There is nothing magic about the number 7 billion, which, according to the United Nations, became the population of planet Earth sometime earlier this week. The resources available to feed, clothe, house and transport the world’s people aren’t stretched far thinner today than they were yesterday. But it’s good (more…)

In many parts of the world, including areas of India, central Asia and the Sahara desert where the climate is arid and the landscape barren, these standing crops can soak up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into oxygen. The new research is soon to be published in the European Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology. (more…)

For the Win is a guest blog series featuring the remarkable initiatives that young Americans are advancing to win the future for their communities. Each week we highlight a new young person and learn about their inspiring work through their own words. Submit your story to appear in the For the Win guest blog series. (more…)

Wind mills are a clean alternative energy supply but not everyone agrees. The Rhode Island General Assembly’s newly enacted laws facilitating the siting, construction and power-purchase agreements for commercial-grade renewable energy projects took a big hit this week. On September 12th, the town of (more…)

I wrote back in January about how more private sector jobs had been created in 2010 than in Bush’s entire 8 years in office. I think this was a significant accomplishment. But there were and are a number of things hindering continued growth, some more complicated than others. But knowing how American voters vote (i.e. (more…)

Water is one of the big environmental themes and it’s becoming increasingly important in discussions as the issue of scarcity poses a serious threat to sustainability in the 21st century.

With this issue in mind, an organization called travel2change has launched a worldwide innovation (more…)

Market drivers in the home energy management (HEM) space are indicative of any residential energy efficiency market –they pivot on energy efficiency measures and applications affecting the bottom line. Additionally, in the residential energy efficiency space –and more specifically (more…)

Questions have been swirling around the building industry about the new big thing, green building.  Will it add cost? Will it add time? Does painting a building green count?  These questions most often involve the sustainable design and construction process, which many people believe too be daunting.

To highlight some of the important aspects (more…)

From July 29th through July 31st, the EngEx conference will descend upon the San Diego Convention Center. The conference focuses on energy, water, infrastructure, and the environment. It will provide access to decision makers and offer C-suite insight and dialogue. Key government agencies will be participating in this year’s conference, including: The Environmental Protection Agency, The Department of Energy, The Department of Transportation, The Bureau of Land Management, The Department of Commerce, The Small Business Administration, and The US EXIM Bank.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Mark Quartermain, President of Shell Energy North America. Other speakers include Will Coleman of Mohr Davidow Ventures, Theresa Harten from the EPA, and Lisa Bicker of CleanTECH San Diego.

(more…)

On President Obama’s second Earth Day in office, how far have green jobs come toward fixing unemployment and environmental ills? The administration aims for 5 million green jobs to grow in the next 10 years. Should Americans still believe the “hype?” Here’s the latest in green jobs news from around the Web:

The White House early in 2009 announced $500 million for efforts to train green workers, and this January it described job-training grants worth $100 million of that package. But that’s not nearly enough cash for an effort that should be as big as the Space Race, says pundit Jesse Jenkins. And contrary to conventional wisdom, green jobs are already being exported beyond U.S. borders.
(Breakthrough Institute)

For now, “fewer than 200 factories in the United States are devoted to green production, employing no more than 15,000 workers.” Companies can apply for new, federal tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing, but an economist finds that “fewer than 500 applications have been filed so far for the tax breaks, and if all were approved they would add just 75,000 green manufacturing jobs.”
(New York Times)

Yet, 10 percent of employers have added new, green jobs in the past year, according to a CareerBuilder poll of 2,700 hiring managers. Among the green occupations described as earning more than $60,000 on the job Web site are hydrologist, solar energy system designer, waste management engineer and urban planner. (However, CareerBuilder’s GoingGreenJobs site was kaput on Wednesday.)
(press release) (more…)