This is a short video we took of Robert De Veau with Hirsch Gift showing the Eco Button at the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) event in Fort Worth last weekend.

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Initially I stopped at the Hirsch Gift booth to discuss their new line of bamboo and PET flash drives - yes another vendor is entering the green flash drive market - but then Robert showed me the Eco Button.

The idea is basic. How many hundreds of computers are in your average office block? How many hours are those computers on during the day when people are not using them?

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The UK’s Guardian newspaper published their top 10 list of hottest cleantech companies in Europe, and what a mix!

Companies profiled include those involved in:

• Solar power;
• Electrical systems;
• Marine power;
• Industrial applications; and
• Distribution and management

Of the ten companies, eight are shipping product, and the other two are either in testing or development, but the technology is promising enough to warrant inclusion into the 2008 Guardian/Library House Cleantech 100’s top 10.

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Helveta

What does this mean? Specifically, it allows lumber and wood companies, fair-trade producers, and others to validate claims that their supplies are sustainably harvested, that their supply chain is held to rigorous standards, as well as providing risk assurance on extended supply chain purchases, and even royalty collections.

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The first national geothermal assessment done in 30 years by a governmental agency, the report indicates that the U.S. has “identified conventional” sources of geothermal systems that, if fully developed, are capable of generating 9,057 megawatts-electric (MWe). An additional 30,033 MWe of potential power generation is available from “conventional undiscovered” geothermal sources, and 517,800 MWe from unconventional Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) or high temperature, low-permeability resources.

By developing the already known conventional sources, the reports says, geothermal electric power production could expand 260%, adding 6,500MWe to the total of slightly more than 2,500 MWe currently generated.

We’ve heard a lot about drilling for oil offshore and in Alaska as a means to increase our domestic sources of energy, but the clamor for “drill now” has overshadowed the significant contribution geothermal can contribute to our domestic “energy portfolio”.

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Dean Kamen wants you to drink your pee…or sewage, or toxic, disease infested water.

But not until after his Slingshot has worked its magic!

The Super-Inventor unfortunately most known for the failure of his Segway has segway-ed into world-changing inventions. His latest, the Slingshot, can turn any collection of water-containing cocktails (ie. urine, ocean water, toxic sludge, sewage etc.) into pure, distilled drinking water. The Slingshot does all this without the use of filters or reverse-osmosis membranes. It purifies the water-containing source using vapor compression distillation, and can run on cow manure! And as if that weren’t enough, the manure-powered Slingshot generates enough electricity to light 70 energy-efficient light bulbs.

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Perhaps nothing has been perceived as a greater weakness for electric vehicles than charge times — spending 6 hours recharging every hundred or two miles is enough to readily ruin the idea of taking a cross-country trip.

To work around this, some groups such as Project Better Place propose to standardize battery packs and pack-replacing infrastructure. On one hand, it seems an easy solution to the problem; yet battery technology is an ever-moving target, as anyone who has witnessed the dramatic shrinking of cell phone and laptop batteries in the past decade can attest. But, as the stereotypes go, batteries can’t really take a charge as fast as you’d need, and you couldn’t deliver it that fast if you wanted to.

Or could you?

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In case you missed the news, the $700B bailout included tax credits for renewable energy industries. So what are the greenest bits of the bill and what does it mean for renewable energy companies? Also, where is all that glorious cash coming from?

Renewable Energy Tax Credits:

• Solar energy gets an 8-year extension on existing 30% tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations.

• Solar installations for residents and utilities are no longer confined to the US$2,000 monetary cap.

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/06/bailing-out-renewable-energy-tax-credits/feed/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/10/06/100-recycled-pvc-flash-drives-ideas-from-ppai-tradeshow/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/10/06/100-recycled-pvc-flash-drives-ideas-from-ppai-tradeshow/#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:34:04 +0000 John Simonetta http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/10/06/100-recycled-pvc-flash-drives-ideas-from-ppai-tradeshow/ This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of ProformaGreen, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy. John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry.

  There were a number of green and eco-friendly flash drives on display at the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) event in Fort Worth last weekend including the T530 Riclado made from 100% Recycled PVC and show at the event by Hirsch Gift.

  Hirsch lists these items as being made from post-consumer materials that have completed their life cycle and would otherwise have been disposed of as solid waste.

  Hirsch also points out the T530 casing is manufactured with post-consumer recyclables collected in commercial & residential recycling programs. That is a nice touch for Ecopreneurists looking for a local tie-in.

  Of course I am assuming the PVC is a fungible commodity so although the PVC comes from commercial & residential recycling programs there is no telling if they come from your local commercial & residential recycling programs.

  Like most flash drives the T530 is RoHS compliant.

  Hirsch was also showing off their cherry wood and bamboo drives.

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  ]]> http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/10/06/100-recycled-pvc-flash-drives-ideas-from-ppai-tradeshow/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/05/new-fuel-injection-shock-treatment-increases-mileage/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/05/new-fuel-injection-shock-treatment-increases-mileage/#comments Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:08:10 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://gas2.org/2008/10/05/new-fuel-injection-shock-treatment-increases-mileage/ Existing diesel and gasoline engines could get up to a 10% boost in fuel efficiency from an electrifying add-on.

  

  Researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia have developed an improved fuel-injection system that is simple and affordable enough to use in existing cars. Through a strong electric charge to fuel on its way to the engine’s cylinders, scientists were able to increase the fuel efficiency of a Mercedes-Benz 300D from 32 to 38 mpg. If all the autos the United States installed the apparatus, over 300 million barrels of gasoline and about 150 million barrels of diesel could be saved.

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/05/new-fuel-injection-shock-treatment-increases-mileage/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/chinese-algae-fuel-facility-to-make-ethanol-and-biodiesel/ http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/chinese-algae-fuel-facility-to-make-ethanol-and-biodiesel/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:25:59 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/chinese-algae-fuel-facility-to-make-ethanol-and-biodiesel/ After its successful launch of the first commercial scale algae biodiesel plant in the U.S., PetroSun is setting its sights on a new partnership to develop an algae biofuel facility in China.

  

  Shanghai Jun Ya Yan Technology Development Company has developed an agreement with PetroSun whereby it will provide $40 million (US) for the construction of an algae farm facility inside China and split profits with PetroSun 50/50 in exchange for PetroSun’s propriety technology and expertise.

  Along with planned ethanol and biodiesel output, the press release states that the facility will be producing “other commercial products” from the algae. I’m guessing that means livestock feed supplements made from what’s left of algae carcasses after they’ve been squeezed for oil and turned into ethanol — but maybe they have another surprise up their sleeves?

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/10/01/chinese-algae-fuel-facility-to-make-ethanol-and-biodiesel/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/01/scientists-develop-oil-spill-and-pollution-spotting-bacteria/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/01/scientists-develop-oil-spill-and-pollution-spotting-bacteria/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:10:10 +0000 Andrew Williams http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/01/scientists-develop-oil-spill-and-pollution-spotting-bacteria/ A team of researchers have developed a color-coded bacteria that will make it much easier to detect oil-spills and other forms of environmental pollution.

  During a recent sea expedition the team successfully used the bacteria, which contains a protein that glows blue when viewed though a simple light-detecting device, to detect oil.

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/10/01/scientists-develop-oil-spill-and-pollution-spotting-bacteria/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/10/01/greening-print-marketing-getting-serious-about-greenhouse-gases/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/10/01/greening-print-marketing-getting-serious-about-greenhouse-gases/#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:51:43 +0000 Heidi Tolliver-Nigro http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/10/01/greening-print-marketing-getting-serious-about-greenhouse-gases/ Many printers say they are “green” or “eco-friendly” because they print using soy inks, are FSC-certified, or print on recycled paper. But if you want an example of a printer who is really serious about its stewardship of the environment, take a look at Green Printer.

  Using sources from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Green Printer estimates that it helped its customers save 74,645 pounds of greenhouse gases and 38,116 pounds of solid waste since the eco-friendly printing company opened in June 2007.

  Green Printer is so serious about its environmental stewardship that it actually offers an “Eco-Calculator” that helps its customers calculate how much greenhouse gas and trees they, too, can save by using its services. These savings are achieved, among other things, by using sustainable printing methods (such as waterless printing) and printing on treeless and recycled paper. (See Green Printer’s story.)

  This adds a completely new dimension to the issue of socially responsible printing—a more active sense of participation.

  As I wrote last week, one of the benefits of using the document management and marketing models driven by digital printing is that you can see the positive impact you are making on the environment by what is missing—piles of wasted inventory, unread mail, and trash cans filled to the brim. But Green Printer offers another way to quantify your impact on the environment, one that allows you to “see” the invisible.

  That’s a very powerful motivator to positive social action—to the tune of 74,645 pounds of greenhouse gases so far.

  ]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/10/01/greening-print-marketing-getting-serious-about-greenhouse-gases/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/30/virgin-galactic-to-help-monitor-climate/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/30/virgin-galactic-to-help-monitor-climate/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:34:08 +0000 Joshua S Hill http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/30/virgin-galactic-to-help-monitor-climate/ Climate science is a little bit like me and books: I can never get enough of them, and appreciate lots and lots of them. For climate science though, it’s a case of getting more and more data, from as many possible sources as humanly possible.

  And now, thanks to Virgin Galactic, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be getting a bit more data to continue their never ending quest to understand planet Earth.

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/30/virgin-galactic-to-help-monitor-climate/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/volt-over-tesla-series-and-plug-in-hybrids-more-likely-to-be-game-changers/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/volt-over-tesla-series-and-plug-in-hybrids-more-likely-to-be-game-changers/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:45:02 +0000 Andrew Gilbertson http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/volt-over-tesla-series-and-plug-in-hybrids-more-likely-to-be-game-changers/ Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Andrew Gilbertson who is a 2008 graduate of Vermont Law School.

  A senior economist at the Argonne National Laboratory has come to an interesting conclusion: vehicles that rely on internal combustion engines are superior to electric vehicles in terms of what consumers would buy and what would save significant fuel.

  

  Even though Tesla is delivering their cars to consumers several years before the Volt hits the show rooms, from the perspective of Dan Santini, you and I are more likely to get our hands on Volt-style vehicles first.

  Some of the main obstacles that stand between us and pure EVs were identified at the 1st International Conference on Advanced Lithium Batteries for Automotive Applications, sponsored by the Argonne National Laboratory (where Dan Santini works).

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/volt-over-tesla-series-and-plug-in-hybrids-more-likely-to-be-game-changers/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/landfills-to-fertilize-biofuel-crop-with-trash-juices/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/landfills-to-fertilize-biofuel-crop-with-trash-juices/#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:13:09 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/landfills-to-fertilize-biofuel-crop-with-trash-juices/ Two British landfills could soon use their trash’s syrupy excretions to irrigate and fertilize on-site biomass crops.

  

  A developer, Waste Recycling Group, hopes to construct two 18-foot-deep lagoons near landfills to produce fertilizer from the leachate that oozes from the trash piles. The substance will be pumped from the dump into the lagoons where bacteria will eat away at the contaminants. The developer then hopes to use the fertilizer to grow willow coppices at the landfill for use as biofuel.

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/30/landfills-to-fertilize-biofuel-crop-with-trash-juices/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/scientists-create-device-to-remove-carbon-directly-from-the-air/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/scientists-create-device-to-remove-carbon-directly-from-the-air/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:53:52 +0000 Joshua S Hill http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/scientists-create-device-to-remove-carbon-directly-from-the-air/ Scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada have created a method to efficiently capture carbon dioxide directly from the air around us. The device, which is built on near-commercial technology, was built by Uof C climate change scientists David Keith and his team.

  “At first thought, capturing CO2 from the air where it’s at a concentration of 0.04 per cent seems absurd, when we are just starting to do cost-effective capture at power plants where CO2 produced is at a concentration of more than 10 per cent,” says Keith, Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment.

  “But the thermodynamics suggests that air capture might only be a bit harder than capturing CO2 from power plants. We are trying to turn that theory into engineering reality.”

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/scientists-create-device-to-remove-carbon-directly-from-the-air/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/new-facility-uses-algae-to-turn-coal-pollution-into-fuel/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/new-facility-uses-algae-to-turn-coal-pollution-into-fuel/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:27:12 +0000 Nick Chambers http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/new-facility-uses-algae-to-turn-coal-pollution-into-fuel/ A coal fired power-plant in Oregon has started a pilot project to curb pollution by using algae to harvest greenhouse gases and make fuel and other useful products.

  

  The power plant in Boardman, Oregon, is the state’s only coal-fired facility — and also the the state’s largest single emitter of carbon dioxide. To deal with this problem, Portland General Electric and Columbia Energy Partners have started a pilot project to turn the otherwise nasty emissions into biodiesel, ethanol, and even livestock feed.

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/new-facility-uses-algae-to-turn-coal-pollution-into-fuel/feed/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/ford-factory-processes-paint-fumes-to-generate-power/ http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/ford-factory-processes-paint-fumes-to-generate-power/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:08:09 +0000 Alex Felsinger http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/ford-factory-processes-paint-fumes-to-generate-power/ One Ford factory in Oakville, Canada has created an innovative process to capture harmful gases from their vehicle-painting facility and safely turn the fumes to electricity.

  

  The paint fumes contain volatile organic compounds which act as greenhouse gases and pollutants. Typically, these gases would be incinerated, which while better than leaving the VOC’s alone, still produces excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Ford has developed a much cleaner process to dispose of the gases.

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  ]]> http://gas2.org/2008/09/29/ford-factory-processes-paint-fumes-to-generate-power/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/new-mobile-phone-app-to-track-carbon-footprint/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/new-mobile-phone-app-to-track-carbon-footprint/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:17:56 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/new-mobile-phone-app-to-track-carbon-footprint/ A new software application will make keeping track of your carbon footprint as easy as having a mobile phone in your pocket. A London-based start-up has developed software for mobile phones that uses global positioning systems (GPS) to automatically figure out whether you are walking, driving or flying and then calculate your impact on the environment.

  Carbon Diem’s inventors claim that, by using GPS to measure the speed and pattern of movement, their algorithm can identify the mode of transport being used. The software then calculates the amount of carbon dioxide the journey has emitted into the atmosphere – without any need for input from the user.

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/new-mobile-phone-app-to-track-carbon-footprint/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/a-thin-film-solar-installation-revisited/ http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/a-thin-film-solar-installation-revisited/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:30:54 +0000 Michelle Bennett http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/a-thin-film-solar-installation-revisited/ A season has passed since we covered the installation of Magco Inc.’s new thin film solar panel installation. The previous article generated a lot of interest and questions, so it’s time to get back on the roof and report on some real-world figures.

  If you need a refresher on thin film solar technology, check out two of our previous posts. The important thing to remember here is that thin film solar is lighter than silicon panels, and uses different wavelengths of light.

  In May of 2008, Magco Inc. installed 27kW of Unisolar’s triple-junction laminate panels. That’s 4,900 sq ft of thin film goodness. The building contains a warehouse and offices, and it has a metal roof. The solar panels were literally glued to the roof.

  Total installation cost: US$215,000 (including inverter and hiring a master electrician)

  Energy produced each month provides about 1/3 of Magco’s total needs. That may not seem like a lot, but recall that this includes a warehouse with associated heating/cooling, machinery and equipment. Magco anticipates producing about US$9,000 each year from the panels. So let’s do the math:

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  ]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/29/a-thin-film-solar-installation-revisited/feed/