After losing market share because the company wasn't offering a hybrid option, Hyundai has announced plans for a hybrid sedan. The hybrid version of the Sonata is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in 2010.

The Korean automaker's plans include a lithium ion battery for the gas-electric hybrid. The batteries will come from Korean battery maker LG Chem. That company is also a competitor to supply batteries to General Motors for the Chevrolet Volt.

Hyundai previously announced plans to bring a hybrid version of the Avante to market in 2009, but that vehicle will not be available in the U.S. The plans for the Sonata make Hyundai the fourth major automaker to offer a hybrid in the U.S. Hyundai definitely won't be the last.

It seems like just a matter of time until most major automakers offer at least one hybrid model, or even alternative fuel vehicles. Several companies have taken huge losses lately, due to their SUV and truck commitments. Hyundai has faced its share of those losses. The company has come to the conclusion that hybrid versions of its current models are its chance for future success. It seems likely that sales will prove Hyundai right.

Photo — abbydonkrafts

Drivers using hybrids are getting some parking perks these days, ranging from reserved parking at Ikea to free parking in Los Angeles.

A number of stores, including Home Depot and Office Depot, have set aside primo parking spaces just for hybrids. While these companies still give preference for coveted parking spots near building entrances to individuals who truly need them — people with limited mobility, expectant mothers, etc. — they're offering a perk to drivers with fuel-efficient vehicles. Ikea is trying out its new parking plan across the country. Home Depot and Office Depot are running trials in Austin, Chicago and several other cities.

But preferential parking isn't the only perk enjoyed by hybrid drivers. Many states allow hybrids in high-occupancy vehicle lanes with just one occupant.  While we're at it, what about free parking? In Los Angeles, cars with the California Clean Air Vehicle decal — some hybrids and other vehicles that get more than 45 miles per gallon — can park for (you guessed it) free. The New York City Council has a similar initiative under consideration. If it goes through, drivers would be able to park hybrids for free at city meters.

Houston has also considered preferential parking perks for hybrids. But Cris Eugster, the mayor's chief sustainability officer, told the Detroit News that the city is unsure whether free parking is actually an incentive for drivers to purchase hybrids. Eugster says, "We'd rather lead by example," noting that the mayor of Houston, Bill White, drives a Prius.

Eugster does have a point. While I've heard many hybrid owners say that gas price was a highly motivating factor behind their purchase, few know about the driving and parking perks that can come with their new rides. But in cities with notoriously difficult-to-find parking, such an incentive plan seems to pack more punch. It's hard to imagine anyone buying a hybrid just for parking privileges, but it could easily serve as a tipping point for buyers debating the upfront cost of a hybrid. The combination of savings in fuel and parking fees (not to mention convenience) could be enough to convince a few fence-sitters.

There may also be some question about the financial viability of such plans, especially as more and more drivers switch to hybrids. Some cities depend on parking revenues, and offering free parking to hybrids might put a significant dent in those revenues as the months and years go by. It seems like many cities would need some way to subsidize free hybrid parking. 

Photo — Kasei

The guest list for the Ethical Supply Chain Summit 2008 already looks promising: Toyota, Pepsi, Cadbury, and more have announced that they'll be taking part. The conference is scheduled for October 16 and 17 in Berlin. It will focus on providing executives with the information necessary to decide on a sustainable approach to supply-chain management.

The agenda for the summit hones in on key social and environmental issues, such as the effects of climate change on supply-chain management. However, attendees will branch out from environmental concerns to such topics as engaging suppliers and consumers in supply-chain management and effectively using metrics and benchmarks. The variety of speakers scheduled ranges from Dan Rees (the director of the Ethical Trading Initiative) to Karl Daumueller (the supply chain purchasing director for HP).

Ethical Corporation is producing the summit.  This is the same company responsible for Ethical Corporation Magazine and a number of other projects. Last year's Ethical Supply Chain Summit involved such companies as Volvo, Vodafone and McDonald's — it brought together 173 corporate responsibility and supply-chain professionals from 21 countries. Information on the specifics of the agenda, as well as registration, is available through Ethical Corporation's website.

So goes the famous quote from Edward Furia of AFSTrinity. That company's retrofitted Saturn Vue SUV certainly received a lot of mainstream media publicity this year. By turning it into a plug-in hybrid they got it to go clean for 40 miles on electrons before taking its first sip.

Ever since we were finally blasted with the gas prices the rest of the world has endured for years, we have seen astounding stories such as Resale value of SUVs drop $8,000 in 6 months!, and Minicoopers down to one-day supply! or Ford stops building trucks. On a superficial level, the SUV certainly seems as if it's soon to draw its last breath

So it is no surprise that they got a lot of publicity for their modified Saturn Vue, converted into a plug-in hybrid with an all-electric range of 40 miles. Like a regular, unrepentant Saturn Vue, their plug-in hybrid version could go up to 87 mph, but it could do so while in the all-electric mode. Unlike the Vue, it got 150 mpg as a result. It also got one of those hard-to-remember names that seem designed to shut down your neurons, so I'll spare your brain and not repeat it here.

Now, AFSTrinity has worked with NASA, DARPA, the Navy, the Army, the Department of Transportation, the California Energy Commission, Oak Ridge National Labs, Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and with companies including Mercedes, Lockheed and Honeywell. Ricardo, the world's leading independent automotive engineering firm, with over 1,900 engineers in facilities around the world, is assisting them in building the first prototypes.

But, as many a green car blog queried, did it deserve all this attention? After all, Detroit will likely be building hybrid versions of its oil-addicted SUVs themselves. Some say that by 2020 every vehicle will be hybrid.

I think, however, that what conversion companies like AFS are doing is pushing the Overton Window. With enough publicity or even unwarranted hype for plug-in hybrids, consumers will come to expect and demand them from every automaker.

Only then will Detroit will truly rehab the SUV not merely as a hybrid but as a plug-in hybrid. (And maybe take a second look at the vehicles'  size and mass, and reduce that a bit, too.)

So, good for AFS. That Overton Window needs to be moved.

Like many of us, I've long suspected that converting a car to flex fuel is probably not too difficult. Otherwise why else was all of Detroit jumping on flex-fuel to meet legislative requirements, rather than retooling to swap out the 100 year old internal combustion engine entirely for a nice clean simple electric motor?

So, cynic that I am, I was not surprised to see that Domestic Fuel has an interesting piece about a device that will allow any fuel-injected vehicle to run on ethanol or gasoline without the push of a button or flip of a switch.

The system is very basic for the average user. It’s a simple plug-and-play device, which you attach to your fuel injector connectors and ground to your battery and start using ethanol -- anywhere from E100 to regular gasoline. The technology was developed in Brazil and is now being marketed in 34 countries, including most recently Thailand and the Philippines.

The demand for flex-fuel conversion kits will grow as higher ethanol blends become more available nationwide, because even if car makers start selling only flex-fuel vehicles in the US there will continue to be a large segment of used vehicles for sale that are not flex-fuel capable.

Fuel Flex International makes many different options - lucky that you can ask their tech guys about which does what - in the US and retails them from around $300 - $450.
One thing you might want to ask the tech guy is - will this affect my warranty?

There is also the issue of EPA certification, which currently has only been granted to another company, the curiously named yet unrelated Flex Fuel US but they are working on getting that approval. Our current EPA is not falling over itself to grant such boons as I noted yesterday. They have checked into a scant 1(one) fuel efficiency device in these last eight years.

Via Domestic Fuel

Sustainability has been in the news for long enough that pretty much everyone assumes that locally produced comestibles are environmentally preferable to food from far-flung locales. Reduced transportation impact, non-industrialized production, fewer chemical treatments all play a part in that fact. But now, a South African study, commissioned by the produce and wine industry there, is questioning that concept on a number of levels.

The Deciduous Fruit Producers Trust in South Africa, with assistance from the UK government, is advancing the idea that the carbon impact of produce—the most obvious mark against importation—is not necessarily a product of distance. As the United Kingdom’s Trade and Development Minister Gareth Thomas says, “Food miles created are only one part of the equation—this study will look at the whole cycle of production, which is the only fair way to go.”

Thus far, the study has uncovered some interesting findings. For example, fresh flowers grown as far away as Kenya and flown to England have a lower carbon footprint than the same flowers grown in Holland and shipped across the English Channel. The difference stems from the use of energy-hungry heating and lighting systems needed to grow the plants in Northern Europe. 

Wine production, with its focus on soil and atmospheric conditions, has even more potential to pump up carbon impacts as grape production is moved closer to consumers.  In an effort to highlight South African products’ carbon competitiveness in foreign markets, the study aims to produce an online tool that would allow farmers to calculate their carbon impact. As massive UK supermarket chain Tesco plans to add carbon impact labeling in the next year, accurate data could be a massive commercial advantage.

But there’s more to sustainability than just environmental considerations. As Thomas adds, “Our research has shown nearly three-quarters of the UK public want to use their weekly shop to reduce poverty in the developing world.” With some one million citizens involved in the agricultural industry, and a total income of approximately four billion dollars from exported food and wine products, the South African economy relies heavily on purchases from the developed world. Additionally, land reform laws in South Africa are steadily redistributing agricultural areas to the historically repressed black majority, with a full 30% of commercial land set to be in the hands of black farmers by 2015.

While there’s no easy conversion between social and environmental concerns in food purchasing, it’s clear nevertheless that all these factors should play some role in selecting what food products to buy. The impacts of these decisions are only multiplied for larger corporate purchasers, further highlighting the need for accurate impact information. Through studies like this South African example, and through accurate labeling, as advanced by Tesco, future buyers will be far better equipped to make sustainable purchasing decisions.

Photo by Flickr user ratherbebiking

When I would raid the freezer as a kid, every so often, instead of a grabbing a carton of ice cream or cup of Italian ice, I’d end up sinking my spoon into a yogurt cup full of frozen turkey grease by mistake. My mom used to collect and freeze it, to keep it from coagulating and jamming up our pipes when we poured it down the drain.

According to the City of Portsmouth, NH, my mom was ahead of the curve on that one.  City officials recently launched a campaign to increase residents’ awareness of a new recycling plan for cooking oil and grease. Once the sole domain of subplots on The Simpsons, soaring gas prices have made cooking oil and grease reclamation a serious, profitable business.

In the case of Portsmouth, a local biofuel company is offering free disposal of the grease to residents in a 1,000-gallon tank near the city’s existing Public Works infrastructure. That company, Green Bean Bio-Fuel, then processes the waste into biodiesel and heating oil.

While not as convenient as curbside pickup, this system makes safe, efficient grease disposal as simple as a trip to the dump, with no added taxpayer burden. Given the savings on home plumbing that result as well, it's an obvious win-win situation.

Is simply burying the past an acceptable waste-management solution? An English quarry may provide an interesting test case for reclaiming dumping sites worldwide. 

The quarry, after outliving its usefulness as a source of rock, had been used for decades as a tire dump. Tire fires are a very real and dangerous risk, as they can release massive amounts of toxins and thick black smoke, while remaining virtually unquenchable.

Plans had initially called for removing and recycling all the tires, but between the 1970s and the 1990s, approximately three million tires had filled the quarry. After removing some 8,000 tons of them, environmentalists chose to cover the remaining tires with a membrane, then a layer of shale and limestone mix, to recreate the naturally occurring area soil. 

The final stage of the project, in which participants scattered hay and seedlings across the filled in quarry, is now complete, and those involved will keep a watchful eye on it, hoping to see local wildlife return to the area. While it may irk the mind to know that waste still lies buried, if it’s safely sequestered, its impact on the surrounding environment will be minimal. 

A cup of coffee has a hidden cost.

If the full water requirements of a morning roast are calculated - farm irrigation, bean transportation, and the serving of the coffee - one cup requires 140 liters of water.

This notion of a product's "water footprint" is gaining traction. Defined as the total volume of freshwater required to produce a nation's goods and services, the tool tracks domestic water demand and the impact of consumption on water resources across the globe.

As world water availability begins to decline as the result of population growth, overconsumption, and climate change, more water advocates are encouraging governments and consumers to internalize the true cost of water through an account of their water footprint.

The global water footprint is about 7.5 trillion cubic meters per year, not including irrigation losses, according to estimates [PDF] by Dutch researchers and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). India, with 17 percent of the global population, has the largest water footprint in absolute terms. But its footprint represents only 13 percent of the world total. The United States, in comparison, comprises 4.5 percent of the world population and consumes 9 percent of the world's water.

Agriculture has the greatest impact on a water footprint. Global crop production requires more than 6 trillion cubic meters of water each year, with nearly a quarter of supplies flowing to rice paddies. Livestock production requires the most water resources in the food chain. One hamburger, for instance, needs 2,400 liters of water on average.

During World Water Week, which runs through Sunday, the water footprint concept is benefiting from a spike in attention. This year's Stockholm Water Prize was awarded to professor John Anthony Allan of King's College London for introducing the predecessor to water footprints: the term "virtual water" - the volume of water required to produce a commodity or service.

The conservation group WWF-UK estimated that the 4,645 average liters of water that Britons consume daily leads the country to import 62 percent of its water sources - making it the sixth largest net importer worldwide behind Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China, and Italy, according to a report released Wednesday. "Only 38 percent of the UK's total water use comes from its own rivers, lakes and groundwater reserves," said WWF's Stuart Orr in a press statement. "The rest is taken from...water resources [often] stressed or very likely to become so in the near future."

Plastic manufacturer Borealis and plumbing supplier Uponor revealed a joint plan to include water footprints in the future planning of plastic products on Wednesday. "Understanding our footprint can be a key tool to further guide the development of more water-saving products," said Tarmo Anttlla, Uponor's communication vice president, in a prepared statement.

Roughly one-third of the world population is estimated to be living in areas of water scarcity. Unless water footprints recede, fierce conflicts over water resources are likely unavoidable, experts warn.

"Feeding everyone - including the undernourished and additional 3 billion people expected in 2050 - will require 50 percent more water than is needed today," said Anders Berntell, executive director of Stockholm International Water Institute at the World Water Week opening ceremony. "We are not prepared to deal with the implications this has for our planet."

Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be contacted at bblock@worldwatch.org

Photo courtesy UNEP

In November, the first zero-emissions yacht will cruise into Fort Lauderdale’s International Boat Show. Island Pilot, LLC has produced the DSe Hybrid 12m yacht powered by diesel or biodiesel fuel, solar and electrical power. Much like a hybrid vehicle, the yacht can travel using only electric battery reserves, in fact, it can travel at seven knots, a great speed  for cruising into and out of harbors without burning fuel and hitting the breaks. 

The DSe Hybrid is just over 39 feet long, has a six-kilowatt solar power system, and can run for up to 20 kilowatt hours on battery power. The yacht features two staterooms roomy enough to hold queen-sized beds, a home theatre sound system, HDTV, and is big enough for the family. It’s eco-luxury at its best! One of the most environmentally friendliest features of the yacht is its ability to generate power from its solar panels while anchored. 

In sea trials, the DSe met Island’s goal of six knots on solar power alone. Island tested the yacht in various sun, wind and sea conditions including “dozens of runs up river (against tide and wind) and down --  with sun and with rain -- with four different sets of propellers and three different load conditions.” According to the testing crew, “there has never been a quieter, more fuel-efficient cruising yacht... ever.” That’s great news for eco-minded boating enthusiasts. 

200 EV charging stations will be installed in Tokyo in 2009 at a cost of $36,500 each, including construction expenses. Tokyo Electric Power Co. has developed a quick-charging system that allows an electric car to run 25 miles on a five-minute charge and 37 miles on a 10-minute charge. It will begin with 200 and ramp up to 1,000 by 2012. With both Mitsubishi's iMiEV and Subaru's R1e due out in 2009 in Japan, this is happening not a moment too soon.

San Jose is testing EV charging, partnering with Coulomb Technologies to install 110-volt outlets on poles like streetlights in various public places.

An important element of charging stations is utility grid management – Coulomb also has that in the bag with its management technology, making the start-up company a sort of one-stop shop for EV charging infrastructure. San Jose, a city that loves its technology, will be able to take advantage of Coulomb’s wireless communication capabilities for charging stations, management of mesh networks to authenticate users, and management of energy flow and metering. The folks involved in using and working with the stations could access GPS-lined data online for super easy info linkage.

By the end of this summer, Portland General Electric plans to install 12 charging stations in Portland and Salem. Portland has the highest per capita ownership of hybrid cars in the country.
London is adding to its current EV charging stations, too .

This map shows where Londoners can now catch a fast recharge on the go around town. Of course you can always charge at home, but there's nothing like the security of being able to top-off if needed.

Via greencarcongress, ecogeek
 

Today, Renewable Energy Group, (REG), announced that their biodiesel is not only "green," but also is made from green.. green algae that is.

Much like the process that yields other biodiesels, oils are extracted from plants and converted into fuel. REG is working to find partners who can provide mass quantities of algae so that production of the biodiesel can be sold in the commercial market by 2013.

REG’s biodiesels are the cream of the crop. They beat ASTM standards offering cleaner fuels with “reduced free and total glycerin levels, a reduced acid number and reduced free water and sediment,” which all contribute to easier-to-burn fuel. REG biodiesels can be used in vehicles, ships, and in intense industrial and military fleets because the fuel can burn in a range of temperature conditions -- from a cold start on a winter day to extreme heat in the desert.

The production process-extraction of oil from algae, cleaning out impurities, and refining the oil into biodiesel-is complicated and achieved in-house. This means that REG can adjust the product as necessary to fit desired needs and monitor production performance. REG CEO Daniel Oh notes that “by defining the processing parameters for larger volumes of algae oil, we can process the algae oil using REG’s commercial-scale production technology like any other feedstock out there today," thereby adding to the portfolio of biodiesels on the market and renewable energies.

The Jiminy Peak Resort is celebrating the first birthday of its 1.5 megawatt wind turbine. The turbine, nicknamed Zephyr, is thought to be the first megawatt-class turbine installed by a privately held company. So far, the resort has had impressive success with Zephyr.

The resort is based in western Massachusetts and sees most of its visitors in the winter, for ski season. This cycle made wind power a logical choice for Jiminy Peak, because the mountain winds blow hardest during the winter. The turbine stands 253 feet tall, with three 123-feet blades. It generates 4.6 million kilowatt hours of energy — enough to power 613 houses.

The turbine's installation began in the fall of 2006. Jiminy Peak actually had to build roads on existing ski paths in order to get the turbine to its final destination and did not begin bringing in parts until the spring of 2007. Gradually the turbine came together, although transporting its blades caused a few dilemmas. According to an interview with the resort's spokesperson, the task "Required a carefully choreographed effort between New York and Massachusetts power companies, safety officials, police departments and state troopers in two states, and the patience of motorists."

Many small businesses are interested in green energy options, but assume that wind, solar and other power options are out of reach due to cost. Jiminy Peak can be considered a proof of concept — small businesses can afford sustainable power choices. In some cases, such a decision can actually improve a company's finances in the long run.

Consider the numbers Jiminy Peak crunched: The turbine and its installation cost $3.9 million. Jiminy Peak received a Massachusetts Technology Collaborative grant for $582,000. Yes, the resort had to come up with a significant amount of money to cover the cost of its turbine, but the 1.5 megawatt Zephyr provides significantly more energy than the resort needs to run. Jiminy Peak will sell approximately $161,000 worth of electricity every year — and the turbine has an expected lifetime of at least 20 years. Additionally, Jiminy Peak will pick up a $46,000 tax credit every year.

Without question, a large wind turbine requires a significant capital investment. But it's an investment that can pay itself off within six years, and after that?  No electric bill.

Photo — PilotGirl

The global carbon fund market has risen by 63 percent to almost $13 billion so far this year. Despite growth that would be considered immense for almost any other type of asset, this growth is considered relatively slow. In comparison, the overall carbon emissions market more than doubled last year, to $64 billion. It is estimated that the market will reach well over $100 billion in 2008.

Mark Nicholls, an editor at Environmental Finance, told Reuters: "In most other asset classes, 63 percent growth in assets under management would be a pretty good story, but the 100 percent-plus growth in carbon markets between 2006 and 2007 has outpaced growth in carbon funds."

The relatively slow growth of the global carbon market is due to uncertainty over what the market will look like after 2012, as well as the widespread effects of the credit crunch. Currently there are 80 carbon funds globally, including not only private funds but buyers' pools and government-run credit purchase vehicles. For the most part, these funds buy offset credits issued under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). But the fate of the CDM is uncertain after 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period expires.

Photo — Said&Done

The Australian government has announced plans to fund geothermal development to the tune of $50 million (AUS). Through its Geothermal Drilling Program, the Australian government will provide grants of up $7 million (AUS) to organizations in need of matching funds for geothermal wells. The money will also be granted to help finance proof-of-concept projects.

Martin Ferguson, the Australian Minister for Resources and Energy, announced the program, saying that Australia has huge potential for geothermal energy, and suggesting that it can cover a significant portion of the Australian government's goal of using renewable energy for 20 percent of its needs by 2020.

"The industry indicated that these guidelines actually suited their needs because what they want to prove is a couple of successful opportunities and then hope that one of those investors is able to take it to a commercial demonstration plant which then will encourage the private sector to further invest in the industry," Ferguson told reporters.

The Geothermal Drilling Program does not have universal support, however. David Harries, a professor at Murdoch University in Perth, has suggested that not only will drilling prove expensive but that the sites best suited to generating geothermal energy are located so far from the national power grid that connecting them could be associated with prohibitive costs.

Photo — Gojca

A simple tailpipe cap for $199 increases your fuel efficiency at least 30%.

Blade's gizmo also reduces emissions of hydrocarbons 57%, nitrous oxide 34%, methane 33%, carbon monoxide 14%. Sadly, it only reduces your carbon footprint a mere 5%.

It fits most cars, but works best on 4-cylinder vehicles. You can install it yourself with the help of their how-to videos online, or take your car to an authorized installer near you.

I'm afraid you're on your own with your $199 investment though. The Bush EPA has somehow neglected to test any new fuel savers, since 2000. While a plethora of reports cover testing done on the efficacy of devices invented from the '70s 'til '99, only one test has been done since 2000.

Oh, wait: I see the California Air Resources Board (CARB)has lab-tested it and found that after six months with the device installed, the gas mileage of a 2004 Honda increased to approximately 53 MPG (highway). CARB reports that although the Blade provides immediate benefit to the car’s emissions and gas mileage, the benefit increases significantly after driving the car a minimum of 50 miles with the device attached.

If every car and light-duty truck in the U.S. had a Blade, it would eliminate the need for any Middle Eastern OPEC oil, and cut almost a fifth of what we would need from anywhere else, like Canada. If every one of the 800 million vehicles already on the road today worldwide installed this simple gizmo, we would reduce our need for oil by 30%.

Via autoblog green

This article was corrected to reflect the accurate price of the Blade

So says Andrew Grove, who oversaw growth at Intel. After seeing Who Killed the Electric Car? Grove had a conversion experience, as many of us did. Unlike us, however, he managed to test-drive the EV1.

As part of his teaching at Stanford University, Grove researched electric vehicles, and, shocked by the slow pace of auto manufacturers, is prodding venture capitalists to fund electric vehicle technologies with a lecture he's delivered to Khosla Ventures titled "There Could Be Blood."

His bold vision calls for converting 80 million trucks and SUVs on the road today into plug-in hybrids within the next four years.

Grove's plan calls for experts to draw up blueprints for putting 10 million plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles on the road by 2012, more than automakers are likely to produce by that time. 

Grove has reached out to electric vehicle conversion experts including Professor Andrew Frank of University of California, Davis, to learn about their research and what they need to grow. The answer: ten million dollars.

Prof. Frank is trying to fund a company to convert pickups to run on electricity for the first 40 miles before switching to gasoline. His start-up, Efficient Drivetrains Inc., would train mechanics to perform conversions costing customers about $10,000. Professor Frank compares the process to an earlier do-it-yourself era, saying: "I grew up in the days of hot-rodding, and fundamentally what we did was take conventional cars and added widgets to it to improve its performance."

EV conversions are already taught in summer classes offered by Mike Parker and at select institutions of higher learning such as MIT, and people already buy and sell conversions on eBay and drive converted vehicles. Grove believes that EV conversion would be the fastest option for reducing carbon emissions and of course, eliminating exorbitant gas payments. Since the shell has already been crash tested, there is none of the time and expense normally involved in developing a new vehicle. Like hot rods of the past, converted vehicles are legal and can be registered and insured, ready to drive as soon as they are complete, albeit in a similarly murky legal area.

Grove is also working with CalCars, which promotes converting hybrids to plug-in hybrids. Installing a second pack of batteries, reprogramming the software and installing a recharging plug more than doubles the cars' fuel economy to greater than 100 miles per gallon.

Two studies at the DOE's Argonne National Lab have found that plug-in hybrids would result in large carbon reductions, not just in California, but even on the national 50% coal-powered grid. They estimate that hybrids reduce carbon emissions by 22% and plug-in hybrids by 36%, though if recharged at night, that figure jumps to a carbon emissions reduction of up to 61 percent (PDF).

Unlike vehicles powered by gasoline, plug-in hybrids and electric cars get cleaner as they get older because the electric grid powering them is getting "cleaner" with every passing decade.

Via Bloomberg News

Since the online revolution began, production and sales of newspapers has declined. As an online culture, we have replaced out daily gazettes with a click on a web browser icon. Newspapers are feeling the strain of reducing advertising revenue and are thus, finding ways to cut costs in order to remain profitable.

Not so for Sustainable Times. Founder and CEO, George Zens, started the only Wisconsin paper centered around a variety of sustainable industries, because he was curious about the environment and noticed no one was writing about sustainable business products and practices. The paper has been such a success that advertising sales have doubled, and circulation has reached 10,000 copies a month, according to Zens.

Zens’ strategy has been to sell advertising to private business as opposed to hitting up corporations with large advertising budgets. This gives the ads and the paper a local feel and increases readers’ trust in the products advertised.  To this day, advertising rates are competitive with other paper prices and more than half a dozen pages are reserved for ad space.

In addition to printed copies circulated at 300 southern Wisconsin locations, Sustainable Times operates a web site with similar news features and events not found in the paper. In the face of risk, Sustainable Times has done more than sustain business, it has thrived: a testament to the increasing interest in sustainable businesses and living.

Environmental justice meets sustainable agriculture, as the AnewAmerica Community Corporation's Green Market project coordinates with local immigrant farmers.

The Green Market project offers educational opportunities for members of disadvantaged communities to learn about sustainable and organic agriculture businesses. Nearly a decade ago, AnewAmerica joined to empower improvised San Francisco Bay Area communities by creating jobs and provide appropriate training with sustainability in mind.

For the past three years, AnewAmerica has launched the Green Market project and describes it as a way to provide “a unique opportunity to build a bridge between rural and urban new American communities with the strategic purpose of building food self-reliance and sustainability over time."

The project is dually funded by the US Department of Agriculture through its Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), and by the Agricultural Land-Based Association (ALBA). These organizations work to foster learning for farmers, farm workers, and the general agriculture community in an environmentally healthy format. Their efforts on this project allow people from low-income communities to learn and then develop ways to produce crops in economically and environmentally sensitive manners. Through community collaboration and advocacy work, CSREES, ALBA, and AnewAmerica, is making strides to reduce poverty and increase the success of sustainable agriculture.

Green Market courses range from general business planning and marketing, to localized needs like nutrition for poverty stricken families. The project also jump starts entrepreneurial spirit. Students actively participate in how the agricultural market produces, processes, delivers, and sells products to consumers, discovering along the way that selling locally produced crops is both economically and environmentally viable. Students take part in identifying ways to enhance their prospective business in a community such as selling those local crops to the more than 100 weekly farmers markets.

Other program features allow the students to participate in the Green Banana Food Incubation Project, a program where students earn a college certificate and are paired with mentors to expose them to the trade. By working in the project’s café, students gain access to customers and a full functioning market operation. From there, students create a business plan including identifying sales opportunities in the community, as well as locating financial and credit assistance.

The program has successfully graduated 153 students earning their certificate and led 65 self-starters through the businesses start-up process in the past three years,  according to CSREES.

Photo by Flickr user Jennifer Dickert

Going strictly by the numbers, oil-producing algae are a near-miraculous development for biofuel producers. They require very little energy to grow, multiply rapidly, and are fairly easy to process. One problem, though: they need the sun.

Not just any sunlight will do, either. Ultraviolet rays can damage algal cell wells and interfere with growth. Too much heat will also limit productiveness. And many organizations recommend carefully controlled indoor conditions to prevent the genetically engineer microorganisms from contaminating the wild ecosystem.

Anticipating the problems, Keith Klein, an assistant professor at Sul Ross State University in Texas is developing a multi-tasking solar collector, that allows algae the best access to the 680 and 420nm wavelengths of sunlight that fuel photosynthesis most efficiently.  

To prevent overheating and contamination, the algae will reside in an insulated tank below the collector, and the remaining sunlight will go to powering an array of photovoltaic cells, which can in turn be used to power control of the algal environment, processing, or any other task.  

Elegant solutions like this collector are the final step to realizing any number of promising theoretical solutions to our current energy crisis, and should be encouraging signs for waiting investors. 

It may not have any immediate bottom-line implications, but at World Water Week in Stockholm, ITT, one of the world’s largest and most influential engineering firms in the world declared that businesses worldwide need to invest more heavily in water distribution and reclamation efforts.

Without any immediate profit gain, it might at first appear ITT was simply making a humanitarian appeal to its contemporaries, but, as the president of ITT’s fluid technology business stressed, “The benefits of sustainable water management will be felt across society and around the world, through healthier populations and stronger economies.”

As key participants in these economies, both local and international firms have a tremendous monetary incentive to provide clean water. It allows a healthy workforce, which leads to more hours of productivity, and lowers costs on company health insurance plans.  

While any number of non-profit organizations are attempting to improve local water supplies, involvement by commercial enterprises will streamline operations, leading to more advanced and efficient water purification and distribution processes.

By setting out its own three-million-dollar investment in clean water for schools in Asia and Latin America, ITT has made an important first step in getting large corporations invested in the wider health of the communities they employ. 

Arguably, Google has done more to change civilization than the Gutenberg press, in bringing free research to the world and thus opening up the vast wealth of our collective intellectual endeavors to all. Now the company would appear to be performing another, similarly game-changing, service: investing in a neglected, cheap, clean and abundant source of energy.

Google plans to invest $11 million in geothermal power this year. (By contrast, the DOE has once again zeroed out Geothermal investment.) "It's a big resource, it's got a good cost curve, and it's not getting enough attention," says Dan W. Reicher, Google.org's director of climate and energy initiatives. This investment in geothermal would be a good fit with Google's previous investments in electric vehicles, because an easily extractable byproduct of Geothermal drilling is lithium.

Forbes says that a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimated EGS could open up an additional 100,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. by 2050, up from 2,000 MW today. That could mean 800 million megawatt-hours of more power every year, up from just 15 million megawatt-hours today.

Initial extraction costs  (including construction, development and financing)  would be 9 cents, even with no subsidies that might well become available under a hopefully more pro-renewable administration. Once production is underway, costs drop by more than half.

The ongoing cost for geothermal power is estimated at 4 cents. This compares extremely well with new nuclear power at 18 to 30 cents, or natural gas at 9.3 cents and would be almost as cheap as coal, currently at about 2 cents, a figure which is likely to increase as carbon legislation forces older facilities to either close or retrofit for carbon capture.

The cost of geothermal is falling faster than the cost of fossil fuels, including coal. While geothermal’s costs have steadily decreased throughout the years, those of natural gas have increased recently, often experiencing boom-and-bust type cycles that can negatively impact the economy. EIA analysis places geothermal energy at a lower levelized cost  [pdf] than natural gas combined-cycle, wind, open-loop biomass, nuclear, solar thermal, and photovoltaic (with costs increasing in the order in which they are listed).

Most industry experts agree that geothermal is one of only a few alternative technologies that will compete economically with polluting technologies in the near term.

Photo by Flickr user Guillermo Santamaria

The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden story could almost be interpreted as an account of catastrophic climate change. Both the Sumerian Epic Of Gilgamesh and genesis stories of the Bible suggest a lush land of plenty, that was much more capable of nurturing civilization during the late Stone Age, than the arid land it became by about 4000 years ago, with drought afflicting Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Even the Sahara was lush and green during the late Stone Age. Starting around 7,000 years ago, when rains returned after a millennium of drought, bones and artefacts suggest that a large population was able to herd cattle and hunt fish and wildlife. Their burials indicate they had spiritual beliefs and cared for their dead.

Apparently climate change will bring rain to the Euphrates-Tigris watershed. This is land encompassing parts of Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, and north-eastern Iran and the strategically important headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

In a detailed study, to be published in the Journal of Hydrometeorology, Dr. Jason Evans of the University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre uses regional climate modeling, which can run counter to global climate change averages.

He found that while storm activity over the eastern Mediterranean would decline, moisture-bearing winds would be channeled inland more often and diverted by the Zagros Mountains, bringing an increase of more than 50 percent in annual rainfall to the Euphrates-Tigris watershed. 

This would mark a return to the original climate setting in which we began to settle down and farm in the cradle of civilization.

Image: The Fall by Lucas Cranach the Elder: 1533

New York City's Mayor Bloomberg gave the keynote address yesterday at the National Clean Energy Summit yesterday,  announcing a proposal to develop wind power and other alternative energy sources for the Big Apple.

Bloomberg's plan focused on off-shore wind farms, along with a few wind turbines on top of the city's bridges and skyscrapers. He also mentioned other sources of renewable energy for the city, including tidal, nuclear, solar and geothermal power.

During his speech, Bloomberg focused on the fifth anniversary of the major power outage that affected not only New York City but also 50 million people in the northeastern U.S. and Canada. He commented on the fact that, though some improvements have been made, the American electrical grid remains problematic at best. Bloomberg implied that the grid cannot handle an expansion of renewable energy in its current state, despite the necessity of such a move.

Bloomberg also outlined goals that he and other New York City administrators have set for the city: by 2017, city agencies are expected to reduce their own consumption by 30 percent. That number translates into an estimated 220-megawatt reduction in New York City's energy needs during peak power demand.

But while Bloomberg advocates conservation and energy efficiency, he made it clear that further action was necessary: "Conservation alone isn't enough," he said "We also need to dramatically step up the production of clean energy for our growing city and economy."

Under Mayor Bloomberg's leadership, New York City has made progress in developing renewable power. There's now a municipal rebate for solar power, and residents of New York City can sell their solar power to other power customers. In the next year, the mayor expects to double the amount of solar power produced in the city. Even schools and government buildings will be getting panels.

In conjunction with Bloomberg's call for renewable power, the New York City Economic Development Corporation has released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) on behalf of the city as a whole. The RFEI asks for innovative ideas that can help New York City develop sources of renewable energy. Bloomberg described the type of projects he hopes to see:

Such projects might, for example, be designed to draw power from the tides of the Hudson and East Rivers - something we're already doing on a pilot basis. They might call for dramatically increasing rooftop solar power production, which we've estimated could meet nearly 20 percent of the City's need for electricity. They could tap into geothermal energy. In fact, some private home and building owners have already drilled their own 'heat wells.' Or perhaps companies will want to put windfarms atop our bridges and skyscrapers, or use the enormous potential of powerful off-shore winds miles out in the Atlantic Ocean, where turbines could generate roughly twice the energy that land-based windfarms can. Windfarms located far off our shores, some evidence shows, could meet 10 percent of our city's electricity needs within a decade.

Photo — David Shankbone

Nine southern California Sam's Clubs will sell solar panels as part of their new Home Efficiency Centers. The centers will stock a variety of energy saving products: Energy Star appliances, low-flow toilets, CFL bulbs and more.

In order to provide solar panels, Sam's Club has partnered with Borrego Solar Systems, a solar power system designer and installer, and BP Solar, a photovoltaic solar panels provider. The two companies will help Sam's Club create in-store informational kiosks. The displays will explain the design and installation process, the amount of energy that can be saved and other details of the process. While a customer will not be able to load up a couple of solar panels on a shopping cart and head for the checkout, buying a system through a Sam's Club kiosk will provide the buyer with a discount on the cost of his or her new solar energy system. On average, the savings will amount to $500 — before adding up any applicable rebates and tax credits.

"This is a great way for us to help the local and regional community and our Members at a time when they need us the most,” said Paul Stone, the regional vice president of Sam’s Club. “We’ve got the best lineup of products to make a home more efficient and those looking to save a little green or the planet, will appreciate our prices. They will see savings at the register and going forward on their utility bills. We are optimistic we will be able to bring this concept to more of our clubs."

The participating Sam's Club locations include stores in Corona, Murrieta, Glendora, Ontario, La Habra, Chino, Long Beach, Fountain Vally and Torrance.

Image — Sam's Club

Greenbox announced this morning that it has partnered with Silver Spring Networks to deploy an energy management platform for Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E). Greenbox's software tracks energy consumption and will use Silver Spring's smart grid infrastructure expertise to enable OG&E's platform.

OG&E will use its new software platform to provide customers with in-depth information about their own energy consumption, allowing consumers to control their costs more precisely. The system will also provide OG&E with a utility-wide view of the same data. Greenbox's web-based interface is easy to use. Creators Jonathan Gay and Robert Tatsumi were part of the team that created Flash.

Among the features Greenbox's software offers is a community comparison feature, which allows consumers to compare their energy use to other members of their communities. This feature, and others, seems likely to make energy management more popular with consumers. Greenbox won't simply send a list of numbers showing energy use to customers; it will explain that information as well as offer suggestion and comparison tools. Consumption will be analyzed in 15-minute intervals.

OG&E is a relatively small utility — it has only 765,000, only a small percentage of which will initially have access to the Greenbox platform. It's truly a pilot program, but one with interesting potential.

Image — Greenbox

Conventional wisdom among proponents of the current shift to sustainability respond with an almost overwhelming “yes.” In his energy challenge to America, Al Gore expresses fully his belief that existing clean energy technologies can meet the current American demand. I dig the optimism, but the fact remains it would take a staggering 740 million five-megawatt wind turbines to match last year’s energy output. Assuming each turbine requires 100 square meters (roughly 1/16th of a mile) of land surface for operation, you’d need a power-generating area that was more than 42 million square miles in size—roughly the entire surface of the continent of Asia.

While wind is far from the most efficient technology humankind has at its disposal, the more powerful options carry heavy burdens. Coal power bears a fistful of issues -- from mercury emissions, to carbon footprint, to the environmental consequences of coal extraction -- and nuclear power brings with it the ever-present dangers of meltdown, radiation, along with the need for safekeeping of spent reactor fuel.  Though these technologies may be able to meet demand by numbers, they may prove self-defeating over the long run, powering an Earth that becomes progressively more unlivable. 

Then there’s the question of resource allocation. Thomas Malthus’s prediction of a world population that would rapidly outstrip its food supply never really came to fruition, as higher yield crops, improved farming techniques, and smaller family sizes kept that crucial balance in line. Yet recent shortages in food and price spikes in oil seem to have restarted the long-dormant ticking of a Malthusian population bomb.  While I wouldn’t start stockpiling just yet, it’s fairly clear that our lone planet could not support the energy and resource needs of 6.5 billion people living at the same consumption levels as the average American. 

So maybe the existing levels of sustainable power and resource distribution -- quantum leaps in terms of environmental friendliness though they may be -- simply aren’t able to power the world into a cleaner, greener future. It seems highly likely that new advances in nanomaterials, carbon sequestration, high-efficiency photovoltaics, and possibly even nuclear fusion will be needed before we can truly call ourselves sustainable. That, or we must dramatically adjust our levels of consumption. If past performance is any indication, though, that’s a sacrifice much of the developed world simply isn’t ready to make.

A new biofuel made of genetically engineered rutabagas has begun to take root.

A Michigan State University (MSU) research team has added a new gene to rutabaga plants to produce oil. Instead of turning plant sugars into carbohydrates, the gene alters the conversion of sugars from carbohydrates to oil. This conversion typically takes place in the seeds of plants, making extraction of the oil uncomplicated. After extraction, the plant oils will be converted into biofuels for energy needs.

The discovery of the malfunctioning plant protein, trigalactosyldiacylyglycerol (TGD4), helped scientists identify how oil production could be moved throughout the plant. If scientists can engineer the malfunctioning protein to various parts of the plant, there is hope that oil can be produced throughout the plant adding more oil capacity per plant. More oil for extraction equates to more oil available for biofuel production.

Rutabaga research is part of the greater MSU and US Department of Energy grant and research program to fund advances in biofuels technology and efficiency. In addition to chemical research, mechanical engineers at MSU are working on building engines that burn biofuels at high performance levels. The Department notes that, “biomass is the only clean, renewable energy source that can help to significantly diversify transportation fuels in the U.S.”  Thus, the $4 million in grant funding to take the biofuel industry to the next level.

Six months from now, MSU will see the results of the gene’s performance on the conversion to oil. Head researcher Christoph Benning notes that finding ways to convert sugars to oils in other parts of the plant, “green tissues, like the leaves, stems or even underground tissues like roots or tubers,” will provide more efficient and greater quantities of oil to extract for biofuels.

Wouldn't it be great if you could measure your home's solar power online? Now you can.  This is just one of the latest features Real Goods Solar is providing to San Francisco homeowners receiving panel installation as part of the 1 Block Off the Grid (1BOG) initiative.

1BOG, a program working to place solar power in residential communities, is breaking down misconceptions about solar costs and installation. To do so, the program is focusing on homeowner education. With more information widely available about the cost-effectiveness of solar panel installation (via cost-sharing and/or negotiated pricing for bulk projects), homeowners all over the San Francisco Bay Area are paneling their roofs with solar cells.

Just yesterday, 1BOG announced that it has not only chosen a solar vendor, but also negotiated community-based pricing and will assist with tax rebate processes for the community. Homeowners will be able to take advantage of local governmental tax breaks, experience a quick installation turnaround time of two to four days, and will also be able to watch their home's energy generation online. Could it get any better than that?

To be eligible, 1BOG requires individuals to own their home (renters who have the support of their landlord are also eligible), to be identified on their home's electricity bill, and be dedicated to conserving energy in their home. 1BOG is also coordinating efforts to implement solar panel installation at a reduced cost to multiple unit buildings such as apartments.

By joining the 1BOG community, homeowners and apartment complex renters are encouraged to organize their community toward solar panel installation where costs can be shared. Excess solar power generated can be sold back to the energy grid allowing homeowners to generate financial rewards while they help generate energy.

Real Goods Solar has spent 30 years helping organizations and individuals make use of renewable energy resources including solar power. The company showcases 2,600 solar installations throughout several states and includes not only residential installations, but commercial ones such as winery panels. Real Goods Solar installs panels based on each homeowner’s desired energy portfolio. Some homeowners may seek to be 100 percent solar powered, while others may chose to diversify their energy costs with multiple energy platforms.

Both 1BOG and Real Goods Solar are committed to reducing fossil fuel usage and increasing renewable energy power, in part to prevent future climate change contributions. Both companies are powering up residential communities so they can do their part for energy efficiency. The organizations are partnering to bring measurable actions to their communities and beyond.

In the past week or so, we've gotten used to seeing broken records. The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) won't get a gold for its work, but they now hold the solar cell efficiency record with a 40.8% conversion of sunlight to electricity.

The unique PV construction splits the light spectrum into three parts, using every part of the light buffalo to up efficiency.

Called the inverted metamorphic triple-junction solar cell, its inventors say..wait, what exactly does all that mean? Inversion of the cell, makes it ultra-thin by removing the wafer that it grows on. Metamorphic layers are misaligned to make them more efficient and triple-junction refers to the three layers of materials used.

The cell, which I'll call the IMTJ, is made of elements you probably didn't memorize is high school, like gallium and indium.

NREL believes the new panels will find applications on space satellites as well as more earth-bound locals. The solar cell arms race has been a-boilin' for a while now. I can't wait to see what they'll think up next.

Comfortable with the idea of biofuel corn, but find the concept of biofuel algae, with its need for temperature and pH-controlled growing conditions, a little far-fetched? Fear not—genetically-modified food crops are combining centuries of selective breeding with the cutting-edge technology of genetic engineering.

The problems with traditional biofuels are obvious.  Chief among them: the fact that converting plant sugars to ethanol takes a lot of energy. Some plants already create oils that can easily be converted to work with the existing energy infrastructure, but these oils are mostly in seeds—meaning that a lot of plant material is being grown that yields no energy—and these plants don’t tend to fare well in cold winters.

The solution offered by food crops is similar to that offered by algae: insert genes to create these fantastic plant oils into an organism that already grows efficiently and reliably, and harvest it as a fuel without the inefficiencies of ethanol conversion.

While the oily food crops' underdevelopment could provide a power source from the same arable lands farmers have relied on for centuries, it is still paramount that they remain carefully managed, cut off from other food crop operations. If accidental interbreeding with wild or foodcrop plants occurs, the environmental results could be devastating.

While going off-grid may be among the goals of many a thrifty homeowner, a research project Down Under looks to bring a wider-scale version of locally-produced power to several universities across Australia.

Unlike traditional models of power generation, where a single massive plant sends out energy over an electrical grid, on-site energy generation, also known as distributed generation, employs several different smaller power sources to supply the same amount of energy to the same area.

Distributing the load like this allows for technologies without the outright ability to pump out kilowatts as carbon heavy sources like coal, or potentially controversial sources, like nuclear fission, to meet the energy needs of a small area.  The network of individual plants also allows for better use of energy from intermittent sources, such as solar and wind, and provides an added safeguard against power failures.

The trade-off is generally in price, as smaller energy operations seldom manage to reach the low price-per-kilowatt offered by massive power installations. But by passing the burden of power creation from a central utility off to a consumer, it creates a strong incentive for that consumer to become more careful in his or her energy use.

A new paper on the Recovery of Minerals and Metals from Geothermal Fluids has some great news for those of us hoping we can green up our drives in 2010 with lithium-powered electric vehicles. There is a real symbiotic relationship between geothermal power and the battery electric car.

Geothermal fluids contain significant concentrations of potentially valuable mineral resources. This paper focuses on extracting silica, lithium and zinc, the resources that have the greatest potential to be economically extracted. Mineral content was often considered more a nuisance than an asset, because they can cause corrosive scaling both in the plant and in reinjection wells, which creates operational limitations in Geothermal power plants.

We will need these minerals, especially lithium, for powering the batteries for the many electric vehicles that are due on the market in the next few years. The lithium automotive market could reach $1.6 Billion by 2015 .

Many constituents of geothermal fluids are valuable if they can be separated and purified. The geothermal waters have had intimate and lengthy contact with the layers of the earth’s crust that they flow through, resulting in dissolution of minerals and metals from the rocks, and solution into the hot water. These aqueous solutions can be processed to recover minerals and metals, such as silica, zinc and lithium.

Mineral recovery improves the economics of geothermal energy production by helping to minimize the nuisance of corrosive scaling, and there is now increasing interest in improving the economics of geothermal energy by co-producing and marketing some of the dissolved constituents: in particular the easiest to extract economically, which turn out to be silica, zinc and lithium.

In the early history of geothermal resource development, boric acid, sulfur, and ammonium salts were recovered commercially until they lost economic competitiveness to other mining processes.

Although the enrichment of target elements in geothermal fluids is not as high as the enrichment in fluids commonly treated with hydrometallurgical methods, the costs associated with resource extraction from geothermal fluids are potentially low for several reasons:

Plant costs are split between power and mineral production. Geothermal power plants already pump and process the fluids. Mineral extraction would consist of an additional treatment step added to existing plant facilities and would be economically feasible for several reasons.

1. There are no costs associated with mining and physical processing of the ore, and no negative environmental impacts;
2. There are no costs associated with dissolution of ore minerals into an aqueous phase because they are already in solution;
3. Geothermal systems process large volumes of water, commonly tens of millions of gallons per day, so that the mass of mineral resource is large in spite of relatively low concentrations.

This is good news. Lithium for all our electric vehicles could be readily mined along with clean geothermal energy to supply the sockets in our garages the juice to power our plug-in vehicles.

Photo by World Island Information

Connecticut homeowners have a new option to get solar panels with no upfront cost, through Connecticut Solar Lease. Connecticut Solar Lease offers an option to homeowners who might think that the cost of solar panels puts them out of reach. The company installs the panels for free. Homeowners then pay a flat monthly rate and the solar power generated reduces their electric bill.

The monthly rate Connecticut Solar Lease is offering seems reasonable. It's based on the solar system size and ranges from $49 for a 2-kilowatt system to $238 for a 10-kilowatt system. The company does say that the actual payment can vary, based on the rebate amount you qualify for. Monthly rates are based on a 15-year lease, at the end of which a homeowner has the option of buying the panels at fair market prices, extending the lease or returning the panels to Connecticut Solar Lease. Homeowners are even offered the choice of installers when going through the solar lease program.

The leasing program is being offered by Connecticut Solar Lease in partnership with the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, AFC First Financial Corporation and Gemstone Lease Management. The program seems to have been developed to take advantage of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's solar rebate program in particular.

Image — Connecticut Solar Lease

Employees are cynical about just how green their employers are, according to a new report from the Marlin Company.

As part of Marlin's 14th annual "Attitudes in the American Workplace" survey, the company asked U.S. workers questions about sustainability in the companies they work for. Approximately half (50.8 percent) of those workers responded that their employers have implemented a significant sustainability initiative.

But the reasons that employees think their employers have made green efforts are not promising:

• 24.1 percent say that companies want to save money
• 22 percent say that companies want the publicity associated with going green
• 14.1 percent say that companies just want to be politically correct
• 12.9 percent say that companies are attempting to counteract rising energy prices
• 17.4 percent say that companies are making an effort to be socially responsible

The pessimism doesn't end with the reasons employees believe that businesses are going green, either. Respondents were asked, "Who's greener, you or your company?" Their answers made it clear that most employees think that their companies are lagging in their own efforts to become sustainable: 63.4 percent of workers believe that they are greener than their employers.

One number is reassuring, though. More than three-fourths of US workers — 77.7 percent — say that working for a green employer is important to them. That sort of pressure may lead employers to go green, if only to keep employees happy.

There are options to employers who wish to work with their workers to make their companies more social responsible — and to make sure that employees are aware of the reasons for green changes. Most important is informing employees about such initiatives and the reasons behind them, as well as helping employees to become stakeholders in sustainability plans from the beginning.

According to Frank Kenna III, the CEO and President of the Marlin Company, companies need to show their employees a real commitment to green initiatives.  "Companies need to do more than talk about green initiatives." he said. "It takes more than high-profile ads to make it happen...Employees need to see that their company is serious about it. That means concrete actions, such as in-house programs for saving energy and recycling."

Employers must also work to connect the actions their workers take at home to workplace initiatives. If so many employees think that they're greener than the companies they work for, perhaps it's time for their employers to make use of all that green knowledge.

Kenna went on to emphasize that sustainable practices shouldn't stop when workers go home for the day: "Being green is an important part of may employees' lives and companies do a disservice to themselves and their employees by not acknowledging that."

Heidelberg, the leading manufacturer of offset presses, has put up 50,000 Euros for the most sustainable printshop worldwide. The entry period for the Heidelberg Eco Printing Award has been extended to the end of August.

Sustainability is an ongoing issue for printers. Beyond the obvious concern of the paper necessary for any printing, the average printshop has several ongoing issues. For instance, an offset press can have a huge amount of waste just in the process of getting it ready to print. To make sure that colors match precisely, a printer might go through hundreds of test copies.

Joerg Daehnhardt, the director of product management for Heidelberg USA, told American Printer that "reducing startup waste should be a top priority for environmentally minded printers — it's the one area with the largest impact on a press's environmental performance."

Heidelberg has also moved to produce streamlined presses that reduce waste. Their new Anicolor inking unit, for instance, can be calibrated in as few as 20 sheets for most jobs — a major improvement on past presses. And while Heidelberg's newest presses are much most sustainable than older models, they're also creating paper-saving modules that can be added to existing presses for customers who aren't able to buy a brand new press.

Image — Heidelberg

The Telkonet Smart Energy system controls the temperature of each hotel suite by sensing the occupancy or vacancy of each room. When a room is unoccupied, the air conditioning thermostat adjusts to a more energy efficient temperature, saving the HVAC system from working without cause.

“Its key monitoring and analysis features ensure optimum energy savings, giving property owners the tools to identify and implement energy savings, providing total visibility and detailed data about a property's HVAC system and its energy consumption, together with real-time, instant remote management capabilities,” according to Telkonet.

The energy management system turns cutting-edge technology into cutting-edge comfort: The system is able to rebound from the non-occupied temperature setting upon a guest’s return.

Power consumption is one of the most significant contributors of greenhouse gases and air pollutants associated with climate change as well as a large generator of operational costs for buildings, including hotels. In decreasing their energy usage, hotels are making a positive impact on their bottom line and the environment.

Knowing that the industry requires multiple implementation options, Telkonet is adding to the energy management options with its lower-cost Networked Telkonet Smart Energy program, which provides similar data delivery and remote management functions.

Telkonet systems are installed as part of Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program established by the state to implement energy efficient programs. Rebates and other financial incentives are helping hotels go green quickly. According to Telkonet, “hotel owners benefit from special promotional pricing of $2.57/room per month over a three-year term… and typically achieve a rapid return on investment within just 18 months,” making the investment financially viable for smaller hotels.

Recent hospitality surveys show that tourists are seeking out hotels with eco-friendly operations, and that they are willing to pay a bit more for an eco-friendly stay. Telkonet’s energy management systems will bring hotels into the green revolution reducing energy consumption, and environmental impacts from combustion of fossil fuels providing electricity power. Telkonet’s portfolio of energy management installations goes beyond single and multiple building implications into various platforms including transportation.

Not only can Telkonet’s energy management systems serve the hospitality industry, but also the shipping industry. What's next?

Danish island Samso, is setting an example for all communities going green. Samso residents have reduced their fossil fuel consumption to 30 percent by replacing it with renewable energy sources. Wind turbines, solar panels and biofuels power the island's homes and businesses while offsetting fossil fuel usage.

Wind power, generated via 11 turbines at the shoreline of the island, and 10 ocean-based turbines, fulfill Samso's electricity needs. Solar panels throughout the island heat residences and water supplies. Similarly, biofuels made from straw, rye and wheat crops also heat homes and other single story buildings. Tractors, pulling the community’s agriculture industry, also run off of biofuels.

The island's 4,000+ citizens have invested more than $84 million (U.S. currency) in reducing their island's carbon footprint. Government entities assist financially by subsidizing the wind power market and through taxes.

Samso is doing its part to meet the European Union challenge to reduce emissions associated with global warming (methane, carbon dioxide, etc.) by a fifth of 1990 consumption levels and replacing that segment with renewable energies by the year 2020. Going carbon neutral and supporting an entire island off of renewable energies has and will continue to prove successful as the international community looks to Samso for guidance in converting their locales to carbon-neutral societies.

...If you pay dues to AAA, that is. Part of that money goes to pay lobbyists to work against your best interests, and advocate for lower gas mileage.

According to a Harpers Magazine story quoted at Autoblog Green, AAA has designs on your clean green future.

"A frequent target of the group's Washington office has been federal environmental laws. In 1999, AAA opposed new rules that required cleaner-burning exhaust systems for cars, trucks, and SUVs, and two years prior assailed an EPA proposal requiring states to reduce levels of smog and soot. In 1990, AAA even fought the strengthening of the Clean Air Act - a measure supported by three fourths of Americans - on the grounds that it would limit the 'personal mobility' of motorists."

How to stop this lobbying for a polluted world? Try looking elsewhere for your roadside assistance. Several green startups are competing against AAA, promising to spend your dues on all the goodies that come with AAA membership, like roadside assistance, and none of the "baddies" like lobbying efforts against the Clean Air Act. 

In fairness to AAA, though, look at this lobbying in historical context. The American Automobile Association was originally created in 1901 by 1,000 auto enthusiasts demanding a response to the lack of highways suitable for their marvelous new driving machines. Today, we see that changes are needed to design a sustainable world, but back then, this was progressive thinking. And they do valuable work in providing research and much data related to driving and the automobile. Furthermore, State AAs can certainly be greener as the California State AA showed in partnering with CalCars in the Greenlight Initiative last year.

There are more than 7 million refrigerated trailer-trucks in the US. A new technology using steam power could make them up to 40% more fuel efficient.

The Clean Energy Storage and Recovery system (CESAR) from Clean Power Technologies captures waste energy from a primary engine and stores it as steam in an accumulator for on-demand use either in the same primary engine or in a secondary vapor engine.

Power can be produced solely by the secondary vapor engine even after the primary combustion engine has shut down. Along with a 40% increase in fuel efficiency the company claims there will be reductions in carbon emissions as well.

An earlier study by researchers in the UK had already concluded that using waste heat from light-duty vehicle engines in a steam power cycle could deliver fuel economy improvements of up to 31%, so as Clean Power's CEO Abdul Mitha says, "These results are a major achievement. We set high expectations that we would be able to achieve reductions of up to 40%, so to reach the top of this range is especially pleasing."

Both BMW and Honda are also using this idea of waste-heat powered steam systems to increase fuel economy. BMW’s steam-based cogeneration cycle is used to power their accessories, and Honda is exploring using a Rankine cycle co-generation unit to improve the overall efficiency of a hybrid vehicle by recapturing waste exhaust heat from the internal combustion engine and converting that to electricity to recharge the battery pack.

Earlier this year, Clean Power Technologies signed an Memorandum of Understanding with East West Express to conduct detailed research using their existing refrigerated trailer fleet. Like most companies heavily impacted by fuel costs, East West has found rapidly increasing fuel prices are now their biggest cost. Sandy De Vaaal, the president of East West is excited about the prospects of their research project with Clean Power Technologies, as one that could lead to far more than incremental improvements in fuel economy.

Clean Power sees their system being workable for a range of vehicles, including locomotives, heavy trucks and light cars. "Combustion engine and steam hybrid technology offers huge potential for green transport and our technology will be able to be adopted by vehicle manufacturers cost-effectively,"

Today, Voith Turbo and Clean Power Technology signed an agreement to develop steam and heat energy recovery engines for Clean Power’s proprietary heat recovery technology for refrigeration trailers for the grocery market.

How ironic that steam technology could propel our rusty old Internal Combustion Engine into a sustainable new life. Clean Power Technologies' Mithra shares a design aesthetic with that of the inventor of the original steam engine, James Watt, who arguably began the Industrial Revolution with the steam powered locomotive. "Our technology is unique, effective and elegant in its simplicity and I am extremely proud of what our dedicated team has achieved."

Just as James Watt might have put it.

From its early roots up until a few years ago, the sustainability revolution has presented a fairly unified goal of preserving the viability of natural resources while allowing the American economy to function effectively. But recent proposals in the drive to sustainability have turned age-old partners against each other.

A series of proposed clean energy projects in the American Southwest provides a perfect microcosm of the struggle. The Mojave Desert in California has been tagged as a potential gold mine for clean energy. Prevailing wind patterns have inspired massive wind energy projects, while sunny skies and swaths of undeveloped land have already lead to the construction of several solar power plants. Some think the area may be ripe for geothermal development as well.

With four major population centers within a few hundred miles of the desert, many environmentalists are pressing for additional clean energy projects. But their efforts are being facing resistance from an unlikely source—other environmentalists. “There's some conflict due to what's been described as a feeding frenzy for renewable energy in the desert,” says April Sall, who helps tend a nature conservancy in the region. “If you're going to destroy conservation and pristine lands, then yeah, how green is it in the end?”

Sall is one of a growing number of environmentalists who favor limiting clean energy projects to developed areas. The Sierra Club has been one of the largest proponents of this approach, voicing concern over projects conceived as sustainability improvements, by openly opposing Massachusetts’ Cape Wind project, and refusing thus far to endorse a controversial route through an undeveloped pass for California’s high-speed rail project. 

While market mechanisms often provide excellent solutions for thorny questions such as this, the value of the undisturbed beauty that has come to symbolize much of America's national character is difficult to quantify.  Low land prices in the rural expanses of the American West would almost certainly settle the economic question in favor of clean energy development, but I think even the most fervent clean energy developer will see that a sustainable, climate-stable planet covered entirely with cities and wind turbines would be a Pyrrhic victory in its truest form. 

The answer may lie, as it so often does, in a compromise solution. Sprawling cities, like Mojave neighbor Phoenix might find ample sources for cleaner power generation close to or within city limits, and could perhaps impose tax incentives for keeping development closer to the city. More compact cities offer fewer opportunities, but could still offer tax incentives to private land owners  to install solar and wind projects, reducing demand on the electrical grid as a whole, and limiting the need for new power installations.

Photo by Flickr user jcrakow

As the concept of green collar jobs becomes an ever more frequent staple of political rhetoric, it’s easy to forget that it already represents a real-world source of sustainability-driven economic growth. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than the small town of Corinth, Maine. 

The small logging town had been hitting hard times until very recently, with decades-old logging mills closing their doors due to more efficient manufacturing processes and cheaper labor elsewhere.  Fighting unemployment rates near double those elsewhere in the state, the rural logging regions found an economic savior in high oil prices, and the renewed investment they bought. 

While currently relying on older technologies for lower-carbon domestic energy solutions, such as wood pellets for home stoves,  the backwoods of Maine could soon be on the cutting edge of biofuel technologies, as progressively higher food prices stimulate research and development in alternative biofuel sources, such as poplar trees and sawdust, booth abundant in Maine’s rural interior

All told, the green energy investment in Northern Maine is expected to top $1 billion dollars [pdf] by the year 2012, creating hundreds of green-collar jobs out of what otherwise might have been another dying American industry.

Used for centuries in limited applications such as gaslights, gasification has been reborn through a series of technological advancements, from proprietary chemical catalysts to metal-coated sponge-like reaction environments that dramatically increase yield, such as being done at the Ames National Laboratory. It’s a process reinvented the process for a world of $120-a-barrel oil prices. 

While the chemistry of the process is a bit complicated, the end result is that now virtually any carbon-carrying compound, from coal to biomass to sewage, can become a viable source of energy. While large-scale production projects are currently still under development, it’s a promising revelation none the less.

In this regard, gasification follows in the footsteps turbine-driven ships, hydrogen-powered cars, and a plethora of other environmentally-friendly technologies just needing a few more tweaks for market viability, and a rise in energy prices to spur the research.

Fairchild Semiconductor has formed a global 'Energy and Environmental Design Team' to find energy-conservation projects at its manufacturing sites. The team will work with Fairchild's sites worldwide to implement best practices that will improve corporate responsibility, conserve energy and reduce climate impact. The team members come from a wide variety of Fairchild locations, as well as from the facilities, manufacturing, environment and finance departments.

“Sustainability has always been important to Fairchild, but it is becoming even more important as we try to do our part in reducing our climate impact and our consumption of energy and water,” said Robin Goodwin, executive vice president of Manufacturing and Supply Chain, in a press release. “Fairchild is 'The Power Franchise'. We provide products that help consumers reduce power consumption in electronic applications and we feel it is our duty to actively pursue our own sustainability and green business practices.”

This team is not Fairchild Semiconductor's first effort to conserve energy. Since 1997, the company has reduced its water usage by over 53 million gallons, added wind energy as an alternate power source and made its lighting systems more efficient. The new Energy and Environmental Design Team is chartered to add to the successes of these projects, and find new ways to improve Fairchild's environmental impact.

Image — Fairchild

A new report shows that 93 percent of home buyers aren't willing to pay more for green features when they buy a house. The report, an independent study commissioned by the New York Times Customer Insight Group, showed that buyers are excited about green features that can save them money, such as energy efficient materials. But if a sustainable feature of a house is going to cost them more without financial benefit, buyers don't want it.

Over half of the study's respondents said that energy efficient heating and air conditioning, windows, appliances and water systems were important to them. But expensive green features, such as building sensitivity to local environmental concerns or the use of green materials and recycled products were important to less than half of home buyers. Features requiring significant capital also received little interest from buyers — solar panels, for instance had little appeal.

While a reader may be initially discouraged by this report, the news is surprisingly good. Over half of respondents, after all, have seen a clear advantage for certain green features.

The report included information from buyers both in the New York metro area and nationally. The report is available as a PDF.

Photo —Sfadden

This morning, FoodServiceWarehouse.com launched its Going Green Program, the first comprehensive green certification program for commercial kitchens. They're even kicking off the program by giving away a green commercial kitchen worth up to $40,000.

Up until now, commercial kitchens were a sustainability issue. According to Energy Star, commercial kitchens are one of the highest energy consumers in commercial buildings, which use approximately 2.5 times more energy per square foot than their counterparts without kitchens. It's not just an energy issue, though. Commercial kitchens are inefficient, driving up the costs to run them.

FoodServiceWarehouse.com's program is industry-vetted. The focus is making the complex process of going green easier for commercial kitchens. The program includes educational resources, a free certification process and a number of incentives, such as extended warranties on energy efficient equipment. The Going Green Program also provides companies with access to expert advice on going green outside the kitchen and earning LEED certification. FoodServiceWarehouse.com's certification program, the Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Program, meets current LEED standards for commercial kitchens.

"Today's commercial kitchens are being squeezed by high operating costs driven by energy prices and a reduction in discretionary spending by consumers," said Steve Kurtz, vice president at FoodServiceWarehouse.com. "Our customers wanted a way to reduce their operating costs while becoming more ecologically responsible, which in turn would make their establishment more appealing to patrons. The program we developed allows our customers to achieve these goals, while putting them further down the path toward other types of certifications."

The food service industry has an annual energy bill totaling $10 billion. If that price tag wasn't bad enough, though, inefficient appliances can waste up to 80 percent of the energy that they use. FoodServiceWarehouse.com's program is specifically targeting those figures, and the industry that has allowed its energy bill to balloon. Many commercial kitchens are notoriously out-dated — to the point that owners simply don't know where to begin with updates. Green experts tend to recommend that businesses go for 'the low-hanging fruit' (easy fixes that are inexpensive to implement) first, but it can be difficult to know where to start. The Going Green program provides that starting point, as well as helping companies find the next steps.

"Restaurants that invest strategically in energy efficiency can cut utility costs between 10 to 30 percent without sacrificing service, quality, style or comfort—while making significant contributions to a cleaner environment," said Kate Lewis, Sales and Marketing Manager for the Energy Star Commercial Food Service Program, a FoodServiceWarehouse.com partner.

Image — FoodServiceWarehouse.com

Wind power has long been touted as a climate solution due to the emissions-free energy it provides. But now, a German scientist thinks it could also be used to save some of the world’s most rapidly vanishing glaciers.

The proposal is to place giant windscreens along the route of so-called kabatic winds; downdrafts of cold air that run down from the high Alpine glaciers. These screens would interrupt the drafts, causing them to swirl longer over the slowly-moving ice rivers, keeping air temps down over the glaciers and ice loss to a minimum. 

The project, though, the brain-child of German global warming celebrity Hans-Joachim Fuchs, has not been met with much support from the scientific community. Other scientists tend to dismiss the effectiveness of the idea, saying light-reflecting glacial covers—an expensive solution only in use at certain ski areas—are the only proven glacier-saving measure. 

In the spirit of empirical science, a test windscreen has been set up at a Swiss glacier, nonetheless. Data collected will reveal whether Fuch’s plan has serious chance to save vanishing glaciers would wide, or is simply full of hot air.

In a world increasingly beset by high food and fuel prices, it’s strange to think that a vast majority of the corn grown in the United States goes not into feeding people or creating ethanol, but into feeding other animals.  But now a collection of Egyptian researchers may have found an innovative way to address the problem, while fending off an invading species at the same time.

Crayfish, while long a staple in many regional cuisines, don’t offer humans a particularly large amount of edible material per animal.  But Biologist Hebat Abdel Hadi of Egypt’s Ain Shams University has published research indicating the unconsumed remains of the crustaceans make excellent chicken feed, resulting in healthier, stronger, and more delicious poultry. 

This comes as fantastic news for Egyptian fishermen in the Nile River, who have found their nets clogged by a burgeoning, predator-less crayfish population. Commercial harvesting of crayfish as feed could significantly reduce the problem, but it still has several hurdles to overcome.  

Many poultry experts tout the values of genetics over feed, and others question whether the crayfish supply would be sufficient to feed the millions of chickens raised as food each year.