Archive for the ‘Carbon’ category

GreenBeat: Al Gore says Smart Grid part of ‘the single largest solution’ to climate change

November 23rd, 2009

al-gore Nobel Prize winner and former vice president Al Gore gave a wide-ranging, passionate talk at VentureBeat’s GreenBeat 2009 conference yesterday in San Mateo about combating global warming. We already liveblogged Gore’s talk, but for folks who don’t want to read the blow-by-blow description, here’s a summary.

Perhaps the most significant point: That energy efficiency is “the single largest solution to the climate crisis,” and the Smart Grid will “play a crucial role” in achieving that efficiency.

Kyoto Protocol: An Anti-Climate-Tic Ending

October 19th, 2009

titlephoto As 2012 draws closer and closer, so too does the end of the prestigious Kyoto protocol.

The Kyoto protocol is a global initiative aimed at stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Which as most would agree is a great thing.

Although according to NPR, drafting a new agreement in the near future seems unlikely. The reason for this is strong opposition from the United States Congress. Although President Clinton signed the original pact, the U.S. refused to ratify the original agreement and is slowing the creation of a new draft because the original pact did not require any action from developing countries like China, which is the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Both the Bush and the Obama administration felt that this was a fatal flaw in the protocol. There has been little progress but not for lack of effort. In an interview between NPR and European Commission Vice President, Margot Wallstrom, she said that it has been very difficult negotiating a treaty that the U.S would agree to and that all parties involved would rather be on track to a solution.

Hopefully these issues will be worked through in December when world leaders meet in Copenhagen to discuss next steps.

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Posted in Advocacy, Carbon, Climate Change, Uncategorized

Tags: climate climate initiative EU green greenhouse gas Kyoto obama

The New Environmental Solution

July 31st, 2009

biochar Adding crop residue, bones, and manure to our soil could cure all of our environmental woes. If you don’t believe me, ask Brian Bibens, a research engineer with the University of Georgia’s Biorefinery and Carbon Recycling Program.

This intriguing soil combination called “biochar” was first used hundreds of years ago by indigenous people of the Amazon River when they added a mixture of charred organic materials to their soil, creating vast and fertile farmland that is still some of the richest soil on Earth today.

“The idea is that by putting char in the soil you can increase the fertility of that soil,” Bibens said.

As evidenced by Terra Preta, biochar can stay in the soil for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, sequestering carbon, increasing crop yields and possibly improving water quality.

According to the International Biochar Initiative, because it is so stable, adding biochar to soil increases retention of nutrients so that less fertilizer is needed and therefore less is released as pollution.

From Trash to Treasure

July 20th, 2009

dsc_0752_610x407 Next time your boss sees you throwing away his memo, tell him you’re doing it to help the environment. Unload the break room fridge into the garbage, and you’ll power the office for an hour or two. Surely, your hungry co-workers can’t stay mad at you knowing you are just trying to do your part.

IST Energy Corp. has launched its new product, the GEM3T120, a waste-to-energy system in the consumer market that cleanly converts trash into electricity and heat.

Perfect for office buildings, hospitals, and much more, the GEM3T120 can process up to three tons of paper, plastic, food, wood and agricultural materials daily into pellets. At full capacity, the resulting energy from these pellets is enough to power and heat a 200,000 square foot building housing more than 500 people. With no disposal costs for the waste it processes and the energy produced, IST estimates the GEM creates an annual energy cost savings of about $250,000.

The GEM can save consumers big bucks, but the benefits of using the system are not only financial. The GEM is eco-friendly and carbon negative, diminishing greenhouse gases by 540 tons annually. In fact, the system powers itself with the clean energy it produces.

Stu Haber, president and CEO of IST Energy says: “The GEM has created a value for every bag of trash we generate – first by eliminating the need for disposal and then by converting it into energy.”

A Green Environment Makes for a Green Economy

July 20th, 2009

greenenergy What could the United States do with an extra $465 billion? Free healthcare? Free college tuition? Tax cuts? Heck, they could even buy the Yankees. And the best part, not only would the U.S. be saving all that money, they would radically cut CO2 emissions by 80% over the next 40 years, according to a study released by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

“We have a historic opportunity to reinvent our economy, tackle global warming, and cut energy costs. Setting a limit on heat-trapping emissions would ensure that we make the necessary carbon emission reductions to help avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Combining a carbon cap with strong efficiency, renewable electricity, and transportation standards can deliver those emission cuts and save Americans a substantial amount of money,” says UCS president Kevin Knobloch.

Most of the savings would be on energy bills due to better efficiencies in building and industrial processes, a more efficient transportation system, and cleaner cars. Although a more efficient transportations system and cars would likely cost about $35 billion, drivers would potentially save over $120 billion in fuel costs per year.

“Efficiency and renewable energy technologies are ready today to power our economy with carbon-free electricity. Our blueprint shows that these clean energy sources can lead the way in cutting U.S. emissions, while lowering electricity bills and curbing our addiction to dirty, high-carbon coal power,” says Steve Clemmer, research director of UCS’s Clean Energy Program.

The Coal Industry: Misguided Priorities

July 13th, 2009

clean coal houses As the world shifts its ideological views from cheaper to greener, how do the folks running the coal industry, possibly the dirtiest business in the world, react? Do they clean up their product? Do they produce cleaner energies? Or maybe even donate money to an environmental foundation? Of course not.

Instead, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) spent a staggering $45 million last year on their “America’s Power” campaign, which many believe is a deception touting the benefits of so-called “clean coal.” And if that weren’t enough, the coal and electric industries spent a jaw-dropping $125 million lobbying against federal legislation promoting clean energy and a cap on global warming pollution.

As these industries spend millions running ads implying that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is here or just around the corner, the industry refuses to spend much of anything to turn its overheated rhetoric into reality. And it’s not for lack of funds. The 48 companies that make up the ACCCE front group earned a combined $57 billion in profits in 2007 alone, yet over a period of several years they have invested just $3.5 billion in research into CCS.

Find out more at alternet.org

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Carbon, renewable energy

Google’s Plan for Renewable Energy

June 29th, 2009

Many people think of Google Inc. as just a search company, but now it can add renewable energy investor to its resume. Google is all about changing the world in a positive way, according to CEO Eric Schmidt, who has proposed a plan to help provide the world with renewable energy.

Google plans to put clean energy at the heart of the U.S. energy mix, promoting energy efficiency, a massive renewable-energy push to replace coal, and an accelerated rollout of plug-in cars.

The plan sets a target date of 2030 to get Power Companies and Utilities totally off carbon fuels, currently the most common power source, by calling for heavy increases in wind and solar power, with wind power being the closest thing to a free substitute for coal. Unfortunately, most populated areas are temperate and not very windy, so part of the challenge is finding the correct grid technology to bring energy to customers.

Google plans on investing $3.5 trillion in the project over the next 22 years, but expects to generate a cost basis savings of $4.4 trillion based on the right assumptions and investments.

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Carbon, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Solar, Technology, Wind

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