Short Takes  

Earth2Tech reports that Spanish renewable energy company Iberdrola will Invest $8B in U.S. Clean Energy projects.

Technology Review has an article on advanced oil extraction techniques - and how rarely they are being used - "Oil Left In The Ground".

Grist has a post on "Something everyone can be the Saudi Arabia of" - energy efficiency, pointing out "smart use of existing energy efficiency technologies and techniques could cost-effectively cut U.S. energy demand by 25-30% in the next 20-25 years".

Grist also wonders Is Big Coal like Big Tobacco? - meaning "can they be sued" ?

WorldWatch reports that global production of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells increased 51 percent in 2007 to 3,733 megawatts.

Renewable Energy World has an article on thin film Organic Photovoltaics - "the Good, the Bad, and the Inefficient".

REW also has an article on Powering Villages from Rice Husks in India.

Reuters reports the US House of Representatives has passed bill to sue OPEC over oil prices. I'm sure that will fix the problem - we can all rest easy now.

Paul Krugman has a column on the effect of peak oil on those living in the suburbs with cars that are not fuel efficient - Stranded in Suburbia.

The Daily Breeze reports on electric trucks being rolled out in the port of Los Angeles.

Ecogeek has some pictures of the world's largest tidal power turbines in Northern Ireland.

Cleantech.com reports that Japan's Komatsu is to sell the first hybrid excavator.

EETimes reports that IBM is claiming a new record in concentrating solar PV efficiency.

CIGS solar power company HelioVolt says it has boosted thin film solar power efficiency to 12.2%.

After Gutenberg has a post on Multi-Step Upgrading of Land Fill Gas in the US - which is then converted into LNG !

Mother Jones this month has a special report on "The Future of Energy", including a look at the perils of nuclear power.

The Independent reports that the Brazilian environment minister has given up trying to save the Amazon rainforest.

Bruce Sterling has some comments on Fareed Zakaria's column "The Post-American World".



Bruce also notes there may be some hope for the "Saudi Arabia of garbage" if cellulosic ethanol schemes work out - Here Come the Tame Bugs That Make Car Fuel From Garbage. "We'll be running our monster fleet of climate-wrecking cars right off the refuse of our rampant Yankee consumerism! Ha ha ha! Take that, doubting world!".

The Oregonian reports that the strange behavior of a large shoal of sturgeon at Bonneville Dam has surprised biologists.

The Guardian reports on a teenager facing prosecution in London for calling Scientology a 'cult'.

AFP has a report on a US soldier who refuses to serve in the 'illegal Iraq war'.

The Times has an article on the UK's latest attempt to build a universal surveillance system - ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails.

Cryptogon has a look at the US equivalent of China's "Golden Shield" big brother surveillance system - "The Last Roundup: MAIN CORE".

"I’m going to provide a one paragraph summary, just to make sure that the implications of this are clear to everyone: The U.S. Government has, almost certainly, established a database and tracking system for something like eight million Americans who have been designated as threats to national security. The system is called MAIN CORE and it is being run under the auspices of highly classified Continuity of Government (COG) operations. MAIN CORE uses a variety of intelligence sources as inputs, including your email, web activity, telephone and private financial information. In the event of a major national security crisis, it is alleged that Americans listed in the MAIN CORE database, “Could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.”".