2nd Green Revolution

“My friends in the business world keep telling me that Washington can help on two fronts: by investing in green research, offering tax incentives and passing cap-and-trade legislation; and by setting and enforcing tough standards to ensure that companies with cheap, dirty standards don’t have a competitive advantage over those businesses protecting the environment. As for the rest of us, we should get over the misimpression that American business cares only about immediate profits, and we should reward companies that work to keep the planet healthy.”

- Jared Diamond, a professor of geography at the University of California at Los Angeles, is the author of “Guns, Germs and Steel” and “Collapse.”

[Quote Source: New York Times]

[Image Source]

The weekly email from Travel and Leisure (T&L) often contains tidbits that make for interesting stories here on 2nd Green Revolution. Last year their stories about the most bike friendly cities in the world, as well as a discount being offered in Santa Barbara, California for those taking the train led to posts on this site. Many of the specials they promote and lists they compile have a “green” tint without being overtly eco-conscious.

This week’s email contained a link to their story about the “Most Scenic Train Rides” (click through to the rest of this post to see Top 10)  in the world. The story’s lead-in mentioned Seat 61, a website with information about train and ferry travel throughout the world. As interest in trains and railways as a mode of transportation has increased, visitors to the site have increased eight times according to T&L. Founder Mark Smith offers some calculations (seen in the table below) on his site comparing the carbon emissions of air and train travel. Read the rest of this entry »

Today at the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC Google will announce that Google Maps will now include biking directions in the United States. The easy to use Google Maps previously had directions by foot, car, and public transportation. The lack of directions for bikes was, according to TechCrunch, “the most-requested feature for the service, as some 57 million Americans ride bikes.”

Working with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit group that converts old rail lines into bike trails, Google now has information on some 12,000 miles worth of trails in the U.S. Of that, Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a quick announcement regarding the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). In an email to members earlier today, the USGBC introduced a new Web site called GreenHomeGuide.com. Designed to help companies in home construction and remodeling, the site is also available to the public. The new site contains

• A searchable services directory helps green-minded consumers connect with local green building professionals
• Editorial content, written by green building pros like you, helps homeowners find answers to green home questions that are relevant to their location and project

Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you love him, hate him, or are indifferent, Steve Jobs has major street cred. His company makes products that are elegant, well-designed, easy to use, and revolutionary. The hype and excitement that accompanies the lead up to and release of a major Apple product is second to none. Not only that, but the products go on to be wildly successful, while turning entire industries upside down. Think the Macintosh in the computer industry, the iPod in the music industry, the iPhone in the mobile device/phone industry, and now perhaps the iPad in the publishing industry. The presence of Apple has done wonders not only for Apple but for the entire electronics sector. People are excited about seeing the next useful technology and how it is integrated into a computer, phone, or GPS system. All this begs the question: Is there someone who can lead a company to develop breakthrough technologies and integrate them in products in the clean energy sector that consumers will get excited about? Is it even possible to have that in regards to green technology? Who would be a candidate for the role? Read the rest of this entry »

EcoATM (first profiled here), the San Diego based provider of a convenient in-store, trade-in solution known as Automated eCycling Stations for recycling your electronic “e-waste” is burnishing its green credentials by taking a leadership role in the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC). The ERCC will “provide a forum for information exchange about state agencies implementing electronics recycling laws.” From a press release received via e-mail: Read the rest of this entry »

Roughly half the electricity produced in this country comes from coal (EIA). In order to reduce consumption and residential lower our energy bills, it is imperative to scour one’s home for so-called energy vampires – items that draw electricity from the outlet even when they are seemingly not in use. Also referred to as the “phantom load”, these may be as simple as phone chargers remaining plugged in, or even as innocuous as a toaster oven that draws power to run one of three or four clocks in the kitchen or electric toothbrushes that remain plugged in despite being fully charged. Read the rest of this entry »

That is the phrase that shows up on the back of the new Frito Lay Sunchips 100% compostable bag. I’ve written several posts about the bag already but for some reason I just find the idea very cool. I’ll keep this post about the bag short.

I bought a bag of SunChips in the new eco-bag the other day and one of the first things I noticed is how loud it is. I walked home holding the bag in my hand so I didn’t have to pay the new 5 cent DC bag tax and was a little self-conscious about the noise it made. But is the loudness a deal breaker? I’ve actually heard some people are complaining that they can’t hear the TV over the noise the bag makes! How loud is the bag? I recorded a few seconds of the noise so click here to find out. Read the rest of this entry »

From the fashionably famous French comes Machja, a creator of chic and casual clothes for men and women (catalogs can be found here). From their sales pitch, “Machja, an online fair-trade shop, offers a wide range of organic clothing for men, women and kids: jeans, pants, skirts, tops, shirts, lingerie, pajamas, leggings, dresses. Discover an ethical and green clothing line made of 100% organic cotton and silk.” Here’s their back story: Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday KUNC, National Public Radio’s Northern Colorado affiliate reported that the clean energy economy had created 17,000 green jobs. According to GreenBiz.com

Venture capital is flowing into Colorado for green startups that see promise in the smart grid, energy storage and other clean tech technologies. “In 2008, we had $458 million of venture capital investments in Colorado. It’s just astounding,” Colorado Climate Change Coordinator Alice Madden said, noting that such investments have helped create 1,700 clean tech businesses in Colorado that provide 17,000 jobs.

The Colorado Governor’s Energy Office recently commissioned a green jobs report along with the Green Jobs Working Group (GJWG) and the American Solar Energy Society. The findings calculated that Read the rest of this entry »