Economy

(By Catherine Crump and Matthew Harwood) Estimates vary, but by 2020 there could be over 30 billion devices connected to the Internet. Once dumb, they will have smartened up thanks to sensors and other technologies embedded in them and, thanks to your machines, your life will quite literally have gone online. The implications are revolutionary. […]

Climate Change

Climate Change is hitting us Now & will only Worsen: When will We Start Acting Like Adults?

contributors

(By Tom Giesen) Americans tell us through a recent Gallop poll that upward of 65% of them know global warming is happening. However, only 36% feel that it will pose a serious threat to their way of life. But that conclusion is dead wrong; our way of life is changing dramatically. The physical evidence across […]

Economy

Gaza’s Palestinians, Besieged by Israel, turn to Solar Power

Juan Cole

Here’s an excellent AFP film clip and article from a couple weeks ago that I think deserves a wider audience. Gazans turn to solar power as fuel crisis bites (via AFP) On the roof of Gaza City’s children’s hospital, a pristine row of solar panels gleams in the sunlight, an out-of-place symbol of modern, clean […]

Climate Change

Coal, Gas & Oil are Huge Water Hogs; Solar is a Water Saver

Juan Cole

Solar Power Is A Huge Water Saver (World Water Day Infographic) (via Clean Technica) Every year on this day since 1993, the community of nations has focused on the importance of fresh water and advocated for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Severe droughts experienced recently in places like the American West, the… —– […]

Climate Change

Big Oil and Gas Wants your Drinking Water, Too: UN

contributors

(By Jacob Chamberlain) An unrelenting increase in energy production, including unconventional methods such as tar sands extraction and fracking, will severely damage the world's already dwindling water supply, the UN warned on Friday. "There is an increasing potential for serious conflict between power generation, other water users and environmental considerations," says the World Water Development […]

Climate Change

5 Signs Solar Power is Taking over the World

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) is putting 32 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the sun on earth and prevents it radiating back out to space, this unprecedented human output is causing climate disruption, a […]

Climate Change

Clean Energy Created Nearly 80,000 Green Jobs In America During 2013 Alone

Juan Cole

America’s clean energy economy created nearly 80,000 green jobs in 2013, benefitting virtually every state across the country even as looming market and policy uncertainty threaten to shrink green growth. Solar, energy efficiency, and public transportation…

Economy

Libya’s Parliament dumps PM Zeidan, Elects al-Thinni, over Oil Tanker Crisis

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In a series of dramatic political moves, the Libyan General National Congress on Tuesday carried out a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Zeidan, identified as a liberal nationalist, has been targeted since his election in 2012 by the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the elected Libyan parliament, but they […]

Climate Change

In Illinois, 91 Communities are now Powered 100% By Green Electricity

Juan Cole

91 Illinois Communities Powered 100% By Green Electricity (via Clean Technica) Article by the WWF. WASHINGTON, DC, March 7, 2014 – Illinois has embraced renewable electricity on a massive scale not seen anywhere else in the nation, says a new report, Leading from the Middle: How Illinois Communities Unleashed Renewable Energy… —– Related video: AP from a […]