Climate Technology
All Stories
-
Smart meters save energy, water, and dollars
Flickr via Pink Sherbet PhotographyThe other day I came home to find a colorful flyer on my front door proclaiming, “Your meter just got smarter.” While I was out and about in Berkeley, a worker from my utility, PG&E, slipped in the side gate and gave my old gas and electric meter a digital upgrade. […]
-
In 3-2 vote, SEC requires companies to disclose climate risks to investors
Cross-posted from The Wonk Room. In a 3-to-2 vote, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission determined today that companies “must consider the effects of global warming and efforts to curb climate change when disclosing business risks to investors.” Guidelines approved today require companies to weigh the impact of climate-change laws and regulations when assessing what […]
-
Apple’s new iPad is deep green, but a planet saver? Nope.
The iPad.Photo: Apple This post is reprinted courtesy of GreenerComputing.com. The day that gadget-lovers have been waiting for with bated breath for months if not years has finally arrived. On Wednesday, just after 10 a.m., Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad — something along the lines of a blown-up version of the iPhone. Weighing 1.5 pounds, […]
-
The future of farming and food at the Eco Farm Conference
Last week I went to California for the 2010 Eco Farm Conference — a three-day organic farming extravaganza featuring big names (and big influences of the organic agriculture movement) such as Wes Jackson, Frances Moore Lappé, Deputy Security of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan, and a ton of folks who are part of an ever-growing and expanding […]
-
How innovative financing is changing energy in America
Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, has taken off like wildfire since the concept was first introduced in Berkeley, Calif. in October ’07. PACE allows private property owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through an addition to their property tax bill, overcoming the high upfront costs that prevent most property owners […]
-
SmartPlanet is not going green
SmartPlanet is a newish venture from CBS Interactive. It promises to cover many of the topics that Grist readers (and staffers) care about. But there’s no mention of “green” on its About page, and barely a mention of “eco.” That would not have been true just a year or two ago. Finding ways to talk […]
-
Is there anything left for America to manufacture?
Growing up in the 1950s, “Made in Japan” was synonymous with “cheap junk.” Responding to the needs of a world that hungered for more labor-saving devices, Japanese manufacturers shifted to higher-value products and quality improved. Today, “Land of the Rising Sun” companies like Honda boast the hydrogen-powered Clarity automobile and Toto makes high-tech toilets that […]
-
[UPDATED] While the big cats cower, time to build robust food economies
Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! While the Democrats hide, time to grow our own jobs program.Photo: Kevin Collins via Flickr[UPDATE at bottom of article.] I have a big, strapping cat who’s infamous for darting under a couch and cowering when a dog, even the tiniest, enters a room. Well, a yipping toy poodle has entered the […]
-
Will Google’s fight with China stymie climate negotiations?
If any progress is to be made in the global fight against climate change — whether via diplomatic negotiations or cleantech partnerships — it will only happen through cooperation between the U.S. and China. But the potential for collaboration of any kind took a big blow this past week thanks to the Google fracas. Reports […]
-
Did China block Copenhagen progress to pave way for its own dominance in cleantech?
You hear it all the time, one of the most frequently voiced excuses for Western countries failing to radically cut carbon dioxide emissions: Taking any such action would hand a massive competitive advantage to fast-industrializing China. Yet evidence is piling up that the very opposite is the case. The main challenge from the world’s new […]
