Bullet trains are considered by many to be one of the greener forms of transport, so imagine how environmentally friendly they might be if the sun’s power was harnessed to power them. That’s precisely what Solar Bullet LLC hopes to do with its 220mph solar bullet train, which the company claims can travel from Tucson [...]
Airports are windy places and it seems logical to harness this power to reduce operating costs and boost green credentials. In line with this, the environmentally minded Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has recently installed 10 wind-powered electricity generators and purchased an electric-powered utility vehicle for use at the airport.
A new study from the International Energy Agency estimates that, by 2030, consumer electronics will have sucked up 1,700 terawatt-hours of electricity. That’s over $200B of juice. The study, however, points out that, if electronics companies put more efficient standards into place for consumer electronics, these numbers could be decreased dramatically.
A new method of recycling old tires to produce high-quality rubber powders for making new rubber products is being developed in Australia. Its developers say it is energy-efficient, economically viable and environmentally responsible, and they hope it will result in 50 per cent more tires being recycled.
The US government has opted to retain a Bush-era rule that limits protection for polar bears from the effects of global warming. Environmental groups had been calling for the rule to be lifted, and the US Congress had given Interior Secretary Ken Salazar the power to do so.
A study into spam has blamed it for the production of more than 33bn kilowatt-hours of energy every year, enough to power more than 2.4m homes. The Carbon Footprint of e-mail Spam report estimated that 62 trillion spam emails are sent globally every year.
Forests’ role as massive carbon sinks is “at risk of being lost entirely”, top forestry scientists have warned. The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) says forests are under increasing degrees of stress as a result of climate change.
The former US vice president, Al Gore, is backing the creation of a new green .eco domain name. Â Dot Eco applied to create the domain which would then be used to host sites supporting environmental causes.
Google Inc on Tuesday said it would use its software skills to help consumers track their home energy usage and thereby lower demand and the global warming emissions that come from producing electricity. The move is part of Google’s effort to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy, electricity-grid upgrades and other measures [...]
Researchers in Australia have started a three-year project to develop a spray-on coating for solar panels and more efficient cells that are less costly than today’s PV. Australian National University (ANU) is working with new Australian solar company Spark Solar and Finnish materials company Braggone Oy on the method, which could be commercially available by [...]