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Are there alternatives to conventional, energy-hogging air conditioners?

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July 21, 2012   1 Comment  

The chlorofluorocarbon coolant widely used in air conditioners through the 1980s was phased out because it was damaging the Earth’s protective ozone layer, but the chemicals that replaced it are some 2,100 times stronger as greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. We may have saved the ozone layer, but -- whoops! -- there goes the climate.

Can anything be done?

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Cloud computing has a substantial footprint

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April 28, 2012   3 Comments  

Greenpeace wants companies like Apple, Amazon and Microsoft to make smarter, cleaner energy choices now that "cloud computing" services have ratcheted up power consumption considerably. (Media credit/Wichary via Flickr)

Power numbers through the roof

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How much energy is used by cable TV boxes?

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Feb. 1, 2012   Leave a Comment  

Set-top boxes in the U.S. consume 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, equivalent to the annual output of six coal-fired power plants. Part of the reason is that they typically operate at nearly full power even during the two-thirds of the time when they are not in use. (Thinkstock)

Short answer: A lot

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About home energy audits

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Dec. 30, 2011   Leave a Comment  

EarthTalkEnergyAudits

Do-it-yourself or hire out?

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New standards for light bulb efficiency

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Dec. 22, 2011   Leave a Comment  

EarthTalkBulbPhase-Out

Bye bye incandescents

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A new study reveals new properties of the earth’s magnetic field

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Dec. 20, 2011   Leave a Comment  

Jordens_inre

Scientists found that Iron Oxide can conduct electricity

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Can using thorium instead of uranium make nuclear energy safer?

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Nov. 26, 2011   Leave a Comment  

Advocates of thorium to power nuclear plants say that the element is safer than uranium, and that its waste cannot -- like the plutonium waste of uranium fission -- be re-formulated for nuclear weapons. Thorium plants, they say, also wouldn't need containment domes like those pictured here because the reactors can't "melt down" and release radiation. (iStock)

Most likely

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Which light bulbs are the greenest?

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Oct. 23, 2011   1 Comment  

As the future gets dimmer for traditional incandescent light bulbs, and compact fluorescents (CFLs) fall out of favor due to their toxic mercury component, light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are beginning to come on strong. LEDs, which are clusters of small bulbs that come in many shapes and sizes, last five times longer than CFLs and 40 times longer than incandescents and use much less energy. (Media credit/Geoffrey Landis)

LED? CFL? ESL??

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How LEDs are changing your life

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Oct. 18, 2011   Leave a Comment  

led1

Compact florescent bulbs already dying out

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What are effects of energy used from social networking sites and web surfing?

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Oct. 8, 2011   1 Comment  

The environmental impact of so much online time really boils down to energy usage, which in turn affects the amount of greenhouse gases we pump into our atmosphere. Google, which has been carbon neutral since 2007, has been a real leader in the building of green data centers, even powering them with renewable energy. (Media credit/Jurgen Plasser via Flickr)

Is tweating a green activity?

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Improving light bulb energy efficiency

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Sept. 5, 2011   Leave a Comment  

New efficiency requirements for light bulbs may sound the death knell for incandescents, which have not changed significantly since Thomas Edison invented them in 1879. Newer, more efficient styles cost more but could save consumers some $6 billion in annual energy costs by 2015 -- while also eliminating the equivalent of 30 large power plants' electrical output and 14 million cars worth of carbon emissions. (Media credit/Hemera Collection)

Even conservatives are against unnecessarily inefficient lighting

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Could we harness energy from earthquakes? Not likely.

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July 16, 2011   Leave a Comment  

Big earthquakes throw off vast amounts of energy, but fault lines run deep below the Earth's surface, so tapping into that energy would be a challenge way beyond what humans -- at least at present -- have the technological capability to achieve. Pictured: Port au Prince in the aftermath of the earthquake that rocked Haiti in January 2010. (Media credit/Marco Dormino/United Nations Development Programme)

Theoretically,,,

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How do we reduce energy use — globally

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May 14, 2011   1 Comment  

Earth Hour 2011 saw the participation of millions of individuals in 135 countries who turned their lights off for one hour to make a statement about the need to conserve energy to fight climate change. Organizers expect the 2012 event (March 31 at 8:30 p.m., wherever you live) to be even bigger. (Media credit/Reway2007 via Flickr)

Scaling back would go a long way

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Can Japan do without nuclear power?

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April 2, 2011   5 Comments  

Japan would be hard pressed to close all of its 54 nuclear reactors anytime soon, especially given that these plants provide over a third of the nation’s electricity supply and 11 percent of its total energy needs. Pictured: A Greenpeace vigil for Japan in front of the White House in Washington, DC (Media credit/Joe Newman via Flickr)

Probably not

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10 green energy solutions we’d like to see more of

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Jan. 18, 2011   6 Comments  

800px-Standby_indicator

All of these can happen sooner, rather than later

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Boston firefighter nearly electrocuted

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Oct. 31, 2010   2 Comments  

A Boston firefighter was shocked and nearly electrocuted on October 24 during a 4-alarm fire after an aerial ladder set down on contact with a life electrical wire. FirefighterCloseCalls reported that Boston Fire Department Ladder 26 set down on contact with a high-voltage electrical wire with 2,800 volts running through it. A firefighter and fire [...]

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IDAPT i4 Review

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Sept. 10, 2010   Leave a Comment  

overview4

A perfect charging solution

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EarthTalk: Volcanic energy? Plant extinction?

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Sept. 4, 2010   Leave a Comment  

EarthTalkVolcanoPower

Can we harness the power of the volcano?

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EarthTalk: Soy milk? Hydroelectric dams?

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Aug. 14, 2010   1 Comment  

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) would like to stop soy drinks from being labeled as milk arguing that the terminology is misleading. (Media credit/Timothy Valentine via Flickr)

Should soy milk be called “milk?”

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Pivot Power Flexible Power Outlet: The best power strip ever?

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June 29, 2010   1 Comment  

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It’s almost guaranteed to cut down on frustration and swearing!

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