Top Stories
"How One Small Business Cut Energy Use and
Costs"—reliability medium.
Tom Bowman writes that "the majority of small companies are neither
clean-tech start-ups, nor likely to build new facilities. Experiments
with my own company, which fits this common profile, suggest that we
can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions rapidly and cost-effectively, and
that some of the barriers to action are misunderstood. ... My company’s
frustrating search for effective, affordable opportunities eventually
led to a surprising discovery: Cost-saving opportunities to reduce
carbon emissions are ever-present in the normal course of business
operations." Examples of how this 10-employee company "reduced
greenhouse-gas emissions by 65 percent, gasoline use by 63 percent,
landfill waste by 45 percent, and water use by 18 percent. We cut costs
for electricity by 40 percent, gasoline by 59 percent, and water by 20
percent. ... the company saves about $9,000 annually". See Yale
Environment 360. [The real world.]
"China surges, India lags in R&D spending"—reliability
medium.
A recent report on global R&D by Goldman Sachs shows "China ranks
third in research and development (R&D) investment, after the
United States and Japan and far head of India among Asian nations ... .
... China's investment as a share of [GDP] has doubled since 1999,
reaching 1.5 per cent in 2007, behind the 3.5 per cent investment in
Japan and Korea; while India's stagnated at 0.7." More highlights from
report. From SciDev.net.
PDF of Goldman Sachs report here.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"Tesla looking to double engineering staff"—reliability
high.
"Tesla's engineering staff is likely to double in the next six to nine
months," according to vice president of powertrain hardware engineering
Jim Dunlay in this Reuters piece. "The company is hiring in all
departments including research and development, manufacturing and
manufacturing engineering. Tesla currently has about 250 engineers".
See Reuters
story. [Some of the green jobs
you've heard about.]
"New Financial Product Provides Financing
Boost to Energy Efficiency Projects in India"—reliability
high.
"A new financial product aimed at driving investment into
energy-efficiency projects performed by Indian energy service companies
(ESCOs) is being launched this week by the Industrial Development Bank
of India (IDBI) and the World Resources Institute (WRI). ... 'Our
ultimate aim in driving greater investment in the ESCO industry is to
help companies become more energy efficient and thus reduce greenhouse
gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable development in India
and across the world,' said Sanjoy Sanyal, the country director of New
Ventures India, an initiative of WRI that is working on the financial
product." See WRI
site.
"Electric cars put lithium miners on fast
track"—reliability high.
Article about how battery- and auto-makers are protecting their
lithium supply chains. "Four major producers have long dominated
lithium output and demand is likely to double in the next 10 years as
automakers roll out hybrid and electric cars using lithium-ion
batteries." Stocks of mining firms have soared. See Reuters.
Government and
Regulation
"South Africa to halve reliance on coal, push
for nuclear"—reliability high.
South Africa hopes to cut its near total reliance on coal. "in a draft
of its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2), a 20-year electricity capacity
programme, the government proposed that coal's contribution should drop
to 48 percent. Instead, the government sees nuclear supplying 14
percent of the country's energy mix by 2030 and renewable energy 16
percent, while the remaining capacity would come from open cycle gas
turbines, pump storage schemes and imported power generated from
hydroelectric plants." Nuclear currently supplies 6% of power from one
plant. Government also wants private investors to reduce
government-owned 95% share of market. See Reuters
article. [Many
factors at work here: Like India South Africa can't supply the
electricity the economy needs, crippling development; underinvestment
at
government-owned Eskom means plants are unreliable and old; government
doesn't have cash for investment so needs private players; coal
supplies quality declining (is "peak
coal" hitting coal-rich South Africa?); environmental issues;
switch to gas.]
Science and
Economics
"Is Algae Biodiesel a Decade Away?"—reliability
high.
Dutch researchers publishing in Science estimate microalgae could
become an economically viable source of fuels in 10 to 15 years. "By
looking at existing technologies and modeling a variety of
commercial-scale plants, the researchers determined it would take a
decade for algae-based biodiesel to become cost-competitive in Europe.
... Companies like Algenol, Solix, Solazyme and OriginOil say they are
making – or on the road to making – between 2,000 and 5,000 gallons of
fuel per acre." See Renewable
Energy World. Abstract here
(full article behind $15 paywall).
"Meat diets pose environmental danger: report"—reliability
high.
A recent "paper used coarse estimates to argue that, on current
trends, livestock farming on its own -- disregarding all other human
activity -- would push the world near danger levels for climate change
and habitat destruction by mid-century." The authors argue that average
global meat consumption will have to be cut significantly. Reuters
story. Abstract of report in PNAS here
(full report behind $10 paywall).
