Sundance Channel

Green tech finds: Wildlife goes virtual, Farmville gets real

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:09:28 +0000

Assembly lines rolling out the Focus Electric: Think Nissan's the only game in town for a true electric vehicle? Not anymore: Ford's started production of its 2012 Focus Electric in Michigan. (via @edbegleyjr) Ranger Rick comes to the iPhone: Your kids bug you to play games on your smartphone? The National Wildlife Federation has created a way to make sure they're learning something. The new Ranger Rick mobile apps provide games for kids as young as 2 (yes, 2!) to sharpen their knowledge about wild animals.

Brits incentivize walking to school

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 16 May 2011 21:58:45 +0000

Walking to school seems like a quaint notion from decades past: whether for reasons of safety or convenience, the bus, the carpool, or the drop-off on the way to work have become the ways kids get to their schools. While the first two methods are definitely greener than the last, all deprive kids of an opportunity to get some physical activity on a regular basis... and walking definitely has a much lower carbon footprint than any motorized means. In the UK, government agency Transport for London and company Intelligent Health have paired up to make walking more attractive for school kids... by offering rewards for getting to school on foot. The Step2Get program makes use of electronic cards that students swipe at various readers along designated routes, and a website were the kids can track their walks and rewards. Five walks to school earn a student a movie ticket; for eight walks, s/he receives a £5 shopping voucher.

The carbon-neutral, ultra-modern tiny house: The Cube Project

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:07:26 +0000

A tour of the Cube from Mike Page on Vimeo.

Think you could live in 100 square feet? Certainly, you'd have to do without some basic amenities, right... because you couldn't cram a kitchen, bath, bedroom, and living/dining area into that small a space?

Brits to offer green jobs training nationwide

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:00:12 +0000

Here in the US, community colleges are often at the forefront of training for emerging career fields... and we've seen that happening with various forms of green technology. That happens on a system-by-system basis here; in the UK, however, they're taking green job training nationwide with the launch of the new National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies.

Vimeo of the Week: The United Kingdom explained

Bradford Shellhammer — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:44:23 +0000

The United Kingdom Explained from C. G. P. Grey on Vimeo.

I never quite know what to say to people from the UK. I get confused. Unsure of myself. I stumble. But after seeing THE KING'S SPEECH I have become more interested in the UK and happened upon this fantastic video explaining what exactly makes up the UK. It's hilarious and enlightening. Though I am still very much confused.

A new financial model for growing coffee in a warming world

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:00:43 +0000

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.

Waste heat recovery from a crematorium: green or ghoulish?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:13:37 +0000

Waste heat recovery isn't nearly as sexy as solar panels or wind turbines... but it's a concept already proving its worth, with a lot of room for growth. It's also an idea that might strike most of us as pretty non-controversial; however, when the waste heat is coming from a crematorium, battle lines appear.

British biogas plant producing energy from sewage

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:45:38 +0000

As you can see in the picture above, the landscape of Didcot, Oxfordshire is dominated by cooling towers for coal and oil-fed power stations. Not the cleanest of energy sources, but, as of today, Didcot is contributing to greener energy generation in Great Britain as the home of the country's first biomethane station that produces gas from sewage.

Green tech finds (9/9/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 20:15:06 +0000

A bee beard for David Cameron, subway energy harvesting, and using search technology to identify endangered species... this week's green tech finds.

The Wolverine solar cell: Researchers at MIT actually looked to plants, not the X-Men, when creating a solar cell that "heals" its own UV damage.
Tweet for the honey bees: British marketing firm LBi has created a "twittition" (Twitter petition) to support honey bee populations in the UK. Each tweet added to the petition adds a bee to a "bee beard" on a likeness of Prime Minister David Cameron (shown above).

O2′s “Eco Ratings” for cell phones: green or greenwash?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:57:15 +0000

Today, British mobile network company O2 released its Eco Rating system, devised in conjunction with sustainable development organization Forum for the Future. The rating system is a laudable undertaking: cell phones use energy, can contain toxic materials, and provide yet another e-waste challenge... so having a "simple and transparent" system for sustainability information on phones can help consumers make smarter choices here. Unfortunately, it's hard to see how the O2 system really provides useful information in a transparent manner.

Pay as you save: British coalition government floats energy plan

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:30:31 +0000

At the federal level, the US tends to rely on various forms of tax incentives to spur consumer demand for energy efficiency and renewable installations. States and cities have tended to be a bit more creative in providing forms of up-front cost support, such as property tax financing and loan programs. Perhaps the feds should take a look at approach the new British government floated in yesterday's Queen's Speech: a "pay-as-you-save" loan program.

Weird green building technology: recycling scraps into dog food

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:33:14 +0000

What do you do with food scraps? OK, some of them probably go into the trash can or garbage disposal, but you may also compost vegetable and fruit peelings and leftovers. If you're really die-hard, you may even use a bokashi system, which allows you to compost meat and dairy scraps.

How sexy is your city?

Lux Alptraum — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:20:51 +0000

Ever wonder how sexy your city is? Well, if you’re based in the UK, you have a chance to find out: UK sex toy retailer LoveHoney has created the UK Sex Map, which uses data on sex-related spending to determine just how sexy different townships are. For example: the people of red hot Upminster spends [...]