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World Environment News
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Latest News (213 stories)
Micro Loans Bring Light To Rural Poor
Photo: Amit Dave
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: INDIA
Author: Rina Chandran
AHMEDABAD - When night falls in remote parts of Africa and the Indian subcontinent, hundreds of millions of people without access to electricity turn to candles or flammable and polluting kerosene lamps for illumination.
SeaEnergy And TGC To Develop Windfarms In Taiwan
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: UK
Author: Sharon Lindores
LONDON - British renewable energy company SeaEnergy said on Tuesday it will build offshore windfarm projects in Taiwan with the Taiwan Generations Corporation (TGC), an energy project development company.
Australia Needs National Plan For Rising Seas
Photo: Daniel Munoz
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: AUSTRALIA
Author: Michael Perry
SYDNEY - Australia needs to adopt a national policy to combat rising sea levels, which may see people forced to abandon coastal homes and banned from building beachside homes, said a parliamentary climate change committee.
With Smelter Shut, Peru Mulls Zero Tariff On Lead
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: PERU
Author: Dana Ford
LIMA - Peru's government is weighing whether to eliminate the import tariff on lead as the country's only smelter that processes the metal is shut, squeezing local supplies, an industry group said on Tuesday.
EU Carbon Closes At Key Support Level
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: UK
Author: Nina Chestney and Michael Szabo
LONDON - European carbon emissions prices closed at a key support level on Tuesday, slightly down from the previous session due to weaker German power, traders said.
FACTBOX: Deciphering The Jargon In The Climate Debate
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Jasmin Melvin
WASHINGTON - A new bill introduced by Democrats in the U.S. Senate is not the only thing the climate change debate has brought to Washington. Politicians, pundits and lobbyists alike are now speaking a new jargon as they try to tackle global warming.
E.ON Renewable Investment Storming Ahead
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: UK
Author: Angeline Ong
LONDON - E.ON, one of Europe's largest utilities, has continued heavy investment in renewable energy, such as wind, through the global economic downturn, the head of its European Climate & Renewables arm said on Tuesday.
Sharp Sees Start Of Solar Recovery In 2010
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Laura Isensee
NAHEIM, California - The solar power industry will start to recover in 2010, an executive with Sharp Corp told Reuters on Tuesday, saying U.S. stimulus funds, work on government projects and new financing would help the industry.
New U.S. Finance Tool For Renewable Energy Launched
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Lisa Lambert
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday authorized more than 800 governmental agencies and power companies to issue $2.2 billion of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, a financing tool included in the economic stimulus plan for developing alternative energy generation.
Former GM Plant To Make Fisker Hybrid Cars
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Chelsea Emery and John Crawley
NEW YORK - The bankrupt shell of carmaker General Motors Co is making its first major asset sale, selling a Delaware manufacturing plant to Fisker Automotive, which will make plug-in hybrid electric cars beginning in 2012.
GE Advanced Gas Turbine Cuts Fuel Use, Emissions
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Eileen O'Grady
HOUSTON - General Electric Co's Energy unit on Tuesday said its latest turbine design for natural gas-fired power plants will consume less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide than existing GE turbines.
Obama Announces $3.4 Billion In Grants For Smart Grid
Photo: Jim Young
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Steve Holland
ARCADIA, Florida - President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced $3.4 billion in grants to help build a "smart" electric grid meant to trim utility bills, reduce blackouts and carry power generated by solar and wind energy.
Shrimp's Eye Points Way To Better DVDs
Photo: Roy Caldwell
Date: 28-Oct-09
Country: UK
Author: Ben Hirschler
LONDON - The amazing eyes of a giant shrimp living on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could hold the key to developing a new type of super high-quality DVD player, British scientists said on Sunday.
What Can Software Do for Hybrid MPGs? Ford Aims to Find Out
Date: 27-Oct-09
Author: Josie Garthwaite - Earth2Tech
What can software do for hybrid fuel economy? Ford Motor and researchers at the University of Michigan plan to find out in a new project meant to speed development of more fuel-efficient hybrid systems. According to an announcement from Ford yesterday, the pair will run up to 175,000 computer design simulations of hybrid control systems, with the goal of eventually developing a software system that would allow drivers to select from several performance settings based on fuel efficiency and other driving preferences.
Senate Democrats Set Climate Bill Industry Permits
Photo: Lucas Jackson
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON - Democrats in the U.S. Senate will push climate change legislation that would grant, initially at no cost, pollution permits to an array of industries, similar to legislation passed by the House of Representatives last June.
EU Looks To Divert Budget Spending Towards Climate
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS - The European Union should shift more of its spending to climate and energy security as part of a radical overhaul of the bloc's budget, according to a draft paper by the EU's executive arm
SMA Solar To Open New Plant In Colorado
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Laura Isensee
LOS ANGELES - SMA Solar Technology AG said on Monday it would open a factory in Colorado, putting about 15 million euros ($22 million) into the company's first production site outside Germany.
German Firm Plans 100 MW Wind Farm In Bulgaria
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Irina Ivanova
SOFIA - Germany's privately-held N-Vision Energy plans to invest up to 140 million euros ($210.5 million) to build a 100 megawatt wind energy park in Bulgaria, its managing director said on Monday.
Poland To Sign CO2 Deal With Spain And Ireland
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: POLAND/Japan
Author: Risa Maeda
TOKYO - Poland will soon sign a deal to sell a total 40 million euros ($60 million) of surplus greenhouse gas emission rights to Spain and Ireland, the country's first such government-to-government deal under the Kyoto Protocol, its environment minister said.
Italy Green Boom May Stutter Over Incentive Doubts
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: ITALY
Author: Stephen Jewkes and Svetlana Kovalyova - Analysis
MILAN - Uncertainty over the future of generous incentive schemes is a major risk factor for the green energy sector in Italy, which has blossomed after rival Spain lost its allure by cutting down on sweeteners for investors.
Public Finance Can Scale Up Climate Investment
Photo: REUTERS
Date: 27-Oct-09
Country: UK
Author: Nina Chestney
LONDON - Public finance could help stimulate private investment in climate change solutions in developing countries, a report commissioned by the United Nations' Environment Program showed on Monday.
Climate Cooperation To Help Ties, Hu Tells Obama
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: CHINA
Author: Emma Graham-Harrison
BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao has told his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama that closer cooperation on fighting climate change could help improve overall ties between the world's top two greenhouse gas polluters.
Japan May Cut Emissions By Less Than 25 Percent
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: JAPAN
Author: Chisa Fujioka
TOKYO - Japan cautioned on Friday that it could water down planned 2020 cuts in greenhouse gas emissions if other rich nations fail to make deep reductions as part of a U.N. deal due in Copenhagen in December.
Test The Wind Speed Via iPhone And Mariah Power
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Katie Fehrenbacher - Earth2Tech
Apple's iPhone has apps for Car 2.0, for home energy management and for fuel efficiency. Now here's one for clean power that I wasn't expecting to see: a wind speed tester courtesy of small wind turbine maker Mariah Power. Todd Woody profiles the app in the New York Times' Green Inc. blog this morning, and says the application uses the iPhone's microphone to capture the sound of the wind and then utilizes an algorithm to tune out the surrounding noise and calculate the wind decibel speed.
Schlumberger CEO Sees New Gas Drilling Regulation
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Braden Reddall
SAN FRANCISCO - Schlumberger Ltd, the world's largest oilfield services company, expects new U.S. regulations for a key natural gas drilling process because of public fears about water pollution, its CEO said on Friday.
SK Energy To Supply Car Batteries For Daimler Unit
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: SOUTH KOREA
Author: Rhee So-eui
SEOUL - South Korea's SK Energy said on Sunday it has been chosen as a supplier of lithium-ion batteries for a hybrid electric vehicle project for Daimler unit Mitsubishi Fuso.
Obama Sees Consensus Growing On Climate Change Bill
Photo: Jason Reed
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: US
Author: Jeff Mason
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts - President Barack Obama said on Friday he saw consensus building in the U.S. Congress on climate change and energy legislation that is considered critical to international talks on a new global warming pact.
Solar Recovery To Start, But 2010 Outlook Dim
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: GERMANY
Author: Christoph Steitz
FRANKFURT - European solar equipment makers are slowly emerging from the crisis that has hit the sector, quarterly results will show, but the outlook beyond 2009 will be uncertain due to tight credit and oversupply.
Ireland Exiting Peat Power, Faces Hurdles
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: IRELAND
Author: Andras Gergely
DUBLIN - Ireland will stop using peat to produce electricity by about 2025 to 2030 as it moves toward renewable sources, although it faces infrastructure and financing hurdles, the state-owned peat energy company said.
Brazil Eyes Capping Emissions At 2005 Levels
Date: 26-Oct-09
Country: BRAZIL
Author: Raymond Colitt
BRASILIA - Brazil is considering capping its greenhouse gas emissions at 2005 levels as it finalizes its proposals ahead of December's global climate summit, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said on Tuesday.
