california Archives – The Green Optimistic

California State Bill to Expand Competitive Energy Market

Ally Munda — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 20:05:52 +0000

Earlier this week, California passed into law a bill allowing for the expansion of the state’s competitive energy market and direct access program. SB 236 allows for a slight increase in the cap enforced by the state since 2001’s energy crisis, giving greater freedom to large-scare commercial, industrial, government or institutional customers to buy from […]

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California Promises Space Monitoring of Climate-Changing Emissions

Matthew Fiala — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 16:52:02 +0000

During a climate summit in San Francisco, company executives unveiled plans to reduce climate-changing emission, while local and state governments committed to abandoning coal and champion clean energy. However, the biggest announcement came as the gathering ended with California announcing its venture into space monitoring of climate-changing emissions. The summit marks the start of a […]

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How Hydrogen Can Become the Fuel of Choice in the Future

Arsenij Percov — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 19:39:29 +0000

The idea of using hydrogen fuel as an energy source is amazing since it doesn’t produce any pollution. However, producing pure hydrogen from water (the only clean way to do it) requires more energy than it will generate. Hydrogen fuel can be used as storage The solution to the problem mentioned above is using hydrogen […]

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Renewables Reduced California And UK Carbon Emissions

Arsenij Percov — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 19:59:42 +0000

California has set a goal to reduce its emissions to the 1990 level by 2020. However, according to its latest report from 2016, it has already achieved it. It has followed a declining trend since 2007. The peak of carbon emissions was noticed in 2001 (14.0 metric tons per person). Since then it has been […]

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Revolutionary Way to Mainstream Zero-Emission, All-Electric Buildings

Arsenij Percov — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 19:06:42 +0000

Since late 1970s, California has been a leader in building energy efficiency. However, state officials believe that much more can be done to make building eco-friendly and all-electric. California Energy Commission (CEC), the agency responsible for updating the state’s Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards, hosted a workshop on the topic of pushing towards zero-emission […]

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California Gets Tough On Methane Regulations

Nicholas Say — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 05:46:32 +0000

In a recent policy action California‘s air quality board voted unanimously to adopt regulations for methane that are the strongest in the history of the United States. There have been a string of recent incidents that involve methane pollution, including the giant leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage field. The body of regulations will […]

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New Flow Battery Storage Project Sees California Light

Ece Polat — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 19:40:26 +0000

Last week, San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) and Sumitomo Electric (SEI) announced that it started a pilot project for a 2-MW vanadium redox flow (VRF) battery storage. The project will last four years, and if the new technology can be enhanced economically, be delivered safely, integrated to renewable energy, and contribute to utility flexibility. The […]

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California Adopts New Laws to Fight Climate Change, Despite New Government Policy

Ece Polat — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 20:58:35 +0000

Against all odds, California keeps fighting for a green future. Thirty seven minutes after Trump got sworn into the U.S. Presidency, California released new measures to take action against climate change. The measures will aim towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2030. Being the world’s sixth largest […]

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Nestlé Keeps Bottling California’s Water Despite Drought

Mila Luleva — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 04:18:21 +0000

The drought in California has gradually become worse over the past few years, yet companies bottling drinking water continue to unprecedently pump out and make money out of the precious limited resource. For quite some time now, the first thing that comes to people’s minds when they hear the word “California” is “drought“. The condition in […]

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25,000 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Planned for California

Benji Jerew — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 20:50:53 +0000

To help California meet its clean air goals, PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Company) have asked state regulators for permission to roll out an unprecedented 25,000 electric vehicle charging stations. California seems to be a contradiction. On the one hand, California is one of the most advanced in terms of clean energy policy and technology, […]

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Topaz Goes Online as The New World’s Largest Solar Plant

Mila Luleva — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 09:44:24 +0000

The new holder of the prestigious title “Largest Online Solar Plant in The World” has been announced. Topaz, the giant solar facility, began operation in California, nearly one year ahead of schedule. Manufactured by First Solar, owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings, Topaz is made up of 9 million solar panels that cover the impressive 9.5 […]

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California Solar Panel Orientation – Where the West Was Won

Ari Luis — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 19:46:32 +0000

When installing solar systems north of the equator, the rule is to do so with the panels facing south. The point of this is to maximize the power generated by the panels, preferably by tilting the panels south by as many degrees latitude your location is from the equator. But California, part of its wild, wild […]

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California Sold 100,000 Plug-In Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in just Four Years

Benji Jerew — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 15:13:30 +0000

To date, the United States is home to some 7.5 million hybrid vehicles, and California leads the way. According to research compiling data from a number of sources, such as CARB (California Air Resources Board) and hybridcars.com, some 40% of those plug-in vehicles are in the State of California. In fact, over the last four […]

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Is Milk a Problem for the Environment?

Benji Jerew — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:56:13 +0000

When it comes to daily life, there is always some impact on the environment, including what we might be putting into our morning coffee every day. Recently, I came across an article describing how bad Almond Milk is for the environment, and I had to wonder, what about Cow Milk? First, however, Almond Milk seems […]

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California May Cap Electric Vehicle Incentives for the Wealthy

Benji Jerew — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 16:21:29 +0000

Depending on how you look at it, electric vehicle incentives may be a waste of money or a boon to the industry, and isn’t as equitable as it could be, at least according to California Senator Kevin de León. Compared to conventional vehicles, electric vehicles have a couple of limitations that make some potential buyers […]

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California Drought is Bad News for Crops

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 11 Jun 2014 21:19:03 +0000

Do you realize that 80% of the water used in California is by farms? For decades, when the state actually got a good amount of rainfall annually, this wasn’t a big deal. However, now we are in the driest 30-month stretch in California’s recorded history, and that means big problems for the price of your […]

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A Message to Autonomous Vehicle Drivers, “Wake up, Sleepy Head!”

Benji Jerew — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 17:47:59 +0000

Autonomous vehicles basically drive themselves, so does the “driver” (owner? rider? passenger? transportee?) need to stay awake after assigning the destination? There are truly a lot of questions to be answered when it comes to autonomous vehicles. If your autonomous vehicle runs a red light, hits a dog, hits another car, or gets you to […]

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Tesla Motors is California’s Biggest Automotive Employer

Benji Jerew — Tue, 27 May 2014 16:40:39 +0000

Comparing Tesla Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation may not be fair, but it’s interesting to note Tesla’s growth in California. Toyota has been around for over eighty years, and is worth over $170 billion today. In California, the undisputed home of the automobile in the United States, Toyota employs about 5,300 people. Tesla Motors is […]

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California Bets on Solar, Gives Energy Storage Innovations a Boost

Mila Luleva — Mon, 26 May 2014 09:27:54 +0000

Solar is brilliant, everyone knows that. Fitting panels on rooftops of houses is now moving from being a super cool, yet rare scene, to something very common and more affordable. But a huge limitation still remains, preventing solar to reach incredible heights- that of energy storage. Regardless of how efficient the solar panels are and […]

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Nissan Leaf Charging Network Loses a Major Supporter

Benji Jerew — Fri, 23 May 2014 23:46:40 +0000

Not all Nissan Leaf owners work or play within their round-trip range of about 80 miles. At least for these, easy access to a charging station is an important consideration. Easy access is what was planned for Nissan Leaf owners, in the No Charge to Charge program, as well as the EZ-Charge Card, but there […]

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The State With The Most Polluted Air in the U.S.

Mila Luleva — Thu, 01 May 2014 19:22:35 +0000

The topic of air pollution is being widely discussed for quite some time now. To start with, controlling the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is extremely important for climate change mitigation, there is no question about it. Of course, this is not the only reason the topic has flooded the news. […]

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Clearing the Air – Climate Change Mitigation

Benji Jerew — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 14:20:15 +0000

According to the Fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions has several side effects, one of which is improving air quality. For decades, under the Clean Air Act in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been working hard to reduce emissions. For a […]

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The Key to the California Carbon Problem: Tesla and Ivanpah

Benji Jerew — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 16:17:00 +0000

According to recent research, California is actually the Nation’s second-biggest carbon dioxide emitter, and the biggest problem is the transportation sector. This might come as a surprise when you read about California’s implementation of renewable energy, such as the recent startup of the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) plant in Ivanpah. In fact, by […]

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And the Three Biggest Carbon Dioxide Footprints Are Made By…

Benji Jerew — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 13:58:30 +0000

Taking a look at the Nation’s biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, we can see that we have a long way to go sweeping up our footprints. According to the most recent data, it should really come as no surprise that the two most-populous States generate the most carbon dioxide, but the third might come as […]

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Climate Changes California – Worst Drought in Over a Century

Benji Jerew — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 15:24:39 +0000

Climate change seems to generate a lot of superlatives, such as the continuing drought in California. Taking a look at aerial photos of Folsom Lake, a reservoir outside of Sacramento, California, almost makes one wonder if someone left the tap open when they ran off to the store. Oops! Well, not really, since Folsom Lake’s […]

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Fiat 500e CARB Fodder After All, CEO Marchionne Calls it Masochism

Benji Jerew — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:05:23 +0000

Of all the fuel economy regulations, possibly in the world, those of California are the most strict, which is why electric vehicles [EV] like the Tesla Model S and Fiat 500e are such a great idea. CEOs of regular automobile companies that produce EVs aren’t as convinced that those regulations are very fair. California Air […]

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California Ranked as Most Polluted State

Mila Luleva — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:43:15 +0000

The American Lung Association ranked Los Angeles as the U.S. city with the highest levels of ozone pollution, the worst smog and the heaviest traffic. The annual report on national air quality released earlier this week placed the farming town of Bakersfield, California at first place for particulate pollution. The American Lung Association estimated that […]

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California, Global Leader in Hydrogen Refueling Stations by 2016

Benji Jerew — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:48:31 +0000

Worldwide, there are just over 200 hydrogen refueling stations, which reflects the addition of just 27 stations in 2012. There are probably just as many hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road, which doesn’t include fleet operators with private hydrogen refueling stations. Still, this kind of progress is expected to be slow, just as the […]

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Green Cars in California Get Extended Privileged Access to HOV Lane

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:15:34 +0000

In California, green car buyers have an advantage over the others: they can travel in the carpool (HOV) lane, by law, in a green car that has only one occupant. That law was about to expire on Jan. 1, 2015, but it seems that it’s going to be extended 10 more years. This is just […]

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California, Hybrid Capital of the Nation, Research Finds

Benji Jerew — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:50:40 +0000

Alternative fuels, which include electric and hybrid electric vehicles, have a lot to offer when it comes to saving money at the pump as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions. While there are just over fifty electrified vehicles available in dealers across the US, depending on where you live, you might never see one on […]

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California Sets Winter Solar Power Record

Benji Jerew — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:19:54 +0000

Solar power plants, of course, rely on the sun to produce power. Solar power output depends on the intensity of the sun and varies depending on the hour, the weather, and even the season. The further a solar power plant is located from the equator, the more the seasonal variation affects the output. Solar power […]

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“Cap-and-trade” Program Cuts Down California’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Mila Luleva — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:22:55 +0000

This coming Wednesday, California is going to go one step further in their fight against climate change. The state is hosting the first ever sale of carbon emissions permits, which hopefully will become a common practice in many other U.S states. The program is called “cap-and-trade”. The state sets limits (or cap) on quantities of […]

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Toyota's Future Fuel Cell Vehicles Able to Work at Minus 37 degrees Celsius

Cristi — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:52:59 +0000

Fuel cell vehicles have been criticized by a lot of car manufacturers around the world. Still there are some that think they are able to transform the world’s thinking into a GREEN ONE and prove that fuel cell vehicles are as reliable as any gas cars available on the market. This year’s Air Resources Board’s […]

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IBM Chooses Lithium Air Batteries for 500 Miles EV Range

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:57:57 +0000

IBM, through its "Big Green" - "Battery 500" project, aimed to produce a battery for an electric car that would be able to carry a family-sized sedan up to 500 miles, spotted the lithium-air (STAIR) invention as its goal, and predicted that they could improve the STAIR battery further with the nanoscale semiconductor manufacturing techniques they possess.

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Rumour: BMW to Make Full Electric Car by 2012

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 03 May 2008 10:49:33 +0000

It is said that BMW has plans for making full electric vehicles, as new Californian laws force the cars manufacturers to have a significant electric vehicles offer for the market beginning with 2012. They plan to make Li-Ion powered car, with two seats (90% of the time only one is used in practice). The car […]

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