News

Market Mechanisms for Sustainable Development: How Do They Fit in the Various. Post-2012 Climate Efforts?
A number of potential future climate change regimes are under discussion, both within and outside of formal United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes. The Montreal Action Plan of COP-11/MOP-1 opened two tracks of discussion on the post-2012 time period within the UN formal negotiations: 1) under Article 3.9 of the Kyoto Protocol to consider future commitments for the period beyond 2012, and 2) under the UNFCCC to undertake a non-binding dialogue for long-term cooperative action to address climate change. ...

Pickens Calls Off Plans For Vast Texas Wind Farm
T. Boone Pickens has temporarily shelved plans to build the world's biggest wind farm in the Texas Panhandle because of tight credit markets and low natural gas prices, and his company Mesa Power is looking for other projects that could use the $2 billion worth of wind turbines already on order. ...

New Technology Emerges For Deep-Water Wind Farms
Aesthetic concerns have stalled the Cape Wind project, which would erect 130 turbines 5 to 13 miles from Cape Cod and Nantucket. But technological advances in recent years are allowing developers elsewhere to consider building wind turbines farther from shore, where they would be less visible. ...

Despite Friction, US and China Partner for Clean Energy Research
The two biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, the U.S. and China, have teamed up to create a clean energy research center, which will focus on coal and clean buildings and vehicles. The project is seen as a compromise over disagreements the countries have on pollution and what responsibilities developing nations have to cut back on emissions. Trade restrictions are another source of disagreement. ...

China Embarks On Massive Solar Power Push
China will throw its economic might behind a national solar power plan that could result in it becoming one of the world's biggest harvesters of the sun. ...

A Giant Leap Toward Space-based Solar Power
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for decades has generated power for its customers by splitting atoms, burning natural gas and capturing the force of falling water. More recently, the San Francisco utility began turning to the sun, wind, boiling geysers and even fermented cow manure to produce electricity. Now, PG&E wants to turn to outer space. ...

EPA Ruling Great News for Cleantech
Developers of pollution controls are set to attract new investment as Washington moves to curb carbon emissions. Greentech investors and entrepreneurs are guardedly optimistic that the Environmental Protection Agency's ruling that greenhouse gases are harmful to human health will provide a boost to their industry. ...

India Targets 60 "Solar Cities," With A Catch
India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy earmarks funds to help 60 cities reduce their conventional electricity usage. India is aiming to enable selected existing local urban governments to make slightly greater use of solar energy over the next five years ...

LED Lighting Lowers Operating Costs with an Eco-Friendly Solution
The cost of energy, energy security, and global warming have become primary topics driving the national agenda. While businesses attempt to curb their energy costs and limit their contributions to GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions, they have to accomplish these goals while remaining profitable enterprises. ...

T. Boone Pickens: The U.S. Needs a 'Wind Bank'
Billionaire and clean-energy proponent T. Boone Pickens said that the U.S. should establish a federally funded loan program, or bank, to finance large-scale wind developments. T. Boone Pickens says the U.S. should create a federal loan program to finance wind projects, like his own. ...

Slump May Limit Moves on Clean Energy
Just as the world seemed poised to combat global warming more aggressively, the economic slump and plunging prices of coal and oil are upending plans to wean businesses and consumers from fossil fuel. From Italy to China, the threat to jobs, profits and government tax revenues posed by the financial crisis has cast doubt on commitments to cap emissions or phase out polluting factories. ...

Clean Coal – Pipe Dream or Next Big Thing
Solar Utilities are testing technology to make one of America's most abundant fuel source - coal - a cleaner alternative. Coal is, by far, the dirtiest way America makes its electric power, but a new ad campaign funded by the industry promises a future where clean coal is a viable option. ...

Solar Energy Tax Credit Bill Creates Affordable Renewable Energy Systems
A part of the bailout package recently passed by the U.S. government included a generous solar energy tax credit bill which will dramatically reduce the cost and hasten the payback to homeowners for installing residential solar energy systems. A full 30% federal tax credit is now available for solar PV and thermal installations starting January 1, 2009. ...

U.S. Solar Boom to Include Manufacturing, Too
The United States is poised to become the world's largest user of solar power in the next decade, experts say, thanks in part to Silicon Valley innovation and the country's vast land area and amount of sunshine. ...

Recent Study Continues Water Bottle Controversy
Bisphenol A, the controversial compound present in many consumer plastics, has been linked with both heart disease and diabetes, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This new study of nearly 1,500 people is the latest development in a series of studies that have received a fury of media attention over the past few years. ...

Scientists, FDA Face Off Over Safety of BPA in Consumer Plastics
The FDA has said that the chemical, bisphenol A, or BPA, doesn't pose a risk at the levels to which people are commonly exposed. BPA has been detected in the bodies of virtually all Americans tested. ...

America's Emerging New Energy Economy
As fossil fuel prices rise, as oil insecurity deepens, and as concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging in the United States. The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced by one powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. ...

Building a Greener America
Architect Edward Mazria challenges the building industry to reach carbon neutrality by the year 2030. Mazria—part eco-evangelist, part architectural tactician—is a public advocate, speaking broadly about climate change, and a design strategist, developing intricately detailed plans for builders and architects. ...

Newsom Signs Strict Green Building Codes into Law
San Francisco took a major step Monday to cement its reputation as the most environmentally progressive city in the United States, as Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law stringent green building codes for new construction and renovations of existing structures in the city. ...

Realtors Betting on Green Buildings to Woo Tenants
Call it green revolution in the real estate business. Top developers are now betting on green buildings-that use less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier for the people living inside compared to a standard building-to woo large tenants. ...

Saharan Sun to Power European Supergrid
Vast farms of solar panels in the Sahara desert could provide clean electricity for the whole of Europe, according to EU scientists working on a plan to pool the region's renewable energy. ...

Gore Introduces Green Challenge to U.S.
Former Vice President Al Gore harnessed his star power Thursday to push global warming to the forefront of election politics, challenging the nation to embark on an Apollo-style project to convert all electricity production to wind, solar and other renewable energy within 10 years. ...

Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America
America’s carbon footprint is expanding. With a growing population and an expanding economy, America’s settlement area is widening, and as it does, Americans are driving more, building more, consuming more energy, and emitting more carbon. ...

New Warning from US Climate Change Prophet
Twenty years ago, James Hansen, a climate scientist at NASA, told the world that he was "99%" certain that humans were already warming the climate. "The greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now," Dr Hansen said then, referring to a string of warm years and the accumulating blanket of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and other gases emitted mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and forests." ...

Report: China passed US as top carbon polluter
China has surpassed the US to become the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, AFP reported. The report, which compiled information on fossil-fuel usage in China, projected an 11% increase in carbon dioxide emissions between 2004 to 2010, far above earlier estimates of a 2.5% rise. ...

The 2007 SB20: World's Top Sustainable Stocks
SustainableBusiness.com announced its 2007 Sustainable Business 20 (SB20) List: The World's Top Sustainable Stocks: Companies Changing the World for the Better. The SB20 list, now in its sixth year, is comprised of 20 innovative companies, large and small, that are having an important impact on creating an environmentally sustainable society. ...

Investors Flock to Renewable Energy and Efficiency Technologies
Climate change worries coupled with high oil prices and increasing government support top a set of drivers fueling soaring rates of investment in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, according to a trend analysis from the UN Environment Programme. ...

World Energy Council Launches Study On Transport Technologies And Policy Scenarios
The transport sector utilises a major share of the global energy production, currently representing between 20% and 25% of aggregate energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Strong growth in energy consumption to 2050 is projected in all sectors, with the transport proportion projected to remain stable up to 2050. ...

Rich Panoply of Giving Marks Third Clinton Global Initiative
When the formal portion of the third annual Clinton Global Initiative closed in New York on Friday, former President Bill Clinton announced that participants' commitments will result in 170 million acres of forest protected or restored, plus millions of people with better access to health care, sustainable incomes, and education.

GRI Readers' Choice Awards Raise the Bar for Sustainability Reporting
Thousands of companies issue sustainability reports each year, but who reads them and what do they think of them? As a way to capture the preferences of readers and to alert potential new readers to the value of sustainability information, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and its partners have pioneered the first non jury-based worldwide online sustainability reporting awards scheme. ...

Sustainable Development Strategy : Commission presents new platform for action
The European Commission’s review of the EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy calls on all governments, businesses, NGOs and citizens to come up with new and better ways to move towards a more sustainable way of life and seize the opportunities available. ...

U.S., Mexican, Canadian Environmental Leaders Promote Green Building and Pollution Tracking Tool for Citizens
Highlighting their shared commitment to environmental progress in North America, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today joined his Mexican and Canadian counterparts to launch new collaborative environmental initiatives on green building and tracking pollution in North America. ...

Global Survey Shows "Green" Construction Costs Dramatically Lower Than Believed
Survey finds green costs overestimated by 300% and a need to foster zero net energy construction. Key players in real estate and construction misjudge the costs and benefits of "green" buildings, creating a major barrier to more energy efficiency in the building sector, a new study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reports. ...

U.S. Mayors Take the Lead in Fighting Climate Change
Cities throughout the USA, regardless of size, have initiated a host of actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, without significant support from their state and federal partners, finds a new survey released during the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 75th anniversary meeting in Los Angeles. ENS reports. ...