Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published September 13, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: EcoHouseAgent Back in 2008 Lloyd stirred up controversy with his post blowing hot and cold on ground source heat pumps , and his stance was later validated when Green Building Adviser concluded that groundsource heat pumps were not as efficient as claimed , and way too expensive to be a sensible response to climate change. Now a ...
Read more...published September 10, 2010 and has No Comments
There's a growing body of evidence that land-use conversion in the tropics, driven in part by biofuels, negates many of their benefits. Photo: Craig Morey via flickr. The UK government's own climate advisors have recommended that current biofuel targets for transport of 10% by 2020 are too high, given concerns about their impact on tropical forests. Currently the nation ...
Read more...published September 9, 2010 and has No Comments
Image: Wikipedia , CC This Document Was Not for Public Consumption A leaked study by the German military reveals that the Bundeswehr is taking the possibility of peak oil (the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, leading to a gradual decline) very seriously. The authors of the study, led by Lieutenant Colonel ...
Read more...published September 9, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: The Godfather Cosa Nostra Goes Green It seems like the mob has discovered that there's money to be made with wind power in Italy. The mafia is up to its usual tricks: fraud, extortion, bribery, money laundering, etc. Police wiretaps even caught an alleged mafioso telling his wife: "Not one turbine blade will be built in Mazara unless ...
Read more...published September 7, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: Flickr , CC Adding 3MW Turbines Europe's largest onshore wind farm, which is located in East Renfrewshire in Scotland, is about to get even bigger. ScottishPower Renewables is planning to add 75 turbines to the existing 140, increasing the capacity of the wind farm from the current 322 megawatts to 539 megawatts. Read on for more details.... Read ...
Read more...published September 7, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Adam Tinworth via flickr Two new illustrations about how the US has stiff competition around the world in renewable energy: New York Times reports on how China has beaten the United States in building the first major offshore wind farm outside of Europe; Go here to see the original: China Beat US in Offshore Wind, Europe Still Trounces Everyone ...
Read more...published September 5, 2010 and has No Comments
MIT's Test Cell Patrick Gillooly, MIT Solar cells are intended to mimic the photosynthesis of plants -- converting light into energy in the most efficient manner possible. But what other characteristics of plants could be handy for the renewable energy sector to mimic? How about the self-assembly of chloroplast, the component of plants that do all the vital photosynthesis. ...
Read more...published September 2, 2010 and has No Comments
Image: Google Maps Thankfully, No Deaths This Time An offshore oil platform exploded and caught fire today in the Gulf of Mexico. It is located about 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, west of the site of BP's massive oil spill. All 13 people who were on the rig were evacuated and only one was injured, reports the U.S. ...
Read more...published September 2, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: New Flyer What's the Difference Between CNG and Diesel? The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (the "MTA") has awarded New Flyer of America a contract for up to 475 buses. The contract is for 135 40-foot compressed natural gas ("CNG") heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional 340 CNG buses. We know ...
Read more...published September 1, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Martin Abegglen via flickr All the regulatory paper shuffling required to get the 240 MW Cape Wind project started is finally coming to an end. As Renewable Energy World reports, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the state can give the project a "composite certificate" superseding local regulatory agencies, some of which do not look favorably ...
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A Finnish designer has made a working surfboard from broken skateboards. Read the original here: Hollow Surfboard Is Made from Broken Skateboards
How to grow tastier tomatoes and how to make food taste sweeter without sugar: just two amazing discoveries from a study of the chemical interactions underlying tomato flavor preferences Read the rest here: The Secrets of Tasty Tomatoes Discovered - Can ...
