Solar Power Could Provide up to 69% of US Electricity by 2050
According to an article in Scientific American, switching from fossil fuels to solar power could also take care of 35% of America’s total energy needs by 2050. Direct current transmission, giant solar collectors and night time storage of energy would be crucial to the plan, scientists say, but it could be done.

The article’s authors insist that a massive switch to solar power is the only logical solution to the challenges posed by global warming and dwindling fossil fuel supplies - and high prices. They argue that the smaller changes suggested by some scientists and analysts just aren’t enough to solve the problems posed by climate change. More …

Al Gore’s Ad Blitz to Stop Climate Change
The former Vice President is spending $300 million to launch a campaign against global warming. Ads aimed at making people aware of the problem and getting them involved in the solution will combine “advertising, online organizing and grassroots networking” to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.

Gore has said that the problem is too urgent to be left to the two US political parties, which are “too timid” to advocate for the radical change that is needed to avert the crisis. He’s putting his Nobel Peace Prize award and funds from his charitable foundation on the line to get the word out. More …

Corporate Policy Change May Weaken BP’s Green Image
It isn’t easy being green, especially if you’re an oil company. BP, which has cultivated a greener image by supporting the Kyoto Protocol, acknowledging global warming and investing in solar and wind technology, is rapidly losing its credibility with environmentalists by planning oil recovery from tar sands.

The process, which is considered one of the dirtiest for the environment, would net BP over 200,000 barrels of crude over the next 15 years, but at a terrible cost to the forest and soil in and around the project - not to mention the cost in energy via the natural gas it will take to extract the oil from the bitumen which holds it. More …

Tidal Power Takes Off
Off the coast of Ireland, an underwater turbine, much like a windmill tipped upside down, is about to make history. It’s the first commercial tidal turbine to go online. Slated to power at least 1,000 homes, the turbine will revolve under the waters of the Strangford Lough and will work both during ebb tides and flow tides with the help of bidirectional rotors. More …

(Green) Toys R Us
Struggling with an image problem after several toy recalls over lead paint and unsafe toys, the giant toy seller is launching a line of toys that it hopes will restore some of the luster to its name. Packaged in recyclable boxes, the new toys will be wooden and plush.

The wooden toys are made with certified sustainable wood and the plush toys are made with untreated cotton and other natural fibers.  More …