China
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Critical List: Humanity is locking in dangerous climate change; California has 1 GW of solar
The International Energy Agency says that within the next five years humanity is likely to fritter away its last chance of avoiding dangerous climate change. Also, the world's still giving more support to fossil fuels than renewable energy—six times as much, when measured in state subsidies. The Obama administration wants to open up offshore areas […]
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Solar companies fight to the death
Are we done mourning the death of Solyndra yet? Because, according to solar executives, it's just going to be the first victim in a Highlander-style fight among solar companies to prove who is best. One Chinese exec predicts that two-thirds of solar companies could disappear by 2015. Part of the story here is that certain […]
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Critical List: Australia will have a carbon tax; 10 percent of Chinese farmland contaminated
Australia is going to have a carbon tax: The prime minister's plan just passed the country's senate. Not only do cars kill, so do commutes. A man in England dumped more than 1 million tires across the country. Heavy metals have contaminated 10 percent of farmland in China. Shorter Rick Perry: The government should stop […]
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Is post-Jobs Apple going to stop poisoning China?
While Steve Jobs was head of Apple, the company was one of "America's least philanthropic companies," lacking even a basic corporate charitable arm. Apple also often seemed reluctant to green its operations. But under new CEO Tim Cook, that might be about to change. In the meantime, many of Apple's suppliers are still poisoning the […]
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Beijing denies air pollution while party elites get home air purifiers
While China's citizenry are dying in record numbers owing to catastrophic levels of urban air pollution, the country's leaders are breathing Perri-Air. That is, their offices and homes use elaborate, expensive air filters to prevent the country's elites from having to breathe the same toxic shit as the plebes in the street. Meanwhile, the government reports […]
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Critical List: Thousands protest Keystone XL; Mongolia shovels coal into China
An estimated 10,000 Keystone XL protesters circled the White House this weekend, as the White House edged towards a decision on the pipeline. The ring of protesters was stacked five people deep. Green groups are threatening the Obama administration with political repercussions if the pipeline goes forward. If environmentalists withhold their support, it could have […]
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China bulb ban will eliminate 1 billion incandescents annually
Joining the U.S. and just about every other country with an economy, China will ban import and sale of incandescent bulbs beginning in 2014, reports the AP. State-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Xie Ji, deputy director of the NDRC's environmental protection department, as saying China is the world's largest producer of both energy-saving and incandescent […]
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Critical List: Rina heads to Cancun; French wildflowers are disappearing
Hurricane Rina is heading towards Cancun. The U.S. wants to start trade wars all over the place. First, the solar industry goes toe to toe with China, and now the House of Representatives is mixing it up by trying to exempt U.S. airlines from the EU emissions scheme. Multinational energy companies who want to exploit […]
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China pours money into smart grid technology
Cross-posted from Center for American Progress. There is no way to get around this fact — China aims to modernize its energy infrastructure at home and dominate clean energy technology markets abroad. At the 2011 Smart Grid World Forum in Beijing late last month, China’s State Grid Corporation announced plans to invest $250 billion in […]
