Of the 35,000 dry cleaners in the United States, only 35 use toxin-free carbon dioxide cleaning methods. A Seattle startup called Blue Sky Cleaners is aiming to grow that number.
In a year when the economy was all the business world could talk about, our readers dug in deep to stories about creating change, overhauling the ways business gets done, and yes, how going green can save big money.
Major developments on the green building front in 2008 hold the promise of even greater momentum in 2009. We take a year-end look at five general areas: the resilience of green building, the hot pursuit of energy efficiency and incentives, increased focus on the built environment, legal landscape and the path ahead.
Toshiba has big plans for its rapid charge SciB (Super Charge ion Battery) battery in the new year. Due to an anticipated surge in demand for automotive and industrial applications, the company is constructing a second SCiB production facility in the fall of 2009.
States, cities and the business community moved to fill the void created by a perceived lack at federal leadership in battling climate change in 2008. We saw big promises and goals as companies sought to make their operations leaner, take advantage of the opportunities created by climate change, and begin moving to reduce associated risks. Meanwhile, nongovernmental organizations stepped up to help businesses find their footing while reminding us how far we have to go.
One Heart Channel …interviewed experts on sustainable energy…
Author: OneHeartChannel
Keywords: cop14 wind energy sustainable climate
Added: December 31, 2008
The Orchid House is one of the first to be built under environmental concerns in Buenos Aires. Designed by architect Andres Remy, it is certainly beautiful and loaded with neat energy saving features, but, Can a house in the middle of a private neighborhood about one hour from the city be green?
Choose the answer yourself after reading more details in the extended….
Photo credit to Willrad
Well folks, another basic function of life has now been taken away from us, as if we were stumps on a log not able to think and function for ourselves. But perhaps Ford is right. Maybe the public has forgotten the art of parallel parking……
New York’s Times Square ushers in the New Year with a bigger, brighter and greener light ball this evening and billboards that are to be powered by wind energy, starting with the giant Coca-Cola sign at 47th and Broadway.
Date: 12/31/2008
Wind energy development can create new revenue in the form of construction jobs and land lease payments for rural communities. Development opportunities also create a new responsibility on the part of local governments to ensure that ordinances will be estabilished to aid the development of safe facilities that will be embraced by the community.
The purpose of this report is to educate and engage state and local governments, as well as policymakers, about existing large wind energy ordinances. These groups will have a collection of examples to use when they attempt to draft a new large wind energy ordinance in a town or county without existing ordinances.
China Sunergy Co. Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Solarwatt AG, to provide 22 megawatts (MW) of solar cells over the course of 2009.
To use an old cliche, it’s been a banner year here at RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Despite the worldwide downturn of financial markets and the global credit crisis, many Renewable Energy companies continue to thrive and our publication is no exception.
Construction on the main stadium for the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan will be complete by the end of this year. The new sports arena is also Taiwan’s largest photovoltaic installation to date - fitted with solar modules manufactured by the Taiwanese company Lucky Power Technology Co. Ltd. using equipment provided by 3S Swiss Solar Systems AG.
Compact fire extinguisher for home use that comes in an easy-to-use aerosol can.
CQPolitics.com - The two senior House Democrats with jurisdiction over energy and telecommunications policies could swap gavels in the 111th Congress, with potentially dramatic implications for the shape of climate change legislation expected next year.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A team of scientists has come up with a new definition of seawater which is set to boost the accuracy of projections for oceans and climate.
Oceans help regulate the planet’s weather by shifting heat from the equator to the poles. Changes in salinity and temperature are major forces driving global currents as well as circulation patterns from the surface to the seabed.
insulating a soffit: Steve Ruark for The New York Times
How many cliches can we throw at this subject? It is truly the low-hanging fruit, the cheapest negawatt. Matthew Wald of the New York Times describes how 140,000 houses will be weatherized this year, with a goal of doing a million,
…to reduce energy consumption and cut energy costs for households and taxpayers, who often absorb those costs for the poor. This would represent a historic shift in emphasis for the federal and state governments, reducing poor people’s energy bills instead of helping to pay them.
Bengaluru, December 30 (ANI): After the success of Chandrayaan 1, India’s Space Research Organisation or ISRO is going to launch an exclusive weather satellite jointly with the French space agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales. The satellite, named ‘Mehga Tropiques’ will study the tropical atmosphere and its associated phenomena and would help India and France to study the vagarious like cyclones, monsoon and other changes.
Author: ANImultimedia
Keywords: ANI South Asia News video Chandrayaan ISRO French Space Agency Mehga Tropiques
Added: December 30, 2008
Companies and coalitions big and not-so-big have made the ranks of most notorious “green” campaigns in the year-end list from National Public Radio’s Greenwash Brigade.
Research released by the National Restaurant Association shows that Americans are looking for healthier options and “greener” restaurants when they dine out, in addition to an increased interest in value and convenience.
Solar Works Inc. and SolarWrights Inc. announced the new name of their united enterprise: Alteris Renewables Inc. The name change is intended to better convey the company’s expanded offering of renewable energy solutions that include solar electric, solar thermal and wind energy systems, the company said.
This year was dominated by bad financial news — very bad financial news. Renewables have certainly had their fair share of troubles associated with the financial crisis; yet somehow they’ve seemed to fare better than most industries. It’s still uncertain how a financial hangover will impact development in 2009, but most analysts agree that any global slowdown will be moderate, especially considering how drastic and far-reaching the credit crisis has been thus far.
SunRun and OCR Solar & Roofing announced a new partnership that will expand solar service and bring roof-integrated solar electric systems to more homeowners throughout Northern California. OCR is SunRun’s first partner to specialize in roof-integrated solar applications. Through this partnership, OCR will now offer its residential customers SunRun’s full-service solutions in conjunction with its roof integrated solar panels.
A new program undertaken by the University of Michigan (U-M) and Franuhofer will award seed money grants of up to US $200,000 annually for two years to projects that explore alternative energy innovations for transportation.
AP - Insurers’ losses from natural disasters rose by about 50 percent in 2008, with Caribbean hurricanes Ike and Gustav powering the increase and climate change increasingly a factor, a leading reinsurer said Monday.
After weeks of waiting, mountain residents awoke to their first glimpse of winter on Dec. 13, a few fluffy inches of powder that clung to the tops of boulders like chefs’ hats.
More fell over the past two weeks, enough to bury the camel-colored meadow grass and wine-red willows in a deepening blanket of white. The magic, though, came late, just days before Christmas — one of the tardiest winter debuts ever.
Oil Shale Specimen. Image credit: Los Angeles Times, Michael Brands
One estimate has oil shale extraction needing 10 barrels of water per barrel of oil produced. And, with Colorado’s proposed oil shale operations at full capacity, by mid-century, the industry could require as much as 14 times more power than currently generated by the state’s largest power plant. These estimates are very imprecise, because the technology is unproven. You might wonder, ‘why so much water and energy?’ And what do do about it?
See illustration and answer below….
Environmental and agriculture groups, growers and some of the world’s biggest food buyers — Wal-Mart, Sysco and Sodexo among them — have developed a new coalition to incorporate sustainability from the field to the table for specialty crops.
What if buying a solar electric system would be as easy as buying a new light bulb? The process of purchasing and installing a solar electric system does not have to be like putting together a complicated jigsaw puzzle anymore. ReadySolar will now offer their “Solar in a Box”® turnkey solar appliance through GoGreenSolar.com
