Solar Photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing continues along a trajectory of decreasing costs that will very soon cause it to reach grid parity. This post looks at an innovative Massachusetts based startup, 1366 Technologies that is poised to begin commercializing an important new cost cutting (and energy saving) manufacturing technology that will significantly reduce the cost of Silicon solar cell fabrication.
In this post Rien discusses the paradox that pervades so much of the high tech and cleantech world; the world that is supposed ot bring us a green and clean future free from the polluting industries of the “old” industrial paradigm. AND yet, so much of cleantech (and high-tech) depends in often critical ways on rare earths. Rare earth mining and refining is a very dirty business that has lead to some pretty horrible pollution, mainly in the Chinese regions in which it is mostly sourced from. This post focuses on a major new refining operation that Australian mining giant Lynas is trying to open in the country of Malaysia; an operation that is being opposed both by Malaysian activists and by some Australian Green Party activists as well. It forces us all to ponder this paradox and ask ourselves just how green is the green economy?
This post examines the state of Corporate Responsibility (CR) curriculum with a constructive criticism viewpoint. Does the current curriculum really fulfill on the potential of CR to equip companies to not just comply with society’s mandates but actually take a leadership role in helping to bring about a better world. The post goes on to examine five ways in which CR professional curriculum could be improved in order to help CR professionals have a wider impact on the affairs of the corporations they are helping to lead.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… In this post Bob goes into some detail what this means in practice for building green; listing various practices that builders can use in order to achieve their these sustainability goals. The post covers such subjects as runoff, site disturbance, materials etc. as well as the importance of sustainable design practices that reduce the impact of the built space on the surrounding environment both during construction and during the buildings life.
In this post Jennifer uses excerpts from an article on change management and applies the seven strategies outlined in the article to the specific challenge of getting employees to change their habitual behaviors in ways that help the organization achieve its sustainability goals. Actually getting people to adopt change in their lives is a lot more involved than a glossy vision statement that outlines lofty and worthy goals; unless the message connects with the people it needs to reach it will soon be forgotten.
Get to know Nils Moe, Sustainability Advisor for the Mayor’s Office in the City of Berkeley. Prior to transitioning to a career in climate change from a career in the non-profit sector promoting social change and managing consulting specializing in industrial psychology. Read our interview with Nils, in which he shares his story of how he transitioned from a career in management consulting and non-profit social change to one in sustainability.
The production of waste, especially with many countries emerging into powerful economies, has become a problem of such dimensions that something definite has to be done.Many new technologies are being developed to process, recycle and reuse waste, some combining waste treatment processes in the same plant to produce a variety of useful products such as electrical energy, diesel, heat, carbon black and other recyclable materials. Latest estimates show that there are 431 waste-to-energy (WTE) plants in Europe and 89 in the United States (2004). The U.S. recycles 14 percent of its trash in WTE plants.
This post is the second in a five part series on green building regulation looks at how green building regulators can avoid problems down the line if they establish regulations that have a clear intent, evaluate extreme outcomes, carefully analyze utilizing third party green building criteria and certification systems, create measurement and verification mechanisms, develop valid enforcement mechanisms, check for state and federal preemption, and anticipate litigation.
This post looks at the message promoted by the gas industry that natural gas is the necessary complement to renewables such as solar and wind, because the latter are variable and thus need a backup power source that can quickly be brought on line. There are other and perhaps even better ways of addressing variability that also need looking at.
