For large companies that have a long list of suppliers that they work with, it’s not only difficult to manage communication with all of them, but understanding the environmental impact of each supplier is next to impossible. It’s not a sexy space to work in by any means but the addressable market is comprised of Fortune 500 companies and the government itself, which is bound to… → Read More
Impact Engine is a newly launched venture accelerator in Chicago designed to attract both environmentally and socially-minded businesses that want to – well, you know — make an impact on today’s world. The belief is that you don’t have to be a non-profit business to make this happen, but that it’s possible to create self-sustaining businesses that are working to improve the human… → Read More
The WristQue may look like one of those cloth bracelets worn by old soul Sophomores who spent a semester in Prague and came back with dredlocks and an absinthe fetish, but it’s not. It’s actually a personal climate control system. Let me explain.
The bracelet identifies you to the building and allows it to follow you from room to room. Is the meeting room too cold? Press a button and it starts… → Read More
Today, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao revealed, at a press conference in Washington D.C., conclusions from their latest round of meetings that have taken place this week at the White House. The two world leaders have met eight times since Obama took office.
Excerpts from their speeches relating to environmental issues follow below. A full transcript of today’s press… → Read More
Despite BP’s best (hmm…) efforts, Old Faithful in the Gulf of Mexico keeps on gushing. This is what happens when you tunnel thousands of miles into the Earth under hundreds of feet of water looking for dead dinosaurs fuel without any real idea of what you’re doing down there. A local news station down in Alabama decided to see how the spill was affecting its local neighborhood, specifically… → Read More
Did you know that, according to Electrolux, a Swedish appliance manufacturer, there are gigantic piles of plastic debris floating about our planet’s oceans? Some of these are as big as the state of Texas! Way to go, humans! So, Electrolux’s proposal? Collect all that trash, then turn it into vacuum cleaners. You couldn’t make that up if you tried. → Read More
This oil slick is serious business. So serious, in fact, that I’m going to mention it right here. → Read More
President Obama wanted his motorcade to be as environmentally friendly as possible. To that end, he requested his presidential limo be a hybrid. That’s nice of him. Unfortunately, the Secret Service said, “Um, no. That’s not going to happen, sorry.” → Read More
Well, I hate to be the one to break this news to y’all, but here we are. You know the “green” movement, where companies try to say things like, “Oh, our products are more safe for the environment than our competitors’ products”? I don’t want to say it’s complete nonsense, but the scientist who devised the Gaia theory—our planet is an organism, and we should do our best to ensure its… → Read More
Greenpeacenow officially hates Samsung. The environmental organization has taken issue with Samsung’s inability to remove Brominated Flame Retardants, or BFRs, from its products. BFRs have been linked to environmental damage, and specific types have been banned from Europe altogether because of the potential for human harm. → Read More
Being eco-friendly should definitely be high on the priorities list for electronics manufacturers and service providers, so I’m pretty happy to see that Sprint is doing its part to make our planet a nicer place for future generations. Just in case you’re the apathetic type when it comes to the three Rs (recycle, reuse, reduce!), Sprint has put some incentives into place for you. → Read More
The last time I ever dealt with a compost pile was back in elementary school science class with an over-zealously earth-minded teacher. While I could never find that much enjoyment from decaying matter, Japanese design firm Bakoko has created an interesting greenhouse heated by various compost chambers in the walls. → Read More
I’ve inexplicably become CrunchGear’s go-to green writer. If there’s a “green” tech story out there, I’m on the scene. Why, I don’t know, especially because my attitude toward the environment is, “Meh, I’m lucky if I hit 70 years old, what do I care?” Don’t tell that to Greenpeace though. The activists made famous by that Seinfeld episode will be at next month’s CES (as will all of your… → Read More
Looks like California approved the new energy standards for televisions. The Consumer Electronics Association is predictably upset, whinging on about “constraining” innovation and choice, while environmental groups are predictably thrilled. The state’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, hailed the decision, and said that it will make California a “world-leader” in “the fight against… → Read More
We’ve already established that your favorite tech company, from Apple to HP to Nintendo, and everyone in between, is being pressured to go green. While some of the tactics may be a bit silly, I think it’s safe to say that you’d rather see these companies green than not green, right? It makes us feel good about ourselves, that even though we’re buying hunks of plastic and metal—Lord knows… → Read More
Seemingly overnight, Apple has become the poster child of the responsible, Green company. (Apple recently posted all the details of its efforts; Greenpeace is now BFFs with Apple.) In fact, it’s so pro-enviroment (as if anyone is anti-environment!) that it just quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is a huge organization that represents business interests to the various powers that be. The… → Read More
It looks like all of Greenpeace’s needling of Apple over the past few years has paid off, as the house that Jobs built is about to announce its successes in becoming a more green company. Think carbon emissions data,all that jazz. Even though Apple is trying plenty hard to assuage the Green Brigade, it thinks it’s being treated rather unfairly. → Read More
It looks like the cool thing to do now is bash HP over its environmental record. Yesterday’s Greepeace action was a huge story for several minutes, drawing attention, apparently, to the company’s rubbish record with respect to various chemicals in its products. And today The Register has photos of shipping containers, used to ship things. → Read More
The common air horn: enhancer of graduation ceremonies, sporting event attention-getter, and the perfect way to wake someone out of a drunken slumber. But air horns are expensive and they don’t last that long — there’s got to be a better way! → Read More
So that fake USB Chainsaw from the other day is indeed fake. Hence the fakeness. It’s instead an eye-opening ad campaign aimed at educating the public about the wastefulness of printers. → Read More
Oops. Apparently all the computers in the US that are rarely, if ever, shut down at night account for almost $3 billion in wasted energy costs and “may emit up to 20 million tons of carbon dioxide.” → Read More
Earth Hour was last night. From 8:30 to 9:30, no matter what time zone you live in, we were all asked to turn off outside lights and any inside lights that weren’t being used. → Read More
Ha! The green-crazy European Union is looking to ban energy inefficient TVs, including large plasmas, in the interest of saving Mother Earth. Nope, not joking. → Read More
Environmental magazine Plenty got a doozie of a pickle of a question concerning the upcoming switch to digital TV. The gist of the question is: Which would use less energy: an old, analogue tube TV plus a converter, or a brand new digital set? → Read More
The little lady ordered up a pair of running shoes from FinishLine.com recently and, wouldn’t you know it, the tiny 12” x 7” x 4” shoebox was shipped in a gigantic 19” x 19” x 19” box devoid of padding, air bubbles, or any other type of filler. → Read More
I’ve been cogitating a lot about many of the little things I learned while at Nokia World 2008. The N97 is a neato device, but Nokia has a lot more going on that merits discussion. For example, we met with Kirsi Sormunen, head of environmental affairs at Nokia, and she had some very interesting things to say. → Read More
Green, green, green! It’s the marketing word that makes you think you’re doing something to help this planet, and now it’ll be found at the crossroads of the world, Times Square. (Actually, Times Square is a hell hole, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t popular.) Yes, it’s that “green” Ricoh billboard we first talked about during the summer, but now… → Read More
Here’s a way to control the temperature in your house from far, far away. The Ecobee “Smart Thermostat” has all the stuff you’d expect with a standard digital thermostat and adds a pretty nice-looking touchscreen interface and – gasp! – a wireless connection, allowing you to log in and control it via the web. It’s not super-duper expensive either, at $385. The company claims you’ll… → Read More
If someone asked me to help them steal a gigantic cactus, I’d be like, “Have you ever touched a cactus? Those things are really prickly. Find yourself another cohort, kind sir.” But apparently the giant Saguaro cactus, found mostly in Arizona, can sell for over $1,000 which, in turn, has given rise to a pretty active poaching trade. In order to cut down on such thievery, officials at… → Read More
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