Archive for November, 2006
November 17, 2006 at 8:25 pm · Filed under Climate
An iceberg has been spotted from the New Zealand shore for the first time in living memory, and scientists are trying to determine where it and several other giant chunks drifting in the country's waters orginated from. Last year, icebergs were seen in New Zealand water for the first time in 56 years, but couldn't be seen from the shore. This year one was visible from Dunedin on South Island on Thursday. It has since moved away, driven by winds and ocean currents. The floating ice blocks have become a tourist attraction, as sightseers pay up to 500 New Zealand dollars (US$332; euro252) each to fly over the icebergs. Theories about where on the Antarctic coastline the icebergs originated have gripped the science community since they were first spotted. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Researc, says the iceberg could not spefically be linked to global warming.
November 16, 2006 at 11:31 am · Filed under Off Grid, Green Tech, Bio Fuel
Danish fuel cell technology can replace traditional heating systems and produce electricity at the same time - cheaper and more efficient. By installing this fuel cell stove that runs on several types of fuel from ethanol, gasoline to biodiesel, instead of a traditional oil stove, the heating cost will be about the same but you´ll get enough electricity for a familyhouse for free. The new fuel cell heater is produced by Topsoe Fuel Cell and they will have a commercial version ready by 2009-2010. Read the rest of this entry »
November 15, 2006 at 5:16 pm · Filed under The Politics, Climate
Breaking news: UN Climate Conference 2009 will be held i Copenhagen. Nothing much more to report about that.
Haven’t seen Al-I-used-to-be-the-next-president-of-USA-Gores movie yet? Here is a 44 min. interview/documentary about him made this summer:
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November 14, 2006 at 6:32 pm · Filed under Green Tech
Reduced-lead bullets, environment friendly mines and recyclable explosives are among the developments being put forward by arms manufacturer British Aerospace (BAE) as part of a major investment in ecologically-sound weaponry. The company, one of the world's biggest arms-makers, says it has been making investments in creating products that reduce the collateral damage of warfare. "We're looking across a range of all the platforms and areas we produce, and trying to improve all the mechanisms," Deborah Allen, director of corporate responsibility for the company, told BBC World Service's Culture Shock programme. "Everything from looking at making a fighter jet more fuel-efficient and looking at the materials that munitions are made of and what their impact on the environment would be." The idea behind the lead-free bullets, for example, is that if they get lodged in the environment, they "do not cause any additional harm". Whats next? Solar powered electric chairs?
November 14, 2006 at 12:40 am · Filed under The Politics, Climate
The German environment research organization has just released their Climate Performance Index 2006 at the UN Climate Conference in Nairobi. The list only includes the 56 industrialized countres that each emits more than one percent of the global CO2.
Iceland wins this time, but they are cheating by using geothermal heating systems. We got the entire report as pdf in the reseach section. Link.
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November 13, 2006 at 1:43 pm · Filed under Links of the week
This weeks MMGL:
Google Campus goes solar. Google will save more than $393,000 annually in energy costs. Link. Why do they care? A single high-powered rack of servers consumes enough energy in a single year to power a hybrid car across the United States 337 times. Link. But hybrid cars are so expensiv! -It depends: Cost of building hydrogen fuel cell cars will not exceed that of making conventional fuel powertrain vehicles once volumes reach 1 million units, says GM. Link
November 12, 2006 at 3:20 pm · Filed under Green Tech, Video
There are some fuel-efficient, gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles on the consumer market in both US and Europe, ranging from Toyota’s Prius to Ford’s Escape small sport utility vehicle. But choices have been limited for commercial vehicles. A Canadian company is working to change that by turning Ford commercial vans into hybrids. Last month, Azure signed an agreement with Ford to develop a hybrid system for E-350 and E-450 commercial vans. Ford will ship unfinished van chassis to Azure, which will add the electronics, motors and batteries needed for a hybrid vehicle. Steven Glaser, vice president of corporate affairs for Azure Dynamics in Toronto, said hybrid technology makes sense for commercial vehicles in urban environments. Shuttle buses and delivery trucks, for example, are constantly starting and stopping, and hybrids save the most fuel in such conditions. “The worse the drive cycle, the better it is for hybrid technology,” Glaser said.
How it works:
Much like Ford and Toyota hybrids, the commercial vans will use electric power at lower speeds and switch to gasoline engine power at higher speeds. When the vehicle brakes, the electric motor runs backwards, turning it into a generator that recharges the batteries.
Hybrid technology explained
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November 10, 2006 at 8:31 pm · Filed under Bio Fuel, The Politics
The European Union will probably miss a 2010 target to use more alternative fuels, the second time it will fall short in five years, said Hans van Steen, an EU official in charge of promoting renewable energy.The EU wants biofuels to account for an average of 5.75% of transport fuel by 2010, Van Steen told the F.O. Licht World Ethanol Conference in Amsterdam today.
The EU set a target of 2% for 2005, and member states averaged 1%, he said. Biofuels are made from corn, sugar or vegetable oils. “We can’t count on member states getting to where they want to be, based on their previous performance,” said Van Steen, from the renewable energy unit at the
European Commission’s Energy and
Transport Directorate General. The 25-nation EU wants to use less fuel derived from crude oil or natural gas to improve energy security and independence, limit greenhouse gas emissions and support farmers, Van Steen said. Half of all new cars sold in Europe run on diesel, of which there is a shortage, and more than half of greenhouse gas emissions come from transport. The 2% target was only achieved by Sweden and Germany, Van Steen said. He added in a separate interview that the two countries and France were the only ones likely to meet the 2010 objective.
November 10, 2006 at 3:11 pm · Filed under Green Tech, Video
As much as 16 percent of India’s electricity needs could be supplied by wind power within the next 25 years, the country’s president told a gathering of renewable energy experts this week. India produces 6,053 megawatts of wind power, a tiny chunk of the estimated 130,000 megawatts of electricity it needs, but its installed wind power grew by 47 percent in the last fiscal year, the Indian Wind Energy Association says. “I find that in the moderate scenario 16 percent of (India’s) total energy requirement can be contributed by wind energy by 2030,” President Abdul Kalam said at the start of an annual conference being held this year in New Delhi. “The present potential of wind energy in India has been worked out to be 45,000 megawatts.”
The president also told the energy experts, officials and environmentalists from more than 35 countries at the gathering — organized by the World Wind Energy Association — that India was Asia’s biggest wind power market. “The Asian region alone accounted for 19 percent new installations in 2005, experiencing a growth of over 46 percent. India can justifiably be proud of the fact that the strongest Asian market in 2005 was India.” Source: Tehran Times
November 10, 2006 at 2:45 pm · Filed under Green Tech, The Politics
Renewable energy and environment is back on the political agenda in Denmark. The coming election is warming up and it is clear that a main theme will be energy. While the opposition has suggested that Denmark in 2020 should be 50% supplied with renewable energy primeminister Anders Fogh believes that 20% should be targeted for. That discussion has been on very general terms and it has not been discussed how to reach the goals, what sectors should take the lead to reach the mark etc. Today I called professor Henrik Lund from Aalborg University, Department of Development and Planning, to ask him if the political promises are doable. He had another focus that turned out to more interesting:
“I think that the important thing here is that nearly all parties in parlament agrees that when we have used our own sources of oil and gas, the only solution is to become 100% supplied by renewable energy. When it is done and how we reach the 20 or 50% milestones is a matter of discussions and political field work, but when we all agree upon 100% renewable energy a strong message is send to the investors and companies that will lead this development. This is unique.”
The oilfields in the sea west of Denmark will run dry in the next 30 years meaning that Denmark before 2040 will be one of the first countries in the world based solely on renewable energy.
I can´t tell you more right now, this is a actually a part of a story I write for a magazine :-/
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