Each Friday we’ll bring you a round-up of the week’s green news from around the web. Please drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up.
California to limit greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle fuels
From LA Times on 24 April 2009
California took aim Thursday at the oil industry and its impact on global warming, adopting the world’s first regulation to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel that runs cars and trucks. The Air Resources Board voted 9 to 1 in favor of the complex new rule, which is expected to slash the state’s gasoline consumption by a quarter in the next decade. It seeks to expand the market for electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles and jump-start a host of futuristic biofuels to replace corn-based ethanol, as well as oil. [full article]
3.1m homes powered by offshore wind farms in Budget pledge
From The Telegraph on 23 April 2009
Alistair Darling committed Britain to cutting greenhouse gases by 34 per cent by 2020 in the first legally binding “carbon budget” in the world. The ambitious target will transform the way we generate and use energy and the Chancellor announced £1.4 billion of new funding to aid the transition. There are currently 300,000 households supplied by energy from offshore wind farms, but the Government has pledged to increase that to 3.1 million with £525 million investment. Another £375 million will go toward improving energy efficiency in businesses and homes through insulation and more efficient heating systems. [full article]
No new coal without carbon capture, UK government rules
From The Guardian on 23 April 2009
A major overhaul of the UK’s coal-power ambitions was revealed today, with the government pledging not to allow any new coal plants unless a proportion of their carbon dioxide emissions are buried underground. The energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, said the new policy balanced three challenges: the need to ensure the security of the UK’s energy supply, the need to build a low-carbon economy and the need to slash greenhouse gas emissions. He said: “There is no alternative to CCS if we are serious about fighting climate change and retaining a diverse mix of energy sources for our economy.” [full article]
Picturesque Paris rooftops to sprout windmills
From Reuters on 22 April 2009
Paris city authorities are planning to build small wind turbines into one of the world’s most famous skylines to take advantage of the strong winds which sometimes sweep high points such as Montmartre. “We are not talking of big models like those we see in the countryside. We are in Paris and we musn’t disfigure the landscape,” Denis Baupin, a deputy mayor in charge of sustainable development, told Le Parisien newspaper. The turbines would be installed on flat rooftops in four neighborhoods, which experience strong winds, he said in the interview published Wednesday. [full article]
Video: Interview with Earth Day founder Denis Hayes
From World Resources Institute on 22 April 2009
Denis Hayes, National Coordinator for the first Earth Day, looks back on four decades of progress by the environmental movement. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, Hayes believes the movement has made significant strides forward on making people more aware of environmental issues. “Beyond any doubt,” he says, “today the basic core values are vastly more ‘green,’ if you will, than they were in the 60’s and 70’s.” Hayes points to Earth Day and the celebration’s emphasis on education as a main reason behind the shift in awareness. [full article]
The four biggest ‘green’ marketing scams
From MSNBC on 22 April 2009
In greenwashing, as in life, there are seven sins. There’s the sin of the hidden trade-off, for example, the sin of vagueness, and the sin of no proof. So says sinsofgreenwashing.org, which takes on companies that offer seemingly green benefits – often at a hefty price tag – with little results. As the green trend continues, companies in almost every industry vie for a piece of the green market, even the embattled General Motors has taken a chance on its own green product initiative. But as the field of green products grows, so does the number of impostors. [full article]
Obama declares ‘new era’ for energy
From MSNBC on 22 April 2009
President Barack Obama returned to Iowa on Wednesday, using Earth Day and a wind industry factory to declare “a new era of energy exploration in America” that creates jobs and cleans up the environment. The visit to the state that launched him on the road to the White House comes as Obama’s energy legislation has slowed in Congress, with skeptical Republicans and some Democrats from coal-producing states fearing the plan will increase costs for consumers, send jobs overseas and hurt businesses. [full article]
Damaged Barrier Reef coral makes ’spectacular’ recovery
From The Guardian on 22 April 2009
Sections of coral reef in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have made a “spectacular” recovery from a devastating bleaching event three years ago, marine scientists say. In 2006, high sea temperatures caused severe coral bleaching in the Keppell Islands, in the southern part of the reef – the largest coral reef system in the world. The damaged reefs were then covered by a single species of seaweed which threatened to suffocate the coral and cause further loss. A “lucky combination” of rare circumstances has meant the reef has been able to make a recovery. [full article]
Sellafield: the most hazardous place in Europe
From The Guardian on 20 April 2009
Building B30 is a large, stained, concrete edifice that stands at the centre of Sellafield, Britain’s sprawling nuclear processing plant in Cumbria. Surrounded by a three-metre-high fence that is topped with razor wire, encased in scaffolding and riddled with a maze of sagging pipes and cabling, it would never be a contender to win an architectural prize. Yet B30 has a powerful claim to fame, albeit a disturbing one. “It is the most hazardous industrial building in western Europe,” according to George Beveridge, Sellafield’s deputy managing director. [full article]
Great Green Con: Labour’s climate measures mainly hot air
From The Independent on 19 April 2009
Britain’s economic stimulus measures, promoted by Gordon Brown as part of a “global green new deal”, will accelerate global warming instead of curbing it, an investigation by The Independent on Sunday has established. The investigation also shows that most of the Prime Minister’s vaunted green initiatives have not materialised and, in some cases, are likely to set back his professed strategy for “the creation of a low-carbon economy”. It has found that, over the past four years, ministers have launched a staggering 91 consultations relating to the issue, while actually doing little. [full article]
Don’t forget to drop us a line if you know of a story we should include in the next round-up of green news.
