sustainability

Coda's All-Electric Sedan Revs Up U.S. Auto Market

Chris Dannen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Sliding into the driver's seat of Coda's electric sedan for the first time, I looked around for clues. Here's 100 years of automotive history, reinvented -- what's different? No gear-shift, just a knob that engages the car's two speeds, forward and reverse. A battery-life gauge. Not much else. Then I pull into midtown Manhattan traffic and hear the road noise, the thrum of passing air. They were always there, but now there's no engine roar to drown them out. The Coda's motor barely whimpers as it speeds into a new market for cars with no gas and no exhaust.

Novomer's Eco-Friendly Plastics Reduces Greenhouse Gas

Tim McKeough — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

Plastics are a favorite target for environmentalists because they're slow to biodegrade, typically require petroleum to create, and eat up a lot of landfill space. But imagine if the material actually helped reduce greenhouse gases. That's the type of product that Novomer, a startup spun off from Cornell University, has created. Its plastics are made largely from CO2 captured from factories and are suitable for everything from disposable utensils to industrial coatings.

Why Values Trump Rules and Regulation

Dov Seidman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:59:36 -0500

Everywhere I travel, I hear the same refrains: "We need more regulation," or on the flip side, "If we hadn't deregulated, we wouldn't be in this financial mess."

It looks like the White House is of this mind-set. Citing Wall Street for helping to create a "culture of irresponsibility," President Obama wants to impose more rules on the financial industry by, among other things, creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

Sustainable Sites Initiative: A LEED Rating System for Landscapes

Ariel Schwartz — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:47:03 -0500

Social Media as Time Transporter

Shel Horowitz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:59:28 -0500

Thirty-one years ago, the housemate with whom I’d found an apartment
moved out, and I invited a poet friend of mine to take his place. We
shared that apartment for several months, until he, too, moved on, and
another friend moved in.

Last weekend, I went to see that poet friend for the first time since
around 1980. We’d been completely out of touch–but about a year ago, a
mutual friend tracked my wife down on Facebook. Turns out that mutual
friend also convinced my old housemate to join Facebook, where we found
each other a month or so ago.

Social Responsibility

C.K. Prahalad: How do you think about sustainability?

Ellen McGirt — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:27:45 -0500

Laptops for Kids and Shared Village-wide Cell Phones can Fight Systemic Deep Poverty

Shel Horowitz — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:39:10 -0400

Horace Mann, founding President of Antioch College, famously said "Be ashamed to die until you have won one victory for humanity." Neither Nicholas Negroponte nor Iqbal Quadir will ever have to worry about shaming themselves in front of Horace Mann's ghost.

These two M.I.T. professors have both made substantial contributions in developing countries, bringing life-changing technology to villages that don't even have electricity or running water.

Social Responsibility

The Booth Babe Tactic Goes Solar

Erica Salamida — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:31:52 -0400

Consumer technology vendors notoriously use the “booth babe” to grab the attention of nerdy passers-by at conferences. After all, nothing says “Check out my new widget” like a hot, clueless chick dressed as a pirate. (Sarcasm, naturally.) I was saddened to see in a post this week from NYT’s Green Inc. that the same kind of thing is happening in the solar industry.

The Freakonomics of SuperFreakonomics

Glenn Croston — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:38:06 -0400

The new book SuperFreakonomics by Drubner and Levitt has become more than a mere book – it is a news event itself because of the chapter about climate change. The blogosphere and mainstream media are crackling with controversy over this section, practically guaranteeing huge book sales. This is no accident I imagine.

SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESSES HAM STRUNG ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Brett Galvin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:44:34 -0400

SMEs FINDING SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE COST

Brett Galvin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:37:19 -0400

Naked Men in Locker Rooms and Why I Think SMART Objectives Can Undermine Sustainable Behavior

kevin moss — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:14:38 -0400

SMART Objectives are a
popular management tool in business and have been for some time now. If you are
not familiar with the concept, SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Realistic and Timebound. Typically, SMART objectives are metrics
cascaded through an organization that set objectives for individual employees.
They are used to manage performance and contribute towards determining pay and
bonus.

Show Me the Green Money - How to Find Stimulus Funding for Your Cleantech Business

Glenn Croston — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:30:52 -0400

As the US economy slowed, the US Government stepped in with the $787 stimulus package passed in February 2009 as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). A big chunk of the stimulus, about $67 billion worth

Easing the Switch to Green Office Supplies

Glenn Croston — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:30:56 -0400

No matter what business you’re in, you use office supplies, and greening these office supplies is step in the path toward a more sustainable business. Shoplet.com is helping more businesses and consumers choose green office supplies by making the choice easy.

How to Make Money and Make a Difference

Glenn Croston — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:56:11 -0400

We all hear a lot about the problems we face, and there's no lack of them it seems. Our environment and our economy face great challenges. We need clean water and food. We need to produce energy for our homes and businesses without harming the planet, or ourselves. We nee

Which Is the Greenest Olympic City of Them All?

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:08:34 -0400

Classic Bamboo Football Inspires Design for Sustainable Chinese Stadium

Ariel Schwartz — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:48:33 -0400

Economics Nobel Prize Award a Nod to Sustainability

Kit Eaton — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:36:01 -0400

Two U.S. academics have just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, with the Prize Committee noting the winner's work in economic governance. One winner is Elinor Ostrom--the first woman to land the prestigious prize.

A Shot in the Arm for Tech Media: Cleantech

Erica Salamida — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:37:21 -0400

Thank God cleantech came along, because technology was starting to get pretty boring. Having worked at a tech PR agency for several years in the past, I’ve now distanced myself and become mostly a tech media spectator. For some reason, I was going through withdrawal, so I kept reading about consumer technology (I’d rather walk into a presentation about the slow growth of grass than read about things like servers).

IT Going Green – a Comparison of Corporate and Personal Attitudes and Actions

kevin moss — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:42:25 -0400

This is my second post on the results of a survey of the
views of IT professionals on Green IT that BT conducted in June 2009.

I see a strong indication from our survey respondents that
companies that take a strong position on climate change actions and policy are
able to influence the views of their employees in the same direction.

How to Make Cool Roofing Cooler

Glenn Croston — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:13:34 -0400

When’s the last time you had a look up on your roof? There’s a lot more going on up there than keeping out the rain. A roof sitting in the summer sun can soak up heat like a sponge, heating up the building that the roof is supposed to protect. Extra heat costs extra money that is spent needlessly on air conditioning.

Biomimicry, the Zoo, and San Diego Too

Glenn Croston — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:11:49 -0400

The Biomimicry Symposium held October 1-2 in San Diego brought together engineers, designers, scientists and others turning to nature as a source of inspiration. For cities, businesses, and entrepreneurs looking for the next great thing, the growing field of biomimicry is

What is Your State’s Green Economy Profile? It Could Be the Key to Your Business and Career Success

Tracey de Morsella — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:41:25 -0400

With experts predicting a jobless recovery, there is one hopeful statistic emerging that is contradicting that prediction. According to The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA), every state is seeing growth in at least one green industry segment. In most instances, this business growth stems from existing strengths in the state. As part of an effort to help states continue to grow these industries, the NGA Center has created a series of reports analyzing emerging "green" economies in each state in terms of the scope of green business activit

Sustainability: It's Not About Light Bulbs

Dov Seidman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:05:45 -0400

The owner of a McDonald's franchise made news recently by opening an eco-friendly restaurant in Cary, N.C. It has energy-efficient refrigerators, low-flow toilets, tables made from sunflower seeds and even recharging stations for electric cars.

This McDonald's is surely going green. But that doesn't make it sustainable.

16 Inventions That Boost Habitats, Humanity, Health and Happiness

Fast Company staff — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:15:04 -0400

Designer, architect, and author Emily Pilloton is founder of the non-profit Project H Design, where chapters of designers around the world collaborate on products that improve the four H's: habitats, humanity, health and happiness. While working to develop products like the Hippo Roller, a water transportation device, or the Learning Landscape, a low-budget playground for teaching math, Pilloton began collecting examples of similar products that solved social problems.