It's easy to see why some vacation spots are unethical. A region or country where locals live in squalor while visitors stay insulated in fancy hotels, for example, is not the ideal ethical travel destination. But some spots are harder to pin down, which is why Ethical Traveler released a list recently of its top 10 ethical travel destinations. The results, in alphabetical order:
Argentina Belize Chile Ghana Lithuania Namibia Poland Seychelles South Africa Suriname
These locations were chosen based on their track records in social welfare, environmental protection, and human rights. Some of the choices are debatable--South Africa has a glaringly obvious gap between rich and poor along with a high crime rate, but Ethical Traveler maintains that the country has many eco-friendly tourism ventures as well as sustainable coastal development. Fine, but is anyone going to pay attention this list in the first place?
As we mentioned in our Tourism 2023 post on the future of tourism, ethical vacations are likely to become increasingly important as economies tighten and climate change regulations are enforced. Unless we stay on target with carbon emissions goals--a prospect that looks increasingly dim as the Copenhagen climate change conference approaches--future travelers might be forced to choose travel destinations based on how well they have been protected socially and environmentally. So pay attention to the list above--it might just be the list of 2023's hottest vacation spots.
After many months of waiting and debating, the California Public Utilities Commission has approved a plan for local utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to buy space-based solar power from Solaren Corp. The stealth startup, which has a Web site that looks like it came out of a video game from the 1980's, plans to use satellites outfitted with mirrors and solar photovoltaic panels that send power via radio frequency to a receiving station in Fresno.
As part of the contract, PG&E will purchase 1,700 gigawatt hours each year for 15 years. That's enough to generate power for thousands of homes. Solaren's power won't be cheap--PG&E estimates that it will cost more than 12.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (the standard rate), so the utility is obviously betting that costs will eventually come down. Space-based solar power also has the advantage of being available 24/7, unlike ground-based solar panels that only work during the day.
If all goes well, Solaren's satellites will go live in 2016. Pilot tests have yet to be conducted, however, so the viability of the company's plan is still up in the air. Solaren isn't the only organization looking to take advantage of space solar. The Japanese government also plans to have a pilot space-based solar project ready by 2015.
Small, efficient vehicles have become increasingly popular as gas prices continue to rise and the government offers incentives like the Cash for Clunkers program to buy vehicles with better mileage. So in the spirit of making cars ever-smaller, Honda has revealed its P-NUT (Personal-Neo Urban Transport) concept vehicle at this week's LA Auto Show.
The sub-compact car has the driver's seat in the center to maximize space, while the powertrain is moved to the back. Two passenger seats are also in the backseat of the vehicle. The car's windshield contains a display for the navigation system and a back-up camera. There isn't an engine in the concept, but P-NUT's designers imagine it could contain a gasoline-electric or battery-electric model.
Unlike some other sub-compact cars, we can actually picture this one becoming popular. Unfortunately, it appears that Honda doesn't want to move this one out of the concept stages. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't see a Honda vehicle that incorporates elements present in the P-NUT sometime in the next few years.
Coke has officially taken the lead in the ongoing sustainable cola wars with a pledge to cut hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), a potent greenhouse gas, from all vending machines and coolers by 2015. The move comes after years of haranguing by Greenpeace, which has long tried to persuade beverage companies to ditch HFC.
In order to speed the transition to HFC-free vending machines, Coke plans to buy 150,000 HFC-free units in 2010--double the current speed of replacement. The beverage giant is also investing $50 million in green alternatives to HFC refrigeration.
Coke's move will be a big help in reaching its goal of cutting its carbon footprint 15% by 2020. The HFC-filled vending machines used by the company emit 40% of Coke's total emissions (15 million metric tons), and the switch to clean refrigeration technology is expected to cut emissions by a whopping 53 million metric tons. That's like taking 11 million cars off the road for a whole year.
Pepsi has a long way to go before catching up. The company launched a pilot program for CO2-cooled vending machines earlier this year, but has made no long-term commitments to HFC-free technology. Knowing the Coke vs. Pepsi rivalry, however, that probably won't hold true for long.
Clean coal is the most elusive of green energy technologies--so elusive that nobody is sure if it's even possible. A New Jersey-based startup called Carbozyme not only thinks it is, the company also believes that human blood holds the key.
When CO2 is produced during respiration, an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase turns it into biocarbonate for easy transportation into the lungs. Once in the lungs, carbon anhydrase turns the bicarbonate back into CO2, at which point it is exhaled. Carbozyme thinks a similar system could be used to safely bury coal underground. The startup's system uses millions of tiny porous tubes covered in a synthetic version of carbonic anhydrase to turn gases from coal plant smokestacks into biocarbonate and then back into pure CO2 for storage in underground basalt rock. According to Carbozyme, the process uses a third less energy than other CO2 storage methods.
Carbozyme's process isn't ready for prime-time yet, however. The company is running a pilot project at the University of North Dakota, which could eventually lead to licensing for power plants. And who knows? Carbozyme might just beat the multi-billion dollar DOE clean coal project to market.
Pap smears are invasive, uncomfortable, and often inaccurate. They also might soon be a thing of the past. British company Zilico is in the trial stages of a handheld cervical cancer screening device that offers up accurate results in minutes instead of the weeks women have to wait for a pap smear result.
Zilico's device looks like a remote control with a probe on the end. Doctors simply insert the probe to the cervix surface, press a button that generates a small electrical current through the cervical cells, and voila, instant warning for precancerous cells. (Despite the frightening prospect of the zap, it's all reportedly painless.) The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) system works because precancerous cells conduct electricity at a different rate than healthy cells. In comparison, pap smears take a small sample of cervical cells on a spatula and send results to a lab for testing.
The new cervical cancer screening system has already been tested on 500 European women with promising results. If all goes well, the device could end the need for HPV vaccines that only provide limited protection against the virus. Similar technology could also be used in early breast cancer and prostate cancer detection.
Another day, another sporty electric vehicle is revealed. This time, it's the Audi e-tron, a sleek all-wheel drive EV that made its North American debut at this week's LA Auto Show. The vehicle has four motors, 313 horsepower, and 3,319 foot-pounds of torque--a whopping ten times the amount of torque of the Audi R8 engine.
Audi's e-tron, which was designed from the start as an EV (instead of using a traditional vehicle platform repurposed as an EV), has a range of 154 miles provided by a 42.4 kWh lithium-ion battery. The vehicle also goes from 0 to 62mph in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed of 124 mph.
That's all Audi will say for now, but by the looks of the e-tron (and the brand's reputation), the vehicle won't be cheap. We'll all find out soon enough--the vehicle is set for a 2012 release, with more Audi EVs expected to roll out soon after.
The U.S. government has been the saving grace for green technology, injecting much-needed cash into startups and established companies to expand their services. Now Panasonic is giving the government a run for its money with an announcement that it plans to invest $1 billion in a "green home" plan by 2012. The investment will shift Panasonic from its current focus on energy-sucking plasma TVs to solar power and other energy-efficient technology.
The move isn't that much of a surprise--Panasonic's main competitor, Samsung, has recently launched an aggressive green technology campaign. Among Panasonic's upcoming energy-saving products: solar panels and technology to allow consumers to monitor power use and display data on TV sets. The company also hopes to buy rechargeable battery maker Sanyo for $4.6 billion in a bid to enter the burgeoning lithium ion battery business.
So what does it mean when the world's largest producer of plasma TVs decides it doesn't care about television anymore? Obviously, plasmas are on the way out, but the major consumer electronics manufacturers are about to engage in an all-out war to control the next generation of green technology--whether it be smart meter-related appliances, solar panels, or car batteries.
Battery life is the bane of of electric vehicle manufacturers. At
this point, batteries aren't advanced enough for cars to go significant
distances without either switching out for a fresh battery or
recharging at a designated station. And as we've seen, it's hard to
build out an EV infrastructure without EVs on the road. Nissan,
however, thinks it has a solution: a new battery that can double an
EV's range.
The battery, which is made of lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode (say that five times fast), can go for 1,000 charges and has a range of 186 miles--double the range of current batteries. Nissan also claims that it won't be any more expensive than batteries already on the market.
None of this will have much impact on owners of Nissan's upcoming Leaf EV, since the car company plans to use a leasing system for its batteries. That means EV owners won't have to pay when their battery dies out, even if it has to be replaced with a slightly more efficient and expensive one. But Nissan's newest battery, which is scheduled to be released by 2015, could speed up the rollout of EVs before a comprehensive charging infrastructure is in place.
What will happen to the Chevy Volt now that CEO Fritz Henderson has been ousted? Apparently, not too much. The electric vehicle is set to be released in a 100-vehicle rollout in California next year in a partnership with three local utilities.
The test vehicles will be used for local government fleets, and performance data will be gathered via OnStar in-vehicle communications systems and sent to the Department of Energy for evaluation. GM also plans to install 500 electric vehicle charging stations in California homes, businesses, and public places over the next two years. The initiative is possible thanks to a $30 million government stimulus grant, which will also be used to begin test rollouts in other forward-thinking markets.
GM's commitment to a test rollout in California seals the state's reputation as a center of next-generation vehicles. EV startup Tesla is also located in the state, and the company recently announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in the town of Downey. Rival startup Fisker Automotive is also based in California.
