green

Say what? Americans and their God-given right to air conditioning

John Berger, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Standard Renewable Energy, knows that in selling Americans on energy efficiency and green technology, it doesn't pay to appeal to their guilt.

Instead, you've got to appeal to their pocketbook. They'll buy solar panels and new types of insulation or even biodiesel cars as long as they save money and don't have to curb their lifestyle.

"We believe Americans believe they have a God-given right to have their cake and eat it too," he said.

It will never happen, but that's the kind of quote I'… Read more

Daimler Chrysler gears up for next hydrogen car

Daimler Chrysler isn't giving up on hydrogen.

Next year, the company will roll out its second test hydrogen car, called the "B Class," to test drivers, according to Nick Cappa, manager of Advanced Technology Communication at the company. The car will be bigger than the current A Class (see picture) and go about 250 miles before running out of fuel.

The fuel cell stack, the part that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electrons and water, will also ideally last about 5,000 hours, about the same amount as a conventional gas engine. Currently, the fuel cell stack … Read more

Organic-plastic company gets $15 million

Why make a shampoo bottle out of petroleum products when it can be formed out of agricultural-waste products? That's the premise behind Segetis, which today said it has raised $15 million.

The Minneapolis-based Segetis is one of a number of outfits trying to displace petroleum in household products like countertops, bottles and other items. Using organic matter cuts down on pollutants in the manufacturing process and makes recycling far more feasible.

Organic plastics have historically cost more than their petroleum counterparts, but the rising price of oil, coupled with other factors, is making organics more palatable.

Other companies in … Read more

Experts gather to discuss adaptation on climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued two dire reports this year on global warming and now the third comes on May 4, and it discusses technologies for adapting to climate change.

Adaptation to some level of warming is inevitable, according to experts. Even if every nation in the world decided go green tomorrow, conversion to clean forms of energy will take years. Thus, greenhouse gases will continue to get into the atmosphere and heat up the globe.

The IPCC is expected to state that mitigation or adaptation won't be as costly as some have claimed. Delegates to … Read more

Conserve PC power, save a tree

The convergence of plant and machine is upon us. The "EnergyTree" is an experimental contraption that links a computer's power levels to the health of a living thing.

It was the brainchild of U.K. product designer Ben Arent, who created the concept for Microsoft's "StartSomething" PC design competition this year. The goal, according to Yanko Design, is fairly simple: "If the user is extremely efficient with their energy use the EnergyTree will give the tree the nutrients and water it needs to survive and flourish. If the user is inefficient with their … Read more

USBCell Battery: A darned good idea, if it works

A few minutes ago, I was crawling through the oft-dull posts that turn up in my RSS reader on Saturday mornings while downing the day's first cup of coffee. Not particularly momentous. Then I saw this TreeHugger post, and I was all wow, you know, in the way that Microsoft was hoping I'd react to Windows Vista. (I didn't, for the record.)

So what are these? They're called USBCell, and they're AA batteries that you charge in a USB port. What a cool idea! Of course, there's always the quality issue, but TreeHugger seems … Read more

Taxis getting greener, one hybrid at a time

If you're lucky, as I have been in several cities, you might occasionally flag down a rare taxicab bedecked by its driver with disco balls, mood lighting, tinfoil hearts, or even a menagerie of stuffed animals. This week, San Franciscans got the option to hitch a ride in a novelty taxi of a different sort, as start-up Green Cab's single hybrid Honda Civic hit the road. Next month the fleet could total five gas-electric taxis painted in low-toxic green paint.

"It's not only environmentally friendly, it's good financially for the driver," said Green Cab … Read more

Merry-Go-Round refugee? No, it's the Smart Car

If you only quickly glanced at the Smart Car, you might think it is something that fell off of a ride at the state fair.

In reality, it's the Smart Car, a two-seater mini-car that's already gaining huge momentum in the U.S. The vehicles, which grew out of a joint venture between Mercedes and Swatch, get about 60 miles per gallon and are fairly zippy to drive, I'm told. But more importantly if you live in a city, you can park it almost anywhere. In person, they actually look pretty cool.

Some run on regular gas … Read more

Hungry? Palore maps lots of restaurant reviews

When looking for a new spot to eat or shop, I tend to turn to Yelp (controversy aside) more than to other business rating sites. But I could be missing crucial comments made by someone outside of Yelp.

Happily, I just checked out a cool service that displays ratings from around the Web at a single glance. The browser add-on Palore aggregates business reviews from a variety of Web sites and displays them next to Google and Yahoo's local search results in Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Currently Palore has data for some 2.4 million businesses in big cities … Read more