Environmentally-friendly technologies - everything you need around the house to protect the environment from electric and hybrid cars to solar panels to water-saving shower heads.
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Envirotech
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Chevy Tahoe available as hybrid in 2007
Chevy Tahoe available as hybrid in 2007: "If you thought hybrid cars had to be small and gutless, think again. With the recent launch of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Ford Escape Hybrid, we've seen that SUVs can be a little more environmentally friendly as well. However, it has never been attempted in a full-size truck, that is, until now with the Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid set to hit dealerships near the end of 2007 as a 2008 model.
The system mates an electric motor/generator with a Vortec V-8 OHV gasoline engine, producing a more than adequate 300 horsepower. The truck can run off of the electric motor alone, the gas engine alone, or a combination of the two. It can even accelerate without the need for gasoline. The technology is the result of collaboration between GM, DaimlerChrysler, and BMW.
They say that this solution will result in a 25% fuel savings compared to the regular Tahoe, and the gasoline/electric powertrain will also be implemented into the luxury Cadillac Escalade. Other features include a slightly lower ride height, low rolling resistance tires, and a liftgate and hood made of aluminium."
Recycled clothing
Napa Valley Register Online | Stories From ApBusiness
: "Businesses aim to meet consumer demand for recycled clothing
SALT LAKE CITY -- Macon Rudick recycles. But he doesn't do it because he's an environmentalist. He does it because he's a businessman.'I'd like to tell you I'm a tree hugger, but I'm not,' said Rudick, the president of SanSegal Sportswear in Sandy, Utah, which makes Green Brand cotton clothing. 'There's basically a lot of demand for recycled garments, and cotton in particular.'The Outdoor Retailer convention, held Jan. 28-31 at the Salt Palace Convention Center here, has long stood out for its environmentally conscious bent -- a rarity among trade shows. The show featured a panel discussion of cause-related marketing and a keynote speech by Ray Anderson, who switched his carpet company over to using recycled materials and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and found it saved him money.Manufacturers of clothing and gear for outdoor enthusiasts realize that without an outdoor ecosystem, there would be no place to use their gear. Increasingly, their customers are realizing the same thing.
A few years ago, the National Park Service, one of SanSegal's biggest clothing accounts, started getting requests from park visitors for more gift-shop items made from recycled materials. But the company couldn't find anyone who could supply T-shirts and fleece made from recycled material.So it started from scratch, finding sources of discarded material and collecting it for use in new clothes -- pleasing customers who wanted something comfortable and carefree but natural at the same time. Now, SanSegal makes a range of casual cotton T-shirts, hats and pants.'Recycled pop bottles have been around for 20 years, but recycled cotton has only been around for about three years,' Rudick said.Recycled fabric usually costs more than new, though the price of the fabric itself is only part of the cost of a garment, and conservation-conscious buyers are sometimes willing to pay a little more for recycled products. But with rising costs of raw materials, especially oil for manmade fibers, recycling is becoming more cost-effective."
Cutting-edge technology delivers biodegradable cutlery - Food Business Review
Cutting-edge technology delivers biodegradable cutlery - Food Business Review: "Fast food restaurants may get an eco-friendly alternative to plastic cutlery after a breakthrough by a company engaged in the development of materials made from sugar.
A joint venture between Archer Daniels Midland Company and Metabolix plans to produce a new generation of natural plastics that are made from agricultural raw materials rather than petrochemicals, by building a plant in north America with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons. The plastics can withstand hot liquids, grease and oils, yet will biodegrade when disposed of.
Consumer awareness of the environmental and social impact of the products they buy has led to more companies marketing products as fair trade or environmentally friendly. The plastic has a variety of applications including coated paper, film and molded goods, which would allow the plastic to be used in packaging."
Sunday, February 05, 2006
The Oakland Press: Opinions
The Oakland Press: Opinions: "Ford Motor Co. plans to launch an advertising campaign touting the virtues of its hybrid vehicles with a brand new spot on Sunday's telecast of the National Football League's Super Bowl.
The new 30-second spot will feature Kermit the Frog of Muppets fame and will extol the environmental benefi ts of the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid and the ease with which consumers can access the fuel-efficient technology.
The ad also will emphasize that the Ford Escape Hybrid is the most fuel-effi cient SUV on the planet and will highlight Ford's increasing emphasis on hybrid technology in its future model lineup."
The Oakland Press: Opinions
The Oakland Press: Opinions: "Ford Motor Co. plans to launch an advertising campaign touting the virtues of its hybrid vehicles with a brand new spot on Sunday's telecast of the National Football League's Super Bowl.
The new 30-second spot will feature Kermit the Frog of Muppets fame and will extol the environmental benefi ts of the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid and the ease with which consumers can access the fuel-efficient technology.
The ad also will emphasize that the Ford Escape Hybrid is the most fuel-effi cient SUV on the planet and will highlight Ford's increasing emphasis on hybrid technology in its future model lineup."
The Oakland Press: Opinions
The Oakland Press: Opinions: "Ford Motor Co. plans to launch an advertising campaign touting the virtues of its hybrid vehicles with a brand new spot on Sunday's telecast of the National Football League's Super Bowl.
The new 30-second spot will feature Kermit the Frog of Muppets fame and will extol the environmental benefi ts of the 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid and the ease with which consumers can access the fuel-efficient technology.
The ad also will emphasize that the Ford Escape Hybrid is the most fuel efficient SUV on the planet and will highlight Ford's increasing emphasis on hybrid technology in its future model lineup."
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com:
"With oil being extracted and consumed faster than it can be replaced, alternate source of fuels and technologies are expected to fill in for the ever increasing demand.And an international group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, claim that biofuels could replace a third of transportation fuel needs within a 5- to 10-year period.They recommended a comprehensive research and policy plan aimed at increasing the practicality of using bio-fuels and biomaterials as a supplement to petroleum.
The group recommends a broader spectrum of possible materials besides ethanol, like agriculture wastes such as corn stovers and wheat stalks, fast-growing trees such as poplar and willow and several perennial energy crops such as switchgrass."
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com:
"With oil being extracted and consumed faster than it can be replaced, alternate source of fuels and technologies are expected to fill in for the ever increasing demand.And an international group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, claim that biofuels could replace a third of transportation fuel needs within a 5- to 10-year period.They recommended a comprehensive research and policy plan aimed at increasing the practicality of using bio-fuels and biomaterials as a supplement to petroleum.
The group recommends a broader spectrum of possible materials besides ethanol, like agriculture wastes such as corn stovers and wheat stalks, fast-growing trees such as poplar and willow and several perennial energy crops such as switchgrass."
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com:
"With oil being extracted and consumed faster than it can be replaced, alternate source of fuels and technologies are expected to fill in for the ever increasing demand.And an international group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, claim that biofuels could replace a third of transportation fuel needs within a 5- to 10-year period.They recommended a comprehensive research and policy plan aimed at increasing the practicality of using bio-fuels and biomaterials as a supplement to petroleum.
The group recommends a broader spectrum of possible materials besides ethanol, like agriculture wastes such as corn stovers and wheat stalks, fast-growing trees such as poplar and willow and several perennial energy crops such as switchgrass."
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com
Biofuels could meet a third of transportation fuel needs - World News - Webindia123.com:
"With oil being extracted and consumed faster than it can be replaced, alternate source of fuels and technologies are expected to fill in for the ever increasing demand.And an international group of scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, claim that biofuels could replace a third of transportation fuel needs within a 5- to 10-year period.They recommended a comprehensive research and policy plan aimed at increasing the practicality of using bio-fuels and biomaterials as a supplement to petroleum. The group recommends a broader spectrum of possible materials besides ethanol, like agriculture wastes such as corn stovers and wheat stalks, fast-growing trees such as poplar and willow and several perennial energy crops such as switchgrass."
Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/05/2006 | The little hybrid car that could
Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/05/2006 | The little hybrid car that could:
"One of the most impressive cars at this week's Philadelphia Auto Show doesn't come from Japan, Germany or Detroit.
It came from the auto shop at West Philadelphia High School.
The car - designed and built by students in the school's Academy for Automotive and Mechanical Engineering - delivers more horsepower than some Porsches and gets gas mileage comparable to a Toyota Prius. It runs on fuel made from soybeans.
Last year, the car was the surprise winner of a competition for eco-friendly vehicles, the Tour de Sol. The students, hoping to prove their success was no fluke, will enter the car again this year.
They'll be back despite an effort by school district budget-cutters last year to eliminate the program. It was saved by an outcry from parents and area auto dealers, who see the program as a source of hard-to-find trained mechanics.
The high schoolers' engineering feat may have observers wondering why Detroit hasn't already made such a car.
'This is off-the-shelf technology, and we're not 180 I.Q. people around here,' said Simon Hauger, a physics teacher who is the West Philadelphia automotive program's administrator."
