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Solar Surge iPod and iPhone Cases Are Now Available!

[Technology] Just in time for sunny spring days, Novothink has announced that its hotly anticipated Solar Surge iPod and iPhone cases have hit the market and are available for sale! We’ve followed these sleek solar cases all the way from their concept renderings, and we’re excited to say that the potent photovoltaic chargers look even better [...] [Inhabitat Technology]

Richard Branson Aims to Rock the Boat for Green Shipping

[Energy] The billionaire's new NGO, Carbon War Room, puts the global shipping industry's massive carbon footprint under the spotlight, and spread the word about simple ways to shrink its impact. [GreenBiz Energy]

Will the Nissan Leaf Battery Deliver All It Promises?

[Transport] The Nissan Leaf electric vehicle is set to be released in a few months, with Nissan pushing it ahead of their original 2011 release date, and even ahead of the official release of the Chevy Volt in November. Some industry insiders are wondering whether Nissan has cut a few corners in order to get [...] [Inhabitat Transport]

Democrats toughen up on finance reform. Could it work for clean energy?

[News] by Jonathan Hiskes A funny thing happened outside the twisted world of Congressional energy politics. Over at the Senate Banking Committee, Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) announced he’s going to push forward with finance reform and consumer protection bill, even if Republicans don’t want to help. This comes after weeks of negotiating between Dodd and Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, who showed more interest in protecting large banks and predatory lenders. (Payday lenders, as it happens, have a strong presence in Tennessee and have given Corker more than $31,000.) Now Dodd’s fed up and moving the bill. As a result, Congress may eventually get something done on the issue. On healthcare reform too, Harry Reid sent Mitch McConnell a letter saying he’s done playing games with Republicans who want to “start over.” Instead, he’s going to finish the job: Though we have tried to engage in a serious discussion, our efforts have been met by repeatedly debunked myths and outright lies. At the same time, Republicans have resorted to extraordinary legislative maneuvers in an effort not to improve the bill, but to delay and kill it. After watching these tactics for nearly a year, there is only one conclusion an objective observer could make: these Republican maneuvers are rooted less in substantive policy concerns and more in a partisan desire to discredit Democrats, bolster Republicans, and protect the status quo on behalf of the insurance industry. On healthcare, and possibly finance, Senate Democrats will have to pass bills through budget reconciliation to avoid Republican filibuster threats. They’ll face verbal attacks and they won’t have the comfort of Republicans voting with them. But, assuming the bills are any good, they’ll be doing the right thing. Back in energy world … Meantime, the engineers of a clean-energy bill are stuck playing the bipartisanship game. You have senators saying convoluted, nonsensical things about a hypothetical bill, as Dave Roberts notes. You have the lead trio—John Kerry, Lindsey Graham, Joe Lieberman—negotiating with fossil-fuel industry groups who are arguing in court that climate-change isn’t a threat to human welfare, as Brad Johnson notes. (“We don’t believe in the problem, but we’ve got the solution!”) Kate Sheppard asked Sen. Barbara Boxer if the new scheme is really the best method to create green jobs, promote energy independence, and curb climate pollution. Boxer didn’t even try to defend the plan on its actual merits. “I’m not going to make an argument that the [new] approach is better [than last fall’s Kerry-Boxer bill] ... Is it better than doing nothing? Absolutely,” she said. So the question is, does it have to be this way? Can’t Democratic leaders grow a pair and muscle a bill through Congress? For Senate Democratic leaders, it’s not yet a question of balls or no balls, because it’s not clear they have 50 votes to use in reconciliation (or in a future when the filibuster is fixed). Energy politics don’t line up along the familiar red-blue divide—rural Democrats, especially from coal-rich states, have historically voted with their Republican counterparts in support of the status quo. So it’s not quite the same situation as with financial reform. But for individual senators, there is a question of toughness. Any plan to make polluters pay for the heat-trapping gasses they emit will be easy to demonize. Those lawmakers will have to explain to voters why it’s in the country’s interest. They won’t have the comfort of many Republicans voting with them. They’ll have to explain why it was the right vote anyway—why bipartisanship matters less to them than addressing an urgent threat. Several threats, actually—global warming, foreign-oil dependence, unemployment, and diminishing technological leadership. That’s the issue facing hesitant Democrats like Byron Dorgan, Ben Nelson, and Jim Webb. On that issue of toughness … Finally, the veterans’ group VoteVets.org provides some perspective on why making a vote for energy independence is considerably less “tough” than facing insurgencies funded by petrodictators in the Middle East. Related Links: How the cap-and-trade controversy could lead to good clean energy policy Job Creation Begins at Home How to provide relief to rural Americans, create jobs, and lower emissions ... all at once! [Grist Climate and Energy]

China Developing “Combustible Ice” as New Energy Source

[Energy] Last September, China discovered a large reserve of “combustible ice” on the tundra of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. “Combustible ice” is essentially frozen natural gas – a natural gas hydrate, and is one of the newest energy sources to be discovered. The new reserves found in China reveal a very large supply equal at least 35 [...] [Inhabitat Energy]

More Americans say global warming exaggerated: poll

[News] WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growing number of Americans, nearly half the country, think global warming worries are exaggerated, as more people also doubt that scientific warnings of severe environmental fallout will ever occur, according to a new Gallup poll. [Reuters]

Bead-Filled Washing Maching Uses 90% Less Water

[Technology] A new washing machine design uses 90 percent less water and reduces utility bills by 30 percent by cleaning clothes with tiny plastic beads. The machine by UK company Xeros Ltd uses 3mm-long nylon beads that can get into all crevices and folds of clothing and absorb stains and dirt.  Stephen Burkinshaw, a polymer chemist at Leeds University, discovered that nylon beads at 100 percent humidity could attract stains away from clothing and into the center of the beads, preventing deposition back onto the clothes. The machine uses a small amount of water to dampen the clothes and to reach the right humidity level, then the drum is flooded with the beads.  When the cycle is complete the beads drain away with the water to be reused hundreds of times. I'm sure you've already started questioning what happens to these plastic beads once they're done scrubbing clothes.  The company wants to eventually create a closed loop where the saturated beads can be refreshed and reused in the machines, but for the time being they will be collected and recycled. Xeros says that if all of the US used these machines instead of regular washing machines, it would save 1.2 billion tonnes of water per year and  the CO2 emissions saved would equal taking 5 million cars off the road.  The machine would also eliminate the need to dry clean many delicates, another environmental benefit.  The Xeros machine is expected to be available by the end of next year. via Guardian   [EcoGeek]

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