green buildings
Making school buildings more energy efficient does more than help cut electricity, gas and water bills. Over the long term, the money saved could help schools improve education and expand jobs, according to the US Green Building Council (USGBC). “Why green our schools?” asks Rachel Gutter, director of the USGBC’
wind energy
After several years of courtship, Siemens and Shanghai Electric are tying the knot and looking to raise a giant offspring together: the fast-growing Chinese wind-energy market. The companies have come together in two new joint ventures: one focused on wind turbine research, development and production, the other to specialize in
fuel poverty
Late December brings with it more than Christmas these days: as winter looms in the northern hemisphere, it also raises the annual — and growing — specter of energy poverty. Rising fuel and food prices are among the top concerns of people worldwide, according to the latest annual survey from the BBC
electric cars
Boost domestic hydrocarbon production? Yes. Improve the fuel economy of cars on the road today? Yes again. But an even bigger key to curbing US hunger for imported oil lies with plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) … a whole lot more of them, according to the non-partisan advocacy group Securing America’s
algae-based fuels
Back in the heyday of the muscle car, even the fuels had a macho air (“Put a tiger in your tank.”) It’s hard to imagine a similar campaign these days, considering how much corn now ends up in the average car. (“Five a Day: It’s good for cars,
low carbon economy
The cost of weather- and climate-related disasters in the US in 2011 could have paid for nearly one-and-a-half million Nissan Leafs, covered the price of solar panels on four million homes, provided weatherization assistance to eight million households or allowed the country to deliver broadband to unserved areas with billions
smart cities
Cities are increasingly awash in “big data,” and the intelligence hidden in that information represents a vast, untapped resource that could help make life in communities better, cleaner and more efficient. Improved energy efficiency is just one benefit that cities could reap from making better use of the smart technologies
tar sands
Poor Canada. It does so well at so many clean, green renewable things. It’s taken an innovative stance on solar energy, ranks ninth in the world in installed wind-energy capacity, actively encourages green building and is no slouch in the smart-communities development department either. But the nation’s reputation
photovoltaics
Think Warren Buffett knows a thing or two about smart investing? Then it’s worth noting that the “Oracle of Omaha” is bullish on solar energy. MidAmerican Energy, a holding company of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, plans to buy First Solar’s $2-billion-plus Topaz solar photovoltaic development, currently being built
Energy
We have all the technology we need today to live more efficiently and sustainably … or so we’ve been told by everyone from Princeton University to Siemens. Unfortunately, another reality — Jevons Paradox — seems to be superseding that possibility, as this graph from the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) International
efficiency
Is bigger necessarily more efficient? It all depends on circumstances. For example, an Amazon certainly enjoys an economy of scale no brick-and-mortar local bookstore can … as fallout in the book-selling business has proven. On the other hand, when conditions on Earth changed dramatically, the mighty dinosaurs that ruled for millions
carbon emissions
There’s one hangover from the global financial crisis of 2008 that’s over now, and that’s anything but good news. After falling dramatically post-crisis, global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have not only rebounded but reached a new record high of 9.1 gigatons in 2010, according to
