Super bowl tackles climate change.
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More Solutions StoriesEditorialsBuyers will be key to state goal of cleaner cars.The California Air Resources Board has pushed the envelope yet again. But the history-bending rules will do what they are designed to do – reduce pollution and cut greenhouse gases – only if the public buys the new clean cars in the volumes predicted. That's the big uncertainty. Sacramento Bee 01 Feb Mr. O'Malley's misguided effort to aid Maryland wind projects.Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to erect wind turbines off Maryland’s coast, eventually generating perhaps a third of the state’s electricity. But it’s a bad deal for nearly everyone in Maryland — including people who believe, as we do, in moving away from fossil fuels. Washington Post 31 Jan Mileage regulations are good for air and for California.The cries will surely come, and were already being heard last week: "We can't afford more government interference now! Let the private sector work! This is more job-killing regulation!" In the (useful) cliche of the moment, go call a wahhhmbulance. Pasadena Star-News 30 Jan One climate change solution.Even die-hard climate change skeptics must acknowledge the photographic evidence from satellites showing how soot from auto exhausts, wood stoves and other sources has darkened Himalayan glaciers and the arctic ice sheet, accelerating melting. Charleston Post and Courier 30 Jan Germany's solar crack-up.Germany enjoys, if that's the right word, a thriving solar-energy industry. But the cost of this success, to taxpayers and electricity users alike, has risen to astronomical levels. Wall Street Journal 26 Jan California's clean-car agenda.The need for steady progress toward cleaner tailpipes and engines can't be denied. The air board is taking on the huge but necessary challenge, one that might need adjusting if the facts warrant. But there's little question that cleaner cars should soon rule the road. San Francisco Chronicle 24 Jan Cheap, renewable electricity -- but not for California.Instead of embracing hydroelectricity, right-thinking California environmentalists generally want to tear out dams. But it's absurd to think that dams are as dirty as an old coal plant. Redding Record Searchlight 23 Jan Sooner rather than later on wind energy tax credit.Though 2011 was one of Vestas Wind Systems' best years on record in North America, the forecast for its U.S. operations grows gloomier by the day as Congress comes closer to failing to extend a wind production tax credit. Denver Post 18 Jan OpinionEd Davey's promotion is a great opportunity for a greener future.A new energy secretary for the UK means a new chance for Prime Minister David Cameron to mend fences with the coalition and reaffirm his commitment to making "the greenest government ever." The Guardian 07 Feb Nuclear is not the answer - but not why you'd think.If we are to maintain a planet whose energy inputs are in equilibrium with our outputs, then energy from the Sun is the only possibility. The nuclear reaction taking place inside our nearest star is the only form of energy we can harness at a scale fit to service the billions of us eking out a living on this globe without changing the balance of our energy in-energy out equation. Australia ABC News 06 Feb Let's use sustainable renewable energy sources.Undeniably and regrettably so, increasing demand, seen growing 29 percent this year, will be met by exploiting dangerous carbon-emitting fossil fuels such as coal that has been instrumental in driving the menace of global warming and climate change. Harare Herald 06 Feb Green claims for wind power are a lot of hot air.The big freeze has not just caused major disruption across the country. It has also exposed the hollowness of fashionable green rhetoric about global warming. London Daily Express 06 Feb Time is ripe for wind energy.Though the 2010 census reported a stagnant population growth in Nebraska, a state relatively unaffected by the recession, a statewide transition to capitalize on wind energy potential could revolutionize and reinvigorate the Nebraska economy to one fit for the world of tomorrow. Lincoln Journal Star 04 Feb Once, men abused slaves. Now we abuse fossil fuels.Pointing out the similarities (and differences) between slavery and the use of fossil fuels can help us engage with climate change in a new way. The Guardian 03 Feb Fight against climate change is uphill ride.To combat combat change requires people, business, government and international bodies to work together to make changes that will safeguard our planet's resources and enable our economies to produce sustainable growth and new green jobs. Jewish Chronicle 02 Feb Can the UK achieve its carbon targets without nuclear power?I personally feel there is too much idealism in the argument that we can completely do without nuclear energy. But perhaps the Germanys of this world will prove me wrong? The Guardian 02 Feb |
Another green energy company stumbles.Fisker Automotive, maker of exotic electric sports cars being built with help from a $529 million federal loan, has announced layoffs at its Delaware plant as it tries to persuade the Department of Energy to continue backing it with public money. Center for Public Integrity 07 Feb Energy efficiency: How do you overhaul the way buildings use energy?Jim Freihaut and his team have a five-year charter – one year already down – and $122 million from the federal government to meet this challenge: Convince the Philadelphia construction industry to do deep energy retrofits on some 7,000 commercial buildings, by proving it makes good business sense. ClimateWire 07 Feb Electric cars: 'Plug-ins' look for spark in 2012.Automakers in 2012 will launch 13 plug-in vehicles, running on electricity alone all or most of the time. This is the year that will tell whether the electric car market has a roaring liftoff or a slow-rolling start, analysts say. Christian Science Monitor 07 Feb Offshore wind turbines set to benefit British industries.British industries from boat-building to concrete, and electric cabling to gearbox manufacturing are in the line-up to benefit from the construction of thousands of offshore wind turbines, if new plans go ahead. The Guardian 07 Feb Whiddon goes green.Wingham Whiddon Group has a hand in a more sustainable future after going green and reducing its carbon footprint through a range of improvements made at the facility. In fact, its improvements have been so successful it encourages other businesses to consider doing the same. Wingham Chronicle 07 Feb Making international development aid climate smart.Most aid workers know it doesn't make sense to build a house or install a water pump in a spot that's flooded every year, nor to get farmers to switch to crops that will make them more money now but yield less as temperatures rise. Yet there's no guarantee those types of mistakes still aren't being made. Reuters 07 Feb Carbon capture imperiled from Exxon to Nuon by worst-case scenario: Energy.Dispute over who pays for geological disasters is threatening to derail efforts to combat global warming and put out of reach the $25 billion governments have offered in grants to facilities that would siphon away CO2 from industrial polluters. Bloomberg News 07 Feb Could an artificial volcano cool the planet by dimming the sun?Dimming the sun by engineering the effects of an artificial volcano is a feasible and potentially cost-effective option to reduce temperatures on Earth, the first major study of the practicality of planetary-scale solar radiation management concludes. The Guardian 07 Feb Fisker stops work on Karma to renegotiate federal loan.Fisker Automotive has stopped work at a former General Motors auto plant in Delaware where it plans to build Project Nina, a family-size plug-in hybrid that is expected to sell for about $50,000. Los Angeles Times 07 Feb Big wind farms 'alter climate', but could be used to control the weather.Wind farms are intended to help combat global warming, yet they can themselves alter the climate, say scientists. Sydney Australian 07 Feb Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering.A small group of leading climate scientists, financially supported by billionaires including Bill Gates, are lobbying governments and international bodies to back experiments into manipulating the climate on a global scale to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Guardian 06 Feb Battery boom.Battery makers' factories are built or nearly completed. Yet they also find themselves uncomfortably out in front of their biggest customers—the automakers—and in need of other homes for their products while they wait for the coming electric vehicle revolution. Chemical & Engineering News 06 Feb Diesel makes a clean break.Diesel-powered vehicles used to get a bad rap for being noisy, dirty and slow. But they have been getting an image makeover thanks to "clean diesel" that emits less pollution - a change that could shake up the race with eco-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles. Osaka Daily Yomiuri Shimbun 06 Feb How to make electricity using plants and sunshine.An international consortium of scientists have created a truly green solar cell—and one that can be made from something as common as grass clippings. Scientific American 06 Feb Wind farms can actually increase climate change by raising temperatures and causing downpours, warn academics.They have long been championed as a way to combat global warming by creating clean energy. But wind farms can actually alter the climate according to a new study by a group of American scientists. London Daily Mail 06 Feb Sacrificing the desert to save the Earth.Industrial-scale solar development is well underway in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The federal government has furnished more public property to this cause than it has for oil and gas exploration over the last decade — 21 million acres, more than the area of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties put together. Los Angeles Times 05 Feb Euro Parliament backs low-carbon road map.A European Parliament committee this week approved an EU "road map" to a low-carbon economy that seeks to go beyond current greenhouse gas reduction targets. United Press International 05 Feb A solar farm's slow going.When Bob Keares proposed building Pennsylvania's largest solar farm, he expected a warm reception, certainly from environmentalists. Since announcing his intentions, however, he has been confronted by the expected opponents, but also some he never unexpected: environmentalists. Philadelphia Inquirer 05 Feb Oregon community college partners with SolarWorld and SolarCity for solar-power project.The jarring juxtaposition of sheep grazing quietly beneath hundreds of new solar panels will soon take shape on Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus. Portland Oregonian 05 Feb Cutting carbon is one way of creating jobs.The Calderdale city council is ready to endorse an ambitious £366 million scheme to create 450 jobs, slash energy costs and help save the planet. Halifax Evening Courier 05 Feb Car deal criticized as hurting green sales.When California’s air regulators approved new car-pollution rules to cut down on smog and global warming, they included a provision that critics described as a loophole that could substantially reduce the number of electric vehicles sold in the state in coming years. San Francisco Bay Citizen 05 Feb Scots told: Insulate your homes or pay more in tax.Scots who do not insulate their homes should be forced to pay higher council tax or face increased stamp duty on their property, according to a leading figure in the sector. Edinburgh Scotsman 05 Feb Kwimba district for cheaper sustainable energy.The Chairperson of the Tanzania Specialist Organisation on Community Natural Resources and Biodiversity Conservation says that in 2011 Kwimba district in collaboration with TASONABI and other stakeholders have initiated a programme for construction and use of improved biomass stoves. Dar es Salaam Daily News 05 Feb Height of wind turbine questioned in Quincy, MA.Some residents of Quincy, MA are concerned that a planned Moon Island turbine would mar the view from their homes. But city officials point out that the turbine would be more than a mile away from the nearest residence. Boston Globe 05 Feb Could 2012 be year of the wind turbine?Britain is building more wind turbines this year than ever before with almost 800 turbines due to start spinning across the countryside and around the coast over the next 12 months. The Telegraph 04 Feb |