Grist List
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Looks like we might get a do-over Earth after all
A research team at Chile's La Silla Observatory has found a new crop of 50 exoplanets, at least one of which is in the "habitable zone" (i.e. an Earthlike distance from the sun). HD 85512 b is rocky instead of gaseous, big but not too big, and preliminary observations suggest an average surface temperature of a balmy 77 degrees F -- all of which make it a good candidate to be Earth Mark II. Phew, just in time! This one's almost worn out!
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Google gets carbon offsets from hog poo
In its recent report on the company's carbon footprint, Google said that it offsets its emissions with high-quality offsets. We are happy as a pig in shit about that. Which is appropriate, because here's one example of what that means: energy powered by pig poop.
The company has invested in a North Carolina project which collects the methane from the waste of 9,000 hogs. A power plant burns the methane to create power for 35 homes a year. -
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World solar market to increase 130 percent by 2020
In 2010 the world spent $30 billion on solar panels. By 2020 that figure will be $70 billion, says Korean electronics giant Samsung.
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Return of the Monster Tar Balls!!
The scariest horror movies end with a hint that the killer or monster, though defeated, isn't dead and will rise again. With tropical storms sweeping through the Gulf, coastal residents are finding that zombie residues of the BP oil spill are coming out of their lairs to re-terrorize beach-goers, boaters, and the fishing industry. Tides hustled up by tropical storms are bringing oily residues, tar mats, and tar balls onto the beach. It's as bad as it sounds. Check out these pictures that NRDC collected — if you want to brave the sight of oozy, giant, black tar creatures.
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Critical List: Coal companies lavish cash on Boehner; how to stick it to hungry deer
Boehner's got his hands all sooty with coal money.
Uh, guys? Maybe we should check up on the safety of nuclear plants? Kthx. XOXO, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
California chose solar PV projects over solar thermal projects because the latter use more water. -
Solar-powered ice cream truck unfolds like a Transformer
Shazam! Is it an Autobot, or an object lesson in the possibilities of distributed generation? We're grooving so hard to the soundtrack on this video that we can hardly tell. Unlike conventional ice cream trucks, which sit on the street loudly idling in order to run their refrigeration equipment, this one relies on the power […]
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Drool-worthy homes from this year's Solar Decathlon, part 1 [VIDEO]
For those of you who won't have the opportunity to see these homes in person on the National Mall in Washington, DC from Sept. 23-Oct. 2, we've decided to gather up all the video walk-throughs of this year's entries in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.
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Can Japan get off nuclear by 2012 without wrecking its economy?
A new plan for a massive shift to renewables could move Japan away from nuclear permanently, even as it creates hundreds of thousands of jobs for the country's ailing economy.
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New record low for arctic sea ice
Last week, sea ice coverage in the Arctic dropped to a new record low, according to data from the University of Bremen. It's the lowest since 1972, when we started observing sea ice via satellite, but it could well be the lowest in 8,000 years. And it's more than 10,000 square feet below the previous record, set in 2007.
