If the cleantech sector has an Academy Awards, the Cleantech Open is it. Cleantech startups from around North America are gathering this week to learn which lucky teams will represent their regions in the national Cleantech Open business competition in November, 2012. Denis DuBois attended the Pacific Northwest region’s judging and awards party in Portland, Oregon, to get a taste of the action. Read the rest of this entry »
Cost parity with fossil fuels has long been the holy grail of the renewable energy industry. When shale exploration in the United States began producing abundant natural gas, prices began falling and didn’t pull the rip cord before hitting ten-year lows.
The Heartland Institute is distributing a handbook for deniers of global warming. Spoiler alert: The book’s message is to dismantle the EPA.
From the consumer level on up to the city scale, solar power is expanding its share of electricity production. How can that be accelerated? A report finds a “peer effect” among consumers who install solar. And the U.S. Department of Energy publishes case studies of cities’ efforts to increase solar adoption.
Big areas of habitat occupied by Agassiz’s desert tortoise and other at-risk species have potential for large-scale solar-energy developments. Peer-reviewed studies are needed, says the United States Geological Survey — but so is a concerted campaign of cooperation and public outreach.
Sustainable cities! Every mayor wants one. They attract green businesses, and the career-minded people who want to work there. Just proclaiming a community “green” isn’t nearly enough. Forward-thinking cities are walking the talk. I went looking for examples in Copenhagen, Denmark. The secret to their success is integrating energy production right into the city. They stopped worrying about the garbage and started becoming a carbon-neutral city.
