Massive Algae Bloom Spreading Across Baltic Sea

A labeled satellite image taken July 11 by the European Space Agency. Image via BBC.

The 30 bottles of pre-French Revolution champagne recently recovered from the bottom of the Baltic Sea were a pretty awesome find. But the latest thing to show up in the far northern body of water is hardly anything to pop a cork over: a potentially toxic algae bloom covering 377,000 square kilometers, an area larger than all of Germany….
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Massive Algae Bloom Spreading Across Baltic Sea

A labeled satellite image taken July 11 by the European Space Agency. Image via BBC.

The 30 bottles of pre-French Revolution champagne recently recovered from the bottom of the Baltic Sea were a pretty awesome find. But the latest thing to show up in the far northern body of water is hardly anything to pop a cork over: a potentially toxic algae bloom covering 377,000 square kilometers, an area larger than all of Germany….
Visit the original post at: TreeHugger

China questions review of controversial carbon program
Government fund tells U.N. it supports developers that have earned billions under carbon-offset program, as decision whether to review the program looms. Some say developers produce more greenhouse gas to win more credits.
Visit the original post at: Green Tech

New York Compost (Pick-up on a Bike!) Program Needs Your Help

We caught word of New York Compost, a pilot project to start a “table-to-farm” compost pick-up service in NYC that would take organic matter from restaurants to farmers. Here’s their Kickstarter fundraising campaign page - they need to raise $6,000 by September 1st to develop and test a cargo bike system to do the job.

It’s a great idea, considering that 29% of NYC’s compostable waste stream – which could go back to enriching our soils – ends up instead in landfills, where it can’t break down properly. This means literally landf…
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New York Compost (Pick-up on a Bike!) Program Needs Your Help

We caught word of New York Compost, a pilot project to start a “table-to-farm” compost pick-up service in NYC that would take organic matter from restaurants to farmers. Here’s their Kickstarter fundraising campaign page - they need to raise $6,000 by September 1st to develop and test a cargo bike system to do the job.

It’s a great idea, considering that 29% of NYC’s compostable waste stream – which could go back to enriching our soils – ends up instead in landfills, where it can’t break down properly. This means literally landf…
Visit the original post at: TreeHugger

BP plagued by storm delay, claims concerns, Lockerbie query
Work to permanently seal BP’s blown-out well may be pushed back a week. Meanwhile, some say BP is stalling on payments to economic victims, and Congress is examining whether company’s Libyan oil interests influenced plane bomber’s release.
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Solar News Roundup for Friday, July 23

In case you missed the happenings of the solar world this week, here’s a quick solar news roundup:

Homeowners in Massachusetts are increasingly turning to residential solar for environmental reasons, according to the Boston Globe. In the midst of environmental disasters, rising energy costs, and increased talks of climate change, residents are turning to solar energy. And going solar is easier than ever with state and federal tax incentives and companies like SunRun, that make it affordable and easy to switch to solar.

In Washington, the atmosphere was more somber, as Democrats called off efforts to advance a major climate change bill through Senate. According to Senator Harry Reid, proponents of the bill knew they simply did not have enough votes and officials favored moving on, rather than stall the Senate over the bill.  Instead, the Senate has pursued a more limited bill responding to the BP oil spill and tightening standards for energy efficiency.

On a lighter note, the Zephyr, an unmanned solar airplane, has set some outstanding records for longest flight…powered entirely by the sun! For over two weeks, the Zephyr has been flying over Arizona, day and night, thanks to the paper thin solar panels on its wings. The solar plane presents great potential for persistent surveillance and communications.

And over here in California, a team of scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory was awarded $122 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub. This Hub would focus on “artificially simulating photosynthetic processes…to produce innovative sources of energy”, or converting sunlight into fuel.

It’s been a busy week for solar! Let us know if you think we left out a crucial solar news story and we’ll be happy to include it in our solar news roundup.

Visit the original post at: Solar Power News

ARPA-E backs a “Smart Metal” to Cool Future Climate Hell

As part of the new ARPA-E program designed to bring “game-changing” technologies to market, one of the 43 breakthroughs the Department of Energy has funded is the invention of a breakthrough metal alloy to build air conditioners with that replaces the need for coolants, that could cool the homes of our hellish future.

The completely new thermally elastic metal alloy makes possible a fundamental technological advance in cooling technology. Used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems instead of liquid coolant, it would increase cooling efficiency 175%, and cut climate-changing CO2 emissions to practically nothing.

Researchers at the University of Maryland are about to begin testing this prototype, built of the “smart metal” alloy with funding of $500,000 from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus). (more…)

Visit the original post at: Energy News

California’s 2nd Chance – Giant 3 GW Wind Farm Gets $1.2 Billion

Terra-Gen Power has just received the financing needed to build the next four wind farms in the largest wind energy project on US soil. The company can now build another 570 MW of the gigantic 3,000 MW Alta Wind Energy Center, in the same energy-rich Tehachapi region of California where former Governor Jerry Brown jump-started the US wind industry back in the early ’80s with 55% tax credits. Back then, because of those policies, California led the nation in wind and solar.

Since those far-sighted and visionary days (Governor Brown was called Governor Moonbeam for crazy ideas like that) California has long since ceded its wind energy leadership to Texas.

But California’s next Governor could be the same man who started the US wind industry, that 30 years later has led to this wind farm in California, along with energy-efficient fridges, energy-efficient windows, 55% solar tax credits and California’s Title 24 energy-efficiency building standards that has kept Californian carbon footprints down to European levels ever since.

That same Governor, Jerry Brown is running for Governor, again. California is getting a second chance. In the same way, with this project built, California will once again have the largest wind energy project in America, overtaking the largest wind farm in Texas.
(more…)

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Shabd Simon-Alexander: Seasonless and Artful Eco-Fashion (Photos)

Shabd Simon-Alexander spring 2010.

We first spotted the artful designs of Shabd Simon-Alexander on eco-fashion site Beklina. It was love at first sight. Shabd approaches fashion design as if it where art; She draws from a minimalist aesthetic and incorporates the folk costume tradition (of beginning one dress with the remnants from the last). For fall 2010, she imagines “seasonless shapes” in a “bright, reflective, washed-out winter palette.”

In a little Q & A over e-mail, we… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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