Carbon emissions at sea have received more attention over the last decade. Ports, especially, can have a negative impact on air quality in the populated areas that surround them. The many emissions sources at ports include ships, trucks, trains, and cargo-handling equipment. Harbor-crafts also contribute a significant portion of total port emissions. These include (more…)

In a previous post, I discussed the patent litigation between Boston area lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc. (A123) and Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec (H-Q).

A123 initially brought a suit in April 2006 against H-Q in federal court in Boston as a declaratory judgment (DJ) action for non-infringement and invalidity of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,910,382 (’382 Patent) and 6,514,640 (more…)

Thanks partly to its success using biofuels to power cars instead of oil, Brazil has become known as something of a sustainable business leader. The country deserves credit for taking some initiative on renewable energy, and at last year’s climate summit in Copenhagen President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was one of the most outspoken proponents for an ambitious (more…)

Since taking office, President Obama and his Administration have taken unprecedented steps to build a clean energy economy in this country. You may have already read about the events and announcements across the Administration in October on this front. I wanted to highlight a few items from the last couple of weeks:

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Once a building or facility manager has an ENERGY STAR statement of energy performance in hand they’re ready to set goals for improvements that will raise their rating but are often faced with no budget and minimal management support. The key to turning that situation around is showing how common best practices that cost little or provide quick payback can create both (more…)

Once again, Los Angeles is playing host to their very own annual LA Auto Show that has been held at the end of every year since 1907 (barring the few years it was canceled due to the outbreak of World War II). Most years, new designs and breathtaking concepts are rolled out for the world and 2010 has been no exception. This time around, there have even been several (more…)

Last week I attended GreenBuild in Chicago, and spoke on a panel with my fellow green law bloggers about the future of green building law and policy.  We are planning a joint follow-up post on our predictions with Lloyd Alter at Treehugger which will come out in the next few days.  But there were many other highlights of the conference:

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The European Commission said on Monday a proposal to limit the use of some carbon credits from industrial gas projects in its emissions trading scheme might be unveiled during a United Nations climate summit in Mexico next week. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the largest multi-national emissions trading scheme in the world. The trading scheme currently (more…)

It seems like everyone is pushing for a lead in the solar energy game. Who’s catapulting themselves into first place now? The world’s largest aerospace company, The Boeing Co.

Boeing hopes to introduce their high-efficiency C3MJ+ solar cells around the globe as early as January, 2011. Created (more…)

During the heart of the recession in 2009, CO2 emissions fell as economic activity slowed. Now that the world is seeing modest signs at recovery, the pace of economic activity has picked up and so have the CO2 emissions. According to a new study from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, the planet may reach record levels of emissions by the end of the (more…)