“Taking a dodgy accounting proposition, which is that you can somehow identify the amount of carbon that any given new bit of forest picks up out of the atmosphere and sequesters, and make that correspond somehow to emissions elsewhere,” is how Greenpeace sees carbon offsetting, according to its senior climate adviser Charlie Kronick. “It can’t [...]

With so much news coming out about cleantech and renewable energy, climate change, politics and the price of oil, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by “the big picture.” This can be either a depressing or inspiring experience, depending on your general outlook. We here at Getsolar lean towards optimism, and we all share a belief [...]

Much as my personal politics prevent me from saying this with too much enthusiasm, I am in some ways quite happy that the Supreme Court denied Al Gore the presidency. If it weren’t for him, who would be the galvanizing figurehead for the fight against climate change? I feel like he really has the right [...]

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge at night. Now imagine it without the lights.
On March 29, inhabitants and businesses in around 380 cities—including Bangkok, Rome and Chicago—turned off their lights for at least an hour. At 8 p.m. wherever they were, various households, businesses, and governments were urged to flick the switch and to return [...]

Over the past two weeks, hundreds of building professionals, students, and generally interested members of the public convened in New Orleans to kickstart the restoration of the Holy Cross Neighborhood in the Lower Ninth Ward. There have been many restoration projects in the Katrina-ravaged city, but what sets this one apart is how it brings [...]

Thanks to a wave of interest and innovation, it’s becoming hard to distinguish solar powered homes from conventional ones. At center stage is a technology that enables home owners to meet their energy goals without compromising on aesthetics: the so-called “solar shingle.” Essentially, solar shingles are modular photovoltaic cells disguised as roof shingles. There are [...]

The official start to the trade show segment of the NESEA’s conference was an address from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. One government official with more than twenty-five years’ worth of experience echoed the general sentiment when he said that Governor Patrick’s speech was a “shot in the arm”. Alternative energy has had little support from [...]

The NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) is hosting its 33rd annual Building Energy Conference & Trade Show in Boston this week, from March 11-13. The parameters on the breadth of the conference, stemming from the NESEA’s dedication to issues particular to the Northeast, allows for remarkable depth of education. Workshops and sessions are offered for [...]

With the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol just under way, European Commission (EC) ministers met recently to nail down post-2012 climate policies. The so-called 20-20-20 benchmark—reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% below 1990 levels, and producing 20% of all electricity from renewable sources, both by 2020—remains a cornerstone of EC efforts. As for [...]

Sometimes, I don’t really have answers. This case where the neighbors of a solar user were forced to cut down their trees is one of those times.
This story brings up all kinds of troublesome issues, and challenges a lot of assumptions about green living and being environmentally responsible. Most, or at least many, environmentalists would [...]