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A surprising reaction from the UK Green Building Council to a policy change that appears to make a lot of sense.

U.S Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded the first three large-scale carbon sequestration projects in the United States and the largest single set in the world to date.

The Scientific basis for carbon reduction targets - video of meeting in UK Parliament\n\nWitnesses\n\n 1. Professor James Hansen, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Tim Helweg-Larsen, Director, Public Interest Research Centre\n 2. Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Professor John Beddington CMG FRS, Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office of Science

The latest word on the state of climate change.

Sorry, not strictly on topic, but I found this very gripping and wanted to share it.

"Carbon neutrality by 2030 is the new standard for climate policies, and again the UK is leading North America in the climate debate with a bold national-level proposal about how to get there. The Centre for Alternative Technology just launched zerocarbonbritain2030 (ZCB2030), a collaborative project showing one possible scenario for making the entire UK carbon-neutral by 2030. ZCB2030 is a well-researched, well-written, and well-designed report on a set of possible pathways to a zero carbon Britain by 2030 (The goal, though bold, is not unique: Alex Steffen called for a very similar position for Seattle, a target which the Seattle City Council has included in their legislative priorities this year; and a variety of other nations and cities are approaching the same target, from Copenhagen to New Zealand). In 384 pages, CAT presents a comprehensive look at the kind of systemic changes needed to achieve dramatic emissions reduction in just 20 years in such areas as farming, energy generation, building codes, transportation planning, and economic frameworks. This report truly addresses the scope, scale and speed of the climate crisis and the solutions needed to create a bright green future. "

Cogeneration of electricity and heat is one of the most promising means of using existing technologies for sustainable ends, but it is also one of the most neglected and least understood. Cogeneration can dramatically increase energy efficiency, slash carbon emissions, and save money. Using cogeneration in combination with heat-pump technology and plug-in vehicles as part of a renewable electric grid, we could say goodbye to gasoline and to coal electricity generation and have a real chance in 10 to 20 years for an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This transition will not require rocket science but simply the integration of existing technologies.

Blue Source is piping industrial carbon dioxide from a natural-gas processing plant in southeastern Colorado to an undisclosed oil producer that will, in turn, pump it into an aging oil field. The result should be increased crude production and a carbon-dioxide emissions reduction equivalent to taking 70,000 cars off the road.

Voltage optimisation works by efficiently reducing supply voltages to around 220 V, protecting against supply fluctuations and correcting power quality problems. The technology can reduce electricity costs and carbon emissions by over 10% and has long been recognised by the Carbon Trust. Voltage optimisation systems are available from Active Energy and two other suppliers in the UK.

Voltage reduction is a sector that tends to make bold claims about energy reduction and power quality improvement.

The way we look at emissions may be key to resolving the climate crisis. Interesting to observe that buildings do not even appear in the Indian taxonomy.

There have been major strides in producing everything from sandals to military hardware in more eco-friendly ways. Likewise, the reduction of waste has also been improved, through both new technology and behavioral changes. But perhaps the most intriguing sector of the "sustainability industry" is the one populated by companies and organizations capturing waste and converting it into useful, carbon-neutral resources.

"The Vacon 100 HVAC is the first ac drive that is purpose-built and designed to meet the stringent requirements of the energy-intensive HVAC sector," says Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Vacon. In HVAC applications, ac drives bring both energy-saving and controllability benefits, thus offering a huge potential reduction in CO2 emissions globally.