emissions

Are Plug-In Vehicles Bad for the Environment?

All the major automakers (with the glaring exception of Chrysler) are racing to bring plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) to market, and with good reason. The cars decrease our reliance on ever-dwindling supplies of petroleum while ...READ»

The Health Care Industry Has a Big, Fat Carbon Footprint

The U.S health-care debate may be centered around money, but researchers at the University of Chicago recently published a research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association looking at a different kind of cost: the ...READ»

Is Train Travel Greener Than Flying? Maybe Not

Taking a train ride must be more environmentally sound than getting flung into the sky on a plane, right? Maybe not, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Arpad Horpath and ...READ»

The World's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measured by Google Map Mashup

If we are to believe the recent spate of sustainability-themed online map mashups, the best way to make sense of the planet's future is through clickable maps. The most recent entry into the map arena is the greenhouse gas emissions ...READ»

Samsung Follows in Wal-Mart's Footsteps With Multibillion Dollar Green Investment

Less than a week after Wal-Mart announced plans to build a massive "Sustainability Index" for every product it sells, Samsung has announced its own sustainability plan: a $4.3 billion investment to cut carbon emissions by 50% over ...READ»

Al Gore: Oil "Junkie" America Needs Third World Help

The former Vice President, clean-shaven in a dark suit and black cowboy boots, pauses. "Junkies find veins in their toes, when the veins in their arms and legs collapse," he says to Charlie Rose. The audience suffers an ...READ»

Virgin Galactic Spaceships to Be Powered by Algae-Based Biofuels?

Earlier this month, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn tried to convince us that space travel will turn us all into environmentalists by showing us our big blue ball from a distance. Now it looks like the space travel arm of ...READ»

Bikes Outsold Cars at the Start of 2009. Does It Matter?

Both automobile and bicycle purchases fell overall in the first quarter of 2009, but in a surprising twist, bike sales trumped car sales (2.6 million bicycles vs. 2.5 million cars). And while bike sales are down 30% overall from the ...READ»

City Senspod Makes Air Pollution Paranoia Easy

Sensaris's wearable City Senspod makes tracking air pollution as easy as checking the time. The wristwatch-like device uses GPS and Bluetooth technology to display real-time CO2 and ozone levels for your exact location. An "air ...READ»

SonicWALL's Telecommuting Calculator Reports How Much You Save by Working From Home

Telecommuting: it's good for the environment, great for your employer's checkbook, and even better for your burning desire to work in pajamas. It's not always easy to convince your boss to let  you telecommute, though, which is ...READ»

UPDATE: Spy On Neighbors' Carbon Footprint With Cisco's Carbon Emissions Map

Let the carbon emissions neighborhood wars begin. Cisco Systems and San Francisco's Department of the Environment announced their collaboration recently on the Urban EcoMap, a free Web-based carbon footprint-tracking tool that ...READ»

• The Fast Company 50 - #5 Cisco Systems

Virgin America Now Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Virgin America, the low-cost airline known for cabin mood lighting and satellite TV access, is set to become the first U.S. airline to report carbon emissions through the Climate Registry, a nonprofit that calculates and reports ...READ»

Publishing Industry Strives to Slash Carbon Emissions Without Endorsing E-Books

It's unlikely that the printed word is going anywhere--even with the rise of Kindle-like devices, there's still nothing like reading an actual book made with (gasp) tree-killing paper. So it's still important for the publishing ...READ»

Let’s “Cop” to It Now - - An Empty-Handed US Will Be a Party-Pooper

The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) sounds like a contradiction in terms - - conferences are business-like and dull while parties are, well, fun! But COP 15 is actually the formal name of the annual gathering of nations that participate in the UN’s effort to curb climate change and the “party” is about half a year from now in Denmark. Will the US arrive with little more than a tourist map of Copenhagen and some well-worn stories about China being the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs)?READ»

I Hate to Say It, But…

Writing “Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction” in 2005, I predicted that by 2010 the Detroit automakers would be in bankruptcy and reduced to selling foreign-made cars under their once proud nameplates. As GM and Chrysler careen toward the Chapter 11 cliff (and Chrysler frantically begs Fiat for a product line), I’m compelled to point out something I hate to say - - I told them so.READ»

Continental Clothing Adds Carbon Footprint to Cleaning Label

The other day, I stumbled upon a label above a bathroom's paper towel dispenser detailing the "energy footprint"(total amount of energy involved in production) of a single towel. I had never seen anything like it before, ...READ»

A Train That Is Leaving the Station

Auto workers in Detroit should be learning how to build and service electric cars powered by hydrogen or new battery technology. Laid off construction workers should be learning how to install solar panels or how to insulate buildings to save energy. Unemployed bankers could be learning about counting carbon emissions and about how to reduce those greenhouse gases and use credits to help others do likewise. These are all skills that will be in great demand as the economy recovers, not just for a few more years of pollution-based prosperity, but for generations of sustainable growth to come.READ»

And Then There Were Two

Yes, it finally happened. We’re down to two in the race. The others have dropped out, the final holdout brushed aside and the main event begins. Of course I’m talking about the NBA finals. Great east-west rivalry with ...READ»