I’m a fan of Thomas Friedman’s mix of doomsaying and praise of innovation. He’s a great cheerleader of the American drive to be the best in the world through innovation. In his column today he outlines two innovators in the green technology space. There’s a truly exciting process that could make coal fired powerplants much cheaper while also producing a useful bi-product as well as a nod to the much-hyped fuel cells from Bloom Energy. To “do good and to make good” is the mantra of green entrepreneurs.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory China Energy Group have developed software to integrate building life-cycle assessment, energy use and emissions from construction of a housing development through to occupation. The aim was to model the building material lifecycle to track where the materials were produced and the emissions impacts of their transportation. The tool also takes into account the impacts of lifestyle choices of residents, including transit choices, consumer goods, food consumption and heating and cooling costs.

Read more about this tool on this World Changing blog post.

India’s National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) produced satellite imagery that seems to suggest that China is building a dam on the Brahmaputra River. This evidence prompted the government to bypass the typical intergovernmental channels of flood-water data sharing and raise the level of discourse through the Ministry of External Affairs over this project on a river that forms the border between the two countries.

The dam-building exercise seems to be confirmed in the Chinese press with details in print that suggest that a hydroelectric dam is being built in the area. The government in New Delhi seems to be claiming ignorance to this plan.

Read more about this issue in this story in Indian Express.

The $3.4Billion in grants for smart grid technology that were awarded yesterday are the single largest one-day award from the stimulus bill. There are 100 companies involved in the projects that are within 49 states, excluding Alaska. The funds will go into the accounts of awardees within 60 days, and the projects are projected to take between 12 and 36 months.

The largest technology  element of this award is for smart meters, paying for 18 million smart meters in homes to allow homeowners to better manager their energy use. There are 700 automated substations included, which will allow utilities to quickly restore power in the event of emergencies. And there will be 200,000 smart transformers.

Details on the 100 grants that were awarded can be found in this PDF Document, including coverage maps.

China is on track for a 75 percent urban population by 2050. This rapid urbanization holds challenges for achieving sustainable development goals because currently cities hold 50 percent of the world’s population but emit 75 percent of greenhouse gases. To address this disparity, China is looking at an ec0-city development concept that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move toward 30 percent renewable energy in the next 20 years.

The Low Carbon Eco-city Strategy was launched by the Chinese Society for Urban Studies in a report to policy makers that will eventually be distributed to officials in 600 Chinese cities. The report outlines a move toward integrated public transport systems, green building, clean energy technology and cleaner manufacturing. The report also recommends that local government should receive financial support to enact these recommendations.

This approach is a positive step for the world given the scale of China’s urbanization movement, and it’s current status as the number one polluter.

Mexico’s state-owned oil and gas company Pemex has awarded a $463.5 Million contract to CGG Veritas Services for the 3D seismic mapping of a 30,000 square-mile area in the Gulf of Mexico to determine what oil reserves may lie in this deep water. The deep water exploration work will use the latest in scanning technology, and the mission is expected to last five years.

Xcel Energy has completed the installation of all the necessary infrastructure for the citywide SmartGridCity project in Boulder, Colorado, and has also launched software necessary to monitor the system. The smart grid allows the utility to monitor electricity usage, detect outages, and re-route power where it’s needed most. The next phase later this year includes the launch of a Web portal where customers can view their energy consumption, and can decide on their own energy-reduction strategies.

The governor of Rhode Island has proposed a $1.5 Billion wind farm off the coast of his state, and a two-year surveying and mapping effort is now underway to study the best location. Three ocean mapping vessels will be working to determine the best place to locate the wind farm, one each from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Rhode Island.

The wind mapping project is part of a larger and long-term Ocean Special Area Management Plan that will define use zones for Rhode Island’s ocean waters for habitat, commercial, energy development and recreation.

There’s an interesting blog post and maps from the Land Art Generator Initiative that shows the land surface area per region that would be required to power the world with solar panels or wind power. The solar map compares the energy demands of 1980, 2008, and a projection for 2030. It’s a surprisingly small land area when seen on a global context. The wind power map measures area in more linear form, and projects the capacity along the coasts.

The UN  just released a report that calls for an integrated strategy to address climate change while promoting sustainable development. The plan from the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) calls for a $500 Billion yearly investment, roughly 1 percent of world gross product (WGP), to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The report warns that the current course could have dramatic worldwide economic impacts to the tune of 20 percent WGP, making action now a compelling long-term option for worldwide economic stability.

The report outlines the discrepancies between the developed and developing world, emphasizing that advanced countries have contributed as much as 75% of emission increases since 1950 despite the fact that they account for less than 15% of the world’s population. Poorer nations stand to lose the most from the impacts of climate change, with more severe droughts and more intense precipitation dramatically impacting food and water supplies.

The report outlines a balancing act regarding development and economic growth, stating that tackling the climate change problem can only happen if poorer countries can sustain rapid economic growth. Economic growth and reduction of poverty are seen as the only means for a transformation that would require the deployment of advanced technology and significant infrastructure investments.

This report comes just three months prior to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference where countries will come together to forge a new global plan to address climate change. The way forward that is outlined here emphasizes considerable global action rather than simply emission cuts and market-based solutions. The transformation that is called for requires addressing global inequality.

The full report titled, “The World Economic and Social Survey 2009: Promoting Development, Saving the Planet,” can be found online here.