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Indian businesses build standalone power sources
Indian electricity cuts, and “power holidays” backed by the government—where power is blacked out in a certain area—have driven businesses to take their energy needs into their own hands. Indian IT firm ValueLabs has built a 13-megawatt solar plant to wean itself off of government sourced Read More...
China to cap emissions for steel, cement
In their latest attempt to breathe fresh air into its asphyxiated cities, the People’s Government has announced planned caps on two of its major polluting industries: Steel and cement production. While the cap isn’t aimed at reduction—2015 emissions from the two industries should be equal to Read More...
Norway is most prepared for climate change
Norway is best prepared for the impact of global warming. The country tops rankings prepared by the University of Notre Dame. The US came in at number 8. The rankings took into account vulnerability and readiness to adapt to droughts, extreme weather, and other natural disasters associated with Read More...
Voters deal huge blows to fracking industry
The US mid-term elections dealt several blows to the fracking industry. Voters in San Benito and Mendocino counties in California passed a bill that completely bans fracking in their communities. Similarly, voters in Denton, Texas—the town where fracking first began—also outlawed this polluting Read More...
First solar cycle lane opens in the Netherlands
The ‘Solar freaking roadways’ video gets passed around the Internet every so often, but nothing has come from it, until now. A different but similar project, based in the Netherlands, put solar panels underneath a 230-foot cycling path to provide electricity to the power grid. The project cost Read More...
Coloring clothes with algae
The clothing industry is going green, slowly but surely. The use of organic cotton has been growing over the past years. But it’s still a dirty business due to the chemicals needed for the dye. A German-based design agency, Blond & Bieber, has found a way to use algae to color textiles. These Read More...
Companies that do well do better
Need another reason to back climate change initiatives? Here’s one: It makes companies stronger. A recent report tracked S&P 500 companies for three years and found that organizations that had a plan for climate change, like emissions risk management policies, greenhouse gas reduction goals, Read More...
Solar walls: the next dimension in renewable energy
In The Optimist Daily we’ve written before about solar cells that have been integrated in windows. But could they serve as walls? Well, yes. CSEM a Swiss non-profit company, made them. They’re white, but they can come in every color you like. (White keeps the cells cooler, boosting efficiency.) Read More...
This dealer knows how to sell electric cars
Electric cars are becoming more popular for obvious, good reasons. Still their sales figures are marginal. This year 0.25 percent of all cars sold in Canada are electric. But at Bourgeois Chevrolet, an hour North of Montreal electric cars make up 35 percent (!) of total sales. There are no special Read More...
First 3D printed laptop
PiTop is going to be the first 3D printed laptop. The brainchild of two friends, PiTop just finished a wildly successful Indiegogo campaign where they raised $36,000 more than their $80,000 goal. The PiTop is completely open source and is designed to be a type of starter kit to get people Read More...