March 31st, 2009UN climate talks: Save the forests — but how? (AFP)
AFP - Deforestation, one of the main drivers of global warming, has barged its way to the heart of UN climate talks, which resumed in Bonn this week.
March 31st, 2009Edie Consultancy Survey returns
Edie’s annual Consultancy Survey is back, giving you the chance to have your say on who you think is leading the field.
McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON Democrats in the House of Representatives on Tuesday announced a sweeping plan to change how the nation produces and uses energy in order to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change.
March 31st, 2009House Democrats unveil pollution reduction plan (AP)
AP - Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday proposed cutting greenhouse gases by one-fifth over the next decade, a faster clip than urged by President Barack Obama.
March 31st, 2009Democrats launch push for climate change bill (Reuters)
Reuters - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives launched a sweeping effort on Tuesday to control greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time help industries that will struggle to meet the proposed environmental requirements.
March 31st, 2009Can Earth Hour Galvanize the Global Warming Fight? (Time.com)
Time.com - Every successful social movement has its defining images, but the push to slow climate change hasn’t yet found its visual tipping point. This weekend could change that.
March 31st, 2009Senate devotes warming fees to energy subsidies (AP)
AP - The Senate has endorsed using revenues from controversial cap-and-trade auctions of permits for emitting greenhouse gases to help consumers pay higher gasoline and electricity prices.
March 31st, 2009Highlights of draft bill to curb global warming (AP)
AP - House Democratic leaders released a first draft of legislation to curb emissions from global warming. Here are the highlights:
March 31st, 2009New greenhouse gases targeted by UN talks (AFP)
AFP - Delegates at UN climate talks on Tuesday targeted more than a dozen new industrial chemicals for inclusion in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty, which runs out in 2012.
March 31st, 2009‘Halo effect’ explains brightest patches of sky
Every cloud has a silver lining, the saying goes, but as it turns out, it’s more of a giant halo.
March 31st, 2009CMBS1
March 31st, 2009New plan to reduce planes’ C02 emissions (AP)
AP - Aviation groups in Europe announced a plan Tuesday to change the way commercial planes land in order to reduce their global-warming emissions of carbon dioxide.
March 31st, 2009Waste Needs a Basket - So Chuck It
Photo via Chuck4Life.
About a decade ago I received a Muji waste basket as a birthday gift from a shall-be-unnamed family relative. My first thought was, “So-and-so is giving me a trashcan as a gift? AND it’s unassembled?” In typical Muji fashion, the waste basket was just three pieces - a large rectangle of corrugated cardboard, a recycled-plastic bottom, and a plastic ring, all in an IKEA-like flat pack. After I awkwardly assembled the wastecan, I put it under my desk, sure that it would last only a few weeks. Well….
A survey by Retrevo, a “matchmaker for people and electronics,” found that buying energy efficient products is important to consumers, though few would pay much of a premium for green products.
March 31st, 2009MIT Wind Week
Date: 3/30/2009 to 4/4/2009
Location: Cambridge , MA
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is hosting Wind Week, an “intensive week of immersion in wind energy” including technology, development, policy supports, environmental impact, and financing alternatives.
- Wind 101 Lecture
- Towards one quarter of the World’s Electricity from Wind
- Resource Measurement Technologies Presentation
- Offshore Wind Workshop Reception and Poster Session
- Offshore Wind Technology Workshop
- Tour of Hull Community Wind Turbine
Except for the Friday workshop, Wind Week is free and open to the public.
Date: 4/2/2009
Location: Boston , MA
7:30 a.m. - 12:00 p .m.
Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Chairman Paul Hibbard and leaders of regional utilities, independent transmission developers, wind developers, ISO-New England and Canada will debate important issues in the context of the latest project proposals. Gain a better understanding of the key role of transmission as being essential to accessing sufficient new renewable energy resources. Please see the Web site for more information.
March 31st, 2009Offshore Wind Technology Workshop
Date: 4/2/2009 to 4/3/2009
Location: Cambridge , MA
This workshop will focus on addressing the status, drivers, and challenges of the technology underlying this fast-growing market.This cutting-edge workshop brings together experts from the U.S. and abroad, with plenty of opportunities for interaction among speakers, students, faculty, and industry representatives.
March 31st, 2009Economic Stimulus Forum
Date: 4/7/2009
Location: Southington , CT
12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Connecticut Innovations and the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund are pleased to invite you to an Economic Stimulus Forum focused on opportunities for advanced technology and clean energy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Attendees will hear directly from federal agencies about how to maximize opportunities to apply for competitive grants for clean energy and advanced technology projects.
Date: 4/14/2009
Location: Waltham , MA
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Did you know that the Massachusetts Military Reservation is installing wind turbines to power its groundwater remediation systems which pump and treat over 18 million gallons of groundwater per day? These projects will dramatically decrease both the cost and environmental footprint of this significant remediation effort.
The amount of power required to run the pump and treat systems at the Massachusetts Military Reservation is staggering, with electricity costs adding up to $2.7 million for fiscal year 2008. In order to reduce costs and environmental impact, the Massachusetts Military Reservation has already increased the efficiency of the systems by installing variable frequency drives, optimizing flow rates, matching pump sizes to the adjusted flow rates, replacing inefficient lighting, and shifting electric loads to low peak/low cost periods. These steps reduced overall power costs and environmental impacts, but were not enough to meet the projects’ green remediation goals.
Based on an evaluation of air emissions resulting from power use from conventional power plants, alternative energy technologies were explored. This resulted in the Air Force’s decision to install a large class (1500 kW) wind turbine at the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The Army is in the planning stages and will likely do the same in the near future. The large class wind turbine will be 260 feet tall to the hub, and 390 feet tall from ground to the tip of the rotor blade.
Come to this joint committee meeting to hear the folks who are managing these projects talk about how the decision was made to install wind turbines, the steps taken so far, and what obstacles have arisen. Please see the Web site for more information.
Date: 3/31/2009
We forecast the cumulative economic benefits from 1000 MW of development in Massachusetts to be $1.4 billion, annual CO2 reductions are estimated at 2.6 million tons, and annual water savings are 1,293 million gallons.
Date: 3/31/2009
We forecast the cumulative economic benefits from 1,000 MW of development in Tennessee to be $1.2 billion, annual CO2 reductions are estimated at 2.4 million tons, and annual water savings are 1,321 million gallons.
Date: 4/23/2009
Location: North Kingstown, RI
The conference will engage scientists, organizations, and citizens in an investigation of ocean development impacts on marine ecosystems and resources. Rhode Island researchers and resource managers will be joined by speakers with experience in off-shore wind energy development from Europe and elsewhere. In addition to the scientific sessions, there will be organizational displays and presentation of the 2009 Distinguished Naturalist Awards. Sponsored by Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Rhode Island Oceans, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
March 31st, 2009Funding Clean Energy and Efficiency Projects in New Hampshire
Date: 4/30/2009
Location: Manchester, NH
Source: Environmental Business Council New England, Inc.
7:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Please see the Web site for more information.
March 31st, 20096th Renewable Energy Finance Forum: Wall Street
Date: 6/23/2009 to 6/24/2009
Location: New York, NY
Topics
- Understanding the new US government incentives, grants, subsidies, loans, loan guarantees and other programs
- Project development and finance — funding and deploying renewable energy capacity in the US
- Consolidation and prospects for M&A — value realization and protection in an uncertain market
- The role of institutional investors in funding clean energy expansion in the US
- Future for VC investment in renewables — new technologies, new deals in a tight market and where the investment dollars are likely to flow
March 31st, 2009Michigan Energy Fair
Date: 6/26/2009 to 6/28/2009
Location: Onekama, MI
The three-day event will unite people from throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes region to learn about energy issues and sustainable living. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend educational workshops, meet vendors offering valuable goods, services, and information, eat local food and hear great live music. The 2008 Michigan Energy Fair drew an attendance of over 6000 people from around the State and the Great Lakes region.
March 31st, 2009An Open Letter to Fred Krupp
Marc Stuart makes the case for fixing, not tossing, the Clean Development Mechanism.
March 30th, 2009U.K. Prison Mattresses Go From Convicts to Carpets
The U.K.’s Prison Service is looking for an alternative to dumping thousands of mattresses in the trash each year. It’s first option: recycling them into carpeting and fencing.
March 30th, 2009How to Climb (or Get On) the Green Corporate Ladder
While many of the so-called green jobs being touted by the president and environmental groups may be of the blue-green variety — more labor than management — there also will be opportunities for college grads and mid-career professionals to make green career moves.
March 30th, 2009Can Earth Hour Galvanize the Global Warming Fight? (Time.com)
Time.com - Every successful social movement has its defining images, but the push to slow climate change hasn’t yet found its visual tipping point. This weekend could change that.
March 30th, 2009China hails U.S. climate pledges, OPEC fears for oil (Reuters)
Reuters - China and other nations hailed U.S. pledges to do more to fight global warming on Monday but OPEC dampened celebrations by predicting that a planned U.N. climate treaty would damage the economies of oil exporters.
