Growing excitement, expectations for green jobs corps
When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, (more)
Wind power helps ski resort during recession
CNN reports here: Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts touts itself as the first ski resort in North America to be powered in part by a wind turbine, a 386-foot-high structure that towers over the slopes and has angered some neighbors. (more)
Residents near US base in Japan win damages for noise pollution
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - A Japanese court Friday ordered the government to pay more than 57 million dollars in compensation to residents over noise pollution from a US air base on the southern island of Okinawa.
German solar company to build $1B plant in Tenn.
AP reports here: Wacker Chemie AG, a German chemical company, announced Thursday that it will build a $1 billion plant with 500 jobs in southeastern Tennessee to produce hyperpure polycrystalline silicon, a product used to make solar panels and semiconductors.
Undersea bombs threatening marine life
CNN reports here: Hundreds of corroding and unexploded Navy bombs litter the sea floor off the Puerto Rico island of Vieques, leaking toxins and taking a toll on nearby marine life. Scientists and military officials are trying to clean up these underwater graveyards, which exist in oceans around the world.
Honda says to open bio-ethanol research centre
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Japan's Honda Motor Co., seeking a boost in the race to build greener automobiles, said Thursday it would open a research centre to develop and produce bio-ethanol fuel from non-edible plant matter.
Obama budget proposes shift to green energy
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's first budget plan moves aggressively on several fronts to tackle climate change and shift the nation from reliance on foreign oil to green energy.
Obama wants to raise money via pollution caps
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will propose raising new revenue through a greenhouse gas cap and emissions trading scheme when he unveils his first budget on Thursday, US media reported.
Saving Chile's southern wilderness
Commerce and conservation join forces in Chile, BBC News reports here on this an example of how the public and private sectors can work together to safeguard the world's last remaining wildernesses.
Australia seeks to cut animal gas emissions
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SYDNEY - The Australian government has announced a multi-million dollar investment in research on reducing gas emissions from farm animals as part of the fight against global warming.
Global warming danger threat increased
AP reports here at Yahoo News: The Earth won't have to warm up as much as had been thought to cause serious consequences of global warming, including more extreme weather and increasing threats to plants and animals, says an international team of climate experts.
Study: Antarctic glaciers slipping swiftly seaward
AP reports here at Yahoo News: GENEVA - Antarctic glaciers are melting faster than previously thought, which could lead to an unprecedented rise in sea levels, scientists said Wednesday.
Japan may force utilities to buy surplus domestic solar power
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Japan plans to soon require electricity companies to buy surplus power generated by household solar panels at about twice the current price, a government official said Tuesday.
NASA satellite hits trouble after launch
CNN reports here: A NASA satellite "failed to reach orbit" Tuesday after failing to separate from the rocket carrying it into space soon after launch. The probe was due to be used as part of a $273-million project to map the impact of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
US 'CO2 hunter' set for lift-off
BBC News reports here: Nasa is all set to launch its first mission dedicated to measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) from space.
Global warming danger threat increased
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - The Earth won't have to warm up as much as had been thought to cause serious consequences of global warming, including more extreme weather and increasing threats to plants and animals, says an international team of climate experts.
Ministers get close look at Antarctic ice threat
AP reports here at Yahoo News: TROLL RESEARCH STATION, Antarctica - A parka-clad band of environment ministers landed in this remote corner of the icy continent on Monday, in the final days of an intense season of climate research, to learn more about how a melting Antarctica may endanger the planet.
Lifeline for endangered albatross
Albatross and other birds can get caught in fishing lines and drown, BBC News reports here: The outlook for endangered seabirds looks better thanks to a scheme that reduces the numbers accidentally killed by the fishing industry.
Poachers put Balkan lynx on brink of extinction
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: GALICICA MOUNTAIN, Macedonia - The camera sits hidden in a field ready to track every move of the Balkan lynx, a wild cat both revered as an icon and reviled as a pest that has teetered on extinction for nearly a century.
Tokyo Electric to build solar plant in California
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Tokyo Electric Power Co. will build a solar power plant in the US state of California through its subsidiary Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., according to a report.
China's Chery Auto unveils electric car: company
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SHANGHAI - China's largest independent carmaker Chery Automobile rolled off its first plug-in electric car this week, the latest Chinese automotive company to produce an alternative energy vehicle.
National Guard goes green to conserve energy, cost
AP reports here at Yahoo News: SANTA FE, N.M. - The rapid whop, whop, whop of a wind turbine outside the New Mexico National Guard headquarters hints at a new mission for the home front military: Going green.
Solar-power firm fired up about stimulus
CNN reports here: A Colorado solar-energy company has high hopes for the economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama will sign Tuesday in Denver. And here: Solar power heats up energy possibilities, Concentrated solar power projects in Spain leading field in that form of green energy.
Meltdown 101: Will the sun soon power our homes?
AP reports here at Yahoo News: After 30 years of trying to squeeze electricity from sunlight, the solar energy industry is finally gaining some traction in its effort to compete with fossil fuels.
Energy secretary predicts higher demand for oil
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a champion of renewable energy and biofuels, has no delusions about the future of oil. Global demand for it will increase over the next two decades even with more efficiency and alternative fuels, he says, and prices will again go higher.
Protecting rare whales from deadly ships
CNN reports here: Only some 400 North Atlantic right whales exist, their numbers depleted by centuries of whaling and deadly collisions with ships. But births of right whale calves are up this winter off the coast of Florida, thanks to a protective network of scientists and volunteers.
Obama agrees to work with Canada on clean energy
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: OTTAWA - U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were to agree plans on Thursday to work together on environmentally friendly energy technology, as both move forward to tackle climate change.
Forests absorb 20 percent of fossil fuel emissions
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: LONDON - Tropical trees have grown bigger over the past 40 years and now absorb 20 percent of fossil fuel emissions from the atmosphere, highlighting the need to preserve threatened forests, British researchers said Wednesday.
Astronomers and Environmentalists Fight to Save Dark Skies
Spiegel Online reports here: In the era of 24/7 artificial light, real darkness is hard to find. But not only stargazers are affected -- light pollution also threatens animals and even entire ecosystems.
Andean glaciers 'could disappear': World Bank
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: LIMA - Andean glaciers and the region's permanently snow-covered peaks could disappear in 20 years if no measures are taken to tackle climate change, the World Bank warned Tuesday.
Climate curbs need 'people power'
BBC News reports here: The battle against climate change can only be won "in the hands of the many, not the few", a top scientist has said.
Hamburgers are the Hummers of food in global warming: scientists
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week. That's because beef is such an incredibly inefficient food to produce and cows release so much harmful methane into the atmosphere.
Stimulus expected to add jobs to build new energy system
McClatchy Newspapers reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON — Many of the jobs that the economic stimulus would create are generated by the parts of the plan that also are intended to help combat global warming and reduce the nation's dependence on fossil fuels.
Finds of Radioactive Steel on the Rise in Germany
Spiegel Online reports here: German authorities in recent months have found a disturbingly large amount of radioactive steel in factories across the country. Much of the contaminated metal is thought to have originated in India.
First carbon-free polar station opens in Antarctica
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: PRINCESS ELISABETH BASE, Antarctica - The world's first zero-emission polar research station opened in Antarctica on Sunday and was welcomed by scientists as proof that alternative energy is viable even in the coldest regions.
UN urges world to tackle mercury health threat
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: NAIROBI - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Sunday urged environment ministers meeting this week in Nairobi to adopt a strategy to curb the use of the highly toxic metal mercury.
US clings to coal energy but wants it clean
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: HOUSTON, Texas - Wedded to its mining industry, the United States is counting on carbon-dioxide capture technology to make coal-generated electricity production less polluting, but the process remains in infancy and is still controversial.
Climate change even worse than predicted: expert
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: CHICAGO - It seems the dire warnings about the oncoming devastation wrought by global warming were not dire enough, a top climate scientist warned Saturday.
Google tests home energy-use tracker
CNN reports here: You can manage your bank balance and social life on the Internet and very soon you will be able to manage your electricity consumption online.
'CO2 reduction treaties useless'
BBC News reports here: A new report says treaties aimed at reducing CO2 emissions are useless.
Bleak forecast on fishery stocks
Some Atlantic cod fisheries could drop by 50% by 2050, BBC News reports here: The world's fish stocks will soon suffer major upheaval due to climate change, scientists have warned.
Canada touts continental climate change policy
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: OTTAWA - Canada's environment minister on Thursday heralded a possible continental climate change pact with the United States, saying US President Barack Obama has opened the door.
The Brave New World of Farmed Cod
Spiegel Online reports here: The world's first major cod farms have been established in Norway. They're meant to ease the burden on overfished wild populations -- and gourmet chefs claim farmed cod tastes better.
Gigantic Wind Turbine Installed in Germany
Spiegel Online reports here: One of the largest wind turbines the world has ever seen is currently being assembled in northern Germany. It is just a test, but soon, the monsters may become a major component of offshore wind parks.
Is global warming driving Australia’s bushfires?
The Christian Science Monitor reports here: While all agree that it is impossible to link any single event – no matter how extreme – to global warming, scientists say that the extreme heat and dryness that helped spread the fires are becoming more common as human activity continues to produce greenhouse gases.
Carbon emitters hold talks in Tokyo
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - The world's major carbon emitters were in "full negotiation mode" Thursday as they met in Tokyo with the clock ticking to draft a new UN treaty on fighting global warming.
European cities sign climate change agreement
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BRUSSELS - Mayors from more than 350 cities across Europe signed an EU climate change agreement Tuesday pledging to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20 percent by 2020.
Activists push for offshore energy drilling ban
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Environmental advocates urged Congress on Wednesday to reinstate the broad moratorium on offshore oil drilling, but a key congressman said on that issue "the ship may have already sailed."
Still Time to Give an Amazon Valentine’s Day Gift Card
There is still time to give your loved one a Valentines Day Gift Card (just click on the Gift Card banner below). Make somebody you love happy and spread that loving feeling around!
Obama 'must act now' on climate
BBC News reports here: The planet will be in "huge trouble" unless Barack Obama tackles climate change rapidly, says a top US scientist.
'We Cannot Continue to Waste Valuable Natural Resources'
In a this SPIEGEL interview, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko discusses plans for joint ventures with German engineering multinational Siemens, secure shipments of natural resources to the West and rumors that Moscow wants to start a gas cartel modeled after OPEC.
UK's CO2 plan 'certain to fail'
BBC News reports here: The UK's plans to cut emissions by 80% by 2050 are fundamentally flawed and almost certain to fail, according to a US academic.
Can algae save the world - again?
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: PLYMOUTH, England - Can algae save the world again? The microscopic green plants cleaned up the earth's atmosphere millions of years ago and scientists hope they can do it now by helping remove greenhouse gases and create new oil reserves.
Solution for the world's water woes
BBC News reports here: Rising populations and growing demand is making the world a thirsty planet, says David Molden. In this week's Green Room, he says the solution lies in people reducing the size of their "water footprints".
Wind Turbines in Europe Do Nothing for Emissions- Reduction Goals
Spiegel Online reports here: Despite Europe's boom in solar and wind energy, CO2 emissions haven't been reduced by even a single gram. Now, even the Green Party is taking a new look at the issue -- as shown in e-mails obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Browner says stimulus bill a boost for green jobs
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Carol Browner, the White House energy and climate director, says prompt approval of the economic recovery package is needed to stem a rising tide of job losses in the fledgling wind and solar energy industries.
Study: Birds shifting north
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - When it comes to global warming, the canary in the coal mine isn't a canary at all. It's a purple finch. As the temperature across the U.S. has gotten warmer, the purple finch has been spending its winters more than 400 miles farther north than it used to.
Philippines works to save 200 dolphins
CNN reports here: Authorities in the Philippines were trying to drive back to sea a pod of about 200 dolphins that had swarmed to shallow waters in Manila Bay on Tuesday morning.
Australian wildfire ferocity linked to climate change
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SYDNEY - Australia is naturally the most fire-prone continent on earth but climate change appears to be making the wildfires that regularly sweep across the country more ferocious, scientists said Monday.
Microsoft crunches numbers on energy
CNET News.com reports here: Part of an environmental sustainability push, Microsoft updates is Dynamics packaged applications for mid-size companies to tally energy use and to calculate greenhouse gas emissions.
WHO GETS WHAT: Tax breaks for energy conservation
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Looking to buy a new furnace or air conditioner or replace drafty windows? Congress may soon give you a break that could save you hundreds of dollars.
French toxic ship ends global odyssey
CNN reports here: A ship laden with toxic substances is due to arrive in northeast England for recycling Sunday, ending an odyssey that has seen it turned away from at least three other countries.
Sea level rise may be worse than expected
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Long-term sea level increases that could have a devastating effect on southern Florida and highly populated coastal areas may be even larger than once thought, a report suggests.
UN chief in India climate warning
Mr Ban said that all countries are threatened by climate change, BBC News reports here: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has warned a climate change conference in India that failure to tackle the issue will lead to global economic upheaval.
The EU unveiled measures to protect sharks
BBC News reports here: The European Commission has unveiled measures aimed at protecting sharks, many of which are in sharp decline.
Sweden changes course on nuclear power
AP reports here at Yahoo News: STOCKHOLM - The Swedish government on Thursday agreed to scrap a ban on building new nuclear reactors, three decades after deciding to phase out atomic power.
Dark Days for Green Energy
The New York Times reports here : Wind and solar power have been growing at a blistering pace in recent years, and that growth seemed likely to accelerate under the green-minded Obama administration. But because of the credit crisis and the broader economic downturn, the opposite is happening: installation of wind and solar power is plummeting.
Living Green Page-A-Day Calendar 2010: 365 Ways to Make a Difference
Book description: Do your part for the planet, one day at a time. With hundreds of simple ways to make a big difference, Living Green proves it's easy to lessen your impact on the environment—at home, at the office, and on the go. Unplug that appliance: The average family burns 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity on things that are plugged in but turned off. Think before you bite: It takes 600 gallons of water to grow the corn that feeds the cow that produces one 1⁄3-pound hamburger. "Air fresheners" do nothing but pollute your indoor air: Scent your house safely by boiling herbs or citrus slices in a small amount of water. Improve your toilet's efficiency by placing a soda bottle in the tank. It's a great calendar for the eco-minded family.
Climate bill seen possible "in weeks"
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - The Senate's top environmental lawmaker offered a preview on Wednesday of major component of climate change legislation she said could be introduced "in weeks, not months."
Alternative energy's banner year ends with a clang
AP reports here at Yahoo News: DENVER - As the United States became the world leader in wind power, venture capitalists poured money into alternative energy projects until the recession hit in October, drying up investments and stalling projects.
Google Earth dives under the sea
BBC News reports here: Google has unveiled an expansion to Google Earth that includes large swathes of the world's oceans. Approximately 70% of the world's surface is covered by water, which contains nearly 80% of all life - yet less than 5% of it has actually been explored.
75 Countries Launch Clean Energy Agency
OneWorld.net reports here at Yahoo News: Seventy-five nations including Germany, India, Kenya, and the United Arab Emirates launched last week the world's first multinational organization dedicated solely to promoting renewable energy worldwide.
Electric cars require teamwork, group says
CNN reports here: Meeting the Obama Administration's goal of putting 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015 will only happen with a coordinated set of policies and technology advances, according to an electric vehicle association.
Gas from waste creates less pollution than incineration
Gas from waste creates less pollution than incineration, BBC Newsreports here : Biogas produced from waste could heat almost half the UK's homes, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, a report says.
China birth defects 'up sharply'
BBC News reports here: Pollution in China has caused an alarming rise in the number of babies with birth defects, a senior official says.