Green Options » Lisa Wojnovich http://greenoptions.com/author/wojnovld3/ Post archive of Lisa Wojnovich Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:13:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en http://greenoptions.com/author/wojnovld3/ http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/601619d34d40cac2942a806fa99303b2?s=65&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gravatar.com%2Favatar%2Fad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536%3Fs%3D32 Green Options » Lisa Wojnovich Grading “Green” or Just How Eco-Friendly Is My Laundry Detergent? http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/grading-green/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/grading-green/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:13:29 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/grading-green/ Eco-Friendly Dishwasher DetergentsThe last time you went to the grocery store or the local Walmart, did you count the number of cleaners, soaps, and detergents that labeled themselves “green.” At Target last week while attempting to find the laundry detergent that was supposed to be on sale, I was boggled by all the new green chemicals that I’d never heard of before my shopping trip. I wasn’t certain what most of them did — much less exactly how “green” they really were.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/grading-green/feed/ Laughing Gas: The Latest Environmental Threat http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:30:50 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/ The EarthNitrous oxide, more commonly known at your dentist’s office as laughing gas, is now the most prevalent man-made substance damaging the ozone layer. And it’s a greenhouse gas. Sadly, the joke’s apparently on us.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/laughing-gas/feed/ China Bans Scrap Polysilicon http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/29/china-bans-scrap-polysilicon/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/29/china-bans-scrap-polysilicon/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:27:54 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/29/china-bans-scrap-polysilicon/ A Solar Panel ArrayIn an effort to curb solid waste pollution, China banned the import of scrap polysilicon at the beginning of August, an effort supported by its current environmental laws according to its Environmental Protection Ministry. Scrap polysilicon is a low-grade form of silicon not pure enough to use in microchips. However, it can be used as a component of solar wafers, which contain a variety of types of silicon, including up to 30% scrap polysilicon.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/29/china-bans-scrap-polysilicon/feed/ BP & Martek to Ferment Biofuels http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/25/bp-martek-to-ferment-biofuels/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/25/bp-martek-to-ferment-biofuels/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:55:46 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/25/bp-martek-to-ferment-biofuels/ Green algae in a benchtop fermenter

The energy giant BP and Martek Biosciences, a Maryland based company that uses micro algae to produce oil-based nutritional and dietary supplements, signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) earlier this month to produce microbial oils for biofuels applications.

Under this agreement, BP will provide the cash — up to $10 million for just the first phase — and Martek will provide the research expertise in algae fermentation technology. The idea is to develop a cost effective method of converting basic sugars derived from biomass into lipids, or microbial oils, with fermentation microorganisms. Chemical and thermocatalytic processes would then convert the oils into various types of biofuels.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/25/bp-martek-to-ferment-biofuels/feed/ The Latest Medical Innovation: Recycled TVs http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/07/16/recycled-tvs/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/07/16/recycled-tvs/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:22:17 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/07/16/recycled-tvs/ E-Waste

Researchers at the University of York have recently come up with a method of recycling that seems like it fell from the pages of a science fiction novel. They want to turn discarded television screens into components for biomedicine.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/07/16/recycled-tvs/feed/ Daimler’s First Electric Car http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/30/daimlers-first-electric-car/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/30/daimlers-first-electric-car/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:09:55 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/30/daimlers-first-electric-car/ The New Mercedes Benz S ClassMost odd stories relating to the environment tend to revolve around researchers and scientists and their slightly off the wall discoveries. But not so today. Today, in news of the weird — or at least slightly surreal — I bring you Daimler, the German automaker, who announced last week their very first hybrid car, the Mercedes Benz S Class. It’s a limousine.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/30/daimlers-first-electric-car/feed/ More Money for the Auto Industry http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/24/more-money-for-the-auto-industry/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/24/more-money-for-the-auto-industry/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:43:09 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/24/more-money-for-the-auto-industry/ The new Tesla Model SThree more car companies received sizeable loans from the federal government yesterday, but don’t worry; it’s not another bailout. In fact, the$8 billion is just the start of a larger $25 billion project called the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM for short) that was thought up back in 2007 and funded by Congress in late 2008 during the Bush administration. The project, overseen by the Department of Energy, is a federal grant and loan initiative bent on providing low interest capital to automobile manufacturers — as well as the makers of their component parts — to promote the development of new automobile technologies that guzzle less gas — and in some cases, no gas at all.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/24/more-money-for-the-auto-industry/feed/ Growing Plastic: A New Use for Biomass http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/19/growing-plastic-2/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/19/growing-plastic-2/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:00:10 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/19/growing-plastic-2/ A field of miscanthus, one of several crops grown to produce biomassIn the constant push for ever newer and greener technology and energy, we sometimes forget that it is often both simpler and cheaper to revisit old techniques in new ways. And that’s exactly what a group of researchers in California has done.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/19/growing-plastic-2/feed/ DuPont’s Solution to Fragile Solar Cells http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/05/duponts-solution-to-fragile-solar-cells/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/05/duponts-solution-to-fragile-solar-cells/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:55:13 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/05/duponts-solution-to-fragile-solar-cells/ Open Edged Solar Roofing TilesOne of the biggest problems with solar cells currently on the market is that they are extremely easy to break. Companies intent on manufacturing any sort of solar powered products have to find solutions, and few have yet been perfect. Hoping to change this trend, DuPont recently announced the launch of two new lines of encapsulants specifically designed to contend with the trials inherent in manufacturing photovoltaic products.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/06/05/duponts-solution-to-fragile-solar-cells/feed/ The Mysterious, Disappearing Honey Bee http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/the-mysterious-disappearing-honey-bee/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/the-mysterious-disappearing-honey-bee/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 23:51:53 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/the-mysterious-disappearing-honey-bee/ Colony Collapse Disorder

Honey bees are disappearing. The story has been in the news on and off since 2006, but for one reason or another, most people have paid little attention. And the situation is significantly dire.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/the-mysterious-disappearing-honey-bee/feed/ Coca-Cola Launches Eco-Friendly Packaging http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/coca-cola-launches-eco-friendly-packaging/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/coca-cola-launches-eco-friendly-packaging/#comments Sun, 31 May 2009 23:43:12 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/coca-cola-launches-eco-friendly-packaging/ A Bottle of Dasani Water

In their ongoing efforts to achieve a more environmentally friendly image, the Coca-Cola Co. announced earlier this month that they will be launching new biobased plastic bottles for their Dasani water line later this year and vitaminwater next year. They’re calling their new packaging the “PlantBottleTM.”

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/31/coca-cola-launches-eco-friendly-packaging/feed/ The High Price of Rubber & the Devastation of Southeast Asia http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/26/the-high-price-of-rubber/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/26/the-high-price-of-rubber/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 12:00:02 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/26/the-high-price-of-rubber/ Tapping rubber trees for raw latexSlash-and-burn agriculture may be bad for the environment, but in southeast Asia, the cure may be worse than the disease. Endorsed by multiple governments, at both the local and national levels, as well as numerous business interests, everyone from individual farmers to massive corporations has been replacing the traditional slash-and-burn, more technically known as swidden, method of farming with rubber plantations managed with European techniques. In the last 20 years, over 1.2 million acres of land in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar have been cleared and replanted with nothing but rubber trees. By 2050, this number is expected to double — possibly even triple.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/26/the-high-price-of-rubber/feed/ The Canary of the Sea http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/13/the-canary-of-the-sea/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/13/the-canary-of-the-sea/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 01:05:36 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/13/the-canary-of-the-sea/ Shrimp in a Belmont Roll

Scientists have been warning us that global warming may severely threaten the survival of marine populations for several years now. But in a new study, published in Science this past Friday, they may have just found the ocean’s equivalent of the canary in the coal mine when it comes to fluctuating ocean temperatures. There’s just one little problem. This canary is worth $500 million.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/05/13/the-canary-of-the-sea/feed/ Canada’s Clean Coal Concept http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/canadas-clean-coal-concept/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/canadas-clean-coal-concept/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:57:42 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/canadas-clean-coal-concept/ A coal plant in Nanticoke, Ontario, CanadaWednesday, Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced his government’s most recent plan for eliminating CO2 emissions. The Canadian government hopes to phase out electrical generation by modern coal technology in favor of carbon capture and storage (CCS) — the much debated and as yet unproven “clean coal” concept — nuclear power, and other, renewable sources of energy.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/canadas-clean-coal-concept/feed/ Solar Lanterns Could Save Money, Reduce Greenhouse Gases in Rural India http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/solar-lanterns/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/solar-lanterns/#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:13:23 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/solar-lanterns/ Rural India

When we start talking about fossil fuels, most of us immediately think of coal, oil, and natural gas. But in the developing world where many people have little to no access to electricity — or even in places that do but have regular issues with outages — these are all secondary to kerosene.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/30/solar-lanterns/feed/ An Aquatic Invasion http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/28/an-aquatic-invasion/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/28/an-aquatic-invasion/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:14:34 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/28/an-aquatic-invasion/ A Red LionfishThe last time you visited an aquarium, you probably saw one. With their zebra-like stripes, multiple spines, and elaborate fins, they’re quite beautiful and incredibly distinctive. But red lionfish are also voracious carnivores that breed like rabbits and are poisonous to boot. And they’re invading the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/28/an-aquatic-invasion/feed/ Greening the Empire State Building http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/10/greening-the-empire-state-building/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/10/greening-the-empire-state-building/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 23:36:41 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/10/greening-the-empire-state-building/ A view of the Empire State BuildingNew York City’s Empire State Building is the latest poster child for green innovation. Earlier this week, Anthony Malkin, president of W&M Properties, the company that owns the building, announced that they would begin a $500 million self-financed program to renovate the world famous landmark — $100 million of which would be used to reduce the building’s energy consumption and carbon emissions. The project should be completed by December 2010.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/04/10/greening-the-empire-state-building/feed/ Venetian Algae Might Soon Supply Port’s Energy Needs http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/venetian-algae-might-soon-supply-port%e2%80%99s-energy-needs/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/venetian-algae-might-soon-supply-port%e2%80%99s-energy-needs/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:55:22 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/venetian-algae-might-soon-supply-port%e2%80%99s-energy-needs/ A Venetian CanalAlgae blooms have been haunting the city of Venice and its canals for hundreds of years. Historical records show that a 17th century doge once sent 15,000 men with pitchforks to clear the slimy green plants from his lagoon. More recently in 1989, the city did not act quickly enough to clear its waters of a new invasive species of Asian algae, and as the bloom overran the seaport, it deoxygenated the water, decimating native populations of marine life, before decaying itself. According to one biologist studying the phenomenon, the resulting yellow-brown scum spread up the Adriatic like “a cappuccino of cosmic proportions.” Another, less dramatic bloom occurred in 2006 as yet another species invaded the lagoon. When it comes to algae, the only thing that Venetian authorities can be certain of is the fact that this problem is not going away.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/venetian-algae-might-soon-supply-port%e2%80%99s-energy-needs/feed/ The New Pepsi Challenge: Greening the Soft Drink Industry http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/the-new-pepsi-challenge/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/the-new-pepsi-challenge/#comments Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:50:24 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/the-new-pepsi-challenge/ Pepsi BottlesIf you live in Washington, D.C., keep your eyes open this April. PepsiCo, the makers of Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Aquafina, have begun field-testing 30 green vending machines. The machines feature a redesigned Pepsi logo and are prominently marked as green technology.

Apparently, the cola wars spilled over into the green tech sector a few years ago. Coca Cola has placed vending machines that use hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) alternatives at the Olympic Games since 2004 as well as at several other international events. Not to be outdone, along with the machines Pepsi is testing in the nation’s capital, they are testing a few thousand other machines around the world that use other green refrigerant alternatives to HFCs. Moreover, the older models these green machines are set to replace are themselves improvements over models from 2003. Both companies have also joined with Greenpeace and several other corporations to form the Refrigerants, Naturally! coalition, a group determined to reduce the environmental impact of HFC refrigerants.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/31/the-new-pepsi-challenge/feed/ Surviving Dark Economic Times: A Non-Profit’s Employees Take a Stand http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/17/surviving-dark-economic-times/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/17/surviving-dark-economic-times/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:29:24 +0000 Lisa Wojnovich http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/03/17/surviving-dark-economic-times/ Audubon\'s WarblerThe National Audubon Society, like so many other businesses and organizations in the United States, is struggling with the current economic recession. So much so, that they have made a significant push for contributions from their own employees. Despite salary freezes for this year and the next as well as the threat of layoffs in the near future, Audubon employees have stepped up and pledged $800,000 in voluntary payroll deductions.

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