Summary
Good news (again) today: as photosynthesis can now be replicated, a vast horizon opens for hydrogen fuel. Also, China shows its determination to curb carbon emissions, with guidelines for carbon trading, funding to spur demand for electric vehicles (in the Clean tech section) and even bike-sharing.
Quote of the day
‘It’s the beginning of a whole suite of possibilities, such as creating a highly efficient fuel, or to trapping atmospheric carbon.’
Co-researcher Professor Ron Pace, from the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis at the Australian National University, in the MailOnline’s story Now that’s green energy! ‘Photosynthesis’ replicated in the lab – and it could pave the way to limitless hydrogen fuel
Lead stories
Health Benefits of Reducing Emissions Outweigh Costs Involved, Study
Headlines and Global News
Cutting carbon emissions from sources like power plants and vehicles can lower asthma rates and other health problems, a new study finds.
http://jlne.ws/1omnBne
Now that’s green energy! ‘Photosynthesis’ replicated in the lab – and it could pave the way to limitless hydrogen fuel
Rachel Reilly, MailOnline
Scientists have successfully replicated one of the crucial steps in photosynthesis, paving the way for a new breed of solar energy.
http://jlne.ws/1mLgMw3
China Races Ahead of the Pack as Bike Sharing Goes Viral
Flavia Krause-Jackson, Bloomberg
Back in the summer of ’65, a group of self-styled anarchists whitewashed 50 bicycles and stationed them in the center of Amsterdam.
http://jlne.ws/1tOQ5dP
***LB: Also in this story “There is now a bike-sharing program in more than 600 cities in 52 countries, according to Russell Meddin, who maintains and updates The Bike-Sharing World Map, a website that surveys cycle plans around the globe.”
Guidelines out for emission trading with free pricing in China
CCTV.com
China’s State Council published on Monday a guideline to promote emissions trading. The pilot regions must set up rules for the purchase and trading of emissions rights by 2017 to roll out the scheme nationwide.
http://jlne.ws/1pbKu2O
A climate for change: The country’s sinking debate over global warming
Editorial, The Washington Post
The national debate on climate change has devolved. By the late 1990s, big U.S. businesses were beginning to accept that greenhouse gases must be wrung out of the economy.
http://jlne.ws/YVYXoK
Small island states, facing rising seas, seek economic overhaul
Alister Doyle, Reuters
Small island states facing a “frightening” rise in sea levels will seek investments in everything from solar energy to fisheries to boost their economies at a U.N. summit next week.
http://jlne.ws/1tEsAoT
Mideast Water Wars: In Iraq, A Battle for Control of Water
Fred Pearce, environment 360
There is a water war going on in the Middle East this summer. Behind the headline stories of brutal slaughter as Sunni militants carve out a religious state covering Iraq and Syria, there lies a battle for the water supplies that sustain these desert nations.
http://jlne.ws/1tPUVro
States: EPA climate regs illegally left out data
Timothy Cama, The Hill
The attorneys general from 13 states told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its proposed rule in June to reduce carbon pollution from power plants broke the law by omitting supporting information.
http://jlne.ws/1BXHbQQ
Events
EMA’s 18th Annual Meeting
Join the Environmental Markets Association and environmental industry professional for two days of dynamic sessions, two nights of networking receptions, and countless opportunities to increase your business contacts.
October 22 – 24, 2014
Santa Monica, CA
http:
FT European Gas Summit
The FT European Gas Summit brings together leading and aspiring gas suppliers from around the globe, as well as energy industry experts, commentators and government decision makers to review the potential barriers to new gas supplies for Europe, and the impact on the region’s economic competitiveness. The summit will be chaired by Guy Chazan, Energy Editor, Financial Times.
23 October 2014
London, UK
http://jlne.ws/1n34Gif
Carbon
EU carbon prices edge lower ahead of increased supply
Muhammad Iqbal, Business Recorder
European carbon prices edged lower in thin trade on Monday ahead of an increase in supply from government sales of carbon allowances.
http://jlne.ws/1nwIT21
GAO finds no fault with ‘social cost of carbon’
Benjamin Goad, The Hill
A government probe into the metric used by federal agencies to measure the “social cost of carbon” found no evidence that it was improperly developed, investigators said Monday.
http://jlne.ws/1t8tUm7
Morrisons uncorks carbon savings with new screw cap
BusinessGreen
Morrisons has become the first major UK retailer to introduce a new environmentally-friendly wine screw cap it claims will cut carbon and make the bottle easier to recycle.
http://jlne.ws/1wuWBvG
Natural gas / coal
Fracking Link to Birth Defects Probed in Early Research
Isaac Arnsdorf, Bloomberg Businessweek
The first research into the effects of oil and gas development on babies born near wells has found potential health risks. Government officials, industry advocates and the researchers themselves say more studies are needed before drawing conclusions.
http://jlne.ws/VLqCqv
China to reach ‘peak coal’ for electricity by 2015
Ross Garnaut, The Conversation
China’s use of coal for electricity could peak as early as next year, then decline until 2020 in a turnaround of “global importance”, according to economist Ross Garnaut in a lecture presented at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, University of Melbourne.
http://jlne.ws/1lthLWG
India Supreme Court declares coal licences illegal
BBC News
India’s Supreme Court has ruled that all coal mining licences awarded between 1993 and 2010 are illegal. Successive governments gave rights to mine coal to state and private companies in a manner which was “not fair and transparent” and without competitive bidding, the court said.
http://jlne.ws/1p6qM2u
While the gas burns, companies explore solutions
Jennifer Hiller and John Tedesco, San Antonio Express News
On a recent spring day, a crew from the Norwegian energy company Statoil arrived at a gravel pad in Karnes County where three brand new wells hissed with the sound of pressurized gas.
http://jlne.ws/1qIz7eh
Power
IKEA flicks switch on green lighting deal with investment in Design LED Products
James Murray, BusinessGreen
IKEA has continued its push into the clean-tech market with an investment in an innovative Scottish start-up specialising in ultra-efficient LED lighting technologies.
http://jlne.ws/1qJgSFy
India Plans To Add 10,000 MW Wind Energy Capacity Every Year
Mridul Chadha, Clean Technica
Indian wind turbine manufacturers and project developers have been advised by the government to make efforts to increase annual capacity addition to five times its current level, a leading Indian newspaper has reported.
http://jlne.ws/1tEqTYv
***LB: Also in this story “The new Indian government is looking to promote aggressive investment in the wind energy sector after it re-introduced financial incentives in this year’s budget.”
Glasgow scientists hail new tool to boost solar productivity
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen
Researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) have unveiled a new technology they claim can be fitted into windows to quadruple the output of solar panels.
http://jlne.ws/1qlUeqc
Solar For The 99 Percent
Stephanie Paige Ogburn, KUNC (Community Radio for Northern Colorado)
In southwest Denver, just blocks off a stretch of West Evans Avenue liberally dotted with auto repair shops and paint stores, a ladder stretches up the side of a small, one-story tan house. Workers atop the roof wield tape measures and oil crayons, calling off numbers and making marks outlining a setup for solar panels.
http://jlne.ws/1tyyAjX
***LB: Also in this story “These solar panels are coming courtesy of a nonprofit and licensed solar contractor called Grid Alternatives, whose mission involves making renewable power accessible for low-income families.”
Clean tech
China Weighs $16 Billion Fund for Electric Vehicle Chargers
Bloomberg
China is considering providing as much as 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) in government funding to build more charging facilities and spur demand for electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/1qemc69
***LB: Also in this story “While sales of electric vehicles in China have lagged behind government targets, BYD, the electric automaker partially owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., earlier this month cited favorable government policies for helping the company’s new-energy vehicle sales to jump sixfold during the first half.”
Water
Seven Ohio Drinking Water Sources Don’t Meet State Water Quality Standards for Toxic Algae
Codi Kozacek, Circle of Blue
Seven lakes, reservoirs and rivers that supply drinking water to approximately 1 million people in Ohio have repeatedly exceeded safe levels of a toxin that can cause sickness and liver damage, according to a state water quality report.
http://jlne.ws/1p6jOKM
Miscellaneous
Who’s Driving That Tanker? New Polar Code for Sailing Emerges
John Roach, NBC News
A quarter-century after a drunk captain and his fatigued crew ran the Exxon Valdez onto a reef where it spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound, new rules are taking shape to prevent a similar disaster in the rapidly opening Arctic Ocean.
http://jlne.ws/1qlXfqE
Study probes link between climate change, contaminants in Arctic wildlife
NunatsiaqOnline
If you live in the North and love eating seal and beluga, but wonder whether they contain harmful contaminants, a new research project may offer more knowledge.
http://jlne.ws/1tOR4eb
Measuring agriculture’s shadow
Peg Strankman, Canadian Cattlemen
The value of biodiversity to provide ecosystem services like pollination to agriculture is more and more recognized,” says Dr. Shannon R. White, a University of Alberta ecologist working with the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI).
http://jlne.ws/1tEpfpT