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NewsPapers
- -01-31-12 The Coming U.S.-China Solar Panel Contest (Time.com)
"It's been a schizophrenic time for the U.S. solar industry. On the one hand, about $11 billion worth of solar power is set to be installed in 2012, with more than five times that figure in the investment pipeline. Demand for solar power rose eightfold between 2006 and 2011 — from 200 MW to 1,600 MW. Nationally, the solar industry employs some 100,000 Americans, a number that rose by nearly 7% last year — even as overall employment barely grew at all."
"Despite those rosy numbers, many U.S. solar companies — especially those that manufacture solar panels and modules — are struggling to survive. Most notably, the solar start-up Solyndra went under in 2011, taking with it over $500 million in government loan guarantees. The Bloomberg Large Solar Energy Index of 17 top solar companies lost more than two-thirds of its value in 2011." 01-12
- -02-24-12 Google to Map Australia's Great Barrier Reef (U.S. News)
"Google Street View’s reach already extends from the streets of Johannesburg to halls of the Palace of Versailles. Now the company is taking its cameras underwater to map Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
"No, the idea isn’t to give people directions as they scuba dive. Instead, the project, dubbed the Catlin Seaview Survey, is meant to study the effects of climate change on the reef and provide people everywhere the chance to virtually explore one of the most biologically diverse spots on the globe." 02-12
- -05-07-12 Teen Gets 200 MPG in Car (KCTV)
"It doesn't really look like there's a lot to his 1994 Geo Metro. But, when he bought it, he pulled out the gas engine and replaced it with an electric forklift engine he bought on eBay." 05-12
- -09-08-12 Climate Change Is a New Campaign Topic (Christian Science Monitor)
"Climate change had been virtually absent from the campaign until Mitt Romney and President Obama traded jabs at their conventions. Some polls say it could be a vote-getter for Democrats."
" 'President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet,' Mr. Romney told GOP delegates in Tampa, a smile on his face. 'My promise [long pause – audience laughter] is to help you and your family.' "
" 'Yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change is not a hoax,' the president shouted to delegates in Charlotte, N.C. 'More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They're a threat to our children's future. And in this election, you can do something about it.' "
"That high-profile statement, political analysts say, may have marked a major turnabout for the president, who has scarcely mentioned global warming – or the more scientific designation of 'climate change' – in recent months." 09-12
- -10-07-12 Editorial: Obama's Failure to Defend His Policies (Time.com)
"He rarely explained what he has done."
"I’m not just talking about my beloved stimulus, although Obama didn’t mention that the $800 billion recovery package he passed during his first month in office helped stop the swoon, producing the biggest quarterly jobs improvement in 30 years. He certainly didn’t mention that the stimulus included an unprecedented $90 billion for clean energy, and when Romney did, Obama didn’t explain how it launched a quiet green revolution or correct Romney’s egregious suggestion that thousands of stimulus-funded companies have failed. I can’t even think of a half-dozen. Romney talked about 'losers' like Solyndra and Ener1; why didn’t Obama respond with winners like Envia Systems, which has developed the world’s most powerful electric-vehicle battery, or Silver Spring, which is building millions of smart meters for a modern electric grid? Romney mocked wind and solar; why not mention that wind has doubled, solar has increased over 600%, and they now combine to power 15 million homes with clean domestic electricity?" 10-12
- -11-02-12 Bloomberg Endorses Obama Based on Climate Change (New York Times)
"Mr. Bloomberg, a political independent in his third term leading New York City, has been sharply critical of Mr. Obama, a Democrat, and Mitt Romney, the president’s Republican rival, saying that both men had failed to candidly confront the problems afflicting the nation. But he said he had decided over the past several days that Mr. Obama was the better candidate to tackle the global climate change that he believes might have contributed to the violent storm, which took the lives of at least 38 New Yorkers and caused billions of dollars in damage." 11-12
- -Legislative Moves to Ensure Toxic Air (Time.com)
"The fight to protect ourselves from mercury pollution has just begun all over again. Within hours of posting the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in the federal register, Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, has filed a Congressional Review Act, vowing to kill the new regulation — even though it protects us from mercury, arsenic, lead and acid gases." 02-12
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