Yesterday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order that set aside 676,000 acres of federal land out west for the possibility of developing solar projects. Of the huge lot, 351,000 acres are located in the Mojave Desert with the rest located in areas in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
The land will be studied for the next two years and environmental reviews will be performed to determine the ability to safely develop large solar projects. Protected lands are not being considered for these projects. The proposed areas in California could generate 39,000 to 70,000 MW of electricity and serve millions of homes if fully developed.
This news follows promises by Obama and Salazar to have 10 percent of the nation’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2012 and to have 13 commercial-scale solar projects under construction by the end of 2010. The two-year study will open up the areas to leasing by private companies and will cost about $22 million.
via LA Times
Read Full Post »
Sometimes, even electric vehicles aren’t good enough for the die-hard green car set.
Read Full Post »
Much of environmental management has been reactive. Human action (excess or unwise use or both) created problems; overtime, the problems became apparent and need for solutions inescapable. Remedies had to be found and put in place.
Picture: Smog in Los Angeles, Courtsey: Nathan via Flickr.com under creative commons license.
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
The EPA is granting California’s waiver request that allows the state to enforce its own greenhouse gas emissions standards for new motor vehicles, according to an announcement made by the agency early this morning.
With this decision, the EPA is returning to its traditional legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act from nearly 40 years ago.
“This decision puts the law and science first. After review of the scientific findings, and another comprehensive round of public engagement, I have decided this is the appropriate course under the law,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson…. – CLICK HERE to Continue Reading and Comment
Read Full Post »
Shares in the suffering utility Pacific Ethanol shot up over 8 percent on Tuesday, reaping the rewards of cheaper ethanol prices, thanks largely to what is expected to be a bumper crop year for U.S. corn. Units of Pacific Ethanol that owned four ethanol plants filed for Chapter 11 protection last month, stung by volatile prices for corn, low fuel demand and the credit crisis.
A senior company official at India’s Suzlon Energy said the wind power company was looking at selling assets and shares to lower its debt, dealing a major blow to its shares, falling 11.44 percent in Tuesday trading.
Read Full Post »
Unless you are a vegetarian, you probably agree that chicken is delicious. But could this fowl have a future in automobiles? According to a presentation made at the 13th Annual Green Chemical and Engineering Conference this weekend…maybe. It seems that carbonized chicken feathers can hold hydrogen quite well; better than carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides currently being tested as hydrogen carriers. Could this solve the infrastructure problems currently holding hydrogen technology back?
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
Segway inventor Dean Kamen is developing a hybrid electric scooter that can run on almost anything that burns.
According to the patent, the bike has a small two-piston Stirling engine right under the seat. Though with an engine of that size, it really isn’t going to provide much juice – not much more than 5bhp.
A Stirling engine is based on tech which predates internal combustion engines by almost 100 years. It’s kinda like a steam engine in the sense that it uses external combustion. They use pistons for the crankshaft, but unlike the alternatives they have no valves for no gas ever enters or leaves the cylinders.
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
Ray Anderson was 60 and retired from the weight of making next quarters’ numbers when he was able to breathe, look around, and ask: “What’s next? What legacy to do I want to leave for my daughters?” That is when he got the sustainability “spear in the chest”.
However, Ray’s case was pretty unique. While some other businesses like Wal-Mart, Ford and Xerox are making some moves towards sustainability, we are not likely to see a wave of businesses spontaneously adopt sustainability until something momentous happens.
And what form will that momentous sustainability spear take? Climate change? Probably not…. – CLICK HERE to Continue Reading and Comment
Read Full Post »
When I was looking at Delhi’s environment almost a decade back, Delhi was entering its bitter battle against being the ‘fourth most polluted city’ in the world. Much thought and action (or shall we say reaction) was devoted to the problem. Delhi was able to remedy both its ‘fourth most polluted’ status and its air quality with unprecedented ‘hyper-activity:’ remarkable for being so well concerted across the different levels and different arms of the government.
Picture: Delhi Smog in January 2009
As I revisited the problem more recently, I was both shocked and saddened to see a decline so visibly and so quickly. Examining Delhi’s data, in January this year, I found an increase in vehicular pollution. I was not expecting this to happen in face of the phenomenal and difficult measures that Delhi had undertaken: like relocation of industries out of residential areas (something that had come about as a result of the developmental dream for Delhi in the 1950s) and conversion of the entire fleet of Delhi Transportation Corporation (DTC) buses into Compressed Natural gas or CNG (resulting in the largest CNG-operated public transportation in the world).
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
An interesting op-ed from yesterday’s New York Times discusses clean coal. I encourage our readers to read the piece themselves, but for those who want the short version, here’s a summary:
1. FutureGen, a federal program to design a zero-emission clean coal power plant is not going to work for two main reasons:
- Zero-emission clean coal technology doesn’t exist, and might take a really long time to get here
- Huge, politically charged federal research projects like these have not historically accomplished anything
2, If the government is going to support some kind of clean coal, it should support IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle), for three reasons:
- IGCC technology already exists
- Once Washington passes a cap-and-trade law of some kind, the cost of carbon will make IGCC cost-competitive
- To generate the same amount of electricity as regular coal plants, IGCC plants use only one third of the coal, which means they naturally cut GHG emissions by two thirds
An important take away message is that when people throw around the term “clean coal”, they may be referring to different things. Here we see two distinct technologies – one theoretical, nonexistent technology that promises zero emissions by sequestering all the carbon dioxide underground, and another, existing technology which squeezes more power out of less coal by gasifying it first (this also makes it easier to sequester the CO2, but we’re not even getting into that now).
However, though I agree with the author that the government should be worrying about practical solutions rather than (in his words) pie-in-the-sky ideas, I think he overplays the benefits of IGCC. True, the technology exists, but it’s extremely expensive. Carbon legislation isn’t going to make it cheaper, it’s just going to make everything else really expensive too. You can’t really expect every utility to pour money into a technology that, while proven, is still wet behind the ears.
But – and this is the author’s main point – the government can, and it should.
Via NYTimes
Read Full Post »
Smart USA is hoping to take advantage of the recently passed “Cash-for-Clunkers” program by offering its own joint incentive to lure buyers. The car hasn’t been selling as well in the US as the company hoped, but now with the new incentives making it possible to get one for cheap, that may all change.
The company is offering 4.2 percent financing on the car through the end of July. When combined with the highest voucher level of $4,500 through Cash-for-Clunkers, you’re looking at a fortwo for $99 a month. The fortwo has had limited appeal because of its small size and the fact that the fuel economy is not much better than some roomier cars that sale for the same price. These incentives may tilt the balance in the smart’s favor though. At a time when people are concerned with fuel economy and getting a good deal, it may turn out to be a great business move.
I’d love to see other car makers offering similar incentives to go with the Cash-for-Clunkers program. Making their most fuel-efficient models extra affordable would not only lead to better business for them, but more efficient cars on the road. Instead of people using the program to trade in an old gas-guzzler for a newer, only slightly less gas-guzzling model, we could possibly see this program make a noticeable difference in overall fuel use and emissions.
via Autoblog Green
Read Full Post »
Phallus drewesii, named after Dr. Robert Drewes of the California Academy of Sciences, is a 2 inch long phallus-shaped mushroom that grows on wood, smells like rotting meat and curves awkwardly downward.
Upon discovering that the new species would be named after him, Drewes remarked: “It is a wonderful honour and great fun to have this phallus-shaped fungus named after me. I have been immortalized in the scientific record.”
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
America’s social and religious conservatives are turning up the heat as they galvanize heartland opposition against the latest example of President Barack Obama-inspired “socialism” — a climate change bill that aims to reduce fossil fuel emissions, which most scientists have linked to climate change.
The Democratic Party-led House of Representatives passed the bill on Friday. It would require large companies, [...]
Read Full Post »
The Waxman-Markey climate bill passed the House on Friday, but it still has to face the Senate and the changes that body may require. There has been a lot of controversy over the many aspects of the bill, particularly relating to the coal industry, cap and trade and whether it’s strong enough legislation to make a difference, but the lovely people over at the NRDC have pointed out one glowingly positive element of the bill. They’ve calculated that the bill will end up saving American households an average of $13.93 a month on gas.
The bill includes funding for fuel-efficient vehicles, which, in addition to the fuel efficiency standards already adopted, the NRDC calculates will lead to a 25 percent increase in fuel efficiency by 2020. So, even with rising gas prices, the increase in fuel efficiency will still slash our monthly gas bills. The group estimates the monthly savings for each state, and they range from $5.50 a month to more than $23 a month. I’m lucky enough to live in a state where I could see savings of almost $22 a month.
An interesting thing to point out is that these gas savings almost negate the cost of the bill for the average family, which is estimated to be $175 per year by the US Budget Office. The decrease in gas spending will save the average family about $167 a year, meaning the bill will only cost $8 a year per family. Families in some states will actually see a net gain.
It’s easy to listen to all the pundits and all the partisan opinions on this legislation and to be discouraged, but I appreciate the NRDC putting at least part of it into perspective. Fighting climate change will require money and sacrifices, but there will be a whole host of ways in which it will pay off. In this case, in cash.
via Treehugger
Read Full Post »
OK. I admit it. I am writing this article from a Summit about cow poop. No, this isn’t a joke to get 8-year olds rolling on the floor with laughter. This is serious.
I am reporting from the inaugural National Biomethane Summit, in Sacramento, California, where over 300 attendees including elected officials, government agencies, farmers, ranchers, landfill owners, facility owners and operators, technology leaders, researchers, regional planners, and carbon trading experts.
Read more of this story »
Read Full Post »
