clean energy

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Can Your Bra Power Your iPod?
 Can Your Bra Power Your iPod? 

Can Your Bra Power Your iPod?

Writer wants to put her breasts to work

(Newser) - For all the embarrassing bouncing and awkward jiggling they do, there must be a way to capture the power of breast motion, Adrienne So writes in Slate. “Human-powered devices are showing up everywhere. … Could someone design an iPod-powering bra for me?” she asks. A sports bra design consultant...

Green Cars Drive Into LA Spotlight

Zero-emissions hydrogen cars hit the streets of Hollywood

(Newser) - Hydrogen cars are the latest Hollywood must-have, and automakers are more than happy to see stars behind the wheel, the LA Times reports. The vehicles—which emit nothing but water—instantly speed celebrities to first place in the game of green one-upmanship. They are still years away from going on...

Brits March In With Foot-Generated Power

Basement sensors could power thousands of bulbs an hour

(Newser) - Crowds may soon be kicking up clean energy in England. Designed to generate power from footsteps, "heel strike" generators are ready to be installed in shopping malls and subways—and power thousands of light bulbs. "It works by using the pressure of feet on the floor to compress...

Billions Wasted in UN Carbon Program: Study

Most funded projects 'won't reduce emissions'

(Newser) - Billions of dollars spent to encourage developing nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions are being wasted on projects that don't qualify, according to two new studies of the UN's carbon credit program. The Kyoto agreement arranges for wealthy countries unable to meet emission reductions to instead subsidize green energy projects...

Alaskan City Goes Green—by Necessity

After avalanche, Juneau is forced to find ways to use less energy

(Newser) - An energy conservation effort born out of necessity has turned the residents of Juneau, Alaska, into poster children for the green movement, the New York Times reports. Electricity rates skyrocketed 400% after an avalanche knocked out several major transmission towers last month; the state capital has since lowered its electricity...

Gore Venture Fund Raises $1.2B for Green Tech Investment

Bullish Kleiner Perkins dismisses bubble talk

(Newser) - A Silicon Valley venture-capital firm announced yesterday it's raised $1.2 billion to invest in green technology—with an assist from new partner Al Gore. One Kleiner Perkins fund will invest in established companies, while the other will back clean-tech startups, the San Jose Mercury News reports. “He is...

Europe's New Coal Plants Trigger Alarm

Even 'clean coal' technology doesn't lower carbon

(Newser) - European countries facing record prices for oil and natural gas are turning to coal to fuel their energy needs, deeply worrying environmentalists, the New York Times reports. During the next five years, about 50 new coal-fired power plants will open across Europe. Many electricity companies say they have no other...

A Plane That Runs on Hydrogen
 A Plane That Runs on Hydrogen 

A Plane That Runs on Hydrogen

Boeing's manned flight successful, put passenger-aircraft application still far off

(Newser) - Boeing has successfully tested the world’s first manned, hydrogen-powered plane, the BBC reports, with one executive calling the three flights in Spain “a historical technological success.” The propeller-driven two-seater runs on a hydrogen fuel cell that emits only heat and water. Boeing engineers say they doubt the...

Going Greener Won't Cut Much* Into Bottom Line: Study

*If governments are smart with policies

(Newser) - Cutting greenhouse-gas emissions will put a dent in the world's bottom line, but the damage could be minimal with the right economic policies, the International Monetary Fund forecasts. A 60% reduction of 2002 emission levels will reduce global growth by 2.6% come 2040, but the world's economy would still...

Arabs Building First Green City
Arabs Building First Green City

Arabs Building First Green City

Run on solar power, Masdar City will cost $22 billion and take 8 years to construct

(Newser) - Earth's first carbon-free city is being built in the United Arab Emirates and will take 8 years and $22 billion to complete, the BBC reports. Called Masdar City, it will run on solar power and shuttle residents on travel pods via magnetic tracks. But critics say the $22 billion project,...

Prez Finds It's Not Easy Being Green

Bush's plan to combat global warming leaves some critics cold

(Newser) - President Bush's $2 billion proposal to help finance cleaner technologies for developing countries may be too little, too late, the Christian Science Monitor reports. While some laud Monday's State of the Union plan as "a major landmark in addressing global warming," critics argue expecting voluntary contributions from other...

Energy Bill Blocked by 1 Vote
Energy Bill Blocked by
1 Vote

Energy Bill Blocked by 1 Vote

Dems fail to override filibuster; $21B in taxes on oil companies draw GOP's ire

(Newser) - Senate Democrats today failed by one vote to advance a broad energy bill that would have increased mileage standards to 35mpg by 2020. The sticking point for Republicans was  $21 billion in new taxes, mostly on oil companies, the New York Times reports. The vote to invoke cloture scored 59...

Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback
Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback

Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback

Emissions concerns, government incentives may spur new growth

(Newser) - As natural gas prices fluctuate, concern over greenhouse gas emissions mounts, and demand for electricity increases, nuclear power may be making a comeback. Although no new plant has been completed since 1996, the NRC expects applications for as many as 32 new reactors in the next 2 years. The Washington ...

Apocalypse Not Now: Saving the Earth Demands Positive Vision

The answer is funding innovations, say writers

(Newser) - Apocalyptic thinking and small solutions aren’t capable of saving the world in the Inconvenient Truth age; instead, we need optimism and innovation funding, say New Republic writers Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger. Reducing energy consumption, at the root of global warming, is not realistic, they argue.

Sunny Days Here for Green Homeowners

Thanks to subsidies and surplus, going green is paying off

(Newser) - Sunny days are here to stay for solar homes with roof-top panels, Forbes reports. Such green abodes can cover electricity costs in warm months and store enough to sell solar power to the grid for profit. Installation is expensive but viable thanks to government subsidies, especially in California, New Jersey...

Fill 'Er Up With Algae, Please
Fill 'Er Up With Algae, Please

Fill 'Er Up With Algae, Please

Way to be green: New generation of alternative energy innovators get creative

(Newser) - Move over, sun. Alternative energy innovators are turning to increasingly inventive power technologies—and sources, including algae (to make diesel fuel) and tires and "car fluff" from junked vehicles. Ocean and geothermal operations appear to be the next big wave of the green future. One company is developing a...

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