TMCnet GreenTech Week in Review

In green technology news this week, U.S. President Barack Obama delayed his decision on the Keystone XL pipeline; the head of Google Energy departed following a five-year stint; HP topped a list of eco-elite companies compiled by Greenpeace International; San Francisco received a frightful forecast for 2099, and much, much, more.

On Nov. 6, Americans saw a familiar tableau -- crowds numbering in the tens of thousands peacefully rallying near the White House in support of “Change We Can Believe In.” But this time, the protesters were asking for a change in environmental policy — not in the incumbent president — or so Obama hopes. In reaction to the rally, the White House delayed a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline by requiring sponsors to reduce the project's environmental risks before it can be approved. The step might delay a decision until after the 2012 election, enabling the White House to at least temporarily avoid antagonizing either the unions that support the pipeline or the environmental activists who oppose it as President Obama gears up for his campaign.

This week, Google had to say good-bye to its green and clean technology guy. Bill Weihl had been the leader of Google Energy since 2006, coming from Internet content delivery network provider Akamai (News - Alert). The search giant wished Weihl well. “Bill has catalyzed thinking and action about clean energy at Google and beyond, and has played a crucial role in developing our approach to sustainability,” said Urs Hoelzle, Google's senior VP for Technical Infrastructure.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Unless you own an HP product, you’re about to have another. In Greenpeace’s new and upgraded Guide to Greener Electronics , HP has vaulted up three slots this year to No. one, leaving Dell, Nokia (News - Alert) , and Apple behind at numbers two through four, respectively. Placing at numbers five through 14 are Philips  (with a score of 4.5 out of 10), Sony Ericsson (4.2/10), Samsung (4.1/10), Lenovo (3.8/10), Panasonic (3.6/10), Sony (3.6/10), Sharp (News - Alert) (3/10), Acer (2.9/10), LG Electronics (2.8/10), and Toshiba (2.8/10). Blackberry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) is rated for the first time -- but enters the list at No. 15.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists and academic colleagues believe that, by 2099, global climate change could devastate the U.S. West Coast —and specifically, the San Francisco Estuary-Watershed. In future climate scenarios for the California region, in which air temperatures increase 1.5° to 4.5°C (about 3° to 8°F), consequences include further declines in snow accumulation and earlier snowmelt, leading to winter flooding and summer droughts; reduced growth and survival of many fruit trees; high susceptibility of alpine and subalpine forests; more fires; and a rise in sea level of as much as 185 cm (6 feet). The USGS has begun studying adaptation strategies.

Electricity production from geothermal energy is likely to experience high growth during the next seven years, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan. Favorable economics, including high fossil fuel prices, falling geothermal field development costs, extension of tax credits provided through government policies and carbon credits, are likely to boost the application of geothermal energy. Advancements in extraction technology and increased energy conversion efficiencies also will bolster the future growth of geothermal energy.

Telco provider AT&T (News - Alert) has added alternative-fuel vehicle (AFV) number 4,000 to its corporate fleet in Illinois. The company intends to invest up to $565 million to replace approximately 15,000 fleet vehicles with AFVs through 2018. AT&T has more than 71,500 vehicles nationwide. The 4,000th alternative-fuel vehicle deployed in Chicago uses compressed natural gas technology (CNG). It is one of 165 AFVs deployed by AT&T in Illinois.

Seven groups of project developers are jointly responsible for creating nearly 1 GW of demand for PV solar energy in China during 2011. This figure includes state-owned enterprises such as China Power Investment Corporation, China Guodian Corporation, China Huadian Corporation, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation, and China Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection Group. The only private group in this lot is the CHINT Group.

The future of U.S. computing is under a cloud -- and that’s a good thing. A new report from the Carbon Disclosure Project , funded AT&T, predicts that American firms will increase their adoption of cloud computing over the next decade --from 10 percent to 70 percent of their information technology spend. The anticipated sky-high leap in cloud usage will be good for the planet, as well as bottom-line profitability. In fact, by 2020, cloud adoption could save 85.7 million tons of carbon. What’s more, the energy savings would total more than $12 billion annually for the 2,653 global firms with annual revenues in the United States above $1 billion.

The Green Building Alliance (GBA) has selected Agile OAK LLC as its Web development partner for the Database for Analyzing Sustainable and High Performance Buildings (DASH). DASH will answer a growing need in the design and construction industries for an authoritative reference tool on existing building operations, maintenance, and performance—especially for green, sustainable, and high-performance structures.

Finally, power brokers in Washington, D.C., are so badly out of touch with mainstream voter sentiment that they may find themselves out of office in 2012, if they continue to bash wind and solar energy and to boost coal, gas, and nuclear power. Those are the findings of a survey conducted by ORC International for the Civil Society Institute. Lobbyists are the problem, according to most U.S. voters. More than seven in ten Americans (72 percent) think that “America's oil, coal, and natural gas companies have a disproportionate influence on Congress and the White House when it comes to making national energy policy.”