Tag Archives: Green Energy

A Green Christmas / Côte d’Ivoire Violence / Persian Food Blogs

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This year, many people are choosing to have a green Christmas by reducing their holiday carbon footprint. The United States condemns the violence in Côte d’Ivoire following the recent elections. And meet Persian food bloggers, who offer their readers both recipes and a sense of community.

Dreaming of a Green Christmas
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In recent years, many people have chosen to add a shade of green to their Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or other year-end festivities by limiting the size of their holiday carbon footprint. One British study found that households generate an additional 1,430 pounds (650 kilos) of carbon dioxide during Christmas. At right, The National Christmas Tree, shown here with President Obama and his family, is illuminated by LED energy-saving bulbs. 


U.S. Condemns Violence in Côte d’Ivoire
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Deputy Assistant Secretary of State William Fitzgerald urges all Ivorians to respect the will of the people as expressed in a November 28 vote in which Alassane Ouattara was elected as the next president. Fitzgerald condemns the recent violence in Côte d’Ivoire as “egregious.”

An Online Taste of Iran
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Three Iranian-American women created separate blogs with parallel missions of offering Persian recipes. “I’ve always loved to write, and I’ve always loved to cook, and… I thought, ‘Well, why shouldn’t I be the one to have a blog about Persian food?’” says Sanam Lamborn.

Recipes for Persian Memories
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Persian food blogs offer recipes and a sense of community to their readers. Azita Mehran, author of the blog Turmeric & Saffron, writes mini-essays that includes recipes and memories of childhood trips or news of what she’s found at the market. Above, her red lentil soup.

Obama pays visit to Wisconsin smart-energy manufacturer

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President Barack Obama with ZBB President and CEO Eric Apfelback, and ZBB employee Lonnie Mages

President Barack Obama with ZBB President and CEO Eric Apfelback, and ZBB employee Lonnie Mages

Monday President Obama made remarks at the ZBB Energy Corporation manufacturing facility, a producer of battery technology and “smart” energy control and management systems in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The company is currently using Recovery Act State Energy Program loans to expand to three times its current manufacturing ability, and keep workers as well as hiring many new ones. The President noted the importance of creating jobs in manufacturing in companies like ZBB.

“We expect our commitment to clean energy to lead to more than 800,000 jobs by 2012,” President Obama stated. “And that’s not just creating work in the short term, that’s going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth. I just want everybody to understand –just a few years ago, American businesses could only make 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles — 2 percent. In just a few years, we’ll have up to 40 percent of the world’s capacity.”

President Obama used the occasion to highlight two of his major policy issues: creating jobs, and supporting the use of renewable and green energy alternatives. The Recovery Act State Energy Program seeks to promote both of these outcomes by providing economic incentives for companies producing these technologies.

“This is part of steps we’ve taken in clean energy,” the President said. “Steps that have led to jobs manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels, building hybrid and electric vehicles, modernizing our electric grid so that we have more sources of renewable energy but we can also use it more effectively.”

I think that the U.S. producing cleaner energy sources wouldn’t only be great for Americans, but for people around the world. What do you think? Should the U.S. help lead the way with green energy? Be sure to check out the White House’s blog about it, or the Council on Environmental Quality’s blog.