Green Electronics

Guest post by Latasha Pinkney

Residential fuel cell systems, projectors made without mercury, and outlets that can be controlled through the Web were just some of the most sought after green consumer electronics at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

Panasonic's residential fuel cell systems can be controlled through a home energy management system, generate electricity and heat through fuel cells and store solar power in lithium-ion batteries.

Another example is ASUS' Super Hybrid Engine technology, which reduces power usage 43 percent below the Energy Star specifications for PCs.

Casio's green lean high-brightness projectors are the first to get rid of the "unfriendly mercury" and function with a hybrid LED and laser light source.

ThinkECO is an electronic outlet that can be controlled from a Web-based application, allowing users to set schedules for whatever is plugged into the outlet.

Goodbye Incandescent Lightbulbs, Hello CFLs

Guest post by Amy Meier


The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will begin phasing out traditional incandescent light bulbs, starting January 1, 2012. More and more Americans are buying energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and are aware of the energy-saving benefits.

GE says its Energy Smart CFLs use a quarter of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs, last as much as 10 times longer and give off less heat.

According to GE’s research, about 75 % of 1519 homeowners surveyed were not aware of the impending federal requirement for greater energy efficiency that starts in two years. This Act will lead to the phase out of 100-watt incandescent bulbs starting January1, 2012.The next phasing out of seventy-five-watt traditional bulbs will be in 2013, followed by 40- and 60-watt bulbs in 2014.

Gore to Lay Out Unprecedented Challenge on Energy and Climate

Press Release

Gore to Lay Out Unprecedented Challenge on Energy and Climate

Address Will Set National Goal for Clean Energy Future

Washington, DC – Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore will outline his bold vision for the future of America’s energy needs at D.A.R. Constitution Hall this Thursday, July 17. The speech will be hosted by the “We” Campaign, a fast-growing organization focused on solutions to the climate crisis.

The speech will offer a new way of thinking about our energy production and consumption and a new sense of what is possible when we choose to work together. It will propose a means of tapping America’s innovative skills to build a more secure energy future.

Who: Former Vice President Al Gore
What: A discussion on the future of America’s energy needs
Where: D.A.R. Constitution Hall – 1776 D St., NW, Washington, DC
When: Thursday, July 17 at 12:00 p.m. EDT:
Media should plan to arrive at least an hour before the speech begins.

Additional notes for broadcast media:
Pre-set: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. EDT
Final access: 12 Noon EDT
Press entrance: D Street entrance (between 17th St. and 18th St.)
Throw: 60 feet
Satellite truck parking: Directed on site
Cable run: 350 feet
Power, mult box to be provided on riser

About the “We” Campaign:
The “We” Campaign is a commercial-scale organizing and mobilizing effort using paid advertising, grassroots partnerships and online activation to build strong support for solutions to the climate crisis. The scale of the campaign is unprecedented: it is on track to be the largest public policy advocacy campaign ever and expects to reach 10 million members within three years. “We” is the work of the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit group founded by Al Gore, who currently serves as the chairman of the bipartisan board of directors. For more information, please visit http://www.wecansolveit.org/.

The Pickens Plan

T. Boone Pickens has a plan. The billionaire oil man from Texas wants to help American break its dependence on foreign oil and replace its energy with home-grown alternatives from wind and natural gas.

The United States currently uses natural gas for energy but the Pickens Plan is to use wind for energy while using natural gas for transportation. He is building the world's largest wind farm in Pampa TX which is expected to double the current wind energy output of the United States.

The Pickens Plan proposes that if we shift our energy and transportation to wind and natural gas, within 10 years we can replace 1/3 of our foreign oil needs. The plan calls for leadership from our next Presidential administration.

Visit The Pickens Plan website for details on the plan, videos, and to join the Pickens Plan online community.

Utah Mandates 4-Day Work Week for State Employees

Approximately 80% of Utah's state employees will be moving to a mandatory 4-day work week beginning in August. Governor Huntsman expects the move will "reduce the state's carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and provide workers more flexibility." He also expects the move to help the state achieve its goal of a 20% reduction in energy usage by 2015. It also creates a better work-life balance which "is especially popular among younger employees and (this) action will make Utah more competitive in luring talent."

We recently commented on the growing popularity of four-day work weeks. Read the full story of Utah's initiative in USA Today.

Electricity from Rice Husks

Husk Power Systems is the creation of Charles Ransler, Manoj Sinha, and Gyanesh Pandey. Husk Power Systems converts rice husks (a waste product from rice milling) into electrical energy for thousands of rural Indians.

"This technology provides off-grid power to rural Indian villages of 200-500 households. Using the husk-powered mini power plant, the team plans to offset close to 60 tons of carbon emissions per village per year in India."

They currently operate two rice husk generators and provide electricity to approximately 10,000 rural villagers in the Rice Belt of India, where villagers are "rice rich and power poor." A byproduct of the burned rice husks is ash, which can be used as fertilizer or an ingredient for cement.

You can read the history of Husk Power Systems' development and learn more at Husk Power Systems' website, Darden School of Business, or Business Green.

UNH To Get 85% Of Energy From Landfill Methane

From Environmental Leader, June 2, 2008

Tom Kelly, Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of New Hampshire, says that a landfill methane project will provide 85 percent of the UNH’s energy needs and cut its greenhouse gas emissions 57 percent below 1990 levels.

McCain Pledges to Combat Climate Change

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of President George W. Bush.

In remarks he prepared to give at a wind technology firm in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, the Arizona senator said he would seek international accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would offer an incentive system to make businesses in the United States cleaner.

He planned to present a so-called cap and trade system to Congress that sets clear limits on all greenhouse gas emissions for U.S. businesses, while also allowing the sale of rights to excess emissions, so as to "change the dynamic" of the U.S. energy economy.

Read the full story here.

Poo Power

We've identified several instances in which companies are recycling animal excrement on a commercial scale to create energy and even paper products. The Dallas Zoo, Denver Zoo, and Cincinnati Zoo are working to turn solid animal waste into energy while Sheep Poo Paper, Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company (one of our Sustainable & Responsible Businesses of the Week), and Elephant Dung Paper all turn solid animal waste into paper products.

So it was just a matter of time before you could convert your own waste into energy with a home unit. According to Forbes Magazine, a company in India, Sintex Industries, has created a biogas digester (pictured above) that can convert "human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity." The unit is reported to cost approximately $425.

Now who will develop the do-it-yourself paper kit?

Hillary Clinton Releases Energy & Climate Plan

Hillary Clinton has released her plan to address the energy and climate crisis. Here is the Grist commentary: "It is thoughtful, comprehensive, and though disappointingly conventional in a few areas, inspiringly bold in others. With the release of Clinton's plan, all three Democratic frontrunners for the presidency now have visionary, far-reaching energy plans that would fundamentally reorient the country away from carbon-intensive energy and toward energy efficiency and renewables. It is difficult to think of a another policy issue on which the ground has shifted so far, so fast, and difficult to think of another policy issue on which the gulf between the two political parties is so vast and striking." Read the full review here.

In a previous post, I mentioned the list compiled by League of Conservation Voters on the "green" position of each of the presidential hopefuls. Grist has also published their own review of each of the candidates.

How "Green" Are The Presidential Candidates?

In Thomas Friedman's NY Times article, he states, "We don't just need the first black president. We need the first green president. We don't just need the first woman president. We need the first environmental president."

To help us find that environmental president, the League of Conservation Voters has published their list of U.S. Presidential Candidates' positions on carbon gap and targets, fuel efficiency, renewable electricity standards, efficiency targets, and new coal plants and liquid coal. The list was derived from candidates' websites, their votes in Congress, and their recent public statements.

How does your favorite candidate fare?