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Energy
Energy saving measures boost house prices, new research reveals
June 17, 2013 08:49 AM - Editor, ClickGreen
Energy saving improvements made to a property could increase its value by 14 per cent on average - and up to 38 per cent in some parts of England - new research has shown. For an average home in the country, improving its EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) from band G to E, or from band D to B, could mean adding more than £16,000 ($25,000 USD) to the sale price of the property.
Clinton Global Initiative, Ikea and Global Green USA team to bring backup solar power to NY and NJ
June 17, 2013 06:21 AM - ALYSSA DANIGELIS, Discovery News
When Superstorm Sandy cut power to millions in New York, New Jersey and beyond, solar-powered generators helped some residents recharge. Now a new project aims to install backup solar energy systems in areas that remain vulnerable. Low-income residents who were devastated by Superstorm Sandy are going to be first in line for a new solar power generation project called Solar for Sandy from the Clinton Global Initiative, the environmental organization Global Green USA and Ikea. The idea is that grid-tied solar will help lower bills and provide back-up in an emergency, according to Global Green USA’s announcement. The program wants to start by equipping at least five community facilities with solar energy systems that can offer lighting, mobile phone charging, heating, cooling, and refrigeration for medicine. A small-scale version is being installed in Far Rockaway, Queens. After that's completed, one for the Red Hook community in Brooklyn is scheduled to be installed by Oct. 29. Last fall, that neighborhood was hit hard by flooding.
Update: UN climate change talks start making progress
June 15, 2013 07:40 AM - UN News Center
The United Nations climate change body said it has made concrete progress towards a new universal agreement on climate change during its latest round of talks which wrapped up this week in Germany. "This has been an important meeting because Governments are moving faster now from the stage of exploring options to designing and implementing solutions," said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). During the two-week talks in Bonn, participants focused on how to transform the world's energy systems quickly enough towards low-carbon, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and the consideration of carbon capture and storage.
New poll confirms majority of public support renewable energy
June 14, 2013 09:03 AM - Editor, ClickGreen
A new survey report has revealed that the majority of the public believe the Government should support the construction of more renewable energy sources like solar, wave and tidal power. And the poll, commissioned by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, found a third of those questioned would even consider investing in small-scale community renewable projects like wind farms, solar farms or small-scale biomass plants.
11,000 barrels of oil spill into the Amazon's Coca River
June 13, 2013 09:02 AM - Jeremy Hance, MONGABAY.COM
On May 31st, a landslide ruptured an oil pipeline in Ecuadorean Amazon, sending around 11,000 barrels of oil (420,000 gallons) into the Coca River. The oil pollution has since moved into the larger Napo River, which borders Yasuni National Park, and is currently heading downstream into Peru and Brazil. The spill has occurred in a region that is notorious for heavy oil production and decades of contamination, in addition to resistance and lawsuits by indigenous groups.
Shale and Where it Lies
June 12, 2013 12:54 PM - Andy Soos, ENN
Shale oil is a rapidly developing source of oil and natural gas. Where does it lie? Estimated shale oil and shale gas resources in the United States and in 137 shale formations in 41 other countries represent 10% of the world's crude oil and 32% of the world's natural gas technically recoverable resources, or those that can be produced using current technology without reference to economic profitability, according to a new report released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). More than half of the identified shale oil resources outside the United States are concentrated in four countries--Russia, China, Argentina and Libya--while more than half of the non-U.S. shale gas resources are concentrated in five countries--China, Argentina, Algeria, Canada, and Mexico. The United States would be ranked second after Russia for shale oil resources and fourth after Algeria for shale gas resources if compared with the 41 countries assessed
Offshore Floating Wind Turbines
June 12, 2013 06:20 AM - ClickGreen staff, ClickGreen
RenewableUK has heralded new announcements today which will bring floating turbines a step closer to UK waters and open up the possibility of further developments. At RenewableUK's Offshore Wind conference in Manchester, the Crown Estate, the managers of the seabed, announced a new offshore wind leasing round for innovative structures.
Exporting Carbon Dioxide in China
June 11, 2013 09:50 AM - Andy Soos, ENN
Nobody likes carbon dioxide pollution. So if you are rich enough you send it elsewhere. Just as wealthy nations like the United States are outsourcing their carbon dioxide emissions to China, rich coastal provinces in that country are outsourcing emissions to poorer provinces in the interior, according to UC Irvine climate change researcher Steve Davis and colleagues. The findings, to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that more developed areas such as Beijing and Shanghai import steel, heavy industrial equipment and other materials from provinces such as Inner Mongolia, where highly polluting manufacturing facilities produce the raw goods.
Are Airlines doing enough to cut emissions?
June 11, 2013 06:05 AM - Harry Stevens, Triple Pundit
The aviation industry has announced what it claims is "a historic agreement" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but industry experts and environmentalists say the agreement is vague and lacks the enforcement mechanisms necessary to give it teeth. At a meeting last week of the International Air Transport Association (I.A.T.A.), an industry group of more than 200 airlines representing 84 percent of the world's air travel, the assembled airlines agreed on a plan to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent annually until 2020, cap their net carbon dioxide emissions after 2020, and cut emissions in half by 2050 compared with a 2005 baseline.
Nanotechnology could lead to better batteries for EV's
June 9, 2013 08:11 AM - MOVEFORWARD, Electric Forum
If you search the Internet for information on nanotechnology the likelihood is that you will see a number of scare stories suggesting that nanotechnology robots will take over the world but if you dig a little deeper you will see that nanotechnology will play a major part in every area of our life going forward. Indeed researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico seem to have stumbled upon a new type of technology which could lead to batteries able to hold 10 times the storage capacity at the moment. While the fact that these batteries could be commercially viable in the future is amazing in itself, it is also worth mentioning that unlike traditional batteries they do not require expensive precious metals such as platinum. This nanotechnology carbon-based catalyst is said to be able to squeeze maximum efficiency out of new lithium air technology which is currently being investigated by IBM for one.