Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 22:34 - Category: Unfiled Tags: fuel cells;
Whole Foods Market in Glastonbury, Connecticut has decided to install a hydrogen-powered fuel cell to supply ½ of their electricity and almost 100-percent of their hot water.
Plus, heat from the fuel cells will be used to heat the store. It’ll also be used as emergency power backup in case of power outages. Plus, of course, fuel cells output practically no carbon.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 18:06 - Category: Renewable energy, Wind turbines ;
SoCal Edison is building such a wind farm in Tehachapi CA, making it the largest wind project ever in the US, producing 4500 megawatts of electricity.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 15:40 - Category: Unfiled Tags: Spitzer;
From Colin McEnroe of the Hartford Courant
If the Spitzer story is true, New York is about to have its first African-American, legally blind governor. Maybe by the end of the day.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 15:28 - Category: Unfiled Tags: Spitzer;
Dealbreaker has been gleefully blogging this, and makes the cogent point - if you’re calling up a hooker, don’t use your cell phone, as this leaves a big honking electronic trail.
No word yet on the reaction of Spitzer’s wife.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 14:20 - Category: Energy conservation, Renewable energy ;
The world must bring carbon emissions down to near zero to keep temperatures from rising further.
Yet in Britain, the government plans new “clean coal” projects because they say it’s the only way to keep the lights on. Doesn’t sound like they’re even trying to encourage energy conservation and renewables, does it?
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 10:49 - Category: Credit crisis ;
The fine folks at the implode-o-meter sites have been keeping track of companies that have imploded during the ongoing credit crisis.
Mortgage Lenders. 236 since late 2006.
Home builders. 22, since late 2006 (”plus 15 additional tiny implosions”)
Hedge funds. 32 since mid 2007.
Banks. Only a few so far, but we’re just warming up here. “There will be some bank failures” - Ben Bernanke, Feb. 2008.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 07:12 - Category: Unfiled Tags: carbon trading;
Carbon Trade Watch and others have just released this 41 minute film about the hazards of carbon trading and how it has had a damaging effect on two towns, one in Scotland, the other in Brazil.
Two communities affected by one new global market – the trade in carbon dioxide. In Scotland a town has been polluted by oil and chemical companies since the 1940s. In Brazil local people’s water and land is being swallowed up by destructive monoculture eucalyptus tree plantations. Both communities now share a new threat.
As part of the deal to reduce greenhouse gases that cause dangerous climate change, major polluters can now buy carbon credits that allow them to pay someone else to reduce emissions instead of cutting their own pollution.
What this means for those living next to the oil industry in Scotland is the continuation of pollution caused by their toxic neighbours. Meanwhile in Brazil the schemes that generate carbon credits gives an injection of cash for more planting of the damaging eucalyptus tree. The two communities are now connected by bearing the brunt of the new trade in carbon credits.
The Carbon Connection follows the story of two groups of people from each community who learned to use video cameras and made their own films about living with the impacts of the carbon market. From mental health issues in Scotland to the loss of medicinal plants in Brazil, the communities discover the connections they have with each other and the film follows them on this journey.
Carbon trading in theory is supposed to steadily decrease the amount of allowable carbon, thus making it more expensive for the to continue which would presumably then force the companies to clean up their act. But it needs to be mandatory and enforceable to be effective. Plus it needs to be genuinely green, no planting of damaging monocultures to be used as offsets. Otherwise it’ll just be an elaborate shell game of hide the emissions, which benefits no one.
Celcias has more.
Bob Morris @ Mar 10th 2008 00:29 - Category: Renewable energy Tags: John Doerr;
John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins super VC, told a group of students, investors and entrepreneurs at the Berkeley Energy Symposium on Friday that “it’s almost criminal that we’re not investing more in energy R&D.” And Doerr, who’s firm has already put almost $300 million into clean technologies, is advocating several green policies to help fight this “crime”.
Doerr sees huge potential in solar thermal and cellulosic biofuels. In case you’re wondering he is one of the big dogs of venture capitol and played a major role in the funding of Google, Amazon, Netscape, Sun Microsystems and many others. Al Gore recently became a partner and the firm is moving strongly into cleantech and renewable energy.
He’s right. The comatose response of the US, particularly at the governmental level, is virtually criminal. Imagine what we could accomplish with a government that led the way rather than fighting against needed change.
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