• Created on 7/17/08 by teej

An 'air car' sure sounds like an environmentally friendly mode of transportation.  After all, air is pretty clean!  But it takes energy to compress air, so the question becomes, how do compressed air cars stack up against electric vehicles and hydrogen cars?    How green are they? A recent study found:   Quote: Even under highly optimistic assumptions the compressed-air car is significantly less efficient than a battery electric vehicle and produces more greenhouse gas emissions than a conventional gas-powered car with a coal intensive power mix.... read more

• Created on 4/9/08 by stins

What is a Life Cycle Assessment? A life cycle assessment (also known as life cycle analysis, life cycle inventory, ecobalance, cradle-to-grave-analysis, well-to-wheel analysis, and dust-to-dust energy cost) is the assessment of the environmental impact of a given product or service throughout its lifespan.   The goal of LCA is to compare the environmental performance of products and services, to be able to choose the least burdensome one. The term 'life cycle' refers to the notion that a fair, holistic assessment requires the assessment of raw material production,... read more

• Created on 6/23/08 by teej

Algae Biodiesel   A promising biofuel option for the future is oil from algae. Shell recently announced that it is partnering with HR Biopetroluem to create a facility on a Hawaiian island that will grow microalgae to be used as biofuel.  Algae fuel is classified as a third-generation biofuel.  Additionally, due to the high-density yield of algae biofuels, one acre of land is able to produce 100-420 Mb of biodiesel.     Is It Worth It?   Pros of Algae Fuels   Biodiesel from algae is a highly carbon negative process, meaning more carbon is... read more

• Created on 7/30/08 by Eco Nicole

Insidious Examples Of Greenwashing   There are a lot of ads out there right now that promote going green, but what about those companies that urge you to buy their wares under false pretenses?  Yes indeed, that's what we call greenwashing.  Consumers beware, there are quite a few ads floating out there that promote the proverbial "eco chainsaw."  Look for "true" green investments and products.   Fuel Efficient...Hummer? Apparently, in the UK, Hummer newspaper ads ran that claimed that is was "Built for UK roads, it's smaller, fuel efficient..."  But... read more

• Created on 10/22/09 by stins

When it comes to greening your Christmas tree you've got lots of choices; some are better green holiday choices than others. Here's the scoop... Not so green: Cut Christmas trees & fake Christmas trees For a long time there's been a debate about which is better, fake trees which don't require you to cut down a tree or cut trees which don't require non-renewable resources. Neither is a great green choice, although if you weight the pros and cons real cut trees come out a little bit ahead. Artificial trees are worse for the environment than cutting a real live tree down... read more

• Created on 1/23/08 by stins

Problems with today's fisheries Overfishing      According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, globally, human populations derive 16% of its animal protien from marine sources.  As populations increase their wealth, their preference for meat and fish also increases.  In addition to this, more than half a billion people make their livelihoods fishing.  But the world's fisheries have frequently been used as an example as a Tragedy of the Commons - an individual fisher reaps in all the benefits of catching extra fish; however all the harm of... read more

• Created on 7/4/09 by teej

Over the last few years, there have been huge advancements in electric car and battery technology.  But this technology is no longer just for cars!  These innovations have spurred the creation of a variety of electric motorcycles. Many of these batteries are super durable, and they can last up to 10 years.   So, what are some of the greenest motorcycles both on the market and in concept phase today? Here are a few:   Zero S Manufactured by Zero Motorcycles, a company that sells high-performance electric motorcycles, the Zero S is a fully electric supermoto... read more

• Created on 4/5/08 by teej

In order to understand global warming, it's critical to understand its causes.  The first question many people ask is "if the climate changed naturally in the past, how do we know it's not changing naturally now?", or worse, they say "because the climate has changed naturally in the past, I'm sure the current global warming is natural."   Obviously it's true that there have been many, many natural climate changes in the past.  In order to determine if the current climate change is natural or influenced by humans, we need to know what caused those past climate... read more

• Created on 10/6/08 by frank

It's important to have three good meals a day.  It keeps your body movin' and groovin' and keeps your brain sharp!    But when it comes right down to it, our food (and drink) consumption is taking a pretty big toll on the environment.  Here's a list of common foods we eat and the resources it takes to make them.  And of course...ways to green up!   If you eat/drink... You need... Green it! 1 bar of chocolate     (but if you're the average... read more

• Created on 5/28/08 by nitedreamer

How can you reclaim green land, reduce heating and cooling costs, and control the amount of rainwater going into the sewer system?  With a green roof!    Green roofs consist of low-maintenance grass or plants like sedum.  Because the soil depth is kept below 4 inches, most weeds cannot survive on a green roof’s shallow soil conditions.   Green roofs work best on flat or low incline roofs, and retrofitting a green roof onto an existing house may not be possible because of the extra weight added by the vegetation.  But if you are building a new house, this is a great way... read more