Mazda Takes Different Tack on Hydrogen as Fuel
Japanese carmaker has tweeked its rotary engine to burn hydrogen.
Green Week in Review podcast – September 4, 2009
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The Green Week in Review is a podcast, hosted by SustainableBusiness.com News Editor Bart King. It’s posted every Friday morning and is 15-20 minutes long. You can listen to it through your browser or download it to a portable MP3 player. Sign up for our General News RSS Feed and it will be automatically downloaded to your computer’s media player each week. In this week’s show… Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), the third largest utility in the U.S., cut ties with a coal industry group fighting against clean energy legislation. Georgia EPD issued draft pollution permits for a new coal-fired power plant (link to GA Tech study). California regulators proposed the adoption of a unique feed-in tariff to boost renewable energy supply A California mine for rare earth materials hopes to avert a supply crunch in the clean tech industry. A visionary project called Solar Roadways was awarded a contract from the Department of Transportation to build a prototype road "paved" with photovoltaic solar panels. Plus, a summary of the week’s top cleantech headlines. ++++ Email comments or questions to bart@sustainablebusiness.com
The Link between Cleantech & Mining
We usually think of mining as bad for the environment, but in this case, the situation is more complex. The US imports 100% of the quartz crystal needed for PV panels used to generate solar energy, 91% of the platinum for fuel cells, 100% of the indium for LED lighting technologies, and 100% of the rare earth minerals for advanced batteries. As Craig Canine, author of the article below says, "The US and other developed countries risk trading their addiction to oil for a new form of energy dependence." Rather than depending on the Mid East, we could rely on China, which is the OPEC of rare earth minerals. In each Administration, the antiquated Mining Law of 1872 comes under review, as it is now in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources. Congress enacted the law after the Gold Rush, and gave the land and its minerals away for free to encourage settlement of the American West. In 1920, Congress passed the Mineral Leasing Act, which required corporations to lease the land and pay royalties on for oil, gas, coal and certain other minerals – providing a financial return to the public for the production of publicly-owned […]
Duke Energy Withdraws from Coal Coalition
Utility says group will never support climate legislation.
DOE Completes New Standards for Appliances
New standard for vending machines wraps up an accelerated push for new efficiency standards.
Obama's Choice for Office of Surface Mining Harshly Criticized
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said choice of Joseph G. Pizarchik demonstrates that the administration is placating the coal industry.
Costs of Adapting to Climate Change Significantly Underestimated – Report
New peer-reviewed report suggest adaptation may be 2-3 times higher than estimated by UN.
What is the Future of Biofuels?
Ethanol industry wants fuel labeling; WSJ says industry is in trouble.
Two Geothermal Setbacks
AltaRock suspends demonstration project; Raser denied DOE funding.
Elster Acquires European Smart-Grid Company
EnergyICT, based in Belgium, will expand Elster's portfolio of smart grid products.
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