Welcome ! As a young French Marketing professional with a Master's in International Management I have been selecting since January 2007 the latest headlines and best researches on sustainable development, climate change, cleantech and the world energy sector. Sounds great ? Don't hesitate to subscribe now !
Here are some more interesting findings on how we could consume much less energy. To the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the United States could consume 60 percent less energy by 2050.
The advocated measures would also create two million jobs and save $400 billion (315 billion euros) per year, or the equivalent of $2600 (2000 euros) per household annually.
Evidence keeps on piling : energy efficiency is the best way to solve our triple crisis. To read out more, I strongly invite you to read the article on Climate Progress as well as the report on the ACEEE website.
Could Hawaii be entirely powered by geothermal, just like Iceland ? To Industry Intelligence : ” Hawaii Island has geothermal potential of 500 to 700 MW, enough to easily exceed its energy demand of 90 to 185 MW “
You think this would be a senseless move ? Think again, to the report carried out by the local Geothermal Working Group, this would save over a billion dollar in oil annually ! Currently, geothermal accounts for 25 to 30 percent of the capacity.
Now what if even cars were powered by geothermal too ? Examples like this clearly show we got to stop our ridiculous addiction to oil and embrace renewables. All the time, everywhere…
Alanis Morissette once sang it : life can be ironic sometimes. This was especially the case when a few months ago a study paid by the highly polluting conglomerate of the Koch brothers showed that yes, climate change is real.
Now a poll in the United States is showing that more and more Americans are believing in climate change, and this despite the huge campaigns of disinformation. This must be due to the weirding climate…
Now let’s give the USA a couple of years more and just like every other country, they will start fighting climate change on a federal level… Will it be soon enough ? ( I doubt it since we should act NOW)
Incandescent light bulbs are a relic of the past, a vastly inefficient past. Modern alternatives like CFLs and LEDs consume five to ten times less energy. For these reasons, the European Union or Australia have already phased them out.
More countries will be doing the same, namingly the United States and China. The latter will start banning 100-watt bulbs in October 2012. Last year over a billion of these bulbs were sold in the People’s Republic.
To Grist : ” The ban will save China 48 billion kilowatt hours of power per year. Which, if I’m doing my math right, is the equivalent of almost 100 nuclear reactors or large coal-fired power plants. “
You would think that the inventor of the iPod would rest and enjoy the money he made afterwards. Well, he isn’t and this is great news for all of us as Tony Fadell invented a smart thermostat, the Nest Learning Thermostat.
Knowing that we adjust thermostats up to 1,500 per year and that over 10 million thermostats are sold each year in the U.S. alone, he started a new company which is now selling these great, design appliances.
Cleantechies notes that these thermostats sell for $249 and save up to $173 per year. It thus have a return on investment of less than a year and a half ! Continue »
Cleantechies published last week a tremendous article on solar thermal and why it is “is about to see explosive growth”. I am not entirely surprised of that as I have been a strong advocate of this solution for more than five years.
Presenting the industry, the article goes on and gives no less than seven reasons why solar thermal could soon take off in the USA. Many of these reasons could apply elsewhere as it is more efficient and cheaper than solar PV.
Just as 2011 saw an increase of interest in energy efficiency, I hope 2012 will see an increased interest in solar thermal. Continue »
While reading Climate Progress I came across a must-see speech from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, from Rhode Island. As the description on Youtube notes :
” There are some laws that Congress can change. The laws of nature aren’t among them. While lobbyists continue to call for more and more “second” opinions, Sheldon points out to his colleagues that the scientific community is solidly behind the fact that climate change is a real threat. “
This speech clearly contrasts with the environmental bashing of most Republicans and most Democrats keeping quiet on those very issues. Please watch this video, please share it ! Continue »
I reported at the very beginning of this year that 2011 could be the year of energy efficiency. It seems to be the case as I have been witnessing an increasing interest for conservation and efficiency.
These are good news as efficiency is the panacea to our energy and climate problems as “73% of global energy use could be saved through energy efficiency improvements.”
As I browsed the selection of my September tweets, I found several articles on how efficiency is getting more and more popular. Continue »
You might have heard or read about it : Solyndra, one of the largest solar companies in the United States – it received half a billion in federal loans – has filed for bankruptcy. It has laid off 1,100 people…
From there, you might be tempted to say that the US solar industry is going down. This is exactly the opposite as several factors are proving. 1. To Climate Progress solar is the “fastest growing industry in America” ;
2. To GreenTech Solar, the United States exported for nearly two billion USD of solar products in 2009 alone ; 3. TreeHugger noted that the industry is employing 100,000 people and will continue to hire. Continue »
CleanTechies gives us some data on something absolutely terrible for a global future : ” Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) increased by 45 % between 1990 and 2010, and reached an all-time high of 33 billion tons in 2010. “
” Increased energy efficiency, nuclear energy and the growing contribution of renewable energy are not compensating for the globally increasing demand for power and transport, which is strongest in developing countries.”
(…) After a 1% decline in 2009, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increased by more than 5% in 2010, which is unprecedented in the last two decades (…) “ Continue »
