Climate Change Talks – Day 3
Watch Yvo De Boers press briefing on where climate negotiations stand.
3M, Ford, GM Receive DOE Funding
$14.5 million in funding dispersed among six projects for alternative vehicle technology.
More Banks Weighing Carbon Risks
Five international banks have adopted a set of principles to asses carbon risks in their lending practices.
Noisier Oceans Threaten Marine Life
New research suggests that acidification of the ocean, resulting from carbon dioxide emissions, allows sounded to travel farther underwater.
Clinton Global Initiative Attracts Environmental Commitments in Asia
The first Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Asia concluded yesterday with the announcement of numerous commitments to environment, health and education.
IPS Raises $13M For Commercialization of Thin-FIlm Batteries
Thin, flexible batteries can be adopted to a wide array of uses including active RFID and medical devices.
Global Solar Opens Largest CIGS Thin-Film System
Global Solar Energy installs worlds largest CIGS array; Ascent Solar achieves efficiency milestone.
Sencera Receives $5M for Efficiency Milestone
Thin-film solar company triggers additional funding by reaching 7% efficiency mark.
Chemrec Raises $20M for Paper Mill Biorefineries
Chemrec received $20 million in funding to commercialize technology that enables biorefining at paper and pulp mills.
Editorial: Auto Bailout Is About Power, Not Efficiency
By Bart King As I write this, the CEO’s of the three biggest American auto companies are en route to Washington D.C. in hybrid vehicles. ‘For Sale’ signs have been hung in the windows of the corporate jets that delivered them to the feet of Congress a few weeks ago, when they first asked for a federal bailout. But their penance is not limited to the revocation of VIP flight privileges. Whether they know it or not, they are atoning for the hubris of an entire nation that led its signature industry down a dead-end road. Despite rising gasoline prices around the world throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, U.S. car buyers and makers opted for increased power, rather than efficiency – an indulgence that was made affordable by suppressed fuel prices due to the enormous size of the U.S. market. But since the beginning of the new century, the United States has lost its market dominance, as millions of drivers in China and India adopted the American dream of auto ownership. Other factors contributed as well, but in the last two years U.S. drivers have been required to pay per-gallon prices on par with the rest of the world – […]