April 2009

The Minister of Finance in Norway, Kristin Halvorsen, has proposed a ban that would render the sale of gasoline cars illegal in 2015. Any vehicle sold in the country after that point would need to utilize at least one additional form of energy in tandem with fossil fuels or avoid them completely.

Halvorsen’s socialist left political party is one of three parties that govern Norway and her proposal has some high profile opponents in the country including Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. This sort of government intervention certainly would have the ability to enforce a quick transition to new hybrid technologies, but at what cost to an already stricken economy that’s dependent on oil exports?

Despite the challenges associated with offshore wind energy, more companies and states are building a political platform for Great Lakes wind farms.

On Earth Day, the state-owned New York Power Authority announced an initiative to build turbines on the waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

At the same time, a Canadian firm Trillium Power has plans for a project in a northern section of Lake Ontario. Trillium says their project could create enough power for 300,000 homes and would create 2,500 new jobs.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan are also looking at offshore wind towers.

Many politicians from each of these states are already on board. New York Gov. David Paterson said his state needs to look at all options in order to meet the goal of 45 percent renewables by 2015.

Green dreams are here. Or at least they promise to be here by 2030. All this talk of renewable energy and sustainability could culminate with one gigantic plan that could change the natural world as we see it today and offer a win-win, cost effective solution that would halt even the biggest pessimists of global warming and climate change.

Since the green revolution began, individuals, organizations, and businesses have attempted to solve the potential problem of global warming and climate change by proposing solutions and offering products and services that cut down on harmful greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Well, now there is an even bigger solution being pitched and this time it is making its way to Capital Hill.

So what is the plan?

By creating carbon cap policies and transportation standards and adding them to the already impressive technological advancements in renewable technology, the Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) believes the nation can achieve the optimistic statistics that they spouted out from their two year analysis of the climate.

Lights in grocery stores are bright for a reason. They make the merchandise look attractive and ostensibly encourage customers to buy product. The downside? Those lights take a lot of electricity to power on a daily basis and sometimes during the hot season electricity is a scarce commodity.

That’s how Enernoc built its business model. The company has developed technology that allows it to control lighting in buildings remotely. Since grocery stores use so much power in lighting their facilities, it’s a logical next step.

Better cook that fillet carefully, because who knows what sort of pollutants may be found in commonly consumed fish.

The first national pilot study on the topic found low levels of medications and personal care products in fish collected from rivers running near large American cities.

The Baylor University-EPA combined study found the residue of seven pharmaceuticals and two toiletry items in fish livers near Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Orlando and Philadelphia.

This was the first time one specific medication for high cholesterol was found in wild fish.

Many large-city water treatment plants use river systems to discharge leftover water. The government has testing standards for these discharges, but the rules don’t cover pharmaceuticals or many soaps and shampoos.

The effects of this type of pollution are not well understood, according to a press release from the Baylor researchers.

Ever drink a Coke, Pepsi or bottled water? Those plastic bottles are a huge source of carbon buildup in our waste channels. But bottles still have untapped potential even after their original contents are gone, sometimes it just takes a small innovative company to see a business opportunity.

New Soap, Old Bottle is a perfect example of sustainable ideation turning waste streams into profit. The company sanitizes old bottles previously filled with drinks like Heineken, Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite and fills them with brand name soap cleaners like Windex, 409 and Dawn.

The same grease that makes fast-food workers so prone to acne is suddenly becoming a hot commodity.

More commonly than ever, the grease is turned into biodiesel fuel to power motor vehicles and industrial equipment.

As the demand rises, so does the value of this grease. Fast-food restaurants typically store the grease in 200-gallon vats, which need emptying every few weeks.

Two men were recently arrested for stealing large quantities of the stuff from Detroit and surrounding areas, according to a Detroit News report. It’s  apparently possible to make $160 for 1,000 gallons of it.

In most places, restaurants continue to pay people to take away their leftover grease, which is illegal to wash down the drain.

But the tides are turning in places like Washington, where the biodiesel movement is further along.

As spring roles around and the weather patterns shift toward warmer climates in the U.S., many are anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer to get outside and soak up some sun. And where better to get some rays than the coastal waterfronts, right? Well, besides being a hotspot for residents and tourists alike, the coast could also be a hotspot for new wind energy projects.

According to a press release by U.S. Department of the Interior, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar met with 25X’25 America’s Energy Future to announce his hopes to use the offshore areas to generate wind power and energy. He hopes to use the more than one and a half billion acres of shoreline that the Interior owns to produce clean energy through the use of alternative energy generators like turbines.

Salazar utilized the research done by The National Renewable Energy Lab to demonstrate his plan.

When it comes to building gas powered vehicles China falls short. In general its gasoline cars don’t live up to Japanese and American quality, but that could turn out to be a positive for the country as it zeroes in on electric vehicles, leapfrogging technology platforms.

That announcement couldn’t come at a more frenetic time for the Big Three in Detroit as they struggle to recover from a succession of bad decisions that left them producing vehicles that consumers disdain. Fuel efficiency is a key consideration for most car buyers today and right now Japan automakers like Toyota are right on the money.

But what makes China think it’s ready to jump into the electric vehicle rat race?

The debate about whether sugar or high fructose corn syrup makes a better sweetener is growing bitter.

But the argument focuses on how HFCS affects America’s waist lines, rather than the impact these huge fields of empty calories have on the planet.

Let’s quickly put the first debate to rest: Both sugar and HFCS can make you fat. Because so many foods – from spaghetti sauce to cereal to shredded cheese – contain corn syrup, obesity is a huge problem in the U.S. OK, time to move on.

Despite what the Corn Refiners Association says at www.sweetsurprise.com or in its recent television advertising campaign, HFCS is not good.

Iowa and the rest of America’s breadbasket produces more corn than ever, but now a huge amount of that corn is used to sweeten soda and other products instead of contributing to the world’s nutritional needs.

It takes enormous resources of pesticides and fuel to grow, make and transport corn syrup. All so Americans can gorge on Pepsi and Coca-Cola.