The twentieth century way of life has been made available, largely due to the miracle of cheap energy. The price of energy has been at record lows for the past century and a half.As oil becomes increasingly scarce, it is becoming obvious to everyone, that the rapid economic and industrial growth we have enjoyed for that time is not sustainable.Now, the hunt is on. For renewable sources of energy, for alternative sources of energy, for a way of life that is less dependent on cheap energy.Â
Claims that the renewable energy sector will increase rather than decrease employment were supported this week by figures that 770,000 people were employed in the sector in the US alone by September 2008. This represented a growth rate of 9.1% more than double the rate of growth in the fossil fuel sector, despite record profits Continue Reading →
News: Open Source Car — 20 Year Lease, Free Fuel For Life on Saturday June 13, @08:22AM Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday June 13, @08:22AM from the A-for-effort dept. ruphus13 writes “The race for a hyper-fuel-efficient car is on in a big way. Now, Riversimple has tried to leverage the knowledge of the masses Continue Reading →
The ‘Searaser’ uses the power of the ocean to pump water inland for electricity generation. Mark Anslow reports on the simple invention that could soon be making waves in renewables. From the Ecologist, part of the Guardian Environment Network
The ‘Searaser’ uses the power of the ocean to pump water inland for electricity generation. Photograph: PR
Alvin Smith had his eureka moment not in the bath, but in the swimming pool. ‘I was swimming round the pool, making little waves, and it struck me how much power there was in the displacement of the water,’ he remembers. ‘You think of a 500-tonne boat: a wave comes along, lifts that whole boat, and then drops it down again. You must be able to harness some of that, I thought.’
His subsequent invention would have made Archimedes proud, and should be making the renewables industry very excited.
£37bn plan to power EU with the Saharan sun Alok Jha The Guardian, Wednesday 23 July 2008 Article history Vast farms of solar panels in the Sahara could provide clean electricity for the whole of Europe, according to EU scientists working on a plan to pool the region’s renewable energy. Harnessing the power of Continue Reading →
Report on US job figures up to 2007 also says wind and solar sectors resisting recession better than traditional manufacturing
America’s emerging clean energy economy produced new jobs at more than twice the rate of more traditional industries in the years leading up to the economic downturn, a new study released today claimed.
The report by the Pew Charitable Trusts provides the first hard evidence of jobs created by the rising demand for environmentally friendly services, and in the new clean energy sectors like wind and solar.
It said such jobs grew at a rate of 9.1% from 1998-2007, easily outstripping job growth in traditional areas of the economy, which was 3.7%
Latest model, launched in August, features new generation of eco-innovations including using panels to run cooling fans
The new Toyota Prius, due to launch in the UK for summer 2009. Photograph: PR
Nowhere is the greenhouse effect more noticeable than inside a car on a hot day. But the new Toyota Prius comes with new green technologies including cooling fans run by optional solar panels on the roof.
Even when the car is off and locked, these fans whir around, so when you step back into it you don’t need to crank up the power-hungry air conditioning. And the air-con system on the 2010 Prius (which confusingly was released in Japan last month and is due for release in the UK on 1 August) is more efficient to boot.