Flying may soon become an everyday thing to do if the plans of CAFE Foundation take shape. CAFE is a nonprofit aiming to advance personal air travel, CAFE stands for Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency. The Electric Aircraft Symposium held in April in San Francisco was host to a crowd of several dozen engineers, venture capitalists, and members of clean-tech companies who plotted the potential of Electric flight. A Slovenian company called Pipistrel highlighted its newest model The Taurus Electro which can climb to 6,000 feet after taking off on a 30-kilowatt motor. Recharging the glider's lithium-polymer battery is meant to take about as long as powering a cell phone. Depending upon the weather and skills of the pilot, the glider can travel 1,000 miles in a day. Pipistrel's customers include Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa. But even Google co-founder Larry Page, who attended the forum, might have to wait to purchase the electric Taurus if he were interested.

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Sony and Sony Ericsson (SE) may have topped Greenpeace’s latest Guide to Greener Electronics, but almost all manufacturers saw their scores plunge thanks to new, more stringent marking criteria. Greenpeace decided that it was now necessary to make the grading system tougher and to create additional grading criteria. For example, it added more toxic compounds to its list of materials manufacturers must commit themselves to eliminate and provide a timeline for that process. Chemicals added to the roster of nasties include beryllium in all its forms and compounds of antimony. That’s were Apple failed, in the previous report it scored 6.7 but, has since seen its score drop to 4.1. Greenpeace admitted that the firm’s timeline for PVC and BFR phase-out is positive, but slapped the iPhone maker on the wrist for failing to provide a timeline over which it’ll withdraw use of other Earth-damaging chemicals, such as beryllium. It also lost points over its use of recycled plastic content; it’s somewhat sketchy information about plans for the reduction of its carbon footprint, and failure to provide any information about the amount of renewable energy it uses, if any.

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The next horror film could be based on a trip to the gas station, imagine that! We all know of how much it pains our hearts to burn precious fuel as we go about dealing with the most gas guzzling task in the entire world, TRAFFIC! Well that's what we have to deal with now compare your car woes to a fleet of jets in an airlines nest and you'll know what the pains of an airline are. Considering that 25% of an airlines cost of operations goes into just filling it up with gas, it isn't surprising to know of airlines going bankrupt in the near future. Southwest Airlines however doesn't have that problem the low-cost, no frills, peanuts (or pretzels) only airline has been fuel conscious for years. The Texas-based carrier buys its fuel years in advance. The company orders its Boeing 737's with drag-reducing, energy-saving upswept wing tips and now it's reportedly hosing down the insides of its jet engines for smoother air flow and better fuel economy. But it still doesn't really help the other airlines much, jet engines, are one of the fuel hungriest machines ever devised by man. With so much invested in jets it's hard to imagine the airlines as well as the aircraft manufacturers switching to something else in the name of customer comfort. The Airlines are left with two options to save them from going extinct.

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If you still haven't realized how serious the fuel problem is, it could only mean two things either you live on an island disconnected from the rest of humanity or your filthy rich. The price of fuel doesn't seem destined to fall anytime soon even though Saudi Arabia promises to ease up on trade norms. The automobile manufacturers didn't see the present fuel crisis as a long term situation, and automobile manufacturers somehow thought that announcing better fuel efficient hybrid vehicles to be launched years from now will ease our present woes. Toyota is slipping out info of its next generation Prius almost everyday, and Honda soon coming out with its Clarity FCX Fuel Cell car. What are we to do by knowing of future cars being more fuel efficient while we drain our money into $4 a gallon gas everyday till the next hybrid is out that promises 40Mpg. With the plethora of new alternative fuel projects being announced everyday, it makes it very hard for us to decide on which technology will stand the test of time in the new war of the alternatives. It is the same reason car companies are hesitant to roll off alternative fuel cars into the market; they simply cannot afford watching more loss graphs already donated to them by the recent gas price inflation. The technology to build alternative fuel cars simply hasn't been available until recent years.

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There is a recent craze in reducing the amount of carbon emissions, and many are going so far as proclaiming of building an entire city that does not depend on any fossil fuels to cause any environmental damage whatsoever. China as always does not want to be left far behind, after the debacle of being listed as the largest contributor of Co2 into the environment it wants to clean up its act. Its announced building a fully self sufficient, zero carbon emitting Eco-city by the end of 2050. The city sits near the eastern tip of Chongming, the world's largest alluvial island in the mouth of the Yangtze River. Developers hope the community will become home for up to 400,000 people across 30 square kilometers – about half the size of Manhattan. Currently, the city has ten wind turbines along the boundary, which will run on energy from sources including wind, solar power and biogas from municipal waste. Generating electricity from wind is estimated to be at least twice as expensive as using coal. Electricity from solar power could be ten times as expensive. Yet it seems saving the environment is at the forefront of Chinas agenda and it's nice to know it will value green power over cheaper and harmful alternatives. The city is expected to house about 400,000 residents by the time it is completed in 2050. Improved access could make Dongtan the new home of wealthy commuters

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Although not many people think about how much power their computers consume and its direct effect on the environment simply because some components just appear to not use any energy when in reality they are power gulpers. The new WD Caviar GP is a 500GB 3.5-inch SATA HDD, so what's so new about it you say? Well, its one from the Green Power initiatives by WD. By consuming just 3.3 watts in idle mode beating other drives by almost five watts it reduces carbon emissions by 13.8 kilograms a year.

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When looking for a new house many young couples look for nothing less than paradise with all the best amenities. They are promised exactly that in utopist sales brochures, what finally is sold is just another cubic mundane house. That's what the designers of this apartment complex took to heart and designed these modular honeycomb clusters of a beehive complex. It was constructed for low-income residence for young families and couples in the industrial district of Izola on the Slovenian coast. The complex has facades of solar shading and natural ventilation to regulate its interiors all year-round. Each of the balcony modules is topped with a colorful textile shade that provides for efficient solar shading and ventilation.

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This fancy car is not even close to being a hybrid vehicle; rather it is fully electric car that runs on Lithium-ion batteries and can run for 125-155 miles on a single charge. It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds its batteries can be charged to 80% capacity in less than an hour. Solar panels on its roof power equipment such as the radio, navigation system, instrument panel, and air conditioning — even while parked with the car switched off. Now that is definitely a neat concept, we may probably be able to program our car to cool itself 5mins before 5pm so we have a cool car waiting at the parking lot without counting the pennies wasted in fuel costs.

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Ecotopia has developed this sleek looking portable Eco mini fridge for you to cool during hot summers. This Eco mini fridge can be defined as a perfect blend elegance and aesthetics. The company has taken good care to see this green portable fridge does not use any refrigerant, eliminating the need of recycling. The Eco mini fridge is idyllic for picnics, travelling, and office use. You can also convert this mini fridge into a heater keeping hot food warm at the flick of a switch as it is featured with an advanced thermoelectric system.

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Bluewater Wind, an offshore wind power company has won the contract to build America's first offshore wind turbine park off the coast of Delaware. Using electricity generated by the wind, "Delmarva Power will be able to light about 50,000 homes a year, every year" for the duration of the 25-year contract, with first power expected by 2012. The project may help stabilize consumer energy costs, since the contract locks in the price Delmarva will pay per kilowatt-hour. Each turbine sits on a pole about 250 feet above the waterline. The units will be constructed in such a way that it will withstand hurricane-force winds. Each blade on the three-blade rotor is to be 150 feet long.

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Although they have been planning on a non-gasoline vehicle for some time now, but according to the news trickling in, Merc could be out with their electric Smart car in 2010. in a recent interview, Daimler's chief executive was quoted as saying that an "electric Smart [was planned] for 2010," and he also said that an electric Mercedes model would be arriving "the same year." For the pricing details he said that the cost would depend greatly "on whether it sells the batteries or leases them." There was even a mention of a fuel cell car in 2010.

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The DJ of this new eco-nightclub better play great music if he wants to keep his turntable working. For if the feet stop thumping so will the power. Britain's first eco-nightclub, set to open in King's Cross, will require the patrons to dance on a modified dance floor that will harness the energy expelled by the clubber's moves and convert it to electricity. This place is so Green-oriented; they even plan on using a recycled water system to flush their lavatories. The Club will also serve organic spirits served in polycarbon cups. Entry to the club will cost £10, but those who can prove that they cycled, used public transport or walked to the venue will be welcomed in free. That's not it customers will have to sign a pledge before entering the club that they will work towards curbing climate change.

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Trash, as it turns out, is an attractive feedstock. There are several commercial companies developing technologies that use wastes as fuel. The military currently burns its trash in incinerators, emitting icky emissions and eating up a lot of fuel, time, and human power since it takes quite a few people to run one. Also, cutting down on the use of diesel fuel is especially important since the trucks that haul the fuel are basically moving targets sure to make huge bangs. They have developed a prototype generator that uses trash as fuel to generate power. The generator is called TGER (“tiger”) and the acronym stands for Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery. The prototype, which uses a variety of technologies to run an electrical generator, will be tested until August. The purpose of the unit is to cut down on the amount of diesel fuel used and to cut down on the amount of garbage that camps generate, which are security risks. The wet and dry wastes are separated. The dry trash is crushed, pelletized, and fed into a gasifier where the pellets are heated until they’re turned into synthetic gas, which then fuels the generator. The wet waste is converted with the use to enzymes into hydrous ethanol, which is then blended with synthetic gas to boost the generator’s output to 55 kW.

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As the fuel prices are expected to escalate to dizzying heights, the options to find a reliable alternative are the primary concern for scientists and researchers. It’s not everyday such breakthroughs are achieved in which a team manages to keep a hydrogen vehicle powered for six days without needing any refueling. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have successfully achieved a world record for the maximum distance travelled by a hydrogen powered car. Until now the fleet of hydrogen-electric Toyota Prius’s sold in the market and used by some city governments, run on compressed hydrogen gas, and have a limited range of around 80 miles between refuels. Even a pretty un-ambitious three-gallon tank fills the entire trunk of a Prius, yet still only enables a range of approximately 200 miles, which does not qualify as a gasoline competitor. By using liquid hydrogen, this takes up around a third of the volume of compressed gas.

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Batteries dying out at multi-day events are not an unfamiliar sight today, but simply having a conventional power dispenser is not an easy option for event managers. To keep mobile phone users from avoiding such events, Mobile Operator Orange is working with a renewable energy company Gotwind, the recharge Pod is an evolution of the Orange portable wind charger, tested at 2007’s Glastonbury Festival. The recharge Pod will be stationed within the Pennard Hill camping grounds at Glastonbury and will be a free service allowing all festival goers to charge their mobile phones throughout the weekend. Over 7 meters in height, the free standing "recharge Pod" is a self sufficient unit that supports a wind generator and solar panels and can charge up to 100 mobile phones per hour.

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