Monday, February 20, 2012

Rural interest in wind turbines is soaring

Farmers flock to Kinetica small-wind opportunity - 20 Feb 2012 - News from BusinessGreen

Contrary to popular belief, rural interest in wind turbine technologies is currently soaring, according to one of the UK's leading green entrepreneurs. Speaking to BusinessGreen, Peter Darwell, former boss of independent energy firm Economy Power, which was sold to E.ON in 2005, and chairman of three renewable energy developers, said his latest venture is expanding rapidly on the back of huge demand for wind energy projects from farmers, landowners and businesses.

Atlantis considering investment in tidal and wind farm

Atlantis in talks to create joint tidal and wind farm - 21 Feb 2012 - News from BusinessGreen

A leading tidal power developer has revealed it is in talks to create a new marine energy farm capable of producing both wind and tidal power, in a bid to cut costs and boost the reliability of intermittent green energy technologies. Tim Cornelius, chief executive of Atlantis Resources, told BusinessGreen that the company is already in talks with suppliers of transmission components, such as cabling and converters, to examine the feasibility of building a combined project from scratch or adding its own tidal turbines onto an existing offshore wind farm.

Huge New Market For Organic Foods

Europe-US partnership creates huge new market for organic foods - 21 Feb 2012 - News from BusinessGreen

It may not be a victory for local food activists, but a new deal brokered last week between the US and the European Union marks a big step forward for expanding organic agriculture. Under a deal announced last Wednesday by trade representatives for each region, products certified as organic by either the US Department of Agriculture or the EU's Agriculture and Regional Development department are authorised for sale in either Europe or the US.

A Green Carnival For Rio?

Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Rio's Carnival | Corporate Social Responsibility

Until tomorrow, Brazil will be caught in the frenzy of its carnival, the world's biggest street party, famous for the lavish costumes presented in Rio de Janeiro by the city's iconic samba schools. Despite the bacchanalian abandon of the party, in recent years an element of social responsibility has been assimilated into the proceedings, in order to generate both social and environmental benefits. A partnership struck between Acadmicos da Rocinha, a samba school based in Rio's biggest 'favela' (slum) and Instituto Synthesis, a social responsibility initiative, will enable the recycling of all the materials used at the school's warehouse to make costumes and props.

$10 Trillion Worth Of Investors Call for Carbon Reductions

Lloyds, Santander, Other Investors Call for Carbon Emissions Reductions · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Banco Santander, Axa, Westpac, Lloyds Banking Group and other institutional investors worth a total of $10 trillion have called for 415 of the world’s largest public companies to enact cost-effective management and reductions of their carbon emissions. The Carbon Disclosure Project sent a letter on behalf of the 92 pension funds, asset managers, insurers and banks as part of its Carbon Action initiative, simultaneously with its annual request for company disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change strategies and water use.

UK Fines ExxonMobil $4.4m

ExxonMobil Fined $4.4m for Under-Reporting Carbon Emissions · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

ExxonMobil was fined £2.8 million ($4.4 million) after failing to report carbon emissions from a Scottish chemical plant, it has emerged. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency slapped ExxonMobil with the fine in 2010 but the details of the reporting error – which ExxonMobil admits, and says it regrets – have just been published, the BBC reports. The fine is Britain’s biggest ever for an environmental violation, the Scotsman reports. The paper says the fine was “buried” in the report issued last week.

Everything you need to know about climate change

Everything you need to know about climate change - interactive | Environment | guardian.co.uk

A one-stop guide to the facts of global warming, from the science and politics to economics and technology, drawn from our ultimate climate change FAQ.

What is a stock-flow problem?

Why does climate change get described as a 'stock-flow' problem? | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Economists often describe climate change as a 'stock-flow' problem. This refers to the fact that the greenhouse effect, and in turn climate change, depends on the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – the 'stock' – while the thing humans can control as a response is the rate at which additional greenhouse gases are emitted – the 'flow'. The total stock of atmospheric greenhouse gases depends on the difference between man-made emissions and the natural removal of greenhouse gases from the air by oceans and plant life.

Top ten environmental economics highlights from 2011

Top ten highlights from 2011 | International Institute for Environment and Development

Every year, as journalists, bloggers, commentators and organisations across the world reflect on the year that's gone, the online world is flooded by lists highlighting the highs and lows. Search in Google and you'll instantly have to hand more than 150 million top 10 lists for 2011.

Drawing up plans for a low-carbon electric world

A Practical Blueprint for a Low-Carbon Electric World? - ScienceNOW

A Practical Blueprint for a Low-Carbon Electric World?

Electrifying. By 2030, cities will need to replace gas-powered cars with electric cars and electrified mass transport, including light rail, shown here, according to the Equinox Blueprint. The modern world needs electricity to function, and a lot of it. But obtaining it from coal, gas, and other fossil fuels that release carbon dioxide during their extraction or use arguably threatens the world with climate catastrophe. Last summer, a group of scientific experts, business and policy leaders, and young environmental leaders spent four intense days at the University of Waterloo in Canada, brainstorming what they considered the most promising technologies to replace carbon-intensive modes of electricity production. Yesterday, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (publisher of ScienceNOW), they released their findings, which present a comprehensive road map to a low-carbon electricity system by 2030.

UK government-backed VC fund seeds six new carbon investment pools

Environmental Finance | News | UK’s clean-tech venture fund commits £60m to six funds

A clean-technology venture capital fund backed by the UK government has committed almost half its reserves to six funds, and is in negotiations for a seventh fund investment and a direct investment in a UK company. The £130 million ($206 million) Hermes GPE Environmental Innovation Fund (HEIF) was launched two years ago to stimulate investment in clean-tech companies, so helping the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Carbon storage requires innovation

Carbon storage project combines innovation and outreach | Science Codex

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Geologists are hoping to learn a great deal about geologic carbon sequestration from injecting 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into sandstone 7,000 feet beneath Decatur, Ill. And they're hoping the public learns a lot from the endeavor, too. The Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP) began its injection, the first million-ton demonstration from an industrial source in the U.S., in November 2011. Over the next three years, the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, led by the Illinois State Geological Survey, hopes to use innovative science and engaging outreach to evaluate the potential of carbon capture and storage techniques. "The Illinois Basin-Decatur Project is a significant example of how science impacts society and serves as an example of how science at a local level can impact the global good," said Sallie Greenberg, the sequestration communications coordinator for the Illinois State Geological Survey, a branch of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

Sustainable studies in Kuwait

Perkins+Will's Kuwait University Model School Will Be A Living Green Laboratory

The Kuwait University Model School will provide primary and secondary education in the new Sabah Al-Salem University City with a strong focus on hands-on experiences, outdoor classrooms, and sustainable studies. Designed by Perkins+Will, the new school will feature green roofs, gardens, laboratories and a number of other eco-conscious strategies. Through sustainable agriculture, the school hopes to teach its students about how to protect and heal the landscape which they will inherit.

"Compost and Condiments"

Saving Food From The Fridge: It Will Taste Better, May Even Last Longer And Reduce Your Energy Bills

Fridges are a recent invention; for thousands of years, people lived without them, but had many low-tech ways of making food last. Today most fridges are filled with stuff that would last just as long and probably would taste a lot better if it was never lost in the back of the fridge. They are expensive air conditioned parking lots for what Shay Salomon called "compost and condiments."

Is NYC's greenest building a toilet?

The Greenest Building In New York May Well Be A Public Toilet

Frederick Law Olmstead designed New York's Riverside Park in 1875. The infamous Robert Moses ran a highway through it in 1935, but didn't kill it; "Today, the mature trees and sweeping lawns of the park tend to disguise the transport-oriented nature of the park’s construction." Occupying part of the park is the Riverside Tennis Club, which is in need of new washrooms to replace their current porta-potties. They hired Rick Cook of Cook + Fox to design them, and are building the bogs to the Living Building Challengestandard, perhaps the toughest green standard there is.

Shrimp cocktail is one of the worst things you can do for the environment

There's Nothing Small About Shrimp's Carbon Footprint

There's perhaps no other animal on Earth so synonymous with all things diminutive as the modestly framed shrimp -- but, as it turns out, not everything about those famed crustaceans is small. Biologists say that common shrimp farming methods across Asia are so devastating to fragile ecosystems as to make ordering a simple shrimp cocktail one of the worst things you could do for the environment in the name of grabbing some grub.

How to maximize earnings through environmental management

Sustainability Boosts Returns for Private Equity Funds, Part II

In the first installment of this series, we provided a brief overview of why sustainability matters to private equity fund managers and how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management can be leveraged to unlock value. This article will focus on how private equity general partners (GPs) can maximize portfolio EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) by utilizing sustainability as a lens to identify cost saving opportunities. Leading funds are already leveraging sustainability to create strategic advantage for their portfolio companies and global trends will only make this issue more crucial during the coming years.

Glacial human carbon-footprint man made

Most glacial carbon 'human-made' | TG Daily

The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded team examined carbon-containing dissolved organic matter (DOM) in glacial ice, and concludes that its source isn't, as was widely believed, ancient forests and peatlands overrun by the glaciers.

Will Russia block emission trading?

Russia could block airlines from emission trading | Reuters

"We are facing a new initiative by the EU that may trigger real 'trade wars' and cause damage to the world airline industry at one of its most critical stages," the airline added. "The Russian government is now reviewing a bill prohibiting Russian airlines to participate in emission trading: it means considering a retaliatory approach," Aeroflot told Reuters on the eve of the talks.

Sustainable schools in Abu Dhabi

Khaleej Times Home - UAE EduFocus

As part of the comprehensive plan to revamp the public education system in the emirate, 24 new sustainable schools are slated to be built in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Delivery of the new schools will be done in phases.

In Abu Dhabi, the new campuses will be constructed in Al Shamkha, Bani Yas, Al Shawamekh, Al Bahia and the new Al Falah while the Al Ain schools will be in Al Yahar, Al Foaa, Zakher, Al Bateen, Al Muwaiji, Al Qattara, Al Salamat, Al Shuwaib, Al Wagan and Al Qua.

The exact locations are still being studied by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) taking into account the growing population in these remote areas.

The approval to construct the 24 green schools was given to ADEC last month by the Executive Council - Abu Dhabi, boosting the education authority’s efforts to provide an ‘attractive, safe and flexible learning environment.”