Top Stories
"Ozone Hole Has Stopped Growing, Should Be
Restored By Mid Century According To UN Scientists"—reliability
medium.
Since the Montreal Protocol to reduce CFCs was signed in 1987 and the
greatest extent of the antarctic ozone hole was observed in 2006, this
year's "Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010" report says the
ozone layer has stopped thinning. "The scientists say the area of the
ozone that has thinned out should largely be restored by mid century".
See Huffington
Post. PDF of the executive summary of the report here.
[Touted as a great
success, the Montreal Protocol took years to get passed, and now 23
years to begin to reverse the destruction of the ozone layer, with
another several decades before it will be fully restored. What does
this say about potential international action to deal with increasing
atmospheric CO2 levels?]
"Blue Chips won't wait on politicians to
deliver carbon targets"—reliability high.
Business Green reports "Blue-chip firms are surging ahead with their
green business plans, despite political uncertainty on climate change
and the unsteady global economy." The Carbon Disclosure Project "annual
survey of the world's 500 largest firms shows that green issues are
steadily climbing the corporate agenda with 85 per cent of respondents
now having board-level or other executive-level responsibility for
climate change – up from 68 per cent last year." However, "only 19 per
cent revealed significant emissions reductions." See Business
Green. Another article headlined "U.S.
companies lag global ones on carbon disclosure" at Reuters.
PDF of the report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Auf Wiedersehen jet: London to Frankfurt by
train"—reliability high.
Deutsche Bahn is planning 200mph high-speed rail service between
London and Frankfurt. The trip will take four to five hours. Eurostar
service London to Brussels and Paris is already "taking three-quarters
of the air and rail market between London and the French and Belgian
capitals." DB hopes to make similar inroads on the popular
London-Frankfurt journey among business travelers. The service may open
by 2013. From The
Guardian. [This
reveals why high-speed rail is a non-starter in the U.S. Which has more
political power, railroads (i.e. Amtrak, a money-losing
government-owned
corporation), or the airlines, one of the biggest industries in the
country?]
"Yahoo opens doors to self-cooled data center"—reliability
high.
A new Yahoo! server facility in upstate New York uses the firms
"chicken coop" design which depends of outside air for passive cooling.
It will use only one percent of its total energy bill for cooling.
Article has photo. See CNET News.
"Kohl’s Expands Solar Program into
[Pennsylvania]"—reliability high.
"Kohl’s Department Stores has activated solar panels at its 100th
solar location in Mays Landing, N.J. The retailer also announced plans
to expand its solar program into Pennsylvania. ... On average, the
1,400 panels per location will supply nearly half of each store’s
energy". The company is trying to become carbon neutral by the end of
this year. From Environmental
Leader.
"Walmart Uses Innovative Thin Film Solar
Technology to Increase Renewable Energy Use"—reliability
high.
"The company plans to add solar generating systems to another 20 to 30
sites in California and Arizona, and the majority of these locations
will feature the new technology. ... When complete, this project is
expected to: supply up to 20 to 30 percent of the total energy needs
for each location; produce up to 22.5 million kilowatt hours of clean
energy per year". At Wal-Mart
site.
"Where there's bugs, there's brass: UK firm
lands $500m biofuel contract"—reliability high.
TMO Renewables has signed a a 20-year, $25m-a-year deal with US firm
Fiberight to commercialize TMO's genetically engineered bacteria for
making ethanol from compostable waste. See The
Guardian.
