April 5th, 2013 
Justin Manger 
The following facts come from a piece in the New York Times on the cost of the break-neck pace China’s economic growth is having on the environment. Political ramifications will be large if the country cannot reign in some of the side effects of runaway development. In 2010, the cost of environmental degradation in China [...]
Posted in China, Five Friday Facts, Justin Manger, News, Policy 
Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Coal, Environment 
No Comments » February 16th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
As part of the annual State of the Union, President Obama touched on energy as he has in past addresses to the nation. In 2011 he highlighted clean energy, while in 2012 he laid out his goal of 80% of electricity generation from “clean” sources. Below is the excerpt from his speech that dealt with [...]
Posted in China, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, News, Policy, President Obama Tags: Clean Energy, Climate Change, Congress, Energy, Grid, Holy Grail, Jobs, Natural Gas, Pollution, Science, Solar Energy, Wind Power No Comments » February 14th, 2013 Chris DeArmond 
As you’re probably aware, natural gas prices in the United States have plummeted in recent times with the development of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The controversial, but very effective drilling technique has freed a glut of natural gas from shale rock formations, reducing domestic natural gas prices substantially. Between 2009 and 2011, the wellhead price [...]
February 13th, 2013 Noelle Phares 
Some regions wait for economic development to reduce unsustainably high fertility rates. Others take more direct approaches. China’s One-Child policy represents one of the better-known efforts of the latter type. Introduced in 1979 when birth rates were near 6 per female, the One-Child policy has since been praised for its successes in reducing population growth [...]
Posted in 2nd Green, Behavior, China, Op-Ed Tags: China, Noelle Phares, One-Child Policy, Overpopulation No Comments » February 5th, 2013 Nick Grue The recent purchase of the American company A123 systems by the Chinese company Wanxiang Group is another failure of US policy to make electric and hybrid cars attractive to Americans. A123 was recently in the news because the company filed for bankruptcy as a result of weaker-than-expected sales of electric and hybrid vehicle batteries, even [...]
January 29th, 2013 Nick Grue 
This last week, Iran once again brought attention to its contingency plan to close the Strait of Hormuz should hostile action be taken against them. According to Iran’s ambassador, Hassan Danaie-Far, Iran’s reaction to close the Strait doesn’t just hinge on military action on the part of the United States, Israel, or other countries, but includes [...]
Posted in 2nd Green, China, Featured Posts Tags: Blockade, China, Iran, Nick Grue, Nuclear, Oil, Sanctions, Strait of Hormuz, United States No Comments » January 29th, 2013 Justin Manger 
Perhaps it is the “can’t see 200 yards in front of you” air pollution, or possible political backlash from unaddressed environmental problems, but China just unveiled a major plan to push further into developing renewable energy. It wants to add 49GW of capacity this year, composed of as much as 18GW of new wind power [...]
January 29th, 2013 Eric Wilson 
News out of Beijing recently that the air quality has reached, and I quote, “Crazy Bad” levels serves as a warning that monitoring particulate matter is key to both environmental and public health. The 755 reading, on a scale of 0 to 500, outstrips the 522 reached a few years back on the United States’ pollution [...]
December 27th, 2012 Eric Wilson 
Xinhua, China’s national news agency, reports that China opened the world’s longest high speed rail line yesterday. Measuring more than 1,400 miles, or nearly 2,300 kilometers, the train connects the capital, Beijing, with Guangzhou, a commercial hub, in the south. Average speeds for the rail line are approximately 300 km/h, the equivalent of 180 miles [...]
December 24th, 2012 Justin Manger 
Over 20 years, the recycling rate in the U.S. has gone from 10% to 30%. Related to this point, Progressive Economy has yet another interesting trade fact for us. Though a net importer, the United States does have sectors that export more than they import. Those include aerospace, software, and grain as well as scrap and [...]
Posted in Behavior, Business, China, Green Economy, Justin Manger, News, Recylcing Tags: Environment No Comments »
