June 2007 Archives

How Green Is Your Utility Company?

June 29, 2007 5:28 PM | 1 Comment
 
I was just surfing around, looking for green goodies, and I came across this site called The Daily Green, The Consumer’s Guide to the Green Revolution, that featured a link to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tool called Power Profiler that you can use to compare your utility’s carbon footprint with that of the national average.
 
It’s as simple as entering your ZIP code, selecting your utility company, and clicking “Next.”
 
The results are two charts:
 
  • The first chart compares the fuel mix used to generate electricity in your region of the power grid to the national fuel mix.
  • The second chart compares the average air emissions rates in your region of the power grid to the national average emissions rates.
 
It’s a nifty little look at how your utility stacks up to the rest of the nation.
 
Check out the EPA’s Power Profiler for yourselves.

Green Theme at France Investment Confab

June 29, 2007 7:56 AM | 0 Comments
This just in from EuroNews.net…
 
Apparently the environment is a major theme at an annual investment conference going on in France.
 
The report says that the 900 business leaders taking part in this year’s “La Baule World Investment Conference” are jazzed about the green opportunity. Billed as “An executive Platform for Attractiveness Key Players” the goal of the conference is to find a shared response to the many challenges facing Europe.
 
Going green is indeed a challenge and an opportunity, and goodness knows green can be very “attractive.”
 
One of the more interesting comments is from Jacque Guer, head of Xerox in France, who told EuroNews.net that his firm is constantly working on new and revolutionary developments.
 
Said Guer:
 
“We’re developing technology that lets you print a document in the morning, and you can read it during the day, and then 16 hours after you printed it, the paper becomes blank again so you can reuse it. So, you see that behind this green technology there are real business and competitive advantages, and it’s not just something that’s trendy.”
 
The word from France is that we are on the cusp of the next big environmental sales opportunity — green power for businesses — with the opening up of the French and Italian energy markets on 1st July.
 
Check out the report for yourselves.
 

eBilling Incentive Program

June 28, 2007 5:10 PM | 0 Comments
It turns out that my utility company, Orange & Rockland (O&R) has an electronic billing incentive program.
 
For every customer that signs up to receive their monthly utility bill via e-mail,O&R will plant a tree.
 
According to the O&R site:
 
If all U.S. households viewed and paid their bills electronically, we would save 18.5 million trees, avoid 2.2 billion tons of toxic air pollutants and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste, and save 15.8 billion gallons of precious water.
 
 

Waste Management To Create Renewable Energy

June 28, 2007 2:12 PM | 0 Comments
Waste Management today announced a major initiative to expand its roster of landfill gas to energy (LFGTE) facilities.
 
The goal of the program is to create 60 additional renewable energy facilities by 2012, and to generate approximately 700 megawatts of clean renewable energy. That’s equivalent to over 8 million barrels of oil.
 
They hope to bring 10 more facilities online in 2007.
 
For more information, check out this article.

Halestar Intros 'Green' Remote Access Solution

June 28, 2007 9:56 AM | 0 Comments
‘Green technology’ can be defined in a variety of different ways, because there are different methods for reducing the impact of human activity on the environment. The term in the context of this blog generally refers to technology that itself directly reduces environmental impact—by, for example, using less power or being manufactured out of reused or recyclable materials.
 
Another way that technology can be ‘green,’ though, is indirectly helping people walk lighter on the earth by reducing their need to use natural resources like fossil fuels. One company that’s taking this approach to ‘green tech’ is Helestar, a security engineering company based in Connecticut and southern Virginia.
 
Halestar on Tuesday announced a new solution designed to let employees work from home without losing access to the corporate system. By providing employees with the tools to securely access the company network from home, Halestar hopes to promote the ‘green’ practice of enterprise mobility.
 
The telecommuting solution offered Halestar works regardless of what laptop an employee owns or which PBX the company has installed. The solution uses remote-access-point technology anchored by a WLAN controller from Aruba that’s installed on the corporate network. This lets employees create an IPSec tunnel back to the controller from a remote location.
 
The IPSec tunnel utilizes the corporate LAN’s security features to protect the company network; the armor provided by SSIDs, 802.1x authentication and encryption, wireless counter-measures, firewalls and network access restrictions is kept intact.
 
Perhaps best of all, the solution requires no end-user configuration and no updates. The simplicity of the solution, and the fact that it addresses wireless security, Helestar is betting, will help drive adoption of remote access as a way to be more ‘green.’
 
“People are starting to think about the cost of commuting, and the impact they’re having on the world while they are sitting there idling in rush-hour traffic,” Halestar’s president, Kevin Dowd, said in a statement.
 
Halestar calculated that, for most businesses, deploying this solution will pay for itself in about 10 months. That’s based on a scenario in which eight employees pay $10 each day for the privilege of working from home. The company noted that third-party leasing and managing is also available as a way to eliminate out-of-pocket costs.
 
Hmm… maybe it isn’t so hard to be green.

Save the Planet... Recycle That Fax Machine!

June 27, 2007 10:36 AM | 1 Comment
 
I just received a bit of information that details some of the simpler ways that an enterprise can go green.
 
Decreasing paper consumption is obviously environmentally friendly. (Does anyone remember the paperless office dream?)
 
Another obvious eco-friendly move is to reduce wasteful use of electricity.
 
And planting flowers is another positive environmental touch, not to mention a decided improvement to the décor of most offices.
 
Well, one way to achieve all three goals is to take that old analog fax machine and turn it into a planter!
 
At least that’s what Steve Adams, vice president of marketing for MyFax, is suggesting.
 
According to a news release from Protus IP Solutions, the provider of the MyFax Internet fax solution:
 
Because Internet faxing is a digitally centric technology, it allows users to send and receive documents via e-mail. That means there are no fax machines or fax servers taking up valuable space, constantly using electricity and creating carbon dioxide. Instead, with an Internet fax service like MyFax, the computer where someone receives the email fax does not need to be on to accept the transmission; it only needs to be running when someone is actually working on the computer.
 
There are other environmental issues that make Internet faxing a socially responsible technology to adopt as well. Dangerous bleaching chemicals such as chlorine, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide are used as whitening agents to make fax paper. Fax machines also require ink cartridges, which ultimately take up precious landfill space unless they are recycled.
 
 

Survey: Green Is Good, But How Do I Get There?

June 26, 2007 4:44 PM | 0 Comments
As industry-wide recognition of the need to go green accelerates, companies are realizing that it’s one thing to get behind an environmentally friendly green initiative; it’s quite another challenge to actually do something about it.
 
A recent survey by the Green Technology Initiative (GTI), a UK-based organization that is in some ways similar to the U.S.-based Green Grid, found that the overwhelming majority of British businesses (95%) believe that reducing our carbon footprint is critical to an overall green strategy.
 
Ironically, about 70% of those surveyed have no target to reduce their own carbon footprint.
 
Dan Sutherland, founder of GTI, said: “What we are doing in IT today is not sustainable. Systems efficiency is the cheapest and easiest way of reducing the carbon footprint of the work you do and delivered properly it has the benefit of bringing down costs across the board. Whilst undoubtedly UK enterprises are willing to take action, many lack the incentive, knowledge and resources to make immediate changes.”
 
The survey also found that many expect industry and government to take the lead in reducing harmful emissions.
 
The Green Grid is a consortium of information technology companies and professionals seeking to improve energy efficiency in data centers around the globe. The Green Grid is compriosed of nearly 70 member companies, including AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Rackable Systems, Spraycool, Sun, and VMWare, and others.
 
Founding partners of the Green Technology Initiative include Saatchi and Saatchi, Global Crossing, Carrenza, and edf Energy.

Texas Instruments Developing Low-power, 'Green' Products

June 26, 2007 3:55 PM | 0 Comments
One way to develop a ‘green’ technology product is to focus on reducing demand for power. This aspect of ‘greenness’ apparently has been forefront in the minds of developers at Texas Instruments, which announced Tuesday an initiative to create Ultra Low Power (ULP, formerly known as Wibree) Bluetooth-compatible products.
 
The company is leveraging its expertise with ZigBee, lower-power RF and mobile connectivity technologies to create power un-hungry products.
 
This initiative comes in the heels of the recent merger of Wibree Forum and Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), which created ULP as an open technology for wireless connectively between mobile devices and human interface devices (HIDs) such as wireless keyboards, watches, toys and sports sensors.
 
To develop new, low-power products, TI will be using its own radio technology (for the 2.4 GHz frequency), which meets ULP Bluetooth specifications. The goal? Drive the mass market adoption of wireless connectivity.
 
“TI fully supports the new ULP Bluetooth open technology and recognizes the need for a radio standard that will complement Bluetooth and ZigBee wireless technlogy for short- to medium-range wireless connectivity,” the company’s manager of strategic marketing for low-power wireless, Karl Helmer Torvmark, said in a statement.
 
Torvmark continued: “TI is committed to providing the market’s most competitive and comprehensive solutions for ULP Bluetooth wireless technology, which will enable customers to deliver complete, low-cost, low-power systems with shorter time-to-market.”
 
The company is developing low-power devices for two types of ULP Bluetooth implementations: single-node (watches, sensors and other very small devices) and dual-mode (communication with traditional Bluetooth-enabled products like mobile handsets).
 
TI said in its announcement that ZigBee and ULP Bluebooth are complementary technology; ZigBee is used for low-power, infrastructure-oriented mesh networking with thousands of nodes, and ULP Bluetooth is useful for linking smaller groups of nodes to devices like mobile phones and computers.
 
When it comes to being ‘green,’ it appears TI has the technology and expertise to help, in its own small way, to save the planet.

Green Technology in the UK

June 25, 2007 5:45 PM | 0 Comments
Businesses across the globe are looking to take responsibility for their environmental impact and to reduce the rate at which they're allowing global warming to occur.
 
Along with this responsibility has been an increased need for businesses to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint—or the amount of Co2 emissions created through daily activities.
 
But findings from one study conducted by The Green Technology Initiative reveal that UK businesses, while they are all for 'going Green' and understand that IT systems do play an important role in the big picture, have not taken action of their own to reduce the carbon footprint, but instead look to the Government, suppliers and hardware manufacturers to help reduce the impact.
 
The study's findings also reveal businesses just now beginning to do such things as turn off systems when not in use. Not a BIG step, but at least one in the right direction.
 
For more on the study and its findings read the article HERE.
 
 

Big Blue Goes Green

June 25, 2007 10:32 AM | 0 Comments
IBM is adding 80,000 square feet of green datacenter space to its existing Boulder Colorado facility. The plan calls for state-of-the-art technology that will help IBM reduce energy expenditures.
 
The new data center will serve as a proof of concept of IBM’s Project Big Green, which was announced in May. At the time IBM pledged to utilize new energy efficient products and services as part of their plan to reduce data center power consumption. The company redirected $1 billion per year across its businesses, with the goal of increasing the level of energy efficiency in IT. One impressive aspect of the initiative is the deployment of a global “green team” of more than 850 energy efficiency architects from across IBM.
 
 
According to the announcement heralding the Boulder data center:
 
IBM plans to install high density computing systems utilizing virtualization technology, along with its Cool Blue portfolio of energy efficient power and cooling technologies. These technologies, in conjunction with the energy efficient design and construction, will allow IBM to reduce its overall carbon footprint compared to standard data centers, and lessen the impact to the environment.
 
 
The State of Colorado and the City of Boulder are both pitching in with financial incentives and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is kicking in $632,000 and will work with IBM to establish a training program for the new data center workforce, as well as additional IBM employees.
 
The new, green data center is scheduled to begin operations in April of 2008.
 

Green Furniture

June 22, 2007 4:42 PM | 0 Comments
As the latest buzz for green technologies and awareness of environmental responsibilities continues to increase across industries, it might be interesting to know that not everyone is just catching up with 'the green'.
 
There are companies who have provided, for some time, solutions that reduced their environmental impact.
 
One area we typically don’t hear too much about, and that fits in well with TMC, call center furniture, made an interesting area to explore regarding their green efforts.
 
I had spoken with call center furniture provider Interior Concepts (www.interiorconcepts.com) some time ago on their recycling efforts, and thought it only right to follow up now and see how they're fitting into today's increasingly 'Green' world.
 
I uncovered some interesting information as well as the fact that the company actually has an Environmental Policy in place to ensure their environmental responsibilities are carried out.
 
For instance, most of Interior Concepts fabrics carry a Green-e certification meaning that 100% of the energy used to make their products is matched by Green-e certified renewable energy certificates.
 
Also, the company utilizes products that are already made with recycled materials to reduce the amount of 'virgin' materials needed in manufacturing.
 
Read the full article HERE
 
 
 
 

Google to be Carbon Neutral by Year's End

June 22, 2007 4:42 PM | 1 Comment
We’ve already discussed how Google and Intel have pledged their efforts to the green movement by launching the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.
 
Now comes word of Google promising to become carbon neutral by the end of the year.
 
The Google plan essentially has three parts:
 
  • Reduce energy consumption by maximizing efficiency;
  • Invest in and use renewable energy sources; and
  • Purchase carbon offsets for any remaining emissions.
In a recent entry on the Official Google Blog, Urs Hoelzle, Senior Vice President, Operations told readers about the self-assessment the company undertook before setting off on the green initiative.
 
"To calculate our carbon footprint, we took into account emissions from purchased electricity, employee commuting, business travel, construction, and server manufacturing. In a partnership with the Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), we have independently verified this assessment, and will do so every year."
 
Something this blogger was not aware of, most likely because I live 3,000 miles away from the Google green scene, is how big a focus transportation plays in the Google plan.
 
Apparently every day Google provides shuttle service for over 1,500 commuting employees in the San Francisco area. Google also offers employees a financial incentive for purchasing environmentally friendly cars.
 
Lastly Urs Hoelzle writes about Google’s ambitious plan to create 50 megawatts of new renewable generation capacity by 2012. According to Hoelzle, that’s enough to power 50,000 typical U.S. homes.

Go Green, Make Money

June 22, 2007 1:56 PM | 0 Comments
Greg Galitzine discusses an article in the Wall Street Journal about how going green can save you money. This is a great opportunity to let you know going green can also save you money and the tagline for TMC’s upcoming Green Technology World conference this September in Los Angeles, CA will in fact be “Save Money, Save the Environment.”
 
The URL for this event and the accompanying news portal will be www.greentechnologyworld.com.
 
Oh and by the way… Perhaps the tagline is a bit limiting. In any event it is great to be involved in a market where we can create a better world for our children and at the same time save money or make it. There are few market spaces where you can feel good about what you do while benefiting financially.
 
When you go green, your children will thank you twice.
 
Who will come to the Green Technology World conference? Decision makers in data centers, datacom executives, telecom executives, CXOs, entrepreneurs, investors and others who are interested in learning about green technology and want to network with their peers from around the world.

WSJ on Green Investment Opportunity and Risk

June 22, 2007 11:53 AM | 0 Comments
“It’s not just tree huggers who think about global warming. There’s money to be made, and people want to know how to make it.”
 
So says Holly Isdale, managing director and head of wealth advisory at Lehman Brothers, in the June 21, 2007 edition of The Wall Street Journal in an article by Jilian Mincer.
 
The article discusses the opportunity for investors and how researchers at leading investment banks are generating reports on risk and opportunity within the green investment sector. These investment banks include the likes of Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and UBS.
 
Some of the things that these firms are taking into account when reporting on potential investment targets are whether or not these companies are well positioned in the market by virtue of their technology (that helps the world go green) or their adoption of technology (taking advantage of a changing market).
 
The Journal article maintains that investing in green is risky business.
 
However, in spite of the risks several European-based investment funds are developing a successful track record, and the aforementioned US investment banks all offer some way to invest in the greening economy.
For more on opportunities in the Green Technology market, bookmark TMC's Green Blog for future reference.

New Smog Standards

June 22, 2007 9:28 AM | 0 Comments
The EPA is proposing tougher smog rules. Otherwise known as ground-level ozone, smog has been linked to breathing problems with children and adults. Much of the Midwest would be in violation of these new rules. Illinois will be hit especially hard. Here are the details from the Chicago Tribune.

Red, White, And ... Green?

June 22, 2007 7:26 AM | 0 Comments
The U.S. House of Representatives Chief Administration Officer issued a report yesterday that pledges to slash the House’s energy consumption by up to 50% by 2017.
 
In a “Green the Capitol” initiative the House also pledges that it will operate in a carbon-neutral manner within 12 months.
 
A series of environmental programs will be put into effect in order to reach the goals outlined in the report. For example, purchasing electricity generated from renewable sources, installing energy efficient lighting, reducing the use of coal at the Capitol power plant and switching to hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles are all elements of the plan.
 

New Fuel Economy Standards

June 21, 2007 9:00 PM | 0 Comments
The Senate voted today to require average fuel economy of 35 miles per gallon for new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs by 2020, raising efficiency standards that have not changed significantly for nearly twenty years. While many politicians ands automakers oppose the bill as they say it is impossible to comply with, I believe this is not entirely accurate.
 
If we as a nation (the US) decided we wanted to drive environmentally friendly cars like in Europe I believe this new goal would be relatively easy to achieve. The reality of course is we are horsepower and space hungry nation when it comes to our vehicles and more is better.
 
The automakers can achieve the near-impossible (anti-lock brakes, stability control, airbags, etc) but the real miracle is producing cars that are super-energy efficient and fly off the lots. So far the Toyota Prius has achieved both goals but it may be possible for other automakers to come up with a similar design idea.
 
I just hope American car companies don’t spend too much time trying to influence politicians instead of working to compete effectively in this new green world we live in.

Airline Industry Needs to go Green

June 21, 2007 8:47 PM | 0 Comments
Just how bad is the airline industry for the environment and worse, when will it get better? This article puts it all in perspective.

Don’t Bite that Apple

June 21, 2007 5:51 PM | 0 Comments
Apple is the one company that can do no wrong. If there is one weakness the company has it is lack of concern for the environment. At least according to this article, Apple is near the bottom of the list when it comes to carbon footprint and doing what it can do preserve the environment. Ouch.
 
Well at least their products look nice.smile

Save the Planet

June 21, 2007 5:42 PM | 0 Comments
Here are some unique perspectives on going green and in fact are five things you can do to go green – or at least save the planet. It is up to you to decide which is more importantwink. Ideas in the article are electing Al Gore for President and not buying anything from China. If you want to know the hows and whys, be sure to read more here.

UN: Renewable Energy Investment Hits $100 Billion

June 21, 2007 8:45 AM | 0 Comments
Renewable energy is among the most notable areas when it comes to “green” investment. Among the specific renewable energy opportunities attracting funding are wind power, solar power, and biofuel.
 
According to a report by the United Nations environment Program (UNEP), investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency is booming.
 
Investment in renewable energy has soared year on year from 2005 to 2006, rising from $80 billion to $100 billion. The report authors declare that “although still volatile… [growth] is showing no sign of abating.”
 

Canada Green Technology Incentives

June 20, 2007 1:13 PM | 0 Comments
In Canada it is good to be in the green technology business as the government gives you incentives to do so. This is great news for the region’s automakers and others. How much can you get? Well that remains to be seen. The fund to make this happen is $650 million though. That equates to quite a few Priuses and even more bicycles and even more sneakers.wink
 
More from AHN.

Ontario Pledges $650 Million for Green Technology

June 20, 2007 10:55 AM | 0 Comments
The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Ontario, Canada is pledging up to $650 million in provincial funding to develop green cars and other technologies in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 
Premier Dalton McGuinty outlined a set of parameters for enterprises looking to qualify for the funding. According to the Citizen, companies would have to “demonstrate they can secure jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help establish Canadian leadership in research and expertise.”
 
“We’re after clean cars, clean fuels, clean technology,” said McGuinty. “We’re saying to entrepreneurs ... come talk to us. If you can create more jobs and bring down greenhouse gases, we want to talk.”
 
 

Carbon Calculator

June 20, 2007 10:51 AM | 0 Comments
There is no better way to educate the world’s youth than to actually put things in terms they understand. When it comes to carbon footprint there are a few ways of doing this. One is to make a really intriguing videogame where the main character goes from scene to scene with a massive vacuum cleaner and sucks up carbon emissions.
 
Another idea is to develop a cellphone-based carbon calculator for this demographic so people can see to what extent they contribute to global warming, etc. In addition this application suggests steps you can take to reduce your footprint. Here are the details from Scenta in the UK.

Green Investing

June 20, 2007 6:46 AM | 0 Comments
What is the best and worse green technology investment? Well established engineering businesses and geothermal plays may make the most sense according to analysts. This article has a brief overview of the opportunities in Australia. Ideas worth noting are do not invest in companies without a track record – unless you are into taking big risks. In addition, consider a fund of green technology investments instead of finding a single company to get behind.

Green Hiring May Be Illegal

June 19, 2007 6:04 AM | 0 Comments
In the perfect green world we would all commute no more than a few miles to work and do so in vehicles which require the least amount of fuel. In this scenario employees could even bike or walk to work on many days. Imagine how much energy would be saved in fact in an efficient distribution of workforce talent to companies located near where the talent lives.
 
The only problem here is it may be illegal for employers to ask questions about the vehicle employees drive or where they live. You certainly aren’t allowed to make a hiring decision about someone because they live at a certain address.
 
These rules of course are there to ensure companies do not discriminate but it may in fact also ensure companies are not able to minimize their carbon footprint effectively.
 
While I am no HR expert, it seems there may be a need to loosen up a hiring regulation or two so companies with a  green conscious can act more responsibly.

SoCal Entreprenuer Sets Sights On Consumer Market

June 18, 2007 8:47 AM | 0 Comments
I’m not sure the “R US” folks who sell all those Toys and cribs and strollers, etc… will be too thrilled when they hear the name of this company, but they may very well be interested in sampling their wares in the hopes of greening up their operations…
 
The San Diego Business Journal has a great article on a firm called EnergyBusters-R-US. The Southern California company makes 5- and 10-kilowatt power generators using “active micro turbine technology,” a solution that has its origins in the aerospace industry.
 
According to the article, the EnergyBusters-R-US generators are
 
…designed to replace utility companies’ grid-connected power with an air conditioner-sized power generator that sits on the side of a building and connects to standard residential and commercial fuse boxes.
 
According to company president and CEO Anthony Mormann,
 
“It’s about keeping it green, and a commitment to being a first-class supplier of sustainable and environmentally conscious power generation for homes, businesses and transportation for the 21st century and beyond.”
 
Currently targeting restaurant food chains, home-builder supply stores, and major consumer retail stores, Mormann believes that the increasingly green conscious consumer market holds tremendous potential for such a product, and in fact, he hopes to see the generators available at stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s before too long.
 

Toyota Valvematic

June 18, 2007 7:24 AM | 0 Comments
Toyota is introducing a green technology known as Valvematic which should allow cars to become 5 to 10 percent more efficient by 2010. The company is working on revamping all its cars and transmissions to be more energy efficient. Of course coming from Toyota, the company who brought us the Prius, we would expect nothing less.
More from CNET.

Green Airplane Engines

June 17, 2007 12:51 PM | 0 Comments
It is comforting to know that while it seems all corporations and governments are under pressure from their customers and constituents to be green, the airplane market is absolutely no exception. See comments from Boeing about the amount of pressure the company is exerting on engine manufacturers to become more green.
 
According to this Reuters article Boeing is pressuring the following companies: GE, Rolls-Royce Plc and Pratt & Whitney.

GM Deploys Green Technology

June 17, 2007 7:12 AM | 0 Comments
GM built the world’s first electric car and although this experiment did not go as well as the company would have liked, the Detroit-based auto maker has not given up on green technology investments and research.
 
In fact, General Motors Corp. is moving more than 500 fuel cell experts from advanced development laboratories to core engineering functions to prepare fuel cell technology for future production.
 
More than 400 fuel cell engineers will report to GM’s Powertrain Group to begin production engineering of fuel cell systems. Another 100 will transfer to GM’s Global Product Development organization to start integrating fuel cells into future company vehicles. Finally, more than 150 fuel cell scientists and program support will remain as part of GM’s Research and Development center to continue advanced research in hydrogen storage, fuel cells and program commercialization.
The transition is aimed at expediting the company’s efforts to produce vehicles that displace petroleum through energy diversity.
“Eight years ago we said that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle technology could make a major contribution to solving the energy and environmental challenges facing the automobile industry,” said Larry Burns, GM Vice President, Research and Development. “Today’s announcement signals another important milestone as we move fuel cell vehicles closer to future production.”
 
This realignment is yet another initiative in GM’s commitment to displace petroleum usage in the auto industry through a range of propulsion alternatives, including:
  • E85-capable biofuel vehicles - GM is a leading producer with more than 2 million on the road today
  • GM’s 2-mode hybrid system for large city buses
  • GM’s Hybrid System in the Saturn Vue Green Line and Saturn Aura Green Line
  • Coming this fall, GM’s 2-mode hybrid system in the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon full-size SUVs, which provides a more than 25-percent improvement in fuel economy to what is already the industry’s most fuel-efficient large SUVs, with no compromises in performance or towing capability
  • Due next year, a front-wheel-drive 2-mode Saturn Vue Green Line that is expected to deliver up to a 45-percent improvement in combined city and highway fuel economy compared with the current non-hybrid Vue, based on current federal test procedures
  • Plans to produce a plug-in version of the 2-mode hybrid Vue Green Line that has the potential to achieve double the fuel efficiency of any current SUV
For more information on how General Motors is putting green technology into the hands of consumers read this well researched and detailed article from Envautomental.

Cold Ironing

June 16, 2007 5:04 PM | 0 Comments
Either my brain is taking a break or this article is confusing. Well perhaps it can be both at the same time. Regardless… It seems the shipping industry is considering going green and the Port of Oakland is experimenting with technology which allows ship to switch to electric power while docked.
 
Connecting to shore-based electricity to power the onboard systems while the ship is docked could eliminate as much as 1,000 pounds of exhaust pollutants during a single containership port call. Now this is one green technology we can all get behind.
 
This technique of connecting to power lines from shore is called cold ironing and a company called APL has developed a technology allowing cold ironing to take place for $225,000 per vessel as opposed to original industry estimates of 1.5 million. Boy that’s one expensive electric cord.smile

New Zealand PM on Carbon

June 16, 2007 11:02 AM | 2 Comments
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says arguments against traveling overseas or buying foreign food because of the carbon footprint are "idiotic" and not the way to tackle climate change. This according to Radio New Zealand. The Prime Minister goes on to say there are better ways to tackle global warming.
 
In separate news, new Zealand and Australia will be join forces to develop a compatible carbon trading system.
 
In my mind a carbon trading system would indeed reduce the number of flights and put pressure on people to reduce purchasing imported food. Somehow these two news items seem opposed to one another but perhaps the PM sees other ways to reduce carbon besides the ones she calls idiotic.

Carbon Footprint Secrecy

June 15, 2007 2:30 PM | 0 Comments
The issue of carbon footprint and the potential to be carbon neutral paired with using this information as a positive PR vehicle can be seriously hampered by a company’s need for secrecy. Google is not a huge fan of letting the world know how many servers it has and as such detailed “we are carbon neutral talk,” is seriously hampered. Here are some details on carbon footprints and secrecy from the Environmental Leader.

Carbon Neutral Campaign

June 15, 2007 12:08 PM | 1 Comment
Presidential candidate Chris Dodd who hails from TMC’s home state of Connecticut has announced a carbon-neutral campaign. The question is how many trees will Dodd’s campaign team have to plant at every stop along the campaign trail.
 
"All Americans have a role to play in securing our energy independence, and I'm excited that our campaign will do its part," said Dodd. "We must all do our share to begin turning the clock back on global warming and reducing our carbon footprint will go along way in stopping global climate change."
 
Dodd has teamed with the Carbon Fund actually to deal with the carbon offsets needed to make this a reality.