Environmental Security: GLRPPR Sector Resources

News: Industry, government team up for conflict-free mineral markets

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 15:31:44 GMT

In this continuing series on conflict minerals, Patricia Jurewicz of the Responsible Sourcing Network highlights industry efforts to trace and maintain conflict-free supply chains, while also contributing positively to Congolese communities.

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News: Sapphire's algae-to-oil farm begins to take shape

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:51:06 GMT

It's been a long slog, but Sapphire Energy's algae-to-oil project is beginning to take shape. The company announced this week the first phase of its so-called green crude farm -- a facility in Luna County, New Mexico that produces oil from algae -- is now operational and has successfully harvested at a large scale. Sapphire Energy said the first crop was harvested in June without any difficulties, confirming the system at the farm works as designed.

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News: 40 GW CHP Would Save $10bn a Year, Report Finds -- But Barriers Remain

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:39:00 GMT

Achieving 40 GW of new combined heat and power by 2020 would save energy users $10 billion a year compared to current energy use and reduce emissions by 150 million metric tons of CO2 annually, according to a report by the Department of Energy and EPA. "Combined Heat and Power: A Clean Energy Solution," released to coincide with the Obama administration's announcement of a national 40 GW target for CHP capacity, says meeting the target would raise capacity by 50 percent in less than a decade and would save 1 quadrillion Btus of energy compared to current use. To meet President Obama's goal, the US must overcome several barriers such as investor-owned electric utilities that view CHP as "revenue erosion," a limited CHP supply infrastructure and various market uncertainties: fuel and electricity prices, regional and national economic conditions, market sector growth, utility and power market regulation and environmental policy.

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News: National Solar Tour Kicks Off in September

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:55:11 GMT

The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour officially takes place on October 6, but several events kick off as early as mid-September, and some offer weeklong action. Now in its seventeenth year, the annual showcase allows participants the opportunity to see innovative green homes and buildings that use solar energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies.

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News: White House Announces Executive Order on Industrial Energy Efficiency, including Combined Heat and Power

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:31:56 GMT

Today, President Obama signed an Executive Order to accelerate investments in industrial energy efficiency, including combined heat and power (CHP). Accelerating investment in industrial energy efficiency in a way that benefits manufacturers, utilities, and consumers can improve American manufacturing competitiveness and create jobs while improving our nation's energy system and reducing harmful emissions. The Executive Order: sets a national goal of 40 gigawatts (GW) of new CHP installation over the next decade; directs agencies to foster a national dialogue through ongoing regional workshops to encourage the adoption of best practice policies and investment models that overcome the numerous barriers to investment, provide public information on the benefits of unlocking investment in industrial energy efficiency, and use existing Federal authorities that can support these investments; and directs the Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to coordinate actions at the Federal level while providing policy and technical assistance to states to promote investments in industrial energy efficiency.

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News: Energy Department Announces New Investments to Accelerate Breakthroughs in Cost-Competitive Solar Energy

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:44:26 GMT

Building off SunShot Initiative investments in concentrating solar power announced earlier this week, the Energy Department yesterday announced five new research projects to accelerate innovations that could lower the cost of photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies. These investments will enable collaborative research teams from industry, universities, and national laboratories to work together at the Department's Scientific User Facilities, a national network of unique facilities that provide over 10,000 scientists and engineers each year with open access to some of the best instruments and tools in the world, including x-ray sources, accelerators, supercomputers and nanoscale research centers.

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News: Agulhas Current Is Said to Attenuate the Effect of Melting Ice

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:21:46 GMT

Some good news in the world of climate research: the Agulhas Current off the coast of South Africa, is said to stimulate North-South ocean circulation in the Atlantic. This "conveyor belt", which redistributes and controls heat around the globe, is threatening to slow down due to melting ice. As has been shown in a recent study however, published in Nature Climate Change (1), based on satellite altimeter measurements, this famous current is accelerating.

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News: No-Till Could Help Maintain Crop Yields Despite Climate Change

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 22:20:24 GMT

Reducing tillage for some Central Great Plains crops could help conserve water and reduce losses caused by climate change, according to studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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News: Energy Department Announces New University-Led Projects to Create More Efficient, Lower Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:10:59 GMT

As part of the Energy Department's SunShot Initiative, which aims to drive solar energy to be cost-competitive with other energy sources by 2020, Secretary Steven Chu announced today new investments totaling $10 million over five years for two university-led projects to advance innovative concentrating solar power (CSP) system technologies. CSP technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that collect solar energy and convert it to heat that can be used to produce electricity. Heat transfer fluids are a key component of CSP systems that transfer heat from a receiver to the point where the heat is needed to drive a turbine. The investments announced today will dramatically improve heat transfer fluids, increasing their efficiency and lowering costs for CSP systems.

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News: SEC's conflict minerals vote comes under fire

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 15:41:41 GMT

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Wednesday vote to require public companies to disclose whether they use conflict minerals from the war-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries came under fire this week. But not from people who opposed it -- from those who argue it doesn't go far enough. Humanitarian groups said they were disappointed with the final rule, which included a provision allowing companies to report that they couldn't determine the origin of their products. The rule, called Section 1502, requires companies to trace their supply chains and disclose if their products use tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold from the DRC, minerals that are said to fuel the conflict in the troubled Central African nation. The SEC voted 3-2 to adopt the controversial rule, a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

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