I’ve heard of making fuel from wood before, but rarely does using wood as fuel come up. However, just today I was pointed to this site, hosted by a local radio station, with a real-life example of someone burning wood as a fuel in his truck.

I can’t say for sure how the system works, whether it’s dual fuel or the wood-burning supplies all the fuel the engine needs, but it doesn’t appear to be a hoax and is certainly interesting. Evidently, during WWII, there was some experimenting with alternative fuels (due to shortages caused by the war), and one of the results was the wood burning automobile.

I can’t comment on emissions, but something tells me this practice would be not the choice of people concerned about air quality or GHGs. Another problem I see is that wood is not very energy dense compared to liquid fuels, meaning you would need a lot of trees and a big “wood tank” to get any sort of range out of your wood-powered vehicle (WPV).

That said, this WPV is definitely on the neat side of things. For another real-life example, check out a truck that runs on coffee grounds.
See two more pictures below, and for more, visit this site.

Posts Related to Car Hacks and Alternative Fuels:

• A Truck That Runs on Coffee Grounds (and How Wood-Gas Powers Cars With Garbage)
• Car Hacker’s Hummer Gets 60 MPG
• How to Get 76 MPG
• Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)
• The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)
• MicroFueler Makes $1/gal Homebrew Ethanol From Sugar
• 376.59 MPG Car Found In Museum (It Was Built In 1959)
• Car and Driver Increase Pinto Fuel Economy with $11 of Ecomods
• Sick of Gas?: Convert Your Car To Run On Electricity

Image credit: Claire L. Evans at Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Using only water-filled beer bottles and connecting hoses, Ma’s mother now has hot water on demand, and so do more than 20 other families in the village whom Ma has helped build their own system.

He wants to build a public bathroom for the village using the same process, but he needs enough money to buy the beers. He probably has plenty of volunteers to empty them.

Image and source.

Yamaha Tesseract: Green Bike or Decepticon?

The future of transportation is in no way restricted to cars, considering that most of the world’s population gets by on some sort of bike. If you want to see what the future of individual transport might look like, take a look at the Yamaha Tesseract (above), and a slideshow of 11 other green motorcycles put together by Wired.

Despite looking like it could walk away on its own or eat your dog, the Tesseract isn’t really a Transformer, but it and the other bikes are powered by innovative combinations of renewable power sources like electricity, methanol, and hydrogen-fuel cells. You might see some of them soon, too—the first hydrogen-powered motorcycle, the ENV Fuel Cell Bike, is slated for release next year.

These designs could usher in a new era of non-petroleum based individual transport. For details and pictures, see Wired’s slideshow of “Eco-Friendly and Badass” green motorcycles .

But the citizens, it seems, are having the last laugh as it has been reported this week that the town is to be the first in the UK to make use of the sewer system in a whole new way.

Rather than rely on the rather un-environmentally friendly process of digging up swathes of countryside and road to lay cables, H2O Networks Ltd have been called in for the gig.

As is so often the case, simple ideas seem to have manifest benefits and using sewer systems to lay fibre optic cables is a case in point.

As already stated, there is no need to dig up roads.

Conventional cables are normally laid a mere 45 cm below ground. Utilising the sewer systems means that the cables lie a full 10 metres below ground, decreasing the likelihood of damage and increasing security in potentially dangerous situations.

And of course, with no digging needed, with the sewers already in place, getting the fibre optics laid can be achieved far more quickly.

So, as many Britons languish behind with slow internet access, Bournemouth is casually reinventing itself as a rather fast, happening town, and in the not-too-distant future, will enjoy internet speeds approaching 100Mbps.

The UK has 360,000 miles worth of sewers. As Elfed Thomas, CEO of H2O Networks says:

“This is just the start of bringing next generation connectivity to the UK.”

Sources:

Yahoo UK

I.T. Professionals

Further Info:

H20 Networks Ltd

Image Source:

Photo of Victorian sewer courtesy of Flickr

The big names cannot help but pump out more sustainable paper products on an almost weekly basis. From biology college textbooks gone green to carbon friendly greeting cards, we’ve rounded up the top ten green papier goods that caught our eye.

7. So, the FSC is not perfect. But it’s a start and it speaks volumes when office supply giants like Staples start to sell what most of us want to start using already in the copy machine: post-consumer waste paper.

6. Green textbooks are challenging Penn State University’s exam taking establishment. Talk about a YAWN generation.

5. Perfect for the green spy in your life? Xerox has got paper that erases in 24 hours.

4. From your hiking map to your grandma’s birthday letter: Chris Ryan, a publisher of outdoor recreation and guide books now buys up to 15 tons of outdated maps at a time to meet his customer’s demands from these premium quality, unique envelopes made from 100% post-consumer content.

3. Random House’s 2008 15% recycled paper policy: the one that triggered a short-term revenue decline and in the future (if the right CEO steps up to the plate) has the potential to paint the publishing world a darker shade of green.

2. Live lighter at the office by switching to 100% post-consumer waste paper and then showing off your CO2 and tree savings using Green Printer’s eco-calculator widget (we couldn’t resist a well-time “plug”!)

1. Verysupercool (yes, that is their real and uber-funky name) teams with CarbonFund.org to create the Greenest Little Greeting Card in Texas.

So, even while the mythical paperless office lures us with its green goodness, we still use and love our paper - printed on both sides, thankyouverymuch.

Save trees, time and money the eco-friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at http://www.greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?

This 100% biodiesel-powered, 78 ft wave-piercing trimaran aims to set an around-the-world speed record while maintaining a net zero carbon footprint. The Earthrace left Sagunto, Spain, on April 27, and has already made excellent time across the Atlantic, landing in Panama just 8 days later.

Inspired by the desire to “connect with people about the need to get renewable fuels into our energy mix and to inspire them to do something,” the Earthrace has already generated a whirlwind of publicity. Much of this is due to the boat’s eco-technological appeal. It’s been described as “a rally car but for oceans”, with the ability to submerge up to 23 feet underwater while powering through the ocean. The “eco-” part doesn’t just include circling the globe on 100% biodiesel. Parts of the boat are made from a hemp-based composite, bedding foams are made from canola oil, and the operation’s total carbon footprint has been balanced by purchasing carbon credits.

The Earthrace also seems to have pretty good fuel economy for a powerboat. At 6 knots, it can go 24,000 km on one tank of biodiesel, which is over halfway around the world. 6 knots is pretty slow; at a more reasonable cruising speed of 25 knots (29 mph) the powerboat can go 3700 km (2300 miles) on a single tank.

Race rules state that the voyage passes through both the Suez and Panama canals, which makes the fastest route run close to the equator. The crew will make 12 refueling stops along the way in places where biodiesel is available, hoping to beat the previous circumnavigation record of 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes set by UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998.

This will be Earthrace’s second attempt at breaking the speed record. The team left Barbados in March of last year, but ran into significant mechanical problems that prematurely ended their trip. Let’s hope they have better luck this time.

Check out the Earthrace blog where you can follow along with the voyage. Also check out the sponsorship video (sorry about the gratuitous corporate advertising pitch, just watch the first few minutes to see what the boat looks like):

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/5VK6nSJCw58" width="425" height="355" wmode="transparent" /]

Post Related to Biodiesel or Boating:

• Biodiesel Mythbuster 2.0: Twenty-Two Biodiesel Myths Dispelled
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Photo Credit: Earthrace

Image source: Wikipedia

There’s been talk about the VW 1L concept for years. Since VW built the original, fuel economy, safety, price, and release date has been speculated upon and argued about, and I’d finally stopped thinking it was ever going to happen. However, according to VW’s CEO, it should hit the market in 2010.

The VW 1L is so named because, in theory, it only consumes one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers traveled. For those of us in the US, this translates into about 235 MPG. Definitely far and above anything on the market currently. The concept, developed in 2002, actually got better fuel economy, scoring a sweet .89L/100km in VW testing. It’s likely to use more fuel in real world use, but with that kind of mileage in testing it’s unlikely that anyone would complain about an “unsatisfactory 200 MPG.”

The thing is, that kinda of fuel economy comes at the price of riding in an extremely small two seater, with the two seats being one in front of the other, a la jet plane, rather than a standard side by side. The 1L also looks frighteningly close to the ground, which is part of how it pulls off a drag coefficient of .159, much better than any current production vehicle. While the final design isn’t done, VW will probably power the car with a 1 cyclinder diesel engine of displacement lower the .5 L, meaning the car’s speed will top out at 120 km/h.

The other obvious issue is the one I’m sure you’re all wondering about too. How safe is this thing? While I’m not usually one to complain about small cars, the 1L is extremely light and low to the ground. If it were released in the US I could easily see it being run over by any old F150 or Hummer. Nothing is out right now about safety, but as the production date nears, I’m sure VW will be doing lots of testing to reassure the public.

2010 isn’t that far off, in fact, it’s about the same time the Volt is supposed to be hitting the streets, so you’ll likely hear a lot more good and bad about this car in the coming months.

Posts Related to VW’s 1L and other Green Car Technology:

• The World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car: 285 MPG, Not A Hybrid
• A Biodiesel Prius? VW To Release 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid
• The Sporty Future of Electrics Cars: the Lightning GT
• The Cleanest Cars on Earth: Honda Civic GX and Other Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs)
• Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)
• Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
• Mercedes 40-MPG Diesel Hybrid: Cleanest SUV on the Planet
• Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production

Source: Motorauthority

While accompanying me on a trip to the more scary storage area of our house, my three-year-old spied an old “yard art” statue of a Rottweiler that belonged to my spouse. (The movers would not accept a bribe to, uh, lose a few items during the move).

Later that evening, she remarked to my husband, “Daddy, we need a real dog, not a plastic dog.” Between this plea and having to stop and ask to pet every, every, single dog we encounter in public, I set about the task of getting my spouse to agree to add a new member to the family.

It was not easy. He was heartbroken after losing his last dog, and pretty set against a puppy. This does not mean no — it just means choosing your moment wisely.

“Oh, I’ve got a dog for you. Chocolate Lab. I’ll spay her and everything,” my brother, a vet, offered. We were out for a family dinner. My husband was deep into his second beer. I gauged my opportunity. The moment looked right, or my husband looked a bit drunk. Either way, works for me. “Hey, Honey, guess what?!”

Yeah, I got him to agree while he was buzzed. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.

Speaking of do, or rather “doo,” we have just a short while before we go pick up the puppy to consider how to “green” our new pet. A bit of internet searching and some recommendations included Paw Luxury, a site that offered eco-living for the every day dog. The products included many eco-friendly, fair-trade, and recyclable products from hemp collars to organic treats, toys, beds and things for the lesser exciting new pet issues such as the “wet dog” aroma, and doggy breath.

The site also offered a resource for biodegradable “scooperboxes” and “business bags.” The only thing the site did not have was a place to put the fully-loaded bio-bag. For that, I had to do some research.

Turns out, they do make compost bins especially for pet waste. You can make your own, or buy a ready-made model. Prices range from around $50 bucks to a fancy model with fans and an empty light (not-so-green for the brown, really) for around $500 bucks. I’m all for low-tech, kids. It’s poop.

The compost system uses a treatment similar to a septic system, or a bokashi bucket, using enzymes to break down the waste. This “compost” however, cannot be used on any kind of food garden. But the system sure beats the plastic bag method for environmentally-friendly.

Now, if I can just convince the spouse he will not mind some scooping. That’ll take a few more beers.

With the Eco-Me Home Kit, you provide the white vinegar, baking soda, olive oil, and water, and you’ve got everything you need to make an all-purpose cleaner, a wood polish cleanser, and a scrub cleanser, too — at a fraction of the cost of most store-bought non-toxic cleaners.

The Eco-Me Home Kit contains:
2 spray bottles for mixing spray cleaner and polish
1 jar for mixing scrub cleanser
1 natural bristle scrub brush
1 handy mixer
1 microfiber cleaning cloth
1 bottle Eco-Me Home Cleaning Essential Oil
1 natural fiber storage bag
Easy to follow instructions on how to mix ingredients (right from your own kitchen).

The essential oil contains tea tree, lemongrass, rosemary, and lavender pure plant oils, and helps purge surfaces of mold, mildew, grime, and water stains (plus it smells great!). The kit is available at eZoetic.com for $26.00, and you’ll also find an Eco-Me Baby Kit, Eco-Me Cat Kit, and Eco-Me Dog Kit there, too. Now it’s easier than ever to “green-it-yourself!”

One of the primary imperatives for being an environmentally conscious consumer is to vote with your dollars - support companies that have a positive impact on society and the environment by purchasing their products and services. In the minds of many, that concept is easy to apply to the day-to-day stuff we buy at the grocery store or retail outlets. But some folks forget that our longer term investments can speak just as loudly.

Enter Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). SRI takes into account the impact that companies have on society and the planet, and recognizes that we can factor these concerns into our investment choices. Now our decisions as investors, which used to be determined solely on corporate financial performance – perhaps based on short-term and short-sighted goals – can now be based on the whole of a company’s standing, including their impact on the environment.

Once only a small piece of the total investment market, SRI now represents $2.71 trillion, more than 10% of all investments. That figure is up from $639 billion in 1995, an increase of more than 300%. As SRI has matured, green investing specifically has taken much of the limelight - as demand for clean technology, alternative and renewable energy, green building and other environmentally driven businesses rise, so does the desire to invest in them.

With this growth, opportunities for us as individuals to get into green investing and SRI abound. There are the usual suspects like stocks and bonds, mutual funds and venture capital. For example, dozens of mutual funds exist for investors looking to put their money where their mouth is, and support companies who share their values. And many of these funds focus on green companies, with large numbers of them joining the ranks within the last year or two.

Ins and outs of screening

To determine which companies should be included in a green or SRI fund or index, both positive and negative screens, or criteria, are applied. Positive screens bring in companies that have good records in areas like environmental safety, and employee and human relations. Negative screens exclude companies whose businesses involve things like alcohol, tobacco, firearms, gambling, nuclear power and military weapons.

But, we likey the wine

It’s in setting these screening factors that SRI can get a little subjective. Some people feel that certain categories should not be excluded. Alcohol, for example, is enjoyed responsibly by a wide variety of people. Others don’t feel that military weapons are worthy of exclusion, as these include projects needed for our defense. The Social Investment Forum has a handy chart that includes a number of SRI funds and the criteria that they use for screening purposes, as well as their performance.

In the green realm, most funds use positive screens to include companies focused on environmental products/services, or conduct their business in a sustainable manner. Some focus on specific industries, like the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund. Others feature a mix of sectors in their funds, like the Winslow Green Growth Fund and includes Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and First Solar among its holdings.

Show me the money

What’s that you say? There’s a giant elephant in the room? Ah, yes, of course: returns. The goal for any investor is to make money, no way around that one. The good news is that as SRI has grown, so have the returns available. According to a number of academic studies, SRI mutual funds perform competitively with non-SRI funds over time. In addition, an increasing number of state pension funds, university endowments and foundations are turning to SRI. This is telling because fiduciaries like these are required to seek competitive returns for their portfolios – it’s the law. So if it’s good enough for them, it might be good enough for you, too.

If you’re a savvy investor, you’re probably familiar with a method used by traditional mutual funds to track and measure returns: the index. This tool is in use with SRI as well, benchmarking the returns of SRI funds compared to non-SRI funds to measure performance.

The oldest of these, the Domini 400 Social Index, was established in 1991. It compares the returns of 400 mostly large cap companies to the S&P 500. The main difference between the Domini 400 and the S&P is that the former has been screened to include companies that provide a positive contribution to society.

So how has SRI fared? Since the index’s inception, it has shown 10.83% returns, compared to the S&P 500 with 10.33% total returns. Of course, there are investments out there that do better than both of those, but considering the added benefits, it’s not too shabby.

On the green investing front, the Winslow Green Growth Fund has seen a five-year annual average return of around 18%. In the same family, the Winslow Green Solutions fund targets larger, more established companies that provide green solutions, like pollution reduction. Only recently established in November of 2007, this fund has suffered along with the downturn in the economy, with returns of -14.5% since inception. Similarly, the relatively new Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund has seen losses so far this year, despite growing interest in this sector.

A few other noteworthy funds include Spectra Green, which chooses companies that exhibit growth potential, while operating in an environmentally sustainable manner — and it sports a five-year annual average return of 15.29%. The New Alternatives Fund, which has achieved a five-year annual average return of 20.18% (no, that’s not a typo) by selecting holdings in alternative energy, natural foods, recycling, and other environmentally-friendly sectors.

The Green Century family of funds focuses primarily on environmentally responsible investing. They have two funds to choose from. The first, the Green Century Balanced Fund has outperformed its benchmark (the Lippor Balanced Fund Index) with a five-year annual average return of 11.84%. On the other hand, the Green Century Equity Fund hasn’t seen quite the same success, with five-year annual average returns of 8.55%.

One issue to take note of: All of these funds do some screening for you based on their goals, but you should still review each fund’s holdings to ensure a solid fit with your beliefs. Some funds, like Spectra Green, shoot for having a percentage of their holdings pass the positive screen for sustainability. As a result, this fund includes Apple, which has been in the news lately for the less than stellar environmental impact of their products.

Stock up

If you’re into the stock market and want to select your own individual investments, there are a number of companies that might be worth a look. Of course, as with any investment, you should always do your homework – a good place to start is a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report. Generally available on a company’s website, you can also find a database of CSR reports here. Some companies that have strengthened their commitment to the environment even have separate Environmental Reports, like Wal-Mart’s Sustainability Progress Report, and Disney’s Enviroport.

You might also consider joining a group of like-minded folks in an investment group, like the RainFrog Ethical Investment Partnership. Some people prefer groups like these to striking out on your own, as information and money are pooled. There are also many sites that compile information and research for you, like Responsible Shopper and Renewable Energy Stocks. Did we mention to make sure and do your homework?

Speak Up

Regardless of the investment that you choose, shareholder advocacy is a way to have your voice heard and influence the direction that companies take. As an investor, you own a piece of the company – why not use that power for good?

Advocacy efforts can include “dialoguing” (normally called “talking”) with companies about social, environmental, or governance concerns. You can also file shareholder resolutions on a host of issues, which are then presented to the entire stable of owners for a vote. Investor coalitions, like the Investor Network on Climate Risk, allow investment professionals to make known their concerns about the risks and opportunities associated with issues like climate change.

These methods create investor pressure on companies, and can even garner media attention. As an SRI investor, your actions work to improve policies and practices, encourage good corporate citizenship and promote long-term shareholder value.

Green investing can be a good way to align your finances with your values. Determine what’s most important to you, do your homework, and consider letting your money work for the good of the planet.

Clean Burning Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) are hot commodities in some parts of the country, where fuel can sell for as low as $0.63 per gallon.

Unlike the world’s most fuel efficient car (VW’s 285 MPG bullet), the Honda Civic GX looks like a standard passenger vehicle. What makes it special is what you don’t see: tailpipe emissions that are often cleaner than ambient air.

The Civic GX is powered by compressed natural gas—methane—the simplest and cleanest-burning hydrocarbon available. With an economical 113-hp, 1.8-Liter engine, the EPA has called the Civic the “world’s cleanest internal-combustion vehicle” with 90% cleaner emissions than the average gasoline-powered car on the road in 2004.

And get this: in Utah, natural gas can be purchased for $0.63 per gallon.

At $24,590, buying a new Civic GX won’t exactly break your bank account, especially since up to $7,000 will come back to you in the form of state and federal tax credits. But don’t expect to find one easily. The car is only sold in two states, New York and California, and Honda can’t build them fast enough. One dealership said they have over 80 people waiting to buy.

It’s fairly obvious why densely populated states would be interested, especially since natural gas is a readily available source of heating fuel for many parts of the country. Most importantly, the Civic is the Eagle Scout of emissions certifications: it qualified for the California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) status, which means that it’s a Super-Ultra-Low-Emission Vehicle (SULEV) with zero-evaporative emissions. To qualify for AT-PZEV, the Civic must also carry a 15-year/150,000-mile warranty on emissions equipment. It also meets EPA’s strict Tier-2, Bin-2 and ILEV certification.

Despite getting the equivalent of a good but not quite amazing 36 MPG highway/24 MPG city, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) awarded the Civic the green ribbon as the greenest vehicle of 2008. That’s the fifth consecutive year it’s taken the top prize.

So what’s the downside?

Drawbacks to the Civic GX and other Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles

Earlier this week I was clued-in to the explosion in popularity of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in Southern Utah, and their potential to overwhelm the 91 refueling stations already in place there.

That’s the biggest drawback to NGVs:

• There are only about 1,600 CNG stations nationwide (compared to 200,000 gas stations), though some areas (like Utah and California) are better served than others. To see where these stations are, see the alternative fuel locater from Mapquest (under #2 on that post).

One way to get around this is to buy your own natural gas refueling station. Since a large number of us burn natural gas for heat, this doesn’t require much more than setting up a pump. The refueling kits, made by FuelMaker, will set you back about $3,500, but that can be offset by substantial tax credits.

• Second drawback: since natural gas is a compressed fuel, the tank takes up some trunk space, and only holds the equivalent of 8 gallons of gasoline. Honda estimates the vehicle’s range to be 220 to 250 miles, although Consumer Reports claimed it was closer to 180 miles.

NGV enthusiasts are getting around range limitations (and vehicle scarcity) by converting their own vehicles to run on natural gas and adding spare tank capacity. Throwing extra tanks in the bed of a truck, for example, can boost driving range to around 600 miles. The best part about converting a vehicle (as opposed to the Civic GX) is that if you run out of CNG, the system automatically switches back to gasoline.

• Third drawback: NGVs don’t provide that great of a reduction in greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions when compared to their gasoline counterparts.

According to the industry group Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA), the reduction is only 20%, which is about the same GHG reduction you get from corn-based ethanol. That doesn’t sound too impressive, but it’s still a reduction, and clean air could be worth it.

The big question mark is natural gas supply. If large amounts of biomethane can be produced from biomass (which is probably already done at your local landfill), the emissions reductions would be much greater.

But What About Natural Gas Supply?

Natural gas supplies 20% of all energy use in the US. According to NGVA: “Even if the number of NGVs were to increase 100-fold in the next ten years to 11,000,000 or roughly 5% of the entire vehicle market (a formidable goal), the impact on natural gas supplies and the natural gas delivery infrastructure would be small — equating to about 4 percent of total U.S. natural gas consumption.”

At first glance, that sounds pretty good, but any increase in natural gas usage means importing more fuel.

Taking a look at data from the Energy Information Administration, the US uses about 21.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year, most of which is produced domestically (18.5 trillion cubic feet) with the difference being imported (4.2 trillion cubic feet). Proved natural gas reserves in the US amount to about 211 trillion cubic feet. If my math is correct, without taking into account any increase in demand, the US only has about 11.5 years of natural gas left. After that, we’re back to square one: importing oil from Russia, Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia

Like petroleum, two-thirds of world natural gas supply exists in just a few countries. If we’re at all worried about having domestic (let alone renewable) energy sources, basing the future of US transportation on natural gas puts us right back in the same position we’re in now.

Also like petroleum, there is an “infinite supply” argument: “Don’t worry, we won’t run out… promise.” NGVA says that if we can tap into methane hydrate ice formations that exist under 1000 feet of water at the bottom of the arctic oceans, we’ll be just fine. Right now, this is about as plausible as time travel, and methane hydrates serve a very important function—they’re a crucial sink for carbon dioxide in the global carbon cycle.

Conclusions

Whether or not we’ve learned our lesson about importing foreign energy, natural gas could still provide a functional infrastructure and technology for transition to hydrogen fuel cells. Natural gas is currently the number one feedstock for producing hydrogen, and refueling stations along California’s hydrogen highway may produce the fuel by reforming natural gas on-site. Basically, this gives us a transition fuel until we figure out how to make hydrogen sustainably.

As for the Honda Civic GX, it may be the cleanest-burning vehicle on the market, but the drawbacks listed above are likely to keep NGVs out of mainstream production for the forseeable future. It seems unlikely that natural gas will stay as cheap as it currently is in Utah, but relatively low pricing could keep the car’s popularity high in some areas. It will be interesting to see how things resolve there.

For more on the Honda Civic GX, see Honda’s Website and Consumer Reports. See more pictures below.

For more on Natural Gas, see Natural Gas Cars: CNG Fuel Almost Free in Some Parts of the Country.

Posts Related to Alternative Fuels and Green Car Technology:

• Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
• How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
• How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation
• Six New Technologies Will Help Manufacturers Reach the 35 MPG Goal (Without Hybrids)

Photo Credit: Honda

Cork is harvested from the outer layer of bark of the Cork Oak tree found mostly in the Mediterranean. The bark is harvested every ten years, with each harvest producing a softer batch of cork. By keeping these trees in production, they provide homes to wildlife in about 1800 acres of cork forests and provides many jobs to the people of who harvest the cork by hand. Cork is also 100% recyclable! Of course they can be used for these cool crafts, but companies like Yemm & Hart also collect donated wine corks to make products like tile flooring. This sustainability and ability to recycle make cork an environmentally conscious crafting choice!

These images are just a few cork crafts I discovered on Etsy! Check out their shops for even more!

1. Classic Chair Cork Coasters from Annacote
2. Cork Beehive Brooch from Ottoman
3. The UN-DIamond Cork Ring from Uncorked

Tell me about your cork crafts in a comment!

It has many uses, but I’d never thought of decorative until seeing the story about the “Pastie Lady”. You want to publicize hemp and other natural resources, take a cue from 32 year old Jennifer Moss of Ojai, California.

That’s her on the left, decked out in a g-string, skirt and pasties, all made of hemp. Now, who could turn down a better reason for letting our farmers grow hemp, and establishing an infrastructure to produce such interesting clothing items?

Jennifer is a native of a small town near Corvallis, Oregon, but sought out a more eclectic, forward thinking place to live, like Southern California. She finally chose Ojai, and has been causing a stir ever since.

She’s been arrested twice and ticketed several times while bicycling down Ojai’s main street with a small trailer containing earth-friendly signs and a smiley-face pillow. She used that to do a head stand and kick her legs in the air one day. She received a lot of attention.

Jennifer also celebrated Easter Sunday by showing up at a Catholic church while parishoners were leaving the sanctuary. She admits it was poor judgement, but felt it necessary to send a message that there are many bad people who are destroying the Earth, and yet many of them go to church.

It’s said that before moving to Ojai, she entertained parade goers in Ventura, California during the Fourth of July parade in 2007. By-standers were shocked to see Jennifer zipping past on in-line skates, wearing only suntan oil.

She’s quoted in the article as saying:

“Nudity is natural, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with it,” she said. “It’s OK for children to play video games where they are killing each other, and it’s patriotic to murder people in a war. But women’s breasts in public? You better watch out!”

Pasties, in case you don’t know, are used to cover the nipples on a woman’s breasts. Somehow, you can show naked large or small breasts, but the nipples must be covered. What’s wrong with nipples? After all, nearly all of us have dined there in our earliest days.

Well, I for one hope Jennifer, known in town as the Pastie Lady, remains safe as she parades her causes in Ojai, and think I’ll start a petition drive to legalize industrial hemp.

Hey, it’s gotta start somewhere.

Source

Mimicking the beautiful haciendas of the Spanish countryside, the developers are looking to something even more spectacular - the design of the buildings will make best use of the sun, wind and rainfall to supply the energy and water needs of the residents and will also involve planting of more than 10,000 trees to complete the picture.

Works have already begun and hacendados (or hacienda owners) are buying into the prime real estate, having seen a sample house in this complex that will consist of a hospital, school, playgrounds and recreation facilities, a police station, commercial centers and office blocks, among others.

It will be entirely powered by green and electricity will come from solar or wind sources. Wetlands will be transformed to harvest, biologically treat, and recycle runoff water for household use.

In total, 6,250 housing units will be built in a 5 year period on the 500 acre development and each would cost the equivalent of between US$35,000 and US$ 65,000, cheaper by any means than similar construction elsewhere.

Mombasa is a popular tourist resort in East Africa, and an eco-city project like the Hacienda will surely add to its already inviting profile of white beaches, wildlife and welcoming, friendly people.

Resources: Hacienda Development Holdings

Photo Courtesy: Copyright:Hacienda Development Holdings

And according to a survey just released, only 40% of the US population actually recycle their cell phones while another 10% simply toss them into the bin while singing away…

But recycling your old cell phone could also be more than a green thing to do. You could be saving the highly endangered and rare Eastern lowland gorillas, also called Grauer’s gorillas.

The good news is that your phone will not be dumped in some poor, third world country for the bucks alone, but it will be refurbished and sold, with the proceeds going to paying eco-guards involved in gorilla conservation, and who protect the hapless animals from the bullets.

This band of eco-guards are doing a good job defending the gorilla population against rebel armies and poachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it possible for the endangered animals to survive - and even to increase their numbers.

The eco-guards are not just forest sentries in some research project - they double up as community educators with the responsibility of spreading the message that hunting endangered lowland gorilla species is also a serious environmental hazard! Digging large forest areas for precious metals destroys the natural habitat of the apes.

We all understand that recycling can save energy and valuable resources, including the mining of precious metals and the manufacturing of new plastics. In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Eastern lowland gorilla lives deep in the bush where heavily armed militias patrol in search of wealth and resources to fuel their senseless and unending war, and only under 200 of them remain.

Coltan also called colombite-tantalite is a little-known, highly priced tarry black mineral contained in cell phones, laptops and video-game machines but the main attraction for the Congolese rebels and defines the dangerous ecology and habitat of these gorillas.

And that’s what links your prized cell phone to the plight of these apes. Michael Green, of the Santa Barbara Zoo, says: “Cell phones are directly leading to illegal activities that are harming gorilla populations.” Talk of a case of pay back time.

Aside from a separate joint effort by Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo to save the mountain gorilla (only about 700 of them remain) in the jungle hinterland that the three eastern Africa nations share, notably the Virunga hills, conservationists believe more should be done.

The nonprofit organization Eco-Cell collects and refurbishes these old cell phones for resale in a project that also involves Santa Barbara Zoo and other American zoos.

Photo Credit: Flickr

How can you structure your green or mission-driven business, so that you can grow and even possibly sell it one day, without compromising your ideals, beliefs and mission? How can you fund your growth without finding out too late that your new investors are not at all interested in what you are doing for the environment or society, but only in the financial bottom line? While Getting to Scale is not a “how to” guide, it describes a wide variety of case studies that illustrate key findings. It is based on extensive in-depth interviewes with dozens of CEOs and founders of mission driven businesses such Ben & Jerry’s, Stonypoint, American Apparel, and many others.

As a co-founder of Eco-Libris, and someone who spends a sizable proportion of his day involved in the operation of a mission-driven green business, I found this book useful and right on. Although it deals with “rich” problems, which I can only dream about having, it did give me food for thought, and also validated some of the things already in place. Will it help us get the millionth tree planted? Time will tell…

However I was thrilled to be able to present author Jill Bamburg, who is also the dean of the MBA program at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, with questions on this fascinating topic.

Q: Getting to Scale was published in 2006, while 2007 was the year that, at least according to some parts of the media, brought the environmental movement to the folds of the mainstream, even if only temporarily (crossing fingers). Do you think there was any fundamental shift in the world of mission driven businesses since the book came out?

A: Great question. There has definitely been a huge upsurge of interest in green business, sustainability, and climate change since the book was published. As you say, these issues have definitely gone “mainstream” – which is to say that they have now been taken up by major corporations around the globe (or at least their PR departments!).

These businesses are now embracing the “business case” for undertaking environmental actions: cost savings, risk management, and revenue opportunities.

At the same time, there is also increased interest in the kinds of businesses I was writing about – that is, those that are fundamentally mission-driven, as opposed to profit-driven – on the part of two important demographic groups: young people who are just beginning their careers in business, and mid-career or retiring baby boomers who are looking for ways align their work with their values.

So yes, I do think there has been a shift in the business world since the book came out.

Q: Your book is about the issues mission driven businesses have to deal with when they need to grow, sustain growth and/or sell their business, and you give many examples. Since then there were several high-profile business deals that I assume would have made it into the book had they been done previously. For example the sale of Burt’s Bees to Clorox, Coca Cola’s investment in Recyclebank, and JP Morgan acquisition Climate Care, the UK-based carbon offset company. Do these recent cases validate your past conclusions, or did things change?

A: Another good question. In this case, I don’t think things have changed much — with one exception, which I’ll talk about in a minute.

The reason I wrote the book initially was that I observed a disturbing pattern in the sale of socially responsible businesses to larger financially-driven firms. I was concerned that there might be something inherently wrong with the model of socially responsible businesses that was causing these sales to happen. I set out to find out whether that was true by looking at socially responsible businesses that had grown successfully without selling out to larger players.

The most recent wave of sales is simply a continuation of what I observed in the earlier period. The one exception is that the mainstream market for “green,” organic and “alternative” products has grown, making these more attractive acquisition targets for mainstream players.

Q: Another relatively new development that we begin to see with such businesses discussed are mergers, such as the case of Zipcar and Flexcar. Do you see it as growth or more of a survival mechanism? How do mergers fit the models you present in the book?

A: I think that the Flexcar-Zipcar merger, and others like it, are both growth and survival strategies stemming from very traditional business imperatives. Both car-sharing companies needed capital to grow and expand their market coverage. Rather than seek to stay independent and fight head-to-head in the marketplace, or be acquired by larger, better capitalized firms in other businesses, they chose to join forces and develop the US market for car-sharing.

Many other businesses that seek to grow (or survive) don’t have the luxury of a merger with another like-minded company. The circumstances have to be right and the size of the final entity has to be large enough to meet the challenges of distribution and competition.

Q: These days it seems that there are more and more “green business” networking events, forums and circles. Although these places are a great place for mission-driven businesses to interact and support one another, one can’t help but also feel a certain buzz that sometimes looks like entrepreneurs creating green businesses with the idea of being bought out by a mainstream brand like Clorox as a goal in mind. Is your book also suitable for such entrepreneurs?

A: I think that some of the ideas in my book will apply to people who are building businesses to sell, but they are not my target audience. I wanted to help the business owners who are trying to remain independent and in control of the values of their companies.

Q: Is it now more easy or more difficult for a mission driven business, compared to the previous periods?

A: There are a couple of things that may make it a little easier than it has been in the past: 1) a shift in the mainstream market interest toward greener, healthier products and lifestyles; 2) an increase in the talent available to make these businesses successful; and 3) some new thinking in the area of hybrid corporate forms that may better support mission-driven businesses.

On the other hand, the fundamentals of business have not gotten any easier. It’s hard to build a successful business of any sort – and it’s harder still to build one that is as committed to environmental and social values as it is to financial success.

Q: Many of our readers are involved in the book industry, either as authors, booksellers or in publishing. Do you have any insight into the book business from a green or mission driven perspective? Any advice on how to navigate the market?

A: Just some great examples from the North American marketplace: Berrett-Koehler (my publisher), New Society Publishers on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Chelsea Green in Vermont, and Raincoast Books in Vancouver, British Columbia (my Canadian distributor).

Once again, it’s hard to be successful in business. It’s even harder to be successful in the book business. And harder still to be successful in the mission-driven book business. All the companies I’ve mentioned have great lists, great values, and inspiring stories.

Q: What has been the feedback for the book so far from the business community or from Bainbridge students and graduates?

I’ve gotten good feedback on the book from a lot of people who have read it. They find the stories inspiring and the insights useful. No millionaires to report yet, however.

The same is true at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, where I serve as Dean of the MBA Program. Our program is providing adult students with an MBA in Sustainable Business that will give them a leg up on aligning their work with their values. We’re six years into the venture. Still no millionaires, but a lot of successful change agents in business.

Title: Getting to Scale: Growing Your Business Without Selling Out

Link: http://www.bkconnection.com/ProdDetails.asp?ID=9781576754160

Author: Jill Bamburg

Swedish Publisher: Bookhouse Publishing

American Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

Pages: 174 pages

See also:

Ecopreneurist: How to do Cause-Related Marketing Well

Ecopreneurist: Diversification and Filling Ecological Niches: Green Businesses Own a Portfolio of Enterprises

Ecopreneurist: Free Range Studios Offers Free Marketing for Worthy Causes

100% Organic Kids Graphic Tee

The elephant graphic tee is my favorite shirt! I’ve always had an affinity for elephants. The elephant tee is hand sketched and printed on American Apparel’s 100% organic cotton t-shirt. These sweatshop free shirts made in LA are then dyed at Red Fish-Blue Fish Dyeworks in NH “in the most environmentally friendly way possible without harsh fixing agents or formaldehyde.” This is a hip green tee for your child!

100% Organic Kids Lunch Bag

I also like the robot 100% organic lunch bag sold by Toby and Rei. This is a great bag to use for play or lunch, and it reminds me of the Natural, Organic Lunch Bag I reviewed last year, but this one is way cooler. These robots would make any kid think it was want to take a home lunch to school, and you definitely don’t have to worry about lead in these lunch boxes.

Toby and Rei combine organic, sustainable materials with great design.

as fashion designers, we are aware of the impact that standard growing and harvesting practices have on our natural environment, and want to provide an alternative to concerned consumers. as young mothers, we want to leave a positive legacy for our own children and the planet that they will inhabit.

The prices are reasonable, and the quality is high. Toby and Rei also make a super soft bamboo fleece and organic cotton baby blanket, and the tag is embedded with wildflower seeds, so you can plant it!

Related posts on organic clothing for kids:

• Organic, Cotton Clothing for Children From Happy Green Bee
• Divas and Drooligans Goes Organic!
• Tea Collection Goes Organic!

When the Internet extended its wiry tentacles to the small town that I grew up in, I had no idea what it was. I pictured it being a room full of wires and lights, like a super computer android version of a phone operator.

As I matured, I realized it wasn’t that at all, but a more mystic existence of floating pockets of digital information in constant flux, existing in digital clouds that were suspended just above the atmosphere.

Of course, neither of those images is or was correct. But as it turns out, I was closer to the target with my first guess. Massive server rooms take up space and energy all over the world, storing the information and websites we web junkies feed on for survival. Luckily, they are starting to go green.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc., a technology real estate company, has taken a bold step into the green world by renovating a 90-year-old printing facility in Chicago. They have turned the plant into the world’s first LEED gold-certified data center. Not only is this a paradigm shift for future data centers—it may change the way LEED building companies approach renovations.

“This project shatters the myth that LEED certification can only be achieved within newer facilities,” says Jim Smith, vice president of engineering at Digital Realty.

LEED Certification is a rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council. The system provides a whole-building approach to sustainability by considering the qualities of water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, among others.

The Digital Realty Trust project transformed a portion of the 1917 R.R. Donnelly & Sons Co. printing plant into 20,000 square feet of of floor space with 4,000kW of available IT load.

One of the things that, I think, makes this project such a powerful one is the use of special tools the space uses for measuring energy consumption.

“These are not expensive, but they provide critical data that let you understand what is happening in the data center. Every data center should have this, particularly since it is such a small investment and provides such valuable information,” Smith said. “Step 1 for energy-efficient operations is always to have a way to measure.”

I hope this catches on. It would be a relief to know that while I’m blogging about building green, the IT resources my blog requires are helping the cause.

Photography: worldofstock.com

This is how it works: 

When you sign up to join the Drink Pouch Brigade, TerraCycle will mail out 4 prepaid collection bags to your address. Once a collection bag is filled at least 100 drink pouches simply drop it off at a UPS drop off location and Honest Tea will donate $.02 per Capri Sun, Kool Aid and Honest Kids drink pouches and $.01 per other drink pouch you collect to the charity of your choice.

If you are feeling a little left out of the crafting process. All you need to do it save 27 of the packs to make your own using these Wiki instructions, then mail the rest in!

(Photo courtesy of TerraCycle.)

If the five easy steps in this video are not enough for you, then take a look at this list from Seoul’s 2008 Earth Day organizers of ten more ways to go green, Korean style.

1. Shop only for things you need
2. Create less trash
3. Eat when you are hungry, not when you’re bored
4. Try a vegetarian diet
5. Eat less “ready-made” food
6. Showering only when you need to
7. Do laundry only when you need to
8. Don’t drive a car
9. Use less electricity
10. Tell others about environmentally conscious lifestyles

Links from the video:

Roots & Shoots, USA

Roots & Shoots, Korea

ImaginePeace.or.kr

Beautiful Store

Links to Korean environmental and social interest organizations:

LOHAS Korea

Green Korea United

Friends of Asia