Green Options

A year ago when we saw an article at MAKE: on how to make a fuel cell out of a band aid we knew we had to get in touch with this guy. Gavin D.J. Harper is a frequent contributor to EcoGeek and has written several books in McGraw Hill’s "Evil Genius" series.

Most recently, Gavin completed Solar Energy Projects for the Evil Genius. The book, filled [...]

Dear EcoGeek,

My parents are always bugging me about computer usage and how the computers are sucking up energy. I want to know what I can do so that my computer doesn’t waste so much energy? I totally wanna go green and save the Earth from Global Warming!

- Lukas

Hey Lukas,

You probably won’t be surprised to discover that I spend quite a bit of time thinking about this very question. First, you should let your parents [...]

I’ve just finished reading The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman. While not every chapter was for me (babies and children?!) the book contains a gigantic amount of information on how to make good, informed, green decisions. Without condescension or guilt trips, Dorfman lays down easy-to-digest information on how to live a cleaner greener life that isn’t a big pain in the ass.

We recently had a chance to talk to Josh about his book, [...]

I just saw a kinda disturbing article on fark.com and wondered what you would think of it. Could walking really be worse of the environment than driving?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2195538.ece

Seulswalker

Seulswalker,

When I read your question, I assumed that there was no way the article had any credibility… that it was written by an angsty high school student who was sick of people telling him what to do. But I was wrong, and that is scary.

Someone took [...]

When Ron Hochstetler graduated from Purdue with a degree in aviation technology, he didn’t know how different his path would be from the other graduates of his class. Though trained to work with the helicopters and jets that we today associate air travel, Ron became fascinated with a different type of craft. An aircraft that "belongs in the sky."

Now, twenty years later, Ron is one of the world’s leading experts in "lighter than air" [...]

Dear EcoGeek,

Who killed the electric car? Seriously, why can’t I buy one yet and when will I be able to?

Alan Carney
Dallas, Texas

Hey Alan, Much love to the people who made Who Killed the Electric Car?, because they got a lot of stuff right. It wasn’t any one person, corporation or technicality that killed the EV1. As with all product failures, it was a combination of [...]

Editor’s note: A few technical glitches kept us from getting EcoGeek of the Week up on time this week — we apologize for that. We didn’t want to skip this one, as the featured EcoGeek is a good friend to all of us in the green web.

Jonathon D. Colman is the Senior Manager of Digital Marketing at The Nature Conservancy. As such, it’s kinda his job to understand the wild [...]

Dear EcoGeek,

Have there been any developments in the pursuit of sustainable, cost-effective alternatives to plastics? I am aware of the recent gains in using corn starch to produce biodegradible plastics (chocolate candy trays, shopping bags, etc.), but what about durable goods such as toolboxes, exercise equipment, or any other product made from plastic that is designed to last.

Thanks for your time and expertise.

Jim

Hey Jim,
It does seem a bit silly that we [...]

Editor’s note: This week’s EcoGeek of the Week interview was conducted by our own Philip Proefrock (who also writes at EcoGeek.org).

Tobias S. Buckell is a Caribbean-born speculative fiction writer who grew up in Grenada, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has published stories in various magazines and anthologies. He is a Clarion graduate, Writers of The Future winner, and Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer Finalist. We [...]

Hi,
I’m considering purchasing a 2007 Mercedes Bluetec e320 Diesel. My question is "Is this car really green?"

My 04 Prius has 60k miles and is worse for wear and I’m too tall to comfortably drive it any longer. I can’t help but think the Bluetec is a step in reverse for me personally and that I really want to move forward with a Plug-in Hybrid or full EV, but no options exist. I’m tired of driving [...]