Global warming

Sandbag is bagging carbon credits

Part environmental watchdog and part social-networking site, Sandbag lobbies the United Nations and European Union for tighter caps on carbon emissions and permits, while buying up carbon credits.

The U.K.-based not-for-profit community organization, whose motto is "real action on climate change," launched in September 2008. It uses donations to buy up EU carbon credits and cancel them in an effort to drive up the price of carbon credits in the marketplace.

The group has started to gain a following. The Guardian Newspaper Group became a corporate sponsor earlier this year, and on Monday, two London hospitals … Read more

The World Bank takes on climate change

SAN FRANCISCO--How will a shift in carbon reduction play out with the world's poor? This is an issue The World Bank is grappling with as it prepares for the international climate change summit in Copenhagen this December.

Katherine Sierra, the vice president for sustainable development at The World Bank, and Awais Khan, the director of KPMG's Clean Tech Venture Capital Practice, spoke on this topic Tuesday here at the Commonwealth Club.

Along with higher temperatures, climate change is causing rising sea levels, shifts in rain/snow patterns, and an increase in weather-related natural disasters. Although the impact is … Read more

Can IT help build smart cities?

PASADENA, Calif.--Technology has the potential to help build smarter, greener cities, but whether it will is another matter.

That was the take-away from a panel discussion Wednesday at Fortune's Brainstorm: Tech conference here.

The need for cities that use less energy is clear. Although cities occupy just 2 percent of the world's geography, they account for 75 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emmissions, according to Clinton Climate Initiative Chairman Ira Magaziner. Cisco Systems CTO Padmasree Warrior noted that there will be 100 new cities with populations of more than 1 million people by 2025.

But … Read more

Green news harvest: Global warming slowing wind?

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

Not so windy: Research suggests winds dying down - Associated PressThis study is still speculative but worth watching as underperforming turbines can have a big financial impact. 'Zero Carbon' Motorcycle Racing - New York TimesThere seems to be a trend of electric motor racing to raise awareness of pollution and to have people learn about electric power trains. Cleaning Air With Bacteria? Greentech MediaMore work for micro-organisms, this time it's removing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from paint factories and such. Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones - Technology Review… Read more

Nobel laureate: Wind is not the future

While the Obama administration has expressed increasing hopes that wind power will play a key role in America's future energy system, one of the world's leading scientists is ruling out the technology.

Jack Steinberger, the 1968 Nobel Prize winner in physics and director of CERN's particle-physics laboratory, spoke at a conference of Nobel laureates at the 350-year-old Royal Society in London last week.

His conclusion: "Wind is not the future," according to the London Times.

Steinberger says Europe should cancel its big wind plans and that solar energy is the future.

Historical resources in the … Read more

Greenpeace: IT companies weak on climate change

Having issued a middling report card to consumer electronics companies earlier this year, environmental watchdog Greenpeace is now targeting big IT companies which it says are not pulling their weight when it comes to tackling climate change.

With its Cool IT Challenge, Greenpeace on Wednesday created a scorecard for the CEOs of the largest IT companies that shows how they rate on climate leadership. Overall, Greenpeace doesn't look on them kindly.

It gives IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano relatively high marks for disclosing the company's emissions reduction targets and spearheading its "Smart Planet" initiative to make transportation and the utility industry more efficient through IT. Toshiba scored only 2 out of 100 because it needs to improve its emissions reductions and use of renewable energy, according to Greenpeace.

Greenpeace has kind words for Sun Microsystems for developing energy-efficient servers and undertaking a company-wide sustainable program. … Read more

Greenland ice melt may cause dramatic change of northeast coasts

A new study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has found that Greenland's melting ice may have a greater effect on sea level rise on the northeastern coasts of the U.S. and Canada than previously hypothesized.

"If Greenland's ice melts at moderate to high rates, ocean circulation by 2100 may shift and cause sea levels off the northeast coast of North America to rise by about 12 to 20 inches (about 30 to 50 centimeters) more than in other coastal areas. The research builds on recent reports that have found that sea level rise … Read more

Businesses call for shift to low-carbon economy

A group of business executives on Tuesday issued a call for action on energy policy, arguing the cost of moving to cleaner energy technologies in the next decade will avert costs from climate change.

The Copenhagen Climate Council, an organization formed to create awareness for global climate negotiations in December, issued the statement at the conclusion of the World Business Summit, a three-day conference in Copenhagen of businesses and climate experts.

"The Copenhagen Call" document is a set of recommendations to policy makers, listing six policy changes required for businesses to make investments that will lead to lower … Read more

Energy Secretary Chu: Win a Nobel, save world

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the Department of Energy plans to establish research centers modeled on Bell Laboratories to spark the development of disruptive energy inventions.

Chu delivered the Compton lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Tuesday, where he told academics and local green-tech business people that the world needs technology breakthroughs in energy to hedge against high fossil fuel prices, to improve national security, and to mitigate the effects of climate change.

During his talk, Chu singled out a number of energy technologies that demand more research, including batteries, solar cells that convert sunlight into … Read more

'60 Minutes' video: America's coal dilemma

The future of our climate might be summed up in one question: what do we do about coal?

Coal generates nearly half the electricity in the United States and the world. But it's the dirtiest fuel of all when it comes to carbon dioxide, or CO2, the leading greenhouse gas.

Last week, the Obama administration declared, for the first time, that CO2 is a threat to human health and it plans to impose limits. But making coal safe will come at an astronomical cost.

After the economy, this could be the biggest debate in Washington. One of the most … Read more