According to the European statistics agency, Eurostat, in the 27 members of the European Union, 40% of treated municipal waste was recycled or composted in 2011, up from 27% in 2001. While these are good news, let’s have a look at the official statistics. Continue reading… » 

Widespread adoption of electric vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. Some are worried that the electric grid will be stressed leading to a decrease in its reliability. In related news today, Battelle and AeroVironment have a technology that will address this concern, and help EV’s charge when the grid is most able to support charging. Continue reading… » 

Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’ is the latest ‘Downton Abbey.’ Or for us older folks, it is the latest who-shot-JR Ewing – a television series that lots of people are talking about.

A story of Congressional intrigue, the 13-part series has caught the attention of not only the viewing public, but also Washington insiders, who are having Continue reading… » 

How much water are you really using? Many of us have low flow shower heads and our toilets are using less water, but how does that compare to the water that goes into the things we use and consume every day?

We created this infographic to help better understand what our daily impact really is. Some of the information might surprise you. Continue reading… » 

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased by 2.67 parts per million in 2012, marking the second-biggest jump since levels were first recorded in 1959 and decreasing the chances that the planet will avoid a dangerous temperature increase of 3.6 degrees F (2 C) or higher, U.S. scientists say. Continue reading… » 

We hear a lot about grid parity, don’t we? That’s the point at which the cost of energy generated by solar, wind, and other renewables is the same as that generated from conventional sources. The author of this article on Sharp Electronics new 43.5%-efficient solar cell writes: “Sharp shattered the efficiency record with its concentrator triple-junction compound solar cell, Continue reading… » 

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development just published a timely and informative report on the accelerated examination programs for green technology patent applications offered by a number of national patent offices around the world.

Antoine Dechezleprêtre, a Research Fellow at Continue reading… » 

PACE programs have been waiting for the FHFA to finalize their court-ordered rulemaking on residential PACE efforts (background here). Today, the court approved FHFA’s request for an extension of the deadline for issuance of the final rule to September 16, 2013. FHFA must submit a status report by June 1, 2013. The status Continue reading… » 

Now that the Sequester has officially begun, people are wondering what the impacts will be, both long term and short term. The message from the two sides of the political spectrum could not be more opposite. Republicans are confident that the concern is overstated, and the wasteful federal government needs the motivation to start effectively managing its Continue reading… » 

The unveiling of futuristic concept cars is partly what makes major international auto shows so much fun. These outlandish vehicles ask the public to re-imagine the core idea of what a vehicle is supposed to do—and the essential relationship between car and driver. The Rinspeed microMAX, which will be displayed at this month’s Geneva Motor Show, is as provocative as Continue reading… »