I just received my GRI G3 reporting certification from the course I took last week. The course was delivered in Colorado for the first time due to the efforts of CORE with support from Deloitte. Lead, out of Canada, provided the training based on materials from the Global Reporting Initiative. The instructor was well informed, [...]
Wow! What a powerful story! William Kamkwamba, a boy in rural city in Malawi, Africa, is forced to drop out of school after the deadly 2001 drought nearly killed him and his family and destroyed the little value they had created farming corn and tobacco. Without the $80 to pay tuition, William turned to the [...]
It appears Starbucks customers in New York are able to make intelligent decisions when provided with the information about the calorie content of food on the menu. A new study by Stanford released Jan. 6 examined consumer behavior before and after calorie counts were posted, and determined that when restaurants post calories on menu boards, [...]
In a move clearly designed to keep up the pressure on the US to take strong action on climate change, UN climate chief Yfo de Boer stated, “Whatever route is taken, the president of the United States committed to a 17 percent emissions reduction in Copenhagen. The president of the United States committed to more ambitious [...]
The term “smart grid” is shorthand for a number of technologies intended to automate and digitize management of electrical power. By computerizing the 20th century electrical system, utilities and others in the power industryhope to manage and control electrical output more efficiently and reliably. Though smart grid sounds like it’s a single system, it’s more an [...]
The U.N.\'s leading panel on climate change has apologized for misleading data published in a 2007 report that warned Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035. In a statement released Wednesday, U.N. climate chiefs apologize for glacier error – CNN.com the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said estimates relating to the rate of recession of the [...]
The 45th Annual Event Sponsored by the Business Research Division in the Leeds School of Business and BBVA Compass The annual forecast of the state’s economy includes snapshots from specific counties and regions around the state, as well as updates on international trade, population, labor force and personal income growth, and a general outlook [...]
During the third quarter of 2009, a total of 35 energy and environmental companies received $421 million in new venture capital financing, representing an 8% decrease in the number of companies being funded and an 8% decrease in the total amount funded to the four sectors of Alternative Energy, Clean Tech, Energy and Environmental. Alternative [...]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $338 million in funding for the exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. These grants are directed toward identifying and developing new geothermal fields and reducing the upfront risk associated with geothermal development through exploration and drilling projects and [...]
President Obama set to be in Copenhagen on Dec. 9th with an offer to cut US GHG emissions in the range of 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.
The DOE is investing up to $1.18 million for a project in Boulder, Colo. to upgrade the 100-year-old Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Project by replacing two older turbines with a single unit. The new turbine is expected to operate at a wider range of flows and higher efficiency ranges, resulting in an increase in annual generation [...]
In Massachusetts, a proposed wind farm called Cape Wind was dealt a blow last Friday that will delay what would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed with local Indian tribes who claim that the location for the wind farm should be considered for listing in the National Historic [...]
Head over to the EPA’s Fuel Economy website and learn ways to get the last few miles out of every drop. You’ll learn how to drive more efficiently, like taking the golf clubs out of the trunk when snow’s on the ground and slowing down just a bit. And ways to not only make the [...]
The University of Mississippi is using data from SmartSynch’s smart meters and passing it to dashboards for campus operations personnel to monitor, analyze and act via RSS and social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook. As a part of the university’s Red, Blue and Green initiative, students and faculty can register with the school’s Green [...]
NIST released a draft report on the SmartGrid interoperability standards yesterday. The roughly 80 initial standards and 14 priority action plans are available for public review and comment for 30 days. Following this comment period the first phase of NIST’s 3 phase approach will be completed with the final release of the NIST Framework and [...]
It appears that people don’t only wish to keep up with their neighbors with bigger homes and wider if flatter TVs. This seems to be true with energy efficiency as well. From hotels to neighborhoods, the power of influence work by Dr. Robert Cialdini is being put to the test with positive results. Looks like [...]
McKinsey and Company’s central conclusion from their U.S. Energy Efficiency report says much about the energy efficiency opportunity in the US: Energy efficiency offers a vast, low-cost energy resource for the U.S. economy – but only if the nation can craft a comprehensive and innovative approach to unlock it. Significant and persistent barriers will need [...]
2008 proved to be a year of extremes for both the economy and energy around the world. Not surprising since fuel prices are so closely tied to world economic growth and in 2008 one of the longest periods of sustained economic growth can crashing to a halt. This sent record oil prices of $140 per [...]
Department of Energy Secretary Chu announces $93 million from the Recover Act to support the development of additional wind energy in the United States. The money will support R&D and testing for wind turbine drivetrains, support university and industry consortia focusing on critical wind energy challenges, advanced technology development in the private sector and a [...]
Claiming typical savings in the 20-40% range with aggressive strategies able to save over 50%, the DOE has put out a report on how data centers can use the tools from the Save Energy Now program. Not surprisingly, the key to generating these savings is to reduce the amount of energy used to support and [...]
Bob Metcalfe, using the history of the Internet as a guide, provided his list of things to look for and look out for in the changing energy sector. Metcalfe gave an optimistic view of the environmental challenge suggesting not only are we in a Global Warming Bubble but that cheap, clean energy will be so [...]
McKinsey’s Matt Hirschland interviewed economist Nicholas Stern in Brussels this past January. You can read the transcript here or click below to watch the video.
It is likely that the energy to power your car came from the Sun hundreds of millions of years ago and was converted by algae into simple sugars that eventually was pumped out of the ground as crude oil. Is it possible to shorten this cycle into a few weeks or even days and power [...]
Trading activity picks up for carbon financial instruments (CFIs) after the release of President Obama’s budget. Even though the budget does not include revenue from carbon allowances until 2012, future contracts prior to this date moved higher. Some people believe these instruments can be used as early action credits in a federal cap and trade [...]
So just what is a cap and trade system and how does it work? MSNBC has a Frequently Asked Questions page that answers this question. While President Obama signaled his desires in his budget, congress is required to pass the legislation and the details. Many experts are suggesting legislation is unlikely this, however “Powerful Democrats [...]
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