Environment

Rethinking products and processes at the Green Biz Innovation Forum (photos)

How Apple and Greenpeace made peace

Steve Jobs had a hand in another lesser-known Apple achievement: more environmentally friendly electronics.

Apple and environmental watchdog group Greenpeace waged a public battle over how "green" Apple's products were over several years while Jobs was CEO. Environmental groups continue to pressure Apple to improve on some issues, but Apple's products today do not have the toxic chemicals that were there before regulations and environmental groups prodded the electronics industry to change.

In 2005, Apple was slammed by environmental watchdog groups over product recycling policies, and in 2006, Greenpeace targeted Apple over concerns regarding the use of toxic substances … Read more

Bringing sustainability home to Main Street

AUSTIN, Texas--Imagine a community--urban, suburban, or rural, your pick--that has more choices for housing.

More options to get where you need to go. Closer to jobs. Closer to stores. Closer to schools.

Insulated from the whims of oil prices in the Middle East. Clean water to drink. Crisp air to breathe.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans say they're on board with this vision. (Just 5 percent oppose.)

But call it "sustainability," "livability," or "smart growth"? Wave goodbye to your support.

A panel of experts gathered here today at the inaugural SXSW Eco conference to debate the methods of achieving concepts most Americans support without allowing them to be mired in politics.

Their conclusion? Get the messaging right from day one.

"Part of our problem is too much focus on cities at the expense of our friends in suburban and rural areas," said Robin Rather, chief executive of market research firm Collective Strength.

"We are right now facing a hellacious attack organized by [conservatives] on the notion of sustainability. Part of it is because we focus on cities, celebrate cities, and are not reaching out to suburban folks." … Read more

U.S. unlikely to hit advanced biofuel goal, study says

The United States will likely fail to reach its long-term mandate for making advanced ethanol from trees, grasses, and crop waste unless producers innovate significantly, a scientific advisory group said yesterday.

The National Research Council's comments are the latest sign that backers of alternative fuels must wait longer for "next-generation" ethanol. Touted as the motor fuel of the future, it has struggled with high production costs and other setbacks.

"Absent major technological innovation or policy changes, the...mandated consumption of 16 billion gallons of ethanol-equivalent cellulosic biofuels is unlikely to be met in 2022," a … Read more

The dawn of a new era in efficient flight (audio slideshow)

SANTA ROSA, Calif.--On-demand aviation, the idea that mobility one day can be just as personal and convenient in the air as it is on the ground, is a lofty goal. And it's what competitors at NASA's Green Flight Challenge going on here this week are trying to attain.

Aerospace Engineer Mark Moore said the challenge, which is one of NASA's Centennial Challenges and sponsored by Google, is about finding ways to use the layers of uncluttered 3D space above us to get around--and how to do it in an energy-efficient manner.

Commercial planes currently average about … Read more

PV solar installations up on utility-scale projects

Second-quarter U.S. installations of photovoltaic solar panels rose 17 percent from the previous quarter as increases in non-residential and utility-scale projects offset a weakened residential solar market.

Installations were also up 69 percent from the same period the previous year at 314 megawatts, according to a report released today by industry trade group the Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm GTM Research.

Installations are poised to double this year, though SEIA said it revised its outlook for the residential and utility segments while raising its non-residential market forecast.

"We have to step back and remember that we are in some dire economic times, and to see 17 percent quarter-over-quarter growth and 69 percent year-over-year growth is really quite astounding," said Tom Kimbis, vice president for strategy and external affairs at SEIA.

Solar module prices fell 12 percent in the United States during the quarter--bringing the decline for the year to about 30 percent, the report said, adding that without that decline, U.S. installations may have been flat this year.

"We're benefiting from competition. It's driving some companies out of business, but on the other hand it's a real boon for homeowners and small businesses who want to install solar," Kimbis said. … Read more

Gore tweaks climate call with '24 Hours of Reality'

Climate change activist, former vice president, and near-president Al Gore will present a 24-hour live Webcast--"24 Hours of Reality"--on September 14-15 that's meant to counteract what a statement about the event calls misinformation on global warming.

The Webcast consists of 24 back-to-back screenings of a new multimedia presentation by Gore, introduced live by presenters in 24 different parts of the world, and in 13 different languages. It heralds a new focus for Gore's nonprofit Alliance for Climate Protection, which is changing its name to The Climate Reality Project. Reads a statement on the Reality Project's Web site:

This campaign comes at a critical time. As the impacts of climate change are growing more prevalent, so is the resistance to finding the truth and implementing solutions. Just like the tobacco companies that spent decades in denial that smoking causes cancer, oil and coal companies are determined to sow denial and confusion about the science of climate change, ignore its impacts, and create apathy among our leaders. This event is the first step in a larger, multi-faceted campaign to tell the truth about the climate crisis and reject the misinformation we hear every day."

… Read more

Cleanweb Hackathon app measures gadget energy

What happens when you let a group of crack developers and entrepreneurs direct their energies to environmental sustainability for a couple of days? As this weekend showed, you get some interesting apps.

Organizers this week hosted the first Cleanweb Hackathon in San Francisco this weekend and announced the winner of app development contest yesterday.

The overall winner for the event was team TACO (total cost of ownership) which showed a prototype of a Chrome browser plug-in that shows electricity use of electronics and other products to people when shopping, according to one of the organizers and investor Sunil Paul.

The … Read more

Australia to get its first utility-scale solar plant

First Solar, GE Energy Financial Services, and Verve Energy announced today a partnership to build Australia's first utility-scale solar plant.

At 10 megawatts, Greenough River Solar Farm will be the largest operating solar plant in the country, and the solar energy it generates will be put to a very specific use.

All of its energy will go toward supporting a seawater desalination plant in Western Australia currently under expansion.

The Southern Seawater Desalination Plant in Binningup, Australia, which is run by the WA Water Corporation, has signed a 15-year contract to purchase all of the solar energy generated from … Read more