Tag Archives: solar power

The Swedes are cleaning up trucking with old-timey tech.

According to a paper released Tuesday by James Hansen, formerly of NASA and now at Columbia University*, the landmark Paris Agreement is solid C-minus work — but when it comes to climate commitments, mediocrity is criminal. Slacker countries making only modest emissions reductions will lock future generations into dangerous levels of climate change.

The average global temperature is already 1 to 1.3 degrees Celsius warmer than preindustrial levels, according to Hansen’s group. That’s on par with the Earth’s climate 115,000 years ago, when the seas were 20 feet higher than they are today.

Unless we phase out fossil fuels entirely in the next few years, Hansen told reporters on Monday, future generations will have to achieve “negative emissions” by actively removing carbon from the atmosphere. Seeing as we don’t even know if that’s possible, that’d be a helluva task for our progeny.

Hansen and his coauthors’ work, which is undergoing peer review, supports a lawsuit brought by 21 young people against the U.S. government. It charges our lawmakers with not protecting the “life, liberty, and property” of future citizens by allowing fossil fuel interests to keep polluting.

But a solution is possible, Hansen explained, if we commit to a fee on carbon pollution and more investment in renewable energy.

*Correction: This story originally referred to Hansen as a former NASA director. He was director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Continued here – 

The Swedes are cleaning up trucking with old-timey tech.

Posted in alo, Anchor, ATTRA, Citizen, FF, GE, LAI, Landmark, ONA, Paradise, PUR, Safer, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Swedes are cleaning up trucking with old-timey tech.

Donald Trump Says Global Warming Is a Chinese Hoax. China Disagrees.

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Two years after President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that their countries would work together to combat climate change, Republicans and conservatives in the United States continue to cite China’s rising carbon emissions as a reason not to bother cutting our own.

Earlier this month, Donald Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Moore claimed that limiting our carbon pollution is pointless because of China’s supposedly growing coal dependency. “Every time we shut down a coal plant in the US, China builds 10,” Moore told E&E News. “So how does that reduce global warming?”

Not only is Moore’s statement simply untrue, but the broader conservative theory behind it is badly outdated. China’s coal use and carbon emissions have dropped for the last two years. In 2015, China cut its coal use 3.7 percent and its emissions declined an estimated 1 to 2 percent, following similar decreases in 2014.

If China continues to cut its emissions, or even just keeps them at current levels, the country will be way ahead of its goal of peaking emissions by around 2030, which it laid out in 2014 and recommitted to during the Paris climate talks last December.

In part, China’s emissions are dropping because the country is undergoing a dramatic shift in the nature of its economy. For years, China had been rapidly industrializing and growing at a breakneck pace. Growth often causes emissions to rise, all the more so when a country has an expanding manufacturing sector and is building out its basic infrastructure such as highways and rail lines. Heavy industrial activity—especially making cement and steel, which are needed for things like buildings, roads, and rail tracks—can be extremely energy intensive and have a massive carbon footprint. But now, as China is becoming more fully industrialized, its growth is slower and driven more by service industries, like technology, that are much less carbon intensive.

And the Chinese government is spurring this shift to a lower-carbon economy by reducing its indirect subsidies, such as favorable lending from state-controlled banks, for coal and other carbon-heavy industries. “This is actually a correction for the economy because China is adopting a more market approach,” says Ranping Song, an expert on Chinese climate policy at the World Resources Institute, an international environmental research organization. “That will have an impact on emissions.”

We can’t know whether Chinese emissions will continue dropping every year, but China is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its economy and the cleanliness of its energy sources, and it’s already off to a strong start. “There is a set of things happening in China that will continue to change the trajectory of its emissions,” says Jake Schmidt, director of the international program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Here are seven things China is doing to curb its climate-warming emissions:

Limiting coal use. Just a week after that 2014 announcement with Obama, China released an energy strategy that called for capping coal consumption by 2020. China also put a three-year moratorium on new coal mines, starting this year, and it’s been shutting down existing coal mines. Cutting back on coal not only reduces carbon emissions; it combats poor air quality, which has been causing serious health problems in notoriously polluted Chinese cities such as Beijing and Wuhan.

Carbon trading. Next year, China will launch a nationwide carbon market, the world’s largest. It will cover six of the biggest carbon-emitting sectors, starting with coal-fired electricity generation. This cap-and-trade program will build on programs China has already created in two provinces and five cities.

Cleaning up cars and trucks. China is the largest car market in the world. Cutting pollution from automobiles, like cutting pollution from coal plants, is essential not just to reducing CO2 emissions but to clearing the air in cities: The government estimates that roughly one-third of Beijing’s epic smog is from automobiles. China is pulling old, inefficient cars off the road, providing incentives for buying hybrids and electric cars, and enforcing stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new cars.

Making buildings more energy efficient. Two years ago, China started issuing requirements for buildings to be given energy-efficiency upgrades. The energy savings are just beginning to be felt, but given that buildings can last for decades or even centuries, there could be a long payoff period.

Building renewable capacity. China knows it needs alternative sources of energy to replace coal, so the government is investing heavily in developing wind and solar energy. “China has emerged as a leader in renewable energy,” reported Song and one of his colleagues in a blog post in April. “Investment soared from $39 billion to $111 billion in just five years, while electric capacity for solar power grew 168-fold and wind power quadrupled.” In Paris, China promised that at least 20 percent of its energy portfolio will come from non–fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Building nuclear reactors. Whatever you think of nuclear energy, it is one of the lowest-carbon forms of electricity out there. Earlier this month, China announced it will build at least 60 new nuclear power plants within a decade.

Building high-speed rail. A wealthier citizenry in a more industrialized country will be traveling a lot more. To limit transportation emissions, China is rapidly building high-speed rail. It already has more than 11,800 miles of high-speed rail that carry 2.7 million riders daily, and expansion plans are on the drawing board.

China will surely encounter hurdles and hiccups as it continues trying to rein in its emissions. The nation’s economy has recently been slowing down for cyclical reasons, as well as the structural ones mentioned above. After years of debt-fueled corporate investment and growth, Chinese companies are paying down their debts at the same time that the government is reining in industrial overcapacity and winding down the stimulus spending that got it through the Great Recession. China’s economy will eventually pick up again, and when it does, citizens will likely buy more cars, air conditioners, and electronic goods, leading to more electricity and gasoline use and perhaps greater carbon emissions.

But the policies China is enacting are designed to ultimately create a higher standard of living without more emissions. Since China has enormous low-lying cities that will be largely underwater in a century if climate change continues spinning out of control, the country has plenty of reason to curb its emissions and has shown that it is serious about doing it. That’s true whether Republican politicians in Washington choose to believe it or not.

See the article here: 

Donald Trump Says Global Warming Is a Chinese Hoax. China Disagrees.

Posted in Citizen, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, PUR, Radius, solar, solar power, Ultima, Uncategorized, Venta, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Donald Trump Says Global Warming Is a Chinese Hoax. China Disagrees.

If you like food that tastes good, oh well!

Cannabis, according to a new report from EQ Research, could require as much energy as data centers to grow indoors.

In states where cannabis has been legalized like Washington and Colorado, growing operations may account for as much as 1 percent of total energy sales. And a lot of energy usually means a lot of emissions. A 2012 study found that indoor marijuana-growing operations produce 15 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to 3 million cars.

The high energy use comes mostly from lighting, ventilation, and dehumidifying, as GreenTech Media reports. But unlike other energy hogs (like data centers), it’s difficult for growers to take part in state and utility-run energy efficiency programs. That’s because the cannabis industry is illegal, federally.

According to the report, it will take electric utilities, regulatory commissions, state and local governments, and cannabis growers and business associations working together to create completely new incentives, programs, and financing tools for energy-efficient growing systems.

In the meantime, what’s the concerned marijuana user to do? Well, you can try to buy pot that’s grown outdoors — or, if that’s not an option, install some LEDs and grown your own. Just be sure to brush up on your local laws first.

Source: 

If you like food that tastes good, oh well!

Posted in alo, Anchor, cannabis, FF, GE, LAI, Omega, ONA, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on If you like food that tastes good, oh well!

What do solar panels and tomatoes have in common? Living space.

Cannabis, according to a new report from EQ Research, could require as much energy as data centers to grow indoors.

In states where cannabis has been legalized like Washington and Colorado, growing operations may account for as much as 1 percent of total energy sales. And a lot of energy usually means a lot of emissions. A 2012 study found that indoor marijuana-growing operations produce 15 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to 3 million cars.

The high energy use comes mostly from lighting, ventilation, and dehumidifying, as GreenTech Media reports. But unlike other energy hogs (like data centers), it’s difficult for growers to take part in state and utility-run energy efficiency programs. That’s because the cannabis industry is illegal, federally.

According to the report, it will take electric utilities, regulatory commissions, state and local governments, and cannabis growers and business associations working together to create completely new incentives, programs, and financing tools for energy-efficient growing systems.

In the meantime, what’s the concerned marijuana user to do? Well, you can try to buy pot that’s grown outdoors — or, if that’s not an option, install some LEDs and grown your own. Just be sure to brush up on your local laws first.

This article:

What do solar panels and tomatoes have in common? Living space.

Posted in alo, Anchor, cannabis, FF, GE, LAI, LG, Omega, ONA, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What do solar panels and tomatoes have in common? Living space.

Elon Musk has a big idea to save civilization: Move it to Mars.

Myron Ebell, a director at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, would head Trump’s EPA transition team, E&E Daily reports. Ebell also chairs the Cooler Heads Coalition, a pro-business group focused on pushing climate denial.

While Ebell generally maintains that climate change is a hoax, he’s also argued that if it does exist, it’s actually a good thing. “Life in many places would become more pleasant,” he wrote in 2006. “Instead of 20 below zero in January in Saskatoon, it might be only 10 below. And I don’t think too many people would complain if winters in Minneapolis became more like winters in Kansas City.” He has less to say about the summers in Minneapolis, which, if current emissions trends continue, will feel like summers in Mesquite, Texas, by 2100.

Ebell’s waffling is in-line with the candidate’s, who seems to have spontaneously changed his mind about climate change during the first presidential debate. When accused by Hillary Clinton of calling climate change a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, Trump flat-out denied it, despite a notorious tweet saying just that.

Ebell joins energy lobbyist Mike McKenna, George W. Bush’s former Interior Department solicitor David Bernhardt, and oil tycoon Harold Hamm on Trump’s team.

View post: 

Elon Musk has a big idea to save civilization: Move it to Mars.

Posted in alo, Anchor, FF, GE, LAI, ONA, Oster, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Elon Musk has a big idea to save civilization: Move it to Mars.

Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall

The project is designed to keep water out of the damaged reactor buildings at the nuclear power plant, and radioactive water from reaching the Pacific. Critics say it may not work. See the original article here –  Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall ; ; ;

This article:  

Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall

Posted in eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, Monterey, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Japan’s ‘Hail Mary’ at Fukushima Daiichi: An Underground Ice Wall

Why Solar Financing Truly Is An Art Form

A decade ago, a residential solar system was a relatively elite product available only to homeowners with the means to finance the installation. Banks were still a little shy about investing in this new technology and solar financing programs were relatively rare. Solar energy was more expensive than electricity from the power grid in most markets, and solar energy prices were much higher than today. So what’s changed? The market for one  and one company has crafted solar financing down to a digital art form.

Solar financing – a retrospective

Solar financing hasn’t always been the easiest to obtain. Image Credit: InnervisionArt / Shutterstock

Solar financing hasn’t always been the easiest to obtain.

Then, the cost of solar PV fell 50% in five years, according to a 2015 report and the federal tax credit was increased to 30%.
The total cost of installing a solar system has fallen dramatically, and over the same period of time — retail electricity rates have climbed across much of the country.
In fact, solar energy has reached grid parity in 20 states, according to a recent report from GTM Research, U.S. Residential Solar Economic Outlook: Grid Parity, Rate Design and Net Metering Risk.

What does it all mean? It means that solar power electricity is cheaper than retail electricity in much of the nation.

Homeowners in many states can save money with solar energy, thus financing the upfront cost is often the missing ingredient to solar system ownership. Now that solar power has proven itself as a reliable technology and a sound financial investment, solar financing programs are becoming hot. One of the most noteworthy is the Mosaic PowerSwitch loan program, a peer-to-peer loan initiative for affordable solar loans.

This online solar marketplace connects investors with aspiring solar system owners. The platform has crowd sourced numerous solar installations, including university housing projects, conference centers, and single-family homes. Mosaic started out with commercial and non-profit solar systems and has expanded to also serve homeowners. This California start-up was launched in 2010, right when solar leases were becoming really popular.

Why not just lease a solar system?

Solar leases emerged as a popular way for people to have a solar system with as little as no money down and they took the industry by storm several years ago. Suddenly many more homeowners had the means to go solar with billions in institutional money. The leasee can have many of the benefits of solar energy, but not all. Although lease agreements vary, many involve locking in electricity rates from the solar energy. As the cost of retail electricity grows, the savings from the solar system also increase.

The downside is that some home shoppers are shy about purchasing a home with a leased solar system on it and the homeowner is not entitled to the federal tax credits associated with the solar system. Solar system owners experience double the utility savings with solar energy because they aren’t sharing the profits generated by the system and they own their solar system outright at the end of the loan period. On the bright side, the solar leasor is responsible for solar system maintenance and repairs, but most solar systems require little if any maintenance over time. Some solar installers also offer an additional warranty that products solar system owners.

Solar leasing seems to have peaked in 2014 at 72 percent of the market and is likely declining. Now many large solar companies have started offering loan programs in addition to solar leases and they are growing in popularity. In fact, Sungevity and NRG Home Solar both offer loans through Mosaic. The business model is shifting behind solar, and Mosaic entered the market just at the right time to take advantage of this.

How do Mosaic loans work?

The Mosaic loan was specifically designed for solar energy. The idea behind it is that if the loans are structured properly, they will remove the barriers stopping many homeowners from going solar.

Investors can lend money to people, businesses and organizations wishing to install solar panels.

The loans are considered to be low-risk because people are saving money by using solar energy, thus failure to make monthly payments puts this in jeopardy.
The homeowner is entitled to the 30% federal tax credit (unlike with a leased solar system), and they can either use this money to pay down the Mosaic loan or keep the tax credit.
When they keep the tax credit, it doubles the rate of the loan after 18 months.

What is peer-to-peer lending?

Peer-to-peer lending matches investors with borrowers using an online platform. The fees for such services are often lower than with a brick and mortar bank because the overhead for such companies is lower. Peer-to-peer lending serves as an alternative way for borrowers to seek credit and can pay higher returns for investors.

Image Credit: Mosaic

Peer-to-peer lending has been around for roughly a decade, but it really took off during the financial crisis. It became very difficult for borrowers to access credit, encouraging the growth of peer-to-peer lending. This alternative model serves a customer base that could otherwise be excluded or be poorly served with high rates. The peer-to-peer model can also be more nimble to changes in the business environment, like we saw during the financial crisis.

Many banks have been slow to see solar as a cash-generating asset with proven, reliable technology. Most solar panels have a 25-year production warranty while solar inverters (which converts the DC solar electricity to AC current) typically have 12 to 25-year warranties. With no moving parts, solar systems are practically maintenance free.

Solar energy has become a mainstream way to save on utility bills and hedge against rising electricity rates and has wide appeal beyond the green consumers niche. Due to the upfront cost of the solar equipment and installation, financing the system is often the largest hurdle, especially for people and organizations that would like to purchase instead of lease the system. This hurdle is rapidly shifting now that solar is more widely seen as a wise financial investment, in addition to being far more sustainable than fossil fuels.

Mosaic’s solar financing model is helping to fuel the clean energy movement by matching investors and borrowers. This is a win-win arrangement that allows investors to help further solar energy use, creating a very green investment opportunity. Now that the federal tax credit for solar systems has been extended, the solar energy market is ripe for further growth.

Feature image credit: Rawpixel / Shutterstock

About
Latest Posts

Sarah Lozanova

Sarah Lozanova is a renewable energy and sustainability journalist and communications professional, with an MBA in sustainable management. She is a regular contributor to environmental and energy publications and websites, including Mother Earth Living, Earth911, Home Power, Triple Pundit, CleanTechnica, Mother Earth Living, the Ecologist, GreenBiz, Renewable Energy World, and Windpower Engineering.Lozanova also works with several corporate clients as a public relations writer to gain visibility for renewable energy and sustainability achievements.

Latest posts by Sarah Lozanova (see all)

Why Solar Financing Truly Is An Art Form – August 24, 2016
Deconstructing Construction Waste – August 22, 2016
This Is One Sweet DIY Kombucha Recipe – August 12, 2016

Connect with us:

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter for exclusive updates on contests, new products, and more.

Recent Posts

7 Companies Proving Triple Bottom Line Is Possible
Fear Vs. Facts: An In-Depth Look At Synthetic Turf Fields
Donate A Computer And Help Students
How To Start A School Garden
Solar Powered Jacket Heats Without The Usual Bulk
The Ultimate Guide To Creating A Greener Kitchen
Why Solar Financing Truly Is An Art Form
Seeking Sustainable Living? 5 Inspiring Ideas
Deconstructing Construction Waste
4 Creative Eco-friendly Transportation Options
Light Bulb Moment? Researchers See Bright Idea
How To Create Your Own DIY Duvet Cover

Read

Connect With Us

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Pinterest
Google Plus

Advertise With Us

Copyright ©. 2016 Earth911. All Rights Reserved.

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter for exclusive updates on contests, new products, and more.

earth911

Read More – 

Why Solar Financing Truly Is An Art Form

Posted in A Greener Kitchen, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, oven, PUR, solar, solar panels, solar power, Ultima, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why Solar Financing Truly Is An Art Form

As Homeless Find Refuge in Forests, ‘Anger Is Palpable’ in Nearby Towns

A growing homeless population on public lands has brought with it increases in emergency calls, drug overdoses, illegal fires and trash, which have put nearby residents on edge. Read original article:  As Homeless Find Refuge in Forests, ‘Anger Is Palpable’ in Nearby Towns ; ; ;

Visit site:

As Homeless Find Refuge in Forests, ‘Anger Is Palpable’ in Nearby Towns

Posted in Citadel, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As Homeless Find Refuge in Forests, ‘Anger Is Palpable’ in Nearby Towns

English Village Becomes Climate Leader by Quietly Cleaning Up Its Own Patch

green4us

Codex: Deathwatch – Games Workshop

SUFFER NOT THE ALIEN TO LIVE The battle-brothers of the Deathwatch are the foremost xenos hunters in the Imperium. They are a black-clad brotherhood of noble warriors, bound by ancient oaths to defend Mankind from the alien, no matter its form. Hand-picked from the breadth of the Adeptus Astartes for their expertise in the slaughter […]

iTunes Store
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

iTunes Store
Marley & Me – John Grogan

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Now with photos and new material

iTunes Store
Being a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz, the author of the lively, highly informative New York Times bestselling blockbuster Inside of a Dog , explains how dogs perceive the world through their most spectacular organ—the nose—and how we humans can put our under-used sense of smell to work in surprising ways. To a dog, there is no such thing as […]

iTunes Store
The Dog Listener – Jan Fennell

You’ve heard of the Horse Whisperer – now meet the woman who uses similar methods to train dogs. Jan Fennell’s remarkable gifts have earned her the nickname “the dog listener”. Her unique understanding of the canine world and its instinctive language has enabled her to bring even the most desperate and delinquent of dogs to […]

iTunes Store
Spark Joy – Marie Kondo

Japanese decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  has revolutionized homes—and lives—across the world. Now, Kondo presents an illustrated guide to her acclaimed KonMari Method, with step-by-step folding illustrations for everything from shirts to socks, plus drawings of perfectly organized drawers and closets. She also provides advice on frequently asked questions, such as whether to […]

iTunes Store
Codex: Deathwatch Enhanced Edition – Games Workshop

SUFFER NOT THE ALIEN TO LIVE The battle-brothers of the Deathwatch are the foremost xenos hunters in the Imperium. They are a black-clad brotherhood of noble warriors, bound by ancient oaths to defend Mankind from the alien, no matter its form. Hand-picked from the breadth of the Adeptus Astartes for their expertise in the slaughter […]

iTunes Store
The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

iTunes Store
How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Deathwatch – Games Workshop

This painting guide is a must-have for every hobbyist with a passion for the Deathwatch – the elite Chapter of Space Marines tasked with combating the direst xenos threats. It comes loaded with techniques, tips and essential information, including highly detailed photographs accompanied by full painting instructions. Within, you will also find dedicated sections covering […]

iTunes Store
How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

iTunes Store

Continued here:

English Village Becomes Climate Leader by Quietly Cleaning Up Its Own Patch

Posted in Citadel, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar panels, solar power, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on English Village Becomes Climate Leader by Quietly Cleaning Up Its Own Patch

A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead

Vestas was in a precarious position in 2012, but it is now a market leader, thanks in large part to its focus on data and mathematics. Read the article:  A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead ; ; ;

View post: 

A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead

Posted in alo, Citadel, eco-friendly, FF, G & F, GE, LAI, Monterey, ONA, solar, solar power, Uncategorized, wind energy, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Danish Wind Turbine Maker Harnesses Data in a Push to Stay Ahead