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The Scales of Solar Power

April 15, 2013 in Good News, Green, Technology

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Abu Dhabi goes solar with Shams 1

Urban schemes for going green involve a special kind of genius. After all, the primary stuff of cities is concrete, steel, and glass. Solar panels no longer excite the way they used to. The business end of sustainability can be just as brutal as any other form of profit-making. Solar competition is cutthroat, be it of the fair (Germans) or not altogether fair (Chinese) sort.

Sometimes, however, you have to pause in wonderment at the breadth of vision and sheer creativeness powering green design in different global contexts. Who can’t marvel at the scale of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in Abu Dhabi, Shams 1? The new plant is described as a “development of 258,048 parabolic trough mirrors that produce enough energy to power 20,000 homes.” The scale is matched by speed of construction, the project taking only two years to get off the ground.

The UAE isn’t motivated by sentimentalism; this is pure strategy. The more solar power, the more oil available for export to energy craving economies like China’s.  Read the rest of this entry →

photo by: :: Suwaif ::

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Obama Fighting for Green

April 4, 2013 in Environment, Good News, Green

President Barack Obama

President Obama for new clean energy protocols in Washington

It’s rare that politicians take a longer-view of their policy implementation –longer than the next election cycle, that is. It’s understandable in one way, the chessboard mentality and Machiavellian practices of keeping and holding office mean constant compromises, diluted and ‘forgotten’ promises. President Obama knows about thwarted maneuverings, with his Republican nemeses constantly road-blocking any decision that counter their dogmatic approach to power. But, the fight continues.

And so it is the case with new clean energy protocols in Washington. Obama is cleverly working his magic on some fantastic new initiatives to pump money into fuel-free technology without any recourse to increasing the federal debt – and still the Republicans plan to block his moves. Why? It seems that Republican House Speaker John Boehner, and his cronies, are more interested in partisan politics and holding grudges. The BBC recently reported “US President Barack Obama has called for pumping $2bn (£1.3bn) from gas and oil royalties over a decade into clean energy research… Read the rest of this entry →

photo by: jurvetson

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Retraining Our Minds and Pausing the Plastic

February 7, 2013 in Change, Environment, Good News, Green, Social

Plastic Bags

Plastic Bags (Photo credit: Urban Woodswalker)

It dawned on me when I was buying fruit in a local grocery store, how unnecessary plastic bags were for the apples and oranges – just to collect them for the checkout – at which point everything else was to be bundled in plastic. And so this thought of ludicrous wastage found a friend in the unlikely place of a new BBC series online, called 60-Second Idea. This is a simple format whereby philosophers, scientists, psychologists, and in this instance, historian David Abulafia, posits an idea in one minute that could change the world.

Abulafia simply outlined how everything we are surrounded by, and use, is constructed, at least in part, by plastic. This is killing the oceans as it’s not broken down, and creating landfills the size of countries. But, the crux of the idea was for the planet’s inhabitants to “stop using anything plastic for one day a year,” as a way to think about our unconscious actions and their impact. Would this solve the world’s problem? Of course not, but it would help to illustrate how we are enslaved by our habits and the ‘tools’ of our everyday lives. Just as there is a blackout day when everyone across the globe is supposed to not use electricity in the evening, this is the equivalent for a substance, and one that is unmanageable and hugely overused. Read the rest of this entry →

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Electric Cars Are Making Noise

January 3, 2013 in Change, Good News, Green, Technology

Electric Car

Sales of electric cars in Britain are expected to double in 2013 as cheaper models enter the market and the number of charging points increases

While governments continue to negotiate themselves out of any action on the renewable energy front, the private sector is heating up with investments. New solar energy developments in North Africa have been widely written about, but many governmental backers have recently gotten cold feet and pulled out their funding. So, it’s encouraging to read a recent article in Britain’s Guardian newspaper trumpeting the positive advances that the electric car market is making in the UK – from both public and private sectors.

Although these alternatives to traditional automobiles are still in their infancy – at least in branding and design – it seems the ’Sales of electric cars in Britain are expected to double in 2013 as cheaper models enter the market and the number of charging points increases,’ according to the paper. And unlike the stalled actions in the solar power market, Britain’s government seems to be actively looking to increase charging points for owners of the vehicles. Read the rest of this entry →

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Rays of Light in Doha

December 23, 2012 in Change, Earth, Environment, Good News, Green

Image courtesy of xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Global Climate Initiatives – image courtesy of xedos4, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It is immensely difficult to be positive in regards global climate initiatives – especially if you are a scientist. The reality is that much like the infighting and indecisiveness of nations in the eurozone, trying to climb out of their collective fiscal grave, the complexities of ratifying global protocols for reducing carbon emissions is a massive undertaking. The recent UN climate talks in Doha consisted of the usual theatre – demonstrators outside, glum-looking politicians inside, and the dour intonations of a wheezing BBC broadcaster in your ear, proclaiming doom.

And of course it all boils down to money. The biggest polluters are the U.S. and China, but many developing countries have had a difficult time getting on board with Kyoto in the past because they feel unfairly compensated by those with money – this is a global effort, after all. What the current talks did yield is a new ‘Loss and Damage’ protocol aimed at wealthier nations compensating poorer ones for environmental fallout from rising temperatures; many island nations in the South Pacific are at least slightly comforted by this turn of events. And this is another confirmation that countries are looking at the problem holistically. Read the rest of this entry →

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Technology to the Rescue

December 3, 2012 in Business, Earth, Environment, Funny, Good News, Green, Technology

Only within the last decade have humans really begun to consciously become aware of our consumption propensities and the effect they may have on what is around us, and our health in general. It isn’t just climate change that has people buzzing, but Technology to the Rescuealso sourcing products responsibly, understanding what is more elemental and essential and trying to be a ‘good human.’ It’s funny that it’s taken this long to see that this orb called Earth isn’t just a plaything.

What does this have to do with a giant microwave oven-looking specimen in Lubbock, Texas you ask? Well, food scarcity is beginning to make headlines as the new universal threat. Read the rest of this entry →

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Grounds for Concern

November 19, 2012 in Change, Earth, Environment, Finance, Good News, Green, Nature

CoffeeThe Finally Good News blog was established to find a special niche in the transmission of information, namely news items in technology, science or the environment; or unbelievably in the political sphere, that somehow transcend the negative downward spiral of most reportage and some could even argue, our societies. And there is much to cheer about out there.

But, even the optimists in our ranks (of which there are many) must pause for a moment when the idea of irreversible climate change means a reduction in not air, trees or even decent weather… but rather coffee! Read the rest of this entry →

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Turning Green into Gold

November 11, 2012 in Business, Earth, Environment, Finance, Good News, Green, Nature

Forestry Investments

Forestry Investments

The last decade has seen a massive transformation in ‘green’ consumer consciousness, one that is proving to be as much a political instigator and protocol changer as the multitude of scientists warning us about climate change. Indeed, this current generation of media savvy individuals have real political clout, are informed and vocal about what they want – ethical, responsible, honest products and services. This winning combination is what is affecting positive global change and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Whether it’s renewable energy investments like solar panels in the Sahara desert, planting and harvesting trees in Brazil or the notion of finding a way to turn a profit with carbon capture and storage innovations, businesses across every sector must realize that the future has to be one that is sustainable. So, it’s very encouraging to see a new, progressive era of entrepreneurs and start-ups emerging with more than just money on their minds.

Everything from fair trade shoes and clothing, to locally sourced and seasonal food to the aforementioned solar and timbre industries are becoming the vanguard of new business enterprises. The last industry, in particular, is currently gaining much media attention by having young businessmen like Andrew Skeene and Omari Bowers and their company, Global Forestry Investments, forming over an ingenious idea to sell sustainable forestry investments in Brazil. It’s easy to not realize how profitable timbre is, and these gentleman found that by taking tracts of unused land and planting trees in Brazil they are able to find investors that are almost guaranteed a 20% return on their investment and are able to ethically help those in the forest communities and the environment as a whole. Read the rest of this entry →

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EU Rethinks Biofuels

October 22, 2012 in Change, Earth, Environment, Finance, Good News, Green, Nature

The ever-evolving dilemma of climate change has put an incredible strain on scientists and politicians to navigate ‘a way out of this.’ Europe and its leaders have largely been at the forefront of adapting new means to approach our finite resources – North America and the Far East, by contrast, are seemingly always looking for ways to avoid stringent new measures to cap BioFuel. The reasons for this delay are partly technological, but mainly financial and constituency-related: don’t rock the boat, there’s an election approaching.

Biofuels are an example of what only a few years ago, were heralded to be a significant breakthrough in managing our population’s fuel needs responsibly. Read the rest of this entry →

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The Planet Strikes Back

October 15, 2012 in Change, Earth, Environment, Good News, Green, Nature

As most of the press, broadsheets or blogs, are predicated on facilitating drama –one way or another – negative stories always trump those waving a flag of encouragement. I don’t know if this is a human quirk, a prehistoric perversion

marine protected area

marine protected area

akin to staring at a car wreck, or if it has more to do with a modern model of ‘what sells?’ Perhaps both. Nonetheless, it’s lovely to read about multinational environmental initiatives that work, and are actually on schedule!

From the diminishing ice in the Arctic (now at unforeseen dangerously low levels), to political fumbling over Kyoto or renewable energy investments – the news is hardly ever good. A classic case of humans hoping environmental problems will just go away if they avert their eyes. Read the rest of this entry →

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