Eco-News

CNET, August 31, 2010
Google.org has tacked on energy-efficiency recommendations to PowerMeter, one of many features planned for its home energy Web application. The latest feature, accessible from the Take Action button, gives people a way to organize tasks for making a home more efficient. The recommendations are generated based on the type and size of a house as well as some basic electricity usage information.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Tiger Pixel under the Creative Commons license.

Reuters, August 30, 2010
Gasoline misers like the Toyota Prius would get an 'A-' while muscle cars -- including the Ferrari 612 -- would get a 'D' under a labeling program proposed by Obama administration, which wants to convince consumers to buy vehicles that use less energy.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user alex4981 under the Creative Commons license.

CNET, August 16, 2010
In the world of solar power, there are panels small enough to charge a cell phone and bigger panels installed on a roof by professionals, but not much in between. Clarian Technologies is shooting for that space in the middle.

The Seattle-area start-up is developing a kit that lets you dip your toe into solar-generated electricity without having to pay the hefty cost of a full array.

Called the Sunfish, the product package is designed to let a homeowner install up to three solar panels and get them generating juice in about an hour. The cost: about $800, said company president Chad Maglaque. The goal is to have a product available in the spring of 2011.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user wdr3 under the Creative Commons license.

New York Times, August 16, 2010
One way to measure environmentalism on college campuses is to size up their efforts to cut energy use or to recycle garbage. In rankings released on Monday, the Sierra Club’s Sierra Magazine anoints Green Mountain College in Vermont, which gets heat and electricity by burning locally sourced wood chips and methane from cow manure, as the nation’s greenest college.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user afagen under the Creative Commons license.

CNET, August 4, 2010
Ocean Power Technologies announced Wednesday it's close to getting a license to build a wave energy plant off the coast of Oregon.

The New Jersey-based company has signed a settlement agreement that includes over 11 government agencies, and several private companies, to develop a 1.5-megawatt wave energy station.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user silverxraven under the Creative Commons license.