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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) reported this week that water usage by the city dropped to a level not seen since 1979, when the city had one million fewer people. The reduction comes as a result of strict water rationing rules that went into effect in 2007, reports the Los Angeles [...]

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Even if the US stopped using coal tomorrow (unlikely, since the fossil fuel currently supplies half of our electricity) there would still be coal mining here and presumably still be accidents like the one Monday that killed 25 miners. That’s because coal companies like Massey Energy, which owns the mine where Monday’s disaster occurred, have [...]

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In 1869 in Promontory, Utah a team of eight Chinese laborers hoisted the last rail into place on the Union Pacific Railroad, connecting the East and West coasts of America by rail for the first time. A hundred and forty-one years later, the Chinese are angling to get back in the railway business in the [...]

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What better way to ensure eternal peace than knowing you went out with a minimal carbon footprint? Matthews Cremation, a subsidiary of The Matthews Corporation, now offers a combustion-free form of cremation to die-hard environmentalists. “Bio-Cremation” emits one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional cremation, according to the company. Saving the planet, one dead body [...]

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Is that a banana in your underwear, or are you just excited by eco-fashion? The answer is both. AussieBum has recently announced its release of a new eco-friendly line of men’s underwear made with 27% banana fiber. This is a world-first, according to the company. So much for Fruit of the Loom’s dancing men dressed [...]

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According to SBI’s Energy’s Carbon Emissions Trading Markets Worldwide report the value of carbon market trading has grown from $727 million in 2004 to $118 billion in 2008 with estimates of growth to $669 billion by 2013. Much of this anticipated volume is based upon expectations that national and international governments will continue down the [...]

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Just in time for Valentine’s Day, for those of you who already believed that chocolate was the most perfect substance on Earth, here is another reason to think so. Who knew that the same delicious brown bean that hopefully melts your true love’s heart can also generate clean green power? Well, almost. It’s the shells, [...]

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Last year, solar companies Optisolar and Solel “both sold out to larger, deep-pocked companies,” as a New York Times Green Inc. post put it. Last week, the French nuclear power company, Areva announced its acquisition of Ausra, a small company that makes solar thermal systems used for electricity production or industrial steam. The deal is [...]

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“Does green really sell,” is the question I am most consistently asked. Amanda’s is one of my favorite answers to this question. It is a restaurant that its founder, Amanda West, defines as “Whole Foods meets In–N-Out Burger.” It is also likely that Amanda’s represents the future of the fast food industry. America is a [...]

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While technology has become more affordable and readily available, discarded electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste, has become a great big problem.  That shiny new gadget you buy today will probably be obsolete tomorrow.  So what happens to all that electronic waste? According to a 60 Minutes segment, an estimated 130,000 computers are thrown [...]

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Sustainability in health care isn’t only about energy efficient buildings, innovative technology, and effectively using resources. It’s also about people. It’s about access. And, it’s about creating health care solutions that work within the context of other constraints, such as culture, infrastructure and economy. Need proof? Just look at the medical crisis now unfolding in [...]

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A feminist at heart (I ran women’s health workshops as an undergrad at Brown), I am looking forward to the Catalyst Conference held by Girls in Tech on Jan 26th at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.  A recent Harvard Business Review article laments how only 1.5% of the world’s top 2000 performing companies are [...]

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With a “high” unemployment rate, many people are scrambling to find a job.  Whether you or someone you know is hunting for work or simply considering a different career path, turbine maintenance is not only challenging, it is guaranteed to have you reaching for the stars. Combining climbing and caving techniques with green technology, specialized [...]

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Ed: This story has been amended since it was first published to include comments from PG&E A class action lawsuit in Bakersfield, California claims newly installed smart meters inflate customers electricity and gas use, resulting in steep hikes in utility bills. The plaintiffs, a group of about 200 residents, are suing Pacific Gas & Electric, [...]

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Natural gas is the new energy Hula Hoop. See Speed Saves: Fastest Way To Low-Carbon Electricity Is To Hit The [Natural] Gas Pedal for evidence that coal is about to come under direct  financial pressure  and, indirectly,  under regulatory pressure from home-land produced natural gas. Business significance: U4/C5

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By Martin Melaver This past week, I was fortunate enough to be a guest of the Carter Center at its annual meeting. President Carter, at 85, was jaw-droppingly impressive, speaking on his feet for 45 minutes without notes on a broad range of political and economic issues. The programs the Carter Center highlighted during this [...]

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Food production, in aggregate, is considered to be the single largest source of environmental degradation globally. Fisheries around the world are suffering, and while the ecological impacts of this destruction could be catastrophic if not corrected, the environmental, economic and social impacts are also staggering. For concerned consumers, it’s important to think about how food [...]

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“A much better use should have been made of the economic stimulus packages,” said Mohan Munasinghe, vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Speaking at the National Climate Seminar hosted by the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, Munasinghe mentioned that South Korea devoted 80 percent of its stimulus package to clean tech. [...]

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Here’s the deal. 1 billion people lack access to clean water. 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation. Every year 3 to 5 million people die from water-related diseases. Water will surely be the biggest issue of our time, globally. So, what are the strategies being used to bring clean water and sanitation to [...]

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Seemingly every day a different company announces a new greening initiative, so when Coca-Cola said this morning that it has begun distributing plastic bottles of Coke and other beverages made with up to 30 percent plant-based material, it might have seemed like just another press release. In fact, consider it a milestone. The Coca-Cola cursive [...]

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When you hear the name Johnson & Johnson, you might think about baby oil, baby powder and band-aids–and not necessarily think of them as leaders in sustainability.  At a speaker panel at the Net Impact Conference on Friday, several J&J company leaders spoke to how the company’s Credo is the backbone of its sustainability strategy [...]

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This year’s Cleantech Open Awards Gala (Tues Nov 17th in San Francisco) is not to be missed.  Along with Bill Roth, I’ll be covering the event for TriplePundit.  Last year’s event was phenomenal and this year promises to be bigger and better. The Cleantech Open launched in 2006 and has grown tremendously since.  The mission [...]

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Lost in all the talk about whether or when nations and industries will have emissions targets, is the question of who, exactly, is going to measure those targets. Without a pool of trained and certified professional GHG managers, climate change initiatives — from the United Nations Framework down to the sustainability plan for the shop [...]

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Green America‘s Green Business Conference is going on today and tomorrow in beautiful San Francisco, CA, in advance of the weekend’s Green Festival.  The conference opened with a talk by Bob Johansen, author of Leaders Make the Future, and futurist with the Palo Alto based Institute for the Future. According to Johansen, businesses today are [...]

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A California anti-immigration group has created a multimedia ad campaign blaming immigrants for climate change and environmental degradation in California. Californians for Population Stabilization, or CAP, argues that immigrants, legal and illegal, increase their carbon footprint four-fold when they move to the US and “Americanize” their consumption habits, thus exacerbating climate problems. Listen to the [...]

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US corporate-funded astroturfing continues, like a game of whack-a-mole.  Expose one of these vampire moles to the light and another one pops up in a different sector. A uniquely American enterprise, the common thread which seems to tie all astroturfing together is Congress.  Threaten Federal legislation and up comes a bloody gopher.  Have a look [...]

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Believe me, USELESS, I get it. I get the point you’re trying to make. Your anti-consumerism, “Use less, give more” message is not a new one. However, following it with a list of products to purchase definitely is. I understand that you mean to be somewhat ironic. And I get how handy it is that [...]

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.. Eco-commons, a project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development now has over 100 public domain green patents available online.  See Sharing Green Patents: Eco-Patent Commons & Green Xchange. for some details.  Business significance: U1/C2 Speaking of patents: Chinese banks are underwriting a US$1.5 billion dollar wind farm in West Texas, built using…you guessed [...]

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Look at your toothbrush. It’s likely made of some form of plastic, rubber, and inventive design engineering, packed into a small space. After your initial decision process, where color, teeth cleaning wizardry, and perhaps recycled content and recyclability came into play, you don’t really notice it that much anymore. It’s become part of the background. [...]

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Don’t own a car, but want to get out to one of the Bay Area’s hundreds of parks and trails? Or perhaps, you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint and wondering how to get to your favorite hike without using your car? Transit and Trails is a new resource for outdoor enthusiasts who want [...]

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