Green news harvest: Consumers affect climate change

    A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary:

  • Small actions add up to big impact on climate change - Wall Street Journal
    American consumers contribute 65 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to McKinsey & Co. The report suggests that individuals making small changes in driving habits and energy use could slow climate change.
    • Increasing acidity, shown in pink and caused by atmospheric carbon, would enable high-pitched sounds to travel deeper in the ocean, researchers say.

    Increasing acidity, shown in pink and caused by atmospheric carbon, would enable high-pitched sounds to travel deeper in the ocean, researchers say.

    (Credit: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, David Fierstein)

  • Imitating electric eels to power medical implants - ZDNet
    Researchers say artificial energy-producing cells could mimic those of electric eels, and would be ideal for firing up tiny medical devices. It’s an example of biomimicry, which patterns technologies after structures found in nature.
  • Suntech plans aggressive expansion - The Associated Press
    The Chinese solar company, snapping up EI Solutions, aims to dominate one third of the U.S. solar market.
  • Noise will pollute warmer, acidic oceans - Live Science
    As oceans become more acidic due to higher levels of carbon dioxide, noise can travel to greater depths. Sounds in the soprano range will reach deeper and could interfere with communication among whales and ships, according to a study from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
  • Will America run out of gas soon? - Treehugger
    Energy investment banker Matt Simmons say a scarcity of oil soon could eclipse the financial crisis. Whether you agree with the alarm, the worst-case scenario may be worth imagining.

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[Via Green Tech - CNET]