Marketplace

Brits hang carbon out to dry

Sales of clotheslines and clothespins in Britain are at their highest level in 50 years. They've seen a big jump since February, when the government there called on individuals and businesses to reduce their carbon footprints. Double bonus: Air drying is good for your clothes too.

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Feeling lonely in the carpool lane?

Never mind long commutes and the promise of a faster-moving HOV lane... Not even sky-high gas prices have convinced Americans to rideshare. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show more people than ever are driving alone to work and carpooling figures are dropping. The number of people taking public transit, however, seems to be holding steady.

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Peak oil in just four years?

The statistical review of world energy was published yesterday by British Petroleum. The report — the most widely used in figuring out how much oil reserves there are in the world — says we've got enough to last 40 years at current rates of consumption. But scientists at the London-based Oil Depletion and Analysis Centre say the BP estimate is way off, and they don't believe oil companies and governments have been honest in reporting how much oil they have. They estimate oil production will peak in four years, then fall off sharply.

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We're No. 2!

The United States is No. 1 in a lot of categories, but there's one less thing this morning. China is now the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide. That's according to a report from the Dutch government. And we can probably expect China to increase its lead heading forward. Recently the Chinese government said it's too early to talk of caps since economic development is its top priority.

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Starbucks gives Hollywood another shot

With another shoutout to the issue of climate change, Starbucks will promote the National Geographic documentary "Arctic Tale" this summer. It's the story of a polar bear and a walrus adapting to environmental changes because of melting ice.

Starbucks hopes its customers will actually see the movie this time around. Last year the company linked with Hollywood to promote "Akeelah and the Bee," a film about an inner city girl who makes it to a national spelling contest. It got a lukewarm reception at the box office in spite of fun vocabulary-word flash cards from Starbucks.

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Ready, set... build a better city

The race is on to create the first fully-sustainable city.

China's planning to take a deserted island the size of Manhattan and turn it into an eco-city for about half a million people. No conventional cars will be allowed and the city will capture and purify water. It'll be just an hour ferry ride from Shanghai, so how they're going to stop mainland pollution from drifting over we're not sure...

Meanwhile in Abu Dhabi, they want to build a smaller, walled city that's being called the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city.

Any other takers?

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A different sort of utility vehicle

Ford Motor Company announces today that it is teaming up with Southern California Edison to test a rechargeable hybrid. The utility company will get the plug-in car by the end of the year and as many as 20 by 2009 to test the durability and range of the car — and its impact on the power grid. The idea is to help get the new auto technology to market more quickly.

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Freedom of advertising

Environmental activists are asking Home Depot to stop advertising on Fox News because its on-air personalities often blow off global warming as liberal hysteria. Several groups, including Moveon.org are dropping off copies of a petition tomorrow to Home Depot stores around the country. So far, Home Depot says the ads are staying put because "we're advertisers, not censors."

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Trying to go Green-Mart

Wal-Mart is looking to dress itself in a little more green. The Financial Times reports today the retail giant will ask its suppliers to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. Wal-Mart will start with a pilot group of companies in seven product categories-- DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, beer, vacuum cleaners and soft drinks. Wal-Mart plans on using the data to cut costs by being able to compare similar companies and figuring out which are less efficient. It's the biggest effort to get emissions reports from businesses.

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Corn has its problems, too

All that corn that's being produced for ethanol is a mess. A report out today from the National Research Council finds water quality and availability are threatened by an increased production of corn. A goal in increase corn production for ethanol by six times would equal a lot more fertizilizers in pesticides released into rivers and oceans. It takes 2,000 gallons of water for every bushel of corn.

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A greener France by 2020

France has been accused of not being as green as its European neighbors. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy seems to want get rid of that reputation. Yesterday, he promised a green revolution -- with Al Gore by his side, Sarkozy said that by 2020, all new buildings would be required to produce more energy than they consume. He talked about taxing trucks carrying freight across France, and he even played with the idea of imposing higher taxes on products from countries that did not sign the Kyoto Protocol.

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Very expensive sewage

How'd you like to buy the rights to more than 800 million gallons of water? In the drought-ridden Southwest, that could be nothing short of miraculous. Unless that water was, well, in a rough state. A town in Arizona is auctioning off the rights to the water from its sewage plant today and tomorrow. Prescott Valley hopes to raise $53 million from the auction. The water will be filtered before it's pumped into anyone's homes. For now, three companies think that's no raw deal. And they've each made a $1 million deposit to show just how interested they are.

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Gaining interest in green investing

This Thursday will be a key day for the future of "green" investment. Iberdrola, the largest renewable energy operator in the world, is selling 20 percent of its clean-energy unit on the Madrid Stock exchange. The company is hoping to raise anywhere between $32-$43 billion.
The IPO share price is being set today based on the level of interest by potential investors. For the domestic Spanish market, the demand for these shares is three times the offer.

Other clean energy companies will be following this IPO carefully. It's the moment of truth to find out if investors are really going to throw money into the green sector.

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General Motors goes into the green

Green alternatives are out-shining chrome at this year's Detroit Auto Show. General Motors announced at the show yesterday it's launching a partnership with a renewable energy start-up company. Coskata Incorporated plans to produce ethanol from agricultural leftovers and municipal and industrial waste. GM says it's taken an ownership stake in the start-up, but no one's saying how much.

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Arizona makes use of its sun

A small dusty town near Phoenix will be home to one of the world's largest solar power plants.
A Spanish company called Abengoa Solar plans to start construction on the project as early as next year. The 280-megawatt plant will go up in Gila Bend, Arizona. It could be producing solar energy by 2011. Arizona Public Service would pay the Spanish firm $4 billion over 30 years for the energy produced -- enough to supply about 70,000 homes.

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Virgin's plight to produce less CO2

Virgin Atlantic took to the skies this weekend, powered by biofuel. Virgin head Richard Branson says yesterday's jumbo jet flight from London to the Netherlands was to prove there's an option that can produce less carbon dioxide than normal jet fuel. But some climate change experts say the test flight was nothing more than a publicity stunt. British papers quote experts saying more and more evidence shows carbon savings from biofuels are negligible.

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Chinese want their SUVs

Some have said that the U.S. might be becoming a small cart nation. That should help with the price of gas. Except for... on the other side of the world, China is becoming a big car nation.

On Sunday, at the Beijing Auto Show opening, auto executives said that demand for SUVs and full-size luxury cars is growing fast in China. Don't they care about gas prices? So far, they don't have to. The Chinese government keeps price controls on gas and diesel to limit inflation. The government is pushing car companies to make more fuel-efficient cars.

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A better place to toss your bulb

Home Depot may soon be scoring high marks with eco-conscious consumers. Later today, the nation's second-largest retailer is expected to announce a program to recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs or CFLs. Stores are promoting these lights as an energy saving alternative to standard light bulbs. But unlike the regular bulbs, you can't just throw the fluorescents away. Each one contains a small amount of mercury, which is not so environmentally-friendly. Home Depot plans to take back old CFLs at all of their stores. That's about 2,000 locations in the U.S.

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