Solar isn’t just the way to go for our power needs, but it’s the way to go for jobs as well. The solar power jobs sector grew 20 times faster than any other sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of solar jobs has surpassed the number of coal mining jobs. This is a hopeful sign for both alternative energy and job growth.
Continue reading… “The solar power jobs sector grew 20 times faster than any other energy sector”
Environmental benefits are not the biggest attraction to electric cars.
People love to categorize things. Sometimes people categorize too quickly and too simply. Electric cars are linked to their environmental benefits and being green, but the electric cars’ performance and convenience benefits are the biggest electric car attractions for most consumers.
Soradofarms
When you think of Tokyo you you think of smog and skyscrapers, and people, lots of people – you don’t really think of green spaces. But in an effort to ‘green the city’, officials have given up the space on the roof train stations to make community gardens.
Continue reading… “Tokyo’s urban train stations turned into farms in an effort to ‘green the city’”
Volocopter VC200
Greener transportation options have become a priority in the modern world. Greener and more efficient vehicles of all types are eventually becoming the standard. Even helicopters are becoming greener. One German company, E-volo, designed several electric helicopters, and one of its models, the Volocopter VC200, recently passed its first flight tests. (Video)
Continue reading… “Volocopter VC200 – 18-rotor electric helicopter takes flight”
What happened to biofuels?
Everybody was talking about biofuels a few years ago. Politicians in the U.S. saw corn ethenol as a path to “energy independence,” while greener folks preferred biodiesel made from waste cooking oil. Fans of biofuels said that these were supposed to be just a bridge to second-generation biofuels like cellulosic ethanol and algae biodiesel; these wouldn’t be made from food crops or limited feedstocks, and they would be much greener overall.
Continue reading… “What is the future for biofuels?”
America could do with some Californication when it comes to clean tech. California is beating everywhere else hands down, from public policy and capital invested to adoption of electric vehicles and smart meters.
Continue reading… “Clean Edge ranks the states and cities in the clean-tech economy”
The treatment involves electrodes implanted in the eyes of people whose retinas are damaged.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first treatment that can restore (limited) eyesight to (some) blind people, last week. It’s an exciting milestone, despite the caveats.
Continue reading… “First ‘bionic eye’ implants will hit the U.S. market this year”
Sucks for American clean tech. Never mind that the industry is pretty universally regarded as one of tomorrow’s most important drivers of job growth and innovation—the already too-meager, maddeningly scattershot government support for clean energy is about to dry up altogether. So, goodbye ARPA-E?
David Roberts points us to this graph from a newish report from the Breakthrough Institute, the World Resources Institute, and the Brookings Institution, and, as you can see, it’s not pretty. And that sad-looking $11 billion stump too will disappear unless there’s a shift in policy.
Here’s Roberts…
Continue reading… “U.S. on track to stop funding clean tech”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO_-gwiteFE&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
Last week, pranksters dyed the Goldstream River on Vancouver Island bright green using the dye fluorescein. Apparently the river was so bright that it was painful to look at. Here’s footage of this roiling ectoplasmic channel. (video)
Continue reading… “Pranksters Dye River in Canada Bright Fluorescent Green”
Frederic Scheer, Cereplast CEO, hopes to use an algae byproduct to make utensils and other items.
Clean-tech ideas that have received government funding include using bacteria to make a gasoline-type fuel. Solar proposals seeking funding include sending collectors into space and beaming the sun power back to Earth.
Continue reading… “Futuristic Concepts in Green Technology are Getting Attention”
Winning The Power Battle With Wind?
And you thought that 1,000 megawatt wind farm planned for Lake Erie was going to be huge. Terra-Gen Power recently secured a staggering $1.2 billion in construction financing, which it fully intends to use on 3D projectors, PlayStation 3 consoles and parts necessary to build America’s largest wind farm. Granted, only one of those points is actually true, but we suspect you’re hanging with us…
Your last carbon footprint.
Think of it as a last chance to reduce your carbon footprint. Soon there will be a range of greener options for your funeral – from being dissolved in chemicals to freeze-drying.
Continue reading… “Eco-Friendly Funerals of the Future”
