Green tech

Oil at $15 a barrel?

Garry Anselmo is completely serious when he says that his company, Silverado Green Fuel, can produce a liquid fuel for industrial boilers that will cost about the same as oil, if oil sold for $15 a barrel.

For cars, he says the company's processes can be used to produce barrels of "oil" for car fuel that will cost about half of what conventional oil costs today, which is around $50.

What's the secret? Coal, a word that makes most people's flesh crawl. Silverado takes low-grade coal, pulverizes it and cooks it under pressure with water … Read more

HP plans 20 percent cut in energy use

Hewlett-Packard wants to slash its use of energy by 20 percent by the end of the decade, both internally and in the products it manufactures.

HP is the latest computer maker to jump on the green bandwagon, pledging to develop more energy-efficient servers and printers and promising to cut energy use at its own facilities. It wants to cut server power consumption by 50 percent, printer power consumption by 30 percent relative to 2005 levels. Internal energy use is slated for a 15 percent relative to 2006 levels, the company said in a release.

Its competitors have announced similar programs, … Read more

The 18-wheeler hybrid

Kenworth announced its T270 Class 6 hybrid-electric truck at the Mid-America Trucking Show last week. The base for Kenworth's hybrid system is its Paccar PX-6 diesel engine, launched last year. This 6.7-liter engine was already designed for efficiency, giving the best power-to-weight ratio in its class. The hybrid system adds a motor/generator integrated with the transmission and a 340-volt battery pack. The electric motor combines with the diesel engine to drive the wheels at speeds below 30mph, while above that speed, it's all up to the engine. Kenworth estimates a 30 percent fuel savings during start … Read more

Pedal away those Google pounds

Google is offering free bikes and helmets to 2,000 of its permanent employees who bike to work in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, according to reports.

Both the bikes, made by Raleigh Europe, and the helmets will sport the Google logo. Google employees will have a choice of which bike model they would like to use. Options include gender-specific bikes and hybrids. There is also a folding bike option, according to the MediaGuardian's report.

Holger Meyer, a German Google employee, is credited with the idea.

Maybe it'll help stave off the " Google 15" from … Read more

Will 'Rocket Belt' fly at $250,000?

We hope this isn't a hoax, because it's something we really want. Badly.

Everyone has fantasized about having a Jetsons-type jet pack, most likely while stuck in traffic. That supposedly can now become a reality, with a futuristic setup called the "Rocket Belt" from Mexico's Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana that's built specifically for your personal dimensions.

"The service includes a fully tested custom rocket belt, a machine to help you make your own rocket fuel, hands-on training including 10 flights in your own rocket belt and expert support," Luxist reports. Wait a minute ... … Read more

Al goes green on the Hill

As he must have known it would, Al Gore's return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday and his presentation on the perils of global warming stirred up the usual political passions. Except this time, as he addressed members of both houses and declared the melting of the world's ice cover a "planetary emergency," Gore faced perhaps a bit less resistance from the usual quarters than he might have seven years ago.

After all, the man's work on behalf of the environment has earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and a measure of star power for … Read more

Uranium shortages may hamper nuclear comeback

Just as nuclear power seems to coming back into vogue, an MIT researcher says a lack of uranium may crimp its potential to expand.

Uranium production meets only 65 percent of the demand for fuel by nuclear power plants, according to Thomas Neff, a research affiliate at MIT's Center for International Studies. Much of the rest comes from existing stockpiles governed by deals such as the one between the U.S. and Russia under which the Russian government gives nuclear material from its warheads to use in power plants. (That deal will expire in 2013.)

As a result, a … Read more

We boomers blew it; teens the next hero generation?

Fortunately there seem to be a lot of people interested in the longer-term future of planet Earth. Beyond, say, the next quarterly earnings report, or even the next election. Some are boomers, but my generation's record on the environment has both bright spots and failures.

Regardless of what you choose to believe about climate change, it's clear that increased cancer rates and pollution, increased crowding, ever-expanding human populations and resource exploitation strain this little planet's carrying capacity. Now some of the kids with the most to lose are doing something.

Bob Jeffrey, the CEO of JWT-Worldwide, runs … Read more

So small, even a caveman could parallel-park it

If you ever thought the Mini Cooper wasn't mini enough, listen up. Last year, DaimlerChrysler announced that they'd be making the Smart ForTwo, the uber-compact car that it's been selling in Europe for years (and more recently Canada), available to U.S. customers by 2008. Looks like they're still on track for that. Now, us Yanks can put our names in the hat for a $99 reservation.

The "Pure" basic model of the car sells for $12,000. There's also a "Passion" version with a souped-up stereo system (and more) for $… Read more