NewWays for Environmental and Social Change

More parks, fewer cars. The Zen-like philosophy behind Park(ing) Day — the annual event that attracts artists, urban planners and open space advocates interested in setting up ad hoc miniature parks in metered parking spaces on urban streets — appears to have hit a tipping point. What began as a quirky San Francisco-based project by [...]

A new tool is now available for investors looking to buy a so-called “green” building, a property that has environmentally-friendly features like energy and water efficiency and that produces minimal pollution and waste. A new program instituted by the National Association of Realtors(R) has begun certifying brokers as green specialists. Brokers can earn the designation from NAR’s Green Resource Council by taking three days of courses or completing the program online at their own pace.

Welcome to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment – now also known as the Clean Energy State.

Since giving his state its new nickname four years ago, governor Bill Richardson has helped create at least 37 incentive programmes promoting green power.

The first large-scale ocean-based wind power project is set for beginning research.
StatoilHydro announced plans to test offshore wind turbines, starting with a 2.3-megawatt turbine measuring 65 meters high, buoyed and tied down by three anchors. While not the only ocean-bound wind turbine project in the works, this new project, called Hywind, will launch in 2009 [...]

Comparing deaths/TWh for all energy sources
The ExternE calculation of death/TWh from different energy sources (not including global warming effects and is the average for European nations).
This draws on data from 4290 energy-related accidents, 1943 of them classified as severe, and compares different energy sources. It considers over 15,000 fatalities related to oil, over 8000 [...]

Electricity production is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the United States. Air pollution comes in the form of smog, soot, acid rain, mercury, particulate matter, and greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide.
According [...]

A high magnification microscope can be attached to newest cellphone models for medical use in remote places. This modular application for a cellphone was developed by researchers in Berkeley, California, and has the capability to allow identification of cancer cells or other diseases.
Read original publication at: http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20433/