Sick of waiting for the government or the Invisible Hand of Commerce, Google’s decided to throw some of its considerable financial weight into developing plug-in hybrid cars.
Test models of Google’s modified Priuses currently get almost 74 miles per gallon, up from the standard model’s 41. And Google wants more.
They’ve offered up $1 million in grants - with another $10 million not far behind - to anyone whose research helps them get the cars up to 100 miles per gallon, or works toward a viable system of Vehicle-to-Grid infrastructure.
To me, better gas mileage is great, but Vehicle-to-Grid is really the revolutionary new energy technology of the future. Granted, it would require a lot of effort on our part to restructure the power grid and the concept of power companies as we know them, but the concept of a decentralized electric economy, where you could drive a clean car around town and sell excess power back to the government from home is pretty amazing.
And why would an internet search engine get involved with something like this? CNN sums it up:
Renewable energy, unlike coal or nuclear, will likely come from thousands or tens of thousands of different locations. Analysts have long said that one of the big challenges will be managing that flow into and out of the nation’s electric grid, and that companies that manage the flow of information are well placed to handle that task.
Keep up to date on Google’s RechargeIT project here.
I love it when technology companies put aside their differences, chill out around a campfire with some microbrews, and figure out how they can all work together for the greater good. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
… which is why I’m psyched about the new Climate Savers Computing Initiative - a group of major technology companies led by Google and Intel, working to reduce the energy consumption of personal computers across the world.
The group has agreed to work toward halving PC’s power needs by 2010, which would save $5.5 billion in costs and reduce 54 tons of CO2 emissions annually. That’s the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the road.
Nice!
Via Grist.
Because it’s never too early to start getting informed, here are two comparisons of both parties’ candidates’ positions on various environmental topics - from carbon caps to fuel efficiency to alternative energy. Even though it’s still very early in the campaign, some of the answers may surprise you.
… and it’s always nice to know where your guy (or gal) stands.
From the League of Conservation Voters.
From NPR.
Via TerraBlog.
I love it when Governors get all antsy and start suing the federal government. It’s a great way for the states to call b-s on Washington, and usually good things come out of it - like the Clean Air Act and seatbelts and other warm fuzzies. I love it even more when the executives doing it are my former and current heads of state.
In a letter to the Washington Post, Gov. Jodi Rell (R-CT) and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), accused the feds of “inaction and denial” on global warming. My current and former home states - along with ten others - want to go above and beyond the EPA’s vehicle emissions standards, but they need an OK from the EPA to do so. Since California’s request 16 months ago, they’ve heard nothing.
In vaguely-threatening, finger-wagging language, the pair wrote, “it’s high time the federal government becomes our partner or gets out of the way.”
Nice.
… especially if you’re Greenpeace.
The lovably strident folks at Greenpeace have been picking on Apple for a long time about greening up their business model. With PC companies like Dell and Lenovo making very vocal environmental claims and trumpeting their recycling (and tree-planting) programs, on the surface, Apple looked like it was lagging a bit behind.
Personally, I always thought that Greenpeace’s claims about Apple were a bit on the exaggerated side. Reading their page on the issue, you’d think Apple was a hulking industrial age behemoth, spewing toxic waste into landfills and willfully ignoring the environment while all their competitors were squeaky-clean. In the March, 2007 Guide to Greener Electronics, Apple ranked dead last among 14 leading tech companies, and they described The Empire of Jobs as “Holding firmly in last place: low scores on almost all criteria and no progress.”
This week, Mr. Jobs wagged his finger at G-Peace with a comprehensive statement on Apple’s environmental record. Turns out, Apple’s actually doing things extremely well.
The info points out that Apple was the first computer manufacturer to completely eliminate CRT monitors, which not only have significant amounts of lead but also use more electricity than those sleek LCD varieties. They also mentioned they are well ahead of their competitors in removing harmful chemicals from their products, as well as stepping up their recycling programs and consumer incentives.
… or, in playground terms, “Nyah.”
… in dirtiest air in America, that is.
The American Lung Association released their annual “State of the Air” report today. And while generally, things are better, they still ain’t so good. Especially here in the Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside area, which has the worst air in the entire country.
And not only did we take home the prize in one category, but we ranked highest in smog and all three categories of air pollution - ozone, long-term particulates, and short-term particulates.
All the more reason to get up into those mountains every once in a while …
L.A. Observed - an excellent blog on the state of newspaper journalism and other media here in the City of Angels - has a nice video covering a short tour of the L.A. River, courtesy of the Friends of the L.A. River.
It’s a six minute mini-history of the revitalization efforts, very well done and very interesting. Worth checking out - especially if you’re excited about one of the potential Next Great Civil Engineering Projects here in the US of A.
The smirking eco-punsters over at Grist have assembled an excellent ‘best of’ list for their extensive collection of excellent enviro-stories over the past year. And, for your convenience, they’re all organized into simple “Best” categories, like “Greenest Mayor” (Salt Lake City?!? Wow) and the “Depressingest Study in Science” (no seafood by mid-century).
And of course, this being Grist, they make time for jabs at those things worthy of them, such as:
Biggest beneficiary of the corn ethanol boom: Archer Daniels Midland
Second biggest: politicians in need of something green-sounding to say
Third: nope, just the two
And they offer up this photo as their “Amusingest Photo-Op:”
… which is sad, because the first time I saw it, I thought it was a Photoshop. Sigh.
Great reads abound over at Grist.
Anyone have any interesting Earth Day activities planned for this Sunday?
Southern California seems to have its fair share of events going on, from the usual festivals and coast clean-ups to an attempt at the World’s Largest Hug in Laguna Beach.
Earth Day LA has a comprehensive, city-by-city list of what’s going down, when and where, although I have a feeling I’ll be doing my own thing with a peaceful solo mountain hike.
Last year, I went down to San Diego’s EarthWorks in Balboa Park, which had a great mix of folk music and cutting-edge solar and home-grown electric automobile technologies on display.
If you end up going to a festival, just make sure you remember that this is about more than just drinking organic cold cider while you listen to a family bluegrass band and get warm fuzzies from picking up a pamphlet on solar heating. Whatever lifestyle changes you’re inspired to make have to happen year-round to make a difference. And they don’t even have to be drastic to have an impact (see, CFLs below).
Oh, and make sure you’ve got your patchouli tolerance beefed up.
Remember this coming Sunday is Earth Day. And remember, if you’re near a Home Depot store, to swing by and pick up one of the one million free compact fluorescent bulbs the chain is handing out as part of its Eco-Options Campaign.
Installing CFLs in your home or apartment is one of the easiest ways to ‘green-up’ your lifestyle. They last ten times as long as regular incandescent bulbs, can use up to 75% less energy, and work with your existing fixtures. The main problem people seem to have with them is they’re more expensive up-front than that old 19th Century technology, but now that the Depot’s giving ‘em away for free, you’ve got no excuse.
Home Depot estimates its Million Bulb Giveaway will result in $12 million in saved energy costs and eliminating 196 million pounds of CO2 - which is like removing 70,000 cars from American highways.
Awesome!
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