Top Stories
A new world? Social media protest against
Nestle may have longstanding ramifications.—reliability
medium.
"The online protest over Nestle's use of palm oil linked to
deforestation in Indonesia continues unabated over the weekend. One
only needed to check-in on the Nestle's Facebook fan page to see that
anger and frustration over the company's palm oil sourcing policies, as
well as its attempts to censor a Greenpeace video (and comments
online), has sparked a social media protest that is noteworthy for its
vehemence, its length, and its bringing to light the issue of palm oil
and deforestation to a broader public." From Mongabay.
See earlier article with the (somewhat disgusting) video here. [On the internet,
nobody knows you're an orangutan.]
Wind Turbines Off the North Carolina Coast
Could Supply State with 100% of Its Power.—reliability
medium.
"A new study out of the University of North Carolina (UNC) shows that
North Carolina could have 100% of its power coming from off-shore wind
turbines, 'without significant human or environmental impacts.'" From CleanTechnica.
More about the report but no link here.
Clean Tech Sector Thriving, Survey Finds.—reliability
medium.
"According to a survey released Tuesday by Clean Edge, a research firm
in Portland, Ore., revenue for wind power, biofuels and solar
photovoltaics grew in 2009 by 11.4 percent to $139 billion around the
world. Clean Edge had earlier projected that the recession would keep
global revenue flat or force it to decline. 'The increase was
definitely a surprise to us,' said Ron Pernick, one of the report’s
authors. Installations of new wind farms attracted $63.5 billion, up
from $51.4 billion in 2008. Sales of biofuels climbed 29 percent to
$44.9 billion last year. The solar industry, however, saw its first
drop in revenue since Clean Edge began tracking numbers 10 years ago.
In 2009, the amount of money spent on solar systems plunged 20 percent
to $30.7 billion as the cost of solar photovoltaics declined." See New
York Times Green Inc. blog.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Mixing In Some Carbon (in Cement).—reliability
high.
Calera, "a Silicon Valley start-up says it has found a way to capture
the carbon dioxide emissions from coal and gas power plants and lock
them into cement. ... Although Calera has a pilot project up and
running, it is still not clear that the process can be used on a large
scale or that anyone will buy the cement it makes." Story in The
New York Times.
It’s Come to This: Citizens Against Smart
Meters.—reliability medium.
"The backlash against the smart meters installed in Texas by utility
Oncor doesn't seem to be dying down. Actually the protesters are
getting more organized and turning to social media. A group called
Smart UR Citizens — whose members describe themselves as 'a group of
Texas citizens that are fighting the unrealistic utility charges which
we believe are caused by the Smart Meter' — has a new web site, an
online petition, an intro video and an online survey, and is inviting
community members to submit videos and comments about their
experiences." See earth2tech.
Group formed to sell consumers on smart grid.—reliability
high.
"A handful of companies on Tuesday will launch the Smart Grid Consumer
Coalition, an effort aimed at promoting the benefits to consumers of
modernizing the electricity grid. The coalition is scheduled to be
launched at this week's DistribuTech utility industry conference and
will include IBM, General Electric, and home energy management company
Control4 among its founding members, according to an invitation sent to
the media. Also set to participate is a representative from the Ohio
Consumers' Counsel, a state agency which advocates on behalf of retail
electricity consumers." Story at CNET News.
Government and
Regulation
Pollution Wipes 9yrs Off Your Life.—reliability
high.
"Poor air quality in our polluted cities could be wiping nine years
off some people's lives, according to MPs. Up to 50,000 people are
dying early because of pollution in Britain - and the country is facing
millions of pounds in fines from Europe unless we clean up our act, the
cross-party Environmental Audit Committee report warns. Committee
chairman Tim Yeo MP said: 'Air pollution probably causes more deaths
than passive smoking, traffic accidents or obesity, yet it receives
little attention from government or the media.' Story in The
Mirror.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
