5 More Cleantech Stories of the Week
June 4th, 2011 by Zachary Shahan
Other than our dozens of cleantech stories this week, here are a few more you may find interesting:
- Obama nominated environmentalist and renewable energy leader John Bryson for head of the Commerce Department this week. Is Bryson qualified? “Bryson would bring a unique skill set to the Commerce Department, an agency tasked in part with representing the interests of U.S. businesses abroad. The 67-year-old is the former chairman and chief executive of Edison International, a California-based power company; co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy organization; and has served on the board of major international businesses, including The Boeing Co. and the Walt Disney Co.,” the AP reports. Looks pretty qualified to me. Of course, with his green interests and his ties to the renewable energy industry (he’s the Chairman of solar pioneer BrightSource Energy), Republicans would love to stall or kill the nomination. Hopefully, for the country’s sake, they won’t.
- The GOP continued to attack and defund clean energy, as we could see from the 2012 Energy and Water and Related Agencies Appropriations bill released this week by the House Appropriations Committee. The $30.6-billion bill cut President Obama’s request by $5.9 billion, particularly taking aim at energy efficiency and renewable energy programs (programs mist supported by the public that would also create a ton of jobs and improve the economy).
- Feed-in tariffs (FiTs) are awesome, but with that not obvious to many in the U.S. yet, Climate Progress had a great piece and video on the matter yesterday. If you don’t know about FiTs, love them, hate them, or want to know more, check out the piece: Why Feed-in Tariffs are an Important Climate Solution: They ‘Empower People’.
- Progress towards building a 20-MW wind turbine was covered in depth by Jos Beurskens of the Netherlands Energy Research Centre on Renewable Energy World yesterday. Worth a read if you are interested in the details of this process.
- Toyota has created a private social network for its electric vehicle and plug-in customers — Toyota Friend. Think Facebook or Twitter for lovers of Toyota EVs and plug-ins. (A little over a week ago, but I won’t complain if you won’t :D)
More? Drop them in the comments below!
Photo via Barack Obama
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.
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