oil
With the US Gulf Coast facing imminent disaster as the oil from a sunken drilling rig moves toward shore, some officials say it’s time to say a definite no to “drill, baby, drill.” It’s been just one month since President Barack Obama announced plans to open vast new
emissions trading
A major US-based energy and futures trader has acquired Climate Exchange plc, which trades in the emissions of greenhouse gases, for £395 million. IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), headquartered in Atlanta, operates marketplaces that trade in energy and commodity futures and other financial products. Led by Richard Sandor, the London-based Climate Exchange operates
peak oil
Peak oil felt like a very real and immediate possibility around the time of the oil price peak in mid-2008, but the “oil-is-here-to-stay” crowd has enjoyed something of a resurgence since then. Oil prices are down (though back to more than twice the low seen after the financial meltdown). Furthermore,
wind energy
If they’re serious about boosting their domestic renewable energy capacity, US citizens had better hope that future offshore wind power projects won’t take as long as the one — the nation’s first — approved this week. US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Wednesday approved the $1 billion
research
Big-money investments might be hard to come by these days, but Oxford University has beaten the odds by raising $100 million to support research into some of society’s most pressing problems. The university’s fund-raising goal was launched last year, when James Martin — one of the world’s top
electric cars
The European Commission today launched a new strategy to encourage the production and adoption of clean, green cars, trucks and other vehicles across the continent, but the question remains: will it be enough to significantly reduce transport’s carbon footprint in the time needed? The strategy calls for, among other
Jurdy reveals why once a year isn’t enough …
solar energy
For the company Joule Unlimited, which claims it’s developed a way to create “Liquid Fuel from the Sun™,” today marks a watershed moment. Not because it’s nabbed $30 million in funding and adopted a new, more corporate name (it was previously “Joule Biotechnologies”). No, today’s a big
sustainable business
We’ll lose £2 million by dropping patio heaters next year … but the opportunities for a business prepared to lead in this area far outweigh that … There’s massive growth in insulation and LEDs. If your only business was in selling incandescent lightbulbs, then you’ve got a problem. But
ccs
Could it be that economics isn’t the biggest hurdle standing in the way of our goal of safely locking away carbon dioxide using carbon capture and storage (CCS)? Two engineering professors in the US are arguing that the physical challenges of CCS have been wildly underestimated. Christine Ehlig-Economides of
Need another reason not to kill off the world’s whale populations? Their poop helps the oceans absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Researchers with the Australian Antarctic Division and the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) have found that whale feces is
Technology
So, little by little, Europe’s airports are becoming unclogged and air-based commerce is starting to breathe again after plane travel was largely put on hold by an Icelandic volcano named Eyjafjallajökull. Long after the last newlyweds return from their unexpectedly extended honeymoons and Kenyan flower farmers bring laid-off employees
