The heat wave that is sweeping the East Coast this summer shows how costly it can be when increasing energy demands deluge an already crowded grid.

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A new study says that cutting soot emissions is the best way to save the rapidly melting Arctic.

Soot emissions are a result of burning fossil fuel, wood, and dung, amongst other things, and according to a new study by Stanford researcher Mark Z. Jacobson, if we were to cut soot emissions we could drastically halt the melting ice in the Arctic.

“Controlling soot may be the only method of significantly slowing Arctic warming within the next two decades,” said Jacobson, director of Stanford’s Atmosphere/Energy Program. “We have to start taking its effects into account in planning our mitigation efforts and the sooner we start making changes, the better.” (more…)

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Nearly unnoticed in the discussions of the just-signed financial reform bill is a measure that will require manufacturers of electronics and other goods to avoid using materials from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the ‘rape capital of the world.’

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The resurgent interest in alternative fuels has propelled interest in using biomass “feedstocks” as an energy source for liquid fuel and bio-electricity generation. But bio-fuel (and other ‘commodity chemicals’) derived from ‘woody’ biomass faces one big technical challenge: how to separate the useful constituents of cellulose-based biomass (i.e., its its six-carbon, building block sugars) from the not so useful ones (such as lignin and hemicellulose)?

In the past, attempts have been made to do this separation by applying acid/base compounds to the biomass, or even adding microbes to digest the tough proteins–with less than satisfying results. Now, however, research by Ray et al, has shown promising results, and the key is a well-known variety of fungus.

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Tons of big green news stories in one short article.

There are tons of big green news stories out there every day. Although we can’t (and probably shouldn’t) cover all of them here on Planetsave, it drives me crazy not to cover everything I think is big news. Hopefully, a new idea I’ve had to cover big news stories we missed (or shouldn’t cover in-depth on Planetsave anyway) will give me a little more peace on this issue.

I am covering these stories through a short but link-heavy format where I give you the gist of each story in a hopefully fun and easy-to-read way. This is the first such post. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

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Representatives of nearly 50 socially responsible investing groups have issued a public call to the electronics industry to step up their oversight of suppliers.

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In discussions and theories about why consumers choose green products, there’s little talk of brand. There is, in fact, a big correlation. And new research is showing a triumph of brand over initial gut-reaction.

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U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the federal government to promote greener employee commuting habits, reduced business travel and other measures to scale back indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 13 percent by 2020.

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Here are some great summaries and a video of the recent Velo-city Global conference in Copenhagen.

There was an international bike conference in Copenhagen recently. It was the place to be for bicycle professionals and enthusiasts around the world (I am so disappointed I couldn’t go). For all of us who couldn’t make it (or even for those who could), the following are some great summaries and a video from the conference.

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The company’s sixth annual corporate citizenship report shows that, despite a 14 percet drop in revenue due to the Great Recession, GE has cut its water, energy and emissions intensity by more than 30 percent each.

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