manufacturing

photo: Genomatica This post first appeared on Grist. You can buy green jeans, green greens at the farmer’s market and green beer. But the reality is that many, if not most, products in our industrial society contain some petroleum-based chemicals. In fact up to a quarter of oil consumption in some regions of the United States – such as...[read more]

Devoted fans of Ghana will wear this soccer jersey, designed by Puma, when they cheer on their team this month during 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Fans of Cameroon, meanwhile, will don their team’s green World Cup jersey. Ivory Coast Algeria Puma also sells replicas of the World Cup jerseys for Algeria and the Ivory Coast. What...[read more]

In the quest for 60 votes for climate and energy legislation, one essential group is a manufacturing caucus of about a dozen Senators, led by Sherrod Brown (D-OH).  Last summer, and again last month, the “Brown Dogs” (as they are known in some circles) wrote important letters – one to the President, and one to the sponsors of the...[read more]

Solar research received a nice boost from Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Earth Day. The Department of Energy allocated $200 million for research and development of solar power and a variety of water power technologies. The funding is aimed less at discovering new innovations and more toward improving processes to accelerate the...[read more]

BP might be investing left and right in wind farms in the US but when it comes to solar cell and wafer manufacturing, the sail has gone out of this business because of material pricing woes. BP announced last week that it will shutdown its solar manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland, and sad as it may be, this move makes...[read more]

Wind turbine manufacturer GE announced this week that it plans to spend 110m Euros (US$147m) and create up to 2000 green jobs in the UK.  The company is to join other wind turbine manufacturers who have recently decided to invest heavily in the UK offshore wind energy market. GE plans to build an offshore wind turbine manufacturing...[read more]

From Cleaner Greener China If you have been following China for any amount of time, then you will know that China is good for a chart that will shock and awe readers.  Few, if any, in the cleantech space have as much power as the one above, from the Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP study China’s Promotion of the Renewable Electric Power...[read more]

Framing the Issue “Only 22 Fortune 500 companies have begun blunting their supply chain’s impact on the environment” The amount of cargo shipped is “expected to triple in the next 20 years” Measuring ghg emissions...[read more]

In Monday’s Los Angeles Times, I write about the migration of renewable energy firms from California and the Southwest to the nation’s industrial heartland to tap the down-and-out region’s manufacturing might: At a recent solar energy conference in Anaheim, economic development officials from Ohio talked up a state that seemed far...[read more]

photo: Skyline Solar Silicon Valley startup Skyline Solar has joined other green energy companies beating a path to Detroit to take advantage of the down-and-out auto industry’s manufacturing might. As I write in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday: Skyline Solar, a Silicon Valley start-up, has become the latest green energy company to...[read more]

During my second year at University I worked for two months in a cement plant as part of the “practical experience” element of my chemical engineering studies. This was about 30 years ago and in those days nobody talked about CO2 – I don’t recall any mention of the CO2 footprint of cement or the overall impact of the industry on the...[read more]

Ontario Power Generation released its second-quarter earnings on Friday and, little surprise, the province’s largest power generator saw its output drop by 19 per cent compared to a year earlier. A similar plunge was seen in the first quarter. Some of this drop has to do with conservation, good weather, and increased supply from private...[read more]

On the heals of a number of studies that link trade and carbon footprints, the WWF has kicked off the Low Carbon Manufacturing (LCMP) Program in the Pearl Delta area. An area known for its long history of manufacturing for export, and reputation for not living up to the highest environmental standards. Through this program, WWF is...[read more]

I recommend reading this excellent critique of Paul Krugman’s political philosophies by Brink Lindsey, and I recommend reading it alongside this series of posts by Robert Reich on manufacturing and the American economy. The two men come from very different places on the ideological spectrum, but they’re largely singing the same tune....[read more]

Two recent news items caught my eye, especially in light of the continuing meltdown of the economy and President Obama’s call to action at last night’s” not so” State of the Union address. First,  according to a recent survey (http://www.rockwellautomation.com/news/get/ManufacturingSurvey.pdf),  an overwhelming majority...[read more]