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electric

You can pry the steering wheel out of Chevy Volt owners cold, dead hands (despite fiery rumors)

Article: You can pry the steering wheel out of Chevy Volt owners cold, dead hands (despite fiery rumors)

Posted December 14th, 2011, 3:12 PM by

Heard about the Chevy Volt fires? Seems like you’re most likely to answer “yes” to that question if a) you’re a true car geek, or b) you get your news from right-leaning media. Conservative commentators have latched onto news about fires in two of the vehicles after test crashes as proof of everything from the immaturity of the battery technology to logical outcome of government investment in the auto industry. In response, General Motors has not only worked closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on its preliminary investigation, but also offered Volt owners loaner cars and even buy-backs to address potential concerns.

Green tech finds (7/7/11)

Article: Green tech finds (7/7/11)

Posted July 07th, 2011, 2:07 PM by

Skiing down a Danish incinerator, seaweed for biofuels, and a solar unit that can save the lives of mothers in the developing world… your green tech finds for the week. The solar suitcase: Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic takes a look at the WE CARE Solar Suitcase, a compact solar power unit designed specifically for…

Green tech finds (4/7/11)

Article: Green tech finds (4/7/11)

Posted April 07th, 2011, 1:04 PM by

T-BOX-2010_liteonaward from jiangqian on Vimeo.


We’ve got mushroom materials this week… plus another upgrade in ENERGY STAR standards, and algae’s potential for cleaning up nuclear wastes…

  • Dell piloting mushroom packaging: I mentioned this development last year… this week, Dell packaging guru Oliver Campbell announced that the company will be piloting use of a mushroom-based packaging materials for shipping products. (Note: Spent a few days in Austin to attend a Dell CAP Day last week… they paid for my trip).

  • Ford’s looking at mushroom-based foam insulation: Yep… a mushroom twofer — Ford’s also considering using Ecovative’s material to replace petroleum-based foams used as insulating material in its cars interior elements.

What's powering your lawn care service?

Article: What's powering your lawn care service?

Posted April 05th, 2010, 4:04 PM by

Many environmentalists would argue (passionately) that “greening” your lawn means tearing it out, and replacing it with native plants or a vegetable garden. They’re generally right: by and large, lawns are water-hoggin’ monocultures that require relatively hefty amounts of energy to sustain.

If you’re not quite ready to dig up the grass, though, and you pay someone to maintain your lawn for you (or your landlord does), you can take a step towards a greener lawn by hiring a company that doesn’t use traditional gas-powered mowers.