Green Options

Dow Chemical Company revealed a new line of solar shingles they say can be installed into roofs made of conventional asphalt shingles.The solar shingles should be available by mid 2010 in a limited supply and then readily accessible by 2011.

A World Wildlife Fund report released in late September, 2009 details the discovery over the last year of new species including 100 plants, 28 fish, 18 reptiles, 14 amphibians, 2 mammals and a bird.

Carolina Solar Energy developed the newest solar energy park in North Carolina. The park is a small one, powering about 60 homes in Person County.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Bavarian house in Pentling next to Regensburg, will be getting almost 600 square feet of
photovoltaic solar panels.
They were intended to be installed on the roof July 27-31, by local students of a trade school. The panels were donated to the Pope by local workmen.

India’s ‘National Solar Mission’, plans to have India generating 200,000 MW of solar power by 2050, and 100,000 by 2030 according to an official document.
The plan calls for 20,000 MW by 2020. For the next 11 years there is a three-phase approach: 1-1.5 by 2012, 6-7 GW by 2017 and 20 GW by 2020. Another goal for the 2030 milestone (besides the 100 GW target) is parity with energy production from coal.

Israel National News reported in early July that reserves of natural gas discovered near Haifa are larger than initially estimated, and could be enough to make the whole country energy self-sufficient for two decades.
CEO of Delek Energy, Yitzchak Tshuva, “Israel today is independent – completely independent with blue and white [Israeli-made] energy.”

Occidental Petroleum Corporation announced they have made the largest natural gas and oil discovery in California for 35 years.
The current assessment shows there could be between 150 million and 250 million gross barrels of oil equivalent. The discovery was made in Kern County, north of Los Angeles 130 miles. About two thirds of the discovery is believed to be natural gas. Energy analyst Fadel Gheit remarked: “Occidental’s reserves as of the end of last year were about 3 billion barrels. Even if you take the low end of their estimate, it’s a very meaningful find.”

The Geely Panda, a tiny Chinese gas-powered car with a 1.3 liter engine that gets 48 mpg, is going to have an electric version available sometime this year. The electric Panda will have an LC-E lithium-ion battery, 340V charge system, max. speed of 40 mph, and a range of 50 miles.

Huw Irranca-Davies, the British Fisheries Minister has joined a list of actors, celebrities and activists demanding the Japanese restaurant Nobu stop serving the endangered bluefin tuna on their menus.

A new species of Samoan fruit bat or ‘flying fox’ was discovered at the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia by Kristofer M. Helgen, a Research Zoologist and Curator of Mammals at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Helgen, the lead author of the paper published in American Museum Novitates, noticed the bat within one hour of being on the premises of the Academy of Sciences. (There are about 17 million biological specimens housed at the Academy.)