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The Headlines:
India Uses the Power of the Sun for Cell Phones
New Hybrid Car in the Works
Climate Change Causing Flowers to Lose their Scent
Used Cooking Oil Finds New Use
A Loss for France, Gains for Colorado, and a Thumbs Up for L.A.

Christie Raids Clean Energy Budget

The Details:

India Uses the Power of the Sun for Cell Phones

We heard from CleanTechnica.com that India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is planning to force all their cell phone providers to switch their towers from diesel generators to solar panels.

India has a National Solar Mission which works towards the ability to create 20,000 megawatts of solar power capacity by the year 2022, and the expected push to telecom providers would become part of that initiative.

India has more than 250,000 cellphone towers consuming 3-5 kilowatts of power. Switching to solar is projected to curb 5.3 million tons of CO2 emissions and could potentially save $1.4 billion per year.

New Hybrid Car in the Works

Ecogeek.org reports that a new concept car called the Ingocar is in development. It’s not our practice to report on every new hybrid on the market, but this one caught our eye because of its potential for a very high amount of miles per gallon.

The car would sport a hydraulic drive system in place of a conventional power train. This would reduce the weight of the car, and coupled with some other innovations, the car could potentially get an astounding 170 miles per gallon!

Currently, the only vehicles on the road with more engine efficiency are motorcycles. In comparison with other hybrids, the 5 passenger Ingocar would weigh 2200 lbs while the Chevy Volt’s weight is expected to be around 3500 lbs, and the current Toyota Prius weighs in at around 3000 lbs.

Climate Change Causing Flowers to Lose their Scent

In a bizarre story first reported by AsiaOne, flowers across Malaysia are losing their scent, and many are wilting fast.

Climate change and air pollution are causing the degradation of scent production in flowers according to Dr Abdul Latif Mohamad, Science and Technology Professor Emeritus at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Climate change is also the reason Kuala Lumpur City Hall is increasingly turning to shady trees, because flowers which previously formed the centerpiece of its beautification program have been dying.

There are plans to invest in genetically-modified seeds which would be better able to withstand climate change and pollution.

Used Cooking Oil Finds New Use

Running your car on old cooking oil is the best-known way to reuse the stuff, but now you can put it on your roof!

Inhabitat.com reports that used cooking oil can be applied to a roof and used to reflect light in the summer, keeping the house cooler. Then, when the temperature changes from hot to cold, the coating of used cooking oil acts as an insulator, retaining more heat inside the home.

The team of scientists working on the project have managed to manipulate the oil to become non-flammable, unscented, and most importantly, non-toxic. They can also make it into any color, from clear to black.

This highly useful and adaptable version of cooking oil should be out for the buying in as little as three years.

A Loss for France, Gains for Colorado, and a Thumbs Up for Los Angeles

In green politics, after taking a verbal beating as well as a beating in the polls, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has dropped one of his key agendas: his proposed carbon tax to limit emissions growth and promote renewable energy.

Sarkozy learned the hard way that no one likes new taxes, no matter how good their intentions.

Here in the U.S. one state governor wants to push his state to the forefront of green energy. Bill Ritter, governor of Colorado, has just signed into law an ambitious renewable energy program. The new law requires 30 percent of large utilities’ electricity to come from renewables by 2020.

Ritter wants the higher target to “position Colorado as a national pacesetter for creating jobs, strengthening our economy and protecting our environment.”

And finally, the EPA ranked America’s cities for sustainability and renewable energy use in terms of their buildings. Los Angeles came in first place. Second place went to Washington D.C. and third place went to San Fransisco. New York was number ten.

No New Jersey city ranked in the top 25.

Christie Raids Clean Energy Budget

In breaking news:

To help plug New Jersey’s budget gap, Governor Christie has announced that he will take $158 million from the Clean Energy Program in 2010, and additional funds in 2011. These Clean Energy Program funds were collected from ratepayers through a monthly fee on utility bills, and had been budgeted by the NJ Board of Public Utilities to support critical energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy programs for residents, businesses, industry and local governments across the state.

“Environment New Jersey” is coordinating an April 1st Call In Day today to generate calls in protest of the cuts.

If you want to call, the Governor’s line is: 609-292-6000, please call on April 1st,
or send an e-mail through the NJ State website.