RECOMMENDED READING

China Racing Ahead of U.S. in the Drive to Go Solar

"President Obama wants to make the United States 'the world's leading exporter of renewable energy,' but in his seven months in office, it is China that has stepped on the gas in an effort to become the dominant player in green energy -- especially in solar power, and even in the United States...Backed by lavish government support, the Chinese are preparing to build plants to assemble their products in the United States to bypass protectionist legislation. As Japanese automakers did decades ago, Chinese solar companies are encouraging their United States executives to join industry trade groups to tamp down anti-Chinese sentiment before it takes root." [New York Times]

Renewable Technologies Increase Energy Sprawl

"Millions of hectares of land will be needed to meet growing energy demands in the United States over the next two decades, according to new 'energy sprawl' estimates. The researchers behind the study say that biomass production for fuel or electricity generation will have the biggest impact on landscape and habitats." [Nature]

Can The Sahara Desert Power Europe? 

"What with all that hot sun beating down on the Sahara Desert day after day, it's no surprise that energy planners have suggested lining the sands of North Africa with mirrors and building vast concentrated solar plants to deliver lots and lots of carbon-free power to Europe. It's not just an idle fantasy, either: One $573 billion proposal, known as Desertec, has attracted a dozen finance and industrial companies, and its backers claim that the solar arrays could one day satisfy up to 15 percent of Europe's electricity needs." [The Vine-The New Republic]

QUOTABLE

"As chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], I cannot take a position because we do not make recommendations. But as a human being I am fully supportive of that goal. What is happening, and what is likely to happen, convinces me that the world must be really ambitious and very determined at moving toward a 350 target.” - Rajendra Pachauro, Top U.N. Climate Scientist Backs Big CO2 Cuts, 350-ppm Goal [AFP]

OPINION

• Thomas Friedman: Connecting Nature’s Dots [New York Times]