Top Stories
Obama opens new oil drilling offshore in
climate drive.—reliability high.
"President Barack Obama unveiled plans on Wednesday for a limited
expansion of U.S. offshore oil and gas drilling in an effort to win
Republican support for new proposals to fight climate change. Opening
up parts of the U.S. Atlantic coast, Alaska and possibly offshore
Florida to exploration is Obama's latest effort to woo legislators
needed to pass a climate bill before mid-term elections in November."
See Reuters
story.
Transportation, Energy Efficiency Dominate
Cleantech Venture Funding.—reliability medium.
"Venture capital investment in clean technology reached $1.9 billion
in the first quarter, climbing 83 percent from last year, according to
a report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. Startups in North America
raised the greatest share among 180 companies around the world, a
three-year peak for the area with $1.5 billion, or 81 percent of all
investments." Transportation and energy efficiency plays led. See CleanTechies
blog.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Plastic v cardboard: which is greener?.—reliability
medium.
"Riverford Organics, one of the largest vegetable box schemes in the
UK, has suggested it may move away from cardboard packaging and towards
plastic. In this week's note to customers, Guy Watson at Riverford says
that plastic boxes could reduce the carbon footprint of the company's
packaging by 70%. He strongly hints that the company wants to move to
plastic immediately but is frightened of the reaction of customers. ...
It is the customer who is stopping Guy Watson and his colleagues using
long-lasting plastic for any form of packaging, not economics or carbon
accounting. Watson despairs of getting householders to understand the
true environmental cost of paper goods and one can only sympathise as
he demands government action to force suppliers to recognize and
account for the full cost of packaging." More about the carbon
footprint of packaging alternatives for this company. See The
Guardian from Carbon Commentary.
Ford taps Microsoft Hohm for electric-car
charging.—reliability high.
"Ford Motor and Microsoft are collaborating on software for consumers
to manage how and when to charge electric vehicles. Executives from
both companies at the New York Auto Show on Wednesday announced that
drivers of Ford's electric cars will use Microsoft Hohm, a Web-based
home energy management application. The 2011 electric Ford Focus will
be the first car to use Hohm, which company executives said will let
consumers take advantage of cheaper electricity rates. That will also
help utilities manage the added load of electric vehicles which can be
substantial if many people in a neighborhood charge up at once." See CNET News.
Pew Center Applauds IBM, Pepsi, Dow's Energy
Efficiency.—reliability high.
"A new report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change aims
to lay out what makes some companies highly efficient, and to help
laggards get up to speed. "In our view, a paradigm shift is occurring
in the way corporations view and manage energy," Eileen Clausen, the
president of the Pew Center, said in a press conference today. "Price
volatility and climate concerns are forcing companies to think more
strategically than ever about energy use." To understand, map and share
the techniques that make some companies highly efficient, the Pew
Center undertook an ambitious effort to identify those leading firms
and find out what makes them tick." Story at GreenBiz.
Access report here.
Renault ad taken off air over misleading
emissions claim.—reliability high.
"A television advert featured a montage of cars and their impact on
society with a voiceover saying: "For us, global warming goes beyond
the emissions coming out of the exhaust. It's an issue we address
before, during and after manufacture. From next year, Renault will
launch a range of zero emission vehicles to drive the car forward
again." Several viewers challenged Renault's claim because they
believed that using electricity to charge the vehicles would produce
emissions. They also said the ad was misleading because it did not take
the full life-cycle of the cars into account. ... The Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA) upheld the complaints, saying the ad gave the
impression that the entire production, use and disposal of the vehicles
would not produce any emissions or have a detrimental effect on the
environment." At The
Guardian from Press Association.
Government and
Regulation
UK to invest £30m in Nigerian public
transport system.—reliability high.
"Britain is hoping to bring some order to the city of legendary
traffic jams and road rage by trying to rationalise its public
transport system. Over the next few years it will invest more than £30m
increasing the number of bus routes, bringing in bigger buses and
helping to build two new train lines to go through some of the most
densely populated areas of Lagos. ... The switch to investing in the
urban environment rather than rural areas marks a significant shift in
approach to combating poverty." Story at The
Guardian.
Science and
Economics
Advanced Diesel Engines May Cut Truck Fuel
Use 20% by 2020.—reliability high.
"Using advanced diesel engines in tractor-trailers could lower their
fuel consumption by up to 20 percent by 2020, and improved aerodynamics
could deliver an 11 percent reduction in fuel use, according to a
report from the National Research Council. Truck makers such as
Peterbilt and Kenworth are already rolling out new truck models with
aerodynamic packages that are aimed at increasing fuel efficiency. In
addition, the trucking industry has several efforts underway to improve
fuel efficiency in big rigs." Story in Environmental
Leader. NAS press
release. Access report here.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]