September 27, 2012, 12:05 AM
Once a promising source of green energy, high-tech biofuel is being eclipsed by skin cream and food products as manufacturers shift to more lucrative products. After Congress enacted a renewable fuel standard in 2005, more than a dozen Bay Area companies joined the race to design new biofuels...
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July 23, 2012, 12:05 AM
California homes that meet environmental standards, such as energy efficiency and proximity to public transportation, are selling at higher prices than homes that don't, according to a new report. The study, conducted by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA, looked...
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June 13, 2012, 12:05 AM
On the day it closed, Solyndra said it was laying off 1,100 full-time and temporary employees. But 1,861 workers lost their jobs as the solar panel manufacturer shut its doors, according to Labor Department documents provided to The Bay Citizen under the Freedom of Information Act. ...
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March 8, 2012, 6:46 PM
Energy Secretary Steven Chu rebutted Republican allegations that he pushed San Francisco-based Prologis to sign a deal with now-bankrupt Solyndra, saying instead that he was "nervous" about the venture because he knew then the solar panel deal was likely to fail. "We weren...
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February 7, 2012, 12:05 AM
With new state regulations demanding an increase in the number of clean and green cars, the future is looking bright for electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf. The problem is, most electric cars can’t go more than about 100 miles without being recharged. But a team of Stanford...
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July 7, 2011, 12:05 AM
A broken light bulb could prove seriously hazardous to your health – and not just from stepping on jagged glass. A new study indicates that when a compact fluorescent bulb is broken, mercury is released in a vapor. And the bulb will continue to release vapor for more than 10 weeks. ...
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May 13, 2011, 12:05 AM
By June 10, nuclear power plant operators must verify under oath that they have updated and adopted additional safety and equipment procedures mandated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after the 9/11 attacks. The bulletin, issued Wednesday at a conference sponsored by the industry's...
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May 2, 2011, 12:05 AM
Growing pot is not as green as you might think. A new study suggests California grow rooms burn about 8 percent of the power used by homes in the state. A single joint represents 2 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, an amount equal to running a 100-watt light bulb for 17 hours, according to...
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January 18, 2011, 12:05 AM
As California prepares a new transportation infrastructure for electric cars, automobile manufacturers are looking for ways to make sure these next generation cars are made from sustainable sources. So, engineers at Toyota are saying they now are close to doing that: by developing an electric...
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December 20, 2010, 12:05 AM
Say goodbye to your 100-watt incandescent light bulbs. On Jan. 1, it’ll become increasingly challenging to find one on a store shelf in California. That’s because the state has ordered a phaseout of the high energy-consuming light bulb. The state is pressing to have the old...
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November 15, 2010, 12:05 AM
Although both California and Japan have long used geothermal energy on a small scale, its appeal to policy makers and investors is growing. Green-energy ventures like Google's are sinking millions into exploiting the vast reservoirs of steam and heat energy that lie beneath the earth...
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November 12, 2010, 5:39 AM
California is not the only major world economy working to restrict the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it contributes to the atmosphere. Several countries have implemented policies to achieve reductions in their fossil fuel consumption, and Japan is no exception. In June, I accepted a...
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October 1, 2010, 12:05 AM
In a race for federal stimulus money, California regulators have approved two more large-scale solar power plants. That brings the number of plants to seven, with nearly 3,000 megawatts of combined power. In Imperial County, the Imperial Valley Solar Project will generate 750 megawatts....
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July 13, 2010, 12:05 AM
In the search for new sources of energy, California policymakers may need to look to the birds. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on a company interested in building chicken litter-fueled power plants in poultry-producing states. The company, Fibrowatt LLC, is based in Langhorne...
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June 2, 2010, 12:04 AM
When it comes to political metaphors, “David vs. Goliath” doesn’t really serve to describe the power imbalance in the contest for Prop. 16, the public-energy initiative on the California ballot Tuesday. Perhaps “David vs. Godzilla” gives a better notion of the...
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