Green tech finds: from solar power to the Super Bowl
Super Bowl Sunday is coming up, and while I don’t pay enough attention to say whether it’ll be a good game, it will definitely be a green(er) game. That, plus cooler roofs for more efficient solar power, and a very quick look at over a century of global warming: your green tech finds for the week.
Buy renewable energy for your Volt: While the arguments about the energy sources for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are generally really overblown and oversimplified, many EV drivers do want the cleanest power they can get for their vehicles. So, GM is developing a system for its OnStar platform that would notify Volt drivers when there’s renewable energy available on the grid so they could plug in at the right time. (via Earth 911)
What does global warming look like? If you’re thinking big picture in response to that question, the folks at NASA have released a video that shows 131 years of global temperature fluctuations in 26 seconds. (via Climate Central and @NRDC)
Read More »Dirty hippies and ice: green docs at this year’s Sundance Film Festival
If filmmakers are poets, than documentarians stand out for their use of synecdoche: the most powerful docs almost always rely on stories that point to issues bigger than themselves. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH isn’t just about climate change, but also about human shepherding of resources. GASLAND isn’t just about fracking, but corporate power, and its effects on the lives of individuals.
Two documentaries premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival not only follow in this poetic tradition, but even revel in it.
Read More »Occupy Durban: Addressing global warming for the 99%
Back when I was a full-time academic, I swear we held meetings simply for the purpose of scheduling more meetings. That seems to be what’s happening with international climate change negotiations: each round of talks since Bali in 2007 seems to degenerate into a punting of major issues to the next round. This week, delegates have gathered in Durban, South Africa to discuss a global response to climate change, and some representatives of smaller countries most affected by global warming think it’s time for new tactics. In short, they’re talking about an “occupation” of the meetings.
Read More »Redford urges resistance to the dirtiest oil on the planet
When you challenge Big Oil in Houston, you can bet the industry is going to punch back. So when I wrote in the Houston Chronicle earlier this month that we should say no to the Keystone XL pipeline, I wasn’t surprised when the project’s chief executive weighed in with a different view.
The corporate rejoinder, written by Alex Pourbaix, president for energy and oil pipelines for the TransCanada Corp., purported to cite “errors” in my oped. Let’s set the record straight, point by point.
First, the Keystone XL, as proposed, would run from Canada across the width of our country to Texas oil refineries and ports. It would carry diluted bitumen, a kind of crude oil, produced from the Alberta tar sands. On those points, we all agree.
I say this is a bad idea. It would put farmers, ranchers and croplands at risk across much of the Great Plains. It would feed our costly addiction to oil. And it would wed our future to the destructive production of tar sands crude…
Read More »Green tech finds, 9/22/11
Roads that charge your electric car, biofuel from orange peels, and sucking CO2 out of the air – your green tech finds for the week.
Look out, Volt! The plug-in Prius is here: Car hackers have been converting the Toyota Prius into a plug-in hybrid (like the Chevy Volt) for years. The Japanese automaker has finally gotten in on the trend and released a plug-in version of its popular hybrid for the 2012 model year. That’s it above. (via Greenwala)
Charge your electric car while driving it: The concept of “electrified roadways” that could charge electric vehicles while they’re moving has been around for decades, and Japanese researchers may have now come up with a viable model. “Electrified metal plates are buried under roads, which ‘up-convert’ energy via a radio frequency to a steel belt inside a car’s tires, as well as to a plate sitting above the tire.” (via smartplanet and @greenamericatv)
Read More »The %#*! hits the fan with the Climate Reality Project
Notice any unusual weather patterns lately? Any hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, drought or flood come your way? If you’ve lived on this Earth in the last year or two then the answer is, undoubtedly, yes. But if you’re someone who refuses to believe that these dramatic changes in our weather are a sign that maybe humans haven’t had the best impact on our environment, get ready to wake the %#*! up. This Wednesday, climate change deniers get an extra dose of reality with the Climate Reality Project, a 24-hour, global, livestream event that reveals, once and for all, the very real scope of the climate crisis.
The Climate Reality Project asks you to make time for reality on Wednesday, September 14 at 7PM, in your time zone. “Pick a faraway place or a city near you. Make it yours for one day. We’re hitting every time zone, but only once…Choose a location and get involved.” If your hometown isn’t represented, pick some place you’ve never been to (French Polynesia, Tonga, New Delhi or Seoul) or maybe never even heard of. Personally, I’m choosing Ilulissat. But prepare yourself for some serious talk on climate change, and stand ready to take action. This isn’t a fluffy, pictures of dolphins in net, tear-jerking talk-the-talk but no walk kinda thing. Did you watch the videos m ss ng p eces made? Would they create poop and hurl it at a fan if this wasn’t for real? Just watch the behind-the-scenes: Al Gore is pissed, and really, why aren’t more people? As the man says, if you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.
Read More »VOICES OF THE TRANSITION: the transition movement comes to film
Voices of the Transition – english Trailer from les jardins on Vimeo.
Feeling paralyzed by news of environmental challenges like climate change, water shortages, and biodiversity loss? Fed up with political inaction and posturing on these issues? Groups of people around the world have decided to take matters into their own hands, and the transition movement represents efforts to by towns, villages, and even countries to adapt to changing environmental circumstances, to lighten their impact, and to even create more meaningful ways of life.
Green tech finds
eople-powered gyms, transmitting from turtles in Illinois, and combining flies and poop for good use… your green tech finds for the week.
- The open-source solar concentrator: Designer Eerik Wissenz claims that his Solar Fire open source solar concentrator concept can harvest power at ten times cheaper than photovoltaics. Check it out in the video above… (via Earth Techling)
- New university trend — the human-powered gym: Powering exercise and recreation facilities with energy harvested from workout equipment is catching on at universities… the Sustainable Cities Collective takes a closer look at Drexel University’s approach. Read More »
Green tech finds (5/26/11)
Diaper-eating mushrooms, recycled oil booms, and global warming’s effects on your wi-fi signal… this week’s green tech finds.
- Solar and wind power for apartment dwellers: Jonathan Globerson’s Greenerator concept allows apartment dwellers to harvest both wind and solar power from their balconies. (via Inhabitat)
- GM recycling oil booms into Volt parts: Lots of oil booms left over from last year’s BP oil spill. Instead of letting them get tossed into landfills, GM is collecting these materials and recycling them into air-deflecting baffles for the Chevy Volt. (via Earth 911)
Green tech finds (4/14/11)
Lots of solar news this week… from a new efficiency record, to solar company corporate responsibility rankings, to a DIY solar cooker.
- Solar powered washing machines: They’re just one part of a test to see if people are ready for the smart grid in Breda, The Netherlands. (via Crisp Green)
- ENERGY STAR certification for senior facilities: Living and care facilities for elders are now among new commercial building types eligible for ENERGY STAR certification (via Earth Techling)
National PB&J Day: lower your lunch’s environmental impact
This Saturday, April 2nd, is National PB&J Day. While such an event seems aimed at our sense of childhood nostalgia, the folks at the PB&J Campaign have latched on to it (they didn’t add it to the calendar… they swear) as an opportunity to get us all thinking about the environmental impact of our lunch choices.
Read More »A global warming documentary even a greedy bastard could love
Tried arguing climate change science with someone who doesn’t buy it? Yeah, it’s tough… and getting tougher. Even as the science itself becomes more clear, fewer people are concerned about global warming and its effects. It’s enough to make a good greenie bang his/her head against the wall, or just move to a cave.
Or… we could just stop arguing about it.
Read More »A new financial model for growing coffee in a warming world
The global Fair Trade movement has done a stellar job of highlighting the economic plight of coffee farmers in the developing world, many who barely eke out a living growing one of the world’s most heavily traded commodities. And while Fair Trade has always had an environmental element to it, that may become more pronounced as these farmers become some of the first victims of global climate change.
Minnesota students address climate change, environmental justice in hip hop video
How do you get a group of urban high school students interested and involved in issues like climate change and environmental justice? Connecting it to the music they love is a good bet… and we’ve already seen how hip hop’s worked as a tool for engaging target audiences on topics ranging from local, healthy food to the damage created by plastic shopping bags.
Read More »Fate of the World: climate science meets PC gaming
Frustrated by the pace of climate policy in the US and around the world? Think you could do a better job of creating change that maintains economic and political stability while addressing the threat of global warming? Red Redemption, the British game maker who created the BBC’s popular Climate Challenge, is giving you a chance to prove your ability to save the planet with its new offering Fate of the World.
Read More »Hyperbolic crochet coral reef comes to the Smithsonian
According to the Smithsonian Institution, coral reefs have been called “the rainforests of the sea” for the incredible biodiversity they support. Also like their terrestrial counterparts, reefs are under constant attack from a variety of human impacts: from commercial fishing and diving to higher, more acidic oceans caused by climate change.
Read More »Want to fight global warming? Start eating insects
Animal agriculture has been on the climate change radar since (at least) 2006, when a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization claimed that “the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.” The common response to this news: eat lower on the food chain.
You probably understand “lower on the food chain” as “plants,” but Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis has a different take on this phrase: he thinks more people should eat insects.
Read More »How to promote your new hybrid car: host a global warming debate
If you’ve ever been to one of the big auto shows, you know that big announcements by the car companies often have many of the makings of a rock concert. For its promotion of the new CT 200h compact hybrid at the New York Auto Show, Lexus took a totally different approach: it hosted a debate on climate change.
Read More »Online gonzo documentary SOUTHERN TIER explores environmental attitudes… on bikes
Project: Southern Tier PROMO from Jeff Hyland on Vimeo.
Traveling cross-continent by human power isn’t new: Peter Jenkins walked across the US in the seventies, and Terry Fox attempted a run across Canada in 1980. Producer Jeff Hyland, along with long-time friend Mike Tryon set out on January 1, 2008 to do something similar: cross the continent by bike along the Southern Tier of the United States. And just as Jenkins and Fox set out on their journeys to answer questions and support causes, Hyland and Tryon’s nearly four month bike ride was dedicated to exploring the question “In a world of environmental change, where are we at?”
Read More »New Jersey global warming skeptic loves his solar panels
Lifelong Jersey City resident Adam Szpala describes himself as a climate change skeptic. And cap-and-trade programs? He “thinks [they're] crazy when the economy is suffering as it has been,” according to The Jersey City Independent.
But this contractor and rental property owner loves him some solar panels… and plunked down $45,000 four years ago to install them on his own house as well as the building next door he rents out. His incentive: cost savings on energy. Because he lives in New Jersey, which has had some of the most generous rebate programs in the country (they’ve dried up some lately), he’ll likely recoup his initial investment in just a few more years. He saves about $200 a month on electricity, and also receives Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) payments to the tune of around $7000 a year.
Read More »National Building Competition challenges competitors to “work off the waste”
What’s the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States? Vehicles and energy production receive a lot of attention, but the building sector is actually the biggest contributor to climate change… and 17% of total US emissions come from commercial buildings.
To highlight those facts, and promote building efficiency, the Department of Energy and EPA’s ENERGY STAR program launched the National Building Competition yesterday, which pits fourteen commercial buildings against each other in “a coast-to-coast contest … to save energy and fight climate change.”
Read More »Earth Week action: plant a tree
Yep, it’s time of year again… Earth Day is just a few days away. What actions do you have planned to decrease your environmental footprint? The Conservation Fund has an idea: plant a tree. Its Go Zero campaign is working “to acquire land on behalf of national and state parks or wildlife refuges and to [...]
Read More »Sex, drugs, and carbon emissions: Pearl Jam to offset ’09 tour
Is there such thing as a green rock star? I know my colleague Chris Baskind of More Minimal doesn’t think so: adding up the environmental impact just from touring makes the concept difficult to swallow.
While I agree with Chris in principle, I’ve got to admit that I like any genuine effort that a band makes to lighten its environmental footprint… and Pearl Jam’s announcement of its carbon mitigation strategy for last year’s world tour (as well as upcoming time on the road) has a lot to recommend it.
Read More »London Activates 10 Low Carbon Zones
Low Carbon Zones across London sprang to life this week to help residents, schools and businesses go green, save money and create job opportunities at the same time. The Mayor of London awarded each of the 10 zones a share of three million pounds to fund the program that aims to cut city’s carbon dioxide emissions 20.12 percent by 2012.
Read More »Coal State Senators Battle EPA to Control Greenhouse Gases
Senator Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, led a group of coal state senators in sending a letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Friday challenging the agency’s potential regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act.
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