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Renewable energy is good for them

Renewable energy is good for rural communities — at least in the UK: A study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, of community renewable energy projects in Britain has found that so far, projects are largely based in the countryside, some quite remote. From wind turbines to shared heating systems, small-scale renewable energy […]

We want some

Hmmm. This is interesting. Seems that American Express is running a contest, and the winning project gets $5 million.

I mention this for two reasons: out of civic duty, and because our project is in the running for five million freakin' dollars.

We are currently about 1,200 measly votes from making it to the next round.

The project, "Harvest the Sun," is a collaboration of Vote Solar and the Center for Resource Solutions, and would go toward our work bringing solar into the mainstream.

For the love of God -- I currently expend a ridiculous amount of time, energy, and dignity raising money for the work we do, and we do it on a shoestring. With $5 mil we could damn near guarantee a defeat of global warming.

So, if you are an AmEx cardholder, I would be eternally grateful if you'd take the time to go to the Members Project website and vote for "Harvest the Sun".

Thank you.

Really

If you haven’t already heard, yesterday saw the release of an important new report: In the most comprehensive environmental assessment of electric transportation to date, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are examining the greenhouse gas emissions and air quality impacts of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The […]

Shocking

I am shocked, shocked at the N.Y. Times report:

The Japanese operator of a nuclear power plant stricken by an earthquake earlier this week said Wednesday that damage was worse than previously reported and that a leak of water was 50 percent more radioactive than initially announced.

For the third time in three days, Tokyo Electric Power apologized for delays and errors in announcing the extent of damage at the plant in this northwestern coastal city, which was struck Monday by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. The company also said that tremors had tipped over "several hundred" barrels of radioactive waste, not 100 as it reported Tuesday, and that the lids had opened on "a few dozen" of those barrels.

Why is it you never read, "Wind Farm Damage Worse Than Reported"? The L.A. Times has more alarming news:

The new alchemy: Turning iron particles into gelt

Turns out we here at Grist got a preview of his "fringe environmentalist" testimony to Congress.

Too bad the Post didn't mention his cold fusion background; that really puts this scheme into perspective.

It's just the eco-version of the same old same old. (There's one born every minute, and two to take his money ... )

From Rowing to Rhymes

Northern exposure Ways to raise climate-change awareness: Walk 1,000 miles. Skateboard across Canada. Row the Pacific. Swim the North Pole, the Baltic, a polluted river. Or, pose nude atop a Swiss glacier. Now that’s the way to highlight shrinkage. Climb every mountain man While answering the call at Live Earth, Cammie Dee got a call […]

Making energy efficiency possible for cheapskate homeowners

Apropos of my recent realization that if I had bought a new furnace on credit rather than waiting to save up the cash I'd have saved a bundle of money over the last 5 years, here's something I've been meaning to write about for months: a Vancouver developer that came up with a smart -- I mean, diabolically smart -- financing scheme to build a super-efficient condo complex. (Proving, I suppose, biodiversivist's point that spreadsheets are, in fact, wonderful things.)

Welcome Back, Potter

Final Harry Potter tome is “greenest book in publishing history” Feel that crackle in the air? That’s millions of Harry Potter fans trying not to fidget as they wait for the book’s midnight release. (Or trying not to freeze, in the case of an Australian fan who was rescued after diving into a frigid lake […]

All Kinds of Sickening

Congress grills FEMA on toxic post-hurricane trailers The media have reported for at least two months that the trailers used to house refugees from hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been giving off fumes that are making some people sick. Now it seems the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has fended off those accusations, has known […]

Too, Too Sullied Flesh

Meat production spews more greenhouse gases than a three-hour joyride The next time you chomp a hamburger, think of this: the process of getting that beef to your bun may have spewed more greenhouse-gas emissions than leaving all your house lights blazing while taking a three-hour joyride in your car. Researchers looked at beef production […]