MIT’s Technology Review predicts that the U.S. will surpass Germany as the world’s largest market for solar power.

Growth in the U.S. will likely be spurred on by the decreasing cost of solar panels and installation, and the continuing and increasing federal and state incentives. The federal stimulus package funding, for example, will be felt in 2010 and so will tax credits for solar investment for utilities.

Some experts, however, think that the case for growth of large solar projects in the next few years may be a bit too rosy.

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Some think it’s funny; some think it’s the worst Super Bowl commercial of the bunch. It seems funnier the second time around.

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After nearly a year of negotiations with the state’s utility companies, Massachusetts officials announced a set of new energy efficiency standards on Friday in what is anticipated to be the most ambitious plan in the nation.

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Mega-yachts are inherently evil, right? Maybe not. The Wall Street Journal reports that pollution-spewing, fuel- guzzling mega-yachts have been enlisted by the International Seakeepers Society, an ocean research group, to collect data on the oceans and seas.

The Seakeepers have installed scientific equipment on more than 30 mega-yachts and . . . “collected more than 300 million meteorologic, climatological and oceanographic measurements.” WSJ

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After decades of monitoring damage to the ozone layer, environmental policymakers finally have reason to celebrate. Well, sort of.

A new study issued by the University of Leeds says the ozone layer is now mending, but its repair could actually contribute to global warming in the southern hemisphere.

Scientists say high-speed winds generated by the hole led to the formation of moist, radiant clouds that essentially shielded the Antarctic region from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

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