sundance

Green tech finds: from solar power to the Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday is coming up, and while I don’t pay enough attention to say whether it’ll be a good game, it will definitely be a green(er) game. That, plus cooler roofs for more efficient solar power, and a very quick look at over a century of global warming: your green tech finds for the week.

Buy renewable energy for your Volt: While the arguments about the energy sources for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are generally really overblown and oversimplified, many EV drivers do want the cleanest power they can get for their vehicles. So, GM is developing a system for its OnStar platform that would notify Volt drivers when there’s renewable energy available on the grid so they could plug in at the right time. (via Earth 911)

What does global warming look like? If you’re thinking big picture in response to that question, the folks at NASA have released a video that shows 131 years of global temperature fluctuations in 26 seconds. (via Climate Central and @NRDC)

Dirty hippies and ice: green docs at this year’s Sundance Film Festival

If filmmakers are poets, than documentarians stand out for their use of synecdoche: the most powerful docs almost always rely on stories that point to issues bigger than themselves. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH isn’t just about climate change, but also about human shepherding of resources. GASLAND isn’t just about fracking, but corporate power, and its effects on the lives of individuals.

Two documentaries premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival not only follow in this poetic tradition, but even revel in it.

Occupy Durban: Addressing global warming for the 99%

Back when I was a full-time academic, I swear we held meetings simply for the purpose of scheduling more meetings. That seems to be what’s happening with international climate change negotiations: each round of talks since Bali in 2007 seems to degenerate into a punting of major issues to the next round. This week, delegates have gathered in Durban, South Africa to discuss a global response to climate change, and some representatives of smaller countries most affected by global warming think it’s time for new tactics. In short, they’re talking about an “occupation” of the meetings.

A global warming documentary even a greedy bastard could love

Tried arguing climate change science with someone who doesn’t buy it? Yeah, it’s tough… and getting tougher. Even as the science itself becomes more clear, fewer people are concerned about global warming and its effects. It’s enough to make a good greenie bang his/her head against the wall, or just move to a cave.

Or… we could just stop arguing about it.

A new financial model for growing coffee in a warming world

The global Fair Trade movement has done a stellar job of highlighting the economic plight of coffee farmers in the developing world, many who barely eke out a living growing one of the world’s most heavily traded commodities. And while Fair Trade has always had an environmental element to it, that may become more pronounced as these farmers become some of the first victims of global climate change.

Minnesota students address climate change, environmental justice in hip hop video

How do you get a group of urban high school students interested and involved in issues like climate change and environmental justice? Connecting it to the music they love is a good bet… and we’ve already seen how hip hop’s worked as a tool for engaging target audiences on topics ranging from local, healthy food to the damage created by plastic shopping bags.

Fate of the World: climate science meets PC gaming

Frustrated by the pace of climate policy in the US and around the world? Think you could do a better job of creating change that maintains economic and political stability while addressing the threat of global warming? Red Redemption, the British game maker who created the BBC’s popular Climate Challenge, is giving you a chance to prove your ability to save the planet with its new offering Fate of the World.

Want to fight global warming? Start eating insects

Animal agriculture has been on the climate change radar since (at least) 2006, when a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization claimed that “the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.” The common response to this news: eat lower on the food chain.

You probably understand “lower on the food chain” as “plants,” but Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis has a different take on this phrase: he thinks more people should eat insects.

How to promote your new hybrid car: host a global warming debate

If you’ve ever been to one of the big auto shows, you know that big announcements by the car companies often have many of the makings of a rock concert. For its promotion of the new CT 200h compact hybrid at the New York Auto Show, Lexus took a totally different approach: it hosted a debate on climate change.

New Jersey global warming skeptic loves his solar panels

Lifelong Jersey City resident Adam Szpala describes himself as a climate change skeptic. And cap-and-trade programs? He “thinks [they're] crazy when the economy is suffering as it has been,” according to The Jersey City Independent.

But this contractor and rental property owner loves him some solar panels… and plunked down $45,000 four years ago to install them on his own house as well as the building next door he rents out. His incentive: cost savings on energy. Because he lives in New Jersey, which has had some of the most generous rebate programs in the country (they’ve dried up some lately), he’ll likely recoup his initial investment in just a few more years. He saves about $200 a month on electricity, and also receives Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) payments to the tune of around $7000 a year.

London Activates 10 Low Carbon Zones

Low Carbon Zones across London sprang to life this week to help residents, schools and businesses go green, save money and create job opportunities at the same time. The Mayor of London awarded each of the 10 zones a share of three million pounds to fund the program that aims to cut city’s carbon dioxide emissions 20.12 percent by 2012.

American Pika Denied Endangered Species Protection

The American pika does not meet the criteria for protection under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday after completing a review of the species’ status and evaluating current and future threats to the small, mountain-dwelling mammal.

Oil From Port Arthur Tanker-Barge Collision Stretches Nine Miles

Cleanup crews and 27 skimmer boats are working to contain and remove oil from a massive spill that happened when a crude oil tanker and a barge collided Saturday in the Port Arthur Ship Channel.

Sundance environmental films: climate change

From Copenhagen to cable news channels, most of the arguments surrounding global warming, and, more specifically, government responses to it, involve economic growth. These arguments often fail to miss the broader human costs that people around the globe are already experiencing as a result of a warming climate. Michael Nash’s CLIMATE REFUGEES brings these stories to the forefront: the rising seas that may engulf the island nation of Tuvalu, droughts and extreme storms in Africa and Asia, and rapid desertification in China.

Obama’s One-Year Environmental Grades Range From ‘B+’ to ‘C-’

One year after he was inaugurated with promises of “hope” and “change,” President Barack Obama has earned only a grade of “C” for his handling of endangered species, climate, energy, public lands, and oceans from one conservation group but an overall grade of “B+” on climate and energy from another.

Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call for Climate Action Now

The world’s largest investors today issued a statement calling on the United States and other governments to “act now to catalyze development of a low-carbon economy and to attract the vast amount of private capital necessary for such a transformation.”

Shopping last minute? Check out companies’ climate scores before buying

With Christmas just a few days away, you may be rushing out to buy those last-minute gifts for friends and loved ones. If you’re concerned about the climate impact of the companies from which you buy, Climate Counts’ third annual ratings of corporations’ efforts to fight global warming will take one stresser out of the equation.

Time Runs Out But Climate Talks Continue, Draft Deal Tabled

Just before 01.00 on Saturday morning, a number of heads of state and government agreed on a draft climate agreement at the UN conference in Copenhagen. The draft includes agreement on the target of limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius and on money for climate financing.

A Copenhagen Climate Accord, Not Nothing, But Not Enough

After a marathon all night session at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, talks aimed at reaching a deal to limit greenhouse gases warming the planet ended with what UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon called an “essential beginning” that contains progress on all key fronts.

Climate Quilt panels on display in Copenhagen

As world leaders gather in Copenhagen this week to negotiate continued international action on climate change, they’ll have one good example of the kinds of pledges they’ll need to make: the Climate Quilt. A project of Habitat Heroes and The Green Schools Alliance, the Climate Quilt Campaign asks school kids from around the world to make “pledge patches” (from recycled materials, of course) that display individual promises “to preserve the future of the planet.” While the finished quilt won’t be available until Earth Day, 2010, panels from kids in New Jersey and Australia have made their way to COP15.

Youth Actions Command Attention at Climate Summit

Chanting “Our future, our future,” wearing bright orange t-shirts reading, “How Old Will You Be In 2050?” over 1,000 young people from countries around the world captured the attention of the world leaders, media, nongovernmental organizations, and delegates Thursday at the United Nations climate conference here in Copenhagen.

Huge Alaska Oil Spill Blamed on Ice Plugs

Ice plugged an inactive pipeline, causing it to burst, officials said Tuesday in an attempt to explain how 46,000 gallons of crude oil spewed onto the tundra near a BP Exploration processing center at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope

The Case of the Stolen Climate Emails

On Tuesday, November 17, the webmail server at the University of East Anglia was hacked and a file including over 1,000 emails sent from or sent to members of the Climatic Research Unit at the university was stolen. The emails were posted on several public websites, although the breaking into of computers and releasing private information is illegal, and posting private correspondence without permission is unethical.

India Pledges to Reduce Carbon Intensity

India will never accept legally binding emission cuts at Copenhagen, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told Parliament Thursday, but he did say the government plans to reduce India’s level of “emission intensity” by 20 to 25 percent compared with 2005 levels.

Purdue University Will Test Alternative Fuels for Aircraft

Purdue University will operate a new federally funded facility to test aircraft engines and develop alternative fuels for aircraft in an effort to reduce U.S. reliance on imported oil.