Green Investing News

July 2008 News Archives

Researchers Suggest Changes to Biofuels Incentives Rather Than Rollbacks or Moratoria - 2008-07-31
A report from reserachers at Harvard Kennedy School concludes that despite growing pressure from biofuels critics, governments should avoid simplistic and precipitous changes in course such as rollback or moratoria on existing biofuels mandates or incentives. Instead, the report urges governments to initiate an orderly, “innovation-enhancing” transition towards incentives targeted on multi-dimensional goals for biofuels development.

Large Field Trial Shows Miscanthus Could Meet US Biofuels Goals With Less Land - 2008-07-31
Researchers at the University of Illinois have concluded that the perennial grass Miscanthus×giganteus could produce enough ethanol to offset 20% of current US gasoline use, while requiring 9.3% of current agricultural acreage. By contrast, using corn or switchgrass to produce the same amount would require 25% of current US cropland.

Three US Senators Call for EPA Chief to Resign - 2008-07-31
Democratic senators called on Tuesday for the resignation of Stephen Johnson, head of the US Environmental Protection Agency, saying he sided with polluters instead of fighting global warming and other ecological problems.

California Plans Another Emissions Lawsuit Against EPA - 2008-07-31
California will announce plans today to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its failure to rein in greenhouse gas emissions from ships, aircraft and industrial equipment.

BofA, West Marine Launch Programs to Slash Energy Use - 2008-07-31
Bank of America and West Marine have embarked on major programs to manage energy consumption using sophisticated monitoring and control systems.

Spain Sees 1 Mln Electric Cars in Energy Plan - 2008-07-31
Spain's government aims to have 1 million electric cars on the roads by 2014 as part of a plan to cut energy consumption and dependence on expensive imports, Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian said on Tuesday.

Giant Chunks Break Off Canadian Ice Shelf - 2008-07-30
Giant sheets of ice totaling almost eight square miles (20 square km) broke off an ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic last week and more could follow later this year, scientists said on Tuesday.

Japan Says to Start Trial Carbon Trading in Oct - 2008-07-30
Japan, under pressure to meet emission reduction targets set by the Kyoto Protocol, approved an October start for the trial trading of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

US Should Find Way to Price Carbon Emissions - Execs - 2008-07-30
Two top executives from US industry told a congressional panel on Monday that the country should assign a dollar cost to carbon emissions to encourage investment in efficiency and tackle climate change.

Workers Evacuated at Troubled French Nuclear Site - 2008-07-30
More than 120 workers evacuated a nuclear power plant in southern France on Tuesday after an alarm was set off, the nuclear safety authority said.

Report Assesses Energy and Carbon Efficiency of Canadian Oils Sands Projects - 2008-07-30
Oil sands production is, in general, 3-4 times more carbon intensive than conventional oil production, reflecting the large amounts of natural gas and other fossil fuels burned during the production process.

Plug-In Supply Inc. Introduces Lead-Acid PHEV Prius Conversion System for $4,995 - 2008-07-29
The PbA10 Conversion System, based on the CalCars Open Source design, turns a standard 2004-2008 model year Prius into a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) with an all-electric range of 10-15 miles and improved average mileage of up to 100 miles per gallon (plus 1 cent/mile of electricity).

SAfrica Wants Carbon Capture at New Coal-Fired Plants - 2008-07-29
South Africa wants all new coal-fired power stations and coal-to-liquid plants to have mandatory facilities to capture carbon dioxide emissions, a government minister said on Monday.

DOE Rolls Out EnergySmart Hospitals Program - 2008-07-29
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants the nation’s hospitals to improve energy efficiency by 20 percent at existing facilities and make new hospitals 30 percent more efficient than expected.

HEVT Showcases Converted F-150 PHEV - 2008-07-29
HEVT projects that the conversion will deliver up to 41 mpg for 30 miles/day at mixed speed driving, and up to 21 mpg as a hybrid operating in charge-sustaining mode. The conversion also has vehicle-to-grid capability, and offers on-board 120V power.

California Adopts Strict Emissions Rules for Ships - 2008-07-28
The rule -- deemed the world's strictest -- means the roughly 2,000 ships that sail into state ports each year must start using low-sulfur fuel in 2009 instead of cheap but dirty bunker fuel. The air board said it will significantly cut pollution and cancer risk for California's residents.

New Report Assesses Climate Change Vulnerability - 2008-07-28
A new report promises to help global companies assess climate change-related vulnerabilities of the countries in which they operate.

California Leads in Customer and Utility Solar Capacity - 2008-07-28
The Solar Electric Power Association has identified the utilities with the greatest amount of solar capacity, creating a benchmark to compare to in the future.

GM Dedicates New $400M Global Powertrain Engineering Development Center - 2008-07-28
The center is where GM will develop and test the Chevrolet Volt’s electric drive unit, motors, power electronics and engine; electric motors for fuel cell and hybrid powertrains; and other advanced gasoline, biofuel and clean diesel engines and transmissions.

Ford Accelerates Small Car Transition in North America - 2008-07-25
In the context of a just-announced $1.3-billion second-quarter operating loss for its North America operations, Ford Motor Company announced a significant acceleration of its transformation plan with the addition of new fuel-efficient small vehicles in North America and a realignment of its North American manufacturing away from trucks and SUVs to smaller cars and crossovers.

Too Many French Nuclear Workers Contaminated - 2008-07-25
Too many French nuclear workers are being contaminated with low doses of radiation, an independent research group on atomic safety said on Thursday, a day after the latest incident in southern France.

Arctic's Oil Could Meet World Demand for 3 Years - 2008-07-25
The Arctic Circle holds an estimated 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil, enough supply to meet current world demand for almost three years, the US Geological Survey forecast on Wednesday.

Marks & Spencer's Plastic Bag Fee Reduces Use, L.A. Passes Plastic Bag Ban - 2008-07-25
In the first 10 weeks of charging customers for plastic bags, U.K. chain Marks & Spencer has seen an 80 percent drop in plastic bag use.

Coca-Cola Aims to Increase Recycled Content, Reduce Weight of Bottles - 2008-07-25
Coca-Cola Enterprises, a bottler for the Coca-Cola Company, is creating a recycling stream for turning used bottles into new ones and has plans to reduce the weight and virgin content of bottles.

New California Law Allows Cities to Offer Loans for Energy Efficiency Upgrades - 2008-07-25
The legislation, AB811 authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, enables cities and counties to provide low-interest loans to owners of homes or businesses who would like to make renewable energy or energy efficiency improvements and would otherwise be unable to afford them.

Building-Integrated Photovoltaics Market to Top $4 Billion by 2013: Report - 2008-07-25
The market for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) will exceed $4 billion in revenues by 2013 and surpass $8 billion in 2015, according to a new report from a leading industry analyst firm.

California ARB Adopts Low-Sulfur Fuel Rules for Ocean-Going Vessels; US Adopts MARPOL Act - 2008-07-25
The California Air Resources Board adopted a regulation that requires ocean-going vessels (OGV) within 24 nautical miles of California’s coastline to use lower-sulfur marine distillates in their main and auxiliary engines and auxiliary boilers, rather than the dirtier heavy-fuel oil called bunker fuel.

Andy Grove Calls for Concerted US Effort to Convert Pickups, SUVs and Vans to 40+ Mile PHEVs - 2008-07-23
In a lunchtime address at the Plug-in 2008 conference and exposition in San Jose, California, Andy Grove, former Chairman & CEO, Intel Corporation, called for an urgent inter-industry effort in the US to convert pickups, SUVs and Vans (PSVs) to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with at least a 40-mile electric range.

New Li-ion Spin-Off from U Texas Closes $5.8M Series A Financing; Google.org an Investor - 2008-07-23
ActaCell, Inc., a spin-off from the University of Texas at Austin, has secured $5.8 million in Series A financing. DFJ Mercury led the round with syndicate investment from Google.org’s RechargeIT program, Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc. and Good Energies, a global investor in the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry.

PHEVs in the Spotlight - 2008-07-23
Mayor Gavin Newsom is laying the groundwork for future pilot programs that will lead to the city’s early adoption of electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).

Climate Change Fight Requires 'New Deal' Effort - 2008-07-23
A group of people representing the United Kingdom nonprofit, journalism, finance and political spectrum is calling for a climate change strategy similar in scale to Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

Record-High Green Score for Key Part of Canadian Waterfront Project - 2008-07-23
A key component of a sweeping mixed-use project to transform former industrial land along the Victoria harborfront has set a record by attaining the highest score to date for a LEED Platinum Certified building, its designers said.

Nissan and Tennessee Form Zero-Emissions Vehicle Partnership - 2008-07-23
Nissan and the State of Tennessee are forming a partnership to promote zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), including electric vehicles, in Middle Tennessee with participation from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other partners. This marks the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s fourth such ZEV initiative, and the first one in the US.

Green Purchasing Makes Slight Gains - 2008-07-22
The number of organizations with green purchasing polices rose from 60 percent to 62 percent, and slightly more companies reported that environmental factors influence at least some aspect of their spending.

Small Companies Taking More Steps Toward Green IT Tools - 2008-07-22
A recent survey by IDC finds that even the smallest businesses are starting to take green initiatives to heart, especially when it comes to adopting IT applications that will make it easier to reduce the environmental impact of their supply chains.

More S&P 100 Companies Reporting CSR Progress: Study - 2008-07-22
Eighty-six percent of companies on the Standard and Poor's 100 Index have corporate sustainability websites, compared to 58 percent in 2005, according to the "2008 S&P 100 Sustainability Report Comparison" from the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN), a working group of the Social Investment Forum.

GM and Electric Utility Industry Launch Collaboration in Support of Commercializing Plug-in Vehicles - 2008-07-22
General Motors and the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)—with the support of more than 30 of the top electric utilities in the United States and Canada—launched a new collaboration to accelerate the introduction of plug-in electric vehicles.

Ford of Europe Introduces Fiesta ECOnetic; 63.6 mpg US - 2008-07-22
Ford of Europe introduced the Fiesta ECOnetic—the most fuel-efficient model in the European range—at the British International Motor Show in London.

Study: Minnesota Can Achieve Transportation GHG Reduction Goals Using a Combination of Vehicle Efficiency, Low Carbon Fuels and Reduced VMT - 2008-07-22
A team of University of Minnesota transportation and public policy researchers concluded that the state’s transportation sector can nearly meet its share of Minnesota’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goals in 2015 and can exceed them in 2025 using a combination of strategies targeted to reduce fuel consumption, vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), and fuel carbon content.

Pickens sees $300 oil unless U.S. cuts import need - 2008-07-22
Oil prices will hit $300 a barrel in 10 years if the United States fails to reduce its dependence on foreign imports, billionaire oil investor T. Boone Pickens said on Tuesday.

Healthcare Execs Deem Energy Efficiency a Higher Priority Than Other Execs Do: Report - 2008-07-22
Healthcare executives place greater importance on energy efficiency compared with their counterparts in other industries, according to a new study.

Concept: Through-the-Road PHEV Conversion Kit - 2008-07-21
Poulsen Hybrid is developing a conversion kit that will add through-the-road plug-in hybrid capability to conventional vehicles by externally mounting electric motors onto 2 of the wheels.

Food Firms Pledge to Cut Mileage - 2008-07-21
Companies behind some of the biggest brands on U.K. supermarket shelves have pledged to slash the environmental impact of transporting their goods.

JohnsonDiversey Reformulates Floor Care Line - 2008-07-21
The maker of Signature, Johnson Wax Professional and Butcher's said its reformulation of floor finishes has decreased the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of a leading product line, achieving a result more than two years earlier than required by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Coulomb Technologies Introduces New Smart Charging Infrastructure for Plug-In Vehicles - 2008-07-21
Coulomb Technologies is introducing a new smart charging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles, including Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs such as the Volt), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs).

Emergency Beijing Olympic Pollution Scheme Begins - 2008-07-21
The city's chronic pollution has been one of the biggest headaches for Games organisers, who are banking on traffic restrictions and last-minute industrial cut-backs to bring blue skies and easy breathing for athletes during the Games.

Britain Gets First Taste of Big Tidal Power - 2008-07-18
The world's first commercial-scale tidal power turbine has supplied the British grid with its first surge of tidal electricity, Marine Current Turbines (MCT) said on Thursday.

Gore’s Challenge to the US: 100% Zero-Carbon Electricity in 10 Years - 2008-07-18
In a major speech given today at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington DC, former Vice President Al Gore challenged the US to end its reliance on carbon-based fuels and to “commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”

California Adopts Green Building Code for All New Construction - 2008-07-18
The California Building Standards Commission adopted a green building code yesterday for all new construction statewide as part of a rules package that policymakers said was the first of its kind in the nation.

Ethical Sourcing Awareness Trickling Down Global Supply Chain: Report - 2008-07-18
A gathering of stakeholders met in New York this spring to discuss ways of fostering ethical sourcing.

NYC Speeds Transformation of Yellow Cabs to Green - 2008-07-18
New York City's yellow taxi fleet now will go green at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars a month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Wednesday, citing an agreement with car-makers to supply the fuel-light cabs.

Texas Approves Plan for 18,000 MW of Wind - 2008-07-18
Texas regulators Thursday approved a plan to lure US$5 billion in new investment to build power lines to move electricity from the state's windiest areas to power-hungry cities.

Canadian Firm Bombardier Launches Green Planes Program - 2008-07-17
Canadian aircraft and rail manufacturer Bombardier is launching a new family of fuel-efficient, single-aisle commercial airliners.

Moves to Green Consumerism Emerge on International, Local Fronts - 2008-07-17
Proposals to legislate incentives for green consumerism were introduced this week on international and local fronts with measures before the European Commission and New Jersey lawmakers.

Whole Foods Expands Farmed Seafood Standards - 2008-07-17
Whole Foods Market is now requiring farmed seafood suppliers to track fish from hatchery to processing plant, protect sensitive habitats, monitor water quality and discontinue using a number of chemicals.

Mining the Gold in Green Buildings - 2008-07-17
A leading tax services provider urges building owners, architects and facilities managers to consider greening existing commercial buildings and new commercial structures to take advantage of the tax incentives for eco-friendly construction and improvements.

Chrysler Aims to Have Electric Cars in 3-5 Years - 2008-07-16
Chrysler LLC is planning to launch all-electric vehicles in the next three to five years, the latest automaker to join the race to produce cars with fuel-saving technologies.

Blackstone to Fund 1 Bln Euro German Wind Farm - 2008-07-16
Blackstone Group LP will invest in a 1 billion euro (US$1.6 billion) project to build and manage a German offshore wind farm capable of powering half a million homes, the US-based private equity firm said.

New PV Test Lab Could Help Speed Product Pipeline - 2008-07-16
The continent's largest photovoltaic (PV) testing and certification facility opened its doors in San Jose Monday in a development that promises to help solar products reach the market faster and accelerate growth of green collar jobs in the region.

Westport Innovations in Alt-Fuel Vehicle JV with China’s Largest Heavy-Duty Engine Manufacturer - 2008-07-16
Westport Innovations Inc.; Weichai Power Co. Ltd, China’s largest heavy-duty engine manufacturer; and Hong Kong Peterson (CNG) Equipment Limited have formed a new joint venture—Weichai Westport Inc. (WWI)—to research, develop, design, manufacture, market, distribute and sell advanced, alternative fuel engines (and relevant parts and kits) for use in automobiles, heavy-duty trucks, power generation and shipping applications.

US Auto Trends Cloud Fuel Efficiency Rules - 2008-07-15
A sharp rise in gasoline prices and a consumer stampede from large sport utility vehicles and pickups have renewed calls for US regulators to consider more aggressive fuel efficiency standards.

World Ports Commit to Reduce Emissions - 2008-07-15
Fifty-five ports from around the world agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions and boost air quality with the endorsement of the World Ports Climate Declaration.

PSE&G Partners With Four N.J. Cities to Test LED Street Lights - 2008-07-15
The six- to 12-month tests involving 24 LED street lights place PSE&G and the cities in which the tests are being conducted among a small, but growing, number of municipalities and utilities that are exploring application of LED technology to green public lighting.

DOE to Provide up to $40 Million in Funding for Two Additional Small-Scale Biorefinery Projects - 2008-07-15
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected two additional small-scale cellulosic biorefinery projects in Park Falls, Wis. and Jennings, La. for federal funding of up to $40 million over five years.

Researchers Develop Efficient Solar Power Devices - 2008-07-14
Using sheets of glass covered with organic dyes, scientists have devised an efficient and practical solar power device that they believe can help make this clean, renewable energy source more affordable.

County Green Buildings Programs Grow By Almost Fivefold - 2008-07-14
The number of county-based green building programs in the U.S. has almost quintupled, growing from a mere eight in 2003 to 39 in just five years, according to a study by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

GE Launches New Engine Core for Commercial Airplanes; Targeting 16% Improvement in Fuel Efficiency - 2008-07-14
The program is designed to offer aircraft operators up to 16% better fuel efficiency over GE’s best engines in operation today.

Pratt & Whitney Launches Biofuels Research Program for Small- and Medium-Sized Aircraft Engines - 2008-07-14
Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) is leading a four-year aerospace industry-university research program to investigate the potential use of biofuels from non-food sources for small- and medium-size aviation engine applications. These could include jatropha- and algae-derived biofuels, as well as biobutanol, to power aircraft engines.

Toyota to Build Prius in US, Slash Truck Output - 2008-07-11
Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would start building its Prius hybrid in the United States in 2010 and suspend production of slow-selling big trucks for three months in a sharp reversal of strategy forced by slumping sales and high gas prices.

Japan's MMC to Sell Electric Cars Next Year - Nikkei - 2008-07-11
Mitsubishi Motors Corp will begin selling its electric car to individual customers in Japan from summer 2009, slightly ahead of schedule, banking on strong interest amid record-high fuel prices, the Nikkei business daily said.

BMW to Test Electric-Powered Minis - 2008-07-11
BMW, the world's largest premium carmaker, said it will conduct field tests on several hundred electric-powered Mini brand cars over the coming months to explore the technology.

Renewable Energy Jobs Growing Worldwide: Study - 2008-07-11
Renewable energy accounts for the employment, directly or indirectly, of 2.3 million people worldwide, with the largest gains made where governments support renewables, according to a Worldwatch Institute study.

GE Pumps $4 Billion Into Renewables - 2008-07-11
Putting $100 million into three New York wind farms pushed renewable energy investments past the $4 billion mark this week for GE Energy Financial Services.

UK DfT Calls for Comments on Compulsory CO2 targets for Autos - 2008-07-11
The proposed target of 130 gCO2/km by 2012 as the fleet average for each car manufacturer across the EU for all new cars will is seen as an important step forward in tackling climate change and in incentivizing the use of technology that will improve the fuel efficiency of new cars.

EPA Draft Report Concludes Climate Change May Significantly Increase Ground-Level Ozone in Areas of the US - 2008-07-11
Climate change has the potential to produce significant increases in near-surface O3 concentrations in many areas of the US by 2050, according to a EPA draft document released for public comment.

Water: The Forgotten Crisis - 2008-07-10
The causes of water scarcity are essentially identical to those of the food crisis. There are serious and extremely worrying factors that indicate water supplies are steadily being used up.

Drought threatens Iraq's crops and water supply - 2008-07-10
It's been a year of drought and sand storms across Iraq — a dry spell that has devastated the country's crucial wheat crop and created new worries about the safety of drinking water.

Renault, Nissan Plan to Electrify Portugal - 2008-07-10
Automakers Renault and Nissan have entered a partnership to bring electric vehicles to Portugal and develop a nationwide vehicle-charging infrastructure.

FAA and X PRIZE Foundation to Develop Renewable Jet Fuel Competition - 2008-07-10
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the X PRIZE Foundation, which awarded $10 million in 2004 to the first private team to launch a manned spacecraft into suborbital space, will lead a competition to develop a renewable alternative to jet fuel. The terms of the competition and the amount of the prize will be determined in the coming months.

EU Votes to Include Airlines in Cap-and-Trade System - 2008-07-09
The European Parliament voted Tuesday to bring into the fold of its cap-and-trade system all airlines that fly to or from Europe beginning in 2012.

U.K. Union Aims for Greener Workplaces - 2008-07-08
A United Kingdom union of electronics, IT and electrical engineering workers wants executive pay tied to environmental performance and access for its representatives to corporate environmental information, such as carbon footprint data.

Green Investing Saw 'Robust' Growth in 2007: Report - 2008-07-08
High-net-worth individuals around the world have boosted their investments in green technologies, with a higher proportion of investments coming from the Middle East and Europe, according to a new report.

Fireman’s Fund Offers Green Insurance for Homeowners - 2008-07-08
The coverage allows policyholders who own green homes and those who own conventional homes to rebuild to the latest environmental safety and efficiency standards after a loss.

New York Mayor Unveils $2.3B Plan to Cut GHG Emissions from NYC Municipal Buildings and Operations 30% by 2017 - 2008-07-08
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a long-term, $2.3-billion action plan to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the City’s municipal buildings and operations by 30% by 2017, as promised in PlaNYC.

Israel Corp. to Invest up to $100M More in Project Better Place EV Efforts; Agassi Pushing PBB for the US - 2008-07-08
Israel Corp., Israel’s largest holding company, will invest another $15.5 into Project Better Place (PBB) in addition to the $7.5 million already in. The company said it would invest up to $100 million in the venture designed to deploy a regional and global infrastructure to support electric vehicles on a country-by-country basis.

Putin Orders Olympic Sites Moved on Ecology Concerns - 2008-07-07
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered officials preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics to move three major building projects following ecological concerns raised by the United Nations.

Carbon Market Looks Past G8 to US Election - 2008-07-07
Carbon market traders and backers of clean-energy projects aren't holding their breath for a strong statement on fighting change during this week's G8 summit and are more focused on who wins November's US election.

Eastern EU States Unite for Overhaul of CO2 Curbs - 2008-07-07
The European Union geared up on Friday for deep cuts in greenhouse gases as eight ex-communist states sought help in overhauling their infrastructure for a low-carbon future.

Australia Faces Worse, More Frequent Droughts - Study - 2008-07-07
Australia could experience more severe droughts and they could become more frequent in the future because of climate change, a government-commissioned report said on Sunday.

New Cars in California Must Display Global Warming Score - 2008-07-07
California is making it mandatory for cars to be labeled with global warming scores, figures that take into account emissions from vehicle use and fuel production.

Ontario Town's Water Treatment Inspired by Seaweed - 2008-07-07
A facility using membranes inspired by seaweed looks set to revolutionize water treatment in Ontario.

Pennsylvania Legislature Passes Renewable Fuels Mandate; B20 and Cellulosic E10 - 2008-07-07
Both houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly have passed HB 1202, a bill requiring that transportation fuels sold in Pennsylvania include increasing amounts of biodiesel, synthetic diesel or renewable diesel (in diesel fuel); and cellulosic ethanol (in gasoline), based on levels of in-state production.

Study: Net-Zero or Low-Cost Technologies in Transportation Could Bring Light-Duty Vehicle GHG Emissions Below 1990 Levels - 2008-07-07
A new report published by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS) suggests that there are many net-beneficial “no regrets” climate change mitigation technologies—where the energy savings of the technologies outweigh the initial costs—and that most of these technologies are not being widely adopted.

UN reports big jump in `green energy' investment - 2008-07-02
Global investors plowed $148 billion into new wind, solar and other alternative energy assets last year, in what the United Nations describes as a "green energy gold rush" gaining speed the last several years.

Gas prices change views on energy - 2008-07-02
High gasoline prices have dramatically changed Americans' views on energy and the environment with more people now viewing oil drilling and new power plants as a greater priority than energy conservation than they did five months ago, according to a new survey.

Energy experts puzzled over oil prices - 2008-07-02
As crude soared to a new record, the head of the International Energy Agency declared that the world was in the grip of an "oil shock," and the president of OPEC acknowledged he could not say whether prices would flatten out or continue to soar.