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US Places Tariffs on Chinese Solar Panels

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In October 2011, SolarWorld and 6 other US manufacturing companies lodged a petition claiming that the dumping of cheap Chinese solar panels onto the market was unfair and prevented them from competing in the manufacture of solar panels. Preliminary investigations suggest that the Chinese government has been providing subsidies to their solar industry to...
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GuestPost: Five ‘Green’ DIY Projects for the Home

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Practically Green Simple Steps for Sustainable Living By Micaela Preston

There aren’t many people out there who wouldn’t like to do a little more at home for the environment. Recycling and re-useable bags are definitely a front foot forward, but what if you want to go that little bit further? Sure there is some government information about green building projects and tens of companies...
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Does Your Building Company Use Green Products?

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Green Star -Performance The Green Star Rating Tool for Existing Building Operations

If you are building a home, renovating your current residence or adding on to your house, it is important to find green products. With creativity and a little patience, you can ensure that your home or addition is built from sustainable products. Sustainable Timber Since wood is one of the most common products that...
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How Graphene Just Got Greener

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Graphene and Its Fascinating Attributes; Editors: Swapan K. Pati, Toshiaki Enoki, C. N. R. Rao

A lot of attention has been given to the graphene in recent months. The product of an experiment in a Manchester University laboratory only eight years ago, graphene has quickly risen to be the star of material science. Stronger than any known substance, light and flexible, superconducting, and photoelectric graphene is a material with...
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Solar Power Costs Halved and Other Renewables News

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The price of solar panels fell by almost 50% over 2011, contributing to a boom year for the solar industry – also contributing of course were deadlines for various solar grants and subsidy programs both here in Australia and over seas. What this means for homeowners of course, is that even if they have...
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US to Fund New Technologies for Off-Shore Wind Energy

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US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced a six-year, US$180 million initiative to capture wind energy off American coasts, with an initial US$20 million available this year to start up to four offshore wind energy installations. In choosing projects for this new funding, the Energy Department will be looking for “highly innovative technologies that...
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Tiny House to Occupy Wall Street

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Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

In the US, over 5,000,000 homes have been foreclosed since the bank bailout. With the housing crisis at the crux of the economic breakdown, just think how different things would look if even half those five million people had chosen to build a tiny house, ten years ago. On December 13th Tumbleweed Founder and...
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Guest Post: The Present and Future of Sustainable Product Design

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a while plastic disk with a green glow in the bottom of a shower

In 1987, the World Commission on the Environment highlighted the need to create sustainable products that would meet the needs of the present world “without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.. Reality check: it’s been almost twenty-five years since this discussion started.  How are we doing?  Is the market...
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New Australian 6 Star Rating System to Reduce Greenhouse Gas

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In Australia, all new homes, renovations, alterations, additions, and even relocations now need to comply with the new 6 Star Standard rating for energy efficiency. The Standard, which came into force in May 2011, is designed to reduce green house gas emissions from Australian homes. It applies to all new houses, townhouses and apartments,...
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Quick Tips for Grey Water Recycling

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The New Create an Oasis with Greywater: Choosing, Building and Using Greywater Systems - Includes Branched Drains by Art Ludwig

What is greywater? It is the waste water that comes from our washing machine and laundry tub, and our showers, baths and hand basins. It does not include water from the toilet or other sewage water, including water used to wash cloth nappies. Kitchen water is technically grey water but is generally not recommended...
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Save Energy By Using Smaller Appliances For Food Preparation

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This Maxi-Matic is a larger toaster oven, that has 4.5 stars on Amazon.

We are always on about trying to save energy here at Sustainable Suburbia, for the sake of both the climate and  reducing our dependence on non-renewable resources. But saving energy for many people is firstly about saving money, and there’s nothing wrong with that either.  Living a sustainable life means living within our means...
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How to Save Money on Gas and Electricity: US Public Service Announcements

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American households spend around $2000/year on their power bills, but they could reduce this by several hundred dollars by making a few simple changes, according to US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. As a combined effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Ad Council, a consumer education campaign designed to help...
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Three Reasons Solar Systems Are Worth the Cost in the US

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Pile of solar panels ready to be installed on a roof

Many homeowners in the US are interested in solar power systems for their homes but are unsure if they are worth the upfront investment. The rising cost of electricity has sent a lot of people looking for alternative solutions, and solar energy is usually among the top alternatives that are considered. One problem people...
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China the world leader in renewables; wind most mature renewable energy: UN report

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Wind turbines expanding along a ridge in Galicia, Spain

In 2010 China was the world leader in investment in renewable energy technology according to the UN’s Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2011. Globally investment was up almost one third in 2010 over 2009, at a record US$211 billion, and for the first time developing economies put more into ”financial new investment” than developed ones. Global...
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UK’s Greenest Community to be Carbon Negative by 2015

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The Welsh village of Llangattock in the Brecon Beacons National Park has been named the UK’s greenest community and won $100,000, in a challenge that encourages neighbourhoods to save and generate as much energy as possible. To win the prize the community team undertook an audit of the energy efficiency of the whole community,...
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The Benefits and Limitations of Modern Wind Turbines

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Power From the Wind: Achieving Energy Independence by Dan Chiras

We’ve recently had articles on a ground source heat pump and on other alternative energy sources. Now here’s a guest post of the benefits of wind power. Wind energy is the process where wind turbines are converting kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy, which again is converted into electricity by a generator....
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Are CFL Bulbs Bad For Your Health?

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Many sensationalist news reports have been published over the years claiming some new fangled gadget – be it a vaccine, a microwave, a mobile phone or now, an energy saving light – is really evil incarnate or at least a little questionable. But often these reports are so extreme that they seem ridiculous and...
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Australia Leads the Way With Eco-Friendly Electric Car Network

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The world’s first mass market, zero emmission car will arrive in Australia in 2012, while the world’s largest electric car charge network will give the car the same range as petrol cars. Beginning with the ACT in the second quarter of 2012, Better Place will be rolling out its network which will include both...
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Alternative Energy Sources: Looking at the Three Viable Alternatives to Solar Power

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Solar Power for Your Home (Green Guru Guides) book cover

When it comes to looking for alternative energy sources, there are really three viable alternatives to solar energy. They are wind, geothermal and tidal energy. So let’s take a look at each of them. Wind Power Wind energy really is another form of solar energy, since wind is produced when warm air and cool...
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Renault Launches Solar Project That Could Support a Town of 15,000

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Renault, partnering with Gestamp Solar, has launched the global automotive industry’s most ambitious solar project. They are installing enough solar roof panels on their French plants to reduce CO2 emissions by 30,000 tonnes a year. The project’s power capacity will be by 60MW – enough to power a town of 15,000 for a full...
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