Showing category "News" (Show all posts)

Hawaii Bans the Use of Plastic Bags

Posted by Guest Editor on Monday, April 7, 2014, In : News 

There are an insane amount of cons to the manufacturing and use of plastic bags. To name a few:

  •       They are made from raw components of oil, which is a limited resource.
  •       According to studies they take at least a few hundred years to decompose; therefore, they consume space in landfills.
  •       When disposed of in the oceans, they are often introduced to the sea creature food chains, which can ultimately lead to their deaths.

While these are only a few cons of plastic bags...


Continue reading ...
 

Quantum Dots that Assemble Themselves Could Bolster Quantum Photonics and Solar Cell Efficiency

Posted by Guest Editor, NREL newswire on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, In : News 
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and other labs have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells, quantum computing, and lighting devices.
 
A paper on the new technology, "Self-assembled Quantum Dots in a Nanowire System for Quantum Photonics," appears in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature Materials. 
 
Quantum dots are tiny cry...
Continue reading ...
 

Report Advises Utilities on Unintentional Islanding Risk for Distributed Generation

Posted by Guest Editor on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, In : News 
A Sandia National Laboratories report details a procedure to quickly determine whether utilities need an additional unintentional islanding study when evaluating the proposed interconnection of new distributed generation (DG), which includes photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Islanding occurs when the DG continues to energize a load well after it is disconnected from the utility source, and when established accidentally, islanding can adversely affect personnel safety and equipment integrity. Followi...
Continue reading ...
 

US energy infrastructure needs help and mitigation plans

Posted by External article from The Christian Science Monitor - Weekly Digital Edition on Sunday, November 11, 2012, In : News 
A Climate Central report from earlier this year highlighted the amount of energy infrastructure around the country that is close to sea level. Louisiana, of course, comes across as the clearest example of energy infrastructure at risk to rising seas, with 163 major energy facilities at five feet above sea level or less. Surprisingly, New Jersey and New York are ranked 5th and 6th in the country, respectively, for the amount of infrastructure that is within 5 feet of sea level.

Hurricane...
Continue reading ...
 

Lights Out in the Rockaways...

Posted by Guest Blogger on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, In : News 
Video: Lights Out in the Rockaways by our dear friend Arianna La Penne  -  She recorded scenes from Rockaway Beach, Queens, where residents are increasingly cold and scared without heat, water, and electricity days after Hurricane Sandy devastated the community.

The resident's needs were quite basic and they raise questions such as:
Where is the FEMA team?  Where is the RED Cross?  Where is the all the help that has been promised on TV?
 
http://www.nytimes.com/video/2012/11/04/nyregion/100...
Continue reading ...
 

New study: hybrid tractors demonstrated 13.7% higher fuel economy!

Posted by Guest Editor on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, In : News 
A performance evaluation of Class 8 hybrid electric tractor trailers compared with similar conventional vehicles by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows significant improvements in fuel economy.

For the "Coca-Cola Refreshments Class 8 Diesel Electric Hybrid Tractor Evaluation: 13-Month Final Report," the NREL team collected and analyzed fuel economy, maintenance, and other vehicle performance data on five hybrid and five conventional Class...
Continue reading ...
 

Why Biodiversity Needs Conservation?

Posted by Guest Editor on Friday, August 31, 2012, In : News 
The natural Earth is made up of plants, animals, land, water, the atmosphere, and humans. Combined we form the planet’s ecosystem. This means that should there ever be a major biodiversity disaster, the wellbeing of humans could be at risk. For too long we have had the idea that the biodiversity that surrounds us responds to Earth’s physical changes rather than see that the existence of the Earth depends on biodiversity.

Presently we are consuming 25% more of natural resources than the p...
Continue reading ...
 

Statement by the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative at Rio+20

Posted by Guest Editor, Sustainability on Thursday, June 21, 2012, In : News 
As Chancellors, Presidents, Rectors, Deans and Leaders of Higher Education Institutions and related organizations, we acknowledge the responsibility that we bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development. On the occasion of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro from 20-22 June 2012, we agree to support the following actions:

Teach sustainable development concepts, ensuring that they form a part of the core curriculum across all discipl...
Continue reading ...
 

45 CEOs endorsed the Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate

Posted by Guest Editor on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, In : News 
They have pledged to work with suppliers to improve their water practices, and partner with nongovernmental organizations, UN agencies, governments and public authorities, investors, and other stakeholders on water-related projects and solutions. 
 
In the communiqué, they called on governments to:

- Develop policies and incentives to improve water productivity and efficiency in all sectors, especially agriculture.
- Establish fair and appropriate valuation of water for agriculture, industry...
Continue reading ...
 

Why STEM Education is Important?

Posted by Carolina Cabral Murphy on Sunday, May 27, 2012, In : News 
In the early 1960s, The United States had three times as many scientists as countries such as the Soviet Union. It was spending seven times more money on scientific research than Europe. The United States had made 80 percent of all scientific discoveries from the 1930s to the 1960s. Not surprisingly, the United States has been the dominant science superpower since the 1950s.

The United States owes its status to its investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educat...
Continue reading ...
 

Who's leading the impact investing movement?

Posted by Guest Editor on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, In : News 
GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Ratings System), a project of B Lab, announced the names of the 12 North American GIIRS Pioneer Funds. These firms are the leading private equity and venture capital funds with a focus on impact investing. The 12 North American GIIRS Pioneer Funds join the 13 other Pioneer Funds that invest in the emerging markets that GIIRS previously announced at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in April.

The Emerging Market GIIRS Pioneer Funds include the Acumen ...
Continue reading ...
 

US Gov. Imposed Tariffs of Around 30% on Solar Panels from China

Posted by Guest Editor on Friday, May 18, 2012, In : News 
The US government has imposed tariffs of around 30 percent on solar panels imported from China, sparking charges of “trade protectionism” from Chinese government officials and increasing friction between the two countries.

The US Commerce Department ruled yesterday in favor of American companies that charged Chinese exporters had illegally “dumped” their solar panels on the US market below fair market price.

Commerce officials will continue their investigations in the trade cases, a...
Continue reading ...
 

Product labeling puts power in the hands of consumers...

Posted by Empowering Editor on Thursday, May 10, 2012, In : News 
Nutrition facts on a box of cereal. Country of origin on a pair of shoes. Radiation information on a cell phone. Product labeling puts power in the hands of consumers, rewards responsible producers and educational retailers, and combats false advertising. It transforms markets—just look at what organic labeling has done for the food industry. 

Not so long ago, everyone was completely in the dark when it came to the backstories of the things we buy—and when it comes to their climate impacts...
Continue reading ...
 

Will Social Impact Bonds Work in the U.S.?

Posted by Guest Editor, SOCAP news on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, In : News 
As state and local governments consider a new financing mechanism to scale proven preventive solutions to social problems, research shows the potential and challenges.

There is considerable buzz in the United States about whether a new “pay for success” model of financing social solutions currently being piloted across the Atlantic could work on American soil. It’s called a social impact bond (SIB), and the first—in fact, the only so far—was launched in September 2010 by an organiz...
Continue reading ...
 

Africa's collective GDP is now roughly equal to Brazil's or Russia's

Posted by Guest Editor on Friday, April 6, 2012, In : News 
Africa's collective GDP, at $1.7 trillion in 2010, is now roughly equal to Brazil's or Russia's. While Africa's increased economic momentum is widely recognized, less known are its sources and likely staying power. By 2020, it could be $ 2.6 trillion dollars.

Among the key findings:

Africa's growth acceleration was widespread, with 27 of its 30 largest economies expanding more rapidly after 2000.

All sectors contributed, including resources, finance, retail, agriculture, transportation and telec...
Continue reading ...
 

Learn about one of our favorite Social Entrepreneurs!

Posted by Guest Editor on Saturday, March 24, 2012, In : News 
Take a look at our latest novelty, It all started with an innocent, curiosity-driven question: “What about a for-profit company based in Honduras that would create a positive social impact through its business?” 
 
Chris posed that question during a work trip to Honduras in May 2006 where he reconnected in Tegucigalpa with friends dedicated to an impactful humanitarian project; seeking an answer to the question sparked the idea that became Tegu—a creative business founded to address unem...
Continue reading ...
 

Interesting events for March/April

Posted by Guest Editor on Friday, February 17, 2012, In : News 
Fireside Chat: Canadian Corporate Leaders To Share Culture Building Strategies In The Green Economy

Event Date & Time:
March 7, 2012  4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Location: Toronto, Ontario and LIVE Webcast . Bennett Jones, 1st Canadian Place, 100 King St. W. (King & Bay), 34th Floor, Toronto, Canada. Toronto, Ontario and FREE LIVE Webcast

During the discussion you will learn:
• The value of communicating a clear vision throughout your organization
• Specific examples of culture building strategies
...
Continue reading ...
 

Laser radar spots quake changes

Posted by Guest Editor, BBC on Friday, February 10, 2012, In : News 

Source: BBC

An international team of scientists has released a laser-radar image of the area surrounding the site of a Magnitude 7.2 earthquake that occurred in Mexicali, Mexico, in 2010. The technique can spot surface changes of just a few centimetres; here blue represents a post-quake reduction in height and red indicates an increase.


Continue reading ...
 

Trends in Cross-Border Funding

Posted by Guest Editor, via CGAP authors Barbara Gähwiler and Alice Nègre on Thursday, January 5, 2012, In : News 
Microfinance funding is becoming more transparent. More than 60 microfinance funders regularly report information on their microfinance portfolio to CGAP, and extensive data are available on microfinance investment vehicles (MIVs) through Symbiotics and MicroRate. 

In 2011, CGAP surveyed the 20 largest microfinance funders, which represented over 85% of commitments reported in the previous survey year. Based on the findings of that survey and previous surveys, this Brief describes global trend...
Continue reading ...
 

Findings from Randomized Evaluations of Microfinance

Posted by Guest Editor, via CGAP on Monday, December 5, 2011, In : News 
In 2009, the results from two microcredit impact studies in Hyderabad, India, and Manila, the Philippines were released to mixed responses (Banerjee, Duflo, Glennerster, and Kinnan 2010; Karlan and Zinman 2011). Some media declared microfinance a failure (Bennett 2009). Many in the microfinance community dismissed these randomized studies as too limited to be a true reflection of the entire sector.

These first randomized studies caused a sensation because they challenged the dominant impact n...
Continue reading ...
 

We are extremely grateful for having you in our lives. Happy Holidays!

Posted by The Empowering Team on Thursday, December 1, 2011, In : News 
Dear Friends,

We at MicroEmpowering are very thankful for a productive and successful 2011. We are extremely grateful for having you in our lives!

This is our first quarterly update and we will do our best to keep things simple and objective. Since our incorporation in September of 2009, we:
  • Provided workshops for over 250 students in the US and Brazil
  • Participated in the reforestation drive for almost 400 rare species of Pau Brasil# trees with our social entrepreneurship partner organizat...

Continue reading ...
 

Brazil is temporarily banning Chevron from drilling for oil in its territory

Posted by Guest Editor, BBC on Sunday, November 27, 2011, In : News 
The National Petroleum Agency (ANP) said it would suspend Chevron's activities in Brazil until it had established the cause of an oil spill off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

  
Source: BBC and AFP
 
Chevron has apologised for the leak, but has stressed it acted as rapidly and safely as possible to contain it. The Brazilian government has fined Chevron US$28m (£18m) for the spill. Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira said Chevron could face further fines if an investigation into the ...
Continue reading ...
 

Top Stealth Home Energy Hogs

Posted by Editor on Friday, September 9, 2011, In : News 

The relentless rise of electricity prices over the past decade has made many consumers more conscientious about how they use electric power. Many of those conscientious people may find it frustrating — to put it mildly — that their daily or even hourly efforts to turn off devices they're not using hasn't delivered the results they'd expected.

The blame belongs to the growing number of "vampire" or "phantom" electronic products that populate today's typical home. An alarmingly large numbe...
Continue reading ...
 

How innovative thinking can turn a mistake into a great product?

Posted by Via news wire on Friday, July 29, 2011, In : News 

According to a recent article, the discovery of DeconGel was accidental. Late one night in 2006, the researchers of Skai Ventures, a Honolulu-based venture capital firm and technology accelerator got a little sloppy with one of their experiments. They were working with a gel that dripped from the lab table onto the floor.  
 

Source: Courtesy of DeaconGel.
 
When they peeled it off, the floor beneath was "absolutely pristine, completely clean and white," recalls Wuh, the company CEO. "That's when...


Continue reading ...
 

Social Innovation for Undergrads

Posted by Editor CM on Monday, July 18, 2011, In : News 

LOS ANGELES, Jul. 18 /CSRwire/ - For undergraduates interested in social innovation and developing well thought-out solutions to the world's problems, the Society and Business Lab (SBL) at the USC Marshall School of Business in conjunction with the School of Policy, Planning and Development has announced a social entrepreneurship minor that will begin in fall 2011.

The interdisciplinary minor will be open to all USC undergraduate students who are seeking to understand the global context of soc...


Continue reading ...
 

Was Cancun a Watershed for Business and Climate Change? (via CEF)

Posted by Editor on Monday, December 20, 2010, In : News 
By Maryann Jones Thompson (via CEF)

The Cancun international climate negotiations defied low expectations by producing a set of modest “Cancun Agreements,” which delegates argue provide a strong base for a comprehensive agreement next year. Key outcomes included:

  • Creation of a new “Green Climate Fund” (with the The World Bank as “Trustee”) that aims to disburse $100 billion a year by 2020 to help poor countries adapt to climate change impacts and assist with low-carbon developme...

Continue reading ...
 

The World Climate Summit 2010

Posted by Editor on Monday, November 29, 2010, In : News 

LONDON, BRUSSELS, COPENHAGEN, WASHINGTON, D.C. and CANCUN, Mexico, Nov. 24 /CSRwire/ - The most important and influential business, finance and government leaders in the climate change arena are coming together with more than 100 high-level speakers, and the largest coalition of financiers at the inaugural World Climate Summit, December 4-5, at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Mexico, in parallel to the UNFCCC COP 16.

The World Climate Summit 2010 is the beginning of a new, open and collaborative ...


Continue reading ...
 

Wind Energy in Long Island?

Posted by on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, In : News 
Via Newsday, with commentary of 

Here's some good news for New Yorkers who are tired of West NY getting attention for their (amazing) wind farms.

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has applied to develop an off shore wind farm 24km off the coast of Long Island that would begin pumping 300 MW of energy into the region, but whose capacity would be 700 MW (to be achieved by 2016).

According to Newsday (subscriber's only), the project comes with a price tag of about $1.5 billion.

No...


Continue reading ...
 

Pricing carbon emissions in the context of international development

Posted by on Saturday, October 30, 2010, In : News 
Source: HARALD WINKLER*, ANDREW MARQUARD for Climate Policy, Volume 10, Number 5, 2010 , pp. 489-493(5)

Excerpt from the Editorial of Climate Policy

The Introduction has a very good example focusing on South Africa case. "Some developing countries are considering the option of using economic instruments as part of a broader policy of climate change mitigation. In South Africa, a carbon tax has been a very effective instrument for inducing relative emission reductions in the long-term mitigat...
Continue reading ...
 

$415bn investor group joins celebrity-backed ‘no’ campaign to protect California green tech

Posted by on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, In : News 
By Hugh Wheelan via Responsible Investor  

Some of the biggest investment managers in the US – managing $415 billion in assets – have thrown their weight behind a campaign to fight a California state legal review that could halt implementation of its clean energy law, saying it would jeopardize long-term investment in green technology. 

The investor backing of the ‘No on 23’ movement, referring to the controversial Proposition 23 ballot in two weeks time, follows an increasingly bitter ...

Continue reading ...
 

Over 6,000 firms are in favour of clean energy and climate legislation

Posted by Contribuitor on Wednesday, August 4, 2010, In : News 
(Via BusinessGreen)

American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE) group, one of the leading corporate coalitions pushing for the adoption of climate change legislation, last week released an analysis of green business lobby groups revealing that more than 6,000 firms are now fully in favour of clean energy and climate legislation

The study said that combined, the companies, which include 21 Fortune 100 companies and many of the largest corporate names in the US, employ 3.5 million people and hav...
Continue reading ...
 

Economic Opportunities From Fighting Global Warming in Oregon

Posted by Editor on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, In : News 
By Rose Anderson

The dangers of anthropogenic climate change can be viewed as both a challenge and an opportunity. Each state in the US has unique opportunities to prosper by participating in the reduction of green house gas (GHG) emissions. In Oregon, there are many unique opportunities to strengthen the Oregon economy and improve the well-being of current and future generations through GHG reduction.



Why Investment in GHG Reduction Makes Sense for Oregonians?

• In Oregon, there are more t...
Continue reading ...
 

Citizens of which nation are the most sustainable consumers? Is it the super-liberal Dutch? The enlightened and sophisticated French? The affluent Scandinavians?

Posted by Editor on Monday, June 21, 2010, In : News 

by Timothy Curran

Perhaps surprisingly, the Greendex study which surveys 17,000 people, 1000 in 17 different countries, on their habits and attitudes in relation to consumer choices finds that the residents of developing nations of Brazil, India and China are the most sustainable consumers. France, Canada and the USA rank the lowest.

While these results may be encouraging to those concerned with how economic growth will affect the environment, they do not sit well with the environmental real...


Continue reading ...
 

Exclusion within the Excluded

Posted by Editor on Tuesday, June 15, 2010, In : News 

Maria Fernanda Rivera

 

In 2008, the official unemployment rate in Honduras was 3.5%, lower than the US rate of 5.8% for the same year and more than half of the world average of 7.2%. With such a high percentage of people participating in the labor market, how is it that around three fourths of the Honduran population lives in poverty? The problem lies in the roughly 50% of the employed population working in the informal economy. The informal economy is a low-productivity and low paying sector,...


Continue reading ...
 

EU-Latin America Summit 2010: Update from FPA blog

Posted by on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, In : News 
Tuesday, May 18 3:10 pm EST

Today and tomorrow the Spanish Presidency of the EU will be hosting the 2010 EU-Latin America Summit in Madrid. Since 1999, the Summit has sought to engage Europe and Latin America in increased cultural and trade ties and create a defined relationship between the two regions on a permanent basis. Latin American and European economic interests between the regions hoped to use the Summit to open Latin...
Continue reading ...
 
 



Follow Me on Pinterest



The opinions of the articles and columnists published here reflect solely the position of its author rather than representing an endorsement, recommendation or favoring by MicroEmpowering or any others involved in this publication.

Send your suggestions to email: 

website [at] microempowering.com

Looking for an Outlet?

WIRED

 

Sustain What

 

Urban Garden Center

 

Urban Greenery

 

    All rights reserved ©2009-2012 MicroEmpowering.org is a 501(c)3 public charity.