Last week US President Barack Obama announced he will put back solar panels on the White House next year. The first solar panels were installed by President Carter in the 1970s and removed by Reagan in 1986. This made me wonder when l’Elysée, the residence of French Presidents will install solar panels as well. While …
I know it since I read Collapse, Jared Diamond’s fantastic book about how various societies disappeared : trees matter ! Between soil erosion prevention and climate change mitigation, there are many reasons for keeping forests alive. Now comes a British study noting that the annual cost of deforestation is five trillion dollar. This research is …
Yesterday took place around the world 7,700 gatherings in over 180 countries to urge governments to embrace 350 : lowering the amount of carbon dioxide to 350 ppm (today’s levels are at 388). I already stated that we are facing a triple crisis with massive unemployment, climate change and decreasing energy supplies (peak oil and …
I knew it all along ! As rare earths are more and more expensive and critically needed for our technological thirst, it is becoming economically viable to mine landfills and to recycle old appliances. As the New York Times indeed noted : ” This town’s hopes for a mining comeback lie not underground, but in …
While browsing CleanTechnica I found an interesting article on peak oil. According to a leaked military report from the German Bundeswehr, peak oil will occur this year and the consequences will be dramatic. Among them are market failures and tremendous risks for democracy itself. As Cleantechnica notes “ it is unlikely that any nation would …
After no less than ten years of exploration all around the world ( with no less than 2,700 scientists, 80+ nations, 540 expeditions) the Census Of Marine Life is finally out. And the findings are more than interesting. The wealth of the planet Ocean is astonishing as it is estimated there are over a million …
While the US federal government is still haggling about a climate and energy bill, the richest state is willing to have a third of its electricity coming from solar, wind and the likes by the end of the decade. The local government points to the fact that this will decrease the dependence on foreign fossil …
I really like TED talks as they always provide great insight and ideas on countless issues. This week, Mr. Mechai Viravaidya explains how his country – Thailand – went from 7 children per family in 1974 to about 1.5 today. Similarly, the programs succeeded in fighting HIV/AIDS as no less than 7.7 million lives were …
To Ashok Kamal in CleanTechies : ” In many academic, policy and business circles, the term “clean tech” is synonymous with renewable energy.” However under this term we can put among others electric cars and green IT. And the latter is very important and promising as GreenTech Enterprise notes that it is the biggest green …
I love both Impressionism and beautiful astronomy pictures. So, when the NASA features Starry night over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh I only can write about it. As the NASA puts it : How can the majesty of the night sky best be captured in a painting? This was a continual challenge for Vincent …
