http://monitorpowercost.com Monitor Power Costs by Installing a Electricity Monitor Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:33:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/19/report-details-climate-change-dangers-to-utahs-migratory-birds/1401/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/19/report-details-climate-change-dangers-to-utahs-migratory-birds/1401/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:33:02 +0000 admin Report details climate change dangers to Utah’s migratory birds.
A new national report highlighting climate-change dangers posed to migratory birds identified a few Utah species especially vulnerable to harm, including the sharp-tailed grouse and the salt-loving wader called Wilson’s phalarope.

Australian cities must transform in order to survive coming changes. While the images may sound like science fiction, architects and demographers say Australian cities must radically transform to cope with the pressures of population growth and climate change or face social unrest and urban decay.

Climate change threatens migratory birds. Changes in the global climate are imposing additional stress on hundreds of species of migratory birds in the United States that are already threatened by other environmental factors, according to a new Interior Department report.

The Superb Grid vs. the SuperGrid Please see the article by Sam Carana on how a larger and simultaneously more local grid can be implemented, to capture as much of the electricity being generated as possible. Read about how many parts of Europe already have surplus electricity and countries are linking their grids together toimprove efficiency.

Minister’s ambition for future Welsh green energy. The assembly government is expected to say that Wales has the potential to generate twice its electricity needs from renewable sources within 15 years.

DWP ratepayers facing a bigger possible surcharge. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s political team is encouraging the Department of Water and Power to adopt a so-called carbon surcharge, one that would require ratepayers to pay more to cover the cost of renewable energy.

Gowanus Canal goes Superfund Last week, the Gowanus Canal, a 1.8-mile, 100-foot wide waterway in northwest Brooklyn which empties into Upper New York Bay, was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) otherwise known Superfund by the Environmental Protection Agency. The new designation means that the EPA will now move ahead to clean up this derelict canal and to compel PRP’s (principal responsible parties) to perform the cleanup or reimburse the government for EPA-led action. The EPA is now locked in to what may be a tough and perhaps a long dragged-out process of restoring the Gowanus, while forcing cooperation from PRPs and catering to often sensitive local community interests.

New legal panel to focus on climate change. The barristers will have a heavy workload: Testing new global warming regulations.

CEOs Get It: No matter how you view the science, now is the time to act Over the last couple of days, Ive heard business titans from Disneys CEO Robert Iger to legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens to coal and mining magnate Tom Albanese of Rio Tinto espousing a similar thought EUR that theyre going full steam ahead with their sustainability strategies and investments in clean energy technology because it makes [.]

Germanium Laser is the Latest Light Technology to be Unveiled The materials in lasers can be expensive and difficult to work with. A discovery at MIT may be changing all of that much sooner than we think as germanium laser technology is here and it is very real. The beauty of this latest technology is that there isnt even a large call to change [.] Posted in: Future Energy, Inventions

New Battery Technology Could Lead to Self-Powered Devices The advancements that are being made in battery technology are pretty mind boggling. We are seeing devices that are drawing power from just about every source that is imaginable, and now there is battery technology from researchers at Imperial College London that may actually have devices that create their own power. From cell phones [.] Posted in: Batteries, Future Energy, Inventions

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/19/report-details-climate-change-dangers-to-utahs-migratory-birds/1401/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/18/climate-change-beyond-doubt-says-australian-science-chief/1400/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/18/climate-change-beyond-doubt-says-australian-science-chief/1400/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:35:02 +0000 admin Can the U.S. Compete with China? Fred Krupp Says “Yes”
China's growing economic power is a growing

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/18/climate-change-beyond-doubt-says-australian-science-chief/1400/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/17/the-nuclear-waste-issue-must-be-solved/1399/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/17/the-nuclear-waste-issue-must-be-solved/1399/#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:37:02 +0000 admin Worlds Largest Solar Boat Prepares for World Tour
PlanetSolar enjoys the distinction of being the largest solar-powered boat in the world, and it’s ready to take on the world. This beautys vital stats are: weight: 60-ton, a 470-square-meter are covered by 38,000 solar cells to generate 103.4 kW of energy. 18 million euro ($24.4 million) was spent to adorn this beauty in [.]
Posted in: Solar Power, Transportation

U.K. tries to catch a wave. The U.K. hopes to stake its claim as a leader in the fledgling wave and tidal power sectorEUR ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/17/the-nuclear-waste-issue-must-be-solved/1399/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/16/forget-solar-power-human-power-is-the-future/1398/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/16/forget-solar-power-human-power-is-the-future/1398/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:29:02 +0000 admin

Google Plans New Solar Mirror Technology Google’s Bill Weihl expresses his opinion, “We see a chance to make a difference in the field of renewable energy and energy information that can help bring the world to a lower carbon and more efficient economy.” Google is known for its Internet search engine. Now they want to make inroads into green technology [.] Posted in: Ethanol

Worlds Tallest Building - Empty Burj Khalifa - ClosedThe world’s tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed just a month after it opened. The viewing area had been the only portion of the 2,717 foot building open to the public and it is now indefinitely closed amid Dubai’s struggle to revive it’s economy.Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the [.]

Forget Solar Power, Human Power is the Future That may be a little aggressive, but Princeton University engineers have developed a device that may change the way that we power many of our smaller gadgets and devices. By using out natural body movement, they have created a small chip that will actually capture and harness that natural energy to create enough energy [.] Posted in: Future Energy, Human Power, Inventions

Australia “0.7 degrees warmer over past 50 years.” Australia’s top science body said on Monday temperatures had risen about 0.7 degrees Celsius (0.44 Fahrenheit) in the last 50 years, describing the finding as “significant evidence” of climate change.

In Xynthias Wake, Increased Awareness of the Link between Windstorm Vulnerability and Wetland Loss The communities of the Côte de Lumière, a string of seaside resorts on Frances Atlantic coast, sit an ocean away from the bayous of coastal Louisiana. Better accustomed to hosting Parisians and (the original) Orleanais on their weekend getaways, the towns received a rude visit from an unexpected guest late last month.Unfortunately, this one left [.]

Chinese PM rebuts criticism over Copenhagen role. The Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, today launched a robust defence of his country’s place on the world stage, including a sharp rebuttal of what he called “baffling” criticism of his country’s role at the Copenhagen summit.

Listening Sessions with Gullah/Geechee Fishermen Continue My journey to engage and build relationships with Southeastern, African-American fishermen continued last week with stops in Florida and Georgia. On Friday and Saturday, I reunited with Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and founder of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, to co-sponsor listening sessions in Fernandina, Florida and Brunswick, Georgia. Mirroring the session [.]

United Nations to commission independent scientific inquiry into IPCC. The UN is to commission an independent group of top scientists to review its climate change panel, which has been under fire since it admitted a mistake over melting Himalayan glaciers.

Carbon Capture Crystals Carbon Capture DNA/Crystal StructureUCLA chemists have created crystals that can capture carbon dioxide. ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/14/honda-solar-hydrogen-station-introduced-to-green-car-market/1396/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/13/dell-hp-cut-pc-power-consumption-2010/1395/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/13/dell-hp-cut-pc-power-consumption-2010/1395/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:33:02 +0000 admin

Senators to propose abandoning cap-and-trade. Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad “cap-and-trade” approach that has defined the legislative debate for close to a decade.

Wind Turbine Power Goes Portable with Foldable Wind Generator Renewable energy is one of the hottest things on the market right now but until recently, solar power has been getting most of the attention. While there are plenty of techno gadgets, like solar briefcases and solar laptop chargers, that can have solar power on the run, very few if any items exist for [.] Posted in: Inventions, Wind Power, Wind Turbines

What’s stopping us getting solar power from deserts? Plans to use concentrating solar power plants in the Sahara to generate and export electricity have been on the table for years. Now, it looks as though political will might help move things forward The logic of the idea would seem obvious to a child: the human race needs to wean itself off fossil fuels, so why don’t we build solar power plants in the world’s deserts, to give us all the energy we need?

Jet Engines the Inspiration for New Wind Power Technology Wind power has recently received a nice boost as one of the hottest forms of energy on the market. When comparing the recent market growth against all forms of energy, both renawables and non-renewables, wind turbines seem to be jumping to the head of the pack. While it still has a way to go [.] Posted in: Inventions, Wind Power, Wind Turbines

Dell, HP Cut PC Power Consumption 2010 For both laptop and desktop computers, Dell plans to cut power consumption as part of its required work on compliance with the EPA’s EnergyStar 5.0 standard, reports Mark Hachman of pcmag.com. HP earlier said it would cut power use of “volume” PCs by 25 percent, relative to 2005. In those terms, Dell’s reductions would be [.]

Fishermen Express Concerns in Washington Today; Catch Shares Can Help Fishermen are here in Washington, D.C. this week to express their concerns with fisheries todayEUR ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/13/dell-hp-cut-pc-power-consumption-2010/1395/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:14:02 +0000 admin

Self-Assembling Solar Cells What can a scientist do with salad dressing apart from telling you that it increases the taste of salad manifold? But thats the beauty of this profession. As Newton could give some theories when he saw an apple falling from a tree, salad dressing can inspire scientists towards a brand new type of solar [.] Posted in: Inventions, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Marine Reserves Work The creation of marine protected areas can lead to the rapid recovery of depleted fish populations, according to several new studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. One study, conducted in a network of 12 marine reserves covering 188 square miles near Los Angeles, showed that since the area was closed to fishing in 2003, heavily-fished species such as blue rockfish have increased by 50 percent.

New iceberg breaks off east end of Antarctica. With the dramatic crash of an iceberg against a glacier that dislodged a massive new chunk of ice, the mysterious continent of Antarctica once again did the unexpected.

Drilling may have caused Indonesia mud volcano A team of scientists said in a report on Friday that they had found the strongest evidence yet linking a devastating mud volcano in Indonesia to drilling at a gas exploration well by local energy firm PT Lapindo Brantas. Lapindo has denied triggering the disaster through its drilling activities, arguing the mud volcano near Indonesia’s second-biggest city of Surabaya was triggered by an earthquake. The hot mud started spewing from the East Java drilling site in 2006 and has now displaced nearly 60,000 people. A scientific team led by Richard Davies of Britain’s Durham University said data released by Lapindo provided new evidence indicating that drilling caused the disaster.

Going for the green. The balmy weather in Vancouver, which delayed some of the Olympic downhill events, highlights the danger warmer winters pose to ski resorts. The situation isn’t as dire in the higher-elevation resorts of the Rockies, but these large businesses still worry that a warming planet could melt their businesses.

Environmentalists question coal’s place in Obama policy. President Barack Obama, a longtime believer in “clean coal,” is launching an ambitious plan to help the energy industry lock climate-changing gases from coal-fired power plants deep underground. However, some are questioning his approach.

A Forecast for Endangered Species Spreck Rosekrans is an Economic Analyst at EDF.In perhaps what will be the most anticipated water supply forecast in California history, the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation today released its preliminary water supply forecast for 2010. The Bureau projects that it will be able to deliver ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/12/environmentalists-question-coals-place-in-obama-policy/1394/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:46:03 +0000 admin

SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL ATMOSPHERIC INTERACTIONS: A FRESH, SPARKY LOOK We live in a strongly climate-oriented era, where each one of us is called to choose between sides; are we among the “believers” or the “infidels” of the “Global Warming?”. Two decades ago, a part of the scientific community started engaging in intense discussions around the “unusual” temperature trends which, for the northern hemisphere, had been going undoubtedly uphill. The first serious counter arguments regarding the validity of these findings targeted the inherited errors that all observational tools possess. New observations and improved algorithms started to appear fairly quickly, a fact that partially appeased debates and concerns. Skeptics of the global warming theory try to find other kinds of evidence to second-guess the mainstream CO2 increase and steer away from anthropocentric related theories. And suddenly, along came a cloud.

Asbestos Use Today: information from a reader Asbestos is still imported and used in the U.S. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007; see this PDF file from the USGS, please click only if you want to download the PDF. Also, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a [.]

Waste to Energy Continues to Gain Steam While new energy solutions are being discovered, refined and brought further and further into the public light, something that does not get a lot of headlines is waste to energy. How something like this continues to not be used in the United States is incredible as countries like Japan have been using it for [.] Posted in: Biofuels, Industry, Waste Energy

Consumed by Consumption Last month, I attended my first Solutions Lab in Durham, North Carolina. For those that don't know, EDF is hosting Solutions Labs around the country to bring together sustainability thought leaders from all walks of life. To be honest, I was a little skeptical that the "unconference"-style event (one where attendees [.]

]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/11/waste-to-energy-continues-to-gain-steam/1393/feed/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/ http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:44:02 +0000 admin Aquamarine Power Makes Riding the Waves More Interesting
Every time we turn around we are seeing something new and exciting in renewable energy forms and Aquamarine Power is the latest in a long line of energy sources to be pumped up about. Aquamarine Power is a company that is developing wave energy. This is a source of energy that has barely been [.]
Posted in: Future Energy, Industry, Wave Power

Is It Possible To Convert To 100% Wind Power? With all the talk of going green, the question had been thrown out many times if there will ever be a time that we can use nothing but renewable energy to power our world. A small island in Denmark is trying answer that question with a resounding yes as they power up every single [.] Posted in: Wind Farms, Wind Power, Wind Turbines

Argentine biodiesel exports seen firm despite law. Argentina is set to implement a law requiring diesel to be blended with biodiesel in the coming weeks, but the nation’s key exports of the green fuel could still rise as production soars.

LATimes: Saving Amazon is most cost-effective way to cut global warming pollution The L.A. Times produced a beautiful series on Brazils Amazon this week, saying what EDF has said all along: Protecting the Amazon not only preserves biodiversity — it also cuts global warming pollution faster and at lower cost than almost any other approach. The destruction of tropical forests causes nearly a fifth of all global [.]

Bill promoters looking for a boost from ‘Professor in Chief’. Shirt sleeves rolled up, President Obama paced on a stage in Henderson, Nev., last week trying to explain why he wants to curb U.S. emissions of heat-trapping gases.

Edible Green Roofs Edible SchoolyardThe Edible Schoolyard in NewYork and Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Foundation, are designing a new schoolyard for Public School 216 in New York that aims to educate school children about food, where it comes from and what real fresh foods taste like. ]]> http://monitorpowercost.com/2010/03/10/bill-promoters-looking-for-a-boost-from-professor-in-chief/1392/feed/