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6 Surprising Sources Air Pollution Can Kill
Why One Energy Source
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This week's headline-grabbing news that agriculture giant Monsanto's genetically modified corn was found to cause organ failure in rats is sure to send panicked shoppers into an anti-frankenfood frenzy. The good news is that this is precisely the kind of damning study (GM corn + animals = death) that will help bring to light the potentially catastrophic consequences of scientifically altered crops. The bad news is that even those who see that light will have a difficult time completely boycotting genetically modified organisms, or GMOs as they've come to be known.
That's because GMOs aren't just limited to the foods we eat; they're also in ...continued
US lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems announced a multi-year battery supply agreement with Fisker Automotive, a new American automaker building premium plug-in hybrid vehicles. The supply agreement is for battery systems for the Fisker Karma Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The Karma is scheduled to be launched in late 2010.
In addition to entering into the supply agreement, A123 also announced its intent to invest up to $23 million in Fisker Automotive's current funding round in order to establish a strategic relationship with the car company. The contemplated investment would consist of $13 million in cash and $10 million in A123 common stock and would be subject to the completion of certain terms and conditions.
Fisker Automotive and A123 will also collaborate on Fisker's Project Nina platform, with the intent of having A123 supply batteries for that vehicle based on meeting the automaker's performance and delivery requirements. Project Nina is expected to launch ...continued
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We may think we vote on the first Tuesday in November, but in reality we vote every time we open our wallets and buy something.
The concept is simple: When
we buy a product with a positive benefit -- whether it's a pound of fair
trade coffee, a BPA-free water bottle, or a hybrid car -- we're
supporting good ideas at the expense of harmful ones and funding people
working to make positive changes. In essence, we're helping decide what
products get made, what services get offered, and what impacts we're
going to have on the environment, on human rights, and on the kind of
world our kids will grow up in. That makes responsible shopping one of
the biggest ...continued
As we enter the “teens”, the decade from 2010-2019, we have a chance to turn much of what was wasted over the past decade into resources for the next. And jobs are tops on the list. Where will the up and coming “green” jobs be during the “’teens”? Who’s going to be in the thick of conservation and turning waste into resources? With more government investment in renewable energy, waste reduction, and efficient transportation, this could be the decade of the green job.
Last year Fast Company took a look at this, and came up with the following list. We want to review them here at the dawn of the decade, see how they link to conservation and transformation of waste to resources. We’ve included where you can train or study for these jobs as well. In the upcoming months we’ll focus on individual jobs, and see what it takes to qualify for them and ...continued
While we know the building industry had a rough year in 2009, not all of the industry has been in the doldrums. Green building has been a bright spot in an otherwise lackluster year, and the Northwest design and building communities have been at the forefront.
Consider the collaboration
on the Oregon Sustainability Center, which may be one of the first
“living” office buildings. On the residential side, according to
Multiple Listing Service data, the market share for certified
sustainable new homes has actually risen this past year in greater
Portland and Seattle.
So what can we expect to see in the coming year in green building? Here
are our picks for emerging trends of 2010, in no particular order.
1. The smart grid and connected home. While utilities
will continue to make upgrades to the grid for more effective
generation, storage and distribution of power, the big news is in the
home. The development of custom and web-based display panels that show
real-time home energy use, and even real-time energy use broken out by
individual appliance, will go a long way towards helping change
homeowners’ energy behavior and drive energy conservation. In the same
way that the Toyota Prius miles-per-gallon indicator has motivated some
owners to modify driving habits, these home “dashboards” may create
“extreme energy” buffs intent on reaching individual energy goals
specified for the home by rating systems such as the Energy Performance
Score.
2. Energy labeling for homes and office buildings. The
advent of more accurate energy rating systems for homes and office
spaces – similar to the miles-per-gallon sticker on your car
...continued
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