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 November 13, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo via Greenpacks Well, so much for the truckloads of naysayers that have lambasted the EU's carbon trading system over the years--Europe is set to easily meet the emissions reduction goals set by the Kyoto Protocol. You know, that treaty the US helped draft and then never signed, saying it would leave our economy in shambles and that it ...
Read more...published November 12, 2009 and has No Comments
"There is no business to be done on a dead planet." This was the view of renowned mountaineer turned environmentalist David Brower (Executive Director of the Sierra Club and founder of both Friends of the Earth and the Earth Island Institute.) It is also the view of outdoor clothing and equipment industry. You need seasons of consistent rain, snow ...
Read more...published October 30, 2009 and has No Comments
Cleaning up waste plastic before it goes into the ocean. Image credits:: Algalita Marine Research Foundation In Europe they commonly make commodity plastics from oil-based feedstock: petroleum naptha from the refinery. In the USA, however, plastic is mostly is made from natural gas as raw material. The chemical industry is not pleased with the current cap and trade provision ...
Read more...published October 28, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo via Impact Lab Now, I know this might seem like I'm lending my voice to the media's climate treaty roller coaster ride here--but this is pretty bad (if unsurprising) news indeed. Yvo de Boer, the top UN climate negotiator (ie, the guy running the COP15 global climate talks ), has publicly said that there's no way that an ...
Read more...published October 8, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo: David Buchwaldek Human Powered Electric Amphibious Vehicle (HEPAV) A velomobile is a "a human-powered vehicle, enclosed for aerodynamic advantage and protection from weather and collisions, derived from recumbent bicycles and tricycles." The list of features doesn't usually include the ability to move on both land and water, but Czech inventor David Buchwaldek's HEPAV is of a new breed. ...
Read more...published October 8, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo via Orange Smile Norway has just announced that it's taking the lead on the world stage when it comes to cutting carbon. If a global treaty can be brokered in Copenhagen this December, the nation pledges to reduce carbon emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. That's the most ambitious target set by any developed nation--and oh yeah, ...
Read more...published September 28, 2009 and has No Comments
Photo: Photo: Pininfarina/Bolloré Some News on the European Electric Car The Bluecar electric vehicle by Pininfarina and Bolloré (which used to be called the B0 ) has proved fairly popular for a car that can't be bought yet. Back in April, Pininfarina claimed that it had received 3,300 reservations , and that number now stands at 6,400. ... Read ...
Read more...published September 25, 2009 and has No Comments
Above is a Volvo V70 diesel plug-in hybrid demonstrator being crash tested (you can see that the battery pack is intact even after the "full scale" crash). Photo: Volvo To Launch in Europe at First Volvo has announced that it would introduce a diesel-electric hybrid in Europe in 2012. We don't know everything about it, but the information that ...
Read more...published September 25, 2009 and has No Comments
Above is a Volvo V70 diesel plug-in hybrid demonstrator being crash tested (you can see that the battery pack is intact even after the "full scale" crash). Photo: Volvo To Launch in Europe at First Volvo has announced that it would introduce a diesel-electric hybrid in Europe in 2012. We don't know everything about it, but the information that ...
Read more...published September 22, 2009 and has No Comments
Copenhagen with a different layout. Image credit: NextSmallThings , layout by CoolChaser. Bankers are tempted for some hot climate action. Maybe not so hot. James L. Connaughton , former Chair of Bush's Council on Environmental Quaity and Director of the [Bush] White House Office of Environmental Policy...currently Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Public and Environmental Colicy at Constellation E... ...
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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 ...
