Tough Love for US Car Industry? January 27, 2009

Mr Obama's ruling could lead to tougher fuel emissions standards

BBC News

President Obama has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to look into allowing California to increase fuel efficiency standards for cars.

Is this request part of a patchwork of measures that will create a cleaner environment and green jobs?

Or – as its critics contend – will it help to create a patchwork of fuel standards that will end up costing even more jobs in America’s struggling car industry?

The battle lines were drawn some time ago and they remain as clear as ever, but today the battle cries have been much louder on one side of the debate.

For environmentalists, the president’s action is an unequivocal cause for celebration – a sign he means to walk the walk on the green agenda and overturn years of indifference.

Tough love

There has certainly been rejoicing from California’s green (Republican) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and its Democratic senators, notably Barbara Boxer.

She has tended to live up to her name, when environmental officials from the Bush Administration have testified at her Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In the other corner, there have been cautious words from the car manufacturers.

General Motors, which has announced another 2,000 job losses at plants in Michigan and Ohio, released a statement pledging support for policies which support “meaningful and workable” solutions and targets.

The statement went on to say: “We look forward to contributing to a comprehensive policy discussion that takes into account the development pace of new technologies, alternative fuels, and market and economic factors.”

A few caveats there, although a less combative than usual reaction from an industry whose request for a multi-billion dollar federal loan has reduced its political leverage.

Ohio Republican Senator George Voinovich was rather more direct: “The federal government should not be piling on an industry already hurting in a time like this.”

But is it a case of “piling on”, or – as the Obama administration would have it – of offering the industry some much-needed tough love?

By forcing the pace (or helping California to force the pace) of fuel efficiency standards, are the federal authorities jump-starting the car industry’s efforts to regain its place as a global innovator and prolonging its survival?

Whatever the case, Barack Obama is spending some of his political capital here, on an issue which he emphasised on the campaign trail and – at several points – in his inaugural address.

Economic impact

As the US economy has grown worse, opinion polls suggest that green issues have slipped down the public’s list of concerns.

A survey for Pew Research Centre found that, while 56% of Americans saw the environment as a top priority a year ago, 41% hold that view today.

The percentage of those who see job security as a top priority has, by contrast, gone from 61% to 82% in the same poll.

And those findings suggest that, in the short term at least, this initiative will be judged as much on its economic as on its environmental impact.

Will the retro-fitting of cars, to meet the new fuel standards, really create the number of new, green jobs that the administration hopes it will?

Source

UK Gets Biofuels Research Centre January 27, 2009

Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport continue to grow

A centre that will act as the hub for biofuels research has been launched by Science Minister Lord Drayson.

The £27m institute has been tasked with developing economically competitive and environmentally sound alternatives to fossil fuels.

Last year, the government delayed its plans to increase the amount of biofuel blended into petrol and diesel.

According to government figures, the transport sector accounts for about 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The Sustainable Bioenergy Centre, which will have hubs at six universities – including Cambridge, Dundee, York and Nottingham – has been established by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

‘Practical solutions’

“The UK has a world-leading research base in plant and microbial science,” said BBSRC chief executive Professor Douglas Kell.

“The centre draws together some of these world-beating scientists in order to help develop technology and understanding to support the sustainable bioenergy sector,” he added.

“By working closely with industrial partners, the centre’s scientists will be able to quickly translate their progress into practical solutions to all our benefit and ultimately, by supporting the sustainable bioenergy sector, help to create thousands of new ‘green collar’ jobs in the UK.”

While other sectors have curtailed or reduced overall emissions, CO2 from transport has continued to rise.

In an attempt to address the problem, the UK government introduced the “Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation” in April 2008, which required 2.5% of all the fuel sold at petrol stations to be biofuels.

Ministers originally had intended to increase this to 5% by 2010, but accepted a recommendation by the Gallagher Review to delay this until at least 2013.

Non-food crops, such as jatropha, do not distort food prices

Mounting pressure from environmentalists has also led to the European Union revising its targets.

It had stipulated that 10% of transport fuel had to be biofuels by 2020, but this was modified in December 2008.

Now, the 10% target can be met by any renewable source, including fuel cells, hydrogen or solar power.

Once widely viewed as an acceptable alternative to fossil fuels, biofuels have fallen foul of environmental concerns in recent years.

The global surge in biofuel production led to questions being asked about how the impacts of the supposedly green fuel.

Some production methods, especially in South-East Asia, led to huge areas of old-growth rainforests being felled and burned, only to be replaced by vast oil palm plantations.

Not only did it undermine efforts to curb carbon dioxide emissions, conservationists said it threatened the long-term survival of many endangered species, such as orangutans.

Robbing Peter

Another impact was the effect biofuels were having on global food prices. As the demand for the biodiesel and bio-ethanol grew, many farmers were selling their crops to fuel producers rather than food producers.

This, combined with a series of poor harvests around the world, led to prices reaching unprecedented levels.

However, scientists at the BBSRC centre plan to focus their efforts on “second generation” biofuels.

These fuels can be generated from a wider range of feedstocks, meaning any plant-derived materials, or biomass, not just food crops.

This means that second generation biofuels are generally more efficient, are not in conflict with food supplies, and have a smaller environmental impact.

However, as this process is much more complex, it is also more expensive and struggles to be commercially competitive.

The new centre hopes to make “sustainable bioenergy a practical solution” by improving the yield and quality of non-food biomass, and also improving the processes used to convert this into biofuels.

New Honda Hybrid Contender Challenges Champ Prius January 12, 2009

The new Honda Insight is smaller than the Toyota Prius, but a compact hybrid drivetrain and battery makes it just as roomy inside.

The new Honda Insight hybrid promises to revolutionize the hybrid market by making gas-electric cars affordable. But the five-door hatchback with a rock-bottom price isn’t the Prius killer Honda might have hoped for.

Honda isn’t saying exactly what the car unveiled today at the Detroit auto show will cost when it rolls into showrooms on April 22 (Earth Day) but it will undercut the Toyota Prius by several thousand dollars. That won’t be enough to knock a car that’s synonymous with hybrid technology from its pedestal, but the 2010 Insight poses the first credible threat to Toyota’s dominance of the hybrid market.

It’s widely expected to cost no more than $20,000, and Honda almost certainly will sell every one of the 100,000 Insights destined for North America this year. Analysts say as many as half those sales could be siphoned away from Toyota. The next-generation Prius will debut during the show.

“The Insight has the potential to put the Prius in a world of hurt,” says George Peterson, president of industry analysis firm AutoPacific.

But the Insight has more than a great price going for it. With its stellar fuel economy, snappy acceleration and clever interactive dashboard designed to help drivers maximize efficiency, the Insight is the world’s first fun hybrid.

The Insight hybrid features Honda's Ecological Drive Assist System, an interactive dashboard display that offers real-time feedback on your driving style to help you maximize efficiency.

Honda spent more than two years developing the car, which draws its name from the funky two-seater Insight hybrid that was the first gas-electric vehicle sold in America when it was introduced in 1999. The car never quite caught on, and Honda could only watch as the Prius outsold Honda’s hybrids by four to one. Honda discontinued the Insight in 2006 and pulled the plug on the Accord hybrid the following year.

Tired of watching from the sidelines as Toyota dominated the field, the company decided the best way to close the gap was to make hybrids as cheap as they are efficient. “We want to open up the market to consumers who might not have considered hybrids in the past because of price considerations,” says company spokesman Sage Marie, noting that although the Prius starts at $22,000, they often go for several thousand more than that when you can find one.

The new Insight builds on the Integrated Motor Assist technology underpinning the Civic hybrid, which remains in Honda’s lineup and is slightly larger than the Insight. It sandwiches a 13-horsepower electric motor between the 88-horsepower four-cylinder engine and the continuously variable transmission. The combination delivers 98 horsepower and enough torque to let you accelerate away from a traffic light with a grin.

Honda’s system isn’t quite as fuel efficient as Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, but with an estimated 40 mpg in the city and 43 on the highway, it’s pretty close to the EPA’s figures for the 2009 Prius. The compact size and lower cost of Honda’s technology offers other advantages though. While smaller than the Prius, the Insight offers almost as much interior room and actually has more cargo room, thanks to a smaller electronic control unit and more efficient 5.75-amphere-hour, 100-volt, nickel-metal hydride battery under the rear seat.

The Insight builds on the Integrated Motor Assist technology underpinning the Civic hybrid, and mates an 88-horsepower four-cylinder engine to a 13-horsepower electric motor driven by a nickel-metal hydride battery.

The interior has lots of clever touches — an iPod holder, storage compartments that can be reconfigured about a bazillion ways and, in a stroke of genius, a storage slot under the cargo floor for the retractable cargo cover. Options include a navi system, Bluetooth and iPod integration, though including those will probably bump the price above 20 grand. But the coolest gadget comes standard in every model — the interactive Ecological Drive Assist System.

Eco Assist uses a dashboard display and speedometer backlighting that effectively turn hypermiling — the fine art of maximizing fuel efficiency — into a videogame that coaches you on your driving style. There’s also an Econ Mode that decreases throttle sensitivity, reduces air-conditioning demand and pulls a few other under-hood tricks to maximize fuel efficiency.

During a day behind the wheel last month, we managed an impressive 42.4 mpg without even trying. When we pushed the Econ Mode button and used Eco Assist to mind our hypermiling P’s and Q’s, the Insight returned an amazing 65.6 mpg. That’s on par with the best figures we’ve seen from the Prius.

The irony is the Insight is the first hybrid with the driving dynamics that might encourage you to ignore your inner environmentalist and just have fun. While we didn’t drag race a Prius, our seat-of-the-pants impression is the Insight has snappier acceleration, not to mention more responsive steering, better brakes and superior handling. The fully loaded EX version even offers shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel. The Insight isn’t as sporty as, say, a Civic Si, but it’s by no means a dull car.

Honda has packed a lot into the Insight’s small and inexpensive package, and industry analysts say it may well usher in the “new era of affordability” for hybrids that company CEO Takeo Fukui promised last fall. Toyota and Hyundai already have plans to offer gas-electric models in the Insight’s price range, industry watchers say, and it’s only a matter of time before other automakers follow suit.

“Honda may set a new benchmark for others to shoot for with regard to cost, packaging and content,” says Joe Langley, an auto industry analyst with CSM Worldwide. “We should start to see prices come down. This is the first step.”

Source

Toyota to Sell Tiny U.S. ‘Urban Commuter’ Battery Car by 2012 January 12, 2009

Coming Soon...Toyota's new urbanite battery car

Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp., working to hold a lead in advanced vehicles over General Motors Corp. and smaller startups, plans to sell a tiny, battery-powered car in the U.S. by 2012 that can be recharged at electrical outlets.

A concept version of the FT-EV “urban commuter” car will be at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit starting tomorrow, Toyota said in a statement. The world’s largest seller of hybrids didn’t say how much the model, a modified version of the iQ minicar sold in Japan, may cost.

Toyota is readying the FT-EV as alternatives to gasoline expand. They range from plug-ins, including a version of Toyota’s Prius and GM’s Volt, to electric cars from Nissan Motor Co., Tesla Motors Inc. and Fisker Automotive Inc. Gasoline prices, which set a record in the U.S. last year, and pressure from governments to trim carbon dioxide emissions, are driving demand.

“Last summer’s $4-a-gallon gasoline was no anomaly, it was a brief glimpse of our future,” Irv Miller, U.S. group vice president of environmental and public affairs for the Toyota City, Japan-based company, said in the statement today.

“We must address the inevitability of peak oil by developing vehicles powered by alternatives to liquid-oil fuel, as well as new concepts, like the iQ, that are lighter in weight and smaller in size,” he said. “This kind of vehicle, electrified or not, is where our industry must focus its creativity.”

Plug-In Prius

Toyota’s two-door electric car, similar in size to Daimler AG’s Smart minicar, seats four people and would travel at least 50 miles “between home and work,” the company said. Toyota hasn’t yet set a total driving range per charge for the FT-EV, said Jana Hartline, a spokeswoman.

The company also said today that later this year it will begin delivering an initial 500 plug-in Prius hybrids with lithium-ion battery packs. Of the fleet customers that will lease them, 150 will be in the U.S.

Toyota hasn’t yet said when such Priuses, which can be recharged at household electric outlets, will be sold to individuals. Its current hybrids, as well as those sold by Honda Motor Co., GM, Nissan, Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., use nickel-metal-hydride batteries that recharge from braking and deceleration when the vehicle is moving.

Toyota plans to unveil a new Lexus hybrid tomorrow in Detroit and a restyled Prius on Jan. 12. The company will have as many as 10 U.S. hybrids on sale in the early 2010s, Miller said. Toyota’s U.S. sales unit is based in Torrance, California.

U.S. hybrid sales fell 11 percent last year to 316,013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Toyota sold 158,884 Prius hatchbacks, a 12 percent drop from a year earlier. Toyota’s share of all hybrid sales fell to 76 percent, from 78 percent.

Source

First Flight of Algae-fuelled Jet January 8, 2009

The biofuel's developers showcased its algal origins (AP)

A US airline has completed the first test flight of a plane partly powered by biofuel derived from algae.

The 90-minute flight by a Continental Boeing 737-800 went better than expected, a spokesperson said.

One of its engines was powered by a 50-50 blend of biofuel and normal aircraft fuel.

Wednesday’s test is the latest in a series of demonstration flights by the aviation industry, which hopes to be using biofuels within five years.

The flight was the first by a US carrier to use an alternative fuel source, and the first in the world to use a twin-engine commercial aircraft (rather than a four-engine plane) to test a biofuel blend.

The flight from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport completed a circuit over the Gulf of Mexico, and pilots carried out a series of tests at 38,000ft (11.6km), including a mid-flight engine shutdown.

“The airplane performed perfectly,” test pilot Rich Jankowski told the Houston Chronicle newspaper.

“There were no problems. It was textbook.”

‘Drop-in fuel’

Continental Airlines chief executive Larry Kellner described the biofuel as a “drop-in fuel”, which meant that no modification to the aircraft or its engines was required.

The fuel is also understood to meet and exceed specifications necessary for jet fuel, including a flash point and a freezing point appropriate for use in aircraft.

“The challenge will be to produce it in an efficient way in the quantities we need,” Mr Kellner said.

The biofuel used in the demonstration flight was a blend of two different types of alternative oils – algae and jatropha.

Jatropha is a plant that can grow successfully in poor soils and marginal land, yet it yields four times more fuel per hectare than soybean.

However, algae is viewed by many as a key fuel for the future because it is fast growing, does not compete with food crops for arable land, and yields up to 30 times more fuel than standard energy crops.

But despite advances in the technology, biofuels derived from algae have yet to be proven as commercially competitive.

Clear sky thinking

Despite airlines continually improving the fuel efficiency of their aircraft over the past three decades, a growing number of aircraft making more flights has seen the sector’s global emissions rise sharply.

As a result, the aviation industry is keen to embrace the environmental benefits that biofuels can offer.

In February 2008, a Virgin 747 flew from London to Amsterdam partly using a fuel derived from a blend of Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts.

And at the end of December, one engine of a Air New Zealand 747 was powered by a 50/50 blend of jatropha plant oil and standard A1 jet fuel.

Source

Related Story: NZ Airline Flies Jetliner Partly Run on Veggie Oil

UFO claim over wind farm damage January 8, 2009

UFO enthusiasts are claiming damage to a Lincolnshire wind farm turbine was caused by a mystery aircraft.

The turbine at Conisholme lost one 66ft (20m) blade and another was badly damaged in the early hours of Sunday.

County councillor for the area Robert Palmer said he had seen a “round, white light that seemed to be hovering”.

Ecotricity, which owns the site, said while investigations continued they were not ruling anything out – but the extent of damage was “unique”.

The turbine is one of 20 at the Conisholme site, which has been only been fully operational since April 2008. The broken blade has been recovered and is being examined.

Local ufologists said they had received many reports of activity in the area and had teams searching for clues.

Mr Palmer said: “I actually saw a white light – a round, white light that seemed to be hovering.

“That is the only way I can explain it – it wasn’t a flare-like light – it was just round, white light with a slight red edge to it that seemed to be over the wind turbines.”

Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, said the company was keeping an open mind about the incident.

“We don’t have an explanation at the moment as to what the cause was,” he said.

“We have been crawling all over it and have sent bits off for analysis to see if we can work out what caused it.

“Until we have some idea, some plausible explanation that it was not a UFO, I don’t think we should rule it out”.

He added: “To make one of these blades fall off, or to bend it, takes a lot.”

Numerous reports

Russ Kellett, from the Flying Saucer Bureau, said witnesses had told him of activity in the area.

“One saw what they at first thought was a low-flying aircraft on the Saturday evening and another heard a loud banging in the early hours of Sunday,” he said.

“This is the second most reports of activity we have ever had – I have had over 30 phone calls and emails.

“To hit two of the blades, any object must have been about 170ft long.”

But some technical experts have suggested a more mundane explanation.

Dr Peter Schubel, from the University of Nottingham, is an expert in the design and manufacture of wind turbine blades.

‘Military activity’

He said that if the turbine blade was still, it would take the equivalent of a 10-tonne load to do that kind of damage, but if it was rotating, or hit by a moving object, the force could be a lot less.

He said of the possible cause: “It’s definitely not a bird. It could be ice thrown from a neighbouring turbine that struck it.

“Most turbines have an anti-icing system on the blades and maybe it failed to prevent the ice build-up.”

The Ministry of Defence said it was not looking into the incident.

A spokesman said: “The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

“Unless there’s evidence of a potential threat, there’s no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”

Ecotricity said it hoped to have the turbine back in action within a week.

Source

How Green Is Recycled Plastic Lumber? January 7, 2009

A recycled plastic walkway, as displayed on the Web site of the Plastic Lumber Trade Association. (Plastic Lumber Trade Association)

You can saw it, you can sand it and, if you want to, you can carve your sweetheart’s name into it. But beware: Mementos etched into this park bench won’t last forever.

That transient quality is one of the main selling points of recycled plastic “lumber” — vandals can’t touch it. Markers and spray paint can be sanded away, and the “woodworking” of idle teens can be melted off, and the reshaped lumber made to look as good as new.

Of course, the ultimate appeal of recycled plastic lumber is that it’s not really lumber at all. Though it looks and feels like hardwood, that picnic table you’re sitting on is really about 2,000 reconstituted milk jugs that never made it to the landfill.

“I certainly don’t condemn the use of treated wood,” said Bob Schildgen, a Sierra Club magazine columnist and “Hey Mr. Green” blogger. “Harvesting timber is not an inherently bad thing, it can be done in an environmentally sustainable way … but I would still give a nod to recycled lumber for the maintenance and material that would have been wasted.”

Many people do. Since the late 1980s, recycled plastic lumber has made gains on its hardwood counterparts on mostly “greenness” grounds.

A recycled plastic playground set sold by the AAA State of Play Web site. (AAA State of Play)

“Obviously, a tree is a renewable resource,” says Alan Robbins, owner of The Plastic Lumber Company, Inc., in Akron, Ohio. “There certainly are a lot more trees than there are milk jugs in the environment. But a milk jug is a very stable part of the economy — they’re not going away.”

Robbins got into the business almost 20 years ago, about the same time chromated copper arsenate, the wood preservative that gave industrial-strength timber that certain greenish tinge, was either banned or replaced voluntarily throughout the preserved-wood industry after arsenic was linked to certain cancers.

“It’s been a crazy ride ever since,” Robbins told FOXNews.com.

“[Plastic lumber's] market acceptance has been so total that it is very difficult to find any natural wood used in current construction projects in park and playground applications,” he wrote in a 2007 report on the industry, though he noted that the housing bust was starting to hit home.

Recycled plastic lumber comes in your standard 2×4 and 4×4 planks, but can also be molded into 3-D shapes and curves unseen on the woodcutter’s block. It can be sawed, screwed and sanded just like wood, but without the sawdust.

A grain texture can give the surface a more woody appearance, and it’s available in many different “flavors” — redwood, cedar, mahogany, “weatherwood” and even “night glow,” which is phosphorescent and intended to hold up road signs.

It’s most often used in park furniture, hot tubs, decking and railings, signs, railroad and marine applications and the birdfeeder industry.

A recycled plastic picnic table on the British Recycled Plastic Web site.

“‘No painting, no splinters, no rot’ seems to be the catch phrase,” said Robbins.

The Environmental Protection Agency is now warming to 100-percent post-consumer plastic lumber, reporting that the products last longer — indefinitely, at this point — and cost less to maintain than regular wood since they’re impervious to termites and are flame-, weather- and vandal-resistant.

But not everyone’s jumping on the recycled-plastic bandwagon. Plastic lumber, which costs three times as much as some wood, may be more susceptible to warping and discoloration and can melt under a tabletop camping grill. It’s also more likely to sag under a heavy load.

And, like the old plastic or paper quandary, the jury’s still out on which lumber is “greener.”

No comprehensive study has yet compared the life-cycle energy consumption of real versus plastic lumber, according to the Madison, Wis.-based Forest Products Laboratory.

There are two major “species” of recycled plastic hardwood. The most prevalent is made of high-density polyethylene — derived from milk and juice jugs.

The other comes from recycled polyvinyl chloride — the notorious PVC that Greenpeace dubbed “the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics.” Dioxin, a carcinogen and immune suppressant, is a by-product of vinyl production, as are many tons of greenhouse gases.

“The energy used in the manufacture of plastic and plastic wood composites is much higher than that used for manufacturing solid wood products,” Dr. Brian Bond, a professor at Virginia Tech’s Department of Wood Science, wrote in an e-mail exchange. “And many plastic wood composites still require a percentage of virgin plastic.”

The Healthy Building Network suggests buyers steer clear of fiberglass-reinforced “composite” lumber, even though these more rigid products lend themselves better to structural applications.

The EPA warns that, because composites are non-recyclable, “a growing plastic lumber market could actually increase plastics production and waste volumes.”

The promotion of plastics recycling in general boosts the production of virgin plastics, according The Healthy Building Network. But manufacturers argue their production line is greener than other kinds of recycling.

“It is mechanically ground, then it goes through a wash process,” said Brian Larsen, owner of Bedford Technology, LLC, a Minnesota-based manufacturer of recycled plastic furniture, speed bumps and marine pilings. “It changes state — kind of like water, it melts and then it refreezes again,” he said, adding that there are no heavy chemicals used, and no by-products.

He also said that since HDPE is so heavy, it’s not economically viable to process overseas. Most plastic lumber is therefore “grown” locally, shrinking its carbon footprint.

And even though it comes from non-renewable petroleum, the volumes of milk jugs diverted from landfills keeps the consciences of plastic lumber builders clean and green.

“We’re recovering that product and turning it into something else,” said Robbins. “A dairy bottle with a [two-week] life in the fridge can be turned into an infinite life for long-term use.”

A “Green Cleaning” Reference January 5, 2009

(Getty Images)

by Bob Ferrari

As time goes on, the news media is rife with lists of new items/chemicals that cause some sort of disease or disruption of the quality of life.

There are studies that link the use of aluminum-ladened products (as in underarm deodorants, cooking pans, etc) with the onset of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Whether these problems exist for real or not, there is evidence that they do exist, so why take the chance exposing yourself and your family to these “possibly toxic” and mostly man-made chemicals? Make an effort to make changes to “do without” some of these items.

One tiny part of the “Green Movement” involves removing pollutants from inside our homes, which many studies have proven can be more polluted than the outside of our homes. We spend 90% of our lives indoors for the most part, let’s strive to make the best of it!

Here is some helpful reference reading for those of you who are thinking about making changes in your homelife for the sake of yours and your families health:

• The Union of Concerned Scientists has a thorough list of definitions for common household cleaning products, including an explanation of what makes them harmful and alternative options.
• This National Institute of Health webpage allows for searches on a variety of products, including cleaning products and their health and toxicity ratings. The database includes a multitude of companies but is limited to information provided by company reports.
• Under the LEED certification system, a building can receive as many as fourteen points for green cleaning products and cleanability.
• Grist offers tips on how to get your cleaning crew at work to switch to safer products.
• GreenBiz.com provides in-depth reports and articles on the business breakdown of a green approach to cleaning.
• The Children’s Health Environmental Coalition offers great advise on how to make your own cleaners that can handle just about any corner of the home and lays out the five products needed to clean just about anything.
• What’s the difference between a sanitizer, disinfectant, and a sterilizer? The US Environmental Protection Agency Antimicrobial Pesticide Product page will clear that up for you. Their Green Cleaning Products page also lays out the basics of why cleaning chemicals can be so harmful.
• CleanerSolutions Database is a free online tool for evaluating surface-cleaning products.The Center for a New American Dream offers advice on how to change the cleaning products used by your custodial staff as well as the statistics to back it up, and they also offer reports from cities that have greened their cleaning practices.
• Environmental Choice is an international organization that certifies green cleaning products and other home and office products.
• The Ashkin Group advises cleaning services on greening their cleaning.
• Green Seal is another standardization organization that is certifies cleaning products among other things.
• Green Earth is one of the most widely available ecologically preferable drycleaning systems.
• Seventh Generation’s Making a Difference Newsletter provides regular doses of sound advise.

How to Go Green: Cleaning January 5, 2009

Green cleaning products (Getty Images)

Cleaning products are everywhere in our homes and offices: on dishes, countertops, furniture, clothes, floors, windows, and floating through the air. In our war on dirt and germs we may often actually be making things worse. Most of the conventional cleaning products we all grew up with are petroleum-based and have dubious health and environmental implications. Instead of opting for cleaning products that annihilate everything in their path, there are plenty of natural products and methods that keep a house clean and fresh-smelling without the toxic side effects.

(Getty Images)

Top Green Cleaning Tips

1. Cleaner, greener, meaner
   As the health and environmental impacts of conventional cleaning products become more thoroughly understood, more and more brands of healthy, green, and effective cleaning products have started hitting the market and competing for that coveted place of honor under your sink. Many of these products are non-toxic, biodegradable, and made from renewable resources (not petroleum). But if designer labels aren’t for you, home-mixed cleaners can get the job done and then some. Vinegar and baking soda can be used to clean almost anything. Mix in a little warm water with either of these and you’ve got yourself an all-purpose cleaner.
2. Healthy airflow
   It is not uncommon for the air inside a home or office to be more toxic than the air outside. This is because of the presence of toxic materials and substances and the fact that homes and buildings are better insulated than ever before (which is a good thing from an energy standpoint). Keeping windows open as often as possible allows fresh air in and keeps toxins flowing out. This is especially important when cleaning your home.
3. Are we breeding supergerms?
   The antibacterial and antimicrobial ‘cleaners’ that many people think are necessary, especially during cold season, don’t clean hands better than soap and water, and also add to the risk of breeding “super germs,” bacteria that survive the chemical onslaught and have resistant offspring. The FDA has found that antibacterial soaps and hand cleansers do not work better than regular soap and water, and should be avoided.
4. Help your home smell soda-licious
   Baking soda not only removes those strange smells coming from your fridge, it’s also a great odor-eliminator for your carpet. Just sprinkle on a little baking soda to soak up some of those odors and then vacuum it up.
5. Clean peace
   Skip the store-bought air fresheners and instead try boiling cinnamon, cloves, or any other herbs you have a fondness for. Fresh chocolate chip cookies also have been known to create a friendly aroma. Also, plants may not make your house smell different but are good for filtering interior air–pretty much any broad green leaf plant will do. Peace Lilies are a favorite choice.
6. The toxic toss
   When replacing your cleaning products, don’t just throw the old ones in the trash. If they’re too toxic for your home, they won’t be good for the drain or the landfill either. Many communities hold toxics & electronics recycling days and will take all of these off your hands. Throwing chemicals in the trash or down the drain means they might end up back in your water supply and come back to haunt you (see How to Green Your Water for more).
7. Drycleaners
   Conventional drycleaners are the largest users of the industrial solvent called Perchloroethylene, or perc, which is toxic to humans and also creates smog. The two most common green drycleaning methods are carbon dioxide cleaning and Green Earth. Seek out cleaners that use green methods. If you do take clothes to conventional cleaners, be sure to air them outside before wearing them or putting them in the closet.
8. Green house cleaning service
   For people don’t have the time to clean their own homes, fortunately there are an increasing number of green cleaning services out there to help get things spic and span. If you can’t find one in your area (or their rates are outlandish), call around until you find a service willing to use the products and methods you specify.
9. Leave the toxins at the door
   Imagine what’s on your shoes at the end of the day. Bringing that oil, antifreeze, animal waste, particulate pollution, pollen, and who knows what else into the house is not good news, especially for kids and other critters that spend time on floor level. Keep the sidewalk out of your home with a good doormat or a shoeless house policy. Many green buildings now include entryway track-off systems as a means of maintaining a healthy interior environment. Less dirt also means less sweeping, mopping, and vacuuming, which means less work, water, energy, and fewer chemicals.
10. Clean design
    Designing houses and other building with cleanability in mind can create spaces that are cleaner, healthier, and require fewer substances to maintain. In larger buildings, good cleanability can also be a big money-saver as cleaning costs can often add up to as much as half of a building’s total energy costs.

Source

A Prius can power your home in a snowstorm January 3, 2009

Power your home with a Prius ??

The recent snow and ice storms in the northeast left hundreds of thousands of residents without power. In Harvard, Massachusetts, however, one Prius owner found a way to keep the lights and electricity going by using his hybrid as a backup generator.

John Sweeney ran his fridge, freezer, wood stove fan and even his television and lights using his Prius for three days while the power was out in his town. By using an inverter to convert the car’s DC power supply into household AC, Sweeney was able to generate 120 volts

The New York Times wrote about this a year ago. The battery in the Prius is able to provide an uninterrupted power supply as long as the engine turns on and off periodically to recharge it. Any car battery can be used this way, but only hybrids start automatically when they need to recharge their battery. As long as the Prius has enough fuel, it can produce three kilowatts of continuous power. That’s enough to maintain the basic household electrical needs.

After three days, Mr. Sweeney’s Prius used up a mere five gallons of gas to power the electricity in the Sweeney household – a bargain and a real smart grid solution.

Via The New York Times and WBZTV