Top Stories
Survey: 56% of CDP Members May Cut Out
Suppliers Who Don't Manage Carbon.—reliability high.
"More than half (56 percent) of Carbon Disclosure Project members
surveyed said that in the future they would cease doing business with
suppliers that do not manage their carbon, according to the 'Supply
Chain Report 2010' from the Carbon Disclosure Project." Some other
highlights of report. From
Environmental Leader. PDF of report here.
China Leading Global Race to Make Clean
Energy.—reliability high.
China has become the leading maker of wind turbines and solar panels,
and could do the same in nuclear reactors and state-of-the-art coal
plants. "These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise
the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from
the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other
gear manufactured in China." See
The New York Times.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Shell to do deal with Brazilian biofuel
producer Cosan to secure future.—reliability high.
"The Anglo-Dutch company has signed a memorandum of understanding with
the most powerful Brazil bioethanol producer, Cosan, in a joint venture
said to be worth $12bn (£8.19bn). The move, if finalised, will cement
Brazil's position as the world's alternative energy superpower with the
potential to ship huge quantities of fuel to the United States and
Europe. Shell will now lobby the US administration to reduce its
tariffs on biofuel imports in a move that could transform
profitability." From
The Guardian.
Albany Grocery Powered by a Fuel Cell.—reliability
medium.
"The Price Chopper store in Albany, owned by the Golub Corporation, is
using a 400-kilowatt PureCell fuel cell made by U.T.C. Power, a
division of United Technologies. The fuel cell provides most of the
electricity for the 69,000-square-foot supermarket, and in the event of
a blackout it can operate off the grid to keep the lights on. . . . 'we
decided to go with a fuel cell since a combined heat and power system
is more efficient and had a positive cash flow.'" An $800,000 subsidy
was a key consideration. See
New York Times Green Inc. blog.
New Whole Foods Market in San Jose to
Generate Clean Power On-Site with UTC Power Fuel Cell.—reliability
high.
"The new Whole Foods Market, located at the south corner of Blossom
Hill Road and Almaden Expressway in South San Jose, is now under
construction and will cover approximately 50,000 square feet. The
UTC Power fuel cell system will generate 90 percent of the store's
electricity needs and its byproduct thermal energy will be used for
store heating, cooling and refrigeration for an overall efficiency of
approximately 60 percent, nearly twice the efficiency of the U.S.
electrical grid." From
PR Newswire.
Tesco opens its first zero carbon store.—reliability
high.
"Supermarket group Tesco, which pumps out some four million tonnes of
carbon a year, today opened its first zero carbon store as part of its
bid to be a carbon neutral company by 2050." See
The Guardian. [Zero
carbon, but what about
refrigerant emissions--see next item.]
Supermarket fridges as polluting as their
plastic bags, study claims.—reliability high.
"Chemicals released by fridges account for 30% of supermarkets' direct
emissions, yet only 0.5% of stores have been fitted with greener
equipment, according to the report, called Chilling Facts. . . .
'Fridges are not sexy,' said Fionnuala Walravens. 'The environmental
impact of supermarket refrigeration is a big issue but little
understood … it is a hell of a lot bigger than free plastic bags.'". From
The Guardian
Government and
Regulation
Obama budget seeks to end oil, gas subsidies.—reliability
high.
"The Obama administration on Monday asked Congress for a second time
to end some $36.5 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies,
saying it would help fight global warming." From
Reuters.
Pentagon to rank global warming as
destabilizing force.—reliability high.
Summary of recent actions taken by U.S. defense agencies regarding
global climate change. Among other comments: "'Our dependence on fuel
adds significant cost and puts US soldiers and contractors at risk,'
said Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defence for the
environment. 'Energy can be a matter of life and death and we have seen
dramatically in Iraq and Afghanistan the cost of heavy reliance on
fossil fuels.'" And, "'The leadership of the Pentagon has very strongly
indicated that they do consider climate change to be a national
security issue,' said Christine Parthemore, an analyst at the Centre
for a New American Security, who has been studying the Pentagon's
evolving views on climate change. 'They are considering climate change
on a par with the political and economic factors as the key drivers
that are shaping the world.'" See
The Guardian.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
