3M, Ford, GM Receive DOE Funding
$14.5 million in funding dispersed among six projects for alternative vehicle technology.
More Banks Weighing Carbon Risks
Five international banks have adopted a set of principles to asses carbon risks in their lending practices.
Noisier Oceans Threaten Marine Life
New research suggests that acidification of the ocean, resulting from carbon dioxide emissions, allows sounded to travel farther underwater.
Clinton Global Initiative Attracts Environmental Commitments in Asia
The first Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Asia concluded yesterday with the announcement of numerous commitments to environment, health and education.
IPS Raises $13M For Commercialization of Thin-FIlm Batteries
Thin, flexible batteries can be adopted to a wide array of uses including active RFID and medical devices.
Global Solar Opens Largest CIGS Thin-Film System
Global Solar Energy installs worlds largest CIGS array; Ascent Solar achieves efficiency milestone.
Sencera Receives $5M for Efficiency Milestone
Thin-film solar company triggers additional funding by reaching 7% efficiency mark.
Chemrec Raises $20M for Paper Mill Biorefineries
Chemrec received $20 million in funding to commercialize technology that enables biorefining at paper and pulp mills.
Editorial: Auto Bailout Is About Power, Not Efficiency
By Bart King As I write this, the CEO’s of the three biggest American auto companies are en route to Washington D.C. in hybrid vehicles. ‘For Sale’ signs have been hung in the windows of the corporate jets that delivered them to the feet of Congress a few weeks ago, when they first asked for a federal bailout. But their penance is not limited to the revocation of VIP flight privileges. Whether they know it or not, they are atoning for the hubris of an entire nation that led its signature industry down a dead-end road. Despite rising gasoline prices around the world throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, U.S. car buyers and makers opted for increased power, rather than efficiency – an indulgence that was made affordable by suppressed fuel prices due to the enormous size of the U.S. market. But since the beginning of the new century, the United States has lost its market dominance, as millions of drivers in China and India adopted the American dream of auto ownership. Other factors contributed as well, but in the last two years U.S. drivers have been required to pay per-gallon prices on par with the rest of the world – […]
My Day at the GreenBuild Conference
Is there a green building product you particularly like or does your business make a green building product you’d like our visitors to know about? If so, please register and then add your comment below and us know. by Terry Reiber This year’s "Greenbuild International Conference and Expo," held November 19-21 at the Boston Exhibition Center was another blow-out conference. Organized by the venerable U. S. Green Building Council, it was shoulder to shoulder at many of the hundreds of booths, attracting about 25,000 attendees. Despite the broad-based slowdown in the construction industry and concern about its impact on green building, participants seemed very happy with the business they lined up during the conference. Some exhibitors were so busy I had to stand in line to speak with them, with visits limited to two minutes or less! One booth gained almost "rock star" status – the Kirei display. Who knew people could get so inspired about wheatboard made from agriculture waste and ply panels and veneers made from bamboo?! Or maybe it was the EcoTop recycled and bamboo countertops that so excited people – they shared the booth. There’s no question – Bamboo is in! Luckily, there was no Wal-Mart-style […]