Green Options » greenhouse gases

World’s Tallest Green Building?

Zachary Shahan — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:03:13 +0000

Taiwan’s Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004-2007. Now, it is looking to become the world’s tallest GREEN building.

The building’s owner, Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFC), is putting in $1.9 million to give this 101-story building a green makeover.

Read more of this story »

Green Books Campaign: Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:08 +0000

Editor’s Note: This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run by Ann Kenrick is a book about sustainable school travel. Any parent, no matter the size of their child’s school, has witnessed the traffic jam and exhaust fumes associated with the start and end of the school day, but it wasn’t always so. According to Kenrick, if you picked a random group of 40-year-old and asked them how they traveled to school, over “90% will say they walked” to school. Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run contemplates why school transportation trends have changed in such a short time and suggest methods to “reverse the trend.”

Read more of this story »

M&M’S® and MARS Going Green? New Solar Garden at Headquarters in New Jersey

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:13:04 +0000

Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company going solar. Popular with millions, billions perhaps, and about as mainstream as you can imagine, this is a good step for solar’s more widespread use across the country.

This facility is PSEG Solar Source’s first large-scale solar project. It is one of the largest solar projects in the state of New Jersey, which is already 2nd only to California in its amount of installed solar capacity. The MARS headquarters adjacent to the solar garden is the workplace of about 1,200 employees and is where M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies are manufactured.

Read more of this story »

New Zealand Environment Court Says No to Huge Wind Farm

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:26:46 +0000

What would have been the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wind farm, a $2 billion NZD ($1.4 billion USD) and 630 MW wind farm in New Zealand, is not happening because New Zealand’s Environment Court says that it would ruin the surrounding landscape.

This project would have powered over a million homes and made a huge dent in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is not happening now because of a group of NIMBY activists and the Environment Court’s ruling.

This is a huge blow, in itself, to renewable and wind energy proponents, but it also brings concerns for future wind energy projects.

Read more of this story »

10 Practical Suggestions for How a Polluting Company Can Easily Reduce its Greenhouse Gases

Susan Kraemer — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:59:31 +0000

Chances are, if you run a major polluting company, you’re not reading cleantechnica. But you never know. So here’s my advice, based on my experience writing about energy; gathered into one easy quick read for the non-eco reader, on how a polluting company can benefit from the new energy bill requirements to cut carbon emissions.

Read more of this story »

Can We Really Get Back to 350 ppm?

Dave Levitan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:49:42 +0000

Today is 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action, during which people around the world are trying to call attention to our need to bring the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere back down to 350 parts-per-million (ppm). A noble cause, to be sure — but can we actually do it?

Read more of this story »

Is Tropical Weather Moving North? - Interview with Oceanographer Julian Sachs

Michael Ricciardi — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:21:30 +0000

The thunderstorms of the Intertropical Convergence Zone form a line across the eastern Pacific Ocean.

It’s called the Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone (PICZ) and its activity brings roughly 4 meters of rainfall per year to the Pacific equatorial region. Tropical rainfall patterns greatly impact the livelihoods of more than a billion people. Historically, this zone appears to shift in tandem with cooling and warming trends in more northern latitudes. And, it may be on the move again.

This possibility is born out in the results from a recent, oceanographic research project detailing the southward movement of this zone in the past (Southward movement of the Pacific intertropical convergence zone AD 1400–1850, Sachs et al, Dept. of Oceanography/Atmospheric Sciences, Univ. of Wash., June 2009, Nature GeoScience), but which also suggest that, in the present era, a potential, northward movement of this important, climate-impacting zone may be underway.

Read more of this story »

The Missing Link in Climate Change: Product Policy

Dave Dempsey — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:47:14 +0000

Although images of giant coal-fired smokestacks and automobile tailpipes characterize greenhouse gas scenarios, a new report proposes a different way of thinking about it – product policy. Products and packaging contribute 44% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and reduction plans are more likely to succeed if extended producer responsibility (EPR) is made a cornerstone of commerce and environmental policy, the report says.

Read more of this story »

Norway 1st Rich Nation to Commit to 40% Reductions

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:53:59 +0000

Norway committed to cut their greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020 this week. This is the most ambitious goal of any rich nation to date.

Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg (just re-elected) is meeting the requests of many developing nations and environmental NGOs with this commitment.

Read more of this story »

Is the US Climate Illiterate?

Zachary Shahan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:29:55 +0000

“The United States is in a sense climate illiterate still,” Hans Schellnhuber, the director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said earlier this week.

He wasn’t just comparing the US to the EU, however. Even developing nations seem to know more about the issue and the potential results of inaction.

Read more of this story »

Senate Fights For EPA’s CO2 Regulation Power

Dave Levitan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:36:37 +0000

In the midst of a week when climate change finally stole back some of the spotlight that had been hogged by health care reform for months, the Senate fought off a potentially devastating attempt to emasculate the EPA and its recently won power to regulate greenhouse gases.

Read more of this story »

Top Technology Companies are Green and Clean on Newsweek’s Green Rankings

Beth Graddon-Hodgson — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:51:47 +0000

Not all clean tech companies need to produce more environmentally friendly products in order to make a difference; some are leaders in the industry because quite simply, they change their procedures in order to ensure that their practices reduce their carbon footprint. In this week’s Newsweek “Green Rankings” were released, and many of those higher up on the list include leaders in technology that are trying to make sure that their environmental impact is just that much cleaner.

Read more of this story »

Australia is #1 — New World Leader in Global Warming Emissions

Zachary Shahan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:33:54 +0000

Australia has passed the US as the new world leader in CO2 emissions per capita. That is not the only climate change problem in Australia, though.

Read more of this story »

$900 Billion to Cut China’s Emissions with Wind Power

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:38:25 +0000

As mentioned in previous posts, the United Nations is calling on rich (developed) countries to provide developing countries with $500-600 billion a year in support to tackle climate change. A recent report declares that India needs $1.1 trillion in the next several years to cut emission growth by 50-60% by 2030. Another report from the last week says that China could cut its emissions by 30% by 2030 as well with $900 billion of investment in wind energy.

Read more of this story »

$1.1 Trillion to Cut Carbon Emissions in India

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:41:26 +0000

The United Nations stated a couple weeks ago that developed (rich) countries need to provide developing countries with about $500-600 billion a year to control global warming. This was a big increase from other predictions.

Big portions of these funds need to go to India, a large developing country that includes about one sixth of the world’s population. A new study shows what is needed to significantly cut growth in greenhouse gases in this top country.

Read more of this story »

Laughing Gas: The Latest Environmental Threat

Lisa Wojnovich — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:50 +0000

Nitrous oxide, more commonly known at your dentist’s office as laughing gas, is now the most prevalent man-made substance damaging the ozone layer. And it’s a greenhouse gas. Sadly, the joke’s apparently on us.

Read more of this story »

Inspired Economist: Pick of the Week

Reenita Malhotra — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:20:01 +0000

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

While Detroit has benefited from Cash for Clunkers, foreign automakers have gained even more. Some critics of the program warned that because it let consumers buy domestic or foreign cars, Clunkers could end up spending more American tax dollars to help foreign companies than American ones. More on this story here.

With irresponsible banking practices taking the blame for bringing about the global economic crisis, there has been a surge of interest in Islamic finance.Now, a slew of academic courses are springing up to meet the demand of those wanting to break into an expanding market. According to ratings agency Moody’s, the global Islamic finance sector is worth $700 billion and has the potential to be worth $4 trillion. More on this story here.

n an effort to curb solid waste pollution, China banned the import of scrap polysilicon at the beginning of August, an effort supported by its current environmental laws according to its Environmental Protection Ministry. Scrap polysilicon is a low-grade form of silicon not pure enough to use in microchips. However, it can be used as a component of solar wafers, which contain a variety of types of silicon, including up to 30% scrap polysilicon. More on this story here.

Read more of this story »

China Bans Scrap Polysilicon

Lisa Wojnovich — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:27:54 +0000

In an effort to curb solid waste pollution, China banned the import of scrap polysilicon at the beginning of August, an effort supported by its current environmental laws according to its Environmental Protection Ministry. Scrap polysilicon is a low-grade form of silicon not pure enough to use in microchips. However, it can be used as a component of solar wafers, which contain a variety of types of silicon, including up to 30% scrap polysilicon.

Read more of this story »

100 Days to Copenhagen Climate Conference Marked by Ice Sculptures in China and India

Zachary Shahan — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:06:39 +0000

Yesterday, marking the 100-day countdown to the world-changing climate change conference in Copenhagen, Greenpeace presented beautiful ice sculptures in China and India to “to symbolise the ‘disappearing future‘ for the 1.3 billion people in Asia at risk of water shortage as a result of climate change” and “to show ‘the world washed away’ by glacial melts. They also engaged in several other creative demonstrations around the world to encourage climate action in Copenhagen in December.

Read more of this story »

How ‘Cash for Clunkers’ is Adding Carbon

Joe Walsh — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:36:08 +0000

By most accounts, the Obama administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program is a resounding success. You’ve heard the sound bytes: “good for consumers, good for dealers/the auto industry/the economy, good for the environment.” There was some embarrassing attention focused on the program during its second week as consumer response overwhelmed everything from the dealer interface system to the rebate financing that the government initially allocated.

As the program’s future hung in the balance, some dealers were left holding clunkers without a guarantee that the rebates would ever be paid, and as administration officials promised a hollow-sounding “good faith effort” to pay off all the deals already made, those dealers began to call customers to claw back the new cars or request cash payments to offset the rebate.

Read more of this story »