Solar Casa: 2012-05-06

Saturday, May 12, 2012

World Bank Political-Risk Insurer Underused 30% in Climate Fight

Bloomberg: A World Bank Group agency providing insurance, including political-risk coverage, in developing nations is being underutilized by 30 percent because of a lack of demand as the United Nations fights to protect the climate. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency in Washington provided a record $2.1 billion of guarantees in the year through June last year, which may jump another 14 percent this fiscal year, said Edith Quintrell, MIGA's director of operations. A lack of global climate-protection...

URL: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/world-bank-political-risk-insurer-underused-30-in-climate-fight.html

EU shifts climate change targets again

Times of India: The EU has shifted its goalpost for climate change again, unilaterally seeking talks on a new global protocol from this year that puts India and other developing nations at par with developed world. Ironically, the new condition, if implemented, will exempt Europe from divulging its targets for emission reduction in violation of the existing Kyoto Protocol. Significantly, it will make the Kyoto Protocol's second phase - slated to start from next year - redundant. Also, it will compel India bring...

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/EU-shifts-climate-change-targets-again/articleshow/13074640.cms

Microsoft vows to go carbon neutral

Agence France-Presse: Microsoft on Tuesday vowed it would be carbon neutral in the fiscal year starting July. The plan to zero-out the overall amount of climate-changing gas spewed while running data centers, software labs, and offices and even during work-related travel included charging departments a fee for carbon produced. "The goal is to make our business divisions responsible for the cost of offsetting their own carbon emissions," Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner said in a release. Turner...

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-vows-carbon-neutral-185148963.html

India: Climate change could affect wheat production: Govt report

Times of India: A one degree celsius rise in temperature associated with increase in carbondioxide in atmosphere could hit wheat production in India unless "adaptation" strategies are adopted, according to a government report on climate change. In the absence of adaptation and CO2 fertilisation benefits, a one degree Celsius rise in temperature alone could lead to a decrease of six million tonnes of wheat production, the report submitted to the UN said. India had a record wheat production at 85.93 million tonnes...

URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/global-warming/Climate-change-could-affect-wheat-production-Govt-report/articleshow/13067824.cms

An Argentine Perspective on Degrowth

Inter Press Service: The controversial concept of degrowth receives little press coverage in a region like Latin America. But the idea of a way of life that is not aimed exclusively at GDP growth does have its proponents in Argentina. As in other countries of the region, the Argentine perspective on degrowth differs somewhat from that of academics and civil society organisations in the industrialised world, according to sources consulted by Tierramérica. The threat of a systemic global crisis with various dimensions...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107742
Enclosure: http://ipsnews.net/fotos/107742-20120510.jpg

Lack of Profitability Drives U.S. Company Out of Biofuels Business

Yale Environment 360: A U.S.-based company that used genetic engineering to develop a technology to convert sugar into biofuel has announced that it will stop producing the fuel, at least temporarily, because the process simply isn't profitable. Amyris, a San Francisco firm that also produces cosmetic products, had engineered a type of yeast that can eat sugar and secrete an oil similar to diesel. While the company had some success using this process in the production of biofuels, including for use by buses in Brazil,...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/lack_of_profitability_drives_us_company_out_of_biofuels_business/3459/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/40387/?p1=A2

Canada: Global Warming: An Exclusive Look at James Hansen’s Scary New Math

Time Magazine: How can NASA physicist and climatologist James E. Hansen, writing in the New York Times today, "say with high confidence" that recent heat waves in Texas and Russia "were not natural events" but actually "caused by human-induced climate change"? It wasn't all that long ago that respected MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry Emanuel flatly refuted the notion that you can pinpoint global warming as the cause of an extreme weather event. "It's statistical nonsense," he told PBS. In 2005, Emanuel reported...

URL: http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com/2012/05/10/global-warming-an-exclusive-look-at-james-hansens-scary-new-math/
Enclosure: http://timeecocentric.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/warming2.jpg?w=360&h=240&crop=1

Australia: FOI emails reveal sniper threat to climate scientist

Australian Broadcasting Corporation: The Australian National University has released a series of abusive and threatening emails sent to its climate change scientists. The 11 emails to members of the university's Climate Change Institute have been made public after a Freedom of Information request. ANU management initially turned down the FOI request to release them, fearing it would lead to increased harassment. But they have now been released with the names and email addresses removed after an intervention by the privacy commissioner....

URL: http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/13658737/foi-emails-reveal-sniper-threat-to-climate-scientist/

Big Antarctic ice sheet appears doomed

ScienceNews: Warm ocean currents may threaten the stability of Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea if global temperatures continue to rise.Ralph Timmermann, Alfred Wegener Institute A massive slab of floating ice that juts from Antarctica's west coast could be in hot water soon. Warm ocean currents threaten to sneak up from below and torpedo the ice in coming decades, researchers report in the May 10 Nature. The degradation of the historically stable Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf would upset...

URL: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340580/title/Big_Antarctic_ice_sheet_appears_doomed
Enclosure: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/download/id/340587/name/___

Global warming: New threat to Antarctic ice shelves

Summit Voice: While British researchers recently showed how warming ocean currents are melting ice sheets in West Antarctica, other areas may also be susceptible rapid and potentially catastrophic disintegration -- especially the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf fringing the Weddell Sea. Rising air temperatures in the region will break down a hydrological boundary of cold water, allowing warmer water to infiltrate beneath the ice. The model projects that huge masses of the as-yet stable ice shelf could become unstable...

URL: http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/05/10/global-warming-new-threat-to-antarctic-ice-shelves/
Enclosure: http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/ice1.jpg?w=468&h=221

Asia-Pacific must respond to climate change to survive: UNDP

Indo-Asian News Service: The Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions of people out of poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a report released Thursday. "The Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 - One Planet to Share: Sustaining Human Progress in a Changing Climate" said that what happens in the region - home to more than half the world's population and which also has half of the planet's mega cities - can make a...

URL: http://in.news.yahoo.com/asia-pacific-must-respond-climate-change-survive-undp-121032978.html

Gas drillers wrangle over NY limitations, bans

Associated Press: With all the restrictions in proposed state regulations and local bans, gas companies say about half of their lease holdings in the lucrative Marcellus Shale region in New York state will be off-limits or inaccessible to drilling if the state gives the green light to developers this year. A coalition of environmental groups is pushing for a complete ban on shale gas drilling, but the industry and landowners hoping to lease to drillers are working to lift some of the restrictions and halt the movement...

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47398921/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse predicted

Press Trust of India: The West Antarctic Ice Sheet -- one of the world's major ice sheets, could collapse if global warming continues, scientists have warned after analysing the genetic evidence from an Antarctic octopus. An international team, led by Dr Jan Strugnell from La Trobe University, has analysed genes of the Turquet's octopus, which lives in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, the Molecular Ecology journal reported. Dr Strugnell said: "We're able to take advantage of much larger sample sizes than...

URL: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/248787/west-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse.html
Enclosure: http://www.deccanherald.com/page_images/thumb/2012/05/11/248787_thump.gif

India to line up planes, radars against extreme weather

Reuters: India plans to introduce aircraft that can fly into tropical storms, weather radars and a network of rainfall gauges to gather data that will improve its response to disasters made worse by climate change, the head of its disaster agency has said. India is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, with a bulging population of 1.2 billion people, many living in areas vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods, cyclones, droughts and earthquakes. Shashidhar Reddy, vice-chairman...

URL: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/11/india-to-line-up-planes-radars-against-e-idINDEE84A06B20120511

Four Colorado counties among critics of plan to limit oil-shale land

Denver Post: Counties in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming oil-shale country have banded together in opposition to a proposed federal plan to trim development of the controversial resource. The new federal Bureau of Land Management plan would reduce the land for development to 462,000 acres from the 2 million acres approved by the administration of former President George W. Bush just before leaving office. The resolution -- supported by four Colorado counties, two in Wyoming and three in Utah -- calls on the...

URL: http://business-news.thestreet.com/denver-post/story/4-colorado-counties-among-critics-plan-limit-oil-shale-land/1

For Heartland board, failed climate attack a surprise

ClimateWire: The Heartland Institute's board of directors was not consulted before the group launched an explosive billboard campaign last week, resulting in the resignation of one director and dismaying others, sources said. According to three people with knowledge of Heartland's campaign, the surprise ad comparing Unabomber Ted Kaczynski to advocates of reducing greenhouse gases prompted a sudden conference call last Friday between the board and the group's president, Joe Bast. The call occurred hours after...

URL: http://www.eenews.net/public/climatewire/2012/05/11/1
Enclosure: http://www.eenews.net/assets/2012/02/16/photo_cw_01.jpg

Greenpeace makes social media push for zero deforestation in Brazil

Mongabay: Greenpeace is leveraging social media in its push for a zero deforestation target in Brazil. The environmental activist group has launched a "Brazilian Friend Finder" to support its petition drive to counter a proposal to weaken Brazil's Forest Code, which mandates how much forest farmers and ranchers are required to maintain on their land. If the petition gets 1.4 million signatures – one percent of Brazilian voters - then Congress must formally consider and vote on the proposal. Greenpeace's...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0512-greenpeace-brazilian-friend-finder.html
Enclosure: http://youtu.be/IuG7rLsT8-4

United Kingdom: MPs demand joined up policy to fix 'failed' food system

BusinessGreen: The government must invest more effort in developing a "sustainable food system" if it is to increase yields and meet the challenge presented by a rising global population. That is the core recommendation from a committee of MPs, who today warn that without a more co-ordinated approach to developing more sustainable agricultural practices the UK faces growing food security risks and increased levels of environmental damage. The report from the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) also suggests...

URL: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2174198/mps-demand-joined-policy-fix-failed-food?WT.rss_f=Home&WT.rss_a=MPs+demand+joined+up+policy+to+fix+%27failed%27+food+system

Dry winter portends busy California wildfire season

San Francisco Chronicle: There have already been more than 800 wildfires in California this year - nearly triple the number for this time last year - prompting state fire officials this week to warn residents to prepare for what could be an infernal summer. A shortage of rain and snow has left the state unusually dry, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Such dry conditions have led in the past to some of the state's worst fire seasons, which is one reason why Gov. Jerry Brown declared...

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/12/MNI51OEHI5.DTL
Enclosure: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2012/05/12/MNI51OEHI5.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2012%2F05%2F09%2Fba-nationipad051_WRE0110715828.jpg

Cambodia: Chut Wutty's memory spurs anti-logging campaign

BBC: The death of an environmental activist, shot dead by police, has galvanised his campaign against deforestation and illegal logging in a scenic part of Cambodia. Ratanakiri is a beautiful province in the north of this country - with volcanic lakes, waterfalls and huge areas of unspoiled forest. Most of the people who live there belong to indigenous hill tribes who worship spirits in nature. But peace has brought smooth-surfaced roads and outsiders to rural parts of the country that were once...

URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18032883#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Enclosure: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/fooc

Melting sea ice could lead to pressure on Arctic fishery

Yale Environment 360: When scientists with the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program began tracking 323 vertebrate species across the entire Arctic several years ago, most assumed that many fish and animals would not fare well in a region where rapid warming is causing such profound changes. But in a report released recently at the International Polar Year (IPY) conference in Montreal, that scenario isn't turning out to be as dark as some A key concern is the so-called 1.1 million-square-mile 'donut hole' in...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/melting_sea_ice_could_lead_to_pressure_on_arctic_fishery/2526/

Could logging help conservation efforts in rainforests?

Mongabay: Last year researchers took the first ever publicly-released video of an African golden cat (Profelis aurata) in a Gabon rainforest. This beautiful, but elusive, feline was filmed sitting docilely for the camera and chasing a bat. The least-known of Africa's wild cat species, the African golden cat has been difficult to study because it makes its home deep in the Congo rainforest. However, researchers didn't capture the cat on video in an untrammeled, pristine forest, but in a well-managed logging...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0510-hance-logging-conservation.html
Enclosure: http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay/indonesia-java/600/java_0879.jpg

Rethinking Electric Cars -- Part 8

Electric cars collect electricity from the grid for their own consumption. And it's possible that some of that grid power might be from renewables, which would make them really clean. They also can also store electricity from a grid-tied home solar or small wind system.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2012/20120047.html

James Hansen: Game Over for the Climate

New York Times: GLOBAL warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves "regardless of what we do." If Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate. Canada's tar sands, deposits of sand saturated with bitumen, contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were...

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/opinion/game-over-for-the-climate.html
Enclosure: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/10/opinion/0510OPEDselman/0510OPEDselman-articleInline.jpg

Study Calls Selective Logging the Most Realistic Conservation Strategy

Yale Environment 360: A new study says that well-managed selective logging may be the only realistic solution to conserving tropical forests in the face of a rapacious global demand for timber resources. In an analysis of more than 100 studies, researchers at the University of Florida found that while even selective logging has a significant impact on biodiversity in tropical forests and carbon storage capacity, those impacts are "survivable and reversible to a degree" if the forests are given time to recover. In fact,...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/study_calls_selective_logging_most_realistic_conservation_strategy/3460/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29
Enclosure: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2012.00242.x/abstract;jsessionid=F665049B271709D388713D0A0DA4E2D6.d02t01

ClearEdge Fuel Cell System Supports Renovation of Historic Hollywood-era Hotel.

Housed in the basement of the hotel's main building, the 40 kW ClearEdge system does not affect the building's exterior appearance and generates 45 percent of the building's electricity. In addition, as a byproduct of the electrochemical process the ClearEdge system uses to convert natural gas to electricity, it produces enough heat to help keep the pool's temperature between 76 and 79 degrees all year round.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12018.html

SMUD Solano Wind Project Complete.

The project now has a total of 230 MW of capacity or enough to power approximately 79,000 homes.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12019.html

Friday, May 11, 2012

Heliatek Sets New World Record Efficiency of 10.7 Percent for its Organic Tandem Solar Cell.

The measurement campaign of SGS included efficiency measurements under standard testing conditions (STC) of the solar industry as well as performance measurements at low light and high temperatures of up to 80 degree(s)C. The test results not only set a new world record for OPV with 10.7 percent cell efficiency, but the additional measurements highlight the superior performance of Heliatek's OPV cells under real life conditions

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12015.html

ElectraTherm’s Green Machine Generates Power from Waste Heat at Czech Republic Biogas Facility.

ElectraTherm's Green Machine generates fuel-free, emission free power from low temperature waste heat. In the Czech Republic, GB Consulting commissioned the machine at a biogas plant to generate additional power and increase energy efficiency on site. This is the first time Organic Rankine Cycle technology has been used in the country to generate power from waste heat at a small-scale biogas facility.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12014.html

Toyota April Sales Surge with Help from Hybrids, New Prius c.

The Prius Family vehicles (Prius, Prius v, Prius Plug-in and Prius c) accounted for a total combined sales volume of 25,168 units. Based on current sales, the demand for the fuel-saving Prius Family models seems to be outpacing the company's initial U.S. target of more than 220,000 units this year.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12016.html

AeroVironment Wins Contract for Electric Ground Support Equipment Fast Charge Systems at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

AeroVironment announced the Port of Seattle has awarded the company a contract valued up to $8.8 million through 2014 to supply its PosiCharge (tm) electric Ground Support Equipment (eGSE) fast charge systems to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12013.html

All-New Toyota RAV4 EV Unveiled.

The RAV4 EV combines a Tesla designed and produced battery and electric powertrain with Toyota's most popular SUV model. The collaborative team set its sights on refining the customer experience. From advanced charging options to interior comfort to interactive displays, the vehicle has been designed for customer ease of use and maximum vehicle range.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12011.html

Gamesa Freezes Work on Offshore Wind Turbine Prototype: U.S. Market, Uncertainty of Tax Credit and Regulatory Conditions Bring Halt to Project.

In 2010, both companies saw the future of offshore wind as promising, with the commercial market just a few short years away. However, an analysis of current conditions indicates that a viable commercial market in the United States is still farther out, as much as three or four years away, at the earliest.

URL: http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips512/may12012.html

From Deserts to Rooftops: Solar's California Battleground

![][1] As California pushes the leading edge of renewable energy adoption in the United States, it's also approaching new legal hurdles that are slowly beginning to define the roles that solar developers and utilities will play in the year ahead.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-from-deserts-to-rooftops-solar-s-california-battleground.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/from-deserts-to-rooftops-solars-california-battleground?cmpid=rss

Applied Materials Restructuring Solar Business

![][1] In order to meets its recently announced goal to reduce the annual revenue breakeven level in its Energy and Environment Solutions (EES) segment from $800 million to $500 million in FY 2013, Applied Materials yesterday said it would be laying off approximately 250 people and moving its precision wafering system (PWS) solar business from Cheseaux, Switzerland to Asia. The EES segment includes Applied Material's solar and LED business units.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-applied-materials-restructuring-solar-business.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/applied-materials-restructuring-solar-business?cmpid=rss

Saudi Arabia Unveils $100 Billion Plan to Make Solar 'A Driver for Domestic Energy for Years to Come'

![][1] Even the world's largest producer of oil understands the value of developing renewable energy.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-saudi-arabia-unveils-100-billion-plan-to-make-solar-a-driver-for-domestic-energy-for-years-to-come.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/saudi-arabia-unveils-100-billion-plan-to-make-solar-a-driver-for-domestic-energy-for-years-to-come?cmpid=rss

How To Become Energy Efficiency's #1

![][1] It's easy to get the impression that technology game-changers happen in a near flash. And the stories of Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple leave us thinking that genius pops right out of the dorm room. But in the energy industry it's not that easy. The innovation we see today often stems from years of late nights, deep discussion a

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/0-how-to-become-energy-efficiency-s-1.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/how-to-become-energy-efficiencys-1?cmpid=rss

Study Compares Energy Sources From 'Cradle-to-Grave'

![][1] No form of energy really emits zero emissions, and that's a point that's both missed by casual advocates and overstated by strident critics.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-study-compares-energy-sources-from-cradle-to-grave.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/study-compares-energy-sources-from-cradle-to-grave?cmpid=rss

Offshore Wind: Making an American Industry, Part 1

![][1] Positioned between the affluent of Martha's Vineyard to the east and the well-heeled of The Hamptons to the west, Block Island has always been more of a casual paradise, a place for blue collar workers to make summertime memories and sea-loving residents to enjoy the solitude of the other three seasons.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-offshore-wind-the-making-of-an-american-industry-part-1.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/offshore-wind-the-making-of-an-american-industry-part-1?cmpid=rss

Two New Reports on Utility-Scale Solar

![][1] Utility-scale solar is still something of a novelty in the renewable energy ecosystem. Large-scale deployment of these multi-megawatt (MW) installations has only recently been enabled in the United States by two key pieces of federal legislation and state-level implementation of renewable energy standards. The market boomed in 2011, adding more than 760 MW of capacity and ending the year with a bullish outlook for 2012.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/11/1332-two-new-reports-on-utility-scale-solar.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/two-new-reports-on-utility-scale-solar?cmpid=rss

When Do I Need to Perform a Load Calculation?

Subtitle:

Part 4 in a series of articles on sizing heating and cooling equipment

Images:

[![][1]][2]

[![][3]][2]

[![][4]][2]

In my last three blogs, I discussed the basics of [heat-loss][5] and [cooling load][6] calculations. The unfortunate truth about these calculations is that fast methods aren't particularly accurate, and accurate methods require making measurements, checking specifications, and entering data into a computer program — in other words, a significant investment of time.

So how should builders go about making these calculations? There are several ways:

ul>

* You can use a rule of thumb (along with experience) to estimate your equipment needs.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Furnace and space heater 2.jpg ()
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/when-do-i-need-perform-load-calculation
[3]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Lima duct calculator 2.jpg (Photo of a Lima duct calculator from the 1970s)
[4]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/IBR Calculation sheet 3jpg.jpg (I=B=R heat-loss calculation form)
[5]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/how-perform-heat-loss-calculation-part-1
[6]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/calculating-cooling-loads

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/when-do-i-need-perform-load-calculation

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Winners and Losers in the Renewable Energy Race

![][1] According to a recent Pew Charitable Trust report entitled, "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race," the United States overtook China in green energy investments during 2011 after lagging behind for the previous two years. When you add up asset finance, public markets, venture capital, and small distributed investments together, we

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/10/9449-winners-and-losers-in-the-renewable-energy-race.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/winners-and-losers-in-the-renewable-energy-race?cmpid=rss

Saving on Solar Way Cooler Than Saving Dolphin Babies

![][1] Lose the propellor cap, flush the granola and forget the flower power because … gasp … solar power can help you save money.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/10/1332-saving-on-solar-way-cooler-than-saving-dolphin-babies.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/saving-on-solar-way-cooler-than-saving-dolphin-babies?cmpid=rss

I Want My TLC: Attaining Transparency, Longevity and Certainty in the California Renewables Market

![][1] Back in 2009, Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors ("DB") published a study tracking 270 major climate policies in 109 countries. The study concluded that successful programs were those that offered investors "TLC" — transparency, longevity, certainty — a comprehensive, stable, and predictable set of rules that infused markets with a sense of clarity and security. The research went on to find that the United States lacked TLC and was lagging behind other countries, notably China and Germany. A more recent DB paper found little to cheer about at the Federal level in the U.S. Referring to the gridlock in Congress on energy policy, the paper noted "…while Congress stumbles, the U.S. stands to fall behind."

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/10/1332-i-want-my-tlc-attaining-transparency-longevity-and-certainty-in-the-california-renewables-market.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/i-want-my-tlc-attaining-transparency-longevity-and-certainty-in-the-california-renewables-market?cmpid=rss

How the U.S. Geothermal Market Is and Is Not Growing

![][1] Apparently little happened in the way of new, operational geothermal plants in 2011, if you look at the Geothermal Energy Association's 2012 annual Power Production and Development report. Although the United States remains in the lead globally in terms of installed capacity with 3,187 MW, only 91 MW of additional capacity came on line last year (not subtracting for replaced capacity). And nearly 50 MW of this additional installed capacity was at a single plant: the Hudson Ranch 1 in California.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/9/1332-how-the-u-s-geothermal-market-is-and-is-not-growing.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/how-the-u-s-geothermal-market-is-and-is-not-growing?cmpid=rss

Getting Off Fossil Fuels

Subtitle:

Eliminating our use of fossil fuels is an admirable goal; how do we do that?

Images:

[![][1]][2]

There are a lot of things not to like about fossil fuels. Most obviously, the burning of oil, natural gas, propane, and coal releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where it traps heat through the greenhouse effect.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Eliakims Way 2.jpg (Eliakim's Way, Martha's Vineyard)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/getting-fossil-fuels

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/getting-fossil-fuels

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Enel Flips Solar Switch at Cogeneration Plant, Starts Geothermal Work in Utah

![][1] The world's first solar-geothermal power plant was commissioned last week in Stillwater, Nevada with the completion of a 24-MW solar PV plant developed by Enel Green Power. It is strategically positioned next to Enel's existing 60-MW geothermal plant to increase power production and resource predictability.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/9/1332-enel-flips-solar-switch-at-cogeneration-plant-starts-geothermal-work-in-utah.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/enel-flips-solar-switch-at-cogeneration-plant-starts-geothermal-work-in-utah?cmpid=rss

Memo: Group Wants To Create Fake Grassroots Wind 'Subversion' Campaign That 'Should Appear As A Groundswell'

![][1] Last February, a group of anti-wind activists gathered in Washington, DC. Their goal: establish a coordinated, nation-wide program of "wind warriors" who could be dispatched to fight the industry anywhere, anytime.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/9/1332-memo-group-wants-to-create-fake-grassroots-wind-subversion-campaign-that-should-appear-as-a-groundswell.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/memo-group-wants-to-create-fake-grassroots-wind-subversion-campaign-that-should-appear-as-a-groundswell?cmpid=rss

Low-Temperature Geothermal: Digging for Its Vast Opportunity

![][1] The geothermal industry recognizes the need for innovation. Halley Dickey of TAS Energy, Karl Gawell of GEA (Geothermal Energy Association), and Doug Glaspey of U.S. Geothermal Inc. expressed the crucial importance of research and development in the geothermal industry during a conference call last month. Most experts have their sights set on the vast potential of and innovative use of low-temperature geothermal resources. Quotes from the conference call follow.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/9/1-1332-low-temperature-geothermal-digging-for-its-vast-opportunity.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/low-temperature-geothermal-digging-for-its-vast-opportunity?cmpid=rss

The US Bioeconomy Blueprint: The 10 Minute Guide

![][1] The Obama Administration recently released its long-awaited, historic strategic plan for the bioeconomy, and U.S. economic revival from advances in health sciences, agriculture, industrial biotechnology and advanced biofuels. No time to read the dense pages of the full report? Try our 10-Minute Guide, including links to the full report and a bonus look at the EU's bioeconomy strategy.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/9/1332-the-us-bioeconomy-blueprint-the-10-minute-guide.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/the-us-bioeconomy-blueprint-the-10-minute-guide?cmpid=rss

First LEED Home in Northwest Georgia In Progress

Subtitle:

A good team works together to build a pretty good small green home

Images:

[![][1]][2]

[![][3]][2]

[![][4]][2]

I recently completed the green rater's pre-drywall inspection on a [LEED for homes][5] project about a 1½ hour drive from where I live. It's a very well done, modest house designed by an architect for his own, rapidly growing family. They are expecting their second child soon and look forward to moving into their new LEED home shortly after the new arrival.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Cochran 1_0.jpg (Northwest Georgia LEED Home)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-curmudgeon/first-leed-home-northwest-georgia-progress
[3]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Cochran 2.jpg (Northwest Georgia LEED Home)
[4]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Cochran 3.jpg (Northwest Georgia LEED Home)
[5]: https://www.facebook.com/cochranleedhouse

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-curmudgeon/first-leed-home-northwest-georgia-progress

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Arizona Legislature Exempts the Sale of Renewable Energy Credits from State Sales Tax

![][1] Affirming its commitment to the development of renewable energy resources, the Arizona legislature recently passed legislation exempting the sale and/or use of Renewable Energy Credits (generally referred as "RECs") from Arizona's transaction privilege tax, which operates similar to a sales tax. Given that Arizona's state transaction privilege tax is over seven percent in most counties, and that city tack on an additional 2 to 3 percent tax, the decision to exempt the sale of RECs from a 10 percent tax is a significant development that should encourage the development of renewable energy in Arizona.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/8/1332-arizona-legislature-exempts-the-sale-of-renewable-energy-credits-from-state-sales-tax.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/arizona-legislature-exempts-the-sale-of-renewable-energy-credits-from-state-sales-tax?cmpid=rss

Hollande Victory Signals Shift in France's Renewable Energy Policy

![][1] A natural disaster sparked the re-emergence of Japan as a ripe renewable energy market. Now, a political shakeup could have similar effects 6,000 miles away in France.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/8/1332-hollande-victory-signals-shift-in-france-s-renewable-energy-policy.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/hollande-victory-signals-shift-in-frances-renewable-energy-policy?cmpid=rss

What Does it Take to be Australia's Largest PV Retailer?

![][1] In April 2012, SolarBusinessServices met with TrueValue Solar CEO Suren Chandrajit to discuss the phoenix-like rise of his company. The following is a summary of the key topics discussed. TVS has grown very fast to become arguably the largest PV retailer in Australia. What would you say are the top three keys to your success? I would hope its not

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/8/8981-what-does-it-take-to-be-australia-s-largest-pv-retailer.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/what-does-it-take-to-be-australias-largest-pv-retailer-we-asked-the-question?cmpid=rss

The Challenges Building-Integrated Photovoltaics

![][1] BIPV comprises a group of solar PV technologies that are built into (instead of installed onto) the host structure and may actually replace some building materials (such as windows or roof shingles). BIPV's potential to seamlessly integrate into the building envelope holds aesthetic appeal for architects, builders, and real estate holders, and this has been one of its principal sources of attraction in its three-decade lifespan.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/8/1332-the-challenges-building-integrated-photovoltaics.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/the-challenges-building-integrated-photovoltaics?cmpid=rss

Large-Scale Solar at Fort Bliss in Texas

Subtitle:

The U.S. Army has been installing photovoltaic and solar-thermal systems as it pursues compliance with a net-zero mandate

Images:

[![][1]][2]

Fort Bliss – whose 1.2 million acres stretch from West Texas, near El Paso, into New Mexico – is the U.S. Army's largest post by land area, and it faces a commensurately large conservation challenge: severe reductions in the base's energy and water use, and a 90% reduction in trash headed for landfill.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Fort Bliss.jpg (Fort Bliss)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/large-scale-solar-fort-bliss-texas

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/large-scale-solar-fort-bliss-texas

Large-Scale Solar at Fort Bliss in Texas

Subtitle:

The U.S. Army has been installing photovoltaic and solar-thermal systems as it pursues compliance with a net-zero mandate

Images:

[![][1]][2]

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/large-scale-solar-fort-bliss-texas

Monday, May 7, 2012

Massachusetts Sets Strict Regulations for Biomass: Will This Influence Further Restrictions?

![][1] The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources released a new set of strict standards for biomass in early May that have the potential to cut subsidies for developing plants. According to these new requirements, all qualifying biomass plants must generate power at 50 percent efficiency to qualify for one-half Renewable Energy credit (REC) per MWh, and 60 percent for one full REC. These new standards are up from the previous 25 percent efficiency requirements. Plants will also be required to analyze lifecycle emissions to demonstrate at least 50 percent reductions over 20 years.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/1332-massachusetts-sets-strict-regulations-for-biomass-will-this-influence-further-restrictions.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/massachusetts-sets-strict-regulations-for-biomass-will-this-influence-further-restrictions?cmpid=rss

NLP Solar Sales Training Live Webinar May 16th & 17th

![][1]

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/assets/logos/9745.gif

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/rich-hessler-solar/news/article/2012/05/nlp-solar-sales-training4?cmpid=rss

Japanese Tsunami Debris Is Increasingly Washing Ashore in Alaska

Yale Environment 360: Debris from last year's tsunami in Japan, including some potentially toxic materials, is increasingly being discovered along the Alaska coastline. Since January, millions of pieces of debris have washed ashore along the Alaska coast, from soccer balls and buoys to motorcycles and large drums containing unknown materials, according to the Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation (MCAF), a Juneau-based group monitoring the debris. In some areas, the group has observed mysterious sludge that apparently...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/digest/japanese_tsunami_debris__is_increasingly_washing_ashore_in_alaska/3453/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+YaleEnvironment360+%28Yale+Environment+360%29

Japan: 'Nuke-free' Japan in the dark over nuclear policy

Asahi Shimbun: Japan has yet to chart a future energy policy although it hit the switch on its last operating nuclear reactor on May 5 following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Discussions within the government lack a clear direction, and opinions appear about equally divided between pro- and anti-nuclear power camps. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is eager to restart at least some reactors in the near future to avoid electricity shortages, although he plans to reduce the nation's reliance...

URL: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201205060027

Global warming: Plants respond faster than expected

Summit Voice: Many plants appear to be responding to global warming faster than anticipated by climate models, as trees leaf out and flower bloom on average about five to six days earlier for each degree (Celsius) of warming. The observed response, based on results from 50 plant studies on four continents, is much greater than the changes induced under laboratory conditions. Changes in the timing of when plants develop has implications for entire ecoystems. There is already some evidence that the availability...

URL: http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/05/07/global-warming-plants-respond-faster-than-expected/
Enclosure: http://summitvoice.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/berry7.jpg?w=270&h=242

Vietnam's Climate Woes Ignite National Strategy

Inter Press Service: Hailed as a development success story for lifting millions out of poverty and staying on track to meet all its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, Vietnam's future progress is severely threatened by the impact of global climate change. This nation of 86 million people – stretching down the eastern seaboard of the Indochina peninsula, its mountainous inland fringed by a broad coastal plain – shares the vast Mekong river system with Laos, Thailand, Burma, China and Cambodia. Unprecedented...

URL: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107691
Enclosure: http://ipsnews.net/fotos/107691-20120507.jpg

Norway opens major facility to test carbon capture

Reuters: Norway on Monday launched the world's largest facility of its kind to develop carbon capture and storage (CCS), the so-far commercially unproven technology that would allow greenhouse gases from power plants to be buried safely underground. A 5.8 million Norwegian crown ($1.00 billion) government-funded centre will test two post-combustion carbon capture technologies that could be extended to industrial-scale use if shown to be cost-effective and safe. "Today we are opening the world's largest...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/07/us-norway-carboncapture-idUSBRE8460SE20120507?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

India objects to inclusion of UN, INGOs' partisan reports in climate change talks

Times of India: Miffed with the way some UN and other international organizations have played a partisan role in climate change negotiations, India has demanded that their reports and studies should not be accepted as part of these deliberations. Domestically, it has refused the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) request to become an official partner to its study on the cost-benefit analysis of taking different actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The decision against ADB's proposal on 'mitigation studies'...

URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-06/global-warming/31597414_1_global-emissions-major-economies-forum-ipcc-report

Heartland Institute's digital billboards make bombastic comparisons

LiveScience: Update, 5:23 p.m Eastern Time: In a statement by Heartland president Joseph Bast, the organization announced that it will be taking down the Unabomber billboard after only 24 hours. Bast wrote that the billboard was an "experiment" meant to "turn the tables" on climate-change advocates. "We know that our billboard angered and disappointed many of Heartland's friends and supporters, but we hope they understand what we were trying to do with this experiment," Bast wrote. "We do not apologize for...

URL: http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0507/Heartland-Institute-s-digital-billboards-make-bombastic-comparisons
Enclosure: http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2012/0507-heartland-institute-unabomber/12481481-1-eng-US/0507-heartland-institute-unabomber_full_380.jpg

EU nations get cold feet over climate change fund

Reuters: EU nations have yet to come up with a plan on how to fill a multi-billion euro fund to help tackle climate change, even as the region's executive body hosts talks with countries likely to bear the brunt of extreme weather. The European Union recommitted to providing 7.2 billion euros (5.8 billion pounds) for the fund over 2010-12, according to draft conclusions seen by Reuters ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers next week. But after that, how much cash will flow is unclear as the text,...

URL: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/07/uk-eu-climate-idUKBRE8460U020120507

Global growth of carbon dioxide emissions continues

C and EN: After declining 1.5% in 2009, global carbon dioxide emissions rose 5.8% in 2010, the largest yearly jump in two decades, according to a Worldwatch Institute report released on April 28. Worldwatch is a Washington, D.C.-based, environmental think tank. Report author Xing Fu-Bertaux says economic recovery is the primary reason for the increase. In addition, the report finds little progress in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, noting that CO2 levels are now 45% higher than they were in 1990,...

URL: http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i19/Climate-Change-Global-growth-carbon.html
Enclosure: http://www.worldwatch.org/economic-recovery-brings-return-growth-co2-emissions-0

Poll Says America Ready for Hard Choice on Fossil Fuels, Climate

U.S. News and World Report: A majority of Americans from both political parties are ready for the "grand bargain"--an increase in taxes on old energy sources (oil, coal, and natural gas) in return for a reduction in income tax rates across the board. In short, they're ready for a new national climate and energy policy to emerge. They're also ready to support new, cutting edge energy technologies. And they recognize that climate change is starting to affect extreme weather events--in fact, 82 percent said they were personally...

URL: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2012/05/07/poll-says-america-ready-for-hard-choice-on-fossil-fuels-climate

Gaseous emissions from dinosaurs may have warmed prehistoric Earth

ScienceDaily: Sauropod dinosaurs could in principle have produced enough of the greenhouse gas methane to warm the climate many millions of years ago, at a time when Earth was warm and wet. That's according to calculations reported in the May 8th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. The hulking sauropods, distinctive for their enormous size and unusually long necks, were widespread about 150 million years ago. As in cows, methane-producing microbes aided the sauropods' digestion by fermenting...

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120507102324.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29
Enclosure: http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2012/05/120507102324.jpg

Hybrid bears offer glimpse of warmer Arctic's future

Edmonton Journal: University of Alberta scientist Andrew Derocher was in the High Arctic in late April getting a rare, first-hand glimpse of what the future of the Arctic might look like right around the time 3,000 researchers, policy-makers and indigenous leaders gathered in Montreal at the International Polar Year 2012 conference to try to imagine the same thing. Derocher was on the sea ice catching and tagging polar bears off the coast of Victoria Island when Inuvialuit hunter Pat Epakohak hunted and killed...

URL: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/news/6573443/story.html
Enclosure: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/6573448.bin

Gamesa Scraps Wind Project Off Virginia Coast

![][1] Rather than becoming the first American offshore wind turbine to achieve "wet steel," a landmark single prototype project planned off the coast of Virginia has instead dried up in another setback for the young industry.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/1332-gamesa-scraps-wind-project-off-virginia-coast.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/gamesa-scraps-wind-project-off-virginia-coast?cmpid=rss

Sceptics' ad compares climate change believers to terrorists

Sydney Morning Herald: IT IS either a brilliantly antagonistic marketing ploy or a remarkable misjudgment. One of the world's most prominent climate sceptic organisations is facing widespread condemnation for a planned advertising campaign likening climate change believers to mass murderers and tyrants. But the Heartland Institute says the billboard in Chicago brought an extra 10,000 people to a website promoting a coming climate sceptic conference - despite being pulled within 24 hours. The institute's digital...

URL: http://www.smh.com.au/world/sceptics-ad-compares-climate-change-believers-to-terrorists-20120507-1y9e4.html
Enclosure: http://images.smh.com.au/2012/05/07/3278183/art-353-wilcox-climate-200x0.jpg

Asia to overtake Europe as global solar power grows - EPIA

Reuters: The world's solar power generating capacity will grow by between 200 and 400 percent over the next five years, with Asia and other emerging markets overtaking leadership from Europe, a European industry association said on Monday. "Europe has dominated the global PV (photovoltaic) market for years but the rest of the world clearly has the biggest potential for growth," the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) said in its market outlook until 2016. The fastest PV capacity growth...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/07/us-solar-energy-idUSBRE8460Q620120507?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Most water companies not required to cut leaks before 2015 despite drought

Guardian: More than half of water companies will not be required to reduce their leakages by a single drop before 2015, despite the worst drought in 25 years. Data obtained by the Guardian from the regulator Ofwat also shows the entire water industry will cut leaks by only 1.5% in that time. Every day, 3.4bn litres of water leaks from the system, almost a quarter of the entire supply. After two years of low rainfall, drought has been declared across southern and central England, with no end in sight for...

URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/may/07/water-companies-cut-leaks-2015-drought
Enclosure: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2012/5/7/1336399710130/Water-leak-008.jpg

Trumka says labor wants Keystone built, believes green issues can be resolved

The Hill: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project. "They are not divided on the pipeline itself," Trumka said in a C-SPAN interview when asked about differences among unions over Keystone. "They are divided on how the pipeline is done." "I think we are all unanimous by saying we should build the pipeline, but we have to do it consistent with all...

URL: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/225657-trumka-labor-wants-keystone-pipeline-green-issues-can-be-resolved

Ontario Feed-in Tariff Prices Drop, Germans Pay Much Less

![][1] Ontario just completed a revision of their landmark feed-in tariff program and rates for renewable electricity generation and prices fell sharply: 30 percent for solar and 15 percent for wind power. This continues a trend of falling costs for renewable energy around the world. As a bit of background, Ontario's feed-in tariff gives wind a

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/10208-ontario-feed-in-tariff-prices-drop-germans-pay-much-less.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/ontario-feed-in-tariff-prices-drop-germans-pay-much-less?cmpid=rss

United States: Fallout for Heartland Institute after it likens those who accept climate change to "murderers" and "madmen"

Mongabay: According to the Heartland Institute, a conservative think tank, those who accept the science of climate change are "on the radical fringe" with the movements most "prominent advocates" being "murderers, tyrants, and madmen." The Heartland Institute's statements came as it launched a billboard campaign featuring notorious mass-murderer, Ted Kaczynski also known as the Unabomber, on a billboard in Chicago that read "I still believe in Global Warming? Do you?" The Kaczynski billboard remained live...

URL: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0507-hance_heartland_billboard.html
Enclosure: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0507-hance_heartland_billboard.html

Could a Changing Climate Set Off Volcanoes and Quakes?

Yale Environment 360: Geological disasters might influence climate, for instance when volcanic debris blots out the sun. But climate cannot disrupt geology. Right? Well, actually no, says a British geologist Bill McGuire, in a troubling new book, Waking The Giant: How a Changing Climate Triggers Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Volcanoes. There is, McGuire argues, growing evidence to incriminate changing climate in the planet's most destructive geological events. Melting ice sheets and changes in sea level can, he maintains,...

URL: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/could_a_changing_climate_set_off_volcanoes_and_quakes/2525/

Asia Report: European Ruling Could Cut Into Palm Oil Exports

![][1] A looming decision that threatens to derail Europe's biofuels industry could reverberate all the way to Asia.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/1332-asia-report-european-ruling-could-cut-into-palm-oil-exports.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/asia-report-european-ruling-could-cut-into-palm-oil-exports?cmpid=rss

The growing case for the Keystone XL pipeline

Denver Post: Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, pictured last February, speaks in Washington. TransCanada submitted a new application for the Keystone XL pipeline Friday after changing the route to avoid environmentally sensitive land in Nebraska. (Cliff Owen, The Associated Press) It wasn't just the Obama administration that expressed doubts about the original Keystone XL pipeline proposal, which would transport heavy crude oil from Canadian "tar sands" to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico and has become a bone...

URL: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_20551718/editorial-growing-case-keystone-xl

European mountain plant population shows delayed response to climate change

EurekAlert: A modeling study from the European Alps suggests that population declines to be observed during the upcoming decades will probably underestimate the long-term effects of recent climate warming on mountain plants. A European team of ecologists around Stefan Dullinger from the Department of Conservation Biology, Vegetation and Landscape Ecology of the University of Vienna presents a new modeling tool to predict migration of mountain plants which explicitly takes population dynamic processes into account....

URL: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/uov-emp050712.php

United Kingdom: Thousands of jobs at risk after David Cameron abandons solar subsidies

Independent: New moves to reduce subsidies for fitting solar panels on homes are jeopardising Britain's hopes of hitting renewable energy targets and threatening thousands of jobs, David Cameron was warned last night. Some 400 senior figures in the solar energy industry said demand for panels has collapsed since the Government started slashing financial incentives for families that want to go green. In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, seen by The Independent, they protested that the sector faced a...

URL: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thousands-of-jobs-at-risk-after-david-cameron-abandons-solar-subsidies-7718665.html

Global warming heats up tornado debate

New Scientist: LAST year was a particularly deadly year for tornadoes in the US, with the second highest death toll in 137 years. Already this year, major outbreaks have killed 63 people. All eyes are now on May, when the season usually peaks, amid talk in some quarters of another year of extremes. The result is that discussion about human influences on severe thunderstorms and tornadoes has been reignited. Such discussion is not new. It seems that, following every major tornado event in the last decade, the...

URL: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428637.100-global-warming-heats-up-tornado-debate.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=climate-change
Enclosure: http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/mg21428637.100/mg21428637.100-1_300.jpg

World Bank under attack for aiding land grabs in Uganda

Independent: The World Bank has come under attack after a new report has exposed how commercial projects funded by the Bank are causing poverty, human rights violations in Uganda sparking a barrage of criticisms. Ironically, the report entitled "Land, life and justice: How land grabbing in Uganda is affecting the environment, livelihoods and food sovereignty of communities" by Friends for Earth International (FOEI) came out on the eve of the World Bank's conference on land and poverty. FOEI is an international...

URL: http://www.independent.co.ug/cover-story/5725-world-bank-under-attack-for-aiding-land-grabs-in-uganda
Enclosure: http://www.independent.co.ug/images/stories/issue212/BIDCO1.jpg

Voyage to the 'front line' of global warming

Agence France-Presse: When Cameron Dueck set sail to the Canadian Arctic to witness what he calls "the front line of climate change", he did so knowing he would have to brave seas that have killed scores of sailors and reduced men to cannibals. For 450 years before the first successful voyage in 1906, people sought the Northwest Passage, a potentially lucrative shipping route linking Europe to Asia that would cut out the lengthy journey around the horn of South America. Many died trying to find it, including Sir...

URL: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hSuffyAR-e8b7JFKROQzQMRvAyqg?docId=CNG.be8246607583f283984fe009b7e8890b.411

Clean Energy Stocks Gone With the Wind

![][1] After a great January, the last three months have not been kind to clean energy stocks. While my model portfolios are still in positive territory (+5.4 percent and +0.9 percent for the unhedged and hedged portfolios, respectively), and are above my clean energy benchmark (The Powershares Wilderhill Clean Energy ETF, -3.4 percent), they have again fallen behind my broader market index, the Russell 2000 (+7.3 percent).

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/1332-clean-energy-stocks-gone-with-the-wind.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/clean-energy-stocks-gone-with-the-wind?cmpid=rss

Controversial Ad Campaign Costs Climate Skeptics Group Partnerships

redOrbit: The fallout over the Heartland Institute's controversial, short-lived billboard campaign comparing climate change advocates with infamous terrorists, murderers and cult leaders continued over the weekend, as former partners moved to distance themselves from the skeptics` group. According to Leo Hickman of the Guardian, British multinational alcoholic beverage company Diageo, a former supporter of the organization, announced that they would no longer provide funds to the thinktank. A spokesperson...

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112529144/controversial-ad-campaign-costs-climate-skeptics-group-partnerships/
Enclosure: http://v2-master.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2012/05/science-050712-002b.jpg

Nuclear-free Japan braces for severe power shortages

Reuters: The shutdown of Japan's last working nuclear power plant and the government's failure to convince a wary public about restoring production at dozens of reactors leaves the world's third largest economy facing another summer of severe power shortages. Hokkaido Electric Power Co shut its nuclear plant late on Saturday - the last of Japan's 50 reactors to go off line - marking the first time since 1970 Japan has been nuclear power-free. Japan's $5 trillion economy has relied heavily on nuclear...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/06/us-nuclear-japan-idUSBRE84405820120506
Enclosure: http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20120506&t=2&i=603553379&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE8440O1Z00

Drilling Boom Strains State Regulatory Agencies

National Public Radio: Cash-strapped states are embracing the millions of dollars in new tax revenue coming from shale oil and gas development. But there aren't enough inspectors to make sure the sites aren't polluting. The problem seems especially apparent in Colorado, which now has more than 47,000 active oil and gas wells but the state employs just 17 inspectors.

URL: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/07/152177408/drilling-boom-strains-state-regulatory-agencies?ft=1&f=1025
Enclosure: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=152177408&m=152175584

Large Installers and Financiers Dominate the Residential Market in Massachusetts

![][1] The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has made data on the number of projects funded through the Commonwealth solar grant available to the public. You can find the information on MA CEC's website or download it here in excel format. The data is very detailed and tells an interesting story that can be used for industry analysis, competitor analysis

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/9663-large-installers-and-financiers-dominate-the-residential-market-in-massachusetts.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2012/05/large-installers-76-market-share-and-financiers-74-market-share-dominate-the-residential-market-in-massachusetts-and-other-interesting-data?cmpid=rss

Can geoengineering solve global warming?

New Yorker: Late in the afternoon on April 2, 1991, Mt. Pinatubo, a volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon, began to rumble with a series of the powerful steam explosions that typically precede an eruption. Pinatubo had been dormant for more than four centuries, and in the volcanological world the mountain had become little more than a footnote. The tremors continued in a steady crescendo for the next two months, until June 15th, when the mountain exploded with enough force to expel molten lava at the speed...

URL: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/05/14/120514fa_fact_specter
Enclosure: http://www.newyorker.com/images/2012/05/14/p233/120514_r22169_p233.jpg

Solar minimum may lead to abrupt climatic conditions

Asian News International: An abrupt cooling in Europe along with an increase in humidity and especially in windiness coincided with a sustained reduction in solar activity 2800 years ago, researchers say. Scientists from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ in collaboration with Swedish and Dutch colleagues provide evidence for a direct solar-climate linkage on centennial timescales. Using the most modern methodological approach, they analysed sediments from Lake Meerfelder Maar, a maar lake in the Eifel/Germany,...

URL: http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/solar-minimum-may-lead-to-abrupt-climatic-conditions_773679.html
Enclosure: http://znn.india.com/Img/2012/5/7/Solar-275.jpg

Climate Change Rallies Held Across New England

Vermont Public Radio: Hundreds of people across New England are drawing attention to what they see as a link between extreme weather events and climate change. Dozens of rallies and demonstrations were held Saturday in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts as part of Climate Impacts Day, a global initiative organized by 350.org, an environmental group founded by Vermont activist Bill McKibben. The theme of the rallies was to "connect the dots" between extreme weather and climate change. McKibben took part...

URL: http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/94408/climate-change-rallies-held-across-new-england/

Czechs eye moratorium on shale gas exploration

Reuters: The Czech Environment Ministry is planning to put up to a two-year moratorium on granting licenses for shale gas exploration until new legislation is put in place, the ministry said. During the moratorium, the ministry would look at preparing geological and mining legislation that is clear for potential exploration companies. "Existing Czech legislation is not prepared for such technically complicated research like there is in the case of shale gas," the ministry said on its website. The...

URL: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/07/us-shale-czech-moratorium-idUSBRE84608L20120507?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2Fenvironment+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Environment%29

Exploring the Reasons behind Dam Removal

![][1] For many dams currently being removed in the U.S., the primary reason behind this work is the need to protect fish and restore their habitat. This article provides case studies of the removals under way and the context under which these decisions were made.

[1]: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com//assets/images/story/2012/5/7/8170-exploring-the-reasons-behind-dam-removal.jpg

URL: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/05/exploring-the-reasons-behind-dam-removal?cmpid=rss

The Trouble with Homes — Asthma and Poor Indoor Air Quality

Subtitle:

Bad moisture management details in your home may be making you sick

Images:

[![][1]][2]

[![][3]][2]

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p>I grew up with really bad [asthma][6]. Not being able to get enough air into your lungs, in case you haven't experienced it, is pretty scary. I remember lying in bed during one asthma attack, gasping for air, wheezing loudly, and feeling like I was going to die. A trip to the hospital for a shot opened up my lungs again that night, but I continued to suffer asthma attacks even into my mid-twenties.

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/moisture-management-plumbing-leak-indoor-air-quality-asthma.jpg (Plumbing leaks are one of the leading causes of moisture and mold problems in homes.)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/trouble-homes-asthma-and-poor-indoor-air-quality
[3]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/moisture-management-mold-on-floor-joist-indoor-air-quality-asthma.jpg (High humidity in crawl spaces can cause mold to grow on floor joists)
[4]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/moisture-management-mold-on-lumber-1-indoor-air-quality-asthma.jpg (Wet, moldy lumber sometimes gets installed in homes)
[5]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/moisture-management-mold-on-lumber-2-indoor-air-quality-asthma.jpg (In 2009, some wet, moldy lumber went out to the lumber yards)
[6]: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/asthma/ (asthma)

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/trouble-homes-asthma-and-poor-indoor-air-quality