24 | December | 2013 | Indoor Air Quality Lab

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 12.24.13 share

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

ENERGY POLICY

Fitch Ratings: Net metering can destabilize entire utility industry (via CleanTechnica)

US pipeline safety agency says no to pipeline safety improvements (via Climate Progress)

OIL

Russian oil giant becomes first in world to pump oil Arctic (via Yale e360)

Landrieu could swing at export limits with energy gavel (via National Journal)

CLIMATE

Global warming will intensify drought, says new study (via The Guardian)

RENEWABLES

Global geothermal industry passes 12GW operational capacity (via Green Car Congress)

Vestas to supply Middle East with first utility-scale wind project (via CleanTechnica)

If the US solar business is booming, why are solar jobs declining? (via Quartz)

Siemens puts weight behind US offshore wind (via EarthTechling)

Wood-pellet bonds show US biomass market expanding worldwide (via Renewable Energy World)

Catching rays in California, and storing them (via New York Times)

New York Green Bank to launch with $210 million in funding (via BusinessGreen)

The solar net metering battle moves to Colorado (via Greentech Media)

Solar energy projects finally getting boost in New York State (via Houston Chronicle/AP)

Wind farms in Maine stir a power struggle (via Wall Street Journal)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

New efficiency rules for cable boxes could save enough energy to power 700,000 homes per year (via Climate Progress)

NUCLEAR

Japanese nuclear angst weighs on neighbors concerned about emissions (via Forbes)

Cleanup at Fukushima Daiichi might take three years (via The Hill)

EMISSIONS

US carbon emissions set to miss Obama’s targets (via Environmental Leader)

OPINION

Americans are buying less electricity – that’s a big problem for utilities (via Washington Post)

Are utilities wilting from heat of solar competition? (via National Journal)

A biofuels holiday wish list (via The Energy Collective)

Have EVs already reached the tipping point? ABB says yes (via Green Car Reports)

Does merchant solar make any sense? (via Greentech Media)

Posted: | Categories: ABB, arctic, biofuels, biomass, california, climate, Climate Change, colorado, concentrated solar power, drought, electric vehicles, emissions, Energy Efficiency, EVs, Fitch Ratings, Fukushima Daiichi, geothermal, global warming, japan, Maine, Mary Landrieu, Net metering, new york, News, nuclear, offshore drilling, offshore wind, oil, Oil exports, PHMSA, renewables, Russia, Siemens, solar, vestas, wind

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Bike Sharing Programs Across Europe share

You know that we think Sharing is Good, so we were excited to run across this infographic with some great information on bike sharing in Europe.

In population-dense cities, riding a bike instead of driving a car makes a lot of sense. You get to skip the traffic jams and cruise in the bike lane. But owning a bike outright isn't for everyone. If you're a tourist visiting a city, someone who only rides bikes occasionally, or someone who just can't fork out a few hundreds of dollars, bike ownership might not make sense. That's where bike sharing comes in.

Bike sharing programs work by allowing you to borrow a bike - usually for a small fee - so that you can ride without having to own a bicycle. If you're new to a city or traveling there for the first time, sorting out how different bike sharing programs work can be a little bit tricky.

The infographic below from travel company Momondo is a handy primer on bike sharing programs in a few major European cities. This graphic represents a handful of cities, and there are cities across the globe that have bike sharing programs. Do you have any experience with bike sharing? How did it work? Let's talk about this aspect of the sharing economy more in the comments!

Posted: | Categories: bicycling, Bike sharing, Bikes, Living, sharing, sharing economy, Sharing is Good, Travel

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