Green Tech

Going "green" is quickly becoming an important part of our lives, and Web entrepreneurs have taken notice. A variety of green social networks have cropped up that help us live more sustainably. From reducing your carbon footprint to raising money for environmental causes, these social networks will back up your efforts.

Green social networks

BigCarrot BigCarrot is based on the premise of rewarding people for the good deeds they do. After signing up, you can start creating prizes for people to receive if they achieve a goal that helps the environment. So if you want to donate $20 to the first person to plant 20 trees in your area, you can do it. Users who prove that they have completed such tasks will be rewarded in more ways than one.

Unfortunately, BigCarrot is designed poorly. It's difficult to make your way around the site, and creating a new prize is far more difficult than it should be. But its community is relatively active. Finding friends is easy and winning prizes isn't as difficult as you might think. It's not the best social network in this roundup, but it's worth trying out.

Win some cash for completing green tasks on BigCarrot.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

Carbonrally Carbonrally tries to get its users to reduce carbon emissions by working together to achieve that goal. After you sign up for the site, you can create your own challenge. To complete that challenge, you'll need to find team members to help you out. You can also sign up for challenges created by other users.

In either case, you'll communicate with your other team members, discuss what you've done to help achieve that goal, and comment on how to tweak the challenge to make it more meaningful. Luckily, the tasks generally aren't hard to complete--one of the more popular challenges is to alter your air-conditioning level by two degrees for a week.

Carbonrally lets you pick a challenge to help the environment.

(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Not so windy: Research suggests winds dying down - Associated Press
  This study is still speculative but worth watching as underperforming turbines can have a big financial impact.
• 'Zero Carbon' Motorcycle Racing - New York Times
  There seems to be a trend of electric motor racing to raise awareness of pollution and to have people learn about electric power trains.

Will global warming make wind power less effective?
(Credit: GE)
• Cleaning Air With Bacteria? Greentech Media
  More work for micro-organisms, this time it's removing VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from paint factories and such.
• Wireless Power Harvesting for Cell Phones - Technology Review
  We've heard of harvesting motion to charge gadgets but Nokia's talking about using RFID-type technology so you would never need to charge your phone again.
• Are Commercial Buildings Ready for Open-Source Energy Management? - Earth2Tech
  Open-source project worth watching. Building automation products are proprietary these days but with more vendors like Cisco and IBM moving in, there will be a push for standards.
• Drinking Water From Air Humidity - Science Daily
  Researchers say they've developed a way to draw drinking water from air humidity using solar power.
• Making Waves: Why Getting Power from the Ocean Is So Tough - Wall Street Journal
  Another reality check on ocean power which has some serious cost and construction hurdles before being commercial.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Green-energy gurus not holding breath on CO2 rules - MarketWatch
  The word from the money people is: "Give us the rules and let us lead the way to transitioning to a low-carbon economy."
• Roll-Up Solar Panels - Technology Review
  Toledo-based Xunlight makes progress on flexible solar cells using combination of silicon and other materials.
• Startup Green Energy Tech Installs First Small-Wind Concentrators - Earth2Tech
  Having uncovered a couple of companies that also concentrate wind to get more power, I'd say this is officially a trend.
• New Chips Can Boost Solar Power - Wall Street Journal
  One example of how IT companies are providing tech for measuring and monitoring, in this case it's the performance of solar panels.
• Video: Tomorrow's smart grid - ZDNet (above)
  At the Churchill Club's 11th Annual Top Ten Tech Trends, venture capitalists discuss whether the smart grid and smart meter trends will continue to produce innovation and what the motivating factors will be.
• European body sees algae fuel industry in 10-15 years - Reuters
  Reality check on algae biofuels, which will take at least a decade to reach commercial scale.
• Cap-And-Trade Would Have Varying Effect on S&P 500 - Sustainable Business
  Some companies will be affected more than others from carbon regulations. The S&P 500 emits more than all the cars, trucks, buses and aircraft in U.S.
• VC group's Heesen says clean tech still hot - Reuters
  Snap shot of clean tech investing where the U.S. is lagging other countries and investment is down sharply in Q1 this year.
• Dreams of dollars blown away: Kittery wind turbine turns out to be an underperformer - Fosters Daily Democrat
  Via a reader, this Maine town finds that a 50-kilowatt wind turbine underperformed because of nearby structures.
• We've got no choice but nukes and carbon-capture tech, says Jeffrey Sachs - Grist
  Economist Sachs brings China into the climate change/energy discussion.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Obama: Energy technology path to recovery - UPI.com
  Obama visits Nellis Air Force base's huge solar array and stumps for an export-driven clean energy economy over rising oil imports. In the same trip, he announced $467 million from stimulus act to speed development of geothermal and solar projects.
• GE eyes $1.5 billion in cleantech research by 2010 - Reuters
  GE is looking at green technologies to drive revenue growth and is hitting its own emissions reduction targets.
• For MTI, a dose of much-needed relief -- Times Union
  MTI, which had planned to have methanol fuel cell charger for gadgets, gets a lifeline from a federal research grant.
(Credit: Nellis Air Force Base)
• OutSmart Power pulls in $2M in startup funding - Mass High Tech Business News
  One of many companies focusing on getting better building energy data, OutSmart uses sensors to track and manage energy use.
• How GM is Making Electric Vehicles Relevant - Gas 2.0
  One of the key engineers behind the Chevy Volt says that GM, not auto start-ups, has the resources--distribution, etc.--to make electric vehicles the path to a cleaner car economy.
• Duke Energy: We Can 'Decarbonize' Without Painful Electricity Price Hikes - Climate Progress
  Column by Duke Energy's COO argues that carbon regulations, if done right, can move utilities to low-carbon energy sources. What he opposes is using regulations for other purposes, presumably something like health care reform.
• Solazyme Testing BlueFire Ethanol Cellulosic Sugars in Its Microalgae Renewable Oil Production Process
  Potentially interesting partnership where BlueFire makes sugars from municipal waste and Solazyme grows algae for fuel.
• Looking at Europe's Green Ways - NYTimes.com
  Good column examining how ideas and technologies on green tech are starting to flow across the Atlantic and, increasingly, to Asia.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Bright Green: Solar Carbon Payback - Worldchanging
  A study calculates the difference between energy used to make solar panels and energy saved. Conclusion: solar panels of all types reduce carbon emissions in a few years.
• New Honeywell Service Helps Organizations Take Critical Step Toward Sustainability - Press release
  There are a lot carbon management software companies cropping up. Now, an established building management company is offering a greenhouse gas inventory system.
• Solar Shootout in the San Joaquin Valley - Renewable Energy World
  In the solar world, there's a raging contest between thin-film and polysilicon cells. Monitoring company Fat Spaniel is gathering data on two side-by-side solar installations.
• Green Roofs: Are They Worth the Expense? - New York Times
  New Yorkers say that street trees and white roofs are a cheaper way to go than Chicago's green roofs.
• 14 hours later, House Democrats hold the line on climate bill - Climate Wire
  Inside the sausage factory: at debate are ways to shield energy-intensive industries and consumers from higher energy prices. One passed amendment lets utilities adopt feed-in tariff for renewable energy.
• Cities Striving to Be Green - BusinessWeek
  Good snapshot on which U.S. cities are moving and shaking on sustainability and green technologies.
• LS9 and Procter & Gamble Launch Sustainable Chemicals Partnership - Press release
  Many biofuels companies have a potentially bigger opportunity selling bio-based plastics. This could be a significant deal for synthetic biology company LS9.
• Oracle Launches 'End-to-End' Smart Grid Software - Greentech Media
  The bulk of the revenue in smart-grid technology will come from utilities and guess who already has utility customers? Enterprise resource planning vendors like Oracle and SAP.
• Locke, Chu Announce Significant Steps in Smart Grid Development - Press release
  The Department of Energy boosts the size of grants that can be awarded for smart-grid projects in an effort to gel industry standards.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Q & A: Steven Chu - Technology Review
  Energy Secretary Steven Chu talks about coming up with a new nuclear-power and waste management strategy and why hydrogen vehicles have four strikes against them.
• Waxman predicts committee passage as details emerge on climate, energy bill - GreenWire
  A House energy and climate bill makes progress through compromises, although it's not a done deal. Latest draft lowers carbon emissions targets and renewable electricity mandate while devising a system for dealing with emissions allowances.
• Husk Insulation Wins $200,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize: Building Better Refrigerators from Rice Husks - Xconomy
  The hottest green technologies popping out of universities these days are insulation from rice husks and energy-harvesting shock absorbers.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu speaking at MIT on Tuesday
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
• Semiconductor Technology: The Potential to Revolutionize U.S. Energy Productivity - Press Release
  Yes, electronics consume huge amounts of juice but an energy-efficiency advocacy group argues that semiconductors are essential to efficiency gains.
• PG&E and BrightSource Sign Record Solar Power Deal - Press release
  Pacific Gas & Electric re-ups its purchase of solar thermal systems which will produce 1.3 gigawatts of electricity.
• Greentech's Top Ten Acquisition Targets - Greentech Media
  Semi-educated guesses on which green-tech companies could be gobbled up by larger brethren.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Ocean Carbon: Dent In Iron Fertilization Hypothesis Previously Proposed To Address Climate Change - Science Daily
  The idea of seeding the ocean with iron to create plankton blooms and sequester CO2 takes a hit in this study which finds that not a lot of carbon reaches the deep sea.
• Don't Single Out Ethanol on Land-Use Changes, Says Trade Group Chief - The New York Times
  The EPA's proposal to include land-use changes when measuring the greenhouse gas emissions of ethanol has the industry and ag-friendly politicians riled up.

A turbine designed for schools or businesses.
(Credit: Optiwind)
• 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid - Jay Leno's Garage
  Watch this video to hear Jay Leno and a Ford engineer run through the nifty efficiency technologies in Ford's new Fusion, including a different kind of internal combustion engine.
• Optiwind Accelerating Wind Turbine Taps New Energy Fields - Inhabitat
  Wind machine uses six turbines and a funnel to accelerate wind for midsize applications like schools and farms.
• Wave power device the 'anaconda' will be generating energy within five years - The Telegraph
  A snake-like generator could supply 50,000 U.K. homes, but ocean power is years behind wind.
• Ford, Magna Can Look to Startups for Electric Focus Roadmap - Earth2Tech
  Auto supplier Magna is struggling and may have trouble providing the goods for Ford's electric car production plans.
• Crap Happens: A Grist Special Report on How We Dispose of Our Poop - Grist
  All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask on using human waste for energy.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Instant Messenger of the Smart Grid - Greentech Media
  Talk about convergence of energy, communications and IT: EnerNoc is using an instant-messaging protocol to update the energy consumption status of building equipment.
• Wind Turbine Output Boosted 30% by Breakthrough Design - CleanTechnica
  Rather than build bigger turbine blades, Leviathan Energy boosts output by placing objects on the ground to direct wind flow.

The Wind Energizer is a doughnut-shaped structure that directs wind flow upward to improve output of a wind turbine.
(Credit: Leviathan Energy)
• 'Sleep Talking' PCs Save Energy And Money - Science Daily
  A clever research idea: a prototype USB-connectable device that lets computer operate basic networking functions while in sleep mode.
• Interactive Graphic: Snug and Tight - The New York Times
  Ever hear of a "passive house"? Because it's so well insulated, its heating and cooling needs are far lower than that of a normal home.
• White House finishes review of ethanol draft rule - Reuters
  This wonky issue on how you count emissions from biofuels over the entire lifecycle could shake up the industry. New rules may consider land use in analysis.
• Shell's Barry: On Clean Coal and Carbon Capture and Storage - The Wall Street Journal
  When people say "clean coal," this is what we're talking about, for the most part. Shell is bullish on this technology.

A sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary.

• Home Green Home: Affordable Efficiency? - The New York Times
  Interesting development in western Mass. to make superefficient and affordable homes. Heavy use of solar energy, of course, but here's the best part: because the homes are so well insulated, they need only small heaters, rather than full-size furnaces.
• Obama's 100 Days: The 10 Greenest Acts - Earth2Tech
  Highlights of the Obama administration's efforts to promote the green-tech industry so far.
• Power Hungry: Reinventing The U.S. Electric Grid - NPR
  The public-radio powerhouse does a deep dive on the challenges and promises of modernizing the U.S. electricity grid.

Click on the image to go to NPR's interactive graphic.
(Credit: NPR)
• Analysts warn capital-intensive clean-tech firms face funding squeeze - BusinessGreen.com
  The new mantra in green-tech venture capital investing is "capital-efficient."
• WebEx Founder Backs Chint Solar, Contributes to $50M Round - Greentech Media
  Chint Solar plans to make solar cells from amorphous silicon, which is cheaper but less efficient than polysilicon.
• Smart Meter, Dumb Idea? - The Wall Street Journal
  Some argue that costly two-way meters aren't needed to deliver energy savings to consumers.
• CPower Secures More Than $10 Million in Series B Round of Financing - Press release
  A sign that venture capitalists are moving toward their comfort zone in clean tech: IT-driven efficiency, in this case demand response.
• NREL and Ford Team Up to Develop 'Cool' Cars - Press release
  A research project delves into applying thermoelectric methods toward using waste heat to cool the interior of cars.
• The Volt: Not Ready to Roll - The Washington Post
  Echoing the federal government's auto task force, columnist Charles Lane makes the case for why the Chevy Volt isn't going to save General Motors. He argues that the same fuel savings could come from hybrids, gas engines, and adopting smaller cars.