green news

It wasn't long ago that anyone building a 1-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility would be among the world's leaders, but a clear sign of the rapidly expanding solar power market is the plan for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to buy power from two solar projects totaling 800 megawatts.

DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has once again shattered the world record for solar cell efficiency with a cell that converts 40.8% of the sunlight hitting it into electricity. And while there's no gold metal for solar cells, the design has won one of this year's top awards for innovation.

Massachusetts is definitely looking towards the future with three recent acts, which aim to encourage the use of advanced biofuels in the state, support the growth of clean energy industries, and slash the state's emissions of greenhouse gases.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) may be finding only limited use in the United States, but they literally took center stage at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, China. LEDs lit a giant scroll and are also providing dramatic lighting on the exteriors of the Water Cube and Bird's Nest.

Volkswagen has begun selling its "50-state diesels" in the United States, that is, diesel-fueled vehicles that burn ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel to meet emissions standards in all 50 states. The Jetta TDI sedan is rated at 40 miles per gallon on the highway, but Volkswagen says it actually does better.

The United States consumed about 20.6 million barrels of oil per day in 2007, but in the first half of 2008, U.S. oil consumption is down by about a half-million barrels. Explanations can be found in traffic volumes, which are down by 2.8%, and in a 3.5% increase in public transit trips.

The newly launched service is based on the Lean Six Sigma strategy and will target water and energy use wherever these resources are used, such as in transportation, data centers, IT systems, manufacturing and distribution or retail facilities.

Sam's Club will offer solar panels and an array of energy saving products at nine Southern California locations, where the company has created Home Efficiency Centers to focus customer attention on goods for greening their dwellings.

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has told Clorox it should alter some of the claims about its Green Works cleaning products.

Image source: 2twentythree3.com So. You've been reading Treehugger for years. You know everything there is to know about green. You probably know what we're going to post even before we do. In that case, you're probably up for the Smart Cart Quiz Challenge. Brought to you by the new eBay Marketplace, World of Good, The Smart Cart Quiz shows consumers how they can "vote" with their almighty dollar. Each question asks what sounds like an outrageous statement, and then includes facts with the answer so the reader has a comparative figure for what that money could be use...

Proving that Big Coal's nefarious influence knows no bounds, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has shown that pollution from coal burning has contaminated the Arctic for the last 100 years. Measurements taken from an ice core in Greenland, dating from 1772 to 2003, showed that the levels of the toxic heavy metals cadmium, thallium and lead were much higher than predicted -- which may have impa...

Obama lovers can wear their presidential endorsement on their sleeves—literally—with pro-Barack T-shirts from Obama Is The Man, the brain child of Aron Kressner of Vivavi. Made from 100 percent organic cotton and printed with water-based inks, the shirts come in six different sizes, in both men's and women's styles. (How's that for democratic?) Better still, a buck from each sale goes to the Obama campaign. You can even view videos made by people who are promoting change in their own live...

:: Beat the back to school blues with a splash of green! Consult our How to Go Green: Back to School guide. :: Take comfort food to healthier heights with this fresh-from-the-farm Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes recipe. :: Follow these five uplifting and energizing tips to give green conferences, parties and gatherings more zest. ...

When By Kids For Kids (BKFK) and The Weather Channel launched the Going Green Challenge to inspire kids to come up with neat inventions to help make an eco-difference there’s little doubt that the field was an open one. With a myriad of issues in need of resolution, the grand prize winner, Elizabeth Rintels, 12, of Keswick, Virginia, came up with a “Water Watcher” invention that helps monitor water usage in an ingenious way....

Geothermal energy is probably the greatest potential renewable energy source with the least amount of public awareness. It certainly spends much less time in the public gaze than wind, solar or biofuels. Recently the US Department of Ene...

photo by Theirry via flickr I find it more than slightly ironic that the National Clean Energy Summit is being held in Las Vegas, a city that on environmental grounds and water usage alone probably should not exist, but nonetheless it’s happening. Yesterday evening Bill Clinton opened the event will a speech which, among other things, outlined what he believes the US government should do to support renewable energy. At the Federal level these are his recommendations: And my comments, where warranted, in italics. ...

Via PhotoBasement Bike Paths World's 10 Best Biking Trails That's the Bike Path? Good Luck! Mexico City to Build 186 Miles of Bike Paths by 2012...

photo by tokyofortwo via flickr In an effort to raise awareness of global warming, Japan is planning to label a range of consumer goods to show the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted in their manufacture, delivery and disposal. The project, the exact scope of which has yet to be finalized, is expected to begin in April 2009, AFP reports. Labeling products with their carbon footprint could be a good way to make people more aware of the environmental impact of things...

The Summer Olympic Games in Beijing kicked off on August 8 amidst competition, national pride and a Blue Sky day. Well, a ŒBlue Sky day‚ according to Beijing standards. The Detroit Free Press reports that only one percent of China‚s urban dwellers breathe air that is safe according to European norms. Accordingly, many athletes are training outside Beijing, and some have caused a stir by

Image source: WildGreenYonder With "need" (how to ensure all of those alternative plastics - corn, soy, sugarcane- are reused, now that regular plastic is poo-poo'd), comes a "market." The Bioplastics Recycling Consortium was created to "develop an effective, efficient and economical recovery system and end markets for post-consumer bioplastic material." Bioplastics are the alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, and are commonly made from corn, soy, sugar cane, or maize, and are thought to be a better source than petroleum-based plastic because they biodegrade - or at least can break down within a year under the right c...