Our network

treehugger

Southern farmers contend with abnormally dry weather

December 15, 2010 by Jonathan Smith
with 506 views
0

Around the world water shortages became frighteningly common this year. Treehugger took a closer look at countries that are growing in population while water supplies are shrinking. And, in a year-end review, San Francisco Treehugger Jaymi Heimbuch warns that it’s not just China, India and African countries – even the US... [read more]

Google and the Mid-Atlantic Bight

October 13, 2010 by Jonathan Smith
with 698 views
2

The Internet is abuzz with the news that Google is investing in a 350-mile, $5 Billion, Wind Power ‘Backbone’. Brooklyn Treehugger Brian Merchant reports that Google is taking 37.5% of the equity in future offshore wind farms along the East Coast, from New York City to southern Virginia, with 6,000 megawatts electrical capacity. As in... [read more]

The Biggest Failure in Energy is Thinking Bigger Is Better: Biochar Entrepreneur Jason Aramburu

May 3, 2010 by Big Gav
with 265 views
0

TreeHugger has an interview with the founder of biochar company re:char - The Biggest Failure in Energy is Thinking Bigger Is Better: Biochar Entrepreneur Jason Aramburu . TREEHUGGER: What are the major advances have you seen (in your field) during the past 40 years? What, if any, were the major failures? JASON ARAMBURU: I think one of... [read more]

Stop Picking on Energy Star, People: In Defense of Energy Star.

April 5, 2010 by Peter Troast
with 451 views
0

The very successful Energy Star program has been getting some attention lately. Not necessarily the kind it wants, or deserves. Without delving into the blame game, someone in our political system decided it was a good idea to make Energy Star look stupid by presenting some silly products for approval. They got approved. And Energy Star... [read more]

44% Increase in Global Solar Power in 2009

March 31, 2010 by Jonathan Smith
with 133 views
0

NYC Treehugger Matthew McDermott notes, “Despite difficult financial circumstances, the global solar industry added additional capacity of 6.4 gigawatts in 2009.” This growth represents an increase of 44%. photo: Wayne National Forest via flickr. Global capacity is now more than 20 GW. In their latest assessment, the EPIA projects an... [read more]

Smarter Grids, Appliances, and Consumers

February 22, 2010 by Big Gav
with 107 views
0

Lester Brown has a post on smart grids at TreeHugger - Smarter Grids, Appliances, and Consumers. More and more utilities are beginning to realize that building large power plants just to handle peak daily and seasonal demand is a very costly way of managing an electricity system. Existing electricity grids are typically a patchwork of... [read more]

Facebook to run on Coal!?

February 18, 2010 by Matt Dernoga
with 424 views
0

In case you haven’t heard, Facebook recently announced the development of its first data center in Princeville, Oregon, and instead of buying electricity from a clean source within the state, they’re going to mostly import coal electricity from Idaho.  Why? “With the price of hydropower increasing in the Northwest, Facebook opted... [read more]

Move Over OLEDs: Scientists Create Cheap, Fully Recyclable Lighting Material

February 9, 2010 by Big Gav
with 169 views
0

TreeHugger has a post on using graphene for energy efficient lighting - Move Over OLEDs: Scientists Create Cheap, Fully Recyclable Lighting Material. Swedish and American researchers have just developed a fully recyclable lighting component with what Science Daily is terms a "new super material": graphene. Graphene is both inexpensive... [read more]

A New Spin on Climate Engineering

January 7, 2010 by Big Gav
with 133 views
0

TreeHugger has a post on a proposal for mitigating climate change using a form of biomimicry from Pax Scientific's Jay Harman (which I admit makes little sense to me) - A New Spin on Climate Engineering. Jay Harman's idea of using spiral dynamics to create spinning, vortex-shaped impellers that serve as heat sinks and buy us time to... [read more]

India aims for 20 gigawatts solar by 2022 — but is it set to announce emissions targets?

November 29, 2009 by Joseph Romm
with 127 views
1

We’ve seen that the “New U.S.-India Green Partnership improves prospects for global climate deal.”  But Treehugger has more on the world’s most populous democracy (and the photo is B Balaji via flickr). First,”It’s Finally Official – India’s National Solar Mission Aims for 20 Gigawatts Solar Power by 2022“: Rumors and draft... [read more]

Flapping Wind Turbine Inspired by Bumble Bee Wings

November 4, 2009 by Big Gav
with 248 views
0

TreeHugger has a post on some biomimicry being applied to wind turbine design - Flapping Wind Turbine Inspired by Bumble Bee Wings. VentureBeat has more.The xBEE has a19-foot wingspan and swoops in a majestic back-and-forth pattern. Green Wavelength CEO Sabri Sansoy (an MIT grad with a master's in Aeronautics and Astronautics) says, "... [read more]

Taiwanese Convention Center's Solar-Powered Skin

October 7, 2009 by Big Gav
with 92 views
0

Green building of the week is from TreeHugger, looking at a solar powered Taiwanese convention centre - Taiwanese Center Has High-Tech Solar-Powered Skin.Taiwan's new Taichung Convention Center will be covered in solar-powered skin that naturally ventilates the structure reducing energy consumption.The skin--a pleated smocking-esque... [read more]

Fire and Ice (Big Badaboom)

August 17, 2009 by Michael Tobis
with 131 views
0

As if there weren't enough going on, Yale 360 reports: British and German scientists have discovered 250 plumes of methane gas rising from the thawing seabed off the Spitsbergen archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic, apparently a result of the warming of the West Spitsbergen current. The researchers measured the plumes rising from the... [read more]