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  • A conversation with Bill Gates on climate and clean energy [VIDEO]

    This morning, Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, talked with Climate Solutions Board Co-chair Jabe Blumenthal about climate change and innovations in clean energy. Watch the video here and read the transcript below — or just catch the highlights. Watch the video Afterward, KC Golden of Climate Solutions […]

    Grist staff Technology

  • Want local communities to support wind? Put them in charge

    Let’s turn NIMBYs into YIMBYs.Photo: Eddie CodelThis post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Last month, Grist’s Jess Zimmerman noted sarcastically that “Money is a miracle cure for ‘wind turbine syndrome.'” It is. And environmental advocates frustrated by the (spurious?) health and aesthetic complaints raised […]

    John Farrell Technology

  • Green buildings can now eat smog for breakfast

    The aluminum giant Alcoa has designed a building panel that cleans both itself and the nearby air. The secret to this feat is titanium dioxide, the same compound that allows sunscreen to block the sun. In this application, when the sun hits a coat of titanium dioxide, the compound begins spewing electrons. According to Alcoa, […]

    Sarah Laskow Technology

  • Airships may be the key to a greener, steampunkier future

    Steampunk enthusiasts rejoice: The skies may soon be full of airships. Dirigibles are the low-carbon way of shipping goods long distances, according to a recent article in Scientific American. No word on whether it's greener to wear aviator goggles, petticoats, and button boots while flying them, but let's just go ahead and assume the answer is […]

    Jess Zimmerman Technology

  • Toyota to make all Prius hybrids plug-in by 2014

    This is how the century-long dominance of gas-powered vehicles ends: not with a bang, but with a widget. By 2014, the world's best-selling hybrid vehicle will have plug-in capability, standard, which means every trip up to 14 miles will be all-electric, all the time. This move to plug-in-standard vehicles is a harbinger of a future […]

    Christopher Mims Technology

  • Daylight-mimicking LEDs save power, might reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s

    All the cool kids know that CFLs are merely a bridge technology — and now students at Drexel University have a grant to enhance their successor, which are household lights comprised of light emitting diodes. LEDs aren’t new tech — they’re already used in your monitor, television, Christmas tree, throwies, etc. They're super efficient, plus […]

    Christopher Mims Technology

  • Baddest-ass hybrid in the world to become a reality

    Jaguar has announced plans to build a hybrid-electric supercar that goes from 0 to 60 in three seconds — proving once again that green cars aren't just better for the environment; they're also substantially more bad-ass than the belching, muck-fueled dinosaurs they replace. The C-X75 will have an ultralight carbon-fiber chassis and an all-electric range […]

    Christopher Mims Technology

  • Offshore wind power to explode to 17 times its current capacity in just six years

    Offshore wind will reach 70.1 GW of capacity by 2017, says Pike Research. That's 17 times its current capacity, which is 4.1 GW, and amounts to several times the current maximum solar capacity of the most solared-out country in the world, Germany. Europe is currently in the lead on offshore power, but by 2017, China […]

    Christopher Mims Technology

  • How the internet is saving the physical world by making it disappear

    In 2009, a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon and Stanford made the case that the switch to downloading music from transporting physical CDs had significantly reduced the carbon footprint of Americans' music consumption. That's just one of countless examples of "ephemeralization," which is the process by which new, post industrial-revolution technology tends to lead to […]

    Christopher Mims Technology

  • Warren Buffett doesn’t believe CO2 is a real risk for Berkshire Hathaway

    The wise man responsible for all those Geico ads may not be so wise when it comes to climate issues.Photo: JavierBillionaire investor Warren Buffett appears seriously confused about the risks posed by greenhouse gases. Two years ago, the sage of Omaha wrote, “Doubling the carbon dioxide we belch into the atmosphere may far more than […]

    Joseph Romm Technology