June 2009

The climate bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday is much more than just the U.S.’s first mandatory cap and trade on greenhouse gas emissions.

The legislation, whether it gets through the U.S. Senate or not, will set the stage for the United Nations global climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate change official, said a stronger bill would have sent this clear message to the world: the U.S. is serious about curbing the problem of climate change.

“We think we should give a positive evaluation to the bill,” Xie said. “But in the area of tackling climate change, especially on the issue of cutting emissions, if the U.S. could take some more positive and stronger measures, it would give a bigger impetus to the Copenhagen conference at the end of the year.”

Electric cars, like the Chevy Volt and Tesla Roadster, needed a battery that would revolutionize consumers’ dependency on gas by creating an electric alternative. The result: the Volt and Tesla Roadster quickly decided on a lithium-ion battery that initially scored high marks from both industry leaders and consumers alike. That is, at least, before EEStor and lithium-air joined the competition.

Lithium-ion created a buzz among electric car enthusiasts because of its super-charged abilities (at that time) that blew the standard nickel and lead batteries out of the water and generated enough energy to power a vehicle; certainly, the low-maintenance, high voltage, high density, rapid recharge battery deserves its praise, but it simply cannot compete with the proposed specs of the EEStor and lithium-air batteries.

When the 2004 Toyota Prius arrived at dealerships, demand for the car had reached a fevered pitch. Gas prices were sky high and consumers often were swallowing an unpleasant pill by paying several thousand dollars above MSRP for a line item dealers referred to as “market value adjustment”. Fast forward to now: gas prices are still reasonable and competition is heating up with the 2010 Ford Fusion and Honda Insight.

Of course a dealer is going to aim for the highest price possible, but in this buyer’s market their ability to negotiate upward is diminished. That sentiment is reflected in some recent buying experiences consumers are sharing. Now it seems more Toyota dealers are willing to haggle.

The suburbs don’t just eat up land, they make it harder for children to enjoy healthy lifestyles.

By building walkable communities with plenty of parks, city planners can tip the scales toward green living and away from child obesity.

According to a American Academy of Pediatrics publication, walking or cycling to school can jumpstart children into getting the proper physical activity they need.

In one study, it was found that the farther middle-school age girls lived from school, the less exercise they got per week. And when one-third of America’s youth are overweight, even small steps can make a big difference.

But children aren’t going to be eager to bike to school when their parents take a Pathfinder to work.

Samsung is experimenting with some twists in mobile phone technology, and its new Crest Solar device is a great example of demand for green influencing a company. The Crest Solar boasts a solar panel on the back that’s capable of powering 5 to 10 minutes of talking per hour charged.

That might sound slow to power up, but in the middle of a nature hike it could mean the difference between connectedness and isolation. But, does the Crest Solar offer enough features and green culture to lure customers away from the svelte Apple iPhone 3G?

How do you move 80 million gallons of water a year 45 miles, all up hill?

No, this isn’t a hypothetical middle school math question. This is what engineers and policymakers in Colorado Springs are wrestling with as more water users are moving to their dry region.

The answer to the question is enough energy to power around 250,000 homes, according to a study by Western Resource Advocates. This and four other water pipeline projects in the U.S.’s southwest will cost a total of around $8 billion. All that, just to move water.

Here’s what Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera has to say about the project:

Google is bringing a new carnival to town, hall of mirrors included, that could slam the door on clean coal and offer a wealth of opportunity for alternative energy. It’s no surprise that the highly profitable technology company is once again expanding its reach, especially in the renewable energy market, to reap the benefit of their technological ingenious that will use solar generated steam to spin turbines.

The innovative renewable energy, known as solar thermal technology, takes the traditional form of using photovoltaic solar cells to transform the sun’s rays into energy and beefs it up on every kind of steroid. Intelligent mirrors scattered throughout fields aim the sun’s rays at a substance that heats up and produces a steam that generates movement in the turbine, which in turn creates energy.

Solar thermal technology utilizes the best of both solar and wind energy without the uncertainty of unpredictable wind patterns and the potential of low output from the minimally small surface area of most solar panel units.

In a nod toward customers looking to continue the tradition of power and convenience afforded by stereotypical gasoline cars, the 2010 Toyota Prius has powered up its electric and gasoline engine. That means better acceleration in a pinch and happier road warriors overall, right?

Toyota is betting on it, because the competition is heating up in the hybrid space. GM’s Chevy Volt is on the horizon, which will be a major competitor assuming the company is able to exit bankruptcy with a functioning body of workers and leadership. Penske is purchasing GM’s Saturn brand, and plans to build out hybrid cars. Tesla has a luxurious all-electric offering and ZENN Motor Company has partnered with the elusive EEStor company to make fast charging electric cars a reality.

It doesn’t take a wiz to understand why buying an full-length gown and funny hat to wear once for graduation isn’t exactly friendly to the environment.

Thousands of gowns, caps and tassels are sold each year to all the graduating high school and college students in America. Unless schools are smart enough to reuse them each year, those gowns end up in the closet or trash.

As graduation season comes to an end, this is a good time to highlight the third ‘R’ of the big three: reduce. It sometimes seems the other two - recycle and reuse - too often control the limelight.

One way to reduce consumption is to eliminate customs that create a lot of waste, such as specially purchased graduation attire.