Earth Hour: 8.30 pm local time, 28th March, 2009
Mar 28, 2009 Information of the Day, Natural Resource Conservation
EarthHour
This is to remind one and all that today, the whole world will be commemorating the Earth Hour by switching off all lights for one hour from 8.30 pm local time.
Wherever you are on this planet of ours, this symbolism will let our leaders know that we are very serious about tackling the environmental crises facing our terra firma. More than the symbolism, it will save big bucks in electricity costs and carbon emissions, though insignificant compared to the scle of actual action needed to tackle the impending challenges: climate change, vanishing habitats and species, poluution and so on.
Find out more at the EarthHour website.
Tags: Climate Change, EarthHour, Pollution
New .eco top level domain to support environmental causes
Mar 5, 2009 Information of the Day
.eco
A company, Dot Eco LLC has now applied for the new .eco top level domain. It claims that the domain level “.eco will be established for individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for companies to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites in a namespace that is more relevant to their core missions. By charter, a majority of the profits of the .eco initiative will be distributed to support environmental causes.”
The companyhas also managed to get into a partnership with former US Vice President Al Gore and his philanthropy, the Alliance for Climate Protection (www.climateprotect.org), to secure and promote the .eco top level domain.
Personally I think this is an instance of greenwashing. But it remains to be seen how many people and companies hop on to the .eco bandwagon to secure their green credentials. While people may assume that by choosing to register their domain under the proposed .eco extension, individuals and corporations can signal their interest in joining a global ecological movement that promotes nonpartisan change, it may end up lining the pockets of ICANN and this company registering thethe .eco top level domain.
The mitigating factor may be the claim that profits from registration fees will be used to fund scientific initiatives and research in climate change, ocean analysis, economic policy, and other environmentally related areas.
Tags: .eco. greenwashing
Humor: Clean coal air fresheners
Mar 3, 2009 Information of the Day
There is a hot debate going on over how clean really is “clean coal”. It is undoubtedly more controversial topic than biofuels. So here is a short humorous video to lighten the mood.
Tags: Clean coal, humor
UK Sunday Times’ Green Rich List
Mar 3, 2009 Information of the Day
Ingvar Kamprad: Founder Ikea
UK newspaper, Sunday Times has come out with a Green Rich List : list of global uber-rich, who have made investments in green technology companies. The list is in order of total personal wealth and not in the order of their investments in green tech.
Though we cannot make out how confident these tycoons are in the promise of future riches in greentech in absence of investment numbers, we still find that their interests span a wide gamut: electric cars, battery technologies, sponsoring research and conservation, various alternate energy (solar, wind, biofuels and so on),ecopackaging, recycling and so on.Their approach is also different: some have made financial investments in greentech companies, while others have initiated to make their exisiting companies greener and many have supported foundations that are into conservation of forests and other natural resources.
Warren Buffett tops the list, but curiously, Mexican billionaire, Carlos Slim is missing. The list is geographically diverse as well: apart from the Silicon Valley wealthy, it has 17 people from China and tycoons from UK, Germany, India, South Africa and other countries.
Find out all the details here. Maybe a decade from now, we will be able to compile list of people who made their fortunes in green tech: Shai Agassi, Elon Musk come to mind.
Tags: Green Rich List, Warren Buffett
NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory fails to reach orbit
Feb 25, 2009 Information of the Day
NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its its liftoff on Feb. 24 from California. The first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory was the latest mission in NASA’s ongoing study of the global carbon cycle.
Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere. The spacecraft did not reach orbit and most likely landed in the ocean near Antarctica. Read the rest of this entry »
New findings could have shed light into the depth and nature of the global climate change problem. It could have given researchers concrete data to confront world’s political leaders ahead of the Copenhagen conference to hammer out a post-Kyoto protocol deal.
Tags: Carbon Dioxide, Carbon emissions, NASA, OCO
Obama’s fresh push for cleantech
Feb 23, 2009 Information of the Day, Stars, Policy and Finance
In the massive $787 billion economic stimulus package from the US government, the cleantech sector was one of the bigger beneficiaries, walking away with $38 billion in government spending and about $20 billion in tax incentives over the next 10 years, according to various estimates. In a symbolic gesture, Obama had signed the stimulus bill, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, into law at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science where he later took a tour of the museum’s solar-panel installation.
In his latest address, US president Barack Obama tried to further reasure the cleantech sector saying:
“Because of what we did, companies – large and small – that produce renewable energy can now apply for loan guarantees and tax credits and find ways to grow, instead of laying people off; and families can lower their energy bills by weatherizing their homes”.
Companies like electric carmaker Tesla, who are waiting for federal loans and Google, GE and IBM, who are betting large on smart grid technologies, must have already started celebrating. The green initiatives of the bill included: Read the rest of this entry »
Breakthrough promises cheaper fuel cells
Feb 10, 2009 Green Technologies, Information of the Day
Researchers from different universities in Ohio,US have made a breakthrough in the design of fuel cells, using carbon nanotubes infused with nitrogen as a catalyst instead of platinum and increasing the electrical output by as much as four times.
The researchers found that, “Vertically aligned nitrogen-containing carbon nanotubes (VA-NCNTs) can act as a metal-free electrode with a much better electrocatalytic activity, long-term operation stability, and tolerance to crossover effect than platinum for oxygen reduction in alkaline fuel cells.”
The discovery may make way for cheaper and more efficient fuel cell designs in future. Fuel cells are being touted as one of the options to power devices of the future, from cell phones to cars (the Honda FCX is already being leased out in California). They can use hydrogen or methanol amongst others as fuels and the end product is pure water!
Read the full report here. (Requires subscription)
Tags: Fuel cells, Honda, Ohio
April date for international biopesticide conference
Feb 9, 2009 Information of the Day
Indiscriminate pesticide use can be devastating for the local environment, as they affect wider than targetted species. Biopesticides are usually inherently less toxic than conventional pesticides. They are derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. For example, canola oil and baking soda have pesticidal applications and are considered biopesticides.
If you are interested in learning more, be sure to attend the 5th International Conference on Biopesticides: Stakeholders’ Perspective (ICOB-V 2009), to be held in New Delhi, India, during 26 - 30 April 2009. The conference is being organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India. Find out more details here. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: biopesticide, TERI, Walmart
Superbowl debut for GE smart grid ad
Feb 3, 2009 Green Technologies, Information of the Day
GE aired an ad on Smart Grid tech at this year’s Superbowl. It is roughly based on the Scarecrow character from Wizard of Oz singing “If I Only Had A Brain,”. This ad may have introduced millions to the term Smart grid as Superbowl is one of the most watched events on US television.
But will this ad put smart grid out of green tech wonks’ discussion forums and into mainstream? Amidst the ads for cars, beer and movies that were shown during Superbowl, I think this ad would probably get lost. Though GE does well to point to the Ecomagination website, consumers will have to been shown some tangible benefits in the ad that will just grab attention and create buzz and make him explore more about it. How about something similar to the GoDaddy’s Danica Patrick shower ad? Sex will sell anything, Smart Grids included. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Smart grid, Superbowl
For a good cause
Feb 3, 2009 Information of the Day, Social Initiatives
Today if you want to contribute to a good cause, technology has simplified your search. While some websites like Kiva (focussing on microlending to communities in developing countries) and Volunteermarch (claimed to be the largest volunteering initiatives website in US and now it comes with a nifty Google Maps integration to make your search easier) have seen plenty of limelight, I recently came across two more interesting ones: UniversalGiving and WeCanBuildAnOrphanage.
WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com is a non-profit start-up building a home, clinic and school for 100 AIDS orphans in Haiti.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: CSR, Haiti, Universalgiving