Will Plug-and-Play Solar Power Be the Next Big Thing?
On the R&D front, Clarian Power Inc. is developing a solar power system that you just literally plug into an AC power outlet to automatically generate power whenever the sun is shining. Targeted for release in 2011, the Sunfish solar module is intended to help homeowners and small businesses slow down the power meter - it is expected that the 200W Sunfish will produce enough clean, renewable...
Read More »Light Friday: Toxic Office Fridges
Plus: The Girl Whose Lemonade Stand Was Shut Down and a Look at Dark Matter. Meet the 7-Year-Old Girl Who Got Her Lemonade Stand Shut Down A 7-year-old Oregon girl recently tried her hand at the old summer past-time of running a lemonade stand, but her entrepreneurial effort was quickly targeted by a health inspector. After 20 minutes of selling lemonade at 50¢ a pop at a Portland street fair, a...
Read More »Procter and Gamble Looking to Find Out 'How Sweet it Is!'
There are efforts industry wide to find new, innovate and ecologically friendly packaging materials. Procter & Gamble has announced that they will be using a renewable, sustainable, sugarcane-derived plastic on selected packaging on its Pantene Pro-V®, COVERGIRL® and Max Factor® brands. The sugarcane derived plastic will be produced by Braskem SA who makes the material using ethanol made from...
Read More »Sustainability Spotlight: NetApp Closes the Loop on E-Waste
NetApp, Inc., a leading provider of data storage systems and software, was selected to receive the 2010 Infinity Arrow Award for Service and Take-Back. Presented by the California Product Stewardship Council, the award recognized NetApp for their innovative electronic waste recycling program. NetApp focuses on providing customers with energy efficient data storage, management, protection, and...
Read More »Durable Goods Show Mixed Results in July
Following two consecutive months of decline, new orders for manufactured durable goods picked up again in July due to a boost in transportation equipment, though the month's narrow gains may not be enough to sustain continued growth. Orders for durable goods - which include automobiles, appliances, machines and other major purchases - rose in July, ending a series of declines in June and May,...
Read More »Product Spotlight: Web Based Service Optimizes PC Power Usage
New Boundary Technologies® has launched the PwrSmart Service, a web-based PC power management solution that promises to deliver energy cost savings by applying power management settings to PCs and enforcing those settings, even if end-users try to disable or change them. It allows users to schedule complete PC shut downs, hibernations, and wake-up events based on work schedules and...
Read More »How Many Suppliers are in the Global Supply Chain?
Anecdotal evidence that a significant number of suppliers have gone bust over the past year abounds. How many are left? New research suggests much fewer than just two years ago. Procurement departments continue to wrestle with maintaining supplier viability. In the U.K. alone, there has been a 47 percent increase in the number of public-sector suppliers that have collapsed in the first half of...
Read More »Whiskey By-Products Create Biofuel Buzz
UK publication Telegraph recently reported that efforts are under way to bring a new type of biofuel to market which can be used in ordinary cars without any special adaptations. Using two main by- products from the whiskey production process, this new biofuel is made from biological material and therefore more environmentally friendly than other biofuels. Here's what Dr. Richard Dixon, WWF...
Read More »Keeping Green With The Joneses
It's generally acknowledged that it's fairly difficult to get humans to change their bad behavior: witness the billions of dollars spent on weight loss and quitting smoking aids each year. Inducing people to go green in their household is another task for which gentle prodding, moralizing and even outright guilt are unlikely to produce results. But what about time-tested peer pressure?...
Read More »Mushrooms Move from One Dark Place to Another
An innovative packaging material from Ecovative Designs that is made from mushroom roots and agricultural wastes is looking to become even greener with the creation of a new sterilization technique. As an eco-friendly alternative to Styrofoam, Ecovative Designs produces ecocradle, a packaging material that combines waste products such as buckwheat hulls, rice hulls or cotton burrs with...
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