tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234801272024-03-13T23:40:08.374-04:00THE ELECTRIC GREEN FUTUREUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1165776243336052572006-12-10T13:37:00.000-05:002006-12-10T20:43:00.410-05:00Green Investment Updates Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/Newsweek/Components/Photos/Mag/061218_Issue/061209_ENTCOVER.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/Newsweek/Components/Photos/Mag/061218_Issue/061209_ENTCOVER.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This week we found two more articles about the trend to alternative energy investments. In the first, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/business/yourmoney/10energy.html?ref=business">the New York Times reports</a> on the likely beneficiaries of the changed US congress being a range of companies from across the sector. According to the article investors can expect subsidies, tax policy and research dollars to be focused on all manner of alternative energy companies in the coming years, with predictable benefits in stock prices.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15549205/site/newsweek/">In a related article, Newsweek describes</a> the venture capital group <a href="http://www.kpcb.com/initiatives/">Kleiner Perkins</a> decision to invest $200 million dollars in green tech.<br /><br />The most interesting thing to us about all of these articles taken as a whole is the frequent and unqualified comparisons between green tech and the .com boom. Then again with so many of these companies still unprofitable, maybe the comparison is justified.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1165179804586161312006-12-03T16:00:00.000-05:002006-12-03T16:31:38.366-05:00Green Investment Updates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2789/2244/1600/355326/dollars.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2789/2244/200/362376/dollars.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Last month brought us two very interesting articles about the potential for investing in clean energy from two very different sources.<br /><br />First <a href="http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200611/investing-green-elon-musk-1.html">Outside Magazine published an article</a> in which Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk says, “Energy is way bigger than the Internet” as he explains the investment opportunity in green growth. <a href="http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200611/green-investing-guide-1.html">The accompanying feature</a> describes a variety of funds and investment vehicles available for interested parties to cash in on the coming boom.<br /><br />While one could be forgiven for not wanting to take investment advice from the same people who give you recommendations for breathable footwear, not long after the Outside issue hit the stands, none other than <a href="http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8168089">the Economist produced an article</a> reporting on the same investment trend.<br /><br />The growing investment potential of clean energy tech is something we have been writing about for a while here, but while the potential is clearly enormous, the Economist correctly points out there is nothing inevitable about it. Much of the investment money is contingent on continuing subsidies because clean energy sources are still not cost competitive with polluting ones. While this will doubtlessly change in the coming years, until it does we are only one bad election away from a major dip in support for clean energy technology.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1163516059961549792006-11-14T09:54:00.000-05:002006-11-14T10:31:42.616-05:00LED Savings<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/led-photo.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/led-photo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-emitting_diode">LED lighting </a>revolution has been underway for a while now with promises of bulbs that last for decades and use a fifth of the energy of a compact fluorescent bulb. While the technology has been great for stoplights, camping equipment and that blinking light on your computer tower, LED’s have yet to break into one crucial area; home and office lighting. <br /><br />The problem is that the bulbs are cost prohibitive for simple domestic applications, but <a href="http://news.com.com/Expert+LEDs+could+start+replacing+lightbulbs+soon/2100-1008_3-6132427.html?tag=cnetfd.mt">according to Cnet that may be about to change</a>. The price of LEDs has been falling by fifty percent a year for some time now and if the trend holds they will be an affordable home lighting alternative within the next two years. <br /><br />The potential benefit? With 22% of US energy production going to lighting applications, broad adoption of LED’s could literally save billions of dollars in energy costs and millions of metric tons of carbon emissions.<br /><br />To see what LED lighting means for an individual household, check out this <a href="http://www.productdose.com/LightBulb_Comparison.xls">handy spreadsheet</a> made by <a href="http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=1142">productdose.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1163433372409072632006-11-13T10:52:00.000-05:002006-11-13T10:56:12.433-05:00Record Land Conservation Measures Passed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abag.ca.gov/planning/theoryia/windyhills.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.abag.ca.gov/planning/theoryia/windyhills.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Among the many environmental gains made in last weekend’s Democratic victory was <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/11/12/parks.votes/index.html">a record setting commitment to land conservation</a>. In 23 states across the country, voters from both parties passed 99 ballot initiatives dedicated to <a href="http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=20995&folder_id=186">funding land conservation to the tune of 5.73 Billion dollars</a>.<br /><br />While fighting sprawl has long been seen as the domain of quixotic Portland residents or the Nature Conservancy, the sudden willingness of communities to pass bond or tax measures on themselves to fund land preservation may mark the beginning of a larger reaction against the <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/review/index.ssf?/base/opinion/116319480788470.xml&coll=1">unchecked exurban development</a> so common in this country. <br /><br />Most surprising of all, was the strong support for conservation measures in traditionally Republican areas like Utah, South Carolina and Texas, not exactly known for their environmental voting records. Perhaps this is a reaction to the assault of suburban development on traditionally Republican rural farming and ranching communities where <a href="http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10F11F63B5B0C768CDDA80994DE404482">development pressures are increasingly paving over</a> a traditional way of life.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1163350737528518312006-11-12T11:56:00.000-05:002006-11-12T11:58:57.540-05:00SUV Sales Climb as Gas Prices Fall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://autoreview.belproject.com/media/1/20060207-cadillac-escalade-2007-hybrid-suv.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://autoreview.belproject.com/media/1/20060207-cadillac-escalade-2007-hybrid-suv.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Just in case you thought all the news coming from the auto industry was turning green, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15658052/site/newsweek/">Newsweek is reporting that SUV sales have begun to climb again</a> as gas prices have fallen. You would think that most people wouldn’t have a hard time imagining four-dollar gas before they go buy a bus that gets 15MPG, and if you believe Newsweek you would be right. Apparently the latest trend is for SUVs and Hybrids to share the same garage with owners using one to commute and presumably the other to off road in the wilderness outside their suburb.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1163348817905942302006-11-12T11:22:00.000-05:002006-11-12T11:26:57.916-05:00More GM Hybrid News<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20061106/capt.dbefb2c604834257802c9ce437f6ccd5.china_general_motors_ny112.jpg?x=380&y=269&sig=tm5dDCRWSY7SDl5jFWlYkg--"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20061106/capt.dbefb2c604834257802c9ce437f6ccd5.china_general_motors_ny112.jpg?x=380&y=269&sig=tm5dDCRWSY7SDl5jFWlYkg--" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />GM continues its drumbeat of efficiency related news releases with an announcement that <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061106/ts_alt_afp/chinaautousgm">its China division will begin hybrid car production by 2008</a>. The GM hybrid platform is a <a href="http://www.hybridcars.com/carmakers/gm-daimlerchrysler-hybrid-partners.html">joint venture</a> with DaimlerChrysler and BMW aimed at catching Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda who have established a strong technology lead. <br /><br />The so-called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Hybrid_System_2">“Two-Mode” hybrid</a> system being developed by the partnership promises some interesting advancements on the single mode hybrids in use by Toyota and Ford including a more advanced continuously variable transmission and will begin appearing in Fall-2007 models.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1163180015383477142006-11-10T12:30:00.000-05:002006-11-10T12:33:35.406-05:00GM's Plugin Hybrid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://dontcrush.com/gallery/albums/Production-EVs/ev1_cruising4.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://dontcrush.com/gallery/albums/Production-EVs/ev1_cruising4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061110/AUTO01/611100327">The Detroit News is reporting</a> that GM will unveil a prototype <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_hybrid">Plug-In hybrid car</a> at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. The move would seem to offer more proof that GM is pursuing a complete 180 from its recent strategy of depending on large, inefficient trucks and SUV’s as the bedrock of its business. <br /><br />What remains to be seen is whether GM as a company is truly embracing efficiency as a principle core to design rather than one core to marketing. The article correctly notes that GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has cited killing GM’s electric <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ev1">EV1 program</a> as his worst decision because of the negative PR associated with it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1162564399554289852006-11-03T09:33:00.000-05:002006-11-03T09:33:19.570-05:00Slate’s Green Challenge<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/2151565/2151577/2151578/2151882/introIllo.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/2151565/2151577/2151578/2151882/introIllo.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I somehow managed to miss week one of this, but am finally caught up on political news magazine Slate’s <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2151739/">collaboration with Treehugger</a> to produce the ‘Green Challenge’, an eight week Atkins carbon diet where participants pledge to reduce their Carbon footprint by following Oprah-easy advice from a series of columns. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2151795/">Week two</a> highlights the energy costs of heating and cooling your home. With fun facts like, <span style="font-style:italic;">“the gaps around the windows and doors in most houses let out the same amount of air, all told, as a 3-by-3-foot hole.”</span> It is the kind of popcorn reading you can get into.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1162479534217673352006-11-02T09:58:00.000-05:002006-11-02T09:59:59.976-05:00Organism Inspired Wave Power<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.biopowersystems.com/images/img_biowave.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.biopowersystems.com/images/img_biowave.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power">Wave power</a> has been in the news a fair amount this year with announcements of test generators being built in <a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=35125">Oregon </a>and <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1577812006">Scotland</a>, but Australia based <a href="http://www.biopowersystems.com/index.html">Bio Power Systems</a> is offering a unique and intriguing take on the design challenges it involves. Most wave power generators come in the form of tethered buoys or submerged tidal turbines, BioPower has looked for design inspiration from the form factors of aquatic <a href="http://www.biopowersystems.com/biostream.html">plants and animals</a>. The resulting generator concepts may look like mechanical shark fins but they promise to be much more survivable in extreme conditions while achieving greater energy conversion than traditional designs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1162397791621213842006-11-01T11:12:00.000-05:002006-11-01T11:16:31.633-05:00Supreme Court to Decide the Future of Clean Air<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/PowerPlantEkibastus.jpg/280px-PowerPlantEkibastus.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/PowerPlantEkibastus.jpg/280px-PowerPlantEkibastus.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />NPR is one of many News organizations reporting today on <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6415428">the Supreme Court case</a> that will decide whether or not coal power plants do in fact have to comply with the clean air act. At issue is that always difficult question of whether or not a major industry actually has to <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6415431">follow an inconvenient law</a>, in this case, a law that requires modernization of environmental filtration equipment. <br /><br />As usual, the “Rule of Law’ Bush administration has decided to selectively ignore the need for enforcement here, going so far as to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/home/businessinthebeltway/2006/10/31/supreme-court-duke-energy-biz-wash-cx_jh_1101duke.html">urge the Supreme Court not to accept the case</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1158671049471486192006-09-19T09:03:00.000-04:002006-09-19T09:04:09.500-04:00Google Your Way to 100 Miles Per Gallon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.timeinc.net/popsci/images/2006/08/100mpg_485.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://img.timeinc.net/popsci/images/2006/08/100mpg_485.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Google’s recent announcement that they would <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/technology/14google.html">create a for-profit charitable arm</a> did a lot to raise the warm and fuzzy level of this week’s news but one item in particular caught our interest. One of the projects <a href="http://google.org/">Google.org</a> plans to fund is an effort to develop a 100 MPG car with the goal of dramatically reducing US dependence on foreign oil and production of greenhouse emissions. <br /><br />An article in <a href="http://www.popsci.com/popsci/automotivetech/e5690576b64fc010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html">this month’s edition of Popular Science</a> confirms that this is only one of several similar efforts including <a href="http://auto.xprize.org/">the latest x-prize</a>. With plug-in hybrid conversion kits already for sale in California, can a practical, affordable 100 mpg car be that far off?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1158587192913121422006-09-18T09:46:00.000-04:002006-09-18T09:46:32.933-04:00GM Fuel Cell by 2011?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/9287_large.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/9287_large.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />GM is making a lot of noise lately about <a href="http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/354/C9287/">Fuel Cells</a>, culminating in their announcement on Friday that <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14848423/">they will have Fuel Cell powered cars in showrooms by 2011</a>. If this ends up being true, and the obstacles surrounding cost and re-fueling infrastructure can be overcome, GM has the potential to leap frog their competition in a way that <a href="http://www.gm.com/company/gmability/adv_tech/400_fcv/index.html">changes the auto-industry forever</a>. If it fails (and it is starting to sound like they are betting the farm on this) it could mark the end of GM as the lead player in the auto industry. <br /><br />While we have all heard GM making this kind of futuristic pronouncement before, the date has never seemed so close, and when you combine it with recent comments from the company about <a href="http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/354/C9358/">the importance of nuclear power</a> as an emissions free energy source it starts to look like they might actually be serious about pulling this off.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1158331841144787832006-09-15T10:50:00.000-04:002006-09-15T10:50:41.163-04:00The New Split-Cycle Engine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Scuderi_Split_Cycle_Engine_-_Cycle.gif/180px-Scuderi_Split_Cycle_Engine_-_Cycle.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Scuderi_Split_Cycle_Engine_-_Cycle.gif/180px-Scuderi_Split_Cycle_Engine_-_Cycle.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Even with advances in batteries and fuel cells, most of us will probably be driving something with an internal combustion engine in it for the foreseeable future. That’s one of the reasons <a href="http://wired.com/news/technology/autotech/0,71648-0.html?tw=wn_index_6">a new kind of internal combustion engine</a> being tested by the Scuderi Group is so intriguing. <br /><br />The concept is a new take on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuderi_Split_Cycle_Engine">the split-cycle engine</a>, an old idea for dividing the work performed by a standard four-stroke engine cylinder between two paired cylinders. Historically, this has never been very efficient, but before his death in 2002 a Massachusetts inventor named Carmelo Scuderi may have figured out a way to make split-cycles work that is <span style="font-weight:bold;">twice as efficient as a conventional engine</span>. <br /><br />Prototypes are in development, and major automakers are in talks with the Scuderi Group right now, but it will probably be some time before you can expect to see this at your local dealer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1157464936883543442006-09-05T10:01:00.000-04:002006-09-05T10:02:16.896-04:00The West Texas Wind Boom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.orion-energy.com/nof/images/green_mountain2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.orion-energy.com/nof/images/green_mountain2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Speaking of Wind, <a href="http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/nation/15375243.htm">this article</a> provides a great look at how the wind boom is changing west Texas, and quietly turning into a way of life for residents of some of the small former oil towns. After reading this I cant help but wonder about the potential for wind power to work the same magic in depressed rural communities across the American mid-west.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1157138242659422592006-09-01T15:17:00.000-04:002006-09-01T15:17:22.683-04:00Ups and Downs of Wind Power<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/assets/images/story/2006/8/14/1332_SearsburgUSE.jpg;jsessionid=7EB304645C9CAE4FC9A90C9B42688FC8"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/assets/images/story/2006/8/14/1332_SearsburgUSE.jpg;jsessionid=7EB304645C9CAE4FC9A90C9B42688FC8" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />A recent episode of <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5705281">NPR’s All Things Considered</a> walks through the debate within the environmental community regarding wind power. It seems greens are torn between the chance for renewable, pollution free power and the inevitable footprint of windmills blighting scenic and remote areas of ridgelines and coastlines. <br /><br />The debate will go on, but apparently so will the march of new wind projects with the <a href="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45703">US approaching 10 Gigawatts of wind generation capacity</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156945474280262842006-08-30T09:44:00.000-04:002006-09-05T10:03:14.773-04:00Hybrid Trees for Ethanol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2006/chapple-poplarsLO.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2006/chapple-poplarsLO.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Purdue University is <a href="http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/2006/060823.Chapple.poplar.html">researching hybrid poplar trees</a> as a potential source of ethanol. One of the (many) problems with ethanol as a bio-fuel is the inefficiency of using corn to create it. There isn’t even enough corn in Indiana to fuel Indiana (this should tell you something), so a more plentiful, efficient source has to be found. <br /><br />Enter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poplar">the poplar tree</a>, which can grow to 90 feet in six years and with genetic modification could have cell properties more conducive to producing fuel. If the experiment succeeds, poplars could prove a huge gain over corn (1000 gallons of ethanol per acre and no maintenance vs 400 for corn which requires a lot of attention).<br /><br />The researchers optimistically predict that if the hybrids were planted on all the unused farm land in the US, the ethanol generated would replace 80% of US fossil fuels consumed for transportation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156858680186297872006-08-29T09:37:00.000-04:002006-08-29T11:20:59.226-04:00Putting the Green in Green<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.ittefaq.com/tech/archives/alternative-thumb.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://blogs.ittefaq.com/tech/archives/alternative-thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />One of the good things about $3 a gallon gasoline is that money is finally flowing into finding cheaper, more reliable sources of energy. <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/26/money_flowing_to_new_ideas_in_energy/">The Boston Globe is reporting</a> that in the first six months of this year venture capitol funding has ballooned to 445 Million dollars, up almost 60% over all of last year. <br /><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_33/b3997073.htm?chan=top+news_top+news&chan=investing_investing+stocks"><br />As Business Week points out, “You know a cultural movement is real when the money men get on board”</a>, and they are getting on board in increasingly meaningful numbers. Lets hope all this cash helps get green tech out of the news and into homes and driveways.<br>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156773587969350992006-08-28T09:59:00.000-04:002006-08-28T12:28:14.503-04:00GM Announces Dual hybrid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.leftlanenews.com/content/mar19lutz.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://images.leftlanenews.com/content/mar19lutz.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The company that promised you hybrids were <a href="http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/07/21/lutz-gm-building-hybrids-for-good-press/#more-3454">"of doubtful benefit"</a> has announced that it will release <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_bi_ge/gm_hybrids_1">a new hybrid technology</a> in trucks and SUV’s in 2008. Using a combination of electric motors and timely deactivation of engine cylinders, the dual hybrid technology promises gains of 25% on current fuel economy. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Good</span>: The system works and has been tested in busses for several years. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Bad</span>: Unfortunately, since GM plans to launch this technology in trucks and SUVs that are anything but efficient, the actual savings will be meager (23 MPG instead of 18 for a Chevy Tahoe).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156712778277644992006-08-27T16:59:00.000-04:002006-09-05T10:04:01.350-04:00Hybrid Cars Recoup Their Costs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i.cnn.net/money/2006/08/22/autos/bc.autos.hybrids.reut/escape_hybrid.03.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://i.cnn.net/money/2006/08/22/autos/bc.autos.hybrids.reut/escape_hybrid.03.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It’s been conventional wisdom for a while now that hybrid cars are an emotional buy because unless they are being used in a commercial context, they never save enough gas to make back the extra money they cost. With $3 gas, Edmunds.com is reporting that understanding may be about to change.<br /><br />Their study has found that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.autos.hybrids.reut/index.html">certain models of hybrid (including the Prius and Escape) make back their extra cost</a> within three years at current gas prices, when savings from tax incentives are accounted for. That means drivers will actually begin to enjoy some real financial advantages on top of that warm fuzzy feeling you get from not driving around in a poster car for oil addiction. <br /><br />For more fun, <a href="http://blog.wired.com/cars/index.blog?entry_id=1545312">Wired has done some studying of their own</a> comparing cost savings of owning a hybrid to conventional cars. The result? With what you’re paying to gas up that SUV, any savings in initial cost is gone faster than a Buick warranty.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156265983381926262006-08-22T12:55:00.000-04:002006-08-22T12:59:43.396-04:00Rise of the Electric Car<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zapworld.com/cars/images/xebra_aqua.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.zapworld.com/cars/images/xebra_aqua.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.zapworld.com/index.asp">Zap</a>, the transportation company that sells all things small has <a href="http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/08/08/017805.html">announced plans</a> to begin selling the first production all electric car designed for the US. Called the <a href="http://www.zapworld.com/cars/xebra.asp">Shandong Zebra</a> (complete with literal paint job), the three wheeled electric can reach speeds of 40 MPH and travel about 40 miles on a charge.<br /><br />According to Zap, the target price is under $10,000 so it will not be a prohibitively expensive technology demonstrator. While this is hardly a worthy competitor to a gas vehicle, it is easy to imagine it finding a niche in cities like New York where it would compete with scooters and motorcycles by being more winter friendly.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156112807395668292006-08-20T17:53:00.000-04:002006-08-21T09:03:21.510-04:00No Window in Your Office?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/assets/images/story/2006/8/15/1332_ORNLuse.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px;" src="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/assets/images/story/2006/8/15/1332_ORNLuse.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee has developed a <a href="http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=45716">solar lighting technology that pipes sunlight into a building</a> using fiber optics. This has huge potential advantages over powering artificial lights with solar energy because, as anyone with a corner office will tell you, there just isn’t a substitute for the quality of natural light. With a hybrid solar lighting system there is an additional energy savings that, according to the article, will make systems extremely cost effective over time. <br /><br />Systems and installation are available now from <a href="http://www.sunlight-direct.com/">Sunlight-Direct</a> but prices are not posted on their site.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1156108286105331442006-08-20T17:10:00.000-04:002006-08-20T17:11:26.116-04:00I Buy it for the Articles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.shiftmag.com/images/Chris-Martin-cover.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://www.shiftmag.com/images/Chris-Martin-cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The mainstreaming of environmentalism is taking one of the last big steps with the launch of the movement’s very own lifestyle magazine. <a href="http://www.shiftmag.com/index.cfm">“Shift”</a> magazine will debut this fall and according to the web site will , “…entertain, inspire, and inform readers about practical advances in renewable energy, sustainable architecture, eco-travel, hybrid cars, organic food and fashion, and much more.”<br /><br />Obviously if we didn’t like the sound of that, this blog wouldn’t exist, but I wonder if people are ready to ditch their Cosmo and GQ subscriptions and start identifying so openly with things green.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1155401230953337122006-08-12T12:43:00.000-04:002006-08-12T12:51:21.656-04:00Checking In on the Grid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2789/2244/1600/Grid.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand ;width: 150px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2789/2244/320/Grid.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />A quick recap of what other environment and energy related blogs are reporting on:<br /><br /><ul><br /><li>Solar Hyper-Concentrators can produce cost competitive solar energy - <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/rising_star_eff.php#perma">Treehugger</a></li><br /><li>Using brownfields to grow biofuel crops - <a href="http://sustainablog.blogspot.com/2006/08/growing-biofuel-crops-on-brownfields.html">sustainablog</a></li><br /><li>A marketer of renewable energy answers reader questions – <a href="http://www.grist.org/comments/interactivist/2006/08/07/keane/index1.html">Grist</a></li><br /></ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1155046017318268372006-08-08T10:06:00.000-04:002006-08-08T10:06:57.320-04:00Hybrid Homer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41662000/jpg/_41662712_simpsons203.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41662000/jpg/_41662712_simpsons203.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Just in case you haven’t read enough here about the mainstreaming environmental movement, we wanted to point out this article from the BBC’s series, “The Green Room” titled, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5237038.stm">“Welcoming Homer the Tree Hugger”</a>.<br />In it Simpsons writer George Meyer laughs at his own hypocrisy while making a pretty funny argument for spreading the environmental movement saying, “For years, the environmental movement has enlisted the world's most selfless and enlightened souls. No more. We're broadening our sights; and by broadening, I mean lowering.”<br /><br />Of course as long as Greens are seen as a group ranking somewhere between film school snobs and objectivists on the fun scale there will be limits to how much anyone wants to associate themselves with environmentalism.<br /><br>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23480127.post-1154901289916914562006-08-06T17:50:00.000-04:002006-08-07T12:58:20.403-04:00Up on the Roof<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.greengridroofs.com/media/photos/padep1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 168px;" src="http://www.greengridroofs.com/media/photos/padep1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Think <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_roof">green roofs</a> are just for LEED certified Chicago government buildings? Think again. <a href="http://www.greengridroofs.com/">GreenGrid roofing systems</a> has developed a completely modular, customizable and affordable green roofing solution for almost any dwelling with a flat roof. <br /><br />With obvious tangible benefits (lower waste water production, lower cooling costs in the summer, and longer roof life) we wonder why looking out over our neighborhood of flat black tar roofs, things like this aren’t catching on more.<br /><br>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1