Latest Articles

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s HQ is green and gorgeous

Todd and I arrived early at our first D.C.-area appointment, so we wandered down a path leading out of the parking lot (where our Prius was in a “hybrid only” priority spot) and, to our delight, ended up on a sandy beach along the Chesapeake Bay. Shedding our shoes and any stress we might have […]

Sharp to boost thin-film solar capacity six-fold to 6,000 MW by 2014

The world’s second-largest maker of solar batteries plans a massive increase in capacity to meet soaring demand. Bloomberg reports: The company will raise the capacity to 6 gigawatts as early as 2014, from 1 gigawatt estimated for 2010 … Sharp, which lost its market-leading position to Thalheim, Germany-based Q-Cells AG last year, is focusing on […]

EPA declines to set standard for perchlorate in drinking water

As predicted last month, the U.S. EPA said on Friday it would not issue national standards limiting the amount of perchlorate allowed in drinking water. In making its decision, which critics charge was heavily influenced by the U.S. Defense Department, EPA said that even though perchlorate has contaminated over 150 public water systems in the […]

Methane digesters make dairy good sense

When Shawn Saylor was in high school, he built a science-fair-sized solar-powered home, complete with tiny solar cells and working lights. (He got an A.) These days, Saylor is a fourth-generation dairy farmer working on an entirely different renewable energy project. The Hillcrest Saylor Dairy Farm in Rockwood, Pennsylvania, produces some 6,000 gallons of milk […]

Cleantech venture investment hits record $2.6 billion in third quarter

And what are the three hottest technologies? Smart grid, algae (advanced biofuels), and, surprise surprise, thin-film solar. Venture capital investment in clean tech has been soaring in recent years because of high energy prices along with the growing concern and growing action on global warming. You might think that VC investment would be hurt by […]

Demand for green products exceeds supply

My relatives in the D.C. area are on a Prius waiting list. People wanting to build their own electric bikes are on waiting lists for parts. If you’re planning to put up some solar panels, well, get in line. According to Rich Bunch, at Silicon Solar Inc, their next shipment of solar components is due […]

Chicago’s City Hall is growing green

This is a guest post from my travel partner, Todd Dwyer, head blogger for Dell’s ReGeneration.org. —– Even as Sarah and I ran frantically down LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago in a desperate attempt to make it to our appointment with the Mayor’s office in time, it was apparent that there was something different about […]

NSIDC stunner: Arctic ice at ‘Likely record-low volume’

Looks like the Arctic may have set a record this year after all. The National Snow and Ice Data Center said today that Arctic sea ice volume likely hit a record low in 2008. They reconfirmed that the sea ice extent (or area) “dropped to the second-lowest level since satellite measurements began in 1979” and […]

Could you be the next energy czar?

We could be over-thinking this whole energy crisis. Maybe we need just a wink and the chant, “Drill, baby, drill.” Maybe we need a healthy helping of “clean coal and safe nuclear.” Or maybe what we need is you. What do you think: Could you be the next energy czar? Side note: If the last […]

Snippets from the news

• Six E.U. states ready to block climate plan. • World Bank green-energy funding up 87 percent. • Offshore wind farm approved in New Jersey.