Exuberant Pantaphobia

time flies...

2009-11-14T16:14:42Z

My tenure as in-house green guy at that green living magazine/show/energy/whatnot company has long past, and as they say, onwards and upwards, right? And i think after that stint, I probably won't be writing as much ever again (nothing against it, but it's not my main thang). Here are my favorite articles i got to write for them. They're kinda funny if you've been reading my LJ for some time, and then you see the way editors change the voice to suit the publication. So if you want to see a neutered version of my rants + raves, here's 1) E-assist bikes, 2) The Purolator Quicksider 3)He Shots He Scores Greener Hockey! 4) Is Your T-Shirt Toxic? 4) Resuscitating T-shirts and 5) the Oscar for green awards goes to...

MY RANGE ANXIETY RANT

2009-11-14T15:48:25Z

Real High Anxiety

i was just reading all week-- a lot of folks in dark blue suits writing about green shit, er, "clean tech." And i gotta say most of it was so L-A-M-E. I mean this stuff was in top notch pubs, like James & James whose R.E. World has been a close friend forever-- until this guy from Merrile Lynch pooped all over it. I mean he had one cool concept in his screed; an economic look at carbon and hydrogen in a really novel way, how we keep moving from greater coal-to-hydrogen ratios to much greater H-to-C. Like from Wood (10:1 carbon for every hydrogen molecule), to coal 2:1, to oil 1:2 to natural gas at 4:1.It was a cool idea, but he got two more pages after that, which he basically filled with sophistic diarrhea. And it goes all over the map-- from how climate change might lead to the melting of the snowcaps of Kilimanjaro (really, is that the worse that's going to happen?) and of course, how we need much more nuclear power (at least that was parenthesized by a shout out to solar/wind. Zzzzz... But then I woke up because all of the sudden there was this din of chatter equal to a heated cackling on The View. And it was all these ev specialists, and consultants, and writers going on and on about Range Anxiety

And I think really, it's the silliest thing. To begin with, even 20 lead acid batteries (esp. if u add a small 400watt ultra-capacitor) is more than enough for 75% of commuters. That costs, what, 15-25% of the cost of the Volt's batteries. And the fact that the price of batteries keeps going down annually, new batts keep showing up (zinc air, metal air, carbon nanotube, vanadium redox, all that stuff we've already talked about). So Range Anxiety is not really going to be an issue.

But at the same time, we all wanna go on a road trips, or follow our favorite band across the country (not to mention the traveling sales people, and others who have to drive for 14 hours a day), so being able to drive long distances in an EV without having to wait 4 hours to recharge for every 2 hours of driving is an issue. That's why people are like mad into stuff like BetterPlace (or the betterplace clones already out there), eEstors...

BUT! I don't want to rent/lease robot-changeable batteries just because the batteries are too expensive ....or to placate one's range-anxiety. And you don't need eEstor to get a 5 min charge! imagine if Exxon Shell et al deployed posicharge chargers in all their service stations. Now! But then again, do we really need gas stations? even if they all somehow morphed into EVcharging, even with robots who change the batteries for us? This may sound crazy because no deal is even in place yet, but i already know who is going to have a big part of the charger business up here in Canada. It's a company called Tim Hortons. Right now they sell donuts and coffee.

And they are more than a Canadian institution, almost canonized for some reason. But mark my words, in Canada during phase one of vehicle electrification, "Timmies" will be the #1 place to charge your EV while driving from city to city, or to just 'top up' while driving around the suburbs doing errands. They won't be the only one (McDonalds is already leading the way), but they are dotting the highways and everywhere in the burbs.. And they won't be alone, and they wont be the first-- McDonalds already started, WalMart will get in on it, and you're going to see more of this everywhere.

But i don't really care all that much about whats going to be in 2-10 years, I'm way more curious about the next 8-20: Gimme my wi-power!! and send it to my charger from antennas! And/or gimme inductive strips along a quarter of the streets, and highways (and bill me for what i use!). At the very least, put the inductive strips on the street where parking is permitted (and new parking meters, usually with solar panels, are all wifi-enabled) and let me pay for my parking and a charge at the same time. Cause just because you can make a battery pack that will give you 300km on a charge doesn't mean you have to be all hoggy with those rare materials. If/when we have wi-charging and inductive strips, everyone would be just as happy with $4k of LiFePO4's as with one of these 'fully charged' EVs. So that's what I want us to do: envision inductive charging strips in the roads (just like those fancy new inductive mats for your pda, psp, ipod...). Imagine dotting the highways on an electric car or electric motorcycle with an unlimited amount of electricity! Because it's just as possible and just as real as any of these other techs we know of. And probably a lot cheaper in the long run...

twitter

2009-10-10T01:49:54Z

..can't believe I'm gonna say this but seeing how there's rarely enough time to write proper stuff for this here LJ anymore =( but how I do still love aggregating the cool-ass green goodies; if you's like, you are more than invited to Follow Me On Twitter

Fox Appointed to Guard the Henhouse. And The Pseudo Green Blogs Gush With Gleeful Apotheosis.

2009-07-09T22:02:38Z

Monsanto VP chosen by Obama to be FDA's new food safety czar

....and the bullshitters say "Hooo-ray!"

I've tried to like The Daily Green. I really have. I like some of their writers, and sometimes they have cute stories. So I've overlooked the fact that it's a Hearst publication --I've made no secret of my lurve for slick Willie and the Hearst clan, yuck, What an ecological blight that family caused (along with robber barons Lamont du Pont and Andrew Mellon). So even though it's built on a foundation of shit, I still had looked to Daily Green as a group of people (not a group Hearst descendants) who were earnest in their desire to 'green the world'

But you gotta keep one eye open, right? Especially when their sincerity is already hard to believe. Who can tell if they have any other agendas? Well today it's pretty easy to tell if they have any other agendas, as they roll the green carpet and stick tongue out to give a rim job to Michael Taylor who just began his new --Obama appointed-- job as special assistant to the FDA Commissioner for food safety. Bad enough this guy is now in charge of our safety. Worse yet a supposed "Green" journal/blog publishes a thousand word screed telling us greenies that we should not only love this guy, but really his bad rap isn't really a bad rap, heck, he's a saint! He's streamlined food safety (the guy who didn't want meat packers to slow down their machines to look for e-coli), he cares, really he cares, they say....

Who is Mike, anyway? Well, obviously for starters he's a lawyer. He's also a former VP of a little company called Monsanto(!) He's the reason rBGH/rBST does not have to be mentioned on milk cartons. He's the one who stopped any information about folic acid being good for expectant mothers to stop Spina Bifida (if you're 17 or under and suffer from Spina Bifida you have Mike Taylor to thank), and then some.... He was deputy of the FDA back in the 90's as well (when the milk went through) and claims that whenever Monsanto came up, he would stay out of the decision making (and I'm sure not one of his underlings had any reason to vote for the absent boss, right? And he didn't even have to be absent seeing how the conflict of interest laws only make sure he doesn't double deal in his first year in the public sector) And as they say (and excuse in the Daily Green-wash) "He also was a coauthor of the FDA’s 1992 policy statement on genetically engineered plant foods." The Daily tries to say that his time both at the FDA and later at USDA led to greater meat health and security. All vegan arguments aside-- do you really think that Meat has gotten safer over the past 15 years? Really?

The virtual Hearst rag ends proclaiming: "In 2007, he went to academia and joined the food policy think tank (see his bio) at George Washington University. There, he produced the excellent food safety report I mentioned in a previous post, which repeats these points. This is about as good a position on food safety as can be expected of any federal official. I wish him all the luck in the world in getting the safety of FDA-regulated foods under control. For those of you who are still dubious, how about giving him a chance to show what he can do? But do keep the pressure on - hold his feet to the fire - so he knows he has plenty of support for doing the right thing."

Yeah... give him a chance. come on.... and if you don't put more pressure on him than an $11Bn multinational corporation, well don't blame him, or us, or Obama.... you just weren't trying hard enough

....and if you get busted for growing organic food-- or for growing Monsanto's I.P. whose genes slipped into your seeds, well maybe you weren't giving Mike his props.

read more about mike here, and here.

Maudit Silicon!!!! Attend que'on l'pogne le p'tit câlisse

2009-07-09T11:39:27Z

Quebecois silicon co from Timmins, owned by the Dutch, gets the duckets

What do you get if you cross Shania Twain and Celine Dion? I don't know, but I don't wanna hear it :P But I do know this: Celine is from Quebec, just like me, cirque du soleil, Poutine, the director of the Night at the Museum movies, William Shatner, and Monsieur Rene Boisvert. Who's that last guy? he's the CEO of Becancour Silicon, a company owned by Timminco, who of course, are based in Timmins (Canada's 69th largest city. no really i swear it's true). Timmins was famous for gold a hundred years ago, De Beers has a diamond mine there, and due to a hundred years + of underground mines, they're also famous for huge sudden sink holes. And yes, Cowboy Junkies and Shania are both from there (though neither the twain ever met).

"So what?" I hear you saying... and rightfully so. actually this isn't a huge story, so maybe the preamble wasn't worth it. But yesterday was a good day for Monsiuer Boisvert and Timminco, that's for sure. Investissement Quebec just loaned them $25M to ramp up their Solar Grade Silicon (SoG-Si) plant. Is it too late? As you know I was yelling and foaming at the mouth about the shortage of solar grade silicon, four years ago.... And the problem was that from 95-99 experts were warning of the coming shortage... but since at least '006 there have been so many SoG-Si plants coming online that there is almost a threat of a glut. Plus we have CIGs, NanoSolar, so many non-silicon solar mtals coming out, that you have to ask if there is even a need for any more SoG-Si plants (((and no one has yet used that Russian/NREL way to make SoG-si without chlorine and only 1/3 of the electricity))), at least that would make cheap SoG-Si which will never go out of style!

So is it just in time?? or way too late? I just wanna get me some Quebecois solar panels, hostie....

V W to roll out 100% B.E.Vs

2009-07-07T13:18:29Z

...just in time for Summer Tour '13

Volkswagen is going to launch a whole array of EVs! According to the announcement: "the auto maker wants to offer a large number of all-electric vehicles at affordable prices, and is aiming for 1.0-1.5 percent of the global all-electric vehicle market by 2020." W000t!

Cleantech seen the worst? Rebounding to $1.2B in 2Q09

2009-07-03T11:20:57Z

The end in sight?

Is it a sign that, at least in Greensville, things are looking up?
Cleantech Group Llc certainly thinks so.

Korean EV wars come Stateside....

2009-07-03T10:56:57Z

Much * Ado about * Shitty * Hoopties

Lots of talk this morning about CT&T EVs. Apparently they might be moving to Alabama, creating almost 3,000 jobs, and making their EVs local. Very much in the style of V-Vehicle's move in TN, and also like V-V (which would have been cooler had it been V_Vehicles) the cars themselves are the only iffy part. Sure, they're not the mystery cars that Al Gore an T-Boon Pickens plan on making, but what's worse, they are just more shitty little NEVs:

And whats even worse, they're Li-Ion NEVS (really, when you're cruising at a top speed of 35kmh, do you need batteries that will last for a 10 hour sprint? Where are you going to go??)

But this got me thinking... Sure we always talk about Chinese BEVs and PHEVs-- the Cherry, BYD et al, but what about Korea? And more importantly Korean-American, let's call them "Amerasian EVs" There's at least one other KorAm EV coming, and at least this one is a hottie! Sand Diego Based Korean EV Company, Leo Motors, is gunning to be top dog in the biz, and they have some nice recent stats, and look at the hotties:

Now that's a serious SUV. Can easily compete with the Phoenix, and then they even have something to go head to head with 'el Tesla:

But what's most exciting to a guy like me, is what they said in their most recent PR blast. See, they are actually converting Kia SUVs, and converting some other Korean sports cars... and as they say:

Leo's conversion solution can be used in any type of small to midsize vehicle platform (2,000 cc engines or below), for any manufacturer. Using Leo's solution, cars can be converted to electric vehicles for real world use both for high-speed highway and city traffic. The conversion kit solution is the result of evolutionary EV technologies from Leo Motors that focused on the development of the motor system, battery pack, power control, and power management system. Leo's particular solution set or "kit" consists of a 60kW water-cooled AC motor with controller, 30kWh or 16kWh lithium polymer power pack with multi-battery management system (BMS), and charger.

...and --seeing how there are more than 350 million cars that can be converted-- that simply kicks ass! So here's hoping that Leo expands its San Diego operations, and fights the good fight in the Korean/US EV War!

over the top

2009-07-03T10:23:47Z

Excess is not 'green' ok??

Look I love Dean Kamen as much as the next guy--- sure the Segway wasn't exactly the "it" we were promised (of course it never got the fuel cells needed to make it a serious machine), and his water tratment systems are GENUIS. But the latest story, about the Kamen making a "Hybrid Stirling Engine Scooter" is stupid. Yes, I said it, it's just wasteful and shows whats wrong with more than 1/2 of the EV "market."

Kamen is now working on a stirling engine hybrid scooter. That means a scooter that uses gas, but also has some hybrid electric motor, and now his fancy stirling engine (which works with TH!NK but not so much on a scooter). Why why why??? There is no need for this.

See, until the police pried me off my electric scooter, I ran around Montreal for years and never once ran out of electricity. That's just the nature of the beats-- a scooter that only goes 75 kmh can not go on highways, hence the average commute on a scooter is less than 30km. LEAD ACID BATTERIES ARE PERFECT FOR THIS! There is no need for li-ion (like many scooters are now selling as an 'upgrade') and certainly no need for a hybrid motor. This is what Yamahaha is said to be doing as well, put out a hybrid scooter. These are BS. There is no need to have both an electric motor and an ICE, you can get everything done on Lead Acid Batteries (and LABats are infinitely more recyclable than lithium, cadmium, little metal hydrides....).

This is the same as the EV industry where people just wont buy an electric car if it only has a 100km range, and I'm sorry for sounding like a jerk, but this is just pure stupidity. People pay no attention to how much they drive per day-- if they did, they would know that they drive less than 50km a day! This means that for 99.9% of your average 2-car owner's driving, simple (and cheap) Lead Acid batteries and a 9" electric motor is all they need! Face it, you're not in college anymore, the Grateful Dead no longer tour, and there will be no big road trip (except for maybe driving the kids to Florida over Xmas).

If one were to convert their car to electric, or buy a preconverted electric, with lead acid, the money they save from EV commuting would afford the commuter to rent a rolls royce for their once annual road trip. And still pundits daliy bemoan the fact that EVs batteries don't go 300 miles on a charge! WHO DOES A 300 MILE COMMUTE????

I love ya Dean, but go back to the water and th!nk cars....

Look who's talking II

2008-01-19T17:32:20Z

Move over Denny Terrio-- I just taught Vincent Vega how to offset!

So last week I got asked to do this really neat thing: I got asked to teach JT how to offset his carbon emissions. It's a long story about how I got that gig, and if I get to do phase II: actually helping the guy offset his carbon footprint, then I might tell you the whole story (believe it or not, some of the names are even bigger!), but for now, it was cool-- the guy needed to know ASAP what it meant and how it works, and i woke up to an email reading "Help! John Travolta needs to know all about carbon offsetting, would you please explain it in a few short paragraphs or bullets? Thanks!!"

And sure, the guy made that so-so sci-fi movie (but he did shoot it in my hometown, Montreal, and he did use some of my old pals in the film), and sure, he does like to park a 747 in front of his house... but really, how could I say no? I grew up with the guy... first as Chuck Bensen on Emergency, and then mean Billie Nolan spraying Sissy Spacek full of pig's blood, and of course Vinnie Barbarino... and that lovable George Malley in phenomena tinkering with solar panels and organic fertilizers... how could I say no?

So I wrote it up nice & simple, didn't take too long, and sent it off. It went from "my people" to "his people" so I don't even know if he knows who I am. But I know if he liked it he will come back for more (they always seem to now), and at the very least i got to pay him back a little for all those years of entertainment! Hopefully next we can get him into biofuels for that big jet of his.. or maybe even some of that cryogenic hydrogen.. that would be cool. Anyway, it's certainly as much fun as when I used to be writing here all night and working in the recycling plant all day....

And at the least i thought it was good fodder for people on my friends list :p thanks y'alls for all your support over the times when it was tough(er)

viropop's latest Zaproot 4 u!

2008-01-17T14:44:43Z

Met this guy Damien recently, not sure at HGG or EcoGift
... he doesn't know which one either, but his videos rock!

~enjoy!

they tell us that we lost our tails evolving up from little snails i say its all windmills and sails

2007-11-29T11:58:49Z

Are We not Green? We Are E-V-O!

EVO! it's eco. it's EVOlutionary. It's "your marketplace for natural, clean & green products" and it's brand new (there was actually a media embargo until 8:00 am this morning). it's a web 2.0 green play, but looks way solid + fun! Think of a green version of amazondotcom meets digg, meets GroovyGreen. EVO is a green e-commerce hub-- there's already over 20,000 green products available a mouse click away, but the goal is more than that--- a place for news and views, and (online) community building.

And that they will eventually have members of their community adding products (as well as of course suggesting products to their "friends"). I think this 2.0 part makes this a killer ap (in the sense that a crappy product, a greenwashed product, or a company with horrible customer service will be mentioned by the masses--- as well as the best) so the creme will rise, and the newest-and-greenest will also be able to share the spotlight! Seriously, this is going to be a great watershed for finding the ideal green paint, the ideal eco fashion fall collection, or anything else you can consume. But it's not just about consumption right? Heck no.

Well it is a store, so there is some of that marketing & commercialization (a lot of that-- but really cool stuff like solar purses and electric cars!) But there is a whole section where you can shop around to find the best places to put your money (clean tech, green investments...). And there are so many articles, one might just think this is a blog (but it's not). I read a really nice clear post about B Corporations--- (and boy how i love learning a new term!!!!). And they even have cute video news!

So go check it out! it's EVO, it's live now. Sign up and they'll plant a tree in your name!!!

...greən is the new blog

2007-11-27T13:09:56Z

It’s easy being greən

What do you call a carbon neutral airplane flight? Especially one that is neutralized by just the right number of trees that will (if they all stay alive) consume that carbon over the next 80 years (+ no mention of neutralizing all of the other emissions, only the carbon is neutralized)? Offsets have been talked about in many places (although I gotta say, I just recently saw that Shell up here in Canada is going carbon neutral, ha ha ha.. with trees, of course!), that is just one example, it seems to be that these days you can see it creeping into pretty much everywhere-- or at least I do, because I work with green info, I see a steady stream of PR (and a lot of it is amazing.. and actually green-er than what was being done before!)

But there is a lot of stuff that is so borderline it would be comical except that it does less good than many easier—and just as available-- alternatives. And some do more harm. So I decided the other day, that this ought to be called "Greən." Greən is almost like green, but the schwa makes one pronounce it with a little bit more of a numbed-accent on the second e so its not eeee like green, but more like the ‘e’ in taken (ta-k-ən) or the ‘u’ in circus (sir-kəs), gre-ən—it’s almost green. But you kinda have to pause in the middle of the word, like you know it really isn’t a worldchanger, but you just watch, I bet there will soon be a Swiffer toss away (oooh I hate those!) that’s biodegradable, Sure it won’t actually degrade in a landfill, but it will be advertised as a green alternative, and at least those of us in the know, can say; That’s not green. Greən, maybe, but definitely not green.

[note: in looking for a pic to paste with this, i saw this great article from inhabitat, they're not there yet... but the biodegradeable Swiffer is not that far off, i bet ya!]

get ready for the GREEN NOUVEAU

2007-11-21T17:28:28Z

Green Nouveau ...because every good movement deserves a name

Anyone else notice the brand spanking new ecorazzi background???

I hope you feel as much glee as I do looking at that design and detail. It’s so lush yet playful, so nature-aware, but those colors ...so now! And it makes me think of this term I’ve been playing around with a lot lately; Green Nouveau. it’s a growing trend I’ve noticed at first, like a trickle in the designs from a green PR company in Portland/NYC, but then really played out in the new ‘razzi do (Michael showed me a mockup of it a month ago which really got me thinking about this Green Nouveau). There are a many ways that what’s happening now in the green world resembles what was going on in the art world a hundred years ago, and its bold and exciting, but even better, it’s a way out of being called environmentalist. Cause nothing spoils the party faster than bringing the environmentalist along. Green Nouveau just wanna have fun. Just wanna party like its 1899

[Art Nouveau platter circa 1907. Add 100 years and
the Peter Max palette and you get the picture...]

And hey, I’m as green as the next guy, and some of my best friends are greenies, but it’s still feels weird when being introduced, or written about, and they say that I am an “environmentalist.” I feel affronted when I read OP-EDs talking about “environmentalists” in terms of what they think, or want ...as if environmentalism is an actual ism (like Stalinism, Fascism, Satanism, ~~Capitalism~~), as if we all get together at weekly vegetarian potlucks to hash out strategy ideology and general correctness (and how to take over the world, of course).

But seriously. It would be hard for anyone to say that there isn’t some sort of movement going on, not a Movement, but something is moving. There’s action in the green streets: LOHAS markets are doing amazing, the housing bubble in the States has hardly put a dent in the Green Build world, Clean Tech is the new dotcom, green is the new blog, any-magazine’s annual “green edition”, TV Shows (Americas Top Model goes green??) ...I could go on. Trust me. I usually do… But basically people of all walks and sizes now, from the dorm-rooms to the boardrooms are getting into this. And –in terms of new green goodies-- we ain’t seen nothing yet! This is just the beginning of the 'Nouveau!

[this time there will be agribots
in the grenhouses harvesting our food]

...this is the begging of an era, and all the tools we need to get started are right at hand, many already sprouting like Purple Loosestrife and spreading like Zebra Mussels. And the tools to complete the job are pining and waiting to come into being on campuses, in r&d labs, and backyard sheds …and the best part of all— we are going to change the world. For the better.

And we’re not going to do it going macrobiotic back-to-the-earth, and bearded.

And while many people will find things like Voluntary Simplicity peaceful, and bask in the glow of their micro-footprint, there are 7 billion of us. And what is needed to create the massive change that we know we need, is not to fight “the Machine” but to turn the machine green, and softer, and more in harmony with the other reality that keeps us alive, our biosphere.

So there’s this burgeoning mind-state now, that both our world, and the non-human world can work together, and must, because this delicate balance sustains us.

But is this environmentalism?

It’s way too much fun, driving an electric Vectrix to be dour, and eco clothes are chic and good-looking now. This isn’t less. This is more! So how can it be an eco-ist Movement?

And yet this is what we do, name things, right? And as long as we don’t call it something, it will continued to be called environmentalism, so let's deal with this movement. But hey, it can be fun. Like a movement in Art History instead of Molotov cocktails and all that Earthy Firsty angry stuff? I’m compelled to call it something fun like that, like art, like the impressionists or expressionist (but no ists, please). And because of the great stylee aspect, and the design aspect (not to mention the bold exuberance to forge a new world), I call this new movement Green Nouveau!

Like Art Nouveau, the design movement that peaked just around the turn of the last century, Green Nouveau is full of floral and nature-inspired design, but new and fresh. And just like how Art Nouveau was excited about the latest tools and materials, and mocked their predecessor the Pre-Raphaelites for their pastoral use of only the crudest technologies, we see now Green Nouveau poking fun at the hippies --in their hemp burlap pantaloons and millet stew-- and instead, open up to all the new green materials that are available to us, all the biomimic bioplastic biofuels, and triple certified cradle to cradle composites. We are picking up where they left off a hundred years ago (only with cool sci-fi green techs and materials-- and branding savoir fair).

And as we harness more and more of that exuberance (the very same enthusiasm they had for creating their new world), and see not our survival or extinction, but rather see us able to create a thriving vibrant harmonious world for 7, 10 even 20 billion of us, sustainably, then the more this possibility becomes an actuality. It is by having a vision of where we want to go that we can get there. And Green Nouveau, I think, is the place where that vision is hatching.

We’re either going to make it or we’re not, sure enough. But if we do, it will be with all these compostable plastics and funky eco fabrics, biobased products, and climate-adaptable technologies. And life as we know it right now, will be a thing of the past, like a buggy, or an ice box.

[the future will be blobjectably delicious]

And how is it going to happen? In our hearts. Because when we embraced this vision, we don’t have to do it standing outside of a building protesting, we do it when we decide not to use virgin trees to wipe our ass, and buy recycled toilet paper instead. I don’t have to argue with my neighbor about the benefits of wind power* I can sign up with my local green power provider, and with that simple action (and a tiny premium), know that each month the money goes to the utility company buying that amount of clean energy from the green power company’s wind farms. We are the most advanced hominids out there, surely we can walk our talk.

And the Green Nouveau “movement” enables this shift. Right now sure it may just look like a suburban dad proud about his ford Escape Hybrid. And while it’s still an SUV and not really how you say, a massive change, he is now open to everything from composting to organic sheets, it’s like a virus. It gets into the system and now he’s on the team, so he’s not going to shut off that feeling when he encounters any other (perhaps foreign) aspect of Green Nouveau. Now he's the kind of guy who will read treehugger dot com. And it’s only the beginning, because his next car might be a Phoenix (100% electric and charges in 10 minutes), or maybe he’ll decide to just pop that engine out, and put in some killer electric motors and an ultracapacitor—it’s coming down the pipe that fast, folks.

And that’s just cars, by definition Green Nouveau encompasses every aspect of design and the built world; architecture, engineering, systems and services. So a pair of hemp Etnies shoes that can be completely composted at the end of its use, or a CSA that brings a box of local organic fruits and vegetables to your door every week, it’s all part of the new system.

And did you notice the use of greenhouses and domes? Sure its hard to not see the similarities between some Gaudi apartment building and a BeckyBee cob house, but that’s just derivative. I think the domes and the green roofs are where its going to really come into people mind’s that we are picking up where the art nouveau people left off, only this time we’re not just painting it, we’re living it.

And unlike a fad like some movement in art or a pop genre, this movement is for everyone, not only for those in-the-know. And while it’s got style, it’s not about style it’s about Life style, and about life. And that doesn’t go out of style. So what we can envision here at the begging in stages of Green Nouveau, is nothing. A generation or two into this, we will look back as old folks on all the changes and still be amazed at how much has changed, and how much better it all is. Our food will be organic and local, our wrappings and containers will turn into soil and then into local food again, we will be energy literate, we will have transportation that is as of yet unimaginable, but perfect. We can’t see it yet, how it will play out, but we are at that point in time which will be referred to for centuries. And the Green Nouveau, er, Movement is the blaze on that trail. La nouvelle vague est Vert, Nouveau, et bien fun en h'sti.

MDI finds Indian love with TATA. Will finally manufacture theaircar!

2007-11-04T19:12:15Z

No, not hot air. Compressed. C-o-m-p-r-e-s-s-e-...

Woooooot! Well there you have it, once more, it pays to be persistent. At least that's how it's panning out for Guy Nègre who, as Green Car Congress just revealed has signed a manufacturing deal for his long awaited MDI Air Car. Yes! the silent car that gets about 125 Miles [at 70 MPH] on a tank of compressed air (and can fill back up in a couple of minutes). So Tata Motors, India's largest automotive manufacturer is going to start cranking these baddies out! And everybody says "Oh yeah!" ...Newly added, they are also going to be manufacturing a hybrid version that runs on gas and compressed air (gas to boost it at higher speeds, as well as to refill the air compression making road trips more doable).
And they don't just have the city cab version anymore, they got a sleek 21st century pickup truck now, and a family vehicle! I wonder if it is silent though, or if it sounds like a balloon slowly deflating (or a whoopee cushion?) Will have to wait and see, but so the question i am thinking is not so much when can i get my hands on a waycool EV, but more, in about 18 months which type of green car is going to be the one to get??

Burlingon-IBM turn semiconductor scrap into photovoltaics

2007-11-04T18:50:36Z

...first Ben & Jerry's, then Phish, now this!

Here's another cool story out of PhysOrg, about a Vermont IBM team who have pioneered a way to turn semiconductor waste in to solar grade silicon for PV panels (well, actually, that part is not brain science, the new trick was more about erasing IBM's intellectual property before it leaves their hands and ends up on someone's roof). And this is good news, because in the semiconductor world, 250,000 silicon wafers are used a day (and 3.3% of that get scrapped on the factory floor) and so there are about 3 million silicon wafers sitting around waiting to be made useful. They would look nice on my roof :p

...speaking of computers, have you heard the one about OLPC the one laptop per child group has been looking at that run on cow power? No, seriously, and not what you might think, from some cow-poo biofuel or biogas.. but actually hooking the Mumbai cows (for example) up to pulleys and generating electricity from the cows... I dunno, sounds cool, but a little too much like the Professor from Gilligan and not enough like a gizmo from a Brice Stirling book = (

Here Comes the Total Mobility Project's Solar Mazda

2007-11-04T18:39:03Z

...feels like years since it's been here!

...just read in PhysOrg about The Total Mobility Project, a group in Japan who have
turned a Mazda car into a 100% Solar Powered Electric Vehicle. It's not 100% there, yet, seeing how it only gives you <20 Miles per charge, and seeing how the conversion kit so far costs about $20K, it's still a little out there ...but look at the capacitors coming down the pipe, the advanced-LA Batteries and LI-batteries, and you can see where this will go (throw in some phat Ted Seargent spray-on PV for a total chassis chargeability and then all of the sudden, voilà, ur solar whip is teh kewl (!)

NREL does CHEVRON, algae style!

2007-11-04T18:23:35Z

The Green Slimy blobs from
Roswell NM are taking over!!!

Some interesting news just came onto the wired about Chevron and the NREL's Algae peeps hooking up to develop algae fuels. Finally. It has sunk in. And they're keen to leapfrog whatever developments have already happened, and work with startups to see which algae techs will be the winners. Pretty cool for an Oilco (hope they remember to also bust out the algae jet fuels, as well... ((and yeah i kinda kid about that green slimy thing, algae is green and slimy, but not alien, it's just that when John Sheehan (now VP Sustainability at LiveFuels)started the NREL's aquatic species program ages ago, they had algae "racetracks" in Roswell --of all places-- where they really developed the concept. Anyway, this is a kinda wikked cool story, maybe one day the Condolezza Rice will be filled with biofuels made from waste CO2! wouldn't that be awesome (and even better if Condi is in Jail for War Crimes)?

You Don't Need a Weatherman to Know Which Way the Bullshit Blows

2007-10-19T09:41:57Z

Marlo Lewis vs. Al Gore?? on Fox, right? No! On CNN!
In other news, baby foxes, little foxes are called Kits

...So I saw the CEI on CNN last week (well good 'ol Marlo Lie-ass anyway) to give, you know, the "other side of the story." It was nice to see Heidi Collins 'tough' questions to Marlo, i guess, but basically let Marlo jr. rant for 5 full minutes. So the fog about uncertainties just refused to lift... Sheesh! A Nobel Prize and CNN is busy butt-licking the CEI (What? was the AEI and "singer" not available??) That seemed to go nowhere. Maybe Schullemberger and Nordhaus are right. Either that, or maybe this guy below, maybe he can tell us whats up with the weather?

oh wait! that was the esteemed Competitive Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Marlow Lewis yikes. So apparently the 'global warming crusaders are plotting to put an "Energy Starved Planet on an Energy Diet." And apparently energy efficiency, according to Marlo Jr. will lead to economic meltdown. Mr. Marlow obviously has no idea who David Goldstein is.

So far I think that weatherman #1 up there makes more sense. But maybe one of these, from FOX (you know, to be fair & balanced) might make more sense...

that last one is my fav. i think they're on the money! Just like CEI....

koyaanisqHOTsi !

2007-08-24T06:44:38Z

I get it! ...it's 'cause they're from iceland! Right??

i went to see Leo Di's new movie (Leo Leila & Nadia's movie; The 11th Hour. Pretty impressive. Lots of Bioneers doing what they do best -explaining the situation (or most of it- he doesn't go that deep into climate change), and examining the multi-causal planetary breakdown that is now starting to happen. And by the last third of the flick, it's peppered with solution on top of solution. And with 52 interviews, while everyone only gets a few moments here & there to push the -well structured- parts of the essay, it does present a cohesive argument for action and optimism. And it's full of archival imagery, and a total buzzclip intro (i guess if you know me, you'd know i dig that).

And cool music. At one poignant moment --a peaceful lull after a particularly tense earth-in-crisis montage, there was even some Sigur Rós with whom to fly-over ice-fields

i was thinking 'Wow Ágætis byrjun, what an odd choice'... but now i get it! they're from Iceland! And at the time, the visuals were these relaxed pan-o-rama ice shots from greenland. which is a land full of (that melting) ice... cute

And just like i like it, they really looked at as wide an angle as they perhaps felt they could (Meat was shockingly absent in this movie). Which is really the best way to deal with climate change, omnilateraly, right? But they are not just looking at climate change -thought it's a big part of it, but almost everything. Almost to the point like what i was accused of back in the day (getting chewed out by a documentary legend); that you can't try to solve all of the worlds problems in one movie. And i am sure some critics will accuse these Directors/Writer/Producers of just that (if they stop harping on his flight patterns). But fuck 'em Leo, personally I agree that that is the way the story ought to be told. This is about our evolution or sticking to a lifestyle that east its young till theres nothing left... why pussyfoot around that? Why deal with CO2s and NOXs when it goes so much deeper and people really have to "get it" if they're going to commit to it. At one point someone quotes someone else (sorry for being vague but with 52 interviews in 90 minutes its hard to remember who said what, i just remember he said it was a quote: After asking what we are really looking for with all this hyperconsumption: "One can never really be full, if they're filling themselves with things that they don't really want" or something like that. And that and climate change are in as much of a dance, as emissions or cows or hurricanes...

Their view of stuff like the rainforests was obviously different than mine as there's room for hope and optimism even there, but all in all, it is a moving eye opener for anyone who is somewhat aware, and especially the ones who aren't but will be compelled to go for Leo Di (or soon to be converts) or from the soon-to-be Leo Di army (mark my words. Leo Di army). And even for the choir who wants to be preached at, by the third part you will be happy to see so many green techs you know everyone and every kid in America ought to know exists (like the Tesla, living machines...). And you may just learn a new one or two (while i dig the Fungi Perfecti guy Paul Stamets a lot, and heard him talk about those mushrooms that eat up heavy metal spills an such, i never heard the words "mycofiltration" and "mycorestoration" before. Awesome!

And again i particularly like is that it even take that extra bold step, asking the question that really lies even at the heart of the entire climate change thing. What is it that is really happening deep at the core of us that is out of whack. Because it's not just about CO2, but about what our species has become... and where we are (very able and) headed

kudos to Leila Connors Peterson, Her Sister Nadia Connors and of course Mr. Leo DiCaprio (that's not him. That's Kenny Ausable founder of the Bioneers (and founder exCEO of Seeds of Change, and filmaker).

Oh heck. go see the movie when it hits your town! and in the meantime, the website they have is pretty good to see what it's all about, including everyone interviewed and much much more... go!

A Baby Step I Can Really Get Behind!

2007-08-08T07:26:44Z

get it? behind? it's a diaper bag...

Baby Steps. I'm not usually into them. At best they're usually up there with greenisthenewblack and INEBG/IEBG as far as hackneyed and bootless. And most often end up being abortive. Sure, what with the scale of some things today, what many consider a baby step, say, WalMart implementing energy & fuel efficiencies can lead to gargantuan eco-effective moves (but I'd argue that those are at the very least infant steps, almost, a child's step, not baby).

Weegeneration.com Born 07/08/007. Happy birthday, baby!

But this post is about a really cool baby step (it's actually probably a "Tween Step" at the very least, maybe even an adult step). This is about the Wee Generation which is such a great name-- the antidote to the 70s & 80's "me generation"? back to the 60's "we generation" but with an extra e for eco? Just for the wee wittle wuns? ...When i was little kid, i loved when my folks would swing me by my arms and i'd go "Weeeee!" So if thats the vibe for this green product/(r)evolutionary baby gear, this is the sign of something really good to come!

What is it? It's a baby bag. But it's not yet a baby bag. Right now it's your baby bag to be . And it going to be amazing. Wm McDonough is on board and its going to be C2C certified, but that's not all, it's also being developed by the eco-supergroup of: IDEO, 7th Generation, Healthy Child Healthy World (HCHW), and the swankygreen Baby Style. And guess who the designer is? You! That's right, you, no we (wee?) get to designs it. That's right, they are totally transparent about the fact that they know some things about the bag, like its going to be greener than green, but don't really know what it will look like till wee tell them what wee want.

Mee, i don't know, but sure hope that this is just a prototype:

...at least to start with. That polkadot bag on the floor? it may be something --seeing how this baby shower, for three-month old Wyatt Stephen Crow and his mommy Sheryl was reported to be sponsored by WeeGenration and HCHW; "two foundations Sheryl supports." So, um, yeah, good thing 'wee' get to design the final product.

But think about this. If you happen, like me, to be somewhat cynical sometimes in the face of endless PR about the latest green inchworm-step, this here is a total sweetheart deal. It's C2C Certified and its not an industrial carpert or vehicle upholstry!! This is a C2C consumer product!! Finally. Someone (in the consumer product world) is stepping up to the plate and getting Cradle to Cradle certified by MBDC. That kicks ass! But wait, there's more (reason to be gleeful). Think about it from the baby's point of view.

I don't mean, like, 'think about the baby's future', but think about this: That bag is going to be your baby's first real thing. Aside from producing toys while out of the nest and baby getting antsy, that bag is going to be the ubiquitous godlike object that mommy and daddy know how to use to get juice and bottles, toys ...and even deal with all that messy stinky baby stuff. And it's C2C! So, maybe it's just me, but i really dig the idea of all these 'wee' kids growing up, hopefully a whole generation of them, whose very first material thing that is fully in their world, is Cradle To Cradle certified! They wont know it for a little while, but somehow i believe that these kids will grow up knowing it, and feeling it, and helping us save life on planet Earth ....now, that's a baby step!

[the even got AMAZING contests!! WeeGeneration]

Fast Times at Russ College of Engineering and Technology

2007-08-07T12:37:10Z

cheap abundant hydrogen is about to become a reality

Frank Neukomm is a smart man. ok he's not Dean Kamen, but man o man would i love to be involved in the games this guy -CEO of American Security Resources Corporation-is playing. He seems like some Gordon Geko but for good worldchanging! Just a month ago he bought MagWind, one of the coolest VAWT companies there is (i guess Mr. Perot Jr. makes better deals than his dad :p ..but what he did this week blew me away! Blew-me-away.

Not content to wait for companies to develop the technologies we need, he went to the core, and just struck a deal with Ohio University to bring chemical and biomolecular engineering associate professor Gerardine Botte's brand new technology to market. And what does it do? It efficiently turns amonia into hydrogen! And he's a nice guy, OU also gets equity in the company --brand new ASRC subsidiary American Hydrogen Corp. See, ASRC was looking at hydrogen feeds to satisfy the hunger of (yet) another subsidiary; HydraFuel Cell Corp, they read Dr. Botte's research and pounced! Well it took a year to do the deal, but now they are ready to go! And why not? Ammonia is made everywhere... you can make it from fermenting waste, and when you look at the molecular structure, it's as easy to split as water. Maybe easier.
.
I still like making H out of methane myself, as we end up dealing with mitigating a greenhouse gas as well... but heck, cheap hydrogen would be a way to get us using the stuff regularly, and building up the demand for the slightly more expensive approaches. Just one more small step for Frank Neukomm, one giant step for humankind!!

[important note: i have to put a caveat vaporptor on this story. I'd like to believe it's true, but MagWins while a cool idea, may not really be all that hot, and hasn't really produced anything. And that last pitch they has in TH a month ago with a GIANT sized magwind was so pie in the sky... so that, plus a Fuel Cell company, and we have to make sure that this guy isn't just doing one more vaporware stock push... you know like Zapworld does, or Hybrid Technologies, no real product just lots of green hype. we have to at least keep one eye open, ok cowboys?]

'GARBAGE WARRIOR' ...the trailer

2007-07-28T23:57:38Z

Can't wait to see this movie!!

if you've been reading this for long you know how much i love earthships (if not, here, look), so yeah, psyched to see this movie! It's still in the festival circuit (and getting some pretty good nods) but now being made into a 35mm for theatrical release ....Keep your eyes open for Michael Reynolds, in: GARBAGE WARRIOR!

things are panning out in the wild west.....

2007-07-23T13:14:33Z

Kholsa's Gevo attracts new 'polylactic CEO' and Sir Richard

Big news last Friday as California's Gevo Inc dropped not one but two bombs on the biofuel world.... it appears they have a new CEO-- one Ptrick Gruber, who's name might sound familiar to you.. and who has touched you-- if you have ever had a bioplastic cup, pen, mug, schwag.... any PLA plastic around is basically from his old haunt (he was CTO at Naturworks/Cargil). But then of course, the big news was Vinod Kholsa's new partner in crime;

Yes! The Branson and his $400M "planet cooling company" is getting on the GEVO train! It's basically the Frances H Arnold Technologies, Gevo has exclusive rights to the stuff-- and any friend of cellulostic ethanol is a friend of ours, right? I just wish "Sir B" would have shown up at the conference with Kholsa airdropping himself to the podium, or skydiving in... you know something Branson-style ...but hey, even without the spectacle, it's quite spectacular!

Epuron Commercial!

2007-07-09T11:59:28Z

if you haven't seen it yet, this is the best commercial of the year!