RAEL in the Media

Dan Kammen emphasized various options we face in confronting risks associated with climate change which were looked at in a recent MIT study. In a talk at the West Coast Green Conference he pointed out that after policy changes positively affecting the solar industry were made in 2007, the industry quadrupled in 2008 . So balancing policy, economy, human behavior, and the fact that the world is heating up due in no small part to carbon dioxide emissions, we're able to see that yes, we still have a shot at not cooking the planet if we act now.

In an interview by the San Francisco Business Times, RAEL- Professor Daniel Kammen urges policy makers to increase energy efficiency measures, investments into renewable energy and to start carbon pricing in order to meet the targets for greenhouse gas reduction. Feed-in tariffs for utility customers should be set as a priority. Furthermore, the promotion of renewable energy would create more jobs in comparison to the fossil fuel economy.

Cyrus Wadia, faculty member at the LBNL and RAEL, is using the abundant pyrite (also called fool's gold) to grow nanocrystals for cheaper photovoltaics. But instead of digging for false promises, he is making pure nano­particles of the compound from iron and sulfur salts to turn fool's gold into real treasure: an inexpensive solar cell.His promising research was featured in a recent MIT Technology Review.

Daniel Kammen is interviewed on the expected rise of water demand by different types of solar power plants, such as solar thermal plants which need water for the wet-cooling process or solar trough power plants. Problems of water scarcity with their implications on local communities and the environment seem to be especially prevalent in the west of the US. However, these issues are likely to become contentious all over the country as the population grows further and intensive renewable energy development spreads.