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government initiatives
Green Technology Conference
August 16, 2007
Please accept my invitation to be part of TMC’s newest event. Here is a recent invitation we sent out. In case you missed it, here it is. Hope to see you at this show.
Chinaâs Green Olympics
August 8, 2007
Although air quality problems plague the world’s fastest-growing economy, China is doing what it can to have a true green Olympics. The city of Beijing plans 80 percent of buses and 70 percent of taxis will be fueled via clean energy by 2008.
As part of the efforts, 14 electric buses have been running on one bus route for two years in Beijing as a pilot project while 1,300 buses fueled by compressed gas have been put into operation.
Of the two million square meters of buildings used for the Olympics, 26.9 percent will be powered by clean energy like solar, wind and geothermal power, the ministry said.
The seven main stadiums in Beijing will be equipped with solar generators with a total capacity of 480 KW while 90 percent of the lighting outside the stadiums and hot water supply in the Olympics Village will be powered by solar energy.
Beijing will have its first wind power plant by the end of this year with a capacity of 50,000 KW, which will supply main stadiums.
While it will take a while to clean the air in China, the Olympics seem like a great catalyst to get the country moving in the green direction.
CO2Sink
August 7, 2007
We often read of reducing carbon emissions but another way to minimize carbon emissions is to bury them underground. Here is a fascinating article on an experiment to bury carbon in Ketzin, Germany. How is it done you wonder? In this case, an 800 meter-deep hole is filled with porous rock.
Automotive X Prize
August 2, 2007
Is a 100-mpg car in reach? We will soon find out. Thirty-one teams have signed up to see if they can win the $10 million prize being offered by the X Prize Foundation. All you have to do to win is develop a marketable 100-mpg car. As they say at Staples, “that was easy.”
Here are the details from MSNBC.
Plant a Tree for Six Dollars
July 25, 2007
For a paltry six dollars you can have a tree planted for you in order to soak up a ton of carbon dioxide. A federal agency the U.S. Forest Service and a non-profit group the National Forest Foundation came together to launch a website enabling e-commerce to help the financing of trees which should in theory reduce global warming by absorbing CO2.
Whether this is a good or bad move for the environment is debated in the following article but it is logical that deforestation can be combated by tree planting. There is no doubt we are wiping out forests at an alarming rate and this can’t be good for anyone.
Vietnam Green Fund
July 19, 2007
I am intrigued with government initiatives such as this which allow for a trust fund to be set up whose purpose is to help companies go greener. In theory, companies in Vietnam of a certain size who qualify will be able to receive credits for reducing their carbon emissions. I wonder if something like this could take hold in the US.
Did Live Earth Mean Anything?
July 9, 2007
Absolutely according to this article from Time Magazine. The article on the topic does talk about the concept of just staying home as a better way to cut carbon emissions. But in the end, as the author points out… If these events make the concert-goers [and the rest of the world] change their carbon emitting ways and also push politicians to promote such policies, then the concert was worthwhile.
Chicago Goes Green
July 8, 2007
Chicago like many other cities is trying to become the epicenter of green technology and manufacturing. With financial incentives like promising to buy 5 million dollars worth of green technology from solar thermal energy companies, it seems possible that Chicago could become an epicenter of green technology manufacturing and implementation. Here is more on what the city is doing.
Live Earth More Good Than Harm
July 7, 2007
Greg has a post titled Live Earth More Harm Than Good? Which points out the negatives associated with producing massive amounts of carbon gas in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon gas we generate. Quite a dilemma, right?
Really, the naysayers are wrong on this one.
Germany Harnesses Wind
July 7, 2007
In the German green movement, the government has decided to take some subsidies away from the solar industry and apply them to wind farms. The solar industry of the country is not happy and is concerned competition from Asia will make it more difficult to compete. Still, industry spokespeople believe the subsidies could have been cut more and are not entirely displeased. See more from Red Herring.
