Climate Technology
All Stories
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Gambler’s Dilemma
Investing in renewable energy can pose ethical dilemmas Over the past two years, the value of fossil-fuel companies has soared while the worldwide stock-market value of renewable-energy companies has declined from $13 billion to $10.7 billion. This, despite ever-renewing hope that a major energy transition will spark a boom in the renewables arena. Many Wall […]
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The Joy of Sachs
Exotic South American forest set aside as wilderness by … bankers? When New York investment banking and management firm Goldman Sachs acquired a logging operation in Tierra del Fuego, on an island off the southernmost tip of Chile, it did something unusual: Rather than “seek to maximize its economic value, which is what we would […]
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Labor Pains
Slave labor used to clear Brazilian rainforest The Amazon rainforest is disappearing at a precipitous pace, and as is too often the case, this environmental catastrophe is connected to equally dire human-rights abuses. To wit: Thousands of poor, illiterate Brazilian peasants work every year chopping down the forest in conditions Brazil’s Labor Ministry delicately refers […]
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Schwarzenegger at an environmental crossroads
Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s exuberant speech last Tuesday at the Republican National Convention suggested that the Governator may be less the moderate Republican than advertised. Hailed by some during the convention as the Obama of the right, the California governor came across as a devout, rock-ribbed Bush lover. Just days after Schwarzenegger’s speech, more evidence emerged to […]
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Too Many Cooks Oil the Broth
ChevronTexaco Heavily Influenced California Restructuring California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) recently announced plan to comprehensively reorganize state government brought grumbles from some enviros, who were piqued by the proposed consolidation of various boards and commissions from which many of the state’s groundbreaking environmental initiatives have emerged. This latest news isn’t going to mollify them. The […]
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That Smarts
Cute, Tiny Smart Cars to Come to U.S. and Get Big The tiny, fuel-efficient, two-seater Smart cars (named after their manufacturer) that are so popular in Europe are coming to the U.S. Sort of. Convinced that a tiny car — even one that gets 60 miles per gallon and has been repeatedly proven safe for […]
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Up Against the Wall Street
Wall Street Remains Hesitant on Renewable Energy It’s a familiar refrain: Wall Street investors, we are told, are not yet sold on renewable energy. They worry that the technologies are not mature, that massive upfront infrastructure costs are too high a barrier, that despite rosy predictions from socially responsible investors, the price gap between oil […]
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Does My Butt Look Big in This Car?
Toyota’s Hot-Selling Prius Appeals to Drivers’ Vanity Last month, Honda sold 1,963 Civic Hybrids and a meager 34 Insight hybrids in the U.S. — and sales trends for both models are trending downward — while the Toyota Prius fairly flew off lots, with 5,230 sold in the U.S. last month. A Toyota spokesperson said the […]
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Whining Is Job One
Ford Battles Hybrid-Friendly Legislation, Destroys Electric Cars Ford Motor Co. CEO Bill Ford’s vocal attempts to position his company as eco-friendly are sounding a little hollow this week. As the California legislative session nears its end, Ford has ramped up lobbying efforts to kill a bill that would allow drivers of fuel-efficient hybrids to drive […]
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Beyond a Shadow of a Drought
Report Warns Businesses to Heed Water Shortages A new report warns that businesses should start preparing for severe water shortages, and warning their shareholders of the risk such shortages pose to their operations. The report — from independent California-based think tank Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security — focused on businesses that […]
