2nd Green Revolution

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 »

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 »

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 »

This post comes from a 2nd Green Revolution reader who forwarded us the idea. Originally from the Maine Solar Primer booklet 2nd Edition by Richard Komp with drawings by Caleb Crawford, the SunGrabber is a relatively easy way to capture some of the sun’s heat by attaching a home-made solar panel to an existing window. Also known as a “thermal siphon”, the idea in its simplest form works on the principal that hot air rises. The best way to understand the concept is to look at the drawing after the jump or at this URL at Build It Solar. Read the rest of this entry »

As the first part of a multi-stage revamping of the 2nd Green Revolution website, we are proud to announce that we have a new logo. The design was done by The Creative Armada, a graphic design and web design firm located in the Washington, DC area. We wanted to unveil the logo as the first of several exciting new developments related to our site.

The two leaves sprouting from the “r” symbolize the “2″ in our name and represent the growth and spread of sustainability through green and clean technologies, business practices, and behavior.

- Justin and Eric

The following article is by Alison Hopcroft,a sustainability and carbon management consultant who works for Fluid Market Strategies in Portland, Oregon. Alison is leading a free webinar on carbon management this Tuesday, March 2nd at 12pm EST.

Despite the fact that hope for meaningful climate legislation has all but completely disappeared for this session of Congress, climate regulation will be arriving at some point in the near future. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the avenue for this regulation, and although many industry groups and a group of senators are challenging the EPA’s Endangerment Finding released last December advocating for a slower phase-in of regulations with higher reporting thresholds, the EPA’s Final Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule is still in effect (Read more about these challenges in the New York Times and the Washington Post)

Regulation means that there will be an increased need for professionals who can quantify and verify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Quantification is the accounting of all of an organization’s emissions, otherwise known as developing a GHG inventory. Verification is essentially an audit (the act of verifying that the quantification was performed accurately) and follows the reporting protocols and meets reporting standards. Read the rest of this entry »



Source of original image: Bizarro

Bloom Energy had the official public unveiling of their solid oxide fuel cell technology today in Silicon Valley. After years of flying under the radar as a stealth start-up, the company made it’s debut on the world stage with a bang. California governor Arnold Swarzenegger was on hand as was former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Google co-founder Larry Page, venture capitalist John Doerr, and executives from eBay, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and FedEx. These companies have been generating energy from Bloom Boxes (units that contain stacks of these fuel cells) on a trial basis. According to TechCrunch, “Five Bloom energy boxes about the size of a parking space each now provide 15 percent of the power at eBay’s campus. Walmart is testing the boxes in two locations where [they are] carrying 60 to 80 percent of the energy load of an entire store.” A video describing the technology can be found here. Below is Bloom Energy’s explanation of how their technology is more flexible and better than “hydrogen” fuel cells. Read the rest of this entry »