Coca-Cola's Solar Rebuilding in Japanese Schools

Coca-Cola is installing solar panels on Japanese schools to help with the country’s rehabilitation. The Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund was established under the Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation. This fund has allocated 1.5 billion yen (US$18.9 million) to integrate solar power into the rebuilding of public elementary and junior high schools damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Cleanovation 2011: Israel and Texas Working Together for Cleantech

The Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Government of Israel’s Economic Mission to the Southern Region will host Cleanovation in Houston on Sep 14, 2011. More than 300 participants are anticipated to attend, along with leaders from Fortune 100, select emerging growth companies and the public sector with many having headquarters in Texas or Israel.

Princeton is Building the Largest Solar Array of Any University

Princeton University is planning to build a 27-acre solar field consisting of 16,500 photovoltaic panels making it the largest solar field for any US college or university. It will produce enough energy to power 700 households. The EPA estimates that the solar array is equivalent of taking more than 1,200 cars off the road, which translates to a reduction of 3,090 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.

Solar Powered Schools In California

An increasing number of California's schools are using solar electricity installations as a teaching tool. The Foundation for Environmental Education has partnered with Pacific Gas and Electric Company to bring renewable energy education into under-served communities through highly-visible solar installation systems. The Foundation for Environmental Education is a non-profit organization that is seeking to build the next generation of thinkers who will carry the renewable energy torch far into the future. California's Solar Schools initiative will help the state save over $1.5 billion in energy costs over the next 30 years.

The False Choice Between the Economy and the Environment

In debates on the issue of climate change we are often asked to make a false choice between the environment and the economy. However, an intelligent discussion of climate change cannot be framed as a choice between the environment and the economy.

The rise of sustainable business is making it abundantly clear that we can have it both ways. Businesses are adopting new models that both contribute to the economy while minimizing their environmental footprints.

According to a May 2011 Yale Survey, 56% of Americans now believe that protecting the environment improves economic growth and provides new jobs.

Previous polemics argued that you can either have the economy or the environment. Contemporary wisdom reveals that you can have both.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Greenpeace Campaign is Asking Facebook to Unfriend Coal and Befriend Renewable Energy

Greenpeace has been peacefully defending the planet since 1971, now they are asking Facebook to unfriend coal by Earth Day on April 22, 2011.

Greenpeace has played a pivotal role in huge environment victories including:

- Commercial whaling moratorium
- Ban on toxic waste exports to less developed countries
- Bans on dumping radioactive and industrial waste at sea
- 50-year moratorium on mineral exploitation in Antarctica
- An end to large-scale high-sea driftnet fishing
- Establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary
- Ban on all nuclear weapons testing

Today, the fight to save the planet has grown more serious than ever. The threat of global warming, destruction of ancient forests, deterioration of our oceans, and the threat of a nuclear disaster loom large. Greenpeace is actively working to address these and other threats.

Greenpeace's newest campaign is encouraging Facebook to drop coal and commit to 100 percent renewable energy, cutting its carbon footprint and helping in the struggle to prevent catastrophic climate change.

Facebook announced in February 2010 that it is building a massive data centre in Oregon, using the latest energy efficient computers. But the Facebook data center will run on electricity made by burning coal which is the dirtiest source of energy and largest single source of global warming pollution in the world.

Greenpeace wants Facebook to run their massive data-centres on renewable energy, and ‘Unfriend’ dirty coal and dangerous nuclear. Greenpeace also wants to see Facebook be a climate leader and push for strong clean energy and climate policies in the US and around the world.

According to Greenpeace, Facebook uses about 55 percent coal power while Google uses 34 percent and Yahoo uses just 12.7 percent.

Join others in demanding that Facebook commit to stop using coal and choose renewable power for all its servers as soon as possible.

To support this campaign, join Greenpeace's Facebook group and help Greenpeace to get the social networking website to go green. You can also share this post on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Greenpeace is also trying set a Guinness World Record by getting more than 50,000 comments for Renewable Energy in 24hrs on April 13, 2011. Add your comment by simply following the steps below:

1. To comment on this post you must first ‘Like’ Greenpeace's Unfriend Coal Facebook page.

2. Click here to leave comments for Facebook staff, in support of renewable energy.

3. Repeat! You can comment more than once - it is still counted in the record attempt!

4. Share this note on your profile to spread the word among your friends!

Greenpeace is displaying your comments today directly outside FB headquarters in California. The best 50 commenters worldwide will get a ‘Facebook Unfriend Coal t-shirts. For more information on this campaign click here.

UPDATE

Greenpeace International has succeeded in setting a world record for getting the highest number of comments on one of its Facebook pages in a single day. According to an email blast to subscribers/members, the world record consists of no less than 80,000 comments in at least 11 different languages on the Facebook Unfriend Coal page. The initial target of 50, 000 comments was met just 11 hours after the call for posting comments on the page was sent out to members.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Ten Videos from the 2011 Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo

Renewable Energy World North America Conference & Expo is the leading event for the renewable industry and has been for eight years running. Here is RenewableEnergyWorld.com's video coverage of the event:

Emissions Regulations Create Opportunities for Renewables

A roundtable discussion on how emissions controls regulations will boost the market for renewables. To see this video click here.

Can the U.S. Compete in Clean Energy Manufucturing?

Jonathan Iovino, VP of Complete Energy Systems, talks about how the U.S. can compete in clean energy manufacturing. To see this video click here.

Company Showcase: AETI

In this company showcase video, AETI's John Skibinski shows off the company's new 900 kW to 3 MW scaleable wind converter. To see this video click here.

Idaho's Clean Energy Push

In this showcase video, Michael Rotchford of the Idaho Department of Commerce describes why Idaho is a good place for clean energy companies to invest. To see this video click here.

Looking Beyond the Treasury Grant Program

Greg Jenner, a partner with Stoel Rives, talks about how the industry will develop projects after the Treasury Grant Program expires at the end of this year. To see this video click here.

Achieving Financial Scale in Renewables

Jamie Boyd, the senior vice president of Cascadia Capital, talks about how to bring clean energy into the financial big leagues. To see this video click here.

Colleen Campbell on Building and Permitting for PV

Debra Vogler sits down with Colleen Campbell, Business Development Director with CH2M Hill to talk about the complex building and permitting issues that go hand in hand with PV project development. To see this video click here.

Nancy Hartsoch Gives CPV Status Report

PV World's Debra Vogler talks with Nancy Hartsoch of SolFocus and the CPV Consortium about the status of the concentrating PV market. To see this video click here.

Northern Power on Community Wind Farm Development

Stephen Lacey sits down with Parthiv Amin of Northern Power to discuss the importance of community wind farm development. To see this video click here.

National Hydropower Association on Wind and Hydro Integration

Hydro Review's Russell Ray talks wind and hydro intergration with National Hydropower Association former and current presidents. To see this video click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

The Fate of the Democrats is Tied to Green Jobs

Obama laid out his clean energy plan in his State of the Union address. The President indicated that he would like to see 80 percent of US power coming from “clean” sources by 2035, including renewables.

Federal incentives help renewable energy to grow and creates jobs. In the US, government incentives would enable the country to compete against Europe and China, where governments have provided lavish incentives and strong financial support.

The federal government along with many state governments see green technology as an engine of economic growth and job creation. There are millions of jobs and trillions in revenue emerging from the green economy. Fast-growing clean technology is the only sector that can offer such a significant number of new jobs.

As President Obama said, "there is perhaps no industry with more potential to create jobs now and growth in the coming years, than clean energy."

State regulations have helped the renewable energy industry in California and other states helped the industry establish itself.

As China and other nations are investing massively in renewable energy, it would be disastrous for America to ignore this colossal opportunity.

The Democrats need to see an improvement in the jobless rate for political reasons. Like the Democrats, Obama's political future is tied to green jobs, as no President has ever been reelected with an unemployment rate above 8 percent.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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