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 August 18, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: Flickr , CC Part of the State's 25% Renewables by 2025 Plan Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed two bills into law yesterday (House Bill 6202 and 5429)) that will mandate the state's utility companies to buy more solar power and protect the right of homeowners to set up solar panels on their homes, provided "certain guidelines" are ...
Read more...published August 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Ecotricity As I wrote last week, just because bio-gas is made from biodegradable sources doesn't mean it has no impact —and some activists are increasingly worried that demand for biogas will eventually lead to deforestation and other resource depletion issues. So they'll be pleased to know that Ecotricity, the folks who are now selling biogas direct to ...
Read more...published August 13, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Solar-Aid From the launch of SolarAid to the massive expansion of its SunnyMoney micro-finance operations , TreeHugger has been excited about this charity's work to harness clean technology for economic development. We've already seen a great video about how solar can be a life-saver for rural families . Now the charity has released another video, this ... ...
Read more...published August 12, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Clownfish No sooner do we hear about the massive growth in UK solar jobs as a result of feed-in tariffs , than others start asking questions about the viability of such policies. George Monbiot has already labeled the feed-in tariff a "rip off" , and a subsidy for the well off, and now a new report offers ...
Read more...published August 10, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Munts Family I once very publicly confessed my laziness in putting up a clothes line , and the battles over clothes lines and property values are well publicized by now. But whether you are an avid outdoor drier, or you wouldn't be seen dead hanging your undies up in public, all too often the issue of clothes ...
Read more...published August 4, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: LBL Assessments of the state of the US and world wind industry are frankly a dime a dozen, however a new one by the Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory offers some insights not found elsewhere--particularly in growth of wind power at the state level, the amount of wind power manufacturing taking place domestically, and the ...
Read more...published August 2, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: John Davey via flickr I suppose it was only a matter of time... According to a new article in The New York Times some residents near the Shepherd's Flat wind farm in Oregon have been offered $5000 to not complain about the whooshing noise from the planned 338 wind turbines--apparently it's a preemptive effort to avoid the brouhaha ...
Read more...published July 30, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: jurveston via flickr Algae biofuels are probably the most touted future hope to replace large amounts of petroleum-based liquid fuels with a renewable source. However, a new study in Energy and Fuels shows that when you grow that algae in bioreactors made up of clear tubes, so much energy is required that the carbon footprint of the biofuel ...
Read more...published July 30, 2010 and has No Comments
The Chevy Volt will soon be launched commercially, and so GM is intensifying its campaign to convince potential buyers. Here are only some of the recent Volt news items to hit the wire: a Here is the original post: GM Wants to Convince You the Volt is Better Than Other Electric Cars (Video)
Read more...published July 30, 2010 and has No Comments
John Bowron's Off-Grid Cottage Scott Huler, author of On the Grid , makes a very important point in a guest post on The Infrastructurist : Nobody is really off the grid. Well, maybe the Amish, but almost nobody. Everyone else is part of an enormous mesh of grids that every back-to-the-land off-gridder is dependent on.... Read the full story ...
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Save the sea creatures! Handcraft your own natural specimens using these these simple patterns, some yarn and a crochet hook. View post: 8 Enchanting Sea Creatures You Can Crochet
A Finnish designer has made a working surfboard from broken skateboards. Read the original here: Hollow Surfboard Is Made from Broken Skateboards
