Green Options » clean

Japan Finally Gets a Clean Diesel Car

Joshua S Hill — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:05:04 +0000

After the last diesel car was taken off the Japanese market in 2007, Nissan Motor Company has become the first domestic automaker to release a diesel car in Japan in six years. And in the current day climate of everyone looking for ways to save on fuel – to cut costs and to help the environment – Nissan’s X-Trail 20GT sport utility vehicle is also the world’s first “clean” diesel.

Being powered by an engine lead-developed by partner Renault SA, the “clean” diesel refers to the fact that the X-Trail meets Japan’s new emissions standards that are set to kick into effect October 2009. These standards are said to be the strictest in the world.

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Japan to Offer Clean Automotive Incentives

Joshua S Hill — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:06:32 +0000

Japan will look to introduce incentives for the fiscal year starting July 2009, for consumers looking to buy clean diesel cars, in an attempt to reduce the countries carbon dioxide emissions. Such an incentive will hopefully not only push consumers into buying cleaner cars, but hopefully push manufacturers into building them as well.

According to an official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), further details will be clarified and confirmed over the rest of 2008, for a hopeful introduction in April of 09.

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Clean Tech of the Week: Wash Clothes Without Water

Michelle Bennett — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Not exactly washing without water, but with less than 2% of a normal washing machine. That’s only 1 cup of water for those sweaty gym clothes, grubby kid-wear, and foul socks.

Washing with soap and water has been THE WAY to clean most clothes for so long, it’s hard to imagine reducing H2O by 98%. What this technology lacks in sexy bells and whistles, it gains in implications. Billions of gallons of clean water could be conserved every year simply by adopting this dry cleaning technology. Less water also means less drying, which can add energy savings to those with energy-hungry clothes dryers.

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Ecopreneurist: Need Advice on Starting (and Funding) Your Cleantech Business?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:49:55 +0000

Editor’s note: Many investors see clean technology as a smart bet these days… but how do you get your cleantech business plan in front of the people with the money? Lead Edwards at Ecopreneurist points to one source of advice for clean/green entrepreneurs: universities… and some of this advice is free. This post was originally published on Monday, March 31, 2008.

If you are a scientist or researcher with a great idea for a green business, you should check out what universities have to offer you (even if you are not in school).

As an example of the types of programs available, consider UC Davis’s Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy (GTEA), which provides a free, week-long intensive for science and engineering researchers. Yes, I did say free, and it’s held at Lake Tahoe, Nevada in July—a very nice plus.

According to UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship Assistant Director, Nicole Starsinic, the GTEA combines classroom learning with a team project, which pairs scientists with business school students and professionals. A number of venture capital firms, law firms, and other professionals, which are listed in the Academy’s schedule, devote time in the hope of discovering the cleantech Google.

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Clean Energy Intro: Solar Thermal

Michelle Bennett — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:00:33 +0000

What if you could produce clean solar energy night and day, rain or shine, and never hit the bank for a single P.V. solar panel? Photo voltaic panels can be pricey, so the solar industry is always trying to lower costs and boost efficiency in the quest to compete with coal. One fast-growing, cost-effective solar technology uses heat to generate energy 24 hours a day, and it can store energy without batteries. In this post I’m going to investigate solar-thermal technologies.

It’s called “Concentrated Solar Power” or C.S.P. The idea is simple; no complex chemistry or fancy silicon wafers required. Glorified mirrors shaped like satellite dishes (or parabolic troughs) direct the sun’s rays towards a reservoir. The concentrated solar heat boils water into steam, and steam powers a turbine. When the water cools off it’s collected and cycled back through the system. The mirrors can even track the sun across the sky to maximize efficiency. Water is not the only fluid that can be used, but its unique properties have made it popular. More on that below.

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Tip o’ the Day: Are You Cleaning with the Magic Powder?

Rebecca Carter — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:10:25 +0000

Baking soda: It's like magic powder. It can be used everywhere, and once you start utilizing it for all of its 101 uses, you just might get pretty attached to this stuff.

You can bake, deodorize, and clean with sodium bicarbonate. Most people are already using it for the first two uses we mentioned, but the last one - not so much. However it is a great way to clean most surfaces and things in your home, while at the same time avoiding toxic, yucky chemicals.

Burned a pot? Put some baking soda and hot water in there and let it sit for a bit. Don't want to mix chemicals with your food? Baking soda can be used to clean both counter tops and fruit & veggies. Martha Stewart recently suggested dipping half a lemon into baking soda for a great & natural sink cleaner.

Most baking soda is made from soda ash, which comes from a naturally-occurring mined substance called trona. Most trona comes from Wyoming, which is known as the Saudi Arabia of sodium carbonate. Trona is mined completely underground, and we hear these mines are like underground cities. While we're still trying to understand how these mining practices affect the environment, we're confident in saying that baking soda is still light years better than using toxic chemicals to handle your dirty work.

Rebecca says: When it doubt, try baking soda out. I have used it in a paste with water as an abrasive cleaner, to take terrible burned gunk off of pots, and even as a fire extinguisher. I just learned about using it as a cleaner for fruits & vegetables, and you can bet I'll be putting that into action this week.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Solutions

Trona Mining Resource