GOOD STORIES THERE WASN’T TIME TO GET TO THIS WEEK

A NewEnergyNews Friday feature.


MORE NEW ENERGY THAN EVER

Renewable Energy Production Up 5% in U.S.
Jennifer Kho, September 26, 2008 (The Street)

“Renewables [such as wind and biofuels] made up 10.6 percent of the energy produced in the United States in the first half of the year, said the U.S. Energy Information Administration in a report released this week…That represents a 5 percent growth from…production in the first half of last year. Most of that growth came from wind power, which increased production by nearly 49 percent from the year-ago quarter…”



GASES GATHERING AT RECORD LEVELS, CHINA NUMBER 1

China biggest carbon polluter, world levels at record: scientists
September 25, 2008 (AFP via Yahoo News)

China has leapfrogged the United States as the world's biggest carbon emitter and India is heading for third place, scientists said on Friday in a report that warned global greenhouse-gas levels were scaling record peaks…The report, by a research consortium called the Global Carbon Project (GCP), confirms an estimate that China has become the biggest producer of carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal gas that causes global warming…”



SEEING IS BELIEVING

A Nudge Can Help; Why energy costs should be visible
Daniel McGinn, September 27, 2008 (Newsweek)

“In Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, scholars Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein argue that by tinkering with the default choices and information given when people make decisions—like whether to invest in a 401(k)—society will benefit. That's true for the environment, too…”



ENERGY’S FUTURE – THE BP TAKE

Strategies for the Energy Crisis; BP's Chief Scientist Says Cutting Greenhouse Emissions Will Require Major Changes
Kevin Bullis, September 29, 2008 (MIT Technology Review via ABC News)

“After nearly 30 years at Caltech as a professor of theoretical physics and, eventually, provost, Steven Koonin took a leave of absence in 2004 to become BP's chief scientist. After a year of study, he recommended a strategy for the company that has included investments in unconventional sources of oil as well as renewable energies such as solar. The company has also invested $500 million in research on biofuels…Technology Review's energy editor, Kevin Bullis, sat down with Koonin…to discuss BP's strategy and whether it will be possible to meet the world's energy challenges…”



GREEN SAUCE

National Restaurant Company Launches “Green” Development; Chipotle seeks LEED Certification for New Restaurant Openings This Fall, Pushes Sustainable Design Powered by the Wind and Sun
October 1, 2008 (MarketWatch)

“Chipotle Mexican Grill, known as the leader in making high-end dining and top quality ingredients available to everyone, is now leading the charge on more environmentally responsible building designs…Chipotle will open a "green" restaurant in Gurnee, Illinois with a six-kilowatt wind turbine on-site…[T]he free-standing restaurant will [also] feature…recycled drywall, recycled barn metal…primers and paints that contain fewer chemicals…energy and water conservation elements…a 2,500 gallon underground water cistern that will harvest rainwater…native plants…and asphalt…that will reflect the sun's heat, rather than absorb it…Chipotle will seek LEED certification…which would make it among the first LEED-certified restaurants in the country…”