Greg Galitzine : Green Blog
Greg Galitzine
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July 2007

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Burgers Far From Green

July 31, 2007

Eight Quarter Pounders generate the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as driving for three hours while burning a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. And you wonder why you get a stomach ache after you eat fast food. :-)   Here is the full article from Wired.

BMW Goes Green

July 30, 2007

Well perhaps they aren’t quite green yet but BMW, the car which provides us the self proclaimed “ultimate driving machines,” hopes to also bring us the “ultimate green driving machines.” This article details the company’s hydrogen plans. This is in addition to a plan the company has to recapture steam utilizing traditional internal combustion engines in order to yield a 15% or so increase in energy efficiency.

UK Based ISP Easynet goes Carbon Neutral

July 28, 2007

It seems to me the trend towards companies going carbon neutral is accelerating as companies like the UK’s Easynet are even pushing their partners to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint. Certainly, Easynet will make a great case study if they are able to truly achieve their carbon neutral goals.   Here is more from VNUnet in the UK.

The Real Carbon Footprint of a Web Page

July 26, 2007

If a banner ad falls in the woods, does anybody see it? Seriously, does a banner ad have a carbon footprint? Over at Internetnews.com, David Needle has a fascinating discussion about the whole banner ad Vs. print ad debate regarding carbon footprint. There is a discussion of the Green Grid and other socially and environmentally responsible ways to ensure your data center is as green as can be.   My take is the carbon footprint of a web ad requires an indirect calculation.

Plant a Tree for Six Dollars

July 25, 2007

For a paltry six dollars you can have a tree planted for you in order to soak up a ton of carbon dioxide. A federal agency the U.S. Forest Service and a non-profit group the National Forest Foundation came together to launch a website enabling e-commerce to help the financing of trees which should in theory reduce global warming by absorbing CO2.   Whether this is a good or bad move for the environment is debated in the following article but it is logical that deforestation can be combated by tree planting. There is no doubt we are wiping out forests at an alarming rate and this can’t be good for anyone.

Green Technology World Conference Program

July 25, 2007

Here is the conference program for Green Technology World Conference which takes place September 11-12th 2007 in Los Angeles, CA. Here are some of the sessions to give you an idea of what to expect:   TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 11, 2007

Top Ten Ways to be GREEN through Better Networking
Mark Leary, Senior Strategist, Cisco
In this connected world, our networks are front and center in our GREEN technology efforts. In this session, Cisco will outline the ten most significant networking technologies and techniques that are serving to ease our demands on the Earth’s resources. As the world’s premier provider of networking systems to enterprises, small and medium businesses, and service providers, Cisco is uniquely positioned to research, analyze, and forecast the impact of networking technology on GREEN initiatives.

Green Credit Card

July 25, 2007

Here is a credit card that gives back. To the environment that is. The new GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum MasterCard, allows you to forgo your 1% cash back and have this money go towards green causes.   G.E. will keep a running tally of the amounts, and each Earth Day it will use the total to buy offsets of greenhouse gas emissions. The offsets will be purchased by GE AES Greenhouse Gas Services, a joint venture between GE Energy Financial Services and the AES Corporation, a power company.   Here are the details from the NY Times (registration required).

Green Investment Up 45% - Report

July 24, 2007

According to Australian IT global investment in green technologies has increased tremendously in the past three years.   The Cleantech Venture Network reports that North American and European venture capital investment in “cleantech” hit $US3.6 billion last year, up 45 per cent from 2005 and more than double the $US1.7 billion pumped into the sector in 2004.   The article points to several examples, such as Bob Christiansen’s new $170 million Southern Cross Fund and Melbourne’s Starfish Ventures, both of whom are earmarking large amounts s of their funds under management for so-called “cleantech” deals.   For more, check out the following article.

Sacramento Greens Up Light Rail

July 23, 2007

Opportunities to “go green” are all around us. Public transportation has long been considered a useful tool in the march to save the environment. It’s become commonplace see alternative fuel buses in many municipalities across the United States.   Now the Sacramento Bee is reporting that the California capital has identified that city’s light rail system for an energy efficiency upgrade.   Call it the Prius effect.   Much like the systems Toyota uses in their hybrid vehicles, Sacramento hopes to take advantage of regenerative braking technology to capture energy to be used in helping the trains to accelerate out of the stations.   Energy created while braking will be captured and sent back into the lines that provide power to the light rail system.   According to the Sacramento Bee, forty percent of the energy from braking can be recovered and sent back to accelerating trains.

Mobile Phone Carbon Footprint

July 20, 2007

We have to strike a balance between energy usage and greenness. Mobile phone networks do consume tremendous amounts of energy but they are responsible for saving even more. Here are some details on the carbon footprint of mobile networks from greenbang.

American Airlines Plans Green Marketing Push

July 20, 2007

As I was flying back from a trip to the West coast, trying to calculate how much it would take to offset my carbon usage, I came across a Wall Street Journal report that said that American Airlines, the world’s biggest airline by passenger traffic, is preparing a marketing campaign to kick off in August to show off its green side.   Supposedly AA is receiving an increasing number of inquiries on the subject from both consumers and business travelers. Stay tuned for more as the airline rolls out its plans.   Maybe they can set up a program where frequent flyers can exchange their miles for carbon offsets.

Bahrain Pushes for Green Investment

July 20, 2007

  The greening of technology and the move to sustainability is by no means limited to North America and Europe. In fact in a recent blog entry, Rich points out that The Viet Nam Cleaner Production Center and the Swiss government have signed a $5 million contract to establish the Green Credit Trust Fund in Viet Nam. According the announcement:   Switzerland will sponsor the program’s initial development. The fund will be used to grant low interest loans for companies looking to buy modern, environmentally friendly technologies to up production.   Well, add Bahrain to the list of nations making the transition to green.   According to Jean Paul Carteron, chairman and founder of Crans Montana Forum, Bahrain has the financial wherewithal and the political will to become a leading green location by preserving environment and setting a new trend for a sustainable economic and financial developments.   Said Carteron:   “Clean technology is major concern in the world and the strategists view economic development in the perspective of profitable clean environment.”  

The World's Top Sustainable Stocks

July 20, 2007

SustainableBusiness.com announced its 2007 Sustainable Business 20 (SB20) List, which comprises the World’s Top Sustainable Stocks in their view.   According to the SustainableBuisiness.com Web site:   The SB20 list, in its sixth year, consists of 20 public companies that are having an important impact on creating an environmentally sustainable society.   Rona Fried, Ph.D., SustainableBusiness.com CEO and Editor of Progressive Investor, explained the reasoning for the list in a recent statement.   “Our goal is to create a list that showcases public companies that, over the past year, have made substantial progress in either greening their internal operations or growing a business based on an important green technology.”   The list of the SB20 is presented below, with companies appearing in Alphabetical order. It should be noted that this list is made up of a broad international group of companies, which is illustrative of the fact that green innovation is a truly global phenomenon.   On another note, Google was given an honorable mention, so one might consider them the 21st such company on the SustainableBusiness.com list.   Company Ticker Country Best Water Technology Vienna: BWT.VI Austria Canon NYSE: CAJ Japan Comverge Nasdaq: COMV USA Chipotle Mexican Grill NYSE: CMG USA First Solar Nasdaq: FSLR USA Fuel Tech Nasdaq: FTEK USA Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Nasdaq: GMCR USA Groupe Danone DANO.PA Netherlands Herman Miller Nasdaq: MLHR USA Interface Nasdaq: IFSIA USA Land Securities London: Land.L Britain NIKE, Inc. NYSE: NKE USA Novozymes Copenhagen: NZYM.CO Denmark Ormat Technologies NYSE: ORA USA Precious Woods Geneva: SWX: PRWN Switzerland Renewable Energy Corp. (REC) Oslo: REC.OL Norway Royal Philips Electronics NV NYSE: PHG Netherlands Schmack Biogas AG Germany: SB1B.DE Germany Vestas Copenhagen: VWS.CO Denmark Whole Foods Market Nasdaq: WFMI USA

Electronics Recycling Day at Fresno Fairgrounds July 28

July 19, 2007

Before you toss that old cell phone, television, stereo equipment or computer in the trash, stop, wait and think a minute.

Can it be recycled?

You bet it can. Maybe not the whole thing … but at least parts of it … all you have to do is get it to the right location. Items such as computers, stereos, TVs, mobile phones and home appliances can very often be refurbished and reused (for example, many consumers throw away fully functional computers, mobile phones and other electronics during upgrades). Perhaps more importantly, their parts can be recycled and made into new electronics components or other consumer products.



Vietnam Green Fund

July 19, 2007

I am intrigued with government initiatives such as this which allow for a trust fund to be set up whose purpose is to help companies go greener. In theory, companies in Vietnam of a certain size who qualify will be able to receive credits for reducing their carbon emissions. I wonder if something like this could take hold in the US.

Buy The Best or Greenest?

July 18, 2007

When it comes to IT should be green for the sake of the color or should we instead do what makes he most business sense? ComputerWorld has an interesting article on the topic and also delves into what happens when vendors tell little green lies.

CommuniClique Giving Away Saturn Hybrid, Launches ‘Go Green’ Campaign

July 16, 2007

CommuniClique, a provider of on-demand collaboration services using VoIP and other communication tools, realizes that for every person who telecommutes to work each day, there is one less car burning fossil fuel on the highway. Similarly, this environmentally conscious company realizes if you increase the number of hybrids on the road, air pollution can be reduced even further.

As such, CommuniClique is giving away a Hybrid Saturn Aura-Green in late September to its 3,000th customer. The company is doing this in the hopes that it can influence its customers “to make more environmentally friendly decisions when it comes to business applications.”

CommuniClique’s IP-based conferencing solutions enable the “virtual office,” where managers and executives can collaborate in real time, no matter where they are located. The service lets users communicate via secure, Web-based VoIP on a “pay-as-you-go” basis.



IBM and APC Go Green

July 15, 2007

It really pays to be green if you are a vendor focused on providing power-saving solutions. Witness IBM and APC winning a data infrastructure contract at Bryant University. Interestingly they replaced Sun equipment. In my meetings with Sun executives in the past I recall the California-based computer company was the first to tout their solutions as green. So I find this an interesting move.   Here are the details from CNNMoney.com.

Dennis Leary on Carbon Footprint

July 14, 2007

The comedian/actor jokes, "You can take the carbon footprint and stick it up my ass. I don't care, I'm using electricity as long as I'm on this planet. I love turning stuff on, I love having giant plasmas (TVs) everywhere. If I could drive an electric car with a plasma in it, I would. I don't care about how much electricity I'm using.   Here is more from The StarPulse News Blog.

Green Menu

July 12, 2007

I am very impressed with Neal Fraser who has designed a green menu meaning 90% of foods served come from within 400 miles. Of course Neal is in California which helps. In Kansas or TMC’s home state of Connecticut a similar strategy would result in meals of beef and corn I believe.   It really seems the green movement has legs and it is certainly being embraced across multiple sectors. Hats off to Neal. I hope he starts a green menu trend in restaurants around the world. For more check out this story by Reuters

Yahoo Green Center

July 12, 2007

I was perusing the Yahoo! Green Center and for the life of me I cannot understand why Honda and Toyota consistently beat American car companies when it comes to styling, innovation and now being green. The top four cars in terms of greenness are as follows:   Car Greenness (100 is best) 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid 86 2007 Toyota Prius 86 2007 Honda Civic GX NGV 85 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid 79   I just get the feeling the American car companies are just too macho to be the greenest. Well at least Ford has a great green hybrid SUV… The 2008 Escape at 34 MPG.

Fujitsu Siemens Primergy TX120

July 12, 2007

Since when did Fujitsu and Siemens start working together. This has to be the best kept secret around or I have just been napping on the job. But if your company is going to be such a well kept secret it helps that when you start to make noise that you introduce a server which has the lowest carbon footprint on the market.   The Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC) Primergy TX120 tower server's aimed at smaller businesses and branch offices. FSC suggests that's suited to office workspaces, along with distributed and SOHO applications such as retail in-store, back office servers and small office application servers.

The system includes either a 1.866GHz Intel dual-core Xeon 3040 processor with up to 4MB of L2 cache and a 1,066MHz FSB, or an Intel Celeron processor.

Save the Earth. Save a Buck. It's all good!

July 12, 2007

  I came across an article in Medill Reports. Medill Reports is written and produced by graduate journalism students at Northwestern University’s Medill school.   Medill reporter Elizabeth Ryan penned an interesting article entitled Six Tips On How To Save Green By Going Green. The premise of the article, “…doing something good for the environment is easier than you might think and can actually save you money, too…” is, to quote a colleague, “good business.”   It’s a big part of what the “mainstreaming” of green is all about.   Sure, every movement has its ardent proponents, who will be out there proselytizing their extreme message, like those who believe the Earth would be better off if the population dwindled to about 1 billion people, or that all air travel should be banned.   IMHO, that’s not “good business.”   But following simple guidelines and living a lifestyle where we are cognizant of how big a wake we leave behind, and working to minimize the impact we have on the environment is good business. Doubly so, when it’s good for business.   Back in my college television news courses we used to joke about the cliché “Fun. And for a good cause.” But I still believe if we’re able to ‘do good’ for the environment and save (or make) money while we’re at it, there’s nothing wrong with that.   ...     The point is that Elizabeth Ryan wrote an interesting article.

Big Green

July 11, 2007

IBM is partnering with top tier investors to help new green technology companies become successful. IBM is able to supply knowledge, experience and even sales leads to promote their new environmentally conscious partners. Here is more from CNN Money.

Shared Computing for a Greener World

July 11, 2007

Calgary, Alberta-based Useful Corporation announced that their DiscoverStation solution has prevented over 13,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere. In what’s becoming a standard measure of CO2 emissions, that’s equivalent to taking 2,300 cars off the road.   The solution is brilliant in its simplicity. Userful notes that:   …desktop computers sit idle virtually the entire day while we read or type. DiscoverStation leverages this unused computing power to create an environmentally efficient alternative to traditional desktop computing.

Green Technology Video

July 10, 2007

Thanks to Suzanne Bowen of DIDx who took the time to interview me and post the resulting interview online. Here is an excerpt from the post:   Listen and see Rich Tehrani discuss these issues and invite you to participate in the world's first Green Technology World™ Conference. Watch the video above.

You've got to attend, sponsor, speak at, exhibit, network, and/or develop business at Green Technology World™ Conference Sept 11-12, 2007 in Los Angeles. A few thousand of Super Technologies, Inc.'s DIDXchange membership will be there taking advantage of this extremely relevant event.

Learn about and share methods, tips, processes, services, and products that promote "Green Technology." Some examples brainstormed in a short meeting among DIDXchange members at NXTCOMM 2007 this past week: meet your potential business all at once at conferences instead of flying to meet one entity per trip; walk, rent a bike, or take the bus or train while at conferences; teleconference, videoconference; partipate in IP collaboration and/or peering like Arbinet, Xconnect, and DIDXchange; virtualize servers by dividing one physical server into multiple virtual ones; using "e-business and e-government tools" rather than hard copy methods for banking, purchasing, documentation sharing; and use more eco-friendly environments such as RFID and M2M.



Greenocrite Hunt

July 10, 2007

I am growing increasingly concerned by people who are eager to point out greenocrites everywhere they look. Madonna is the latest target as a fund she controls has been shown to have investments in companies which are environmentally unfriendly.   Look, I write for a green blog but I do not live in a cave. I pledge to be concerned about the environment and do my part to make it better. I will not however give up every creature comfort which creates waste or uses electricity.   If Madonna’s investments aren’t as green as they can be she has the option to change them.

Missing The Boat on Green?

July 9, 2007

As all stories have two sides, with the truth lying somewhere near the middle, so too is the green movement beset by fanatical proponents who would ration each man, woman, and child’s toilet paper allotment on the one side, to rabid naysayers who would go out of their way to point out any shortcoming in the green agenda on the other.   I ran across an article about New Zealand property tycoon Sir Robert Jones, and his belief that the sustainable or green building movement is simply put, “a fashionable inanity” and a “fad that will be forgotten in as little as four years.”   My crystal ball is at the cleaners, so I can’t say for sure what the future holds, but I wonder if this will be the defining “missed the boat” moment for Jones.   I’m reminded of several now infamous comments from the early days of computing (courtesy of http://ifaq.wap.org/computers/famousquotes.html):   “Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.” – Popular Mechanics, 1949   “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943   “I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processings is a fad that won’t last out the year.” – The editor in charge of business books for Prentice-Hall, 1957   “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of DEC     I wonder if “fashionable inanity” will be added to the list of comments under the heading “Green Movement.”

Live Earth Recap

July 9, 2007

Here is a great recap of the Live Earth discussion… The good, bad and ugly.

Live Earth Generates 10 Million Simultaneous Live Video Streams

July 9, 2007

According to Microsoft, over 10 million people had streamed live video of the Live Earth concerts that took place on Saturday 7-7-07. According to the Redmond software maker, their portal, MSN can now boast of having the most simultaneous viewers of any concert online.   The concert Web site, http://www.LiveEarth.msn.com, will continue to offer archives and on-demand footage of all the performances, along with artist interviews, backstage footage, searching capabilities for specific songs, artists and more, for the next several weeks.   According to Joanne Bradford, corporate vice president and chief media officer of MSN:   “History is being made today. Millions of people around the world have joined together to fight the climate crisis. The over 10 million streams MSN has delivered so far today represent a milestone in live Internet broadcasting.

Did Live Earth Mean Anything?

July 9, 2007

Absolutely according to this article from Time Magazine. The article on the topic does talk about the concept of just staying home as a better way to cut carbon emissions. But in the end, as the author points out… If these events make the concert-goers [and the rest of the world] change their carbon emitting ways and also push politicians to promote such policies, then the concert was worthwhile.

Live Earth Awareness

July 8, 2007

It is pretty amazing to be sitting here listening to Live Earth concerts around the globe all directed at raising awareness regarding the environment. Can all these concerts help make the world a better place for our kids? Yes. If this event can get so many band members who are not speaking to one another to perform onstage together, it can accomplish anything.

Chicago Goes Green

July 8, 2007

Chicago like many other cities is trying to become the epicenter of green technology and manufacturing. With financial incentives like promising to buy 5 million dollars worth of green technology from solar thermal energy companies, it seems possible that Chicago could become an epicenter of green technology manufacturing and implementation. Here is more on what the city is doing.

Live Earth More Good Than Harm

July 7, 2007

Greg has a post titled Live Earth More Harm Than Good? Which points out the negatives associated with producing massive amounts of carbon gas in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon gas we generate. Quite a dilemma, right?   Really, the naysayers are wrong on this one.

Germany Harnesses Wind

July 7, 2007

In the German green movement, the government has decided to take some subsidies away from the solar industry and apply them to wind farms. The solar industry of the country is not happy and is concerned competition from Asia will make it more difficult to compete. Still, industry spokespeople believe the subsidies could have been cut more and are not entirely displeased. See more from Red Herring.

Live Earth More Harm Than Good?

July 6, 2007

A reader posted a comment to the Live Earth Update blog entry, essentially asking if it wasn’t a contradiction to even have an event, which would by its very nature generate lots of trash and generate huge amounts of carbon with all the private jets and flights and equipment transport, etc…   An article from the Associated Press reveals that the person who read that blog entry is far from alone with that concern.   Critics claim that the negative impact of the Live Earth concerts is at odds with that organization’s green goal of raising awareness for climate change.   Even Roger Daltrey, lead singer for rock group the Who, chimed in:   “The last thing the planet needs is a rock concert.”   To maintain its green integrity, Live Earth is implementing “green event guidelines”   According to the AP story, the guidelines are:
  • All electricity that powers the shows will be from renewable sources;
  • Concessionaires will be encouraged to use suppliers of biodegradable plastics;
  • Waste will be minimized through recycling and reuse;
  • Venue offices will use as little energy as possible;
  • Production lighting will include the use of LED light bulbs;
  • Staff and artist air travel will be offset through carbon credits; and
  • Ground travel will be by hybrid or high-efficiency vehicles where possible.
  Former Veep Al Gore was adamant:   “This is going to be the greenest event of its kind, ever.

Live Earth Update

July 6, 2007

Washington D.C. can now officially be added to the roster of host cities for the Live Earth concert series. Al Gore himself announced the addition of our Nation’s capital as the latest venue.   The D.C. concert will take place on the Mall, and will feature singers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. The Museum of the American Indian has agreed to host the event and Native American musical group Blues Nation will perform as well.   Also, the concert planned for Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will proceed as originally planned.

Live Earth Set to Rock for Change

July 5, 2007

  In order to pull the world together to confront issues that affect us on a global scale, one of the most successful methods of rallying people to a cause is through music. Live Aid/Band Aid, USA for Africa, Farm Aid, The Concert for Bangladesh, Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast, America: A Tribute to Heroes… these events have all raised countless millions for those in need and most importantly raised awareness of various issues.   Standing on the shoulders of all of these events, Live Earth is set to take center stage on July 7 (7-7-07).   To call it an ambitious undertaking is understating the parameters of the event. Live Earth will last 24 hours, span 7 continents, and bring together over 100 musical artists and 2 billion people in the hopes of “triggering a global movement to solve the climate crisis.”   According to the Live Earth Web site:   Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group and other international organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Former U.S.

Are You a Greenocrite?

July 5, 2007

I have to agree partially with Tom Young of VNUNET when he says companies have to do more to be really green. It is easy to make announcements but backing them up is always a challenge. Still, the trend towards thinking green has improved corporate recognition that organizations can make the world a better place and save money at the same time.   I always have to wonder though, when I hear stories about people driving more than 100 MPH in a Toyota Prius… To be green must we change every aspect of our lives? In other words, are you better off driving 100 MPH in a Hummer than a hybrid?   The point is, are we too focused on calling each other out if we are not as green as possible?

Corporate Carbon Footprints

July 4, 2007

Yesterday I discussed carbon calculators and it is no surprise that there are so many ways to calculate your carbon footprint. Forbes decided to tackle the corporate carbon footprint concept in an article today and surprise – the article also details how complicated it is to calculate carbon emissions for companies.   But it seems that Starbucks can attribute about two ounces of carbon to the environment for every cup of coffee it serves. This doesn’t include the carbon needed to transport the coffee from store to store. Interestingly, one wonders if it makes sense to not take into consideration whether buying coffee at a retail outlet results in more carbon emissions than brewing the coffee yourself.

Canalys Asks Who is Willing to Pay More for 'Green' Technology

July 3, 2007

With all the talk about ‘being green’ these days, it can be easy to forget that environmentally-conscious products may cost more to make and/or buy, in terms of dollars, than their less earth-friendly counterparts. Industry research firm Canalys recently decided to take a closer look at this topic.   During April, Canalys conducted an online survey of more than 2,000 employed, adult mobile phone and PC users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. The first asked these respondents if they would pay more for technology products and services produced in a ‘green’ manner.   By ‘green,’ Canalys here meant products and services for which manufacturers/providers made reducing the impact on global warming a focus.

Carbon Footprint Calculators

July 3, 2007

Here is a list of carbon footprint calculators. If you are interested, Nigel’s Eco Blog will be testing some of these over the next few weeks. I tried the BP calculator (Flash version) out and was pretty surprised at how large a footprint a single household can have. This is especially true as my business requires me to be on an airplane constantly.   Awareness is certainly something that will help reduce carbon emissions.

Big Green Day

July 3, 2007

It has been a pretty green day so far today with lots of news to keep our green loving readers on the edge of their carbon-free seats. For example, Cadbury Schweppes will be cutting its net absolute carbon emissions By 2020, the confectionery company famous for its Cadbury chocolate Easter eggs and other sweets intends to slash half of its net absolute carbon emissions, with at least 30 percent from in-company actions.
"We recognize that if we are serious about tackling climate change, we need to be 'absolutely' committed," said Cadbury Schweppes CEO Todd Stitzer in a statement. "This means re-thinking the way we do business, embedding sustainability into every decision we take."   Salon has an article about carbon credits which explains a bit about how the system works and moreover talks about politicians and companies supporting such initiatives.   Finally, here is a brief article with some links to carbon footprint reducing resources.

GM Goes Green with ecoFlex

July 2, 2007

GM is really pushing green with its ecoFlex line of cars. The first will be a Corsa with a 1.3L diesel putting out 119g/km of CO2.   Between now and 2012 GM will also introduce sixteen new engine families and ten transmissions as well as introducing flex-fuel engines in European Chevrolet, Opel and Vauxhall models.   The question is, will the company who sells us the Hummer be able to shake its fuel-thirsty, environmentally unfriendly image? The answer just may be yes as the company is said to be looking to put more economically friendly engines into Cadillacs to start.   Read more at Envautomental.

The Benefits of Green

July 2, 2007

If you are interested in seeing how companies are benefiting from the move to greener technologies, please read these quotes contained in an article on CNN.   "It's both great business and a good business -- great in that it is generating real orders and revenue ... and good in the burnishing effect our initiatives have had on both our brand and our business," says Peter O'Toole, a spokesperson for General Electric.

GE has doubled its research and development budget to $1.5 billion into technology to reduce energy consumption and waste products. The return on the company's investment appears to be high: Last year, GE's "Ecomagination" line of products generated $10 billion in revenues in 2005, and is on track to eclipse $20 billion by 2010.   What this tells you is you can truly be green, help ensure a better future for your children and also find ways to save and make money. In addition you can improve your image in the world.   The article is worth a read as it also details how retailers can lose customers as a result of the perception they don’t care about the environment.

Green Credit Card to Help Reduce Carbon

July 2, 2007

Barclaycard has launched the “UK’s first credit card aimed at helping to tackle climate change and promoting greener spending.”   That’s a lot to put on the back of a little piece of plastic.   In fact, it’s no longer even old-school plastic — it looks like Barclaycard Breathe will be made of a new material called PETg – rather than the PVC currently used for credit cards.   On the upside, Barclaycard promises to donate £1 million towards environmental projects in the first year of the card’s existence.   After that they will hand over 50% of all profits to be used to fund projects dedicated to reducing the amount carbon being released into the environment. Two of the first projects tabbed for funding include Solar4Schools which supplies and installs solar panels for schools, and Renewable Energy & Forest Preservation, which is a Brazilian project to promote using sustainable wood sources for fuel, aimed at reducing carbon emissions by 145,000 tons per year.   Barclaycard is also working with retailers to offer discounts on environmentally friendly products and services, such as wall insulation, eco-friendly electrical products, bike purchases, and more.   Check out more details here.
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