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NEWS ABOUT: alternative energy

Gas Prices Are Down—and That's Bad

Investment in green is our only way out of crisis, writes Friedman

(Newser) - Gas prices are dropping at last, back down to an average of less than $3 a gallon for the first time in a year. That's good news for recession-fearing consumers, writes Thomas L. Friedman, but there's a downside: the push to drive less and make Detroit build more fuel-efficient cars... More »

New Solar Tech Can Top This

Solyndra's designs can capture light from any angle

(Newser) - A California company's new, sun-sucking glass tubes aim to solve solar power's practical problems, the Economist reports. Chief among them are flat panels that miss the sun—by looking the wrong way—and cost more than $40,000 per household to install. Solyndra's new technology uses glass tubes that capture... More »

Oil's Slide as Chaotic as Its Rise

Plunging crude prices can be almost as disruptive as their rise

(Newser) - Crude oil prices have fallen 38% from their July high of $147.27 a barrel, and the decline is causing nearly as much consternation around the world as its meteoric rise in the first half of the year, reports the Washington Post. Oil-dependent governments are worried about revenues and forecasters... More »

House Passes Drill Bill

'Compromise' bill allowing limited new drilling passes without GOP backing

(Newser) - An energy bill including a partial lifting of the ban on new offshore drilling has passed the House, reports the Washington Post. The vote split largely along party lines, with most Republicans rejecting the package for not going far enough. The measure would allow new drilling beginning at 50 miles... More »

GM Rolls Out Volt Tomorrow; Hopes for Game-Changer

Automaker sees battery-powered car as turning point for company, Detroit

(Newser) - General Motors will unveil its new Chevy Volt tomorrow, hoping that the battery-operated car will reverse its long reputation as a gas-guzzling industry dinosaur and attract devotees of competitors' hybrids, reports the Wall Street Journal. GM hopes the Volt, a lithium-ion-powered car due to hit the market in 2010, can... More »

Experiment Raises Hope of Solar Power From Space

Successful test opens the possibility of humanity getting its energy from space

(Newser) - An experiment in beaming solar power has raised hopes that humanity can harness huge amounts of solar energy from satellites, Space.com reports. Researchers sent the energy about 90 miles between two Hawaiian islands via radio waves. The transmission of energy a hundred times further than earlier experiments proves the... More »

Crowded Northeast Looks Offshore for Wind

Short of energy and too crowded to add plants, US looks seaward for wind farms

(Newser) - The Northeast is the most promising region of the US for major development of wind power, the Wall Street Journal reports, with large coastal cities close to strong offshore winds and a shallow continental shelf good for erecting turbines. The federal government is getting ready to lease 10 tracts of... More »

Outdated Power Grid Blowing Wind Energy Hopes: Experts

Creaky infrastructure not able to deliver alternative energy to consumers

(Newser) - The nation's outdated and congested power grid is putting a damper on plans to expand renewable energy programs, the New York Times reports. Generating power from the wind and sun is becoming easier—but getting the power to consumers who live far from the country's windiest and sunniest places remains... More »

Mayor Aims to Make Big Apple Windmill City

Wind could supply 10% of city's power under bold plan

(Newser) - Mayor Mike Bloomberg has unveiled a bold plan to harness alternative energy to power New York City, the New York Times reports. The mayor is calling for windmills to be built on the city's bridges and skyscrapers, and for offshore wind farms to be created that could supply 10% of... More »

Look to Danes for Energy Know-How

Tiny nation responded to '73 crisis with bikes, wind, oil tax: Friedman

(Newser) - Hey, America, looking for a way to solve the energy crisis? Try following Denmark's lead, writes Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times. The country has a few simple fixes that go a long way: Friedman observes half the rush-hour traffic is bicycles; wind provides 20% of the country's... More »

EPA Refuses to Lower Ethanol Quota

Agency denies request by Texas governor

(Newser) - The EPA refused to cut a minimum ethanol quota today, despite critics’ charges that the biofuel mandate is driving high food prices, the New York Times reports. The agency approved Congress’ quota that requires the US use 9 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline blends this year, denying Texas Gov.... More »

Obama Takes Campaign to Gas Pumps

Spot to air at Florida filling stations links McCain to high prices

(Newser) - Barack Obama's campaign will run an energy-themed ad on TVs on Florida gas pumps starting today, the Palm Beach Post reports. The commercial highlights alternative-energy research and tax cuts as parts of Obama's plan to "break the grip of foreign oil," while presenting John McCain as more of... More »

China's Wind Power Takes Off

Could compete with coal by 2015

(Newser) - Although known for its monstrous appetite for coal, China has spent the last few years ramping up its wind-power capacity, the Guardian reports. The amount of wind power generated has grown over 100% a year since 2005, with enormous wind farms popping up across the country. "It is huge,... More »

Energy Crisis Requires a Global Agency

UN atomic watchdog argues for managed transition from oil

(Newser) - A global agency is needed to deal with the developing energy crisis, Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, writes in the Financial Times. Demand for energy is rising fast and alternatives to fossil fuels remain largely hypothetical, and though there are international organizations to deal with everything... More »

Pickens Takes His Campaign to Capitol Hill

Billionaire's pitch for wind power backed up by big talk, big cash

(Newser) - Oilman T. Boone Pickens’ pitch for a new plan to get the US off foreign oil is drawing a great deal of attention—partially due to its rhetorical ambition, and partially due to Pickens’ willingness to walk the walk with his estimated $4 billion checkbook. Politico examines Pickens’ determination to... More »

Texans Shocked by Spiking Power Bills

State not quite prepared for deregulation, and higher fuel costs don't help, either

(Newser) - As energy prices soar, many Texans are wishing they had added "regulation of electrical companies" to the list of things not to mess with. Authorities predicted competition would lower prices when they deregulated the industry in 1999, the Wall Street Journal reports, but inadequate infrastructure, rising fuel costs, and... More »

At Green Disco in London, Dancers Foot the Energy Bills

'Eco-disco' aims to help the planet boogie away from disaster

(Newser) - Bust a move, save the world. That's the premise behind a new disco in London that bills itself as the world's first eco-club, reports the Guardian. Its dance floor is designed to harness the energy of dancing feet. The club's owner says that alone will cover 60% of the electric... More »

Oil Tycoon Kicks Off Energy Campaign

Pickens wants to wean us from foreign supply with wind, natural gas

(Newser) - Billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens is fed up with America’s dependence on oil and today launched a huge ad campaign to persuade the nation to kick its crude addiction, the Dallas Morning News reports. His "Pickens Plan" proposes that Americans swap gasoline for natural gas, then replace natural... More »

Dubai High Rise Would Add Novel Twists

Revolving floors just one of 80-story tower's planned innovations

(Newser) - If heights make your head spin, a planned 80-story tower in Dubai might not be the place for you. Set to be the "world's first building in motion," David Fisher's design features doughnut-shape floors that rotate 360 degrees around a fixed cement core, the AP reports. It would... More »

Can Your Bra Power Your iPod?

Writer wants to put her breasts to work

(Newser) - For all the embarrassing bouncing and awkward jiggling they do, there must be a way to capture the power of breast motion, Adrienne So writes in Slate. “Human-powered devices are showing up everywhere. … Could someone design an iPod-powering bra for me?” she asks. A sports bra design consultant... More »

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