C3 News Digest - Jan 25, 2012

Cool pick of the week: A Victoria researcher is traveling across Canada interviewing people who have disconnected from the grid.

Cape Breton's vast stores of subsea coal could be converted, in situ, into clean energy, this advocate believes. A group of technology organizations will examine the potential of industrial plants in the Fort Saskatchewan area reusing waste heat. Health Canada is drafting national guidelines for safe distances between wind turbines and homes.

In mountaineering news, an Egyptian climber is one peak shy of his carbon-neutral quest of climbing the highest peak on all seven continents. Meanwhile, retreating glaciers are making some climbs much harder.

The American space agency, NASA, has built a test chamber to simulate conditions on overheated Venus in hopes of better understanding climate change impacts on Earth. Two groups of Cornell University scientists have arrived at different conclusions over which has worse climate change impacts, shale gas or coal development.

In automotive news, an electric car that folds up like a stroller when parked will be unveiled this week. Generation Y buyers are poised to shift the new car market towards hybrids, a new survey indicates.

Coral reefs may be better able to adapt to climate change than previously thought, new research shows. Scrapping $409 billion in fossil-fuel consumption subsidies would get the world halfway to its emission-reduction targets, this economist says. It will take a while before an aging population starts reducing its carbon footprint, this story says.