GREEN
TIPS
Going green is easier than ever,
and it can save you some money.
Find out how planet-friendly tech
can improve your home, your car,
and your lifestyle, with these tips.
25 GREEN TIPS
HOME
CAR
LIFESTYLE
FUTURE
EARTH FRIENDLY DOWNLOADS
ONLINE TOOLS
GREEN TERMS
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SECTION 1
25 ways
you can
go green
Michael Kanellos
Staff writer,
CNET News.com
(May 1, 2007)
SECTION 1A
HOME
1. Think solar panels.
Consult with an installer about the costs and feasibility of outfitting your home with a solar energy system. In many cases, solar can save you money in the long run. Solar panels also are getting more attractive: solar tiles from PowerLight and others integrate their electricity-generating components into a roof, and thin-film solar panels will help hide solar-conversion equipment even more.
2. Or think solar water.
If you don't want to completely outfit your house with solar panels, you can deploy solar technology on an appliance-by-appliance basis. Solar hot water heaters cost about $5,000 to $7,000 and can provide most, or at least a good portion, of the hot water used in a home or a business. They can also be used in areas that don't get much sun because, unlike systems designed to convert sunlight to electricity, these heaters are far more efficient at extracting heat from sunlight.
"Two years ago, I was getting four inquiries a day. The other day, I got 109. There is a lot of interest," said Steve Elkin, director of marketing at Apricus Solar, a solar-water specialist in Connecticut.
3. Shop around for air-conditioners.
Air-conditioners are the bane of utilities and consumers everywhere. People flip them on in the afternoon, when electricity is the most expensive and demand for power is relatively high.
California's Ice Energy says it has an answer: its Ice Bear system makes ice at night when power is cheap, puts the ice in a cooler, and lets the chilly vapors cool the building in the day. (Israel's Technion cools its environmental science building the same way.) Another solar-tech specialist, SolCool One, offers a solar-powered heating and air-conditioning system.
4. Let the utility control your thermostat.
It might sound creepy: a network connection to your home that lets the utility--or an energy-use specialist--automatically control your thermostat or pool heater. But these specialists point out that such monitoring-and-control systems can indeed trim your use of peak power and lead to lower bills. EnerNoc and Comverge, two leading start-ups in this area, are seeing revenues climb. Both recently applied for IPOs.
5. Move, or remodel.
Making gypsum-based drywall generates a lot of carbon dioxide at the factory and consumes a lot of fuel. Serious Materials, maker of a drywall called EcoRock, is coming out this year with a version of the product that requires a lot less cooking. And if you're buying a home, companies such as Michelle Kaufman Associates are starting to build modular, relatively upscale homes made from more ecofriendly materials. The homes also try to exploit natural light and cooling through their design. Vacationers looking for a green hotel, meanwhile, might consider the Gaia Napa Valley Resort and Spa, whose construction and materials are environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.
6. Switch to ecofriendly clothes and furniture.
Along with the BioBag, a biodegradeable shopping bag made of corn-based polymer components (many bags are made from petroleum-derived polyethylene), the number of products now available in this category is impressive. And their availability is no longer restricted to eco-specialty stores. Check out the options the next time you are at Target.
Buy some new clothes.
It is true that garments made from organic Merino wool and "peace silk" that kills no worms remain rare, and controversy continues to rage over fabrics coming from biotech corn that may reduce pesticide use but may genetically "contaminate" nearby crops of corn intended for sale as food. But the range of products made with ecofriendly textiles is nonetheless impressive.
There is a booming market for textiles made from organic cotton, bamboo, soy, and plastic soda bottles, and demand for fair-trade clothing is on the rise. Once the purview of boutiques, green clothes are now found at Gap, H&M, Nike, and WalMart, which are hawking organic cottonwear (and implementing corporate environmental initiatives). Patagonia has for 14 years sold fleece garments made from recycled plastic, and now it even takes back patrons' old underwear for recycling.
Meanwhile, little labels such as Simple Shoes turn tired tires into sturdy soles, while Vegan Shoes serve the PETA crowd. For those on a tight budget, however, the cheapest and greenest option remains trolling for used and vintage threads at resale shops or on eBay.
Redecorating in green.
What causes that new-furniture smell? The couch giving off formaldehyde and toxic flame retardants. The Greenguard database ranks furnishings unlikely to contribute to indoor air pollution, such as the Herman Miller Aeron chair. Specialty online green-furniture shops include Green Culture, Vivavi, and Branch.
7. Use green cleaning supplies.
This is an important issue, but also one that's relatively easy to address. Lots of options exist to cut down on household use of volatile chemicals and toxic solvents that may end up in ground water and drinking-water supplies. Nanotechnological advances are likely to lead to stronger-scrubbing bubbles and degreasers without abrasive ecological side effects. In the pipeline: tougher dirt-dissolving enzymes and beefed-up friendly bacteria that gobble nasty germs.
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SECTION 1B
CAR
8. Buy a hybrid.
Although the tax breaks on these cars can rise and fall, hybrids such as Toyota's Prius continue to get good reviews from customers, and the cars get 60 miles a gallon.
9. Contemplate buying an electric car.
We use the word contemplate here because there really aren't a lot of electric cars to buy at the moment. You can order a Tesla Roadster, but its $92,000 price tag puts it out of the range of most drivers. The Zap Xebra costs a mere $14,000, but it goes only 35 mph and can't be operated legally on freeways.
But starting later this year, the options will increase. Th!nk, a Norwegian company, will soon release an electric town car and bring it to the states in 2008. Tesla will release a $50,000 sedan called Whitestar in 2009. Zap, an automaker based in Santa Rosa, Calif., offers an all-electric three-wheeler. Even giants like Nissan have all-electrics coming. Altair Nanotechnologies is also working to get businesses to adopt electrics as their fleet cars.
Electric cars aren't perfect. Most barely can go more than 120 miles before needing a recharge and they cost more than their gas-powered equivalents, but advocates say both factors will improve.
10. In the meantime, try a plug-in hybrid.
A plug-in hybrid is essentially a regular hybrid with bigger batteries that you can recharge through a wall socket. These cars can get 100 miles a gallon and generally pollute less. (The amount of pollution produced by recharging the car depends on how much coal your electricity-generating utility burns.) Converting now costs about $10,000, but that price will decline.
11. In the Midwest, look into ethanol.
Although gas stations all over the country mix a little ethanol into their gas, only about 1 percent of the nation's gas stations sell ethanol. Most of them are in the middle of the country, in shopping-center parking lots. So check out the neighborhood before you buy.
12. Think diesel.
Biodiesel--made from vegetable oil or drippings from the deep-fat fryer--produces far less carbon dioxide than regular diesel. It can be put straight into conventional diesel cars. With few modifications, a diesel car can run entirely on vegetable oil. Used diesel cars are rising in price, with bidding wars breaking out on some auction sites. A new crop of clean diesels coming from Europe in the near future will help expand the supply of diesel cars.
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SECTION 1C
LIFESTYLE
13. Swap the lightbulbs.
Only about 5 percent of the energy that goes into incandescent lightbulbs turns into light. The rest turns into heat. Fluorescent-bulb manufacturers and light-emitting diode (LED) bulb makers say their products can produce as much light with far less energy. The cities of Beijing and Raleigh, N.C., are tinkering with use of LEDs in public places. Some lighting specialists, meanwhile, are working on systems that pipe in sunlight and employ optical cables as light sources for businesses. Another near-future idea for a low-energy, high-brightness light source is covering entire walls with organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs, the same stuff used to make cell phone screens.
14. Go organic in the garden.
Traditional fertilizers carry a lot of baggage. Many are made out of petroleum products and are being phased out by legislation due to concerns that they're causing health problems. So how do you kill garden pests without them? Companies such as AgraQuest have devised biopesticides, which kill fungi and other material with bacteria that's not harmful to humans. Meanwhile, Novazone has created a system for farmers that kills pests with ozone. Although conventional food processors use this type of technology too, it's more prevalent in the organic world.
15. Buy plastic forks selectively.
Cereplast, among other bioplastic specialists, has come up with a fork made from cornstarch that dissolves in landfills. Plastic forks can biodegrade too, but it takes several decades. Also, look for foods and beverages packaged in biodegradable plastic containers rather than those made from petroleum-based compounds.
16. Chose your dry cleaner well.
HangerNetwork produces biodegradable hangers for use by dry cleaners. You just have to put up with ads in your closet: advertisers pay to have ads posted on the hangers, which are given to dry cleaners for free.
17. Look for the green personal computer.
More-restrictive laws in Europe and Asia are forcing manufacturers in those regions to remove toxic metals from their electronics sold around the globe.
One way to find green computing gear is to consult the nonprofit Green Electronics Council's EPEAT ratings, which give high marks to computers and monitors that can be easily recycled and contain fewer hazardous substances. Green geeks can find stringent guidelines for gadget shopping and recycling tips on the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's map of recycling centers, which manage e-waste without shipping it overseas for unsafe dismantling.
18. Cut down on vampire-power gadgets.
PCs, DVD players, televisions (especially some flat-panel models), and other devices can suck a lot of power, even in sleep mode, so unplug when you can. Tech toys and household appliances built for frugal power consumption brandish the government's Energy Star label, and the standards were recently upgraded. Tools that can reduce phantom power waste include the Watt Stopper lighting-control devices.
19. Buy carbon offsets.
These arrangements are designed to allow individuals and organizations to reduce emissions directly or by participating in programs that, through various energy-conservation techniques and emissions-trading initiatives, attempt to achieve a net reduction in greenhouse gases.
Carbon offsets can sound complex, but they're essentially giving to charity. Buy a plane ticket, and then donate to a foundation that will plant trees that will suck up the carbon dioxide produced by putting an extra passenger on a plane. The math for these arrangement is indeed a bit fuzzy, however. For example, in a tree-planting program run by computer maker Dell with help from The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit, people buying a Dell PC can donate $2 to $6 to plant trees. It will take the trees 70 years, though, to offset the carbon dioxide produced by utility companies that produce the electricity used by the PCs. (The PCs themselves don't spew emissions.) Still, some extra help can't hurt.
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SECTION 1D
FURTURE
Not everything will be easy when it comes to alternative energy.
Here's a quick list of some other emerging technologies and
issues that will likely become more prominent in the future.
20. Consider clean coal.
Black lung disease, mining accidents, environmental poisoning: these are just some of the associations Americans have with coal. Several companies, however, say they have come up ways to burn coal more cleanly in power plants or even make a liquid car fuel out of coal. Scientists at MIT, meanwhile, say carbon dioxide from clean coal production can be sequestered in underground reservoirs.
Coal may never be as clean as solar power, but advocates point out the infrastructure already exists to adopt it. In any event, phasing out coal will take years, so cleaner coal-burning technologies may as well be adopted. And the U.S. has lots of coal: recoverable estimates are close to 267 billion tons, according to Dave Edwards, a senior research analyst who covers the alternative-energy business for ThinkEquity Partners.
21. Second--and third--thoughts on genetically modified crops.
Corn, soy, sugar, and other crops that now get converted to ethanol or biodiesel have one thing in common: they were originally bred for food. To boost fuel production, these crops will likely need to be genetically enhanced. Farmers and fuel producers will also likely need to experiment with growing switchgrass and other plants that currently don't get raised as crops. Polls show that the public is often uncomfortable with how experiments such as these might affect existing agriculture.
Several companies also are genetically enhancing microorganisms or reproducing biological processes in the lab through synthetic biology to help convert vegetable matter into fuel.
22. Give up some open space.
Nevada Solar One, a solar power plant outside of Las Vegas, takes up 300 acres and provides 64 megawatts of power, enough for about 15,000 homes. While impressive, that's less than 1 percent of the city's population. Providing solar power on a broad scale will require dedicating lots of land to power generation. Similarly, wind power often means placing large fields of turbines in the ocean. Expect nasty land disputes.
23. Going nuclear.
"I believe the majority of environmental activists, including those at Greenpeace, have now become so blinded by their extremism that they fail to consider the enormous and obvious benefits of harnessing nuclear power to meet and secure America's growing energy needs." Who said that? Patrick Moore, a Greenpeace founder. Moore also founded Greenspirit, an environmental group that supports nuclear power. Like it or not, the nuclear issue is back on the table and will be one of many topics that governments will address when it comes to energy security.
24. Recycled water on tap.
Water shortages will likely be the first major impact humans feel when it comes to global warming. China, Australia, and India already face significant challenges.
To alleviate the problem, several countries are increasing investments in desalination technologies and purification systems for turning sewage water into drinking water. Singapore's NEWater project uses filtration, reverse-osmosis and ultraviolet technologies to produce potable water from recovered sewage water.
25. High taxes.
For the next decade and beyond, developing green technologies and getting them into the market will require billions of dollars in grants, subsidies, and tax cuts that will often go to green-tech companies--many of them backed and run by wealthy businessmen--and to upper-middle-class consumers who can afford their products. Voters often view these programs skeptically. But Herman Scheer, a member of the German parliament who was instrumental in putting together that country's massive solar program, says you have to take an organic view of expenses. Clean energy might require direct subsidies, but health care costs and the need for often-costly toxic-waste cleanups will decline.
CNET.com's associate editor Elsa Wenzel contributed to this feature.
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SECTION 2
EARTH
FRIENDLY
DOWNLOADS
Compiled by Mark Sikes
Associate producer,
Download.com
(May 1, 2007)
Start living a greener life with this
collection of software programs, each
of which is aimed at reducing power
consumption in the home.
ArchiTech:
Create an accurate audit of your home
or business energy bills.
Energy Spy:
Schedule your computer to shut down,
reboot, log off, power off, stand by,
and hibernate.
EZ Wizard:
This program turns off your monitor
during idle time to reduce energy
costs.
Sleepy:
Conserve energy by automating your
computer to shut down at a specific
time each day.
SpeedFan:
Save energy by optimizing your system's
fan speed, voltage, and temperature, and
by monitoring the temperature of other
hardware components.
WattchIT:
Compare your monthly utility bills to
actual usage, room by room, in your
home, and learn how you can save
money by selectively cutting power
usage.
BACK TO TOP
SECTION 3
ONLINE
GREEN
TOOLS
By Jennifer Guevin
Staff writer,
CNET News.com
(May 1, 2007)
The Web is the best-ever tool for
finding green products, advice,
and news.
This sampling of Web sites focuses
on practical guides for living an
ecofriendly life.
Thinking solar?
Try the clean-power estimator
Calculate your carbon footprint
Evaluate your next PC with the EPA's
Electronic Product Environmental
Assessment Tool
Learn about green products, and get
tips for running your home more
efficiently with the Energy Star
site
How to green your heating
Find recycling centers near you
Consumer Reports
tips for recycling electronics
Computer TakeBack Campaign
EPA's eCycling information center
Natural Resources Defense Council's
tipsand tools for taking action
BACK TO TOP
SECTION 4
ECOLOGY
GREEN
TERMS
biodiesel:
A variety of biofuel (see definition), specifically diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable matter rather than nonrenewable fossil fuels.
biofuel:
This refers to all variety of fuels, both gas and liquid, that are derived from biomass--and hence are renewable, as opposed to fossil fuels. The usual suspects are wood, ethanol (derived from corn), and the mouthwatering new one, french fry grease. Other biofuels come from sources that are somewhat less yummy: landfill gas, cow manure, sludge, and fish oil, for example.
carbon:
Such a naughty word these days. It's been somewhat unfairly demonized, considering carbon (element number 12 in the periodic table) is the third-most common element in cells and is absolutely crucial to the existence of life on earth. That said, carbon dioxide--you know, what we breathe out and plants breathe in--is the primary greenhouse gas (see definition) caused by the combustion of matter, including fossil fuels.
carbon neutral:
Used to describe a person, company, or industry that accounts for its ecological footprint (see definition) by purchasing carbon offsets (see definition). This is the sort of adjective that pops up at benefit galas for chic environmental causes; think of "I'm carbon neutral" as the new "I'm a vegetarian." It's also a bit of a celebrity fad, and not just among the Clooney-DiCaprio set: British actress Sienna Miller, for example, professed to being carbon neutral in a February interview with fashion magazine Nylon.
carbon offsets:
Carbon offsets are the best-known strategy for achieving the goal of carbon neutrality; in short, if you generate emissions somehow, you make up for it by investing in preventing or scrubbing out the same level of emissions. Some environmental bloggers frown on corporate carbon offsets as a cop-out that excuses companies from polluting as long as they plant a few trees here and there, but others argue it's a good start for companies that are investigating "green" policies but haven't yet reached the point where they can make bigger changes.
clean-burning:
Not to be confused with "zero emissions." An adjective to describe an energy source that leaves minimal contamination--or at least less contamination than your average petroleum product. Natural gas, for example, is a clean-burning fuel.
Day After Tomorrow:
Politically charged and somewhat poorly executed 2004 disaster movie, starring Randy Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal, exposing the potentially apocalyptic effects of global warming, albeit in a scientifically implausible form. In green-tech slang, the title has become a synonym for "worst-case scenario." Notable for laughably ironic scene of hordes of illegal U.S. immigrants storming the border into Mexico to escape extreme weather in the north.
DiCaprio, Leonardo:
Plenty of Hollywood types champion environmental causes, but the Prius-driving DiCaprio is arguably the most prominent of them all, a title that was reinforced by his appearance alongside Knut the baby polar bear on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's 2007 "Green Issue." Ironically, his most famous film role remains the one in which his character experienced death by iceberg.
footprint:
A clever metaphor for a person's, a company's, or an organization's overall environmental impact; "reducing one's footprint" is synonymous with changing lifestyle habits to use up fewer of the planet's resources. The easiest way to start? Switch those electricity-guzzling incandescent lightbulbs for compact fluorescent lights.
fossil fuels:
The stuff we should probably stop using so much.
Gore, Al:
Depending on your political leanings, he's either a visionary or an incredibly boring windbag, or maybe both. The consensus seems to be that he was right about the whole "climate change" thing, but that he could probably turn off a few of the lights in his house.
green:
The ambiguity to end all ambiguities. Essentially, this just means "environmentally conscious" in whatever way you choose. Meanwhile, the gods of jealousy turn green with envy at the thought that they've lost their monopoly on the color.
greenhouse gas:
A substance in the atmosphere (or which could potentially go into the atmosphere) that absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, trapping heat close to Earth's surface and contributing to global warming. The most popular target is carbon dioxide, but others include methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and water vapor. Yes, water vapor.
greenwashing:
A pejorative, popular among eco-bloggers and pundits, targeted at corporations, government agencies, or other entities that are (allegedly) guilty of hypocritical environmental marketing or advertising. The "classic" example is of automotive companies that promote a hybrid (see definition) or a fuel-efficient vehicle as a flagship product while continuing to produce large, fuel-inefficient SUVs and trucks.
guerrilla:
A much, much hipper and edgier version of "grassroots," complete with connotations of the underground and extralegal. Brought into the mainstream when a "guerrilla marketing" campaign for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie was mistaken for a terrorist plot. Oh, Boston.
Hummer:
In eco-slang, this is a convenient shorthand for "the embodiment of everything wrong with the American automotive industry and culture surrounding it." This might change, however, as increasing numbers of Hummer owners retrofit their vehicles to burn biofuels.
hybrid:
You probably already know this one--it refers to power that's derived from a combination of traditional (i.e. fossil-fuel burning) energy sources and more-efficient, lower-impact ones. Usually used in reference to cars, the most famous example being Toyota's Prius.
Knut:
The way-too-adorable baby polar bear (just wait till he gets big) at the Berlin Zoo who has become the latest eco-celebrity--even sharing the Vanity Fair "Green Issue" cover with Leonardo DiCaprio. The Arctic habitats of polar bears, after all, are threatened by rising sea temperatures, and it always helps to have a cute face to represent a cause.
Kyoto:
A truncation of "Kyoto Protocol," the international treaty introduced in 1997 (and famously snubbed by the United States) to assign limitations on greenhouse gas emissions in the hope of halting climate change. It expires in 2012, thus introducing "post-Kyoto" into forward-thinking environmental rhetoric as well.
No Impact Man:
The superhero title given to Colin Beavan, the New York City writer who (along with his wife and kid) opted to spend an entire year generating absolutely no net impact on the environment. It might be tough, but it's scored him a New York Times article, a book deal, and an appearance on The Colbert Report. Sounds pretty good to us.
organic:
1) referring to chemical compounds with a carbon basis (i.e. organic chemistry); 2) referring to plants or animals that have been raised under specific conditions mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (or equivalent government agency in other countries), without the use of pesticides, artificial hormones, radiation, and the like.
organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs):
Deserving of a mention here, if only to clear up any potential confusion involving the word "organic." OLEDs are made from carbon-based compounds rather than semiconductors, and are consequently believed to be more energy efficient (and can make even flatter TV screens). However, "organic" in this case does not refer to the "grown without pesticides" definition of the word.
Segway:
Living proof that sometimes green tech is not particularly chic.
Schwarzenegger, Arnold:
Hummer-driving action hero turned California governor, this is one guy whom the environmentalist community can't seem to make up its mind about. Yes, he's brought emissions-reducing policies to the forefront of political debate, but his lifelong penchant for big SUVs and disdain for "tree hugger" types has made him a controversial figure.
Soylent Green:
1) a post-apocalyptic environmental-catastrophe film that should probably be a few spots above The Day After Tomorrow in your Netflix queue; 2) people.
sustainable:
This is another notoriously ambiguous one. Basically, it refers to resources that, if used wisely, can sustain life on earth indefinitely. You know, not oil.
zero emissions:
Usually used in reference to transportation; a zero-emissions vehicle, or ZEV, produces absolutely no emissions--no soot, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, what-have-you--when in use or idle. Examples include bicycles and solar-powered vehicles.
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