THE ELECTRIC GREEN FUTURE

Green Investment Updates Part 2

2006-12-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

This week we found two more articles about the trend to alternative energy investments. In the first, the New York Times reports 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.

In a related article, Newsweek describes the venture capital group Kleiner Perkins decision to invest $200 million dollars in green tech.

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.

Green Investment Updates

2006-12-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Last month brought us two very interesting articles about the potential for investing in clean energy from two very different sources.

First Outside Magazine published an article in which Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk says, “Energy is way bigger than the Internet” as he explains the investment opportunity in green growth. The accompanying feature describes a variety of funds and investment vehicles available for interested parties to cash in on the coming boom.

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 the Economist produced an article reporting on the same investment trend.

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.

LED Savings

2006-11-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

The LED lighting 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.

The problem is that the bulbs are cost prohibitive for simple domestic applications, but according to Cnet that may be about to change. 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.

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.

To see what LED lighting means for an individual household, check out this handy spreadsheet made by productdose.com

Record Land Conservation Measures Passed

2006-11-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

Among the many environmental gains made in last weekend’s Democratic victory was a record setting commitment to land conservation. In 23 states across the country, voters from both parties passed 99 ballot initiatives dedicated to funding land conservation to the tune of 5.73 Billion dollars.

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 unchecked exurban development so common in this country.

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 development pressures are increasingly paving over a traditional way of life.

SUV Sales Climb as Gas Prices Fall

2006-11-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

Just in case you thought all the news coming from the auto industry was turning green, Newsweek is reporting that SUV sales have begun to climb again 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.

More GM Hybrid News

2006-11-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

GM continues its drumbeat of efficiency related news releases with an announcement that its China division will begin hybrid car production by 2008. The GM hybrid platform is a joint venture with DaimlerChrysler and BMW aimed at catching Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda who have established a strong technology lead.

The so-called “Two-Mode” hybrid 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.

GM's Plugin Hybrid

2006-11-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

The Detroit News is reporting that GM will unveil a prototype Plug-In hybrid car 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.

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 EV1 program as his worst decision because of the negative PR associated with it.

Slate’s Green Challenge

2006-11-03T09:33:00.000-05:00

I somehow managed to miss week one of this, but am finally caught up on political news magazine Slate’s collaboration with Treehugger 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.

Week two highlights the energy costs of heating and cooling your home. With fun facts like, “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.” It is the kind of popcorn reading you can get into.

Organism Inspired Wave Power

2006-11-02T09:58:00.000-05:00

Wave power has been in the news a fair amount this year with announcements of test generators being built in Oregon and Scotland, but Australia based Bio Power Systems 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 plants and animals. 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.

Supreme Court to Decide the Future of Clean Air

2006-11-01T11:12:00.000-05:00

NPR is one of many News organizations reporting today on the Supreme Court case 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 follow an inconvenient law, in this case, a law that requires modernization of environmental filtration equipment.

As usual, the “Rule of Law’ Bush administration has decided to selectively ignore the need for enforcement here, going so far as to urge the Supreme Court not to accept the case.

Google Your Way to 100 Miles Per Gallon

2006-09-19T09:03:00.000-04:00

Google’s recent announcement that they would create a for-profit charitable arm 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 Google.org 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.

An article in this month’s edition of Popular Science confirms that this is only one of several similar efforts including the latest x-prize. With plug-in hybrid conversion kits already for sale in California, can a practical, affordable 100 mpg car be that far off?

GM Fuel Cell by 2011?

2006-09-18T09:46:00.000-04:00

GM is making a lot of noise lately about Fuel Cells, culminating in their announcement on Friday that they will have Fuel Cell powered cars in showrooms by 2011. 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 changes the auto-industry forever. 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.

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 the importance of nuclear power as an emissions free energy source it starts to look like they might actually be serious about pulling this off.

The New Split-Cycle Engine

2006-09-15T10:50:00.000-04:00

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 new kind of internal combustion engine being tested by the Scuderi Group is so intriguing.

The concept is a new take on the split-cycle engine, 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 twice as efficient as a conventional engine.

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.

The West Texas Wind Boom

2006-09-05T10:01:00.000-04:00

Speaking of Wind, this article 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.

Ups and Downs of Wind Power

2006-09-01T15:17:00.000-04:00

A recent episode of NPR’s All Things Considered 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.

The debate will go on, but apparently so will the march of new wind projects with the US approaching 10 Gigawatts of wind generation capacity.

Hybrid Trees for Ethanol

2006-08-30T09:44:00.000-04:00

Purdue University is researching hybrid poplar trees 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.

Enter the poplar tree, 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).

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.

Putting the Green in Green

2006-08-29T09:37:00.000-04:00

One of the good things about $3 a gallon gasoline is that money is finally flowing into finding cheaper, more reliable sources of energy. The Boston Globe is reporting 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.

As Business Week points out, “You know a cultural movement is real when the money men get on board”, 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.

GM Announces Dual hybrid

2006-08-28T09:59:00.000-04:00

The company that promised you hybrids were "of doubtful benefit" has announced that it will release a new hybrid technology 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.

The Good: The system works and has been tested in busses for several years.

The Bad: 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).

Hybrid Cars Recoup Their Costs

2006-08-27T16:59:00.000-04:00

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.

Their study has found that certain models of hybrid (including the Prius and Escape) make back their extra cost 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.

For more fun, Wired has done some studying of their own 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.

Rise of the Electric Car

2006-08-22T12:55:00.000-04:00

Zap, the transportation company that sells all things small has announced plans to begin selling the first production all electric car designed for the US. Called the Shandong Zebra (complete with literal paint job), the three wheeled electric can reach speeds of 40 MPH and travel about 40 miles on a charge.

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.

No Window in Your Office?

2006-08-20T17:53:00.000-04:00

Oak Ridge Laboratory in Tennessee has developed a solar lighting technology that pipes sunlight into a building 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.

Systems and installation are available now from Sunlight-Direct but prices are not posted on their site.

I Buy it for the Articles

2006-08-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

The mainstreaming of environmentalism is taking one of the last big steps with the launch of the movement’s very own lifestyle magazine. “Shift” 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.”

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.

Checking In on the Grid

2006-08-12T12:43:00.000-04:00

A quick recap of what other environment and energy related blogs are reporting on:

Solar Hyper-Concentrators can produce cost competitive solar energy - Treehugger

Using brownfields to grow biofuel crops - sustainablog

A marketer of renewable energy answers reader questions – Grist

Hybrid Homer

2006-08-08T10:06:00.000-04:00

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, “Welcoming Homer the Tree Hugger”.
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.”

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.

Up on the Roof

2006-08-06T17:50:00.000-04:00

Think green roofs are just for LEED certified Chicago government buildings? Think again. GreenGrid roofing systems has developed a completely modular, customizable and affordable green roofing solution for almost any dwelling with a flat roof.

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.

Dwell Well

2006-08-06T16:47:00.000-04:00

Treehugger is one of several blogs to report on the September issue of Dwell Magazine focus on green architecture and building practices. Articles include, Sustainable Homes of Tomorrow, Today; Design Like You Give a Damn; Flooring With a Conscience; Tree Houses Grow Up; and several more.

Coming on the heels of recent covers in Time, Newsweek and Fortune talking about the mainstreaming of green its starting to look like consumers and even corporations are ahead of policy makers on this.

While this is all fine and good, there just doesn’t seem to be an way we’re going to buy and bandwagon our way to green friendly policies without a shift in policy, and sadly that shift seems at least one election away.

The Power Tower

2006-08-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

“Picture a 260-foot-diameter cylinder taller than the Sears Tower encircled by a two-mile-diameter transparent canopy at ground level”. No it’s not the latest Trump tower, it’s a giant solar power station about to be built in Australia. Business 2.0 magazine is reporting that construction is ready to begin on the huge solar powered turbine and that the design is being adopted by other producers in China and possibly the US southwest.

Sounds good to us, but we wouldnt want to live by it.

Just be Careful Where You Swim

2006-08-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

While most alternate power generation continuing to focus on wind and solar, the Times is reporting that wave and tidal power is quietly becoming more than a laboratory oddity. With new “Wave Farms” being installed in Portugal and even New York’s East River getting large windmill style tidal generators, maybe this is a power source who’s time is finally coming.

Climate Change, Christians and the Governator

2006-08-01T21:31:00.000-04:00

In really great news, the Governator and Prime Minister Tony Blair have agreed to create a trading market for Carbon Emissions between California and the UK. Once in place, this system will limit amount of carbon participants are able to emit and allow affected industry to buy or sell their allotments, eventually providing financial incentive for reducing carbon output.

While you have to think Bush is annoyed that someone he campaigned for is ignoring his federal policy of ignoring the problem, he was probably overjoyed when a coalition of 100 evangelicals came calling to present their “alternative on global warming.”

With great lines like, “Our common Judeo-Christian heritage teaches that the following theological and anthropological principles are the foundation of environmental stewardship”, their web site makes for hysterical, if depressing reading.

Power Walking

2006-07-31T23:32:00.000-04:00

News from the people who brought you Monty Python and Victoria (Posh) Beckham that the key to solving the world’s energy woes might be your own two feet. According to Wired, British researchers are testing a system that would turn street vibrations into power using generators embedded in the ground or floor.

This is not to be confused with the pedestrian shocking stray voltage coming from the streets of New York courtesy of Con Edison.

Green Giant?

2006-07-31T23:05:00.000-04:00

Think about Wal-Mart. Think about a huge multi-national corporation with an enormous amount of power and influence over people’s daily lives, over industry prices and practices and even over governments. Now think about all that power and influence being used to promote energy saving products in stores and environmentally sustainable business practices by manufacturers.

Think I’m kidding? Well according to Fortune, if Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott has is way, Wal-Mart may be doing just that. Certainly Wal-Mart has a very long road to walk to get in our good graces, but it’s hard not to be a little bit excited when you read what they have already done.

Here’s hoping it’s more than a PR stunt…fingers crossed

Tesla Price Revealed

2006-07-31T22:42:00.000-04:00

This week’s Economist brought us the price point for the Silicon Valley electric roadster the Tesla with the two seat version debuting at $89,000 and a cheaper four seat version to follow. Not bad considering it beats a Ferrari out of the gate but certainly not for people who expect to make their money back saving on gas.

Back From the Dead

2006-07-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

Whoever killed the electric car better watch their back. While history is littered with the corpses of electric vehicles, none of the ones we know of could do 0-60 MPH in 4 seconds like the new electric Tesla Roadster.

With high profile investors that include Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, here’s hoping the Tesla has enough of interest under the hood to make a real run at the luxury sports market.

You Want Fries With That?

2006-07-24T19:54:00.000-04:00

With gas prices reaching all time highs you may find yourself tempted to find an alternative to your gas station (and we don't mean a siphon). To that end, the New York Times is the latest to report on a growing number of Americans running their converted cars on vegetable oil using commercial conversion kits.

Perks include free fuel at your local fast food place and smelling like a McDonalds wherever you go.

Spin or Substance?

2006-07-23T20:55:00.000-04:00

Honda is attempting to seize the lucrative (and so far pretty vacant) marketing high ground by positioning themselves as the most environmentally friendly car company. The campaign, called Environmentology, is web only so far and backed up by a very informative web site complete in Earth tones.

Would we be happier if they backed it up with a plug-in hybrid? Well…yeah, but having companies fight over who gets the green bragging rights (not to mention the consumer dollars) isn’t a bad first step.

Built to Last…Again

2006-07-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has ever surfed through the voyeuristic home renovation of Brownstoner knows that building materials can be reused, but according to NPR, what was once the bastion of shady contractors is becoming fashionable.

Some salvage operations are taking things a step further by salvaging construction materials (in this case Ontario White Pine trees) that never quite made it to the job.

Maybe someone should clue in the guys at Extreme Home Makeover….at the rate they’re going the whole country will have a Mc Mansion by the end of season 4.

Bad News and Good in China

2006-07-22T14:42:00.000-04:00

It is no secret that China’s booming manufacturing economy is causing massive degradation in China’s environment but according to Scientific American the damage may be worse than has been reported.

The Chinese government has so far been slow to respond to the growing crisis of filthy air and water, but that may be about to change. The BBC is reporting that China is preparing to spend almost 200 billion dollars to cut air and water pollution and companies are lining up to get a piece of the action.

Chinese companies are also taking part in the energy boom with news that a Chinese firm has developed the world’s first magnetic levitation wind power generator. Able to operate even at very low wind speeds, the new designs promise to produce up to 20% more energy than similarly sized traditional turbines.

LEED-ing The Way

2006-07-22T13:46:00.000-04:00

With all the current attention on energy costs thanks to the recent heat wave and accompanying black outs, we thought it was worth pointing out that at least some development in the US is attempting to address the issue.

The National Building Museum is running an exhibit (with accompanying web site) called The Green House about new directions in energy efficient development. Many of the trends discussed will be familiar to residents of Chicago where city government has aggressively greened public buildings and gone so far as to speed approval of building permits for LEED certified projects.

Finally, in related news, Business 2.0 magazine predicts that the next real estate boom will focus on dense, walk-able developments, lessening our dependence on the car and weaning us away from the sprawling exurbs.

Lets hope so.

It’ll Keep Going and Going….

2006-07-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

A raft of news organizations are reporting that Toyota in planning a plug-in hybrid to follow up their iconic Prius. Plug In Hybrids differ from the standard version by running entirely on electricity whenever possible, using the gas engine only when necessary to keep the battery from drawing down. In theory, this could mean most drivers use no gas at all unless they are driving on long trips.

So far examples of plug in hybrids have been limited to niche concepts and the Environmentalist-meets-Conservatives lobbying efforts of the Calcars group, but you don’t have to think very hard to imagine a potential market.

Not wanting to be left in the dust again, GM has announced a similar effort. The implications of being first to market with a 100 MPG car could be a staggering achievement for a company not exactly known for innovation.

On the Margins No More

2006-07-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

“The point isn't the disagreements, however. The point is how much activity is coalescing around the need to do something to ensure the planet's future.”

This might sound like a Green Peace recruitment poster but it comes from none other than Fortune Magazine where yet another article on the main streaming of environmentalism was just published. These articles seem to be everywhere lately (as the posts below can attest) with news outlets, politicians and most importantly major corporations falling all over themselves trying to out green one another.

So much for Greens living on the margins.

Less Energy = More Money

2006-07-13T22:36:00.000-04:00

Somehow we missed this article about the growing popularity of energy saving building techniques from CNN Money (maybe we stopped reading when they became Fox News ugly stepchild….hard to say).

In any case, it’s worth reading if only for the first line, “In most of America, "greens" live on the margins.”…which left us guessing the authors have never visited the east or west coasts (and that’s kind of sad).

Long Green Summer

2006-07-13T22:16:00.000-04:00

Didn’t get a beach share in time for this summer? No need to worry, Google and the Earth Day Network are teaming up to make it easier to find travel options this summer providing maps and video tours of top US vacation spots. The service is baked into the Google search engine so finding a green travel option is as easy as typing “Environmentally Friendly Hotel”.

Green is the New Black

2006-07-11T13:47:00.000-04:00

Last week’s Newsweek magazine cover and featured articles are devoted to Green Everything and as the issue attests, even G W Bush is coming around to the trend here (sort of).

As for our thoughts on this…if being socially responsible can be half as popular as Pokemon was, the world could end up in pretty good shape.

Bio-Town USA

2006-07-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

Besides the obligatory trips to WallDrug and the worlds largest ball of twine, those of us planning road trips this summer have the option of visiting Reynolds Indiana, which is known to locals as Bio-Town USA.

Fed up with high energy costs, the town has agreed to a state proposed program to serve as a test bed for agriculturally friendly independent power projects. Current plans call for the all of the town’s electricity to be generated by decaying biomass used to produce natural gas. If the project succeeds, Reynolds will be the first US community to generate its own energy entirely from community waste products.

Carbon is Getting Funnier

2006-07-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

Mocking the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s pro-carbon ads has gone main stream with the Jimmy Kimmel show producing an especially funny pro-steroids version (it comes on right after the original).

Can someone please do a pro-absinthe one of these….pretty please?

Finding the Green in Green Investments

2006-07-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

Over the course of the last couple of decades, those minds among us who routinely follow the stock market have seen the emergence of investors interested in more than just the fuzzy good feeling you get when a soaring stock splits. Whether for religion, politics or ecology, socially conscious investors are increasingly trying to make money, and make the world a better place all at the same time, but in the world of environmentally friendly corporations, is an investment in being green a good way of making green?

Well yes and no according to a recent New York Times article. Over the course of the last year, the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy fund (which invests in a huge array of smallish alternative energy companies) has seen its value soar 80 percent before losing 20 percent in the last two months. This kind of volatility is common in the energy market, and especially so in companies whose focus is wind, solar, hydrogen and other technologies off the beaten path of fossil fuels.

The good news, according to the Times, is that increasingly, major energy companies like Cheveron, BP and DuPont are investing huge amounts in these formerly fringe technologies, bringing green main-stream and adding stability to this kind of investment. With the price of oil not getting any cheaper, forward thinking investors should be able to make some serious green on the future of US energy and maybe even feel good about how they did it.

Waiting for Ford…Again

2006-07-05T22:25:00.000-04:00

In a world with so much to be depressed about (the Arab – Israeli conflict, US Soccer, Ashley Simpson…we could go on) it is more than a little depressing to see that the Ford Motor Company has reneged on their pledge to build 250,000 hybrids by the end of the decade less than a year after Chairman William Ford first made it.

Ford cites weak demand for the Escape, and new potential in non-hybrid dependant technologies like ethanol as reasons for having backpedaled on another environmental goal.

Now, these may be valid reasons, but with all the innovating Ford was supposed to be doing as part of their ‘Way Forward’ plan…you know…the one where they make cars people want to buy…we were kind of hoping they would be innovative about something other than lobbying against tighter CAFE standards and their own PR.
Just a thought.

Wind and Waves

2006-07-05T13:22:00.001-04:00

News from MSNBC that the island of Maui is planning a wind farm that will provide 20% of the island’s power needs. This seems like a natural fit given the high cost of importing fuel oil to the far out fiftieth state.

Meanwhile in the continental 48, Michigan is struggling with some of the aesthetic trade offs of large wind turbines sitting near the great lakes. The article claims that these have become more of an issue as turbines are proposed closer to Detroit, but having been there, we kind of wonder what aspect of Detroit people are really worried about ruining.

In related power news that should be of interest to Hawaiians, Michiganders and anyone else with a coast, the Economist technology section reports on the development of a new wave power generator that should (in theory) be free from the maintenance and reliability headaches that plague this type of renewable.

Hopefully these things wont make surfing any harder than it already is.

Thank You for Global Warming

2006-07-03T10:52:00.000-04:00

In true ‘Thank You for Smoking’ spirit, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (pronounced: patron saint of indefensible industry causes) has released a series of 60-second spots talking about the “alleged global warming crisis.”

While we do pity the ad guys who had to write the copy for this nonsense, lines like,
“The Antarctic ice sheet is getting thicker….did you see any big headlines about that?” and the money line, “They call it pollution, we call it life” probably couldn’t be funnier if Steven Colbert had narrated them.

Besides being unintentionally hilarious, the spots don’t really try to make a point other than to introduce the vague idea that maybe carbon has an upside and just maybe all those book nerds at the Union of Concerned Scientists are wrong.

Sorry CEI, but we call it pathetic.

The Rise of the Machines

2006-07-03T10:06:00.000-04:00

A report from the Energy Saving Trust rather ominously titled ‘Rise of the Machines’ makes a convincing case that the gains made in energy saving devices are being undermined by the huge number of devices the average western household uses. The good news? More than half (54%) of the consumers surveyed said they are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products.

This all leaves us asking, where’s Eddie Furlong when you need him?

On Deck

2006-07-02T19:02:00.000-04:00

Getting ready to build a place to sit outside this summer?
The always earth friendly Green Light magazine brings us an excellent article about the decisions that (should) go into deciding what you build your deck out of.

The most interesting option listed? Plastic lumber made of recycled plastic bags and milk cartons and at $2 a foot it costs the same as more popular wood-composites and never rots.

Green Chips (in a good way)

2006-07-02T18:42:00.000-04:00

From the BBC, news that British researchers have figured out a way to replace the extremely energy intensive steps of chip manufacture with low-temperature ultraviolet lamps. The outcome? Lower production costs leading to lower prices for consumers. Who says you can’t make green being green?

Brown Going Hybrid?

2006-07-02T17:59:00.000-04:00

From the scrappy reporters at NY1, word that UPS is in the process of trying a new hybrid delivery truck on the NYC streets. Called a Hydraulic Hybrid, it uses pressurized nitrogen to for power instead of batteries when it isn’t using the gasoline engine.

According to UPS, “When they're mass produced they'll be $7,000 more per vehicle. But the beauty of it is because of the savings on fuel, they pay for themselves in two years,” says Steinberg. “Aand over 20 years, the life of a vehicle such as this, you'd be saving $50,000.”

Too bad it will be at least 2 years before they are on the streets.

More Green Beer

2006-03-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

From Wired, a nice article about the Brooklyn and other brewery’s efforts at sustainable business practices. This is green beer that we can get into….like we needed an excuse.

Home Sweet Eco-Home

2006-03-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

From the entire-Sunday-eating NYTimes magazine real estate issue , an article on how a former chairman of the Nature Conservancy built the most material friendly house possible. No copper piping (the mining is dirty) no pink panther insulation (it’s filled with formaldehyde). But what would the guys at ‘This Old House’ think?

Cars for Stars

2006-03-05T20:23:00.000-05:00

Trying to re-capture the magic from last years Oscar marketing coup, Toyota used this year’s events to keep the spotlight on their Hybrid technology. 25 Stars and VIPs arrived in Toyota and Lexus hybrids including the new Camry. Not to be outdone, GM jumped on the bandwagon but the only thing they could find worth announcing was a new Escalade. Want fries with that? *Yawn*…

Stars looking for a little something extra came in hybrid limosine services provided by EcoLimo . This seems like a good idea but we have our doubts about how much luxury you can fit in the back seat of a Toyota Prius.