OPEC confirms they’ll cut oil production by half a million barrels a day; Apple shows a greener iPod Nano, and little valves mean big air conditioner savings.

OPEC to cut output by 520,000 bpd, Indonesia leaves oil body: As expected, OPEC has voted to throttle back production in an effort to shore up declining prices. The reductions amount to about a half million barrels per day, and will likely be achieved by enforcing existing member quotas. Oil prices closed slightly lower Tuesday as Hurricane Ike’s projected path shifted southward, away from the Gulf Coast’s main offshore oil facilities. (Breitbart)

60% of US Wind Turbines Behind on Maintenance, Not Enough Technicians to Do the Work: Looking fora green collar job? Consider getting into wind turbine maintenance. A new survey shows that while the United States is now the world leader in total windpower wattage, up to 60 percent of all installations are badly behind on routine engineering and site construction. The report — sponsored by Renewable Energy World, points out that there are simply not enough qualified turbine engineers and installers to go around. Meanwhile colleges are scrambling to prepare graduates in the field of renewable energy. (Treehugger)

Apple Debuts a Greener, Less Toxic iPod Nano: Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced a refreshed line of iPod media players Tuesday. Of particular interest to Greens: Apple’s latest Nanos feature improved environmental friendliness. Jobs says the new design will have a recyclable metal case, feature arsenic-free display glass, and will avoid the use of PVCs, Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), and mercury. (EcoTech Daily)

Paris Preview: Mazda to introduce new 2.2L diesel engine: Diesel-powered passenger vehicles have never really caught on in the United States, perhaps due to their smoky association with 18 wheelers. But with the introduction of next-generation “clean diesel” technology, that’s probably about to change. Mazda is readying their entry in the diesel derby, a 2.2 liter power plant expected to debut at the Paris Auto Show. The rail-injected engine should produce a very resoectable 42 MPG, without all the fussiness of hybrid drivetrains. It’s expected to start showing up in European Mazdas next year. (Autoblog Green)

Microstaq’s Tiny Valves Mean Big Energy Savings: Air conditioning makes up a huge percentage of home energy bills, partivular;y in the U.S. Southwest and in the deep South. Now a series of high-tech, semiconductor controlled valves manufactured by a new company named Microstaq promises to save the equivalent of 1.2 billion barrels of oil each year. While not yet ready for consumer-level systems, the computer controlled devices are designed to replace standard expansion valves, yielding an improvement in efficiency of 20 t0 30 percent. (Earth2Tech)

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