2014 brought some amazing milestones in clean energy and sustainability. 2015 could be even more amazing. Clean Technica articles on New Years Eve 2014. I admit it. I am an information junkie. I have 380 blogs/news sites to which I subscribe in Feedly, my favorite RSS reader. Suffice it to say, I peruse the headlines of perhaps 1,000 items most every day, give or take a few LOL cats. Given my obvious interests, many of these articles relate to science and sustainability. On New Year's Eve, I couldn't help but pause while reviewing the latest articles from Clean Technica, "the #1 cleantech-focused website in the US and the world according to Compete.com and Quantcast.com." Just look at a sampling of these articles in the attached graphic. What inspiration! What hope for a better New Year for people, planet and profits (the good old "triple bottom line")! Let's look at just a few of these in more detail: * Trina Follows Solar Cell Efficiency Record With A Bang - "A new world record for solar power output has just been announced by Trina Solar, fresh on the heels of the company's record-setting solar cell efficiency announcement. every time we hear about a new solar energy record, we're thinking that the fossil fuel sector is getting another punch in the gut. That's because once you get a solar panel up and running (or for that matter, a wind turbine), you don't have to keep paying out for fuel to keep it running. Contrast that to the extraction costs, transportation costs, and risks (and more risks) involved in generating electricity from fossil fuels, and you're getting the picture." * BMW Rep Says Electric Vehicle Breakout Moment Approaching - "One of the higher-ups at BMW, Ian Robertson, recently commented that the breakout moment for electric vehicles was fast approaching, and that the time for the auto industry to transition towards mainstream EV adoption was not that far in the future. The argument is that, with the use of soon-to-be-commercially-viable 'next gen' battery technologies (lithium air, solid state, etc) that EVs will soon possess ranges similar to those seen in gasoline-using cars, along with their many, many advantages over gasmobiles." * Vestas Finishes Off The Year With A Bang - "Danish wind energy giant Vestas Wind announced Tuesday two new orders to cap off an impressive year that saw the company take in orders up to 5,703 MW. The two new orders amount to 210 MW between them -- one for 60 MW for wind turbine equipment to be provided to SunEdison, as part of a Master Supply Agreement with the potential for up to 600 MW. The order comes just in time to take advantage of the recently renewed US Production Tax Credit, and will provide 2 MW and 3 MW wind turbines for various projects throughout the US." Speaking of triple bottom lines, Triple Pundit (the "people, planet, profit" site) author Raz Godelnik relates his 2014 Sustainability Moment of Optimism from TED@Unilever. Godelnik relates: "What I liked most about it was that, unlike many corporate events, this one didn't try to present a sugary version of the reality when it comes to sustainability. It kept a positive vibe (after all it's still a TED event) but at the same time didn't ignore the hardships, obstacles and frustrations shared by those seeking to advance sustainability. You don't have to be an avid TriplePundit reader (although we hope you are!) to know that Unilever is one of the leaders when it comes to corporate sustainability." For additional inspiration, I am providing links to some of the other Clean Technica articles listed above: * Africa's Largest Wind Energy Project Commissioned In Morocco * Photovoltaic Dreaming: First Attempts At Commercializing PV * Sustainable Growth Opportunities For New Delhi By 2030 * RES Americas Completes 267 MW Washington Wind Project * 2016 Chevy Volt To Look Like C7 Corvette Stingray? A Bit * China Looking To Back Out Of Coal-To-Gas Plant Buildout? (This is potential good news; the one bit of bad news in the bunch, 17.3 GW Of Approved FiT Solar PV Projects In Japan Being Canceled Due To "Insufficient Grid Capacity", is a blip on the "Feed-in-Tariff" (FiT) radar and a reminder that much of our global grid infrastructure is in need of serious updating. The article explains: "Considering that the past few years have seen the approval of about 70 GW of solar projects under the country's FIT program, I wouldn't say that this is extremely surprising.") Keep in mind that all this good news pictured is but a sampling of one day's articles on one web site. (On a related note: If you're getting nothing but bad news, environmental or otherwise, in your headlines, you need to adjust your subscriptions!) But wait, there's more! The World Economic Forum wants you to know why 2015 will be the year of sustainability. Kyle G. Crider (MPA, LEED AP ND) is a professional science and sustainability "story teller." In his spare time he is pursuing his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary (Environmental Health) Engineering and traveling the highways and by-ways of home state with his wife Beverly in search of fact, fiction, and folklore for Strange Alabama.
