In the home

Start-up Novomer uses CO2 to make biodegradable plastics

Update: the headline was changed to reflect that Novomer's process does not start with plant material and so does not produce a bioplastic.

Novomer, a Cornell University spin-off, has devised a method for making biodegradable plastics from the common gases carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

The company on Wednesday announced that Physic Ventures and Flagship Ventures have invested $6.6 million, which Novomer will use to commercialize its technology.

The plastics it intends to make could be used in a wide range of applications, including supermarket packaging, computer cases, plastic bottles, or foam to insulate buildings, said Novomer president … Read more

Electric cars and hybrids: Silicon Valley vs. Detroit

As consumers, we generally like choices. In the world of cleaner cars, those choices have been few and far between, but slowly that is changing.

I had a chance recently to test drive two of the cars whose creators are bent on changing the way we view transportation, a converted all electric Scion eBox by Silicon Valley startup AC Propulsion, and a Saturn Vue Greenline hybrid. Both were highly enjoyable. The first, with a $70,000 price tag and a $10,000 deposit, is clearly an EV targeted at Conspicuous Sustainability consumers. I guess then, that the Saturn Vue Greenline … Read more

The Wright way to the electric car

As with most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about electric vehicles. Last Friday, Ian Wright and I spent a couple of hours around my conference table discussing our philosophies on electric cars. Wright knows something about this topic, as he was formerly an executive at EV start-up Tesla Motors, and is now the founder and CEO of Wrightspeed, a Silicon Valley-based start-up whose first car is going to be a high-performance electric supercar, price tag just shy of $200,000. And as it's electric, Wright expects it should out-start, outrun, out-turn, and … Read more

In the real world, solar often gets barely a passing grade

I'm a big fan of solar power. But as with anything, I like to know exactly what I'm getting. One of the big unspoken issues in the solar sector is the difference between the rated or estimated potential output of a solar system--and the actual production of kilowatt-hours. A range of factors from the margin of error in the modules, to temperature, dust and losses from wiring, conversion to AC power and any batteries all can contribute to as much as 30 percent lower actual power production--even in the first year.

Compounding this problem in my mind is … Read more

Is Microsoft Vista global warming friendly?

Is Microsoft Vista global warming friendly? Could Vista be the best-selling clean-tech product in the world? I was thinking about this question the other day, and started e-mailing the Microsoft press relations folks looking for an answer.

The Microsoft answer--yes, it is. They have a recent release titled "Windows Vista Power Management Features Can Help U.K. Companies Reduce Their Carbon Footprint" on some independent research they had done by PC Pro Labs in the U.K.

Here's their quote:

"Windows Vista is Microsoft's most energy efficient operating system to date with its power … Read more

Are we in danger of conspicuous sustainability?

In 1899 economist/sociologist Thorstein Veblen introduced the term Conspicuous Consumption to describe what he believed to be the evils of wealth accumulation in the nouveau riche upper class of the Gilded Age (Veblen was not exactly a "right wing" economist). You can best think of Conspicuous Consumption today as the notion that consumerism and "keeping up with the Joneses" drives economics.

One of my friends, Helen Priest from Meridian Energy, coined a new version of the term this week--conspicuous sustainability. She is here from New Zealand's largest (and all green) power company visiting Silicon … Read more

Ranting against American consumer culture

The drive for clean and green stuff/energy, etc. is in part a reaction to the supersized American consumer culture in general. Big houses, big cars, lots of stuff. All requiring more and more energy and fuel to drive around and get it, play with it, go to the show, etc. Browsing the depressing and completely paranoid LATOC site, I came across an interesting tidbit graphic:

Yes you read that right. 20.2 square feet of retail for every man, woman and child in America. 10X the world wide average (assuming it's true). Now the Europeans are small countries … Read more

Are Electric Vehicles Really Back? - the Story Continues

The electric vehicle (and challenging Detroit by building a specialty vehicle company) has always been an alluring idea - and despite Detroit spending massive amounts of money on unsuccessful or marginal launches a decade ago (including GM's EV1, Toyota's RAV4 EV and Ford's Think), the dream does not die easily.

A whole new crop of startups are busy living that dream, especially in Silicon Valley - and tons of money is flowing in to fund them.

EVs, Plug-in hybrids and next generation batteries and electric drive systems are exciting Silicon Valley to invest - and 2007 and … Read more