Posted by Greenbang on August 31st, 2007
CHINA WATCH Air is everywhere, but can you imagine it can be used as a new form of energy? Chinese boffins claim to have discovered this new clean energy source - simply by using dry air.
“The breakthrough makes it possible to use dry air, instead of electricity, to cool down the water and the indoor air, and be applied at least to power large-scale air-conditioning equipment in office buildings,” says Jiang Yi, the research project leader, told China Daily.
Jiang said he was confidant the energy could be widely applied, and that his team at Tsinghua were cooperating with a company in Xinjiang to produce air-powered air-conditioning equipment.
So far trials in some large buildings had been successful.
It’s not all rosy though: it can’t be used to produce electricity, but rather provides a means to allow less reliance on electricity.
Still, it raises the prospect of a practical use for some of the loudmouths we talk to from time to time…
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
That’s what analyst firm Frost & Sullivan reckon, in a new paper. It’s actually not such a big leap, though, as the 2006 market for the US and Canada was already valued at $17.37bn, but it’s still a bid wedge of cash.
This from Renewable Energy Access:
Faced with rising oil imports and mounting concerns over the environment, the study predicts these initiatives will likely provide new direction for the future growth of the North American renewable energy markets. Furthermore, U.S. state renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and the renewable fuel standard (RFS) mandates will likely propel the market’s growth.
Keeping with these mandate’s objectives, California has set a target of 12 percent of its total electricity to be generated from wind and geothermal energy. New York State will make efforts to increase its total electricity generated from renewable energy sources from 19 percent in 2006 to 25 percent by 2013.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
Mozambique’s national petroleum company this week unveiled a major $550m biofuels project, with the aim of producing 226 million litres of ethanol and biodiesel within 7 years.
Sugar cane and jatropha, a drought-resistant shrub, will be the primary feedstocks for the project. Reuters in Maputo has the dirt:
Officials have suggested that jatropha, ricin, African palm and coconuts — all of which grow abundantly in Mozambique — could provide the raw material for biodiesels, while sugar cane, maize and cassava could be used to produce ethanol.
Mozambique also hopes to be able to export biofuels to neighbouring African nations and further afield.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
The chap with the funny eyes pictured here is Jason Elliot, something of a serial entrepreneur in the eco-space.
He is the founder of Ethical Jobs (which Greenbang keeps an eye on for interesting job alerts), Ethical Directory, Ethical Guide, Ethical Product Review and Ethical Goodies.
And there’s more in the works. A wild, crazy guess is that it’s potentially something in the ethical line.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
A new British gizmo aims to give fleet managers a far more detailed view of how well their truck drivers are, well, driving.
Essex-based Lysanda has launched Eco-Log, which it reckons can calculate the true emissions from a vehicle by tapping into its on-board diagnostics system. This is then transmitted back to the anoraks at head office (along with other useful info), who can presumably ring drivers up and tell them to stop driving like Lewis Hamilton.
The makers reckon the device (pictured here in a Ford Focus, which we presume handles like a very, very small truck), will help fleet managers save money.
This from CEO Alexander Willard: “The Eco-Log is aimed initially at Fleet Managers, to enable them to monitor how their vehicles are being driven and the exact fuel economy each one achieves in its daily operations, mile by mile, minute by minute. It could help them improve emissions efficiency by identifying particularly heavy footed drivers and particularly inefficient vehicles. We have estimated that this could generate savings of at least 5% per year.”
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
It’s wattwatt, what. Yes, a new site - wattwatt - has launched, aimed at energy-saving enthusiasts and with the intention of sharing ideas about energy saving. From gizmos that bleep at you when your fridge door has been open too long to the relative merits of flash lights that are powered by people shaking them, there’s all kinds of stuff to learn and discuss.
It’s backed by a not-for-profit NGO, the IEC, and they tell us the main aim is to push awareness of the issues. As the blurb says:
Through wattwatt, the global community for all individuals who are interested in and sensitive to electrical energy efficiency and the environment, you can share your ideas and start or join a pulse to benefit from what other wattwatters have to say in response to your questions. Pick up hints or learn more about those electrical energy efficiency subjects that most interest you.
Up and at ‘em.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 31st, 2007
Although Greenbang can’t stand airports in general (and low-cost airlines in particular), primarily because of the way they manage to strip just about everyone of their dignity, sanity and patience, it turns out they’re something of an opiate to most Brits.
Even otherwise sane and normal people can’t help themselves but flock back to those sweaty airport terminals for their £2 flights to Alicante, according to new research. Strange, but true.
This from the BBC:
Britons are “addicted” to cheap flights and confused about the climate impact of flying, according to research.
In a government-funded study, even people living generally “green” lives said they were reluctant to fly less.
The Exeter University team that carried out the research says cheap flights have become a lifestyle choice.
Posted by Yan Yan on August 30th, 2007
Fresh on the heels of the BP scandal in Chicago - where the oil giant simultaneously promoted itself as greener than green, while asking for permission to dump more toxic waste in Lake Michigan - npower is now pulling similar tricks in the UK.
The energy firm has applied for (and gotten) permission to dump fly ash in Thrupp lake, a County Wildlife Site–and the lovely place pictured here. Permission was granted, a spokesman told ITV, because of fears of a “huge compensation claim” from the energy firm if they didn’t. Astonishing. Now there are all kinds of legal shenanigans on the go, with the local community trying to fight back.
None of it quite tallies with npower’s “Our responsibility” pledge, which promotes its “clean, green” electricity…
EnvironmentalGraffiti has the details:
The court case closed on the 22nd June, and now activists are waiting for the planning inspector’s findings to be sent to Oxfordshire County Council, whose Planning & Regulation Committee will then make a final decision on the application. The decision is expected in September or October. If the site is granted Town Green status, the Campaign to Protect Rural England Oxfordshire believes all work must be cancelled: “a landowner must maintain a Town Green in a suitable condition for communities to access and enjoy.Filling Thrupp Lake with fly ash is not compatible with that obligation.”
However, environmentalists are concerned that RWE npower may begin work before the case is finished. The Save Radley Lakes group’s lawyer sought a reassurance that npower would not proceed with the work while the hearing continued, but RWE npower’s lawyer declined to give this assurance.
BP has since backed down from its plans, let’s hope for a similar outcome here. Follow the campaign to Save Radley Lakes here.
Posted by Greenbang on August 30th, 2007
CHINA WATCH Life’s just gotten a bit tougher for managers in China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs). They not only have to deliver profits, but also need to make the company more environmental-friendly–or risk losing out on promotion opportunities.
An accountability system will be implemented for the managers of the 154 enterprises directly under the supervision of the central government starting September, according to Chinadaily.
And there’s much work to be done. According to the statistics below, they seem to largely account for China’s failure to meet its green goals:
“The central enterprises - which control all the country’s crude oil and natural gas production, generate half of the electricity and account for 15 percent of coal output - have great potential in energy saving and pollutant reduction, government official said.
The bill for coal accounts for 60 percent of the overall cost of electricity generation for the country’s five leading power plants. The expenditure on fuel accounts for 40 percent of the total cost of the top three airlines.”
Posted by Greenbang on August 30th, 2007
CHINA WATCH The sea level along the coast of South China’s Guangdong Province is forecast to rise by at least 30 cm by 2050, a weather report released by Guangdong provincial weather authority has said (Chinese language link).
It means some 1,153 sq km of coastal land in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area will be engulfed by the middle of the century, with Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Foshan worst affected.
The Chinese province of Guangdong is located in the southernmost part of the country. With its location on the South China Sea, it is a natural entry point to South China. Guangzhou has recently become the workshop of the world. In and around its satellite cities, there are more assembly lines, factories, and mass production than anywhere else in the country.
There will be large economic loss if this workshop disappears in 50 years, as companies will move out of Guangdong. But there is something more than money. Greenbang China grew up in Guangdong, and my family still lives there. Sometimes we won’t realize what kind of impact the global warming has on our life until our homeland is under the sea.
Chinadaily has more:
“Climate change will negatively affect the economic development of Guangdong, which is currently one of the biggest consumers of energy and producers of greenhouse gases,” Du Raodong, a weather expert with the Guangdong provincial weather center, told China Daily yesterday.
Du gave two key factors for Guangdong’s worsening climate situation.
“The rising temperature is a global issue. It is caused by the greenhouse effect,” he said. The second, he said, was a result of rapid urbanization.
CHINA WATCH Air is everywhere, but can you imagine it can be used as a new form of energy? Chinese boffins claim to have discovered this new clean energy source - simply by using dry air.