CleanTechnica

Have you ever done the math on commuting to work? Telecommuting saves money, it’s a fact. Yet most folks are fearful of stepping out of the in-person environment. Luckily the barriers have been broken by Adobe as their new Acrobat Connect Pro software has video, audio, and interactivity that create an almost in-person experience for meeting attendees.

In addition, Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro online meeting software is now offering a free trial and every time someone signs up they donate twenty-five dollars to help a school go green. In fact, Adobe has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council and the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco to help schools go green in their communities. Each city will receive up to $100,000 to create classrooms that foster learning alongside smart environmental practices. Read the rest of this entry »

UK company AFC Energy claims to have developed fuel cell technology that can “generate and export electricity to a grid as efficiently as traditional electrodes.”

AFC tested its alkaline-based technology in Germany recently and found that its efficiency matched that of traditional platinum-based electrodes that cost more. This high efficiency moves the company one step closer to full-scale production of its fuel cell technology.
Read the rest of this entry »

China just awarded Bombardier Sifang a contract to build 80 “very high speed trains” for the country.

These are super progressive trains that are energy efficient as well as lightning fast. China intends to invest a total of $300 billion in high speed trains by 2020.

Read the rest of this entry »

Labor Day will soon be upon us, and with it, the unofficial end of summer. Back to school time. Summer is the season for camping, getting out of the city and getting a little dirty in the woods. Some folks like to tent it. Some folks like a travel trailer, with their own bathroom (my wife included).

But one problem with campers is how much they weigh, the large vehicles needed to tow them and frequent trips to the gas station. Travel trailers are getting lighter and lighter, however, and easier and more affordable to pull. Take a look at the latest entry, from EverGreen (like the tree) in Middlebury, Indiana. Read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: Carrotmob is a form of consumer activism that invites businesses to compete in order to win a mob of customers. But everyone wins, because the extra money the winner makes goes toward things like improving their energy efficiency. Usually the business who promises the largest percentage of revenue from the event wins, but this Carrotmob was done a little differently. Each contestant explained what they’d do if they won, and what they were currently doing around sustainability, and the general public voted, actually choosing the one who had already shown the greatest commitment to sustainability. Epicenter wanted to get some feedback from the public around what type of to-go containers to use.

What is the most sustainable type of take-out packaging?

Ah yes, the burning question that keeps many an environmentalist tossing and turning well into the night. On the one hand, PLA, aka “polylactic acid” comes from plants, not petroleum, so it must be good, right? But which plants does it come from? And what part of the plant? Is it waste being upcycled? Is it replacing food crops? It must be good, right, it’s not petroleum!?

Epicenter Café, being a very conscientious Carrotmob winner, wants to be sure they make the right choice. They also want your input, sage readers. So I present to you the options, because even the Green Café Network does not take an official stance on this ever-evolving topic. There is an increasing array of options for eco to-go containers.

Read the rest of this entry »

The summer of 2009 has been cooler than usual in the Midwest, but Mother Nature can still pack a punch.

August has seen some 90-degree days in places like Michigan.

When it get this hot, some people like to stay inside in front of the air conditioner (based on recent Twitter and Facebook updates). But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The air conditioner, I mean.

A “whole house fan” that uses the attic for venting can keep your home cool with less electricity (and for less money) than modern-day air conditioning. Read the rest of this entry »

You know the drill. You flush the toilet, walk away, come back later and it’s still running.

You jiggle the handle. Hopefully that makes it stop. Maybe you take off the top of the tank and swear a little.

Or, you could install H2Orb, a toilet gadget from a California company that takes clean tech to a whole new level. Read the rest of this entry »

How do you make a better wind turbine? With lasers, of course.

The Manassas, Virginia-based Catch the Wind(TSX-V: CTW.S) has signed an agreement to work with the National Renewable Energy Lab in Boulder, Colorado, to test the company’s Vindicator laser wind sensor. Read the rest of this entry »

Austrian scientists are putting the ‘fun’ in ‘fungus’ by forcing organisms which are usually asexual to have sex instead.

The hope is that the fungus would then be easier to breed, which would allow researchers to create organisms that are more efficient at degrading cellulose for the purpose of making biofuel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Barnacles, algae and other marine biofilm can reduce a ship’s fuel efficiency by up to 40%, and the U.S. Navy is working on a way to keep its hulls clean without using expensive chemicals.  Up to now, the Navy has been relying on biocides to keep the pesky hitchhikers at bay.  On top of harming marine life, the chemical regime is not ideal for keeping high-performance warships operating at peak efficiency.  The Navy estimates that it spends an extra one billion dollars yearly on chemical biocides and extra fuel, so in addition to pure environmental altruism there are significant tactical and bottom-line incentive to find a better way to prevent biofouling.  In what can only be described as poetic justice, naval researchers are turning to the marine environment itself to find safe, effective solutions to the problem.

Read the rest of this entry »