By Christopher DeMorro •
September 25, 2009
The biggest limitation on electric cars, as we know, are the batteries. They take hours to charge, and cannot travel nearly as far as gas-powered engines. So while California may be the center of the “green movement,” traveling the almost 400 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco is impossible on electric power. Until now.
SolarCity has announced an EV charging corridor spanning the 382 miles between LA and San Fran featuring four stations, with a fifth station opening in October.
By Zachary Shahan •
September 25, 2009
A new report ranks ten leading world cities on their greenhouse gas emissions. It also examines how and why the emissions differ.
As the report says, over 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Leading cities of the world, global cities, are the places where greenhouse gas emissions really need to be cut. The greenest city from the study is Barcelona and the worst is Denver.
By Lucille Chi •
September 20, 2009
WWD Centerfold grazing amazing husband/wife design team Alkemie creates adornments for the body, all constructed of 100% reclaimed metal. Every Alkemie piece is made by hand, with love, in Los Angeles.
I like this owl ring as “the owl has long been thought of as a symbol of wisdom & a symbol of the feminine.” Interesting, enchanted myths, and ancient stories accompany each elegant piece.
By Jennifer Kho •
March 20, 2009
A measure calling for 400 megawatts of solar power on city-owned property in Los Angeles has officially failed. After a final tally, the city clerk’s office announced Thursday evening that voters rejected Measure B by a narrow 1 percent margin, with “yes” votes trailing 2,644 votes behind the “no” votes.
The announcement ends more than two weeks of suspense. Voters went to the polls March 3, but the result of the solar measure remained too close to call as provisional, late and write-in ballots had to be carefully counted.
By Jennifer Kho •
March 5, 2009
Last night was a long one for Los Angeles solar aficionados, and the wait’s not over yet. The fate of Measure B, which calls for the LA utility to install 400 megawatts of solar power on city-owned property, is still too close to call after Angelenos cast their ballots Tuesday.
At last count, the measure appeared to be on the verge of failing, with the “No” votes ahead by 1,322 votes — a narrow 0.6 percent — and only one precinct, with about 156 ballots, left unreported. But supporters still have a chance, as thousands of late, provisional and write-in ballots have yet to be tallied.
At stake is the only piece of Solar LA, an ambitious 1.3-gigawatt solar plan that newly reelected Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled in November, put to a public vote.
By Jerry James Stone •
February 23, 2009
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with President Bill Clinton, will retrofit LA with 140,000 LED streetlights starting this June. The initiative will save the city $48 million, and reduce carbon emissions by 197,000 tons.
By Marika Collins •
January 28, 2009
Despite extensive opposition and the rallying of animal activists and Hollywood celebrities alike, Los Angeles City Council voted today to go ahead with a $42 million elephant exhibit. About $12 million has already been spent towards the completion of the new exhibit, which is now 30 percent done.
Council also decided that the city will continue to keep Billy the elephant confined at the zoo instead of sending him to an animal sanctuary where he would have been afforded more space to roam. The planned six acre exhibit would be seven times larger than Billy’s current enclosure and feature approximately four acres of open space. Opponents argue that this falls far short of an elephant’s space requirements.
By Jennifer Lance •
January 27, 2009
1BOG began building its solar community in San Francisco (as depicted in the takeover of the map above). The original pilot campaign brought in 184 San Francisco residents who signed up for solar discounts from RealGoods, and 42 of them followed through to buy a system—double the normal adoption rate. The latest 1BOG campaign in the Bay Area has already brought in 1,070 sign ups, a 6x increase over the pilot. SolarCity has been selected as the installer for this round.
Definition, 1BOG: a nationwide, community-based program that organizes residents locally and negotiates group discounts with solar installers, using a comprehensive vendor selection process.
By Jerry James Stone •
January 18, 2009
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that BMW is giving the city a fleet of MINI Es as part of a feasibility test. In fact, BMW will be testing 500 electric MINIs worldwide. Other cities included in the program are Los Angeles, London and Berlin.
MINI E is the first product from BMW’s Project i program. Project i takes aim at vehicle and transportation strategies for the world’s mega-cities. The cars will be loaned to both customers and the cities for a full year.
By Jerry James Stone •
December 10, 2008
Maybe it’s just me. But it seems like you can’t crack open a
clean tech blog these days without uncovering a post on
The World’s Most Super Duperest Solar Project Ever. In the last month alone we’ve seen everyone from China to Los Angeles rolling out big budget solar plans.
By Ariel Schwartz •
November 25, 2008
San Francisco is usually designated the green capital of California, but now LA is trying to take the City by the Bay’s crown with the world’s largest solar plan. Yesterday, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a long-range plan to gather enough solar power to meet 10 percent of LA’s energy needs by 2020. This will be a major upgrade for the city, which currently derives less than 1 percent of its energy from solar power.
