In yet another sign of how morally bankrupt people nowadays are, it seems that a gang of poachers broke into the Thoiry Zoo outside of Paris on Tuesday, killed one of the rhinoceroses there, and then sawed off its horn. The intent no doubt being to cash in on the financially lucrative blackmarket trade in
The International Solar Alliance shall come into official existence under the UN once 15 countries ratify the agreement or officially join the alliance.
France recently issued new tenders for solar energy, targeting an increase its installed PV capacity by 20 GW in 2023. The French environment and energy minister Segolene Royal announced the introduction of a number of new solar tenders in France for the development of various PV applications. This means France may triple its solar PV
Among various solar energy technologies, one is referred to as concentrated solar power, or concentrating solar power. The acronym CSP applies to either. Worldwide CSP systems generate solar power by using mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. The concentrated heat is used to eventually spin a
The government of France recently launched a new 400 MW request for proposals for solar PV projects larger than 250kW in size, according to recent reports. Of this new 400 MW request, 50 MW is for solar projects in parking facilities, below 4.5 MW in size; 150 MW is for rooftop solar projects; and 200
The G20 meeting of the world’s most influential political and economic leaders in Brisbane, Australia, began slightly off-track today, according to Reuters. President Obama put out a few words about climate change at the start, announcing a much-needed US pledge of $3 billion to get the world two-thirds of the way toward a $10 billion
(BREAKING–Reposted from our sister site, CleanTechnica) We’ve thought for a while that the US had more leadership to contribute to the world climate process, so today’s news (still on the gossip vine at present) that President Obama has a $3 billion pledge in his pocket for the Global Climate Fund is not a total surprise.
Preparing to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, TEPCO recently dismantled the damaged roof parapet of Unit 4 and removed debris there. (Screenshot source: Enformable.com/Lucas W. Hixson.) As early as next Friday (November 8), the scariest decommissioning work at the ruined nuclear power complex may begin. Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the largest electrical utility in
We’re trying to get more solar energy stories going here on Planetsave. To catch readers up, I’m doing a short series on the top 50 solar energy stories of 2013 so far. Learning from the Top 33 EV Stories article I recently published, I’m splitting this one into 5 posts. Otherwise, the page would take forever to load.
Quite frankly, nuclear reactors already costs too much even if they don’t run into any problems. The financial risk of nuclear power plants means that they are never funded by the private sector. If a new nuclear power plant is to get funded, is must do so through considerable governmental or utility support and subsidy. But
Howard Steven Friedman is a statistician and health economist for the United Nations and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He also has a new book out called The Measure of a Nation: How to Regain America’s Competitive Edge and Boost Our Global Standing, which is sure to provoke
Love vintage bicycling outfits, and vintage bikes? Who doesn’t. Throw in some beautiful French countryside, old towns, and landmarks, and you’ve got a pretty beautiful bike ride (and video). Here’s a video ad for such a bike ride (love it): http://youtu.be/KEYQk1f90Mk Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize, who shared the video above but is actually 100% about
Following up on the news that genetically modified (GM) corn is potentially harmful to human cells (according to a new scientific study on the matter), France has formally asked the EU to ban Monsanto’s GM corn (though, it seems to not be because of this new study, but other matters). France “originally banned the corn
In a briefing paper released January 19 by Oxfam.org entitled, “Left behind by the G20? How inequality and environmental degradation threaten to exclude poor people from the benefits of economic growth,” the standard mantra of pro-growth policy — a rising tide lifts all boats — appears to be an economic myth (like “trickle down”) and
As reported in the June 30 on-line edition of Le Monde, the French Parliament has voted to ban hydraulic fracturing — the natural gas extracting technique known popularly as ‘fracking’. The law had passed the National Assembly nine days earlier and then moved on to the Senate, where the measure passed by a small majority of 176 (yes) to 151 (no). This makes France the first nation to ban the controversial extraction technique.
The intensification of Indian monsoons has, according to new research, the ability to spin the Earth’s tectonic plates.
The European Space Agency, courtesy of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer onboard the Envisat satellite captured this image of Central Europe on March 22 at a resolution of 300 m.
Activist organizations like the League against cruel sports won a major victory last month in France. The city of Fréjus has banned bullfighting, meaning that bullfighting is now almost entirely situated in the south-west corner of the country. Here’s more via the League: Last month, the Mayor of the French municipality of Fréjus announced that
The UN’s Millennium Development Goal of ending global under-nourishment by 2015 will not be met, but a new set of “mega” initiatives are being implemented to achieve more efficient delivery of “research outputs” to speed agricultural development.
The European Union (EU) and MTV are working together to get young people involved in the climate debate. The major entities started their “Play to Stop – Europe for Climate” campaign this month. Working with international music artists and other international celebrities, this is a major campaign to mobilize the youth around the topic of
In 2002 the Coca-Cola Company used 3.12 liters of water to produce every liter of poduct. The company, which has captured the taste buds of drinkers worldwide used .57 megajoules of energy and averaged 12.54 grams of waste per liter of product. It’s no wonder that the Coke Kingdom has been less than popular among environmental groups.
[social_buttons] Two seperate scientific studies have revealed that global warming is leading to significant reductions in the size of sheep and fish species, more evidence that climate change is forcing a huge range of species to adapt to a hotter world. The first study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, investigated
Environmentalists are organizing a protest against the arrival of a ship in Hartlepool, England from France next week because the ship is loaded with 700 tons of toxic asbestos. [social_buttons] A Hartlepool company has been contracted to dismantle the ship, but environmental groups worry that they do not have the proper equipment or expertise to
A growing group of environmental activists are taking advantage of emergency power shut-off switches found on the exteriors of businesses throughout France; toting broomsticks, they wander the streets at night to find businesses with neon lights still blazing in the window despite being closed, and simply reach or climb up to switch the power off.[social_buttons]
In what was reported earlier as a minor situation, comes news that a uranium leak from one of France’s nuclear power plants has tainted well water and two rivers 30 miles from the tourist city of Avignon, which is currently hosting an arts festival. No Fishing Allowed and Drinking Well Water is Banned According to
