Latest Global Warming News

Urgent action needed on climate change

Melbourne Australia, 21 July 08: A a new book says even that is not enough, warning that the global warming threat to the planet has been drastically under-estimated.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: David Spratt, co-author Climate Code Red: The case for Emergency Action

Gore urges 100% renewables in 10 years

JULY 27, Washington(AFP) - Nobel laureate and former US vice president Al Gore on Thursday urged Americans to shoot for the moon and make a total shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy to avert a global crisis sparked by climate change.

"I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years," Gore told thousands of people who packed into a conference hall near the White House to hear the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner speak.

Green energy makes Samso self-sustaining

08 July 2008, Copenhagen, Denmark - RESIDENTS from the Danish island of Samso are paving the way towards a greener future by running their island on renewable energy.The island's 4300 inhabitants turned to wind power, energy cooperatives and heat pumps to become carbon neutral - and now produce more energy from renewable sources than they use, The New Yorker reported.

Samso moved to become carbon-neutral after winning a renewable energy contest in 1997 and now has 11 large wind turbines and a dozen smaller turbines on land, and another 10 offshore.

No More Arctic Ice this year - possibility says US Navy Scientist

June 27, ABCNews - Experts Worry About a Disturbing Trend at the North Pole and the very real possibility of its first Ice-Free Summer

The distinct possibility that this summer -- for the first time in

Hot times ahead for Australia

Peter Jean

July 07, 2008 12:00am

Mercedes to phase out fossil fuel powered cars in 7 years

London, 3 July 2008 - MERCEDES are aiming to end the need for filling your fuel tank with petrol or diesel within just SEVEN YEARS.The German firm are determined to make their model range run on alternative fuels - to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out.

There are 50million jobs worldwide associated with the car and more than 80 per cent of goods are transported by road.

Hawaii mandates solar hot water on all new homes

In a groundbreaking law, Hawaii has become the first state to mandate that all new homes be outfitted with solar water heaters.

Starting in 2010, all new single-family homes in the state will have to include solar water heaters, or they will not be granted permits. A few reasonable exceptions will be allowed, including for homes under forest canopies.

Thin-Film Solar to Grab 28 Percent Solar Market by 2012

Thin-film solar technology, or thin layers of photovoltaics that can be printed onto flexible surfaces, will make up 28 percent of the solar market by 2012, says a report out this morning from Lux Research. Thin-film solar technology, which is being developed with materials like amorphous silicon, cadmium-telluride and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), is the next generation in solar technology and, through low cost materials and manufacturing processes, is poised to bring down the cost of solar production dramatically.In dollar amounts, thin film is projected to bring in $19.7 billion in sales in that time frame. That's significant sales for a technology that's just starting to gain traction. Companies making more mature versions of thin-film solar, using amorphous silicon and cadmium telluride, are aggressively ramping up their lines. This includes companies such as investment darling First Solar, as well as Calyxo and Primestar. Lux says cadmium telluride manufacturing can be less than a third of the cost of traditional silicon solar panels.

As the Lux report points out, the companies making the cutting edge versions of thin film based on CIGS are just starting to reach the market. Nanosolar touted its 1GW, 100-feet-per-minute thin-film solar equipment in mid-June and Arizona-based Global Solar is supposed to start producing its CIGS-based thin-film solar strings this month.

Massive Ausra solar manufacturing plant open in Nevada

LOS ANGELES - 2 July 2008 - Solar thermal power developer Ausra on Monday officially opened its first U.S.-based manufacturing plant for reflectors and other components of utility-scale solar power plants.Ausra says that once the plant gets to full production in a couple of years it will be the largest plant making solar thermal power components in the world.

The opening in Las Vegas, Nevada, near the McCarran International Airport, featured Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the U.S. Senate majority leader who wants to keep nuclear power out of the state and keep coal-fired power plants from expanding.

Church buys energy monitors for congregation

24 June 2008, LONDON - A church in Cheltenham is bulk buying energy monitors in a drive to shrink the carbon footprint of its congregation.Bethesda Methodist Church, which recently received it's second 'Eco-Congregation Award', is buying in the Owl energy monitors for churchgoers, which help reduce electricity consumption by enabling users to see exactly how much they are spending at any given moment.

Owl wireless energy monitors were launched to the UK market in September 2007, and enable users to see their usage through an easy to read portable monitor unit which can be placed anywhere in the home.