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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: alternative energy

alternative energy stories: 62 news summaries

1 - 20 of 62 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Recession Trims 
 Carbon Emissions 3% 

There's less industrial activity, and more countries look to alternative fuels

Oct 6, 09 6:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The recession will help the world achieve something this year few laws have been able to: cut the output of greenhouse gases. Emissions will be down 3% mainly due to lower industrial activity, the International Energy Agency said today, with countries also helping by switching to alternative energy sources. More »

MORE ABOUT:
greenhouse gases • alternative energy • recession • carbon emissions • International Energy Agency • financial crisis • Copenhagen climate change conference

analysis

Questionable Projects Gobble Stimulus Funds

Report skeptical of
$2M dance center,
$1M Okla. guardrail

Jun 14, 09 12:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - The economic stimulus is funding a variety of projects, but some possibilities—like a $1.1 million move to fix a guardrail no one uses—don’t seem to fit President Obama’s vision for the money, the Los Angeles Times reports. Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn will question such projects... More »

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alternative energy • Tom Coburn • economic stimulus package • President Obama • public works

OPINION

 Michael Moore: 
 9 Ways to Rise 
 From GM's Ashes 

Let's use their facilities to overhaul America's transit

Jun 1, 09 1:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The end of General Motors is an opportunity for an America that now owns 60% of the company, writes Michael Moore. Let’s take advantage of the death of a firm that built poor cars, battled environmental rules, and shipped jobs away by using its facilities to implement a new... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • environment • alternative energy • bankruptcy • General Motors • Michael Moore • public transportation • electric cars • hybrid car

 Recession 
 Dims Lights 
 on Solar Sales 

Banks, government cut funding for industry

May 11, 09 9:52 AM CDT
(Newser) - After a bright 2008, things are looking gloomy for the solar power industry amid the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks have cut funds for some projects, and the government of Spain, the second-biggest solar power market, has shrunk subsidies. Solar-cell sales are expected to fall by some 20%,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • alternative energy • recession • solar energy • solar power • solar cells • Jay-ZTV

analysis

 100 Days: 
 Biggest Promises Kept, Broken 

The economy has changed the stakes since the campaign began

Apr 29, 09 8:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - One way to judge President Obama's first 100 days in office is to look at his rhetoric on the campaign trail. Taking into account the fallout from the economic crisis, PolitFact came up with the most crucial promises Obama has kept and broken. His vow to beef up alternative-energy investment... More »

MORE ABOUT:
presidency • alternative energy • renewable energy • lobbyists • economic stimulus package • President Obama • 100 days • campaign promises

Obama's Earth Day Pitch: 'New Energy Economy'

America must choose a 'new energy economy,' he says

Apr 22, 09 3:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama returned to Iowa—his crucial campaign battleground win—for Earth Day, hailing the “new, clean energy economy” and unveiling an offshore wind project. “It is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration,” he... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iowa • alternative energy • Earth Day • green energy • unemployment • foreign oil • wind power • job • President Obama • green jobs

 Calif. Utility Aims to Buy 
 Power From Space 

Orbiting solar farm planned for 2016

Apr 14, 09 2:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - California’s Pacific Gas and Electric is seeking approval for its commitment to buy electricity from an innovative source, the San Francisco Chronicle reports: an orbiting solar power array that would beam electricity back to Earth. Solaren Corp. plans to deploy the satellite sometime before 2016; PG&E has signaled... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • alternative energy • space • Earth • satellite • renewable energy • solar cells • solar array

 Gas-Guzzling Pentagon 
 Turns to Green Energy 

Fuel is costing the military in money and lives

Apr 13, 09 4:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - The nation's biggest gas guzzler, the Defense Department, is trying to kick its oil habit and use alternative energies—not to support the green movement or save money, but to save lives, the Washington Post reports. Half of US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan are from IEDs deployed on fuel-carrying... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pentagon • alternative energy • Department of Defense • US Army • Iraq war • Afghanistan war • fuel consumption

Big Oil Blows Off Obama's Clean-Energy Push

Firms say alternatives won't replace oil anytime soon

Apr 8, 09 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - As the Obama administration seeks to spearhead a $150 million clean-energy overhaul, oil firms are conspicuously not getting on board—they're staying on the sidelines and, in many cases, betting against it, the New York Times reports. Shell is freezing its development work on wind, solar and hydrogen power, after... More »

MORE ABOUT:
oil • alternative energy • clean energy • Exxon Mobil • Big Oil • Obama administration

(Newser) - Clean coal is a myth, and the companies selling it “have their heads stuck in the mine,” Thomas Kostigen writes on MarketWatch. Although Americans generate close to 50% of their energy from coal, the technology is so yesterday—and the industry is not poised to move forward. It... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • environment • alternative energy • coal • energy industry • electricity • coal power • clean coal

ANALYSIS

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

Mar 23, 09 3:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • coal • electricity • renewable energy • solar power • wind power • turbines • transmission

(Newser) - AT&T pledged to spend $565 million to replace its current vehicle fleet with models that run on alternative fuels, the Detroit Free Press reports. The firm will buy over 15,000 hybrid and natural-gas-powered cars, mainly from Ford. AT&T billed the move as not only environmentally responsible but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • Ford • telecom • trucks • hybrid car • natural gas • AT&T

(Newser) - Howard Dean didn't get the health cabinet post he wanted, and doesn't want the job that's open—surgeon general—but is pushing President Obama's health-care plan just the same, the Washington Times reports. "Democrats can’t cave," says the former doc. Obama’s plan is "perfect,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • Rush Limbaugh • Howard Dean • literacy • Rahm Emanuel • Democratic National Committee • health care reform • Obama administration • Bill Maher Grid

New Energy Draws Obama
to Colo. to Sign Stimulus

Highlights

Feb 16, 09 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Last week Barack Obama's team chose Denver for the site of a stimulus rally like the one in Elkhart, Ind., but now that the bill’s been passed, the visit Wednesday has been repurposed as a bill signing. In both cases, the point of picking Colorado was to highlight what... More »

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alternative energy • Denver • Colorado • economic stimulus package

 Ethanol on Tap 
 From Beer Dregs 

Brewer Sierra Nevada gets in on plan to produce alternative fuel

Feb 3, 09 5:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Brewer Sierra Nevada is part of an effort to turn byproducts of the beer-making process into usable, alternative fuel, CNET reports. E-Fuel sells a $10,000 portable ethanol refinery that the brewer will feed with its yearly output of 1.6 million gallons of “bottom of the barrel” waste.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethanol • alternative energy • beer • biofuel • alternative fuels • brewing • Sierra Nevada Corp. • E-Fuel

Electric Motorcycles Closing Gap
on Speed

Brit creates all-battery bike for the racetrack

Jan 28, 09 5:45 PM CST
(Newser) - An English entrepreneur is developing an all-electric motorcycle he says can compete on the racetrack, Wired reports. Well, in the near future. His prototype—the bike is expected to be for sale next year and will be legal for street use—can go from 0 to 60 in 3.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • scooters • auto racing • Britain • alternative fuels • electric motorcycle • performance

ANALYSIS

Turbine Plan Near Kennedy Home Puts Obama in a Bind

Cape Wind has minimal environmental impact, but is opposed by Mass. Sen.

Jan 26, 09 7:38 PM CST
(Newser) - Ted Kennedy's desire for a sweet Cape Cod view will test Obama’s commitment to green energy, Jim Geraghty writes for the National Review. Kennedy has been trying to stop Cape Wind, a plan to install turbines near the Kennedy compound. An Interior Department review approved the project, but admitted... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • alternative energy • wind • wind power • Obama administration • President Obama

 Silver Bits Boost Solar Power 

Particles allow cells to absorb more light, researchers say

Jan 9, 09 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists believe they’ve found a way to make less expensive, more efficient solar cells: Just add silver, the Economist reports. Standard cells, which rely on a thick layer of pricey silicon, are costly. Problem is, thinner cells absorb less red light, reducing electricity output by 20%. Sprinkling a few... More »

MORE ABOUT:
energy • alternative energy • electricity • solar power • solar cells • scientific breakthroughs • silver

Geothermal Energy Hopes Are Booming

Subterranean rocks could supply 10%
of power by 2050

Dec 31, 08 9:15 PM CST
(Newser) - Hot rocks beneath the Earth's surface hold much promise for the nation's energy needs, but it's going to take big money to make the science work, the Christian Science Monitor reports. With $1 billion investment over the next 15 years, experts say geothermal power could provide 10% of the nation's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • alternative energy • fossil fuel • electricity • President Obama • geothermal energy • Enhanced Geothermal Systems

 Winter Chills Green Energy 

Renewable energy industry works to deal with seasonal variations

Dec 26, 08 7:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Winter weather is cooling newfound enthusiasm for renewable energy, the New York Times reports. Solar panels get snowed up or suffer from lack of sunlight on short winter days, and biodiesel sometimes congeals in cold weather. Wintry weather is a plus for wind power, but turbines can get iced up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
alternative energy • biodiesel • green energy • renewable energy • solar power • winter • wind power • winter weather

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