|
Al Gore’s Vision : forced change and meaningful political action
 0 comments
Al Gore’s brainwave on the $300m advertising campaign in the US is sure to ignite strong emotions and spark a debate about climate change among the presidential candidates.
TV adverts might seem very banal for something as urgent and serious as this, but these ads can certainly be expected to move people and raise their interest level on this issue.
Apart from the powerful message, the ads are remarkable for getting political figures with diametrically opposite ideologies and viewpoints to come together expressing their collective wish for some political action on the climate change issue. This time around, probably, there’s a greater chance of causing a huge stir.
Anyone who feels inspired to act by these ads is invited to join Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection which aims to mobilise 10m volunteers to call for political action on climate change.
|
Environment tops utilities execs' concerns, reveals survey results
0 comments
Researcher Platts and consulting firm Capgemini have published the results of a survey on the biggest concerns of 100 executives from the utilities industry.
Environment and greenhouse gas regulations top the worry list of executives. Global warming, climate change, and carbon emissions were the top environmental issues for 77 percent of the participants. Ninety-five percent of respondents said the industry's awareness of and response to environment has improved since 2006.
Energy utility executives are already preparing, even though there are no federal regulations to restrict greenhouse gas emissions.
There is a much higher awareness of global warming and carbon emissions in the general public, which utilities feel necessary to respond to, said John Christiens, vice president of Capgemini's energy and utilities practice.
They are looking seriously at energy efficiency technologies including cleaner-burning techniques and storing carbon emissions underground, while exploring the expanded use of nuclear power and renewable sources of electricity, such as solar and wind. They are preparing to adopt advanced metering technology and smart grid infrastructure as this will enable them to curtail electricity use during peak times of the day.
On the issue of deregulation, the respondents did not arrive at a consensus, with utilities predicting that there could be more or less.
Dealing with an aging workforce was also one of the top five concerns of utilities.
"There's a lot of people talking about a carbon tax, or talking about a carbon cap and trade system, so many executives think the carbon trading will be a reality very soon," said Christiens. He also added that there will have to be investments made in carbon technologies as well.
The aging workforce was also one of the top five concerns of utilities.
|
Solar power: an affordable reality
0 comments
Some solar panel installers have devised a way to give more people access to solar energy in their larger aim to make solar energy as accessible and cheap as the energy we get from polluting sources.
These companies are offering a scheme for customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs.
SolarCity, based in Foster City, California, has started this scheme so that people who want to use clean power will not be intimidated by the formidable cost of buying solar panels, which on an average is about $20,000.
Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home will be set back by only as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system. The company is also offering an incentive to customers who sign up before July 31st- they will not be required to pay any money down on their system. The upfront costs finally should be between about $1,000 and $3,000.
SolarCity means to serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing.
|
Campaign: Pack in the Packaging
0 comments
I am working on a "Packaging & the Toy Industry" dissertation for my MBA and am interested in your feedback on this topic.
|
US to turn off power-hungry light bulbs
0 comments
Fresh from its last-minute acceptance of a global climate deal last month in Bali, the US underlined its green credentials by flicking the switch on the power-hungry incandescent light bulb.
The Energy Independence and Security Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law on 18 December, is a mandate for phasing out 100-watt incandescent bulbs starting in 2012, 75-watt bulbs in 2013 and 60-watt bulbs in 2014. They will be replaced by energy-saving alternatives such as compact fluorescent lighting. It also proposes a fivefold increase in the availability of biofuel by 2022, and making vehicles 40 per cent more fuel-efficient by 2020.
This law adds federal momentum to moves already under way in the lighting industry and individual states (New Scientist, 2 March 2007, p 26). Last March, lighting giant Philips launched a campaign to scrap energy-guzzling lighting by 2016 - the firm estimates that ditching ...
|
|
|