Author Archive
Sunday, February 11th, 2007
The Holy Grail Accessory for the Toyota Prius: Solar Panels
This is the accessory that I have been dreaming about ever since we bought our Toyota Prius: integrated solar panels. Of course, isn’t this always the way it works? Now that I’ve found the product I’ve been hoping for, it is temporaily unavailable. I have emailed Solatec, and I will post any further info I [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Solar by Mark
Saturday, February 10th, 2007
Incandescent Light Bulbs Headed for the Endangered Species List
California Assemblyman Lloyd Levine is going to propose a bill that would ban the use of incandescent light bulbs in his state. Since fluorescent bulbs use far less energy this is a move to save energy statewide. It has created quite a buzz in New Jersey where Edison got over 400 patents, and there is [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Mark
Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
“Greenest” and “Meanest” Cars: Top Ten list Released
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released it’s annual list of “Greenest” and “Meanest” cars once again. Topping the list are well-known and highly publicized hybrids Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, but there are some other interesting appearances as well. Read more here.
No Comments » - Posted in General by Mark
Friday, February 2nd, 2007
Update on New Jersey Solar/Hydrogen Home
Well, they did it. In East Amwell NJ Michael Strizki has managed to get himself a home that is completely powered by solar and hydrogen power. Apparently he’s not living a monk’s life either… he has a hot tub AND a wide screen TV. I hope he uses them both at once. Since the house [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Hydrogen,Solar by Mark
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
The White House Talks Green… With a Few Notable Exceptions
In his recent State of the Union address, George W Bush talked about, and seemed to support, many of the most promising areas of renewable energy. With the current global political climate, and our war in Iraq (that seems to be becoming more about oil every day), it is no surprise that the White House [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Mark
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
“This Old House” Tackles First Green Building Project
In the next week or so, the PBS show This Old House will start an eight-part series on an environmentally friendly green remodel of an Austin, Texas 1926 bungalow. They are using all kinds of great fancy eco-friendly materials like Trex Brasilia decking (trex.com) and a really cool glass and concrete mix called IceStone (icestone.biz). [...]
No Comments » - Posted in General by Mark
Thursday, January 18th, 2007
Indianapolis Using Biodiesel Hybrid Buses
Being a top soy bean producer, it is in Indiana’s economic as well as environmental interest to use soy-derived bio diesel. Indygo, Indianapolis’ mass transit company has recently introduced hybrid buses that burn fuel produced right here in Inidana. Read about Indianapolis’ first winter Ozone Action Day here. Read more about the new busses here.
No Comments » - Posted in Bio-Fuel by Mark
Thursday, December 7th, 2006
A Plea to Our Nation’s Leaders: Get Us Off Foreign Oil!
Tonight I was visited by someone from the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, and it inspired me to make the following plea to our nation’s leaders: To our Leaders at all levels, It’s time to get serious about Renewable Energy. This country has made some good steps, but it’s time for more serious action. We [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Bio-Fuel,General,Wind by Mark
Friday, November 10th, 2006
The Distant Future of Biofuels
This month in Discover Magazine there is an article celebrating their Scientist of the Year and two nominees. The Scientist of the Year is Jay Keasling, and he is what has become known as a synthetic biologist. His immediate work is shooting for a low-cost, mass manufacturing method for producing an effective drug against malaria [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Bio-Fuel by Mark
Thursday, October 19th, 2006
EPA/DOE Fuel Efficiency Ratings Posted: For Best AND Worst
The Toyota Prius was postd as the overall most fuel-efficient car by the EPA/DOE, but the most fun is to look at the lists of the vehicles with the worst mileage. Admitedly, if you are buying a Lamborghini you probably don’t care about efficiency, the environment, or spending money on something so trivial as gas, [...]
