Green Energy News Items - 03/16/2008
Domestic Carbon Offsets To Be Introduced By Britain’s Government
Hotel chains, banks, supermarkets and other energy-intensive businesses will have to buy carbon credits under a mandatory plan being introduced by the British government. Along with $61 million dollars in low-interest loans for energy-efficiency projects for small businesses, the carbon credit plan is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by four million tons by 2020.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is designed to show that the government is serious about cutting CO2 emissions and also includes all central government departments and local authorities in its efforts. Planet Ark has more on this at UK To Introduce Domestic Carbon Emissions Trading.
Green Jobs Are a Bright Spot in Midst of US Bad Economic News
Installing wind turbines, assembling solar panels, making homes and businesses more energy efficient - it’s all good. And it’s all contributing to a growing green economy which is flourishing, in contrast to the rest of the American economy which is stagnant or worse.
At a recent conference hosted by The Sierra Club and the Steelworkers Union in Pittsburgh, PA, “900 people from business, government, the nonprofit sector, academia and trade unions met to discuss ways of increasing jobs in the environmental sector” as reported in “Green” Energy Demand Means More Jobs from Reuters.
Recycling Electric Car Batteries
A common misconception is that electric car batteries - known as Electrical Storage Systems or ESS - contain toxic substances and therefore can’t be recycled. At least in the case of Tesla’s ESS, the truth is very different. The ESS units are assembled in Japan, a country with very strict environmental standards for manufacturing. Even better, they contain no lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBBs or PBDEs.
Kurt Kelty from Tesla Motors addressed the recycling issue and more in Tesla Motor’s blog with “Mythbusters Part 3: Recycling Our Non-Toxic Battery Packs.
Scotland to Create World’s First Wave Farm
With sausage-shaped buouys and the help of General Electric, Scotland hopes to be producing enough electricity to power a city the size of Seattle within a few years. Although the project is still in the planning stage, there is already great interest in this ambitious plan to harness the power of waves.
If successful, it will no doubt lead the way to more wave farms off the coasts of many countries where the ocean’s constant movement can be used to power generators in the same way that the sun and wind can be used. Read more at Wave Farm Destined for Scottish Waters at Green Tech Gazette.
Windy City Cools Off With Overheard Gardens
Anyone who has been on top of a black, shingled or tar-papered roof in the summer knows that they’re unbearably hot. As a matter of fact, one Chicago rooftop measured a stifling 152 degrees in the summer. However, the rooftop next to it on Chicago City Hall measured 74 degrees - the same as the air temperature.
The difference between the roofs was that the one over City Hall has a garden planted on it. Over the past seven years, the rooftop garden project has been quietly bringing a green revolution to the Windy City. Based on its success, it won’t be long before cities across the country are planting rooftop gardens to cool their buildings and the city air. Read about how, In Chicago, a secret garden cools a concrete jungle at AFP.