Alternative vehicles on display in Framingham

The fourth annual AltWheels Fleet Day was held over the weekend in Framingham at Staples' world headquarters. Over 300 auto and technology makers were on-hand to pitch their alternative products to fleet managers, who were looking to make their company's transit more green (and, obviously, cost less).

As gas prices continue to hover between $3 and $4, it's no wonder that businesses are starting to pay more attention to the green movement. And more and more business are popping up with the goal of providing the goods and services necessary for these companies to get green. In fact, the 300 exhibitors at the AltWheels event was triple the number that appeared at the same event just last year.

According to this Christian Science Monitor blog, U.S. auto giants Ford and GM were at the event to talk about each company's plans in regards to sustainable energy. Ford's Director of Sustainable Business Strategies said the company is trying to create technology that is not only greener but also affordable and easy to produce in high quantities. In addition to the company's new EcoBoost engines, which claim to increase gas mileage by 20 percent and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 15 percent, the company is working on making its vehicle's components slimmer to improve gas mileage.

Increased interest in events such as this one suggest that the green movement continues to slowly gain traction in the business world. And as more businesses realize the importance of conserving our environment (and that they can also save a lot of money by going green), interest in sustainable-energy products and practices will only increase.

Study shows worldwide CO2 emissions increased in 2007

Study results released today show that worldwide emissions of CO2, believed to be the chief man-made cause of global warming, increased by three percent from 2006 to 2007.

These numbers are called 'scary' by many experts that believed emissions would be lower in 2007 because of the slight economic downturn seen in many of the larger countries in the world. Emissions in the U.S. increased by two percent in 2007, after decreasing from 2005 to 2006.

Compounding this problem even more is the fact that the world's forest and oceans are sucking up CO2 at a lower rate this century than they did last century.

Furthermore, these numbers put the world on a possible course that is worse than the "worst-case" scenerio for global warming that Nobel Prize winning scientists projected in 2007.

Your company offers a number of programs and incentives to make it easier for you to lower your carbon footprint and keep our environment and world cleaner by doing something besides driving alone to work. What have you done lately to keep our environment safe for future generations?

Here's a complete link to the story on cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/25/warming.emissions.ap/index.html.

A look at the Presidential candidates stance on green issues

The Daily Green (http://www.thedailygreen.com/) has an interesting analysis of the seven biggest green-related election issues, including energy costs, global warming and offshore drilling. The article includes a short background of each issue as well as the position of Republican nominee Senator John McCain and Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama.

The next President will play an important role in shaping the policies that our country takes in relation to these green issues. Do yourself a favor and check out this analysis piece at http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/green-elections-guide-47082517.

Gas up on this

GM has given a new Fuel Cell Equinox to the head of the EPA. The car will be used in day-to-day activities around Washington, D.C. Every time it is refueled at a hydrogen station, information will be sent to GM regarding its performance. There are several government-regulated hydrogen refueling stations and one public one in the D.C. area. GM has also given 100 hydrogen-fueled cars to private and public groups (companies and organizations) to use and collect data from the cars.

For more information: http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/09/gms-fuel-cell-electric-equinox-goes-to-washington.html.

**Bloggers note: We are currently working on a video news report about hydrogen fueling cells. Check back often!

Polar bears go green!

Polar bears in the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan turned green after taking a dip in a pond. Zoo officials had recently ordered that the pond be refreshed less to conserve energy and water. Because of the hot summer, algea formed in the pond and stuck to the polar bears hollowed hairs when they took a swim. The algea does not harm the polar bears and will die off as fall approaches.

This just proves that even our animal kingdom is doing its part to go green. What have you done?

Texas Instruments makes greener chips

Texas Instruments has developed a new chip that can be used in a larger variety of products, including battery-powered cars and solar panel lighting. The new chip is so sophisticated it conserves energy usage. The example presented by cnet.com is “set an air conditioner or refrigerator fan at a lower speed rather than always full blast. A variable-speed air conditioner could be 30 percent more efficient, says TI.” Chips such as this haven’t been used in the past because of their price, but TI has be able to produce them cheaper starting at $2 for bulk orders.

For the original article, visit http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10033769-54.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=GreenTech