Top Stories
World’s Fastest High-Speed Train is Now
Running in China.—reliability medium.
"The world’s fastest high-speed train, averaging 217 mph, was just
launched in China. It blows away the competition, but may not be so
special for long. The train will cover a distance of 663 miles (1,068
km) from Wuhan (central China) to Guangzhou (in the south). It will
reduce the travel time between these cities from over 6 hours to about
2 hours and 45 minutes." See
CleanTechnica.
93 of S&P 100 Provide Sustainability
Information on Their Web Sites.—reliability medium.
"93 of the S&P 100 now provide at least some sustainability
information on their web sites, and 66 firms produced a formal
sustainability report with performance data in 2008, according to a new
report from the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network
(SIRAN)." Some highlights of report. From
2Sustain. Access report here.
Emissions Disclosure as a Business Virtue.—reliability
high.
Feature on the Carbon Disclosure Project. "Boeing and other enterprises
are voluntarily doing what some might fiercely resist being forced to
do: submitting detailed reports on how much they emit, largely through
fossil fuel consumption, to a central clearinghouse. By giving
enterprises a road map for measuring their emissions and pointing out
how they compare with their peers, experts say, the voluntary project
is persuading companies to change their energy practices well before
many governments step in to regulate emissions." From
The New York Times.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
LG Electronics to enter increasingly crowded
solar market.—reliability high.
"South Korea's LG Electronics (LG) announced that it is to start
commercial production of solar cells and modules next month" at a
120MW-capacity silicon wafer plant. "LG said that it planned to set up
another production line for operation by 2011, increasing total output
to 240MW." "LG sees the solar business as a key area of growth, and
claimed that it had been preparing to enter the market since 2004. The
firm will manufacture large-area thin-film solar cells, as well as the
more widespread crystalline solar cells." At
The Guardian from BusinessGreen.
Beef group challenges U.S. EPA climate
finding.—reliability high.
Large beef producers are challenging the EPA's endangerment finding on
CO2. "The National Cattlemen's Beef Association filed a petition in the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this week, saying EPA climate regulations
would hurt large farms. 'This unilateral move by the EPA jeopardizes
our ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace,' said
Tamara Theis, chief environmental counsel for the National Cattlemen's
Beef Association." From
Reuters.
Cleaning up: Green Reports from 2009.—reliability
medium.
Handy list of links to reports and studies from the past year. From
Green Chemicals blog.
Amazon toys with rating gadgets' greenness —
but only goes so far.—reliability high.
Notes some of Amazon's green moves: noting whether some electronics
items are EPEAT registered (but not giving their EPEAT ratings or
data), trying to reduce packaging and use more recycled packaging
materials, and launching "Amazon Green", where "eco friendly" products
are aggregated. From
GreenBeat.
Government and
Regulation
Brazil keeps climate targets despite failed
summit.—reliability high.
"Brazil aims to reduce its projected 2020 greenhouse gas emissions by
as much 39 percent. That amounts roughly to a 20 percent reduction from
2005 levels. According to the bill Lula is expected to sign into law
later on Monday, those targets will be quantifiable and verifiable."
"'We will fully comply with the targets. It doesn't matter that
Copenhagen didn't go as well as we had hoped,' Environment Minister
Carlos Minc told reporters after meeting with President Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva." See
Reuters story.
China cuts ethanol imports tariff.—reliability
high.
The China Finance Ministry announced cuts in the tariff on alcohol and
other spirits denatured of any strength from 30% to 5%. This should
benefit Brazil, the world's largest bio-ethanol exporter. "However,
traders are cautious. 'The low tariff appears to make imports of fuel
ethanol viable. But we are studying if there are other restrictions,'
one trader comments, adding the industry is talking about an additional
5% of consumption tax on top of the tariff." From
Biofuels International.
Where There's Smoke ... There's a Trade-In.—reliability
high.
Feature on efforts to retire older woodburning stoves, which are blamed
for high levels of particulate pollution. "In return, the state [of New
Hampshire] gave the residents $1,000 toward the cost of a new stove
that meets current emissions requirements." See
The New York Times.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2009 HaraBara, Inc.]
