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1. Earth2Tech Week in Review
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2. Cleantech Goes to Sea: Waves, Tides, & Offshore Wind
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3. Pic of Transonic Combustion's Demo 100 MPG Car
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4. Ethanol vs. Indiana Jones?
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5. Biofuels Are Just One Factor in Food Prices, Says Report
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6. What's Up With Former Imperium CEO Martin Tobias?
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7. How to Eco-Pimp Your Prius With a Plug
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8. SmartSynch's Up With $20M for Smart Meters
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9. The Daily Sprout
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10. Vinod Khosla Calls WSJ Op-ed "Fiction Writing"
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11. Juneau heeds the call for sacrifice
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12. Low carbon barbecue
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13. Aussies cultivate 'burpless' grass
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14. 'Drive less' update
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15. Words of wisdom for bike commuters old and new
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16. Gas tax petition hits 2,000 signatures
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17. What is the right global temperature?
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18. Do-it-yourself clean energy
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19. Low carbon flights on the internet
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20. 'Gas tax holiday' lurches onward
Earth2Tech Week in Review
Craig Rubens - Misc
Another week, another set of big cleantech deals. Mucho dinero could be moving soon from Spanish Iberdrola to American renewable energy projects to the tune of $8 billion. On a smaller scale, a number of cleantech startups have gotten funds and been making deals too. In case you missed any of the news, big or small, we’ve gathered the important headlines together for your here.
Garbage Will Lead the Biofuel Revolution: New concerns arose this week when scientists warned that second generation biofuel feedstocks, like switchgrass and jatropha, could be invasive if not properly managed. Perhaps the real answer to biofuel woes is garbage as a feedstock.
5 Energy Monitoring Startups to Help You Cut Home Power: You wouldn’t drive a car without a dashboard, right? So why pay to heat and light your home if you don’t know where all that energy is going? Check out these startups who are making energy dashboards for your house.
How to Eco-Pimp Your Prius With a Plug: It will be a few years before you can easily by a plug-in hybrid off the lot. But if you’ve got a Prius now you can pay to have one of these companies pimp it out with a plug.
SunEdison + Duke = Largest Solar PV Farm: Duke has signed on to buy all the power from a proposed 21.5 MW photovoltaic farm SunEdison is planning for Davidson County, S.C. When completed, they say it will be the largest PV farm in the country.
What's Up With Former Imperium CEO Martin Tobias?: We caught up with the serial entrepreneur Martin Tobias who, aside from surfing a lot, says: "I still have another company in me."
Cleantech Goes to Sea: Waves, Tides, & Offshore Wind
Craig Rubens - Misc
With over 70 percent of the earth’s surface covered in water, a number that is likely to only increase in the coming years, it makes sense for cleantech entrepreneurs to head out to sea to collect energy in and on our oceans. Putting expensive energy generation equipment out on the open seas is a risky experiment; some of the first startups have lost devices to Davy Jones locker. But as more and more researchers send out their green energy devices on the big blue, they’ll start getting their sea legs.
StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy company, announced this week their intention to build and test the a full scale floating wind turbine, the first of its kind the company says. While offshore wind turbines are nothing new, especially in the Norwegian fjords, making it float could make deployment and construction much faster and cheaper.
The floating turbine, called Hywind, will mount a 2.3 MW wind turbine onto a spar-buoy, a float commonly used in docking platforms. The pilot project will test the turbine out at sea for two years and will cost an estimated 400 million NOK (or about $80 million). The project is schedule to start in fall of 2009.
Marine Current Turbines was working beneath the waves this week, and installed a massive tidal turbine, which the the British startup says is the world’s largest. The 1.2 MW SeaGen turbine is now being run through a 12-week trial period in the Strangford Narrows in Northern Ireland. Once testing is over, the 1000-ton generator is estimated to have its two 16 meter turbines generate power 16 to 20 hours a day and will feed its power into the Northern Ireland grid.
On the other side of the world, Ocean Power Technologies, a New Jersey-headquartered wave energy startup, has signed a joint development agreement with Australian energy provider Griffin Energy for the development, construction and operation of a wave power station off the coast of Western Australia. The wave energy station will produce between 10 and 100 MW. The financial details and time line of the project were not disclosed. The companies estimate that as little as 100 hectares of open ocean could produce 100 MW of power off the Western Australian coast.
Pic of Transonic Combustion's Demo 100 MPG Car
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
Startup Transonic Combustion has been quietly working on its efficient fuel-injection technology, which the company says can deliver 100 mpg for an internal combustion engine vehicle. At the FiRe conference this week, Transonic Combustion’s VP of business development, Mike Rocke, showed us this image of Transonic’s planned demo car, which he says the company will use to demonstrate its technology in the third quarter of this year.
Transonic is only building a demo vehicle to show off its fuel injection technology, and has no plans to sell or make cars. The plan is still to do deals with the automakers, and to produce and sell its internal combustion technology. Rocke says Transonic has already been talking to three car makers — one in the U.S., one in Japan, and one in Germany — and has a working engine in its labs that already achieves 100 mpg.
The immediate answer to making our vehicles more efficient is to work on the technology we already have in place, so we can’t wait for the company to get this technology into traditional vehicles. Likely neither can the company’s investors; the startup is backed by Khosla Ventures, Venrock and Rustic Canyon.
Ethanol vs. Indiana Jones?
Craig Rubens - Energy
We’re knee-deep in the summer movie season, but your blockbusters could cost you a bit more this year. Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood Daily had an interesting tid-bit about how the price of corn connects to the price of your ticket. In an article predicting how well “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” will do this weekend, she writes:
“Then again, that’s not taking into account how movie theaters are raising ticket prices by a dollar or two this summer because popcorn is more expensive. (According to news reports, next year’s corn stocks are expected to plunge to a 13-year low, corn-futures contracts have soared to an all-time high, and the sudden demand for ethanol will claim 40% of next year’s corn crop. So the profit margins at theaters which rely on concession sales for as much as 45% of their revenue have to make up the difference somehow.)”
Finke isn’t the only blogger blaming ethanol for jacking up the price of the popcorn. Dan Farber recently wrote a post complimenting the computers in “Iron Man” but ended it with a warning: “A note to movies goers: the jumbo popcorn with the free refill has been suspended due to the rising cost of corn and production of ethanol, at least at my theater.”
It’s a similar to scenario to what happened last summer when popcorn makers were first hit by major rises in corn prices. NPR reported in July 2007:
"Blame the boom in demand for ethanol for higher popcorn prices at a theatre near you…The company that makes Jolly Time Pop Corn reports price increases of 10 to 20 percent. Other makers report price hikes as high as 40 percent."
However, new research we reported on this morning from New Energy Finance says ethanol is only 8.1 percent to blame for higher food prices. Either way, theaters are likely to continue to raise popcorn prices. The solution? Buy your own theater popcorn maker.
Chris Albrecht contributed to this story.
Biofuels Are Just One Factor in Food Prices, Says Report
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
Looks like the Wall Street Journal is going have to write a flaming op-ed about the research firm New Energy Finance now, too. While earlier this week the WSJ lambasted Vinod Khosla for down-playing the role of ethanol in the food crisis (we reprinted Khosla’s rebuttal here), according to research from New Energy Finance out next week, biofuels are “far from the dominant” factor in rising food prices.
Yes, they’re a contributing factor, leading to an 8.1 percent increase in global average grain prices, but other factors like increases in input costs, changes in consumption habits and increases in global population have played a much larger role, says New Energy Finance. In Brazil, the case was a bit different — rising oil prices drove domestic demand for ethanol and added a 70 percent increase in sugarcane prices by mid-2006. Gulp. But overall the price of food staples has risen by up to 244 percent since 2004, notes the research firm.
What does this all mean? We all know that food crops are not the best option, and even growing crops for fuel in general seems to be getting dated (Hail the garbage biofuel revolution!). But more than anything the biofuel industry needs an image makeover. If done in sustainable ways, biofuels can provide an option for fighting global warming — but if they don’t have public and political support, they won’t even make it to the cellulosic stage.
What's Up With Former Imperium CEO Martin Tobias?
Katie Fehrenbacher - Startups
Tobias is well-known in both the Internet and cleantech worlds. He's a former Internet entrepreneur who founded and ran streaming media company Loud Eye. He was also one of the early dotcommers to go green (and was our No. 16 pick for 25 Who Ditched Infotech for Cleantech), leading Imperium all the way up to considering an IPO, though the company pulled its public offering a short time later. Tobias told us he left Imperium because he and the board disagreed over how fast to keep growing the company; the board wanted to be more cautious, he said, while Tobias wanted to keep ramping up.
So he left to look for his next venture. What’s it going to be? Tobias already has a few possibilities in mind. He’s been making investments into cleantech companies, including three startups that he described to us at the conference, through a Seattle-based angel network called the Northwest Energy Angel Group. One is Invenure Chemical (a firm we profiled in our 15 Algae Startups post). The Seattle-based startup says it has developed an algae-to-biofuel conversion method that uses one efficient, low-cost step, as opposed to the multi-step process used by competitors.
Another possibility is Greenwood Technologies, a startup that has developed high-efficiency wood boilers. Tobias said the company will likely do $10 million in revenues this year. While wood boilers have traditionally been far from "green," Greenwood's product supposedly burns smoke and gas inside the device, cutting down on emissions.
The option that Tobias seemed the most excited about was the one he talked the least about. He said he’s looking at a company that replaces coal with biomass to burn in coal plants. Coal plants already have transmission lines in place, and the idea would be to make a "plug-in-play" bio alternative to coal, he said. But he wouldn't name the company, and said he’s looking at the entire space for opportunities.
And because Tobias has a long history in the Internet world, he’s also looking at where the Internet meets green. In particular, he’s been looking at different software companies that focus on the energy space, and said that if he works with one of those companies he’d likely do an investment through a venture firm he works with that has a strong Internet background, Ignition Partners. He’s also an avid blogger, so check out his site, especially his musings on the cleantech industry (though we do disagree with his thoughts on Obama).
Regardless of what he decides on, Tobias is in no hurry to make a choice. "Maybe one of these companies will light my fire and I'll run it," was how he put it. For now he's headed down to Indonesia to surf and help an island owner build a biodiesel refinery. Sounds like a tough life. Yeah, that’s him surfing in the video below.
How to Eco-Pimp Your Prius With a Plug
Craig Rubens - Startups
For those of you who already own your own hybrid, and weren’t tempted by these 6 electric cars you can buy right now, we’ve gotta tip for you. Give your old hybrid a plug. While getting 50 miles per gallon in your Toyota Prius surely feels good, with gas prices rapidly approaching $4 a gallon how does 100 mpg sound? You can get that with a not-so-simple conversion into a plug-in hybrid. Below is a list of companies who will pimp your Prius with a plug for better mileage and less carbon emissions.
| Company/Location | Cost | Battery-Type | Applicable Car Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poulsen Hybrid Shelton, Conn. | $3300 for purchase and $600 for installation | 6 pc. 12V 120 Amp hours lead/acid deep cycle, or 4 KWh Lithium-ion battery pack (Expected available from several sources by mid 2008) | Almost any gas car |
| Hymotion San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Boston and Washing D.C. | $9995 – includes 3 year standard warranty and installation | A123 Nanophosphate Li-Ion battery | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08 |
| Hybrid Plus Boulder, Colo. | $21,600 - $36,150 for conversion (kit and installation, car not included) | 26650-size Li-Ion cells | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Marines 05-’07, Mazda ‘08 |
| EDrive/EnergyCS Monrovia, Calif. | $10,000-$12,000 | lithium-ion battery | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08 |
| OEMtek Milpitas, Calif. | $12,500 | Lithium Phosphate 18650 Cells | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08, Ford Escape Hybrid |
| Plug-In Conversions Power, Calif. | $9,750, $14,900, or $19,750 (dependent on battery pack size) | Nilar NiMH batteries | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08 |
| Plug-In Supply Petaluma, Calif. | $6,095 plus shipping, installation $1,200-$3,000 | Lead Acid, LiPeFO4 when available | Toyota Prius ‘04-’08 |
But we’ve got to warn you. Even with skyrocketing gas prices, investing in a PHEV conversion isn’t likely to save you much money. If we make the math super simple and say a kit and installation costs $10,000 and it allows you to make your 50 mile, round trip daily commute without any gas (which would normally take 1 gallon of $4 gas in your Prius) it would still take you about 10 years to get your money back.
CalCars, a non-profit startup formed by entrepreneurs, engineers, environmentalists and consumers, has lots more information on how you convert your car and how plug-in hybrids work. Also, if you do have a plug-in hybrid make sure to add it to their Google map which tracks PHEVs all over the U.S. and Europe.
Meanwhile, if you don’t have a Prius and $10,000 to shell out but do have a camera and 90 second to say why you want a plug-in, make a video and send it to Google.
SmartSynch's Up With $20M for Smart Meters
Craig Rubens - Startups
SmartSynch makes consumer-facing smart grid components. Their SmartMeter product, for example, keeps track of how much and when electricity is used by a consumer and beams that information back to the utility. The company uses existing wireless networks like GPRS, EVDO and Wi-Fi, and eventually will use networks like WiMax and 700 MHz, when they become available, the company says. This helps the utility better understand its customer’s demands and allows the power user to see when they can reduce electricity consumption to save money.
While SmartSynch wasn’t included in Silver Spring Network’s recently launched Technology Alliance Program, the company did join the GridWise Alliance, a consortium of big and small smart grid players, many of whom are working with Silver Spring as well. These partnership groups are aimed at allowing separate companies to tackle individual facets of smart grid development while helping to maintain interoperability.
SmartSynch plans to use the new funding to continue to expand its business and product offerings. In addition to Credit Suisse, the round included its long list of previous investors: Battelle Ventures, Beacon Group, Endeavor Capital Management, GulfSouth Capital, Innovation Valley Partners, Kinetic Ventures, OPG Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital.
Graphic courtesy of SmartSynch.
The Daily Sprout
Craig Rubens - Misc
Air Force Takes Synthetic Fuel Super Sonic: In a flight test, a B-1 stealth bomber, code-named Dark 33, successfully broke the sound barrier flying on synthetic jet fuel, the first time such fuel had gone Mach 1. Do you feel the need for speed? - Wall Street Journal.
Wrigthspeed to Build Fastest Accelerating Car, Also Electric: Ian Wright announced at the Dow Jones Environmental Venture Conference that his forthcoming electric sports car will go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. He says it’ll be able to beat the Bugatti Veyron, the current champ - Green Tech Media.
GM to Sell Volt Under $30K?: In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine, GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said the auto giant wants to bring the Volt to market for less than $30,000. The problem? Battery costs - Green Car Congress.
Farm Bill SNAFU Requires Re-Vote: Due to a printing error, the copy of the Farm Bill sent to the White House, which Bush vetoed, was missing 34 pages. The legislation will have to be re-passed by both houses and resent to the White House where it will likely be vetoed again and sent back to Congress to be voted on for a fourth time. Your tax dollars at work - AP.
Vinod Khosla Calls WSJ Op-ed "Fiction Writing"
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
The Wall Street Journal published an editorial this week in which it took offense to comments made by Vinod Khosla that have downplayed ethanol’s contribution to the food crisis. The WSJ said: “As long as he’s on the federal dole, perhaps Mr. Khosla should take a vow of embarrassed silence.”
Khosla was by no means pleased and sent out a response to a few news outlets, calling the op-ed “fiction writing.” We thought our readers would want to check it out in its entirety, so we reprinted the response in this nifty PDF format:
Vinod Khosla Responds to WSJ Article - Get more Free Whitepapers
Juneau heeds the call for sacrifice
The residents of Juneau, Alaska have achieved an astounding 38% drop in electricity usage in a matter of weeks through simple conservation measures:
Schoolchildren sacrifice Nintendo time and boast at show-and-tell of kilowatts saved. Hotels consult safety regulations to be sure they have not unscrewed too many light bulbs in the hallways. On a recent weekday, all but one of the dozens of television screens on display at the big Fred Meyer store were black — off, that is.
Yet even as they embrace a fluorescent future, the 31,000 residents of Juneau, the state capital, are not necessarily doing it for the greater good. They face a more local inconvenient truth. Electricity rates rocketed about 400 percent after an avalanche on April 16 destroyed several major transmission towers that delivered more than 80 percent of the city’s power from a hydroelectric dam about 40 miles south.
Stories like this always highlight to me the promise and the limits of energy conservation. On the one hand — 38% in less than a month! You just can’t beat energy conservation and efficiency for speed or cost-effectiveness. No other solutions have such promise in the very near term.
On the other hand, the central irony of the situation is that Juneau’s carbon footprint has undoubtedly gone up during the past month, probably by a massive amount. The city just switched from clean, cheap hydroelectric power to expensive, dirty diesel power. Conservation is a means, not an end, and in this case the environment was better off when residents were less efficiently using clean energy. Moreover, a lot of the conservation measures don’t sound all that sustainable in the long term. Residents are rightly thankful the power cut didn’t come during the long Alaskan winter.
Hopefully the happy ending to the story is that residents will get their hydroelectic power back later this summer and also retain some of their new energy-thrifty habits, tracing a path in microcosm that we all eventually need to follow.
Low carbon barbecue
Memorial Day weekend and the smell of barbecue is in the air. As you pick up the propane tank to check if there’s any juice left from last summer, you may be wondering about the carbon impact of the outdoor grill. A few thoughts:
The actual grilling process isn’t really the big carbon part of this. If you’re using a propane grill, you’d have to make your way through a whole tank of propane (roughly eight and a half hours of cooking on a modern grill) to equal the carbon emissions of the average daily commute (a little under 50 lbs of CO2).
But if you’re inviting friends round for the inaugural 2008 barbecue this weekend, here are a few other things to think about:
- Consider transportation. Where are your guests coming in from? Can they carpool? Walk or bike? Take public transportation? Make it easy for them.
- It’s about what you cook, not how you cook it. Think about your actual ingredients. Meat (and especially beef) has a high carbon content. A recent study found that a pound of beef can take 36 times its weight in carbon dioxide to produce. Diversify your menu choices, and buy local, fresh and organic where possible. Where you can’t do all three… well, let’s not get into the local vs organic debate here.
- Use reusable plates and cutlery. It might seem easier to use the paper plates, but you’ll look so much more sophisticated if you use the real things and wash them afterwards.
- Lose the heat lamp. The cool evening air just isn’t supposed to be reheated. We’re doing well enough as it is with global warming.
- Get a keg. Beer tastes much better from a keg than the bottle or can. Serve it in glasses and you won’t have to worry about emptying out those half-drunk cans when you’re clearing up.
And if you’ve been through all of this and you’re still worried about the impact, Climate Change Chocolate has a day’s worth of offsets bundled in, and we hear it makes great s’mores!
Aussies cultivate 'burpless' grass
Researchers in Australia have received funding to develop more digestible feeds for cattle — “burpless” grass, in industry parlance — that result in less methane being produced as they are broken down in cows’ stomach(s).
As a recent returnee to the world of eating meat, I cringe when thinking about the impact raising that meat has on the environment. Here on the TerraPass carbon project team we spend quite a bit of time thinking about what we like to call the “business end” of a cow. TerraPass funds projects that clean up the methane from cow manure, but as it turns out, the natural digestive process in a cow’s many stomachs produces quite a bit more methane than the manure itself. This process, known in industry lingo as enteric fermentation, produces some very significant “methane burps.” Shy of putting some kind of gas mask on the cow, this source of emissions has been treated as largely unmanageable — until now.
This is one of several interesting initiatives originating down under that seek to curb methane emissions from raising animals. Another study is attempting to shed light on why kangaroos are naturally burpless.
Coupled with anaerobic digester projects this strikes us an exciting and potentially holistic approach to mitigating some of the environmental impacts of consuming animal products. It does make you wonder though, to what lengths are we willing to go to continue the consumption of animal products when the easiest solution is just to forego them all together?
(Via Earth2Tech)
'Drive less' update
I found the stat I was looking for about the effect of conservation on gas prices. Courtesy of Geoffrey Styles:
If we all drove just 12 miles less per week, fuel demand would fall by 5%, the equivalent of almost half a million barrels per day, or all the ethanol produced last year. The impact of that on gas prices would be much more dramatic than waiting for someone else to fix the problem.
The whole post is interesting. The basic premise is that in the short run, the only possible way to lower gas prices is to curb demand through conservation and efficiency. This could be true in the long run as well, given the realities of the oil market.
Speaking of curbing demand: sign our gas tax petition. We’re over 2,500 signatures now.
Words of wisdom for bike commuters old and new
Today is National Bike to Work Day.* So bike to work.
Or if it’s raining, like it is in New York, consider postponing your ride. The Commute by Bike blog recently ran a very sensible slacker’s guide to bike commuting for people who aren’t trying to win the Tour de France. Among the tips:
- Skip the bike when the weather is nasty.
- Wear normal clothes. The only bits of cycling gear I wear are a helmet and strap for my pant leg, and even the latter is expendable. In a pinch, just roll up your cuff.
- Ditch the repair kit. Bring a cell phone instead.
- Use lights that run on generators. Better yet, install a REELIGHT battery-less lighting system.
- Pick the easiest —meaning flattest — route.
All good advice, because the biggest obstacles to bike riding are often psychological. Which brings me to this suggestion for long-time cyclists, also from the Commute by Bike blog: invite a coworker along for the ride, or organize a convoy. It might take you a bit out of your way, but it will pay off in camaraderie. Besides, if you can get enough people biking to your workplace, then you can lobby for goodies such as showers and secure parking.
* BTW day was yesterday if you happen to live in San Francisco. What’s up with that?
(The photo of an actual bike commuter was taken during a recent trip to Amsterdam by friend of TerraPass and awesome photographer Dana Underwood.)
Gas tax petition hits 2,000 signatures
That’s more 1,000 per day — not too shabby. We delivered the first batch of signatures to Senators Clinton and McCain last night. Let’s keep it going.
If you haven’t yet signed, please do so.
If you have signed, share the petition with friends, Digg it, stumble upon it, etc.
And if you have your own blog, please post a link:
http://www.terrapass.com/campaigns/gas-tax/
What is the right global temperature?
Tim Haab says George Will raises an interesting question in a recent Washington Post column:
The housing perhaps-not-entirely-a-crisis resembles, in one particular, the curious consensus about the global warming “crisis,” concerning which, the assumption is: Although Earth’s temperature has risen and fallen through many millennia, the temperature was exactly right when, in the 1960s, Al Gore became interested in the subject.
This strikes me as the opposite of an interesting question. It strikes me as utter sophistry, but in case anyone is really wondering why we shouldn’t be enthusiastic about the prospect of a more pleasantly balmy world, here are a couple of reasons off the top of my head:
1. The current world is the one humans actually live in.
Here’s a chart of human population growth over the course of history.
As you can see, thanks to industrialization — the same process responsible for global warming — we’ve been a rather successful species this past century. We’ve also built our cities, our food production systems, and our, well, everything around the contours of the world as it presently exists. Although one can certainly imagine better worlds for humans (more fjords, please!), changing midstream is an expensive proposition.
2. Those stupid plants and animals just won’t stop dying.
It’s not just the change in temperature that’s a problem. It’s also the rate of change. Species and ecosystems that evolved over millenia have a difficult time adapting to climate change occurring over a scale of decades. Humans have compounded this issue by chopping up wilderness and potential migratory routes. Effectively, we’ve set a fire and blocked the exits. Biodiversity loss is one of the consequences of global warming that we’re likely least able to prevent, even if we act aggressively to cut carbon emissions now.
3. Feedback loops mean we’re rolling the dice.
No one knows what the full consequences of global warming will be, but one thing we do know is that we’re not adjusting a carefully calibrated thermostat that we can crank up or down at will. The distribution of possible outcomes tilts much more heavily to the very bad than to the good. And basically we’ve got all of our chips on the table. Would a nice, stable 0.11° C uptick in global temperatures be a net positive for humanity? Who knows? Who cares? That’s not the situation we’re dealing with.
Do-it-yourself clean energy
Here’s a story that combines three of my favorite things: clean energy, technology for developing countries, and beer.
The beer bottles lie on a board in rows, all connected by hoses which allow cold water to flow through them and be heated by the sun.
“I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower at any time more comfortably,” says Ma Yanjun, a carpenter, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi Province.
If you want to bulid your own solar water heater, the Make: blog has details, along with links to instructions on-the-cheap solar air heaters as well.
Low carbon flights on the internet
If you travel a lot, you’re probably used to visiting airline web sites and being asked whether you want to see your flights sorted by price or schedule. How would you like to sort by carbon?
Until recently, only experts in aviation emissions could track down this information. But now the public can find comparative data using TerraPass’ new aviation calculator. The results can help you choose the flight with the lowest climate impact. Here’s what I found during a check of popular U.S. air routes:
| Route | Airline | Pounds of CO2* |
| JFK to LAX | Virgin America | 1,390 |
| Delta | 1,456 | |
| American | 1,586 | |
| United | 2,070 | |
| SFO to JFK | Delta | 1,425 |
| Virgin America | 1,450 | |
| JetBlue | 1,462 | |
| Alaska | 1,496 | |
| American | 1,530 | |
| United | 2,158 | |
| DCA to LGA | US Airways | 260 |
| United | 304 | |
| Delta | 350 | |
| American | 816 | |
| ATL to ORD | Delta | 543 |
| United | 611 | |
| US Airways | 614 | |
| American | 708 | |
| LAX to SFO | Virgin America | 344 |
| United | 351 | |
| American | 397 | |
| Southwest | 406 | |
| Alaska | 420 | |
| Delta | 798 |
* Per passenger, round-trip flight, economy class
The calculator takes into account aircraft type, average passenger loads, and fuel burn rates for ascents and descents. So the carbon emissions per passenger can vary widely — sometimes by a factor of two or more from lowest to highest on the same route. And across different routes, it’s not necessarily the same airline that pollutes the least. The type of aircraft and how full the planes are flying can make a particular airline a green leader for one route and among the carbon hogs for another route.
As travelers become more aware of these differences, we hope they will select flights based on which ones transport a passenger point-to-point with the least amount of carbon pollution. The cool thing for consumers is that less carbon means less fuel, which should eventually mean lower ticket prices.
Airline executives take note: TerraPass just gave your customers a tool to help them (and you) fight climate change.
'Gas tax holiday' lurches onward
States have been getting in on the fun. Efforts are underway in at least six states to enact regional gas tax holidays, and now New York Republicans are circulating a petition asking citizens to “JOIN The Fight! for lower gas prices.”
Or you could, you know, join the fight for a sane energy policy and clean environment by signing the TerraPass petition that asks politicians to stop insulting us with ineffective gas tax proposals.
Say no to the gas tax holiday.
(The New York state campaign claims to have thousands of signatures. We only just launched our campaign, but it would be nice to match their voice with ours. Remember to share the TerraPass petition with friends.)
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