Renewable energies increased slowly in 2013 in France

Here is my first 2014 article for Cleantechies, focusing on the slow growth of renewable energy in France. If wind power capacity is reaching 8,000 MW and solar PV is reaching 4,500 MW, progress has been slowing down considerably. Here is the introduction to the article : ” According to recent data from the French Ministry […]

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The future is solar : 49 GW to be installed in 2014

Solar saw another record year in 2013, with as much around 35 GW of capacity installed according to IHS. China and Japan leaded the world in 2013 with 8.6 and 6.3 GW respectively. This is especially staggering once you know that in 2008 and 2009 yearly installations were below ten gigawatts. Solar photovoltaic is in

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2014 : reasons to hope

As we are kicking off the new year I believe it would be interesting to offer my readers reasons to hope. Indeed, if climate change and other environmental issues are getting each month more pressing, we are witnessing at least five trends. From renewable energy sources to the carbon tax, from coal funding to greenhouse

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Nicaragua develops its renewable energy potential

According to El Pais, Nicaragua and its six million inhabitants could get 90 % of its electricity from renewables by 2020. To date, the country is already getting 58 percent of its electricity from clean sources. Enjoying huge amounts of sun and wind it could also benefit from large reserves of geothermal energy. Indeed, if

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Happy and sustainable 2014 ! (Starting season 8)

Dear visitors, readers and subscribers. Today, January 2nd, this humble blog turns SEVEN. As this is the first 2014 post, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and sustainable year 2014 ! I have tried from day one to bring you a selection of the latest news and best

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Worth an article : My November and December 2013 tweets

For my last 2013 article I would like to present you with my selection of tweets for both November and December 2013. Each of them could have been the subject of an article on its own. It is quite safe to write reading this that next year will present us with new climate change tipping points

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European Union could agree to 45 percent cuts by 2030

For my last 2013 post for Cleantechies, I wrote about how the European Union is working on its climate change projects for 2030. It is considering 35 to 45 percent greenhouse gases emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels. As I am stating there, this would be a bit unambitious as the European Union has already

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Trees capture particulate pollution

Air pollution kills a lot of people around the world and the situation in some Chinese cities has become nothing short of unbreathable. Meanwhile, we have seen in my series ” Plant, baby, plant “ that trees can solve many related problems. To a new study from Lancaster University, trees can absorb half of particulates,

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The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid

While reading Richard Branson’s latest book, Screw Business As Usual, I came across an interesting concept : the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. The term refers to the basic goods and services to sell to the poorest people. To a report from the World Resources Institute quoted in Branson’s book,  the Bottom of

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Time to become nuts about nuts

Pistachios, almonds, walnuts… I enjoy eating them all and it seems it is an excellent idea as TreeHugger reports, quoting a 30-year study from the New England Journal of Medicine, which analysed data of over 100,000 people ” Researchers found that those people who ate 1 ounce (28 grams) of nuts daily, seven days a

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