Clean Tech News & Views: Solar Energy News. Wind Energy News. EV News. & More.
When it comes to environmental news, doom and gloom often rules the day. And it’s easy to get discouraged. But scientists from Yale University say most polluted ecosystems can recover in as little as 5 or 10 years. The study means it’s not too late to turn things around if societies commit to cleanup, restoration [...]
Right now, there’s no wind in the Great Lakes, but lots of talk. There’s a bit of money, too, totaling about $100,000 from the federal stimulus package, aka the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Great Lakes Commission has been granted $99,740 to develop a set of “Best Practices to Accelerate Wind Power [...]
LEED, for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has become the alpha acronym when referring to green, or eco-friendly, buildings. The standard, from the U.S. Green Building Council, recently went 3.0. Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, is taking the green diploma to an even higher degree. University officials are betting a new Living Learning [...]
The United States have already started down the path of Renewable Portfolio Standards. There are now almost 30 states with their own RPSes, which require utilities to generate more of their power from renewable sources, like wind and solar and even landfill gas. Different states have set different standards, often with percentages based on years: [...]
“I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.” You might recognize the opening line of “Substitute” by The Who. There’s no substitute for having money when it comes to pushing wind and solar development in the United States. The concept of replacing fossil fuels with “free” alternative energy from the breeze and sun [...]
Experts call energy efficiency the low-hanging fruit, because it’s cheaper to cut power use than create new energy from fossil fuels like coal. But our creature comforts — like iPods, cell phones, PCs and plasma TVs — are sucking the life out of advances in energy efficiency around the world, the International Energy Agency says. [...]
What’s wrong with wind power and solar energy and right with coal? Well, coal can burn around the clock, as long as you have enough of it. But the wind doesn’t blow all the time and the sun doesn’t shine all the time. Sure, you can store power in batteries, but how much? How about [...]
Some people like to call them swamps — usually folks who want to turn them into concrete developments. Others call them wetlands, for their abilities to reduce flooding and filter out contaminants that run off of city landscapes. The fact is, you may not like wetlands or swamps (mosquitoes), but they do a lot of good. [...]
