African Renewable Energy Gains Attention
Friday, September 12th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffThe potential for renewable energy development in Africa is experiencing an increase in attention lately as investors and world leaders seek a new clean energy frontier. The continent could become a gold mine for renewable energy due ...
U.K. Biofuels Sources Are Largely Unknown
Friday, August 15th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffAs biofuels imports increase in the United Kingdom, policymakers remain largely uninformed about the true environmental and social costs of producing these fuels, posing a significant challenge for efforts to mandate their sustainable use. In the first ...
Mapping the World’s Renewable Energy Potential
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffAs renewable energy technologies become more competitive, investing in them is becoming a more viable venture. Yet, uncertainties about cost and ROI are still keeping some investors at bay. Wind blows, rain falls and the sun shines, ...
Biomass Charcoal in Eastern DRC
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffOne of the challenges of innovation in the developing world is getting innovators to work on the right problems. This is especially tough when trying to work with folks in the developed world on developing world ...
U.S. Utilities Advance Solar Projects
Friday, August 1st, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffSeveral major U.S. utility companies may accelerate plans to integrate solar power into their electricity mix following a fact-finding trip to Germany. Twenty-three electric utilities were represented on the trip to Germany, the world's leading producer and ...
The Afterlife of German Coal Mining
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffThis is the second feature in a weekly, three-part series on green jobs in various sectors of the global economy. Read Part 1 here. It was Jochen Seifert's job to adjust a conveyor belt under Germany's ...
Incremental Ideas: Solar-Powered GSM Towers
Monday, July 28th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffI wrote a bit last year about the idea of "incremental infrastructure." Basically, the idea is that there might be a future for infrastructure projects in Africa that build small pieces of infrastructure and either ...
The High Cost of Low Energy Prices
Monday, July 28th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffBy Eric de Place of the Sightline Institute The cheaper the power, the more we use. I'm going to geek out for a second. But first, check out this graph: I suppose there are two lessons: 1. Price ...
In Windy West Texas, An Economic Boom
Thursday, July 24th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffGrowing up in West Texas, Larry Martin became well accustomed to the challenges of living off the land. Raised on a cotton farm outside the small town of Sweetwater, he recalls defending his family's crops from ...
The Right Wind Turbine for You
Saturday, July 19th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffAs gas prices climb and electricity prices follow, people looking for alternatives are turning to the wind. The popularity of wind energy is growing, but the turbines themselves are shrinking in size and cost, making affordable, ...
A Prophetic Approach to Energy Efficiency
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments Offby Eric de Place Taking a three-day weekend for the planet. From the Beehive State, a gratifying way to reduce energy use (and carbon emissions): taking Fridays off. And it's mandatory. In part to deal with rising gas prices, ...
Where’d You Get That Vintage Turbine?
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffIt's exciting to witness development of increasingly efficient wind power technologies (to see Popular Science's geek-worthy eye candy on that front, click here and here). But what can we do with our old wind power equipment ...
The Nexus of Peak Oil, Climate Change and Infrastructure
Sunday, June 15th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffThe creation an efficient, effective and fair U.S. climate policy is utterly important, and overdue. But, argues Dynamic Cities Project founder Bryn Davidson, unless we take Peak Oil into consideration, we may end up ...
Local Futures Conference: Tom Karas
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffI'm attending the International Conference in Peak Oil and Climate Change in Grand Rapids, MI this weekend. Tom Karas's session looked at coal generation for electricity. His argument, essentially, was that transportation and housing would more ...
Local Futures Conference: Tom Karas
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffI'm attending the International Conference in Peak Oil and Climate Change in Grand Rapids, MI this weekend. Tom Karas's session looked at coal generation for electricity. His argument, essentially, was that transportation and housing would more ...
Gasification Experimenter’s Kit
Thursday, May 29th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffWant to make your own carbon-negative fuel at home? You may soon be able to. We wrote last fall about gasification and biochar being a way to burn agricultural waste or other organic matter ...
Green Buildings and Smart Grids
Monday, April 14th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments Offby Patrick Mazza A new energy ecosystem is emerging that connects smart, green buildings with a smart, green grid to optimize energy flows. Since commercial and industrial buildings represent around 40 percent of U.S. energy use, and ...
Innovative Water Heater: The Magic of Heat Pumps
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffBy Clark Williams-Derry This is promising: Ecogeek reports on a new GE water heater that could cut energy consumption in half. The trick: it uses a heat pump to preheat the water coming into the tank. I've ...
Innovative Water Heater: The Magic of Heat Pumps
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments OffBy Clark Williams-Derry This is promising: Ecogeek reports on a new GE water heater that could cut energy consumption in half. The trick: it uses a heat pump to preheat the water coming into the tank. I've ...
Taking Aloft With Sustainable Biojet
Monday, April 7th, 2008 Posted in Energy, Green News | Comments Offby Patrick Mazza When a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 took off for a 40-minute flight from London to Amsterdam Feb. 24, it represented an aviation breakthrough. For the first time a commercial airliner took aloft on ...