GreenMonk: the blog

• My Weekend with the Electric Mini Cooper (Mini-e) and my review, photos, and videos.

  Introduction:

  The Mini-e is in a ‘field trial’ in the US. It is an all-electric car. It has the same body as a Mini Cooper S. People were invited to apply for one. Well, actually, for a 1-year lease. My sister and her husband applied and recieved one of the first ones to be delivered in LA. (They are only availalbe in the LA and New York areas.) At the end of the year the car will have to go back to Mini Cooper for evaluation.

  We picked up the Mini-e at Alexander Mini in LA on Saturday, May 30, 2009.

  This the review…

  tags: mini-e, bmw, ev, bev, electric vehicle, electric car, greenmonktv

• IEC – News releases > nr1209 – IEC takes charge of setting global standards for Smart Grid

  The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is spearheading a global initiative to support the new “smart” electric power grids around the world with common technical standards that ensure interoperability, security and energy savings.

  tags: standards, smart grid, iec, greenmonktv, interoperability

• Tribes in Peru to get $0.68/acre for protecting Amazon forest

  Indigenous communities in Peru will be paid 5 soles ($1.70) per hectare ($0.68/acre) of preserved forest under a new conservation plan proposed by Peru’s Ministry of Environment, reports the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) in its bi-monthly update.

  Antonio Brack, Peru’s Minister of Environment, says the scheme could generate $18.3 million dollars for forest communities, which control some 11 million hectares of forest in the country, beginning in 2010. Brack says money has already been set aside for the program in the 2010 budget.

  They should be paying more per acre and this should be rolled out in more countries – still, great news.

  tags: deforestation, peru, amazon rainforest, greenmonktv

• Coda unveils ‘practical’ all-electric sedan | Green Tech – CNET News

  You could call electric car company Coda Automotive the anti-Tesla.

  The company, formed by fleet vehicle provider Miles Electric, on Wednesday unveiled the Coda, a plain-looking electric car that’s designed for everyday use.

  The highway-capable four-door sedan can go between 90 and 120 miles on its lithium ion battery pack. It will be available to consumers in California in the fall of 2010 at a price of $45,000. The cost can be offset by about $10,000 from a federal tax credit and state incentives, the company said.

  tags: coda, ev, electric vehicle, electric car, greenmonktv

• Green energy overtakes fossil fuel investment, UN figures reveal | Environment | guardian.co.uk

  Green energy overtook fossil fuels in attracting investment for power generation for the first time last year, according to figures released today by the United Nations.

  tags: green energy, renewable energy, renewables, fossil fuels, greenmonktv

• Fact or Fiction? You Must Drink 8 Glasses of Water Daily: Scientific American

  Virtually every health-conscious person can quote the recommendation: Drink at least eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Other beverages don’t count.

  Turns out the advice is rubbish!!!

  tags: water, greenmonktv

• Will the U.S. Ever Need to Build Another Coal or Nuclear Power Plant?: Scientific American

  No new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said today.

  “We may not need any, ever,” Jon Wellinghoff told reporters at a U.S. Energy Association forum.

  tags: coal, ferc, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, greenmonktv, wind energy

• The Human Cost of Climate Change – Yahoo! News

  The Global Humanitarian Forum paints a grim portrait of the human toll inflicted by Earth’s gradual rise in temperature: 26 million people displaced, $125 billion in annual economic losses and more than 300,000 yearly deaths

  tags: global humanitarian forum, kofi annaan, climate change, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Guardian Environment Network: Perestroika and permafrost: Moscow’s new interest in climate change | Environment | guardian.co.uk

  In April, Vladimir Putin and his ministers approved a new climate ‘doctrine’ – well, that’s how they call these things in Moscow – which for the first time officially recognizes severe risks of global warming and calls for immediate action.

  tags: permafrost, putin, russia, global warming, climate doctrine, climate change, greenmonktv

• Nancy Sutley: Obama to stake political prestige on passing US climate bill | Environment | The Guardian

  Barack Obama is prepared to stake his own political prestige on getting climate change legislation through Congress, and would be willing to intervene directly to ensure passage of America’s first law to reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming.

  tags: climate change, congress, obama, copenhagen, carbon emissions, greenmonktv

• Volvo’s new plug-in hybrid by 2012

  Automobile manufacturer Volvo is joining forces with Sweden-based Vattenfall, one of the world’s leading energy companies, to make a new plug-in hybrid diesel/electric vehicle.

  tags: volvo, vattenfall, phev, ev, plug in hybrid, greenmonktv

• China Floats Talk of Solar Tariff | Solar Feeds News and Commentary Blog Network

  For a country that was one of the world’s largest producers of solar power in 2007—some sources even award it second place, after Germany—China’s actual solar installation record is far less impressive.The Chinese government, a bureaucracy among bureaucracies, appears to have finally resolved to put the country’s rapidly expanding production capacities to use at home and taken a firm hand in guiding itself toward meeting its goal of having renewable energy account for 15 percent of its energy mix by 2020. According to the Wall Street Journal, it has announced that it will introduce a preferential tariff that will pay energy companies that use solar power for their generating capacity.

  tags: china, solar power, preferential tarriff, greenmonktv

• Super Solar Charger

  Cool Solar Charger with an extended charge range to allow you to charge your more powerful devices.It is capable of charging many brands of Cell phones, MP3 Players, PDA`s, Digital Cameras, iPods and iPhones.

  Also has built-in 2600mAh battery for storing power for later charging

  Charge directly to your electronic device or store the power on the Battery On Board to take full advantage of our PowerON Technology.

  tags: solar style, solar energy, solar charger, greenmonktv

• HP Makes Big Additions to Eco Solutions Program | GreenerComputing

  Hewlett Packard executives unveiled several new additions to its Eco Solutions green IT program, including a new line of servers, printing hardware and software solutions, an upcoming “telepresence-lite” program and new company-wide environmental commitments.

  tags: hp, hewlett packard, Eco Solutions, proliant, eco highlights, telepresence, skyroom, halo, greenmonktv

• A useful summary of Waxman-Markey

  The Energy and Commerce Committee finally released a summary (here) of the American Clean Energy and Security Act as reported by the Committee on May 21 by a vote of 33 to 25. Here are the key provisions:

  tags: American Clean Energy and Security Act, Waxman Markey, energy, utilities, clean energy, greenmonktv

• Yahoo’s China “police informant” role sparked a $47.5 billion slide in market value | Tom Foremski: IMHO | ZDNet.com

  From January 2006 to November 2008, Yahoo’s share price slid from $43.21 to $9.39.

  Yahoo shareholders suffered an astounding loss of $47.5 billion in market cap value.

  Was that the true cost of Yahoo’s mistaken China policy? We could quibble over a billion or even ten billion dollars.

  But the fact remains that employees working at a company that has been publicly accused of being moral pygmies and acting as a police informant for a repressive Chinese government won’t be highly motivated. No matter how many free doughnuts you provide.

  In a highly competitive environment such as the Internet market, a demoralized workforce will place any company at a serious disadvantage.

  People spend much of their life at work and they will work that much harder at a company that is morally and ethically responsible.

  Yahoo’s experience creates a great lesson for corporate leaders: Do the right thing – its good for your shareholders. And what’s good for your shareholders also happens to be your fiduciary duty.

  tags: yahoo!, china, csr, corporate social responsibility, moral pygmies, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• asahi.com????????Global warming to hit Japan hard – English

  Damage caused by global warming will cost Japan at least an extra 11 trillion yen each year by the end of the century, even if carbon emissions are halved by 2050

  11 trillion yen = €81 bn

  tags: japan, climate change, flooding, landslides, greenmonktv

• Auto Executives Back Obama’s Emissions Plan – US News and World Report

  By 2016, the proposed rule says, the entire American car and light truck fleet must be nearly 40 percent more fuel efficient than it is today. That means standards for cars and light-duty trucks will have to jump from the current laboratory average of 25 mpg to 35.5 mpg. (When cars are driven on the road, the actual miles per gallon drop by about 25 percent.)

  Many top auto executives were on hand for the event, so the new proposal has the industry’s formal backing. But it didn’t come easily or quickly

  tags: car, america, obama, fuel efficiency, greenmonktv

• Boulder residents plan Monday rally against coal : Science and Environment : Boulder Daily Camera

  If Boulder is serious about meeting the goal it set in 2002 when city leaders agreed to meet the Kyoto Protocol — reducing greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent below 1990 levels — it’s time for city officials to play hardball in their negotiations with Xcel Energy.

  tags: boulder, kyoto, xcel, xcel energy, greenmonktv

• Hawaii Says Aloha (Greetings) to Clean, Renewable Energy: Scientific American

  Hawaii signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) that would make the Aloha State the country’s most aggressive in pursuing renewable energy. By 2030, it plans to obtain 70 percent of its power from clean energy

  tags: hawaii, clean energy, doe, wind energy, greenmonktv

• British supermarkets accused over destruction of Amazon rainforest | Environment | The Guardian

  British supermarkets are driving rapid destruction of the Amazon rainforest by using meat from farms responsible for illegal deforestation, according to a three-year investigation of the global trade in Brazilian cattle products.

  tags: supermarkets, nike, addidas, tesco, sainsburys, asda, timberland, clarkes, greenmonktv, deforestation, amazon rainforest, amazon

• Australian solar and geothermal cheaper than coal and nuclear

  The average Australian household could pay up to 30 per cent more per year by 2025 for electricity generated from coal and nuclear power than from concentrating solar and hot dry rock geothermal power, according to clean energy organisation DESERTEC-Australia.

  tags: australia, coal, nuclear, greenmonktv

• BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Ranchers driving wind revolution

  Texan cattle rancher Mike Baca seems an unlikely evangelist for the American green revolution.

  When he voices a visceral dislike of the “Washington liberals” there seems to be little hint of the environmentalist beneath the cowboy hat and saucer-sized belt-buckle.

  But Mike is proof that renewable energy now unites the partisan debate on climate change.

  tags: texas, rancher, green, wind energy, wind farm, greenmonktv

• 160 Syrian villages deserted ‘due to climate change’ – Yahoo! News

  Some 160 villages in northern Syria were deserted of their residents in 2007 and 2008 because of climate change, according to a study released on Tuesday

  tags: syria, climate change, climate refugees, greenmonktv

• Leo Hickman: Burger King’s climate change whopper | Environment | guardian.co.uk

  Would you like a side order of climate denial with your flame-broiled Triple Whopper? If so, then you need to get yourself over to Tennessee where a number of Burger King franchises in the US state that gave us Al Gore have been displaying “Global Warming is Baloney” signs outside their fast-food restaurants.

  tags: global warming, burger king, climate change, denial, greenmonktv

• Study finds climate change boosts Tex storm flood risk | Industries | Energy | Reuters

  Climate change over the next 20 to 70 years can be expected to increase hurricane flooding in Corpus Christi, Texas, home of three U.S. refineries, according to a study by Texas A&M University

  tags: climate change, texas, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• IBM Press room – 2009-06-01 IBM Global Survey Shows Information Gap In “Green,” Sustainability Strategies: – United States

  IBM’s (NYSE:IBM) second annual global corporate social responsibility survey of senior business executives again shows significant gaps between their goals and their ability to attain them.

  Nearly all of the 224 respondents said they remain committed to incorporating CSR principles into their business strategies – despite the global recession — to improve business performance, societal contribution and reputation.

  tags: ibm, csr, greenmonktv

• Nortel: Community – Blogs – Nortel Greenroots: Guest post: Energy Star standard released for computer servers

  Earlier this month, EPA’s Energy Star announced new ENERGY STAR requirements for computer servers, effective immediately. They assert that computer servers that earn the ENERGY STAR will be, on average, 30% more energy efficient than standard servers

  tags: energy star, servers, epa, greenmonktv

• Smart Grid Blog » NTS Smart Grid Blog – News & updates on smart grid technology

  Blog dedicated entirely to smart grids

  tags: smart grid

• An Introduction to smart grids – Department of Energy

  Great intro to Smart Grids

  “The Smart Grid: An Introduction” (PDF 4 MB) is a publication sponsored by DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.

  tags: doe, smart grid

• Rising CO2 levels damage wildlife – MSN Environment UK

  Changes to the ocean caused by carbon dioxide emissions could lead to an “underwater catastrophe”, damaging wildlife, food production and livelihoods, scientists have warned.

  tags: acidity, ocean acidification, co2, copenhagen, greenmonktv

• The return flight of the bumblebee creates a buzz | Mail Online

  A bumblebee which died out in the UK, but survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than a hundred years ago, is to be reintroduced under plans announced today.

  tags: bumblebee, bee, reintroduced, new zealand, greenmonktv

• APEsphere – Has “CSR” become a code word for “profit trumps ethics”

  The term “CSR” appears to have become a way of avoiding uncomfortable conversations within business about managing impacts ethically.

  tags: csr, ethics, profit, greenmonktv

• World Environment News – EU On Track For Climate Goal, Despite Spain, Italy – Planet Ark

  Warm weather in 2007 helped the European Union towards its target of cutting global warming gases under the UN Kyoto Protocol for fighting climate change, but Spain, Italy and Ireland remained way off track.

  tags: kyoto, ireland, spain, italy, eu, greenmonktv

• Clear Standards Carbon Tracker iPhone Application | Track Carbon Emissions for Commuting & Business travel

  With Clear Standards Carbon Tracker for the iPhone, you can easily calculate the carbon footprint from your commuting, vacation, and business trips. Use the GPS feature while traveling to determine the length of each leg of your journey, so you don’t have to guess the distance. Set monthly “maximum emission” goals and monitor your progress against your own personal reduction targets.

  tags: clear standards, carbon tracker, iphone, carbon footprint, greenmonktv

• Energy Technologies Institute develops UK energy system blueprints for 2050

  The Energy Technologies Institute has developed the Energy Systems Model to help identify those technologies capable of having the greatest impact for 2050.

  tags: Energy, energy technologies institute, energy system model, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Real Time Noise and Air Quality Monitoring Over Mobile Internet

  Air pollution is one of the number one factors that affect our quality of life and health. Currently, pollutants are measured at different stations in a city and that data is aggregated to a single number (the air quality index) and published once a day on a website. There is not enough data that gets gathered to evaluate air quality in a given neighborhood and that data is hard to find. Now a European company called Sensaris is using Bluetooth wireless sensors, used in combination with mobile phones, that allow citizens to monitor and report air and sound quality data. Its first large scale deployment is in Paris.

  tags: greenmonktv, air quality, pollution, air pollution, sensaris

• Coming Soon: A New Eco-Label for TVs – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com

  Consumers shopping for a new television may soon have another criterion to consider beyond price, screen size and picture quality: the set’s environmental impact.

  tags: tv, epeat, energy star, greenmonktv

• ‘Crazy Turtle Woman’ transforms graveyard into maternity ward – CNN.com

  With its white sand and clear, blue water, Trinidad’s Matura Beach looks like a postcard. It’s a far cry from its recent past, when leatherback sea turtle carcasses littered the ground and kept tourists away. Saddened and frustrated, Baptiste launched a crusade to help end the slaughter of the gentle giants. Today, she and her group are succeeding: What was once a turtle graveyard is now a maternity ward — one of the largest leatherback nesting colonies in the world.

  tags: trinidad, turtles, leatherback, greenmonktv

• Eco Tech: Scientists To Recreate Stars On Earth For Limitless Energy – Ecofriend

  It might look as if its defying the energy laws of physics, but scientists at the National Ignition Facility have got it all set up for the world’s first machine, powered by the world’s largest lasers to produce more energy that it consumes.

  tags: fusion, national ignition facility, laser, greenmonktv

• Greener Commutes: Volvo Employees Track Carbon Emissions With Mobile CO2 Pedometer App | Sustainability | Fast Company

  Employees at the Volvo Group in Göteborg, Sweden have been asked to reach a new level of carbon emissions obsession with personal cell phone-based CO2 “pedometers” that calculate the emissions of their daily commutes.

  tags: volvo, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, pedometer, mobile, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Oil Giant Shell on Trial for Nigerian Environmentalist Saro-Wiwa’s Execution : Red, Green, and Blue

  In 1995, environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed by the Nigerian military government, along with eight other Ogoni activists, for protesting against the devastation of the Niger Delta by oil companies, particularly Royal Dutch Shell.

  On May 27, 2009, Shell will stand trial for collaboration and complicity in Saro-Wiwa’s murder. 14 years after his execution, Ken Saro-Wiwa’s sons Ken and Owens Wiwa are the plaintiffs in Wiwa v Shell.

  tags: shell, Ken Saro-Wiwa, ogoni, niger delta, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

• Voyage to the centre of the ‘Plastic Vortex’

  A group of conservationists and scientists is due to set sail for an obscure corner of the Pacific Ocean in the coming months to explore a vast swirl of waste known as the “Plastic Vortex.”

  tags: plastic, plastic gyre, plastic vortex, greenmonktv

• US won’t speed up emissions cuts

  Domestic politics will not allow the United States to deepen it commitment for cutting carbon pollution over the next decade despite growing international pressure, Washington’s top climate negotiator said Sunday.

  tags: climate change, obama, copenhagen, greenhouse gas emissions, greenmonktv

• Worldchanging: Bright Green: Americans Green-Light Higher Fuel Efficiency Standards

  A recent Gallup Poll reveals solid majority support for higher fuel efficiency standards such as those President Obama announced Tuesday. A March poll found 80 percent of Americans in favor of higher standards

  tags: fuel efficiency, cars, mpg, greenmonktv

• Solar power could surge by 2050 in deserts: study | Green Business | Reuters

  Solar power plants in deserts using mirrors to concentrate the sun’s rays have the potential to generate up to a quarter of the world’s electricity by 2050

  tags: solar, power, csp, Concentrated solar power, greenmonktv

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.