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Electric bikes pave the way for cleaner streets

by Bryce Wolfe on September 3, 2010
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Electric bikes pave the way for cleaner streets A bike zips down the road, powered by a rear wheel motor and a battery pack secured in the triangle frame. Its rider wears a gray waistcoat and a floppy bow tie. The year is 1895. Electric bikes have been around for longer than a century, but the swift rise of freeways, cheap gasoline and automobiles pushed them to the wayside. Today commuters are rediscovering the benefits of assisted pedal power.

Samsung may have reason to fear LG LEX8 and LEX9

by Ryan Roff on September 1, 2010
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Samsung may have reason to fear LG LEX8 and LEX9 Since the onslaught of 3D LED TVs began hitting the market, Samsung has been at the cutting edge of the 3D trend. In fact, seldom has Samsung not been either the leader or key competitor of the latest LED innovations. Before many knew 3D TVs were even a home theater possibility, Samsung announced its plan to mass produce 3D LED TVs. Now, going into the 2010 IFA trade show, the tides may be turning a bit for a key Samsung competitor.

While other TV manufactures were just beginning to identify the 3D trend, Samsung was making a play at its next generations of 3D TVs. Starting with the Samsung 7000 series, Samsung introduced a 1 inch thick LED 3D panel and has since been able to create a .3 inch thick LED 3D panel that includes all the goodies like single touch access to the internet in the 9000 series.

GM chasing business in China with Chevrolet Volt

by Matt Jansen on August 31, 2010
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GM chasing business in China with Chevrolet Volt GM has business and political reasons for making the Chevrolet Volt a huge success and one way to pursue that is by expanding product reach. China is now the second largest economy in the world and as such it holds a strong allure for companies looking to pull in more profit amid recessions hitting other countries. GM isn’t waiting on that opportunity, it just announced the arrival of two Chevrolet Volts in China, which will act as shuttles for special guests to and from Shanghai’s Expo Park.

The Chevrolet Volt won’t be available for consumers in China until 2011, so this event is mainly for publicity which will create buzz and hopefully translates into product demand. It makes sense for GM to produce as many Chevrolet Volts as it can, in as many markets as possible now; before competitors build a vehicle that offers a similar value proposition.

Cheap gas prices mean more pollution for Labor Day weekend

by Matt Jansen on August 30, 2010
in

Cheap gas prices mean more pollution for Labor Day weekend Cheap gas is great for travelers, great for commerce, and certainly brings a smile to anyone who pays for it regularly. But is it good for the environment? Probably not. In the last couple of years gas prices have fluctuated up and down, and though it might hurt your wallet more at the pump to pay more for gas, it also stimulates more sustainable habits and technology innovation.

So in the short term, the U.S. economy can certainly use encouragement, but hopefully cheap gas prices don’t also make drivers forget some of the side effects it causes too. The national average for gas is about $2.68 per gallon and that’s “. . . about 6 cents a gallon less than a month ago and 7 cents less than it was on the Friday before the July Fourth weekend”.

Green ideas hit Hollywood and the 2010 Emmy Awards

by Kathryn Robbins on August 29, 2010
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Green ideas hit Hollywood and the 2010 Emmy Awards There’s no question that the entertainment industry generates a lot of waste from printing scripts or even shooting on location. After Conan O’Brien walked away from the Tonight Show, NBC gutted his $50 million dollar set that he used for just seven months. Others in Hollywood are actually getting the message about being green which has changed a lot of productions like film Inception as well as tonight’s Emmy Awards.

When you think of the Emmy Awards, you think of the ceremony but not the work done behind the scenes. Blurbs have to be written for the presenters, the venue needs to scrubbed clean, and workers need to grab some lunch. All of that adds up to waste in the form of paper, disposable plates, plastic water bottles, and much more.

Light obscures our largest natural resource: the night sky

by Bryce Wolfe on August 29, 2010
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Light obscures our largest natural resource: the night skyThe word "pollution" usually evokes images of clogged rivers, smoggy skies and toxic metals leeching through the soil. Many sources of pollution today are invisible to the eye and impossible to detect without special equipment, as people have become increasingly conscious of the environment and less tolerant of harmful practices. Yet one of the most visible forms of pollution is often overlooked.

Apple snubs cell phone service provider’s eco-list

by Kathryn Robbins on August 27, 2010
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Apple snubs cell phone service provider’s eco-list Consumers are increasingly aware of how products get into their hands. Whether they’re checking to see if their eggs are on a recall list or their handbag was made with sustainable materials, green ideas can certainly influence a purchase. That’s why one of the UK’s biggest cell phone providers, O2, has created an eco-index based on sustainability. The program is volunteer based and caught the attention of Samsung and LG, but Apple did not submit the iPhone for evaluation.

O2 conducted a survey that found 44% percent of customers thought that environmental factors would influence their next cell phone purchase. Like any other business that wants to sell more products, O2 got going on a plan to highlight the environmental aspects of each phone they sell.

Batteries lose weight by going viral

by Bryce Wolfe on August 26, 2010
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Batteries lose weight by going viral Commonly found in seas, soils and animal intestines, bacteriophages may someday find a home in our clothes, cell phones and laptops. Actually a type of virus, bacteriophages act like microscopic hitmen and target only certain strains of bacteria while leaving plant and animal cells, like our own, alone. Researchers from MIT report progress in harnessing bacteriophages to make better batteries.

Toyota Prius wins again but are hybrid cars on their way out?

by Ryan Roff on August 25, 2010
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Toyota Prius wins again but are hybrid cars on their way out? It’s hard to tell exactly where the hybrid car industry is going to go. Just a few years ago, hybrid cars were on the rise to offset the steadily increasing gas prices. Then, murmurs of electric cars generated overwhelming enthusiasm for the prospect of never spending another dollar at the gas pump. Now, electric cars are hitting the streets and hybrids feel a bit in no man’s land between the common gasoline engine and the idealistic electric car.

Statistics show that hybrids peaked in 2007 before the gas price explosion in 2008 and before the worst periods of the longest recession since WWII. Last year, hybrids had fallen 17% since that time to around 289,000 cars.

So why is the industry so hard to understand when the hybrid trend is clearly downward?

Solar waste creates new opportunity for recycling industry

by Matt Jansen on August 24, 2010
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Solar waste creates new opportunity for recycling industry Saying “opportunity” is looking at it positively. The solar power industry is quickly moving from sidebar to mainstream as more businesses and consumers adopt it as a way to supply part or all of their energy needs. Not all is ideal in solar power land though, because many of the materials used to build solar panels are toxic when broken down during the recycling process in developing countries.

That sort of challenge isn’t new -- the electronics industry has earned criticism for a while now because consumer appliances, personal computers and smartphones are not easy to recycle without releasing toxins into the atmosphere and water supply.

The solar industry hasn’t had to deal with this challenge en masse yet because solar panels on average have a lifespan of 20 years or more. Since solar has just recently begun its transition to mainstream, the amount of waste is still a trickle in comparison.