codes
Thursday, June 04 2009
The Waxman-Markey climate cap and trade bill currently in the House of Representatives would include a provision for national energy codes that would mandate that new buildings be built up to certain efficiency standards.
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Toyota to Lease 200 PHEVs in Japan Starting at End of 2009, 500 Globally
Wednesday, June 03 2009
Toyota is planning the lease 200 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Japan, 150 in the US, 100 in France, and 50 in the rest of Europe by the end of 2009.
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India to Move Forward With Fuel Economy Standards
Wednesday, June 03 2009
The government of India has decided that it will implement fuel economy standards on its gasoline and diesel vehicles.
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Clean Energy Funding Trumps Fossil Fuels
Wednesday, June 03 2009
For the first time ever, clean energy investments trumped investment into fossil fuel power in 2008. According to the United Nations Environment Program, of the $250 billion invested in new energy generation in 2008, $140 billion was in clean energy technologies versus $110 billion in fossil fuel energy.
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DOE to Award $256M to Improve the Energy Efficiency of the US Economy
Tuesday, June 02 2009
The US Department of Energy intends to use $256 million to support Combined Heat and Power systems, Waste Energy Recovery systems, efficient industrial equipment, and improved efficiency in information and communication technology, among other things.
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Climate chief's pledge on energy
Tuesday, June 02 2009
Todd Stern, America's chief climate negotiator, has said that he believes it is morally right for rich nations to help poorer ones deal with climate change. His statement expressed support for the billions of dollars the US cap and trade bill being debated in Congress would potentially provide to developing countries to deal with climate change. He also commended China on their attempts to reduce the growth in their emissions, despite the explosion of their economy.
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Help wanted to write book of life
Monday, June 01 2009
UK and US scientists are working together to put together a global database of information on all living things. This information would include research findings, descriptions, pictures, genetic information, and updates on sightings from citizen scientists.
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Dolphin and whale climate fears
Monday, June 01 2009
A new report found that 88% of the habitat for cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) is expected to increase in temperature as a result of climate change. This is a problem because they are temperature sensitive and also only able to go so deep to find cooler temperatures.
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In a Sluggish Japan, Prius Sales Boom
Saturday, May 30 2009
In response to government incentives, Japanese demand for hybrid vehicles is very strong despite the overall economic conditions. The third generation Prius, which has just recently been launched, is already swamping dealerships with orders.
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Beavers return after 400-year gap
Friday, May 29 2009
Scottland has begun a trial program to reintroduce beavers for the first time in 400 years.
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Solar Plan Could Revolutionize India's Energy Sector
Friday, May 29 2009
A leaked government plan for solar investments puts India's goal for installed solar capacity at 200GW by 2050, compared to India's current 150GW of total electricity capacity, solar or otherwise.
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The future’s made of straw
Friday, May 29 2009
North Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire is to become the first local authority in the UK to use straw bales to construct social housing. The homes will cost less than the average home and provide three times the required insulation, meaning these homes won't need heating systems.
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Lockheed-Martin To Build Large CSP Plant With Thermal Storage In Arizona
Thursday, May 28 2009
Lockheed-Martin is planning on building an 8.5GW concentrating solar power plant in Arizona by 2014. The plant will rely on parabolic troughs collecting solar heat energy, which is used to create steam and turn generators. The plant will also include about 6 hours of thermal storage in the form of molten salts that can store heat energy at off peak times to increase peak production, even when the sun isn't brightly shining.
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Report: CO2 Levels to Rise 40% by 2030
Wednesday, May 27 2009
The US Energy Information Administration reported that world energy consumption is expected by grow by 44% and CO2 levels would grow by 39% between now and 2030 if action weren't taken to slow the increases.
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China Puts Its Faith In Solar Power With Huge Renewable Energy Investment
Wednesday, May 27 2009
China is putting additional funding into its solar energy sector to help if catch up to wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric systems. The goal is to have solar supplying 6% of the nation's power by 2020.
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US Unveils $4bn Plan To Upgrade Public Housing As Part Of Green Jobs Project
Wednesday, May 27 2009
The US has revealed a project upgrade windows, insulation, and lighting in low income public housing projects as a part of the administration's green jobs creation strategy.
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Report: Honda to Advance Hybrid Fit for Japan to 2010
Wednesday, May 27 2009
Apparently in response to the Honda Insight hybrid displacing the Honda Fit as the number one vehicle in Japan, Honda has decided to push up the release of a hybrid version of the Fit to 2010, 18 months ahead of schedule.
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More Than $467M in Recovery Act Funding for Geothermal and Solar Energy Projects
Wednesday, May 27 2009
The US has pledged almost a half a billion dollars to developing and deploying geothermal and solar energy technologies.
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Nissan and Europcar Form EV Partnership
Wednesday, May 27 2009
Nissan and Europcar are working together to market electric vehicles in the vehicle rental market by 2010. The vehicles are going to be brought to France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand before being spread worldwide.
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Belfer Center Brief Urges Higher, Stable Energy Prices to Achieve Long-Term Energy Policy Objectives
Tuesday, May 26 2009
Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs released a brief outlining the need for higher, stable energy prices in order to meet clean energy, oil security, and climate change goals.
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Empire State Building Gets Eco-makeover
Tuesday, May 26 2009
The Empire State Building is getting $20 million in energy improvements as a part of a $500 million total building upgrade project. These upgrades will cut energy usage by 40% over the next 15 years and pay for itself in under 5 years. It is aiming for a LEED Gold certification as a result of the upgrades.
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Deforestation 'faster in Africa'
Tuesday, May 26 2009
Africa's forests are disappearing faster than those in other areas of the world due to a lack of land ownership.
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IMO Study Concludes Shipping Could Cut GHG Emissions by One-Fifth at Negative Cost to Industry
Sunday, May 24 2009
A new International Maritime Organization (IMO) report has concluded that the shipping industry, responsible for about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, could reduce those emissions by 20% and save money at the same time.
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With Increasing Car Ownership, China’s Oil Demand to Increase by Up to 33% 2015
Sunday, May 24 2009
It has recently been predicted that China's oil usage could increase by up to 33% in the next 6 years because of an increase in automobile ownership.
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DOE Regional Partnership Begins Core Sampling for Large-Volume Carbon Sequestration Test
Saturday, May 23 2009
The US Department of Energy has started testing to figure out where to put captured carbon dioxide from carbon capture and sequestration plants. The Fort Nelson natural gas plant is expected to produce 2 million tons of CO2 a year that will need to be stored.
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Yosemite's giant trees disappear
Friday, May 22 2009
Yosemite National Park is seeing a decrease in the average size of their largest trees (as a result of larger trees dying), likely as a result of climate change. The dying off of large trees is concerning because it is occurring in one of the world's most protected parks.
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Sanyo Develops HIT Solar Cells With 23% Conversion Efficiency
Friday, May 22 2009
Sanyo made some great progress in silicon solar cell technology with the development of their latest cell. It broke its own record for practical (100 cm2 or more) sized crystalline silicon solar cells by reaching the 23% mark. It also lowered the production cost and raw silicon usage of the system.
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Habitat loss hitting shellfish
Thursday, May 21 2009
The Natrue Conservancy published reports of its study showing that many reefs all around the world are now functionally extinct due to fishing practices and coastal developments. This is having a hugely negative effect on shellfish populations and damaging entire sensitive ecosystems. As a specific example, it points out that 85% of the world's ocean reefs have already been lost.
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Survey Finds Americans Believe Hybrid Technology Is Strategically Important for US, Too Expensive to Buy
Wednesday, May 20 2009
Results from a comprehensive survey about American's opinions regarding hybrids.
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Largest wind farm to be expanded
Wednesday, May 20 2009
Europe's largest onshore wind farm, located in Scotland, is going to grow from 140 to 176 turbines.
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Canadian Research Team Reports Major Breakthrough in Lithium Battery Technology
Tuesday, May 19 2009
A Canadian research team is attempting to leap-frog typical Lithium Ion batteries by focusing on Lithium-Sulfur battery technology. This technology has the opportunity to provide three times the energy density of Lithium Ion according to their results, meaning a battery of the same size could store three times as much energy.
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Hitachi Develops Fourth-Generation, High Power Automotive Lithium-Ion Battery with 4,500 W/kg
Tuesday, May 19 2009
Hitachi has developed a new Lithium Ion battery with 1.7 times the output of its mass produced battery. This means that it can store more energy while weighing less, reducing overall vehicle weight.
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Obama to Tighten Fuel-Economy Standards
Tuesday, May 19 2009
The US Government announced new vehicle fuel efficiency standards that pull together the national plan and that California and other states were proposing. All vehicle classes will need to improve, preventing manufacturers from producing just a few very efficient vehicles to balance out not improving the efficiency of SUVs and trucks. The minimum overall standard will be 35.5 mpg by 2016. Cars will need an average of 39 mpg and trucks will need to get 30 mpg. This represents about a 30% increase from current standards.
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The Real Patriot Act
Tuesday, May 19 2009
A panel of 12 retired generals and admirals has just released the latest in a series of reports warning that climate change is a matter of national security for more than just oil issues. They report that volatility in prices as a result of energy markets causes military, diplomatic, and economic vulnerabilities.
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Magnetic road strips could power electric cars
Monday, May 18 2009
Idea being tested in South Korea that would charge electric vehicles using magnetic induction by putting magnetic strips on roadways.
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Stanford Professor Urges EPA to Include Black Carbon in Endangerment Finding
Monday, May 18 2009
Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson urged the EPA to include black carbon in its endangerment finding, claiming that it can be the single largest factor to slowing Arctic warming if controlled now. Black carbon, or soot, is released from the burning of fossil fuels and has accounted for 12.5-15% of gross global warming. US black soot emissions account for more global warming than methane or nitrous oxide, which are in the endangerment finding, according to the reports cited by Professor Jacobson.
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GE Transportation Unveils New Evolution Series Locomotive
Monday, May 18 2009
GE unveiled a new low-emissions locomotive that has a 17% reduction in fuel consumption and 70% reduction in emissions.
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UK Researchers Developing Rechargeable Lithium-Air Battery
Monday, May 18 2009
Researchers at the University of St. Andrews in the UK are halfway through a project to develop lithium-air batteries with up to 10 times the capacity of current lithium-ion batteries.
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Waxman/Markey Bill Accelerates Infrastructure and Build-out for Plug-Ins, Calls for Harmonization of Motor Vehicle GHG Standards
Sunday, May 17 2009
The Cap and Trade bill in the House, HR 2454, includes provisions to increase transportation energy efficiency, including from heavy duty vehicles and airplanes as well as provisions for increasing electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
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World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Array To Go Ahead
Sunday, May 17 2009
A 1 GW offshore wind farm will begin providing energy to as many as one quarter of greater London households by 2012.
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Elektromotive Debuts Tool for Monitoring and Invoicing Electricity Drawn from Charging Stations
Friday, May 15 2009
UK-based company Elektromotive has introduced a tool for monitoring and invoicing electricity drawn from vehicle charging stations called EBConnect. It will be installed at all Elektrobay charging stations, which there are already more than 160 of in the UK.
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DOE Report Assesses Potential for CO2 Storage Beneath Federal Lands
Friday, May 15 2009
The DOE released a report showing where carbon could potentially be stored under millions of acres of federal lands.
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Nestlé Purina introduced a new solar-power plant
Thursday, May 14 2009
Nestlé Purina and REC Solar Inc. are working together to install the largest privately owned solar-panel power system in Colorado. It can produce 100 kilowatts of power, about 1 percent of the plant’s electricity needs and the cost will be recouped within the first year.
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House OKs $6.4 billion to make schools greener
Thursday, May 14 2009
The US House of Representatives approved a modernization bill that includes $6.4 billion dollars to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing schools by reducing energy consumption and installing clean energy systems.
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Toyota to Lease More Than 150 Experimental Li-Ion PHEVs in Europe
Tuesday, May 12 2009
Toyota will lease more than 150 units of its experimental Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) in Europe. It is planning on deploying more than 500 by 2010.
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Going bananas for energy in Africa
Tuesday, May 12 2009
Banana peels are being mixed with sawdust to make briquettes that can be burned for heat and cooking in some regions of Africa where bananas are a staple crop.
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Hybrids and EVs May Capture 10% Of Japan New Car Sales in Fiscal 2009
Tuesday, May 12 2009
It is being estimated that hybrid and electric car sales could make up about 10% of Japan's vehicle sales.
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GE to Open Sodium-Metal Halide Battery Plant in New York
Tuesday, May 12 2009
GE plans to open a Sodium-Metal Halide battery plant in upstate New York for the rail, marine, mining, telecommunications and utility sectors. GE says that facility will produce approximately 10 million sodium-metal halide cells each year (900 MWh of energy storage) and that they will likely be used in GE's hybrid locomotive, set to be commercialized in 2010.
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Insight Becomes First Hybrid Vehicle to Rank as Best-Selling Vehicle in Japan
Monday, May 11 2009
The Honda Insight replaced the Honda Fit as the number one selling car in Japan in April, making it the first time a hybrid has topped the list.
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In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars
Monday, May 11 2009
Story about a car-free suburb in Germany and attempts to build car-reduced communities all over the world.
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'Distributed power' to save Earth
Monday, May 11 2009
An economist at the Research Connections 2009 conference in Prague makes the case for a pan-European strategy of small-scale energy generation and smart energy grids to help address climate and economic problems.
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China Car Sales Likely Hit New Record in April
Thursday, May 07 2009
According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), sales of automobiles likely reached a record high of 1.15 million units for the month of April.
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$26.4B DOE FY 2010 Budget Request Cuts Funding for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
Thursday, May 07 2009
The US Department of Energy released its budget, in which there were increases for plug-in hybrid technology, biomass, energy conservation, renewable energy, and smart grid technology. There were cuts for nuclear energy and hydrogen fuel cell technology.
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Renault-Nissan Alliance Partners with Singapore Government for EVs
Thursday, May 07 2009
The Renault-Nissan Alliance are working with the Singapore government to explore the development of zero emissions vehicles.
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SAIC to Introduce Series of Hybrids, PHEVs and EVs By 2012
Wednesday, May 06 2009
SAIC has made a commitment to producing a series of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and electric vehicles by 2012. They have invested US$877 million on the effort.
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Minnesota RFS Now Requires 5% Biodiesel
Wednesday, May 06 2009
Minnesota’s Renewable Fuel Standard now requires that diesel fuel contain a 5% blend of biodiesel, up from its previous requirement of 2%.
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Scrappage Scheme Moving Forward in US Congress
Wednesday, May 06 2009
The United States Congress is working on a "cash for clunkers" bill that offers vouchers to people turning in inefficient vehicles and purchasing ones of higher efficiency. Under the plan, passenger cars getting under 18mpg can be traded in for $3500 if the new vehicle is at least 4mpg higher than the old, or $4500 for a 10mpg improvement. New light duty trucks or SUVs get $3500 or $4500 if they were less than 18mpg and the new vehicle is 2 or 5mpg higher than the old, respectively. Large light duty trucks that get less than 15mpg are eligible for vouchers worth $3500 and $4500 if the new vehicle is 1 or 2mpg higher than the old, respectively. And finally, work trucks are worth $3500 if they were built before 2002 regardless of fuel economy because of the efficiency of the newer vehicles that even get the same mileage.
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Two More Hydrogenics Fuel Cell MidiBuses In Operation in Europe
Wednesday, May 06 2009
There are now ten of these hydrogen fuel cell buses in use in Europe. The hydrogen fuel cell/battery hybrids make it 200 km (124 miles) on one fill of hydrogen. The buses also take advantage of combined heat and power (CHP), using waste heat from the fuel cell to warm the bus in cool temperatures.
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Testing Finds Proterra Electric Transit Bus Achieves More Than 20 mpg Diesel Equivalent
Tuesday, May 05 2009
Testing of an all electric bus found that it could top 20 mpg diesel equivalent, better than 5 times the efficiency of comparable diesel buses.
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President Obama Establishes Biofuels Interagency Working Group
Tuesday, May 05 2009
This group would work together to ensure continued investment in biofuels plants, renewable generation plants, and other supporting facilities. It pushes for more widespread commercialization and adoption of biofuels.
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OriginOil Partners With Desmet Ballestra to Commercialize Single-Step Extraction Technology for Algae Oil
Tuesday, May 05 2009
OriginOil and Desmet Ballestra are working together to process algae oil in a way that skips the energy-intensive dewatering process. This would reduce the energy intensity of the process by up to 90% and reduce costs to about $200 per metric ton of oil. This would produce straight vegetable oil (SVO) that could be used in modified engines or further refined into biodiesel.
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EPA Proposes New Regulations for Renewable Fuel Standard to Implement Requirements of EISA
Tuesday, May 05 2009
The US EPA released revised standards for the amount of biofuel of specific types that must be produced each years and the greenhouse gas reductions that fuel must provide. It takes into account indirect land use changes in its life cycle greenhouse gas reduction calculations.
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Skyline Solar mixes old technology with new
Monday, May 04 2009
A California solar company is looking to reduce the cost of silicon solar cells by using tracking aluminum troughs. This saves money by reducing the amount of silicon needed and by using aluminum as opposed to mirrors for a reflecting surface.
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After tornado, town rebuilds by going green
Monday, May 04 2009
Story of Greensburg, Kansas, which was wiped out by a tornado two years ago and is taking advantage of the opportunity to rebuild the town as a model of sustainability.
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NYPD Adds 40 Altima Hybrid Patrol Cars to Fleet
Monday, May 04 2009
The NYPD began using the first 40 of the 100 planned Nissan Altima hybrids expected to be deployed this year.
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Hawaii State Legislature Raises Tax on Petroleum from $0.05 to $1.05 per Barrel
Sunday, May 03 2009
The Hawaii state legislature increased taxes on petroleum 2000%.
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Bartender helps turn wine to water in developing world
Friday, May 01 2009
Story a bartender from North Carolina that raised money through wine tasting events to fund clean water projects around the world. He then not only raised the money for the projects, but worked himself on installing clean water infrastructure in 5 countries.
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Government 'missing own CO2 goal'
Friday, May 01 2009
A report from the Sustainable Development Commission found that UK government departments were missing their own targets for emissions reductions by 2011-2012.
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Electric cars for remote estates
Monday, April 27 2009
A remote community in Scotland is considering getting electric vehicles powered by micro-renewable setups to lower their carbon footprint.
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Ladybug, ladybug, don't fly away home
Sunday, April 26 2009
Cornell University is recruiting citizen scientists all over the country to report on different ladybugs that they see and in what quantities to try to track the movements of lady bug populations that appear to be inexplicably moving or disappearing.
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'Clean' coal plants get go-ahead
Thursday, April 23 2009
The UK will allow 2-4 new coal power plants if they capture and store 25% of the carbon they would normally release.
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Miami's Smart Grid: A Blueprint for the Power Future
Wednesday, April 22 2009
The city of Miami is launching a $200 million smart-grid initiative that would connect nearly every home and business in Miami-Dade County by 2011.
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Afghans get first national park
Wednesday, April 22 2009
Band-e-Amir has been declared Afghanistan's first national park.
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Is the Future of Electric Cars in China?
Tuesday, April 21 2009
Article about Chinese car companies and government subsidies that are pushing the country towards more electric vehicles.
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Obama unveils high-speed passenger rail plan
Thursday, April 16 2009
The Obama administration identified 10 potential transportation corridors all over the country that could use investments in high speed rail as an alternative to road or air transportation. The administration is planning billions in investment in these projects.
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Plan to boost electric car sales
Thursday, April 16 2009
The UK government announced subsidies of up to £5,000 to encourage the public to buy electric or plug-in hybrid cars as they become available in the next couple of years.
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Solar power captured in space, beamed to Earth
Tuesday, April 14 2009
Utility company PG&E wants to put solar panels in orbit and wirelessly beam energy down to Earth by 2016.
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Dirty energy threat to green Brazil
Monday, April 13 2009
Recent discoveries of oil and difficult permitting processes for hydro electric plants are causing Brazil to turn towards dirty fuels.
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Chrysler developing electric sports car for 2010
Monday, April 13 2009
Chrysler is planning on releasing the Roadster, a battery-powered 268-horsepower two-seat sports car, in 2010.
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Dry Taps in Mexico City: A Water Crisis Gets Worse
Saturday, April 11 2009
The Mexican government is needing to ship in water by truck to try to meet the demand of Mexico City, and outages affecting up to a quarter of the city have been seen.
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Health risks of shipping pollution have been 'underestimated'
Thursday, April 09 2009
Studies are beginning to show that pollution from shipping may have been underestimated up until now. It is estimated that pollution from the world's 90,000 cargo ships leads to 60,000 deaths a year in the US alone and costs up to $330bn per year in health costs from lung and heart diseases. It is estimated that 15 of the world's largest container ships emit as much cancer and asthma producing pollution as all the world's cars.
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A Solar-Powered Solution to Florida Sprawl
Thursday, April 09 2009
Syd Kitson, a former NFL lineman, has plans to turn a ranch into a sustainable community with energy efficient buildings, solar power, a smart grid, and electric cars. The photovoltaic power plant itself would be twice as large as the current largest photovoltaic plant.
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UK Groups Taking Advantage of Citizen Scientists
Thursday, April 02 2009
A number of groups in the UK are asking average citizens to take stock of the reptiles and amphibians found in their gardens and report back. Many are relying on citizen scientists, as those who volunteer to report this information are called, to get a better idea of the state of reptile and amphibian populations across the region.
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Tesla rolls out new sedan
Monday, March 30 2009
Tesla plans to produce about 20,000 all electric sedans costing about $50,000 a piece starting in 2011.
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Biggest Solar Deal Ever Announced - 1.3 Gigawatts in California
Wednesday, February 11 2009
California power company Southern California Edison has signed on to a new concentrating solar thermal plant capable of producing 1300 Megawatts. This makes it larger than any nuclear plant. The system will be in the desert outside Los Angeles, and is scheduled for completion in 2013
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Fighting hunger with flood-tolerant rice
Thursday, February 05 2009
Scientists have been working on producing more flood tolerant varieties of rice in order to lower the loses in rice harvest that occur every year due to flooding conditions.
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How Not to Save the Fish
Wednesday, February 04 2009
Problems with overfishing and the ineffectiveness of voluntary measures to fish more sustainably.
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Climate Change Could Drain Great Lakes
Thursday, January 29 2009
Discovery article about the history of the Great Lakes. Recent research has shown that in the past, despite recent consistency, the Great Lakes have experienced changes in rainfall that resulted in a 20 foot drop in level, making connections between the lakes impassable.
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10 Next Generation Green Technologies
Thursday, January 29 2009
TIME review of 10 next generation green technologies that have the potential to make a huge difference in the next few years.
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Tyson Foods + Syntroleum Fuel Corp = America’s First Renewable Synthetic Fuel Facility Now Under Construction
Thursday, January 22 2009
Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Fuel Corp. have joined forces and begun construction on a new Louisiana facility with 75 million gallon per year (gpy) potential; this is the nation’s first renewable synthetic fuel endeavor. Planned for startup in 2010, the facility will convert animal fats and greases into “ultra clean renewable diesel and jet fuel.”
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Secondary forest should become new conservation initiative
Monday, January 19 2009
The article discusses why it is important to conserve secondary growth forests and agroforestry areas in addition to primary forests. These areas are important for biodiversity and support a variety of bird populations and other animals. This is a summary of a symposium given by Robin Chazdon, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut.
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Selling companies on the power of trash
Monday, January 19 2009
IST Energy sees a big future for its onsite waste-conversion system. Could this at long last be the forbearer of the Mr. Fusion?
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Utilities Back 'Climate Friendly' Energy Technologies
Thursday, January 15 2009
The industry association of U.S. electric utilities on Wednesday published what its members say are the most promising technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It included efficiency and renewables in the short-term, nuclear in the medium- to long-term, CCS, smarter grid technologies, PHEVs, and electric vehicles.
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Tompkins County makes bold plans for emissions reduction
Thursday, January 15 2009
The Tompkins County Legislature passed an amendment in December calling for Tompkins to decrease its greenhouse gas output by 80 percent over the next 40 years through several methods of increased efficiency and encouragement of environmentally friendly development. Efforts over the past few years have already been shown to save considerable amounts of money and energy every year.
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Energy-saving plan approved by state regulators
Thursday, January 15 2009
State energy regulators have approved plans by four utilities to start offering grants within weeks for energy-efficiency projects designed to help the state meet its goal of reducing energy use by 15 percent by 2015. Examples of these projects include grant programs for more efficient air conditioners for residences and more efficient lights, refrigeration systems and other equipment for small businesses.
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Why Global Warming Portends a Food Crisis
Tuesday, January 13 2009
Article from Time Magazine about the potential food crisis we face if climate change continues as expected. According to the article, there is a 90% chance that the average temperature in the growing system by 2100 will be hotter than our hottest days currently, causing severe damage to crops.
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A New Kind of Science
Tuesday, January 13 2009
Researchers in every field of "Big Science" are more and more frequently turning to a legion of "citizen scientists"--average people, interested in science, who commit to gathering mountains of detailed data to assist in the process of answering big, long-term science questions.
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Does the U.S. Need a New National Electrical Grid?
Sunday, January 11 2009
Editorial addressing the need for a new national electrical grid. It points out how old the technology and infrastructure of the electrical grid is and that new, more efficient technologies are ready to go today.
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Heat may spark world food crisis
Friday, January 09 2009
Half the world's population could face a climate-induced food crisis by 2100, a new report by US scientists warns. This article describes the problems climate change poses for our staple food crops and debunks the myth that we can just move crops north as the world warms.
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Hawaii Plans Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Thursday, January 08 2009
Hawaii has partnered with project better place and expects to have multiple charging and battery swap stations in place by 2012.
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First flight of algae-fuelled jet
Thursday, January 08 2009
A US airline has completed the first test flight of a plane partly powered by biofuel derived from algae.
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Coulomb's Electric Vehicle Charging Stations are Live in San Jose
Tuesday, January 06 2009
Coulomb is offering electricity for electric or plug-in vehicles through their subscription plans at 3 locations in San Jose.
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Wasting Our Watts
Tuesday, January 06 2009
Very good Time Magazine article about the importance of energy efficiency, the different types of efficiency and the distinction between efficiency and conservation.
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The Net-Zero Gas Tax
Sunday, January 04 2009
Columnist Charles Krauthammer writes about the once-in-a-generation opportunity we have to significantly increase the gas tax and correspondingly cut the payroll tax to lower demand for petroleum without costing consumers anything and without increasing or decreasing the size of the government.
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As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions
Saturday, January 03 2009
Environmentally conscious farmers are looking to capture and use greenhouse gases produced by the animals in order to reduce the overall impact of eating meat.
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Nuclear's Comeback: Still No Energy Panacea
Saturday, January 03 2009
Nuclear power is gaining popularity, however there are concerns over the capital costs of new plants.
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In Obama's Team, Two Camps on Climate
Saturday, January 03 2009
Barack Obama faces conflicting views among his top advisers on the balance between the environment and the economy.
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First Solar Energy Plant Completed in Iran
Friday, January 02 2009
Iran inaugurated its first solar energy power plant this week, adding 250 KW of solar energy to the country’s grid.
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A Citizen-Powered Energy Grid in 2009: A Case Study in Solar
Friday, January 02 2009
Case study on the advantages of community solar installations.
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Utilities Offer ‘Green’ Nuclear Plans to Customers
Thursday, January 01 2009
Utilities that support nuclear energy are trying to increase their popularity by talking about them as a green alternative to coal and natural gas.
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Nicaragua adds wind power to energy mix
Thursday, January 01 2009
A third of country's energy already comes from geothermal, dams, ethanol, now they are making major investments into wind energy.
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NZ Airline Flies Jet Partly Run on Veg. Oil
Tuesday, December 30 2008
One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel.
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Plenty more fish in the sea? No longer
Tuesday, December 30 2008
Fisherman world-wide are catching fewer, smaller fish. It is predicted that if things continue as they are, none of the fishes consumed by humans may remain viable in the wild.
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MSU receives $66.9 million carbon sequestration
Monday, December 29 2008
The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday awarded a $66.9 million, eight-year grant to a research partnership headed by Montana State University to test new methods of using coal and other fossil fuels without contributing to global climate change.
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Carbon Limits, Yes; Energy Subsidies, No
Monday, December 29 2008
Editorial supporting a carbon tax system, but that warns against using the money for the government to try to select the next renewable energy technology through subsidies.
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Cookies in the News
Sunday, December 28 2008
Coookkkiieeeeesssssss! Lots of text that won't matter once this is deleted, like text about cookies and milk and eating cookies and making cookies and chocolate chip cookies, et cetera et cetera et cetera.
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A dry continent demands creative solutions
Sunday, December 28 2008
Australia has been in such a deep drought for so long that they are looking towards a variety of solutions, including a desalination plant, to obtain enough water.
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Coal Industry Touts CCS Investments, Think Tank Claims It's Not Enough
Tuesday, December 23 2008
There are many who believe that the coal industry is not investing enough in CCS to actually make a meaningful change.
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Mapping Renewable Energy, Rooftop by Rooftop
Monday, December 22 2008
An engineering company is working with the US Dept. of Energy to provide rooftop by rooftop measurements of solar energy potential using Google Maps for 25 American cities, with San Francisco already completed. This will help to take some of the risk guesswork out of the process of doing a financial and energy analysis on a potential solar energy system.
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Carbon auction nets $106.5 million for 10 states
Friday, December 19 2008
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative had its second auction of permits for carbon emissions. Polluters in 10 Northeastern states will be required to posses these permits by the time the program starts.
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New York Creates Statewide Recycling Program for Plastic Bags
Saturday, December 13 2008
A new law in New York State requires all large grocers and retailers that offer plastic bags to their customers to provide collection bins for a wide variety of plastic bags and wraps.
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Better Place Joins Subaru, Other Japanese Carmakers In Ministry of Environment Electric Vehicle Project
Monday, December 08 2008
etter Place, the world’s leading mobility operator, today announced that it is joining Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru automobiles, and other Japanese carmakers in the first Ministry of Environment, electric-vehicle (EV) project in Japan.
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Better Place Plugs First Charge Spot to Electric Car
Monday, December 08 2008
Better Place Unveils Design and Deployment of Charging Spot and Electric Parking Lots in Israel
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28 States To Get Smartlet Electric Vehicle Charging Station Distributors, Entire US + Canada Early Next Year
Tuesday, December 02 2008
Coulomb Technologies is partnering with resellers all over the country to distribute their charging technology.
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Going Green: Weatherproof Your Home
Monday, December 01 2008
Article discussing weatherproofing and overall sealing your home as one of the best things you can do to help save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. It points out that this does not rely on new technologies and that it can be relatively inexpensive through energy savings and federal tax incentives.
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The 10 big energy myths
Thursday, November 27 2008
The Guardian addresses 10 very popular myths about renewable energy that exist in popular culture and that make discussions about renewable energy more difficult.
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Hot Home Wind Turbines You Can Actually Buy, Plus One You Wish You Could
Monday, November 24 2008
An overview of a few wind turbines on the market currently.
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Firm envisions network of electric-vehicle charging sites
Friday, November 21 2008
A Palo Alto company is looking to install 250,000 charging points and 100 battery swap stations in the San Francisco Bay Area by 2012.
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The Food Miles Mistake
Tuesday, November 04 2008
Discusses the possible pitfalls of being too religious a follower of food miles, bringing up the fact that food miles are just one part of the equation. For example, driving an SUV many miles to remote farmers' markets may not better than walking down the road to a convenience store to buy foreign foods. It is also important to note that buying local only makes sense if you are replacing foreign goods with those that are easily grown locally. It is no use buying local fruit if it took twice as much energy to grow it locally.
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IBM Burlington, Vermont, Receives 2007 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award
Thursday, October 30 2008
Reducing waste generation and improving process efficiencies in its semiconductor manufacturing operations has been a continual focus at IBM Burlington. Each year, many thousands of silicon wafers reach the end of their useful life or are rejected for a number of reasons before being shipped to a customer. Historically, the scrap silicon from wafer manufacturing operations was ground and sent to a landfill for disposal. IBM monitor wafers at the end of their life are now being sold to the manufacturers of solar panels as raw material for the production of photovoltaic cells.
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Tax credits offer incentives for plug-in vehicles
Thursday, October 30 2008
Plug-in electric vehicles from General Motors and Toyota are not expected to hit showrooms for more than a year, but when they arrive, the first buyers will be eligible for a tax credit that could reach $7,500.
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'Smart' appliances could ease electrical-grid woes
Wednesday, October 29 2008
Article on the potential impact of smart appliances on reducing the peak load of the energy grid.
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What the Public Doesn't Get About Climate Change
Tuesday, October 28 2008
Report on a study that interviewed graduate students at MIT and showed how little even they understood about climate change and the need for action. The article makes the argument that scientists can not just hope to solve the problem without the rest of the general public understanding what the problem is and what needs to be done.
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World's Fastest Production Car to Go Electric
Saturday, October 25 2008
SSC is developing the Ultimate Aero EV, a 500 bhp electric sports car that will come to market in late 2009
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Wind Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Available in Australia
Friday, October 24 2008
Project Better Place is installing wind powered electric vehicle charging stations in Australia.
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European Scientists: 'Let's Set Up A Global Solar Energy Grid'
Friday, October 24 2008
Article discussing the different new generation solar generation technologies that we could be seeing in the future and their potentials to produce a large percentage of the energy our planet needs.
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House Finally Releases Plan for Carbon Cap and Trade
Thursday, October 09 2008
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have released theirdraft legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal is modeled after the Senate bill that was introduced, debated, but not voted on earlier this year.
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One Quarter of World's Mammals Face Extinction
Monday, October 06 2008
A new survey by more than 1700 scientists found that of the world's 5,487 mammal species, one in four are facing imminent extinction and about half are in decline while only 5% are mounting a recovery. Reasons for this decline range from hunting to habitat loss to even some attempts to curb climate change that do not look at all their impacts. Climate change looks to only make this situation worse, but supposed fixes to reduce carbon must also look at impacts on wildlife.
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Ecosystem May Get Endangered Species Protection
Wednesday, October 01 2008
The federal government took a new, ecosystem-based approach to the endangered species list on Tuesday, proposing an all-at-once addition of 48 species, including plants, two birds and a fly, that live only on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
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President Clinton Spotlights LeapFrog, First Microinsurance Firm
Sunday, September 28 2008
At the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting last week in New York City, former President Bill Clinton announced the launch of LeapFrog Investments, the world's first investment firm to focus on the insurance needs of low-income people.
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Global Crop Diversity Trust: the Search for 'Climate-Proof' Food
Tuesday, September 23 2008
The Global Crop Diversity Trust, the group who brought us the Doomsday Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway are in a global hunt of the world’s seedbanks for ‘climate proof’ crop varieties.
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Five plug-in vehicle charging stations now operating in Portland and Salem
Monday, September 22 2008
Portland General Electric completed the installation of five plug-in vehicle charging stations, enough to charge 12 vehicles, in the Portland and Salem area.
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China Planning Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Sunday, September 21 2008
China is installing electric vehicle charging stations in 10 cities around the country with the intention of having 1 in 10 future vehicles produced be electrical vehicles.
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Google & GE Joining Forces to Bring You Geothermal Power, Plug-In Vehicles and a Smart Grid
Thursday, September 18 2008
Google and GE are coming together to attempt to work on both the policy and technological side of improving geothermal energy, plug-in vehicles, and the smart electrical grid.
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PG&E Ups In-House Demand Response — Utility Trend?
Friday, September 05 2008
PG&E is joining 3rd party companies like EnerNOC and Comverge in the demand response market, where consumers are given incentives for reducing electrical loads during peak hours
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Germany leads 'clean coal' pilot
Wednesday, September 03 2008
This mini power plant is a pilot project for carbon capture and storage (CCS) - the first coal-fired plant in the world ready to capture and store its own CO2 emissions.
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The revival of passive design
Thursday, August 28 2008
Blog about the revival of passive design techniques that have been popular in every pre-industrial society.
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Staking the Vampire: The Future of Recharging
Monday, August 11 2008
Devices that are plugged in but not in use consume between 200 and 400 terawatt hours (TWh) per year, according to the International Energy Agency. Other research pegs the not-in-use drain from 5 to 25 percent of all residential energy used in the U.S., with numbers rising. A large portion of this is due to AC to DC transformers that let off a large amount of waste heat.
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Seed bank could sow food-supply solutions
Monday, August 11 2008
Native Seeds/SEARCH is a seed bank that specializes in creating drought-tolerant seeds from the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
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Cement from CO2: A Concrete Cure for Global Warming?
Thursday, August 07 2008
A California company is looking to take CO2 from a natural gas power plant to create concrete.
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'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution
Thursday, July 31 2008
MIT has produced a new hydrogen storage system that acts more like photosynthesis than current electrolysis techniques, which require highly artificial environments. This new system works at room temperature in water of a neutral pH, which makes it easier to set up and maintain.
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EPRI, GM, 34 Utilities Collaborate to Advance Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Tuesday, July 29 2008
GM is working with utilities to make sure that when they produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the infrastructure to use them will be there.
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PGE reveals electric charging stations
Tuesday, July 29 2008
Portland General Electric Co. on Tuesday unveiled the first of a dozen new electric charging stations.
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Finding and Fixing a Home’s Power Hogs
Sunday, July 27 2008
WHILE we all worry about where we’re going to get more energy in an increasingly energy-obsessed world, there’s also another alternative: Use less power. According to some, the degree of waste is so big that it makes investing in energy management look far more viable for fighting global warming than any alternative energy source.
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Coulomb unveils electric-car charging stations
Tuesday, July 22 2008
The city of San Jose, Calif., will be the first to test electric-car charging stations from start-up Coulomb Technologies.
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'Smart' electric grids to ease zap from plug-ins?
Tuesday, July 22 2008
A project funded by the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory will test bidirectional battery chargers and "smart" grids that could prevent U.S. electric grid overload from plug-in vehicles.
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Smartlet Charging Stations An Idea To Recharge Your Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
Tuesday, July 22 2008
Coulomb Technologies has come up with a technology that could deliver a vehicle recharging technology to municipalities and parking lot owners by the end of the year.
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University of Nottingham Developing New Large-Scale Energy Storage Device Combining Properties of Supercapacitors and Batteries
Saturday, June 21 2008
Researchers at the University of Nottingham (UK), supported by €1.4m (US$2.2 million) from E.ON, one of Europe’s leading power and gas companies, are developing new energy storage systems for use with renewable energy generation including a device that combines the properties of supercapacitors and batteries (“supercapattery”) and undersea compressed air storage bags.
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Solar Power Group: First commercial Solar-thermal power plant in Spain
Thursday, June 19 2008
In May 2008, the German Solar Power Group GmbH and the Spanish Laer S.L. agreed upon the joint execution of a solar thermal power plant in central Spain. This will be the first commercial solar thermal power plant in Spain based on the Fresnel collector technology of the Solar Power Group.
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Ottawa student may hold secret to Water For All
Thursday, June 05 2008
In 2004, Mr. Qtaishat approached the Middle East Desalination Research Centre in Oman to fund his startup, called Water for All, and presented his method for developing a far more efficient way of turning seawater into drinking water.
Although Mr. Qtaishat's solution is top secret while the patent is still pending, he says refining the process is all about the type of material used in the membrane. With this new material, his prototype is able to run on solar panels and produce 50 kilograms of water per metre square of the membrane per hour. That is 600 to 700 per cent more efficient than current technology, which produces about seven to eight kilograms per metre per hour.
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Tapping the oceans
Thursday, June 05 2008
Economist article about the potential for desalination to solve some of the world's water shortage problems and the problems associated with desalination technology currently.
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Electric Vehicle Charging Continues to Spread Across London
Thursday, May 29 2008
Article discusses the continued increase in the availability of charging locations in London for electric vehicles.
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Carbon Cap And Trade - A Looming Battle Among States
Tuesday, May 20 2008
This article discusses the amount of money that is potentially going to come out of any carbon taxing system and the potential winners and losers at the state level.
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Nanowires May Boost Solar Cell Efficiency, UC San Diego Engineers Say
Wednesday, May 14 2008
Experimental Solar Cells Spiked with Nanowires Show Promise as Efficient Thin-Film Solar Cells of Future
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Project Better Place Might Charge Up SF
Tuesday, May 13 2008
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is in talks with electric vehicle startup Project Better Place about building the infrastructure for a fleet of plug-in cars in the city, including parking meter charging stations and battery replacement stations.
Click to read the full story.
Hydro-Alchemy
Friday, May 09 2008
Energy Recovery is a company that produces a product that greatly reduces the cost of desalination by recovering energy from reverse osmosis processes.
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Creative Ways to Reuse "Disposable" Items
Sunday, May 04 2008
Creative uses for supposedly disposable household products.
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Sweden's carbon-tax solution to climate change puts it top of the green list
Tuesday, April 29 2008
Sweden's attempts to reduce carbon emissions have put it at the top of the list of countries doing the most to reduce carbon emissions for the second year in row. They have reduced emissions by 9% from 1990 to 2006. This article goes through some of the unique ideas that have allowed Sweden to be such a leader in this field.
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California firm to produce electric charging stations
Saturday, April 19 2008
California company working to create public charging stations for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles
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How to… prepare for a carbon cap-and-trade scheme
Tuesday, April 08 2008
Article on how businesses can prepare for the impending reality of a carbon tax or cap and trade system.
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Frito-Lay solar system puts the sun in SunChips, takes advantage of renewable energy
Friday, April 04 2008
A five-acre field near the Frito-Lay plant will have 54,000 square feet of mirrors to capture the sun's rays. Half are installed now. This heat will be converted into steam to heat the oil used to cook SunChips.
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BrightSource Energy signs whopper solar contract with PG&E
Monday, March 31 2008
BrightSource Energy will build 500 megawatts' worth of solar thermal power plants for Pacific Gas & Electric in California, and the contract contains an option for PG&E to order another 400 megawatts on top of that. The deal is the largest yet in the solar thermal world when the option is added.
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A Visit To The Doomsday Vault
Sunday, March 23 2008
60 Minutes look at the Svalbard "Doomsday" Seed Vault.
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Desalination gets a serious look
Friday, March 21 2008
It isn’t cheap and it requires lots of energy, but fresh water from the ocean might be part of Southern Nevada’s future as other sources dry up.
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Samurai-Sword Maker's Reactor Monopoly May Cool Nuclear Revival
Wednesday, March 12 2008
The replacement of old nuclear reactors and production of additional capacity may hit a bottleneck due to the fact that there is only one plant in the world capable of producing nuclear containment vessels. Even though the plant is doubling capacity, it still will not be able to meet the growing potential demand.
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Boulder, Colorado to Be Fully Integrated Smart Electricity City
Wednesday, March 12 2008
Xcel Energy announced that it will put in motion its vision to make Boulder, Colo. the nation’s first fully integrated Smart Grid City.
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Austin Energy's Smart Grid Technologies
Saturday, March 01 2008
Austin Energy is readying itself for smart grid technologies by taking advantage of demand response measures and by changing over to wireless automated meters, increasing efficiency and lowering costs.
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Carbon Cap & Trade To Give Middle Eastern, State-Controlled Oil Companies Market Advantage
Sunday, February 24 2008
Interesting story from Treehugger discussing how a global cap and trade system would bring out the hidden environmental impacts of processes like natural gas flaring and would actually benefit Middle Eastern oil because it tends to be the cleanest and least energy intensive.
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£7.4M Oxycoal 2 project given go-ahead
Wednesday, February 20 2008
Doosan Babcock will modify its unique Multi Fuel Burner Test Rig at Renfrew to accommodate Oxyfuel firing on pulverised coal with recycled flue gas and demonstrate the operation of a full scale 40 MW burner for use in coal-fired boilers, suitable both for new power plants being built around the world and for retrofit applications.
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B.C. introduces carbon tax
Tuesday, February 19 2008
Province is first jurisdiction in North America to have consumer-based carbon tax.
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A Green Carpet for Home Controls
Friday, February 15 2008
If the utilities do, in fact, finance the replacement of existing meters with those that can provide consumers information about their energy consumption and allow them some control over it, then energy management will become a major conduit in the broader deployment of control systems in U.S. homes.
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Green building means construction recycling at Fountain View in Lincoln Square
Friday, January 25 2008
A new mixed-use building in Lincoln Square is looking to recycle 50% of the material from the building torn down to make room for its construction.
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Lithium Ion Batteries See Potential 10-fold Capacity Improvement
Tuesday, January 15 2008
There has been a recent development in lithium ion batteries that promises to increase capacity by 10 fold. While focusing on small electronics, this could potentially be applied to electric cars.
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A Smarter Electrical Grid
Friday, January 11 2008
Business Week article about the future of home feedback on the amount of energy used by homes and the need for demand response.
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Motorhead Messiah
Thursday, November 01 2007
Article about a man who works to take the most inefficient vehicles on the market and turn them into highly efficient, low impact vehicles.
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Study measures impact of food transport on environment
Monday, October 29 2007
A UK study of the impact on the environment of the food supply chain attempts to broaden the concept of measuring 'kilometres' travelled, to include sourcing, production methods, processing and packaging.
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250 Plug-in Electric Car Charging Stations to be Installed Across the UK
Friday, October 12 2007
250 Charging stations will be installed across the UK by April 2008
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The Compact
Wednesday, October 03 2007
(from the article) "When a group of environmentally concerned friends in San Francisco decided to buy nothing for a year, they unwittingly sparked an international trend."
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A U.S. Cap-and-Trade System to Address Global Climate Change
Monday, October 01 2007
Policy paper discussing the need in the short to medium term for a cap and trade system in the United States. The proposed cap and trade system includes an upstream cap on CO2 emissions with gradual inclusion of other greenhouse gases, a gradual downward trajectory of emissions ceilings over time to minimize disruption and allow firms and households time to adapt, and mechanisms to reduce cost uncertainty. This proposed program would initially give away half of its permits for free and auction off the other half.
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Sacred Spaces, Protected Places
Monday, October 01 2007
Article about attempts to protect sacred areas of Native American tribes, as well as native tribes all over the world, that are also natural spaces.
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Energy island is innovative concept for large-scale electricity storage
Saturday, September 01 2007
The Netherlands is considering a plan for pumped energy storage between the North Sea and a lake downhill from the Sea. This would complement the large amount of wind energy used in the country.
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Consumers concerned about food transport, says survey
Wednesday, August 01 2007
UK study shows that about 40% of people want information on food miles traveled on the products that they buy and that 20% make a conscious decision to avoid foods with high transportation costs.
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U.S. Lawmakers Eye European Carbon ‘Cap-and-Trade’ Fiasco
Tuesday, July 24 2007
The European cap-and-trade permit auction system, in effect since 2005, has resulted in an “administrative nightmare” and imposed huge, unintended costs on businesses and the loss of some jobs, reports Open Europe, a UK think tank.
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Insufficient Protection Of Crop Diversity Centres Threatens World Food Security, WWF Report Contends
Monday, July 23 2007
While protected areas such as national parks have been established to conserve charismatic animal and plant species, very few have been set aside to protect wild plants from which our crops originate, a WWF report reveals.
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Why Desalination Doesn't Work (Yet)
Monday, June 25 2007
Australia's largest scientific research agency joined with nine major universities in a membrane research program to reduce desalination energy costs, as well as maintenance costs associated with gunk sticking to membranes and fouling them up.
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Australia Turns to Desalination Amid Water Shortage
Monday, June 18 2007
A number of cities in Australia are turning to desalination powered by renewable energy to meet water needs.
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Smart meters turn up the heat on those with money to burn
Thursday, June 14 2007
Review of three different smart meters specifically and smart meters in general by a writer for the Guardian, UK.
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Utility-Scale Solar Plant Goes Online in Nevada
Tuesday, June 05 2007
Nevada Solar One, the first concentrating solar power plant in Nevada went on line on Saturday, this 64 megawatt concentrating solar plant is the first modern utility-scale solar electric power plant in the United States. It is the largest solar electric power plant to be built globally in the past 14 years and the third largest solar power plant in the world.
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New Parkland To Benefit Oakville Families For Years To Come
Monday, May 14 2007
Oakville is setting aside 100 acres of environmentally important green space to be added to Ontario's greenbelt and be preserved from development.
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First Successful Demonstration Of Carbon Dioxide Air Capture Technology Achieved
Wednesday, April 25 2007
Global Research Technologies, LLC (GRT), a technology research and development company, and Klaus Lackner from Columbia University have achieved the successful demonstration of a bold new technology to capture carbon from the air. The "air extraction" prototype has successfully demonstrated that indeed carbon dioxide (CO2) can be captured from the atmosphere. This is GRT’s first step toward a commercially viable air capture device.
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Homes to get free energy monitors
Monday, April 16 2007
Every household in the UK will be able to request a free device that shows how much electricity is being used in the home at any one particular moment.
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Tax on Carbon Emissions Gains Support
Sunday, April 01 2007
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill push for a cap-and-trade system to rein in the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, an unlikely alternative has emerged from an ideologically diverse group of economists and industry leaders: a carbon tax.
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While Housing Withers, 'Green' Materials Bloom
Thursday, February 22 2007
Despite the overall downturn in the housing and building materials markets, green building materials have been holding up pretty well and staying in demand.
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"Night Wind" Project to Test Electricity Storage in Refrigerated Warehouses
Monday, February 12 2007
The Night Wind project looks to store energy in refrigerated warehouses by cooling them an additional degree at night when the wind is blowing and allowing them to raise the degree to free up that energy for other consumers during the daytime.
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Real-time Energy Feedback Technology
Thursday, January 25 2007
World Changing background on the basics of feedback monitors and why they are important.
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Norway launches seed bank to safeguard global crops
Tuesday, June 20 2006
A project designed to protect the worlds crop supply was yesterday launched, with the Norwegian government announcing it is to develop a Noah's Arc of global seeds.
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Going Nuclear
Sunday, April 16 2006
Article by an environmental activist calling for a look at nuclear energy again. Among other points, he mentions that the Three Mile Island incident was actually a success.
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Food for thought: Crop diversity is dying
Wednesday, August 17 2005
Historically, humans utilized more than 7,000 plant species to meet their basic food needs, Esquinas says. Today, due to the limitations of modern large-scale, mechanized farming, only 150 plant species are under cultivation, and the majority of humans live on only 12 plant species, according to research by the Food and Agriculture Organization.
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Seed Banks and the Global Crop Diversity Trust
Thursday, June 09 2005
The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), focuses on plants suitable for sustainable agriculture in arid climates. ICARDA banks seeds from 131,000 varieties of plants, gathered from across the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa. Unfortunately, according to a recent editorial in Nature, political tensions between the West and Syria may threaten ICARDA's already tenuous operations. Worse, ICARDA is not alone -- many seed banks elsewhere are struggling to preserve their collections.
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Nuclear Now!
Tuesday, February 01 2005
Editorial in favor of nuclear energy as something better than coal that can be implemented quicker than any renewables.
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Crop Trust to conserve plant diversity
Thursday, October 21 2004
The Global Crop Diversity Trust, an initiative to conserve in perpetuity the Earth's most crucial agricultural biodiversity, entered into force today as an independent international organization.
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Grid 2030
Tuesday, July 01 2003
The Grid 2030 vision is a roadmap to creating a national smart electrical grid.
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World Summit on Sustainable Development
Thursday, August 29 2002
The world could lose its crop diversity -- vital to food security -- if plant gene banks were not immediately safeguarded for future generations, Christopher Higgins, Director of the United Kingdom's Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, said today at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.
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