Yearly Archives: 2009
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EV Charging Infrastructure: the New VHS vs. BetaMax?
While Tesla Motors and other EV manufacturers have had recent successes and grabbed quite a few headlines, they still face a major hurdle: charging infrastructure. Without a fast and reliable way to re-fuel their vehicles, EV customers will be limited to those who drive less than 200 miles per day or those who can afford [...]
2010 Transportation Predictions: What is the Reality?
Earth2Tech has posted an interesting article which takes a look at some of the predictions made for green transportation at the beginning of the decade, and how close those predictions were to reality. While the decade started out with a lot of promise, corporate interests and politics slowed that down, only to see green vehicles [...]
La Lune Collection: World’s Most Sustainable Furniture Company?
In this time of abundant greenwashing, it’s refreshing to find a company that’s far more sustainable than it claims to be in its advertisements. La Lune Collection, a Milwaukee furniture maker, impressed me last week not only by its strong grasp of sustainable principles, but by the matter of fact attitude with which it approaches [...]
Do We Need Green Authoritarianism?
On Saturday the Chinese legislature passed an amendment to a 2006 renewable energy law that requires utilities to buy power from renewable sources, if it is available. The amendment should provide a major boost to renewable energy development for the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The new legislation is also an example of how [...]
Riding the Rails With the World’s Fastest Train
Even Superman himself would have a hard time keeping up with what is being described as the world’s fastest train. While trial runs took place earlier in the month, the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway officially began service in China on December 26, 2009.
Climate Change Like You’ve Never Seen
A riveting photo essay of images depicting climate change was recently published online. The essay, produced by Magnum in Motion and commissioned by the United Nations Development Program, is based on information found in the latest UNDP report. What I like the most about this photo essay is the emphasis placed on promoting assistance to developing countries. [...]
Top 10 New Green Ideas to Watch in 2010
As part of their end-of-year Trend Report, JWT recently published “100 Things to Watch in 2010,” an intriguing list of predictions based on the observations of the company’s Trend Scouts stationed throughout the world. Of these 100 things, one-quarter are decidedly green –a healthy percentage which, according to Ann Mack, Director of Trend Spotting at [...]
A New Era for Sustainability Begins January 1
Imagine walking into a Walmart to buy a bag of potato chips and seeing not only how two competing bags of chips compare on price but also how they compare in terms of green house gas (GHG) emissions. Then, imagine the ramifications if both bags of chips cost the same, but one bag had twice the [...]
Cruisin in the Fusion: Does Ford’s Latest Hybrid Earn its Green Cred?
After six days and more than 400 miles of real-world road testing of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, I am happy to report that the car has earned its green cred. It travels more than 600 miles on a single tank of gas and provides instantaneous MPG performance, based on current driving patterns. I took it all across Southern California [...]
The Accidental Environmentalist: CNG in Pakistan
by Ahmed Riaz Summer in Lahore, Circa 2005 As my friend, Mohammad, opened up the truck of his car I noticed something rather strange. Inside was large metal canister with a gauge and pipes sticking out. Obviously seeing something that looked like homemade rocket attached to inside of your car was a cause for concern. [...]
4 Factors Shaping the Wind Energy Industry in 2009
After installing a record 8,600 MW of wind energy capacity in 2008, 2009 will look like a letdown in comparison. Most of the projects that did go online this year were started under a different economic climate, where credit was plentiful. These are some of the factors shaping the industry in 2009: Electricity Demand Down [...]
Newest Batteries Better for Hybrids than Electrics
Doing the math on the newest generation of lithium ion batteries suggests the latest advances in battery technology will benefit hybrid cars more than all-electric ones, one expert predicts. Hybridcars has an excellent interview with John German, an expert on hybrid cars who worked for eleven years at Honda before becoming Senior Fellow at the [...]
China Produces More Cars than the U.S.
It’s true: The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation show that China surpassed the U.S. last year in the total number of cars produced. This is a radical shift from 1980, when the U.S. manufactured 56 times more vehicles than China. In 2008, China produced 9.5 million vehicles, while the U.S. produced 8.7 [...]
Creation of An Agency – “As Is”
By Michael Fox I am an artist. I was attracted to the DSMBA program at the California College of Arts in my efforts to conceptually frame my artwork as a practice. The DSMBA program has given me the opportunity to be creative utilizing the core values of innovation that are taught as my approach instead [...]
Looptworks – A New Way to Think About Sustainable Clothing
Take a look at the tag of the clothes you just got for Christmas. Where were they made? Most likely, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China or Peru. And? And with clothing manufacturing comes the scraps. The overage of a particular color fabric or button. The average factory produces 60,000 pounds of excess material each month–much of it [...]
Strawberry Hands, Bent Backs, Uncertain Futures
This is the 7th post in a series on the business of sustainable agriculture by the folks at Bon Appétit Management, a company that provides café and catering services to corporations, colleges and universities. To read past posts, click here. By Vera Chang, West Coast Fellow for Bon Appétit Management On the website homepage of [...]
EPA’s Gift to Maritime Industry: Stringent Emission Regs
Just in time for holiday gift-giving season the Environmental Protection Agency wrapped-up final regulations that slap stringent emission control standards on ocean vessels and marine diesel engines. And this is one gift the maritime industry can’t return or exchange. The EPA this week finalized a rule it proposed in July that sets stringent engine and [...]
Nopenhagen Wrecks Havoc on Carbon Markets, Cleantech Investment
We can pretend that something was accomplished at Copenhagen last week, but the invisible hand of the market doesn’t b-s. After the close of talks at the Bella Center, with its watered down “accord,” the price to emit a ton of carbon plummeted 10%. That crash could mean a dearth of investment in clean technology [...]
Building a Path to Sustainable Products
by Kelly Flores Making your products “sustainable” is no easy task. There are a variety of issues for product managers, designers, and engineers to consider about design, materials, packaging and transportation. In a recent study of best practices, we found that companies approach the challenge of creating sustainable products in several stages.
Seven Things I Learned about Sustainability in 2009
By Dennis Salazar Another year has come and almost gone but it has been an exciting and interesting one, especially in our area of packaging sustainability. In spite of many consumer and alarmists’ claims, packaging is a relatively small portion of our overall environmental problem but it tends to make good headlines. So, especially in [...]
Careers in Wind Farm Development: Financial Analyst
This is the sixth article in a seven part series on careers in wind farm development. (Be sure to read the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth parts, as well.) Not all proposed wind farms are economically viable. The role of the financial analyst is to determine which are financially sound. The main variables to [...]
Slow Sales of Honda Insight Give Insight into Hybrid Market
Are hybrid cars still considered niche, or even — dare we say — “luxury” purchases? The failure of the lower-cost Honda Insight hybrid to dent the market for the Prius has some in the auto industry answering yes. Business Week reports that the Insight, which was introduced this year with a base MSRP of $19,800, [...]
Bioplastech Startup Making Plastic Biodegradable
A University College Dublin research team recently patented a process to produce biodegradable plastic from plastic bottles, and that patent has led to the formation of a company, Bioplastech Ltd., to develop, process and market the technology. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, founder and CEO of Bioplastech, led the team and the biodegradable plastic they produce is [...]
How Walmart Is Expanding the Reach of Fair Trade Coffee
In 2008, Walmart launched its own Sam’s Choice coffee label, which included fair trade certified coffee. Walmart’s website claims that its Sam’s Choice Fair Trade Certified Coffee “guarantees fair prices, direct trade, environmental sustainability, and community development for family farmers.” The CBS’ website, MoneyWatch.com lists coffee as one of the five items to purchase at [...]
Bioplastic: The 8 Percent Solution
The future of plastics once fossil fuels run dry or the price for it becomes too expensive is bioplastics. But that alternative future is distant, measured in terms of decades, says Frederic Scheer, chairman, president and founder of Cereplast Inc., a Hawthorne, CA, company that designs and manufactures bio-based, sustainable plastics. Which is not to [...]
Top Five Posts of the Year
Dear Readers, TriplePundit has had a heck of a year. With your help, we’ve grown to be one of the most widely-read online publications about sustainable business, we’ve brought in many new contributors, and we’ve helped stoke the fires of a new, green economy in many new places. We hope you’ve had a great time [...]
Giving Lip Service: How Important is Energy Efficiency, Really?
If someone were to give you $10,000 for home improvements, how would you spend it? Would you pick ways to make your house look better or choose upgrades that would make your home more energy efficient? If you are leaning towards beauty over efficiency, you’re in the majority. In this economy, where home sales are [...]
Why Best Buy Is the Electronic Recycling King
In October, I wrote a post titled Best Buy’s Environmental Efforts. As the likely biggest collector of electronic waste in the U.S., Best Buy merits a second post. A GreenBiz.com article calls Best Buy a “pioneer when it comes to electronics takeback.” The $40 billion a year company has an electronic recycling program allowing customers [...]
Cultivating Creative Teamwork
By Tane Ross Many students enrolled in the CCA DMBA program come from creative careers. These careers often require teamwork and collaboration which involve collective problem solving, applications of specialized expertise in visual and conceptual realms and communication skills. However, many teams that we encounter in more traditional businesses feature a hierarchy of leadership and [...]
Is There Such A Thing As Sustainable Gift Giving?
The holidays are finally here. Turkey leftovers, the smell of pine and baked apple pie, families snuggling up in warm winter homes. And who can forget that important part of the holidays – the sacred ritual of gift giving. Or more specifically, our annual obligation to support the myth that possessing more material items will [...]
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Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.
Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.
NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.
Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.
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Have your event listed here.
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.Have your event listed here.
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