Global investment in renewable energy continued its upward trajectory last year, raising the proportion of world electricity generated by green sources like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal to a new high, says a new report. A record 157 gigawatts of renewable power were commissioned last year, up from 143 gigawatts in 2016 and far out-stripping the net 70 gigawatts of fossil-fuel generating capacity added (after adjusting for the closure of some existing plants) over the same period, revealed the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report, released on Thursday by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Center and Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Last year was the eighth in a row in which global investment in renewables exceeded $200 billion (€163.2 billion), the report states, adding that since 2004, the world has invested about $2.9 trillion in green energy sources. The lion's share of this investment went … [Read more...] about China leads in global shift to renewable energy
Efficient energy technology s r o
With renewable energy, Rail ministry to transform Indian Railways into ‘Green Railways’
New Delhi [India], Dec 3 (ANI): With a goal of transforming Indian Railways into 'Green Railways', the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved complete electrification of railway network which will reduce its carbon footprint and improve its finances through the reduction in fuel cost. "As part of its obligations and commitment to reducing carbon footprints, Indian Railways is taking several initiatives in the field of green energy to achieve the same. In line with this, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Railways, Government of India and Department for International Development (DFID), the United Kingdom on December 2 for collaboration on energy and sustainability," an official statement said. Through the Power Sector Reform (PSR) programme, the MoU with DFID envisages to include co-operation for energy efficiency and energy self-sufficiency for Indian Railways. The MoU will broadly cover energy planning for Indian Railways in … [Read more...] about With renewable energy, Rail ministry to transform Indian Railways into ‘Green Railways’
Back to the Future: Can Nuclear Energy Save the World?
This piece was originally published by the Brookings Institution. See the interactive version on the Brookings Institution website.The Nuclear Science and Engineering Library at MIT is not a place where most people would go to unwind. It's filled with journals that have articles with titles like "Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry of electrons from heavy flavor decays in polarized p + p collisions at [square root symbol]s = 200 GeV."But nuclear engineering Ph.D. candidates relax in ways all their own. In the winter of 2009, two of those candidates, Leslie Dewan and Mark Massie, were studying for their qualifying exams—a brutal rite of passage—and had a serious need to decompress.To clear their heads after long days and nights of reviewing neutron transport, the mathematics behind thermohydraulics, and other such subjects, they browsed through the crinkled pages of journals from the first days of their industry—the glory days.Reading articles by scientists working in … [Read more...] about Back to the Future: Can Nuclear Energy Save the World?
These small businesses use marketing technology to do a lot with a little
Magnolia Bakery and Urban Betty, a hair salon, share the same challenge: their teams are short on time. The commonalities don’t end there. Unlike the 41 percent of small businesses that think marketing automation is out of reach, both businesses use marketing technology to run more efficient and effective companies. advertisement advertisement An appearance on HBO’s “Sex and the City” helped Magnolia Bakery start an international cupcake craze, but its real expansion began after 2006, when it was sold to new owners. It has since opened additional locations in New York City, as well as stores in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C, Dubai, Mexico City, Manila, and other locations. Today, it operates 25 locations worldwide–with a marketing team of three people. Urban Betty founder Chelle Neff has handled marketing herself since opening the Austin-based business in 2005. This got more challenging when she opened a second … [Read more...] about These small businesses use marketing technology to do a lot with a little
1000-horsepower technology-packed hybrid race cars take the pole in 2014
Last year Ars traveled down to Austin, Texas, to take a look at some of the most technologically advanced race cars the world has ever seen. But racing—unlike its consumer counterparts—is much like the tech sector; it waits for no one. A single year passes, and the Audi R18 and Toyota TS030 are now obsolete. So too are the machines of last year's Formula 1 season. As fast as ever, the new cars make that speed without nearly as much fuel, thanks to new rules that force them to develop much more efficient hybrid systems. The result is a technological revolution at the race track that's as exciting as as any time in the sport's past. The cars in each major racing series—Formula 1, IndyCar, LeMans, NASCAR—are shaped by their respective rulebooks, and those get rewritten from time to time. It's usually an effort to either slow the cars down (if they're getting too fast for the tracks on which they race), make them more socially relevant … [Read more...] about 1000-horsepower technology-packed hybrid race cars take the pole in 2014
The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: ‘There is reason for hope’
‘Everybody gets paralysed by bad news because they feel helpless,” says Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief who delivered the landmark Paris climate change agreement. “It is so in our personal lives, in our national lives and in our planetary life.” But it is becoming increasingly clear that it does not need to be all bad news: a series of fast-moving global megatrends, spurred by trillion-dollar investments, indicates that humanity might be able to avert the worst impacts of global warming. From trends already at full steam, including renewable energy, to those just now hitting the big time, such as mass-market electric cars, to those just emerging, such as plant-based alternatives to meat, these trends show that greenhouse gas emissions can be halted. “If we were seeing linear progress, I would say good, but we’re not going to make it in time,” says Figueres, now the convener of the Mission 2020 initiative, which warns that the … [Read more...] about The seven megatrends that could beat global warming: ‘There is reason for hope’
