Brooklyn lot is being transformed into a lush educational student farm

An 8,000 Square Foot Student Farm Grows in Brownsville, Brooklyn

Throughout New York City’s five boroughs, there are thousands of acres of city land sitting completely empty. One such lot sits across the street from P.S. 323 in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Once filled with weeds and trash, the 8,000-square-foot lot is currently being transformed into a lush educational student farm by teacher Nora Painten. Painten successfully raised more than $24,000 through Kickstarter to help fund the farm, which will have a chicken coop, bee hive, outdoor classroom, and dozens of vegetables and herbs. Over the next month, Painten is hosting volunteer days to help bring the farm to life.

It might not be the best time for renewable investments

Challenging year ahead for renewables investments

Emerging markets will be most attractive to renewable energy investors in 2012, while the outlook for more established markets will be uncertain, according to Ernst & Young. The consultancy’s quarterly renewable energy Country Attractiveness Indexes are again topped by China followed by the US, Germany and India. The UK beat Italy to fifth place.

Carbon prices plunge

Carbon prices plummet despite favourable set-aside vote

EU allowance (EUA) prices plunged today, despite a European Parliament committee voting in favour of measures to address the chronic oversupply of allowances in the market. As expected, the Parliament’s industry, research and energy (ITRE) committee voted in favour of amendments to the forthcoming energy efficiency directive which allow the European Commission to propose measures to compensate for a drop in emissions – and thus EUA demand – that may arise due to tighter efficiency targets.

Sustainable Capitalism

John Fullerton: Beyond Firm-Level Sustainable Capitalism

Generation Investment Management's recently released white paper "Sustainable Capitalism" (PDF) calls for a "paradigm shift to Sustainable Capitalism." It is an admirable and important contribution to the discussion about how to make individual firms more sustainable. Beyond this effort, we need the sustainable business community to join the ongoing systems level conversation about how to make the whole global economy truly sustainable, not merely less unsustainable. Without such a systemic shift, the sum of individual firm sustainability efforts will not translate into sustainable capitalism.

A decrease in the price of natural gas reduced the electricity industry's reliance on coal

Reduction in U.S. carbon emissions attributed to cheaper natural gas

In 2009, when the United States fell into economic recession, greenhouse gas emissions also fell, by 6.59% relative to 2008. In the power sector, however, the recession was not the main cause. Researchers at the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have shown that the primary explanation for the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from power generation that year was that a decrease in the price of natural gas reduced the industry's reliance on coal.