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Utopian off-grid Regen Village produces all of its own food and energy

inhabitat.com - May 27th 2016 - Lacy Cooke

Danish architectural firm EFFEKT envisioned a future where self-sustaining communities could grow their own food and produce their own energy. They incorporated that vision into the ReGen Village, a planned off-grid community that addresses issues ranging from climate change to food security through sustainable design. They plan to start building these utopian communities this summer.

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The struggle for Water Is Sickening!

By Beny Sam
Thursday April 14, 2016

With all the efforts made by our ministry of water resources, the bulk of our compatriots are still thirsting for water. In Africa, many communities go without electricity for ages, but they cannot afford to go without water. If the United Nations perhaps knew March month is the driest month in most West African countries, may be they would have shifted the World Water commemoration from a day in March.  Why I see the date disturbing is that when our Ministry each year mobilizes resources to mark the World Water Day, I see it as a biting irony since that is the time Sierra Leoneans forage all over the place to have a drop of water to utilize for various purposes.

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A Renewable Energy Boom

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016

nytimes.com - by The Editorial Board - April 4, 2016

Some world leaders, especially in developing countries like India, have long said it’s hard to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet because they need to use relatively inexpensive — but highly carbon-intensive — fuels like coal to keep energy affordable. That argument is losing its salience as the cost of renewable energy sources like wind and solar continues to fall.

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Why Solar and Wind Are Thriving Despite Cheap Fossil Fuels

          

Wind turbines provide energy for the residents of Samso Island, a Danish island that gets all its power from renewable sources. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW HENDERSON, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

Low oil prices are rattling stock markets, but investors remain bullish on solar, wind, and other clean energy. Here are three reasons why.

nationalgeographic.com - by Wendy Koch - January 22, 2016

The prolonged plunge in fossil fuel prices is rippling across the globe. Yet it’s barely put a dent in the booming market for clean energy, heralding perhaps a new era for wind and solar.

Oil prices of less than $30 a barrel—the lowest in 12 years—have shaken stock markets and ravaged the budgets of major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. Along with falling gas prices, they’ve slashed the profits of fossil fuel companies, which are delaying dozens of billion-dollar projects and laying off thousands of workers. . . .

. . . But solar, wind, and other clean energy? They’re expanding.

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How Could Paris Climate Talks Change Africa’s Future?

          

Pilanesburg National Park, three hours from Johannesburg in South Africa, has been ravaged by drought. Zebras roam the game reserve on November 12, 2015.  PHOTOGRAPH BY WENDY KOCH, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The UN meeting will focus on developed countries’ plans to curb global warming, but it could give Africa money to embrace clean energy.

nationalgeographic.com - by Wendy Koch - November 23, 2015

A landmark UN report says rising temperatures will “amplify existing stress on water availability” in Africa—a continent that’s contributed little to climate change but is reeling from its impacts. . . .

. . . Countries have pledged to cut their planet-warming emissions of greenhouse gases. Richer nations have also pledged $100 billion a year to help poorer ones adapt to climate change and adopt clean sources of energy.

“Africa could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of COP21,” UN’s Vincent Kitio said at National Geographic’s Great Energy Challenge forum this month in Johannesburg on sub-Saharan Africa’s future.

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From the Ground Up: Building Our Energy Future, One Turbine at a Time

MidAmerican Energy Company

This video explains how a wind farm is built.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84BeVq2Jm88

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Bill Gates Launches Multi-Billion Dollar Clean Energy Fund

             

Bill Gates has pulled together a multinational band of investors to put billions into clean energy.

money.cnn.com - by Jackie Wattles - November 30, 2015

The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist announced his latest endeavor, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, at the climate change summit in Paris. . . .

. . . The new Gates fund will be fed by a group that spans more than two dozen public and private entities -- including national governments, billionaire philanthropists, investment fund managers and tech CEOs.

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CLICK HERE - Breakthrough Energy Coalition

 

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Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Won't Slow Global Economic Growth — Report

          

Increased use of low-carbon energy sources instead of fossil energy sources is making it easier for countries to decouple economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report.  Photograph: Mick Tsikas/Reuters

New report from green think tank Heinrich Boll shows OECD countries grew their economies 16% in last decade – and cut greenhouse gas emissions 6.4%

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH REPORT - Turning point: Decoupling Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Economic Growth

theguardian.com - by Bruce Watson - September 26, 2015

As the world works out how to avoid catastrophic climate change, one of the biggest questions remaining is whether we can continue to grow economically without also increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Fossil Fuels Losing Cost Advantage Over Solar, Wind, IEA Says

      

Photographer - Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

bloomberg.com - by Tara Patel - August 31, 2015

  • Renewable technologies no longer cost outliers, report says
  • No single technology is cheapest under all circumstances

The cost of producing electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind has dropped significantly over the past five years, narrowing the gap with power generated from fossil fuels and nuclear reactors, according to the International Energy Agency.

“The costs of renewable technologies -- in particular solar photovoltaic -- have declined significantly over the past five years,” the Paris-based IEA said in a report called Projected Costs of Generating Electricity. “These technologies are no longer cost outliers.”

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100% renewables by 2045 is now the law in Hawaii

Link to Article:  http://www.argusmedia.com/News/Article?id=1051970

Hawaii law sets target of 100pc renewables by 2045

 

9 Jun 2015, 2.15 pm GMT

Washington, 9 June (Argus) — Hawaii's governor David Ige (D) signed legislation making the island state the first in the US to set a mandate for all electricity to come from renewable resources.

The governor signed HB 623, which requires electric utilities to supply 100pc of their sales with renewables by 2045. The new renewable portfolio standard includes interim targets of 30pc by 2020, 40pc by 2030 and 70pc by 2040. HB 623 replaces a previous standard that called for 15pc by 2015, 25pc by 2020 and 40pc by 3030. The bill takes effect on 1 July.

Ige said the move to local sources of energy will help the state's economy, which relies on about $5bn/yr in oil imports. Fuel oil provides about 70pc of the state's electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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