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 October 23, 2010 and has No Comments
The home this week, fitted with solar panels. All photos via Matt Grocoff/ Greenovation TV If you want a super, energy-efficient home, you have to build new, right? Not necessarily. A 110-year-old Victorian home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is being touted as America's oldest net-zero energy house, and the first of its kind in the state. ... Read the ...
Read more...published October 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: Sara Novak As Styrofoam begins to cover our planet in the same way that it has long covered our consumer products, innovative thinkers like Eben Bayer are looking for responsible materials that don't require fossil fuels and more easily biodegrade. Could mushrooms be the answer? His team has been testing mushrooms for some time now to successfully invent ...
Read more...published September 27, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Grace Smith via flickr Some encouraging straight-talking ambition here: In a new policy document Northern Ireland has laid out a good renewable energy target of 40% by 2020. Which would be news enough, but in the text of Strategic Energy Framework for Northern Ireland there's some frank language worth paying attention to no matter where you live.... Read ...
Read more...published September 27, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via bike arc The Car Arc seems to be a great solution for new EV owners looking for a carport that not only protects their vehicle, but charges it too. The curvaceous structure is covered in a thin solar skin that soaks up sunlight and converts it to energy for recharging low batteries. Plus, it's a smart way ...
Read more...published September 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo via Cleantechnica While we've received a healthy influx of signs that the world's heavyweights aren't planning on diversifying their energy portfolios to any radical degree in the near future -- China building a submersible to dive 7,000 meters underwater to explore for oil among them -- there are still reasons yet to be optimistic. Take this for example: ...
Read more...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 13, 2010 and has No Comments
Image Source: Boxed Water Is Better Dear Pablo: I recently saw drinking water sold in a milk carton. It doesn't seem any better to me than bottled water. Is boxed water really better as the company claims? In past articles I have shown that boxed beverages have their advantages and are indeed better from an environmental perspective See original ...
Read more...published September 9, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Red, Green, and Blue What just a year ago seemed to be a weak alternative or a mere support beam to good carbon-reducing energy policy is now a pie-in-the-sky longshot. Pricing carbon emissions was the bedrock of the climate bill that passed the House of Representatives last year, and the Renewable Energy Standard that required utilities to ...
Read more...published September 9, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Takver via flickr Bill McKibben and friends are in a biodiesel van making the symbolic journey to the White House from the Maine college where Jimmy Carter's solar water heating panel has been residing for the past three decades, ultimately pressing the President to install donated solar PV panels , all as part of an effort to reinvigorate ...
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 ...
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The office building, going for LEED Platinum, is built on top of a brick factory from another era. It rises to the challenge. Go here to read the rest: The Centre For Green Cities At Evergreen Brickworks Demonstrates How To ...
"The stakes are very high and scientists are not the best people to deal with the social, ethical or political issues that geoengineering raises." View original here: Geoengineering is a Technical Fix for a Political Problem
