Most of us think of Germany as one of the most energy-progressive countries in the world. But in recent years, it’s also increased its dependence on a form of energy that’s anything but clean: coal. And it’s demolishing or relocating entire towns to get at it.
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Coal has been keeping our lights on and our houses warm for centuries. But coal’s inherent messiness — both in mining it and burning it — has always been a problem. So it’s no surprise that many people today advocate for cleaner alternatives. What may come as a surprise, however, is that some people were dreaming of a cleaner energy future nearly a century ago.
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Out in Wyoming, an energy company is getting creative about extracting coal from deep below the surface. Rather than blast a hole in the side of the Earth and go digging for it, Linc Energy just wants to set the stuff on fire and gobble up the gas emitted by the blaze. What could go wrong?
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Wondering where Apple stands environmentally after the recent withdrawal (and subsequent return) of its laptops and desktops from the EPEAT rating system? Greenpeace has issued a well-timed report, outlining the company’s broader back-end energy policies. According to the organization, “Apple’s clean energy policies have significantly improved, but the company still gets low scores for its energy choices when compared with sector leaders.” Greenpeace applauds Cupertino’s commitment to goal coal-free by next year, but wonders aloud how the company will get there, noting that while it has invested in solar and other renewable energy sources, it still buys power from outlets that rely on coal. The organization also took the time to admonish Apple’s lack of transparency on its environmental plans.
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Greenpeace: Apple’s energy policy has improved, still needs to remove the coal smoke from iCloud originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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