Europe
Northern Europe in general and Germany in particular are kicking ass.
Germany
Germany gets half their power from solar. 1/13
History of how they came to be so green.
Timeline of Green Party inspired by Ecotopia by Callenbach. (More on novel).
Even that commie rag the Wall St. Journal says green is good business.
| Germany has so much wind energy, they’ll pay you to take it | |
| 10/7 | How much will switching to renewables raise your utility bill? How about NEGATIVE ALL OF IT? In Germany, wind and solar projects have regularly been generating so much surplus energy that utilities are paying consumers to take it off the grid. High winds -- although not that high, only 15 mph -- led to negative-price wind energy for nine hours on July 24, bringing Germany's total to 31 hours of below-zero-cost energy this year. More |
| Germany to Phase out Nuclear Power | |
| 5/31 |
Germany's coalition government has announced a reversal of policy that will see all the country's nuclear power plants phased out by 2022. The decision makes Germany the biggest industrial power to announce plans to give up nuclear energy. Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement following late-night talks. Chancellor Angela Merkel set up a panel to review nuclear power following the crisis at Fukushima in Japan. There have been mass anti-nuclear protests across Germany in the wake of March's Fukushima crisis, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami. More |
Denmark’s Samso Island, in 1998, population 4,000, won a national contest with a bold plan to completely switch to renewable energy. In just ten short years, the island has achieved its goal of becoming carbon-neutral. Residents use wind, sun — and even rapeseed oil — to power their homes and cars.
Bjork's on a quest to see Iceland take back its geothermal resources. see also here.
PBS Global Focus special segment on Denmark, which bought wind energy industry the US abandoned and is now the world leader. Includes segment on Samso Island, which is now carbon neutral after ten year effort. More.
Italy
[Green Nobel Prize won by Rossano Ercolini, Italy]. An elementary school teacher, Ercolini began a public education campaign about the dangers of incinerators in his small Tuscan town that grew into a national Zero Waste movement.
