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UK: Prime Minister David Cameron backed the country’s push for green growth and energy efficiency yesterday during a speech on the economy. “In the global race, the economies in Europe which will prosper are those which are the most energy efficient…We can’t afford not to prioritise green growth right now,” Cameron said. Some in the Prime Minister’s own party have been outwardly hostile to the green agenda in the recent past. (Reuters)
USA: A Republican senator has published a policy plan that claims to offer the US independence from OPEC. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska calls for more land to be opened up to shale oil and gas drilling and more offshore drilling in the Atlantic. (Reuters)
Turkey: Massive renewable energy investment in Turkey will continue after Deputy Energy Minister Hasan Murat Mercan said much of its planned $100bn strategy will include new wind, solar, hydropower, biomass and geothermal power. (Bloomberg)
USA: The rights to produce geothermal energy on an active volcano off the coast of Alaska are to be sold. The 66,000-acre site on Mount Augustine, an island volcano 180 mile south west of Anchorage, is still active. The last eruption was in 2006 and landslides, earthquakes, volcanic gas, lava flows and explosions are listed as on-going risks. (Reuters)
Science: Sea urchins could hold the secret to better carbon capture technologies. Researchers at Newcastle University discovered by accident that bubbling CO2 through water with nickel particles in it is more effective. Sea urchins use a similar process to produce their shells. (BBC)
Canada: WWF-Canada has called on a group of grannies to help it promote National Sweater Day this Thursday. The annual event looks to encourage people to turn down their heating and save energy. “If we don’t take care of our environment today, there’s not going to be an environment for future generations,” says the 47-year-old granny of 10,” said Louise Bird, a.k.a. Nana Lou. (Leader Post)