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Green Week in Review podcast – January 29, 2010

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The Green Week in Review is a podcast, hosted by SustainableBusiness.com News Editor Bart King. It’s posted every Friday morning and is about 15-20 minutes long. You can listen to it through your browser or download it to a portable MP3 player. Sign up for our Podcast RSS Feed and it will be automatically downloaded to your computer’s media player each week. In this week’s show… A review of the top cleantech headlines. SEC Issues Interpretive Guidance on Climate Disclosures Plus, an interview with Frederic Scheer, the Chairman and CEO of bioplastics company Cereplast, Inc. (CERP.OB) (www.cereplast.com). ++++ Email comments or questions to bart@sustainablebusiness.com

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: January 27, 2010

California Adopts First Statewide Green Building Standard DOE: $20.5M for 5 Community Renewable Energy Projects DOE: $12M for Early-Stage Solar Technologies DOE: $465M Loan to Tesla Motors NREL Study Shows 20% Wind is Possible by 2024 New American Home Incorporates Leading Green Technologies U.S. Crude Oil Imports Decreased 9.2% in 2009 California Adopts First Statewide Green Building Standard The California Building Standards Commission unanimously adopted the first-in-the-nation mandatory Green Building Standards Code, called CALGreen, on January 12. The program takes effect on January 1, 2011. CALGreen requires mandatory inspections of energy systems (furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioners, and other mechanical equipment) for nonresidential buildings with over 10,000 square feet of floor space to make sure they’re operating at maximum capacity and according to their design efficiencies. New buildings must reduce water consumption by 20%, divert 50% of construction waste from landfills, and install materials that emit low amounts of indoor pollutants. Separate water meters are required for nonresidential buildings’ indoor and outdoor water use, with a requirement for moisture-sensing irrigation systems for larger landscape projects. While water conservation is a priority unto itself, it’s also directly tied to energy consumption. A 2005 report from the California Energy Commission (CEC) found […]

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Green Week in Review podcast – January 22, 2010

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The Green Week in Review is a podcast, hosted by SustainableBusiness.com News Editor Bart King. It’s posted every Friday morning and is about 15-20 minutes long. You can listen to it through your browser or download it to a portable MP3 player. Sign up for our Podcast RSS Feed and it will be automatically downloaded to your computer’s media player each week. In this week’s show… A review of the top cleantech headlines. Plus, an interview with Arnold Klann, the Chairman and CEO of cellulosic company BlueFire Ethanol (BFRE.OB) (bluefireethanol.com). ++++ Email comments or questions to bart@sustainablebusiness.com

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Podcast: Full Interview with Arnold Klann, BlueFire Ethanol

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This is the full interview with Arnold Klan, the Chairman and CEO of the cellulosic company BlueFire Ethanol (bluefireethanol.com). The interview was excerpted on the Green Week in Review podcast on January 22, 2010. This full interview gives detailed account of BlueFire’s technology and business plan, as well as insight on the cellulosic ethanol industry, government regulation and Department of Energy funding.

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: January 20, 2010

DOE: $80M for Biofuels Research, Infrastructure DOE: $37M for 17 Solid-State Lighting Projects GM Builds Lithium-Ion Battery Pack for Volt New Hybrids at Detroit Auto Show 11 Governors Commit to Regional Low-Carbon Fuel Standard DOE to Award $80 Million for Biofuels Research, Infrastructure DOE announced on January 13 its investment of nearly $80 million in advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure under the Recovery Act (ARRA). Two biofuels consortia will seek to break down barriers to commercialization of algae-based and other biofuels that can be transported and sold using existing fueling infrastructure, including refineries and pipelines. They will receive up to $78 million to be matched by private and non-federal funds of over $19 million for total project investments of about $97 million. In addition, $1.6 million will go toward infrastructure projects to expand the availability of ethanol-rich fuel. The infrastructure funds will be matched with $3.9 million in non-federal funds for a total investment of $5.5 million. The two biofuels consortia are the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) and the National Advanced Biofuels Consortium (NABC). The NAABB, a $44 million effort led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, will develop a systems approach for sustainable […]

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Green Banks Offer Mega-Bank Alternative

e3bank was recently featured as a green investment in our green investing newsletter, Progressive Investor. At a time when people have lost faith in financial institutions, there’s a push toward taking your money out of banks that are "too big to fail" and re-investing it in community banks and credit unions. Besides everything you’ve heard about the big banks during the past year, most have miserable environmental and social records, and finance environmentally destructive projects like coal plants. Among the hundreds of community banks are a handful of green community banks, all of which offer you "banking with your values" by investing in local communities, offering personal relationships, and often better interest rates on checking accounts. They channel your funds into projects that build healthy communities, helping small businesses and investing in affordable housing. Thanks to electronic banking you can deposit and move funds with any bank, anywhere. Keep the minimum amount necessary for a free checking or savings account at a conventional bank that has lots of ATM machines. Or write a check from your community bank to the conventional bank once a month to cover your cash needs. Most credit cards are issued by the mega-banks – you […]

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Overlooked Non-CO2 Strategies: 50% of Climate Warming

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"While the Copenhagen accord negotiated in the closing hours by a small number of heads of government, including China, India, and the US, is a disappointment to many-in process, form, and content-others will see the full engagement by heads of government as a milestone in climate policy," says Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. "The true value of the accord depends on the follow-up." A key aspect of follow up, says Zaelke, is the "fast, forgotten 50% of warming caused by non-CO2 gases and aerosols – black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons. Carbon cuts are essential but won’t result in cooling benefits for up to 1,000 years. Not only do non-CO2 pollutants make up half of warming, they are the half that can be solved quickly. Cutting non-CO2 sources of pollution can reduce the risk of passing temperature tipping points for abrupt and irreversible climate changes. Fast action on non-carbon pollution could offset as much as 40 years worth of CO2 emissions, and delay the time when dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system would otherwise be reached. The 2009 G8 Leaders Declaration commits to fast-action on black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons; the 2009 North American Leaders […]

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Green Week in Review podcast – January 15, 2010

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The Green Week in Review is a podcast, hosted by SustainableBusiness.com News Editor Bart King. It’s posted every Friday morning and is about 15 minutes long. You can listen to it through your browser or download it to a portable MP3 player. Sign up for our General News RSS Feed and it will be automatically downloaded to your computer’s media player each week. In this week’s show… Auto Show Round Up Three-Wheeled EV To Begin Deliveries in October EV Batteries: Costs Will Remain Challenge Through 2020 Transportation Dept. To Prioritize ‘Livability’ In Funding Guidelines Plus, a summary of the week’s top cleantech headlines. ++++ Email comments or questions to bart@sustainablebusiness.com

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: January 13, 2010

$2.3B for Clean Energy Manufacturing DOE: $187M for Improved Car, Truck Fuel Efficiency DOE: $47M to Boost IT, Telecom Energy Efficiency DOE:Energy Efficiency Enforcement Action DOE Supports Clean Energy Projects in Costa Rica, Caribbean Labor Dept Awards $155Million to Support Green Jobs Gasoline Hits $3 a Gallon by Summer $2.3 Billion for Clean Energy Manufacturing President Obama announced on January 8 the award of $2.3 billion in Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy jobs and manufacturing projects across the U.S. Funding for the tax credits, which comes from the Recovery Act, will go to 183 energy enterprises in 43 states involved in manufacturing components and systems relating to solar, wind, and geothermal energy equipment; fuel cells, microturbines, and batteries; electric cars; electric grids to support renewable energy; energy conservation technologies; and carbon sequestration equipment. Companies will produce next-generation wind turbine blades, smart meters, and double-reflective glass for solar panels, among others. For example, to boost the smart grid, Itron, Inc. is making one of the first residential smart meters that provides built-in, two-way communications and a remote on/off switch, giving customers more choice while enabling utilities to provide higher reliability at lower cost. The investment tax credits, worth […]

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Green Week in Review podcast – January 8, 2010

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The Green Week in Review is a podcast, hosted by SustainableBusiness.com News Editor Bart King. It’s posted every Friday morning and is about 15 minutes long. You can listen to it through your browser or download it to a portable MP3 player. Sign up for our General News RSS Feed and it will be automatically downloaded to your computer’s media player each week. In this week’s show… Copenhagen Wrap-Up Copenhagen Shakeout Moderate Democrats Want to Drop Cap-And-Trade First Challenge to EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulations 3 Stories: Energy Policy, EPA Legal Issues, Rare Earths Around the States US Car Fleet Shrinks For First Time in 65 Years Nitrogen Limits Skew Climate Change Forecasts Plus, a summary of the week’s top cleantech headlines. ++++ Email comments or questions to bart@sustainablebusiness.com

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