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Written by Dave Burdick on 10/05/06
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If being environmentally-conscious consistently saved (or better, generated) money, there'd be no challenge at all in convincing big companies to get a little greener. Sun Microsystems, the pack of clever people that it is, has decided {mosimage}that maybe being environmentally-conscious can be profitable, not because the act of conserving energy and so on would outweigh the initial costs of re-engineering a few things, but because people want it. It's a pretty simple idea: If people want an eco-friendly product, they'll buy an eco-friendly product. If people buy an eco-friendly product, we, the smart people at Sun Microsystems, can make it profitable. So Sun has just hired a guy to fill a position they've made up, a VP of eco-responsibility. Step one: spend money. Check.
Step two: make money.
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I have to drive a cross-country trip this summer from Colorado to upstate New York. Despite the fact that New York holds the coolest summer job in the world for me, I'm already wincing at the idea of slugging out the gas money for my three-day journey.{mosimage} A quick rundown of a few of the results: 1. Drive moderately, not aggressively. It can save you up to 37%. 2. Drive the speed limit. You'll save around 14%. 3. Set that cruise control. That will also save you around 14%. Basically, my dad is going to be very happy because I'm going to be driving like a little old man going to church on my way out to New York. But hey, if it means more money to spend in the Adirondacks, I'll set my cruise to 55 mph and make sure I have a few hundred books on tape at the ready.
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Written by Hank Green on 09/05/06
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We've spent some time extolling the virtues of solid state drives (they're faster and use way less energy than the ubiquitous platter drives.) But they're expensive, and don't have the capacity of hard disk drives. Well...what did the automobile industry do when electric cars were more efficient, but not up to snuff in other ways? Hybrids! {mosimage} Samsung and Microsoft are teaming up to release the first ever hard disk / solid state hybrid drive. The idea is that part of the drive can be solid state (about 1 gig), allowing for quick efficient retrieval of frequently used data (this will probably be the Windows Vista operating system and some virtual RAM), while the hard disks can be used to store massive amounts of data you hardly ever use (your digital picture archive, Backstreet Boys albums or porn, depending on who you are.) Much of the energy saving benefits of solid state drives will be maintained, while reducing the cost. And possibly even more importantly, we're on our way to computers that boot instantly.
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If you're an artist and an Ecogeek, well, you're just going to have to come to my neck of the woods to check out Ecoarts , a 10-day presentation in July bringing together arts and sciences in the Boulder and Denver area. {mosimage} This is a brand-new event that aims to create a collaboration between scientists, environmentalists, and artists, and it will also feature religious leaders, educators, and politicians. The performances and panels last from July 6-16th, and you can expect exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, a collaboration with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, guided tours of a coal-fired energy plant, and a performance by the Kronos quartet of "Sun Rings" with images of the solar system presented as they play. The best thing is that many of the lectures and walks are free, and the artistic performances usually come with a free pre-performance lecture. Visit the tickets Web site for more information. |
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Not all of your war-torn comic books are worth saving in the plastic, and the adorable purse-makers at PurseHeaven.com have taken old comic books and made them into a little hipster handbag. {mosimage} Comic books and magazines are some of the toughest materials to recycle, and these purses -- which include comics from Mod Squad, Archie, Spiderwoman, and Juhead -- save the little treasures from heading straight to the landfill. In case you get caught up in the recyclable-accessory craze, PurseHeaven also offers bigger totes made from record covers. And yes, of course I just ordered the Barry Manilow one.
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Written by Dave Burdick on 08/05/06
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It seems like a lot of speculation about former veep Al Gore running for president{mosimage} in 2008 stems from recent press coverage of his various green endeavors -- particularly his global warming film, "An Inconvenient Truth." Of course, if all it took to get elected were movies and press coverage, why any old movie star could -- say, wait a minute. Anyway, the Wall Street Journal has a nice, easy piece on the ifs, ors and buts of a Gore campaign. Wouldn't it be something if Gore came back as the smart, forward-thinking environmentalist that he seems to be in the private sector? |
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Written by Dave Burdick on 05/05/06
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Corporations interested in sustainability just previewed something called the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool,{mosimage} which is supposed to help identify the environmental pros and cons of using paper from different sources.
The tool is being promoted by Metafore, a non-profit that describes itself thusly: "Metafore seeks out business and other civil society leaders who recognize the connection between business prosperity and forest integrity. Together, we collaborate to create innovative market-based approaches that support thriving forests and communities." The mystery tool's makers admit that it's not the best it can be yet, but it's encouraging that big names like Bank of America are involved in the testing process.
I mean, banks use a lot of paper.
Not in relation to my account in particular, but I would imagine that if you had money or frequently made deposits, there would be a lot of paper.
I would imagine. And here's the PDF description of the tool on Metafore's site. |
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Written by Dave Burdick on 05/05/06
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London's got a big ol' population of beekeepers, and the hobby is on the rise. In addition to keeping people in touch with {mosimage}nature while surrounded by an urban envorinment, beekeeping produces delightful local honey. Furthermore, from the Independent online: "Surprisingly, smoggy urban streets are said to provide a purer honey than rolling fields."
"Huh?" you're saying. Read on:
"'The countryside seems green and clean, but the crops are often covered in pesticides,' explains James Hammill, a former actor turned owner of The Hive Honey Shop in south London, which stocks honey produced at the Hammills' 40 hives across London and southern England. 'Bees in cities produce more honey. We get 40 to 50 jars per hive every season in our country apiaries; in the city, we get more like 150 jars.'"
Crazy and delicious.
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Welcome to the military's first hybrid -- the Heavy Expanded Mobility Technical Truck (HEMTT). This electric hybrid is proving to increase gas mileage by about 20% from its former 3-4 miles to the gallon.{mosimage} The hybrid version took the roaring engine down to the purr of a sedan, but costs of the upgrade are still unknown. The generator can produce up to 300 kilowatts of power -- enough to power 50 homes for an indefinite amount of time. The vehicle is from Oshkosh Truck, who has made nearly 20,000 HEMTTs, with around 2,500 in use in Iraq.
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Written by Dave Burdick on 04/05/06
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Things just aren't going well for Bushies these days. Low approval ratings, the Texas Rangers probably aren't going to be able to sign Roger Clemens and now -- can you believe it? -- scientists who are totally doing science on the government's dime are claiming that global warming is a thing.
Like a real thing.
{mosimage}
The New York Times' Andrew C. Revkin checked out the government-commissioned report , released two days ago, and said this: "The report's authors all agreed that their review of the data showed that the atmosphere was, in fact, warming in ways that generally meshed with computer simulations. The study said that the only factor that could explain the measured warming of Earth's average temperature over the last 50 years was the buildup heat-trapping gases, which are mainly emitted by burning coal and oil." That's a big Hallibummer for the White House, but they stayed cheery by pointing out that this report was just the first of 21 on the subject, so they're not convinced yet. You know how 4 out of 5 dentists recommend whatever the hell? I'll bet the fifth dentist is going to be a very happy, very rich man before all of this is over.
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MAY 11