Green news harvest: Carbon-footprint math, utility-scale solar

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Capitalism to the Rescue--NYTimes.com
  The NYT Magazine follows the brainiacs of storied VC firm Kleiner Perkins for a few months and concludes...green tech is real but the financial pay-off has yet to roll in.
• Six products, six carbon footprints--WSJ.com
  Part of an environmental package, the WSJ digs into the tricky business of determining product carbon footprints, with shipping and supply chain playing a surprisingly small role.

• Credit crunch creates Catch-22 on energy--Newsday.com
  Even with boosted incentives, solar energy could be a tough purchase for home-owners without access to credit. Via WSJ.
• SEPA statement on historic 8-year solar tax credit extension--press release
  Solar industry association predicts that utility-scale solar power plants will come online much faster as result of bailout bill.
• The clean tech challenge--Living on Earth
  Lux Research resident Matthew Nordan discusses how the credit crunch will affect the clean tech sector.
• Garden State Offshore Energy wins bid for N.J. offshore wind farm--press release
  New Jersey has approved a 350 megawatt off-shore wind farm, following Delaware and Rhode Island.
• Imperium 'still under stress' after recapitalizing--Greentech Media
  Timely snapshot of the biofuels industry, which is struggling from high commodity costs and falling fossil fuel prices.
• Forrester: There's really no such thing as 'green IT'--GreenTech Pastures
  This post and report highlight the conflict with using "green" to describe a data center packed with always-on equipment built with toxic materials. That said, there is a lot companies can do.
• High-efficiency generators for hybrid vehicles--Technology Review
  The free-piston engine, originally developed in the 1920s, is getting another look to run a generator for serial plug-in hybrids/extended-range electric vehicles.