Carbon Offset (tonnes): 
Additional Restoration (ha): Latest Global Warming News
New Solar Efficiency Record Set
Germany May 17, 2008 - Physicist Bram Hoex and colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology, together with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, have improved the efficiency of an important type of solar cell from 21.9 to 23.2 percent (a relative improvement of 6 per cent). This new world record is being presented on Wednesday May 14 at a major solar energy conference in San Diego.The efficiency improvement is achieved by the use of an ultra-thin aluminum oxide layer at the front of the cell, and it brings a breakthrough in the use of solar energy a step closer.
An improvement of more than 1 per cent (in absolute terms) may at first glance appear modest, but it can enable solar cell manufacturers to greatly increase the performance of their products. This is because higher efficiency is a very effective way of reducing the cost price of solar energy. The costs of applying the thin layer of aluminum oxide are expected to be relatively low. This will mean a significant reduction in the cost of producing solar electricity.
Liberals support Solar Thermal
April 29, 2008 The federal coalition says its enthusiasm for solar energy has changed dramatically, mainly because of technical know-how advances on the issue of energy storage.The opposition's environment spokesman, Greg Hunt, says there have been "enormous breakthroughs" on storage capacity.
That had prompted a contrasting attitude now to that of the former Howard coalition government which did not believe solar power could contribute to baseload energy output - the sort needed for the national power grid.
US starts rationing food
April 25, 2008THE global food crisis has reached the United States as big retailers began to ration sales of rice in response to bulk purchases by customers alarmed by rocketing prices of staples.
Wal-Mart's cash-and-carry division, Sam's Club, announced on Wednesday it would sell a maximum of four bags of rice per person to prevent supplies from running short. This follows sporadic caps on purchases of rice and flour at a rival bulk chain, Costco, in California.
Greenhouse 'could spark major wars'
April 24, 2008, London CLIMATE change could cause global conflicts as large as the two world
wars but lasting for centuries unless the problem is controlled, a
British defence think tank has warned.
Big Oil to Big Wind
April 19, LEGENDARY Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens has gone green with a plan to spend $10.7 billion to build the world's biggest wind farm -- but he expects to turn a buck.The southern octogenarian's plans are as big as Texas, where he lives on a ranch with his horses, and entail reworking how Americans use energy.
Next month, Pickens's company, Mesa Power, will begin buying land and ordering 2700 wind turbines that will eventually generate 4000MW of electricity. This is the equivalent of building two commercial-scale nuclear power plants and enough power for about 1 million homes.
When our oceans turn sour
April 21, 2008 -CLIMATE change is a core issue on the Rudd Government's agenda. But there's another carbon problem that has been avoided and is largely independent of global warming.In a speech to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute last week on Australia's focus on the Pacific, parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island affairs Duncan Kerr pointed to the effect of marine acidity on coral reefs, the backbone of economic activity for many islander communities. Kerr noted that if land drowns and coral reefs die, the Pacific faces mass movements of people, presenting strategic and humanitarian challenges for Australia.
Confronting the profound problem of acid oceans that could devastate ocean life would demonstrate the Government's commitment to communities dependent on coastal resources in Australia, the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, as well as dealing with long-term global change.
Can we live with Zero Emissions?
On February 21, the interim Garnaut Climate Change Review was released. It states: "It is in Australia's interest for the world to adopt a strong and effective position on climate change mitigation."
Professor Garnaut also mentioned scenarios including what it would take if Australia was to be fair to developing countries and carry its historical burden to have a 50 per cent chance of meeting the long established EU goal of keeping warming under two degrees. To do this he suggested we would have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 90 per cent by 2050 - effectively, it's a zero emissions target.
NY transit going green
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority has unveiled preliminary plans for a wide range of cleantech initiatives in its system, including solar and wind power, green roofs, water management, and some regenerative braking magic.
Solar feed-in makes profit in ACT
Apri 9 2008, Proposed laws paying Canberra households top dollar to produce renewable
energy should be copied by the federal and state governments, a leading
green group says.
NASA alert on warming
April 8, 2008 -A LEADING climate scientist says the European Union and its international partners must urgently rethink targets for cutting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because of fears they have grossly underestimated the scale of the problem.Dr James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, calls for a sharp reduction in carbon dioxide limits.
Dr Hansen said the EU target of 550 parts per million of carbon dioxide - the most stringent in the world - should be slashed to 350 ppm.