Diamant produces biodegradable pallet wrap
Diamant produces biodegradable pallet wrap: "Diamant Art has opened choices on the market for biodegradable packaging by expanding its range of recyclable stretch film to include a pallet wrap based on polystyrene.

While a number of companies have developed biodegradable food packaging alternatives to poly vinyl chloride (PVC), the price has generally been prohibitive. However with the recent price hikes in the price of oil, the main component of PVC, such green alternatives have become more competitive on the market.
The food stretch film market mainly uses PVC, which does not biodegrade, making it and the companies that use it targets of environmental lobby groups. A growing number of food industry companies, including supermarkets and processors, have turned to biodegradable packaging as a means of meeting consumer demand for such ecofriendly products."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 2:27 PM (0) comments

 
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online: "LEARNER drivers are to face an extra hurdle in their tests: an examination to see how environmentally friendly their driving is.
Driving tests will include an assessment of the candidate%u2019s ability to use the minimum amount of fuel, in an effort to reduce exhaust emissions and improve road safety.
NI_MPU('middle');Those who repeatedly over-rev the engine and accelerate or brake too sharply could fail their tests.
The qualifying examination for new driving instructors was changed last month by the Driving Standards Agency to include an assessment of their "eco-safe" driving abililty.
Instructors are now required to reflect increased awareness and need for economically/environmentally friendly driving. The agency has also added a new chapter on eco-safe driving to its handbook for new drivers and told instructors that learners taking their driving tests from 2007 will be assessed on the techniques of eco-driving."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 2:25 PM (0) comments

 
The Speculist: Projects
The Speculist: Projects: "I love it when geeks are just not content to wait for others to deliver on gadgets they crave.

Sometimes it's just a vision of how to combine several things to make something better. Like Mike Outmesguine who built a portable solar-powered WiFi hotspot:

Its secret ingredient: the Junxion Box. Plug a cellular-network card into the book-size open-source-based device, and voil%uFFFDu2014instant Wi-Fi hotspot, with speeds averaging around 700 kilobits per second. To power the box, I wired it to a 1.2-amp-hour battery and dropped both into the Voltaic Systems backpack, which has a built-in solar charger. Now I can surf for as long as three hours without being tethered to anything but a cell signal.

And then there's our friend Micah Glasser's plan to build an all-electric motorcycle on a Suzuki GS500E frame.

My goal is to build a machine that is not just functional but performance oriented yet affordable (for me that means under 4 grand)."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 1:47 PM (0) comments

 
Natural Gas
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 7:01 PM (0) comments

 
EarthCraft efficiency
Ledger-Enquirer | 11/17/2005 | EarthCraft efficiency: "The fact that they were buying an EarthCraft home, designed to be unusually energy efficient and environmentally friendly, was just the icing on the cake.
But now, as they face a winter in which gas bills are expected to climb by leaps and bounds, it feels pretty good to be sitting in a tightly constructed, super-insulated, all-electric house. Already the Smiths estimate that their utility bills are about one-third less than they would be in a standard home.
'Utilities are lower overall,' Bill said. 'Now, with what I read about gas prices for the coming winter, it's looking better and better.'

Longleaf is a pilot project for EarthCraft Communities, a green building program of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association developed in partnership with the nonprofit Southface Energy Institute. EarthCraft homes are certified by independent raters and are designed to reduce utility bills, protect the environment and improve indoor air quality.

Builders work under a flexible point system to prove that they have incorporated a wide range of energy-efficient, durable and environmentally friendly materials and features to make a house worthy of EarthCraft House certification.
At Longleaf that means all homes are filled with an expanding foam insulation and sealed and insulated ductwork so that almost no heating or cooling energy goes to waste. Fiber cement siding covers the exteriors of the homes -- in planks and shakes that look like wood -- to improve each home's durability and to avoid consuming actual wood in construction.
Porch floors and decks are built with Trex, a durable product made of recycled plastic and reclaimed wood.
Each home is nestled within pine trees, with a drip irrigation system to furnish native plantings with minimal water but with no lush lawns that demand lots of watering.

Long-term cost savings
If all goes as planned, the homes should require little maintenance and consume relatively little energy over the years. And although EarthCraft homes do come with a bit higher initial price tag, EarthCraft builders and homeowners alike say it won't take many years to recoup those costs and start saving more.
'Let's say for a 2,000-square-foot home, it costs an additional $3,000,' said Rob Johnson, EarthCraft House manager of Atlanta Operations. 'You're going to get a return on that immediately every month in reduced energy bills.'"
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 11:10 PM (0) comments

 
UQ researchers turn water into watts
UQ researchers turn water into watts - UQ News Online - The University of Queensland: "Your dirty dishwater could soon be providing the electricity to power wastewater treatment plants if University of Queensland researchers have their way.

The UQ team has developed a technique that removes pollutants and organic compounds from wastewater and turns them into environmentally friendly electricity."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 5:45 PM (0) comments

 
For direct investors in China, daunting risks - Business - International Herald Tribune
For direct investors in China, daunting risks - Business - International Herald Tribune: "While the need to grow more cleanly presents vast opportunities to both domestic and foreign suppliers of environmentally friendly technology, it also poses huge questions about the long-term sustainability of China's boom.
Without action to tackle pollution, China's economic miracle 'will end soon,' Pan Yue, a senior environmental agency official, warned in March.
Industry has also been cramped in recent years by power shortages. Shortages will continue into next year before starting to ease as new generating plants come into production, He Jun, director of research at Anbound Group, an investment consultancy in Beijing, said."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 5:44 PM (0) comments

 
Globes [online] - Babies go green
Babies go green:

"Babies go greenExotech Bio Solutions' biodegradable diaper could solve a major environmental problem. Disposable diapers are a big problem when it comes to the environment. The problem is so big that some brave environmental activities are already trying to turn back the wheel and use cloth diapers. But Exotech Bio Solutions Ltd. believess that the day of the cloth diaper is over, even for the most fervent environmentalist, thanks to the company's new product - a biodegradable diaper. "
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 5:43 PM (0) comments

 
Hybrids to get cheaper
Toyota to put new hybrid-system engine into practical use in 2008: "Toyota Motor Corp. in 2008 will put into practical use its third-generation hybrid-system (HS) engine, which will cut prices for eco-friendly vehicles, reduce fuel costs and slash production expenses, company sources said.

The smaller, third-generation HS can be installed on many models. Most of the automaker's midsize and larger models will be equipped with the new engine, they said.

Toyota plans to manufacture key parts of the new HS in the United States to expand the use of the technology around the world, they added.

Toyota's HS combines gasoline power and an electric motor. The system requires less fossil fuel and is thus more environmentally friendly than vehicles that run only on gas."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 5:42 PM (0) comments

 
Ethanol
JournalStar.com: "Nebraskans ought to take pride in the new ethanol plant to be built near Mead. The plant will be the world%u2019s first %u201Cclosed loop%u201D system used to make the renewable fuel. Assuming it operates as intended, it will represent a major step forward in producing ethanol with maximum efficiency.




The new plant to be built by E3 BioFuels represents the next generation of ethanol production, combining at one location the ethanol manufacturing plant, a feedlot and equipment that will convert manure into biogas, or methane.The plant will use corn as the raw material to produce ethanol, using the biogas for heat needed in manufacture. The process leaves a byproduct called wet distillers grain, which will be fed to cattle in the feedlot. The cattle produce manure, which drops through slats into enclosed pits from the four, half-mile-long buildings where the cattle eat. The manure will be used in an anaerobic digester to produce biogas."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 10:28 AM (0) comments

 
New Energy Report covering solar power, renewable energy, hydrogen power, fuel cells and more
New Energy Report covering solar power, renewable energy, hydrogen power, fuel cells and more: "Researchers at Singapore's Nanyang University have developed a long-life fuel cell that runs on hydrogen."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 10:27 AM (0) comments