Giant Octopus Comes to Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Feb/100
Treehugger
photo: Meghan Murphy, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
While it may seem small now, at only about 3 pounds, this guy will grow to about 13 times its current size. It’s the Giant Pacific octopus and the National Zoo welcomed the first one of its kind last month. With an expected arm span of 25 feet, this mega octopus evokes memories of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
…Read the full story on TreeHugger
A Picture is Worth: Mapping The Chilean Earthquake’s Tsunami
Feb/100
Treehugger
From the Map Room
Extraordinary image showing the projected times that a tsunami would hit other parts of the Pacific from the catastrophic Chilean earthquake this morning. Tsunami warnings have been issued as far north as Vancouver and around the pacific. Height of waves projected below….Read the full story on TreeHugger
Many Uses for Super Charge Ion Batteries
Feb/100
Eco Geek
We’ve seen Toshiba’s SCiB (super-charge ion batteries) before at last summer’s Consumer Electronics Show, where they were providing the power storage for a battery-assisted bike. SCiB batteries are useful for a wide range of functions, from electric bicycles and hybrid and electric vehicles, to industrial equipment and renewable energy storage. Toshiba has now opened a US-based technical support center to aid in developing the SCiB, particularly for vehicles, grid storage, and wind and solar power applications.
The SCiB has characteristics that make it very appealing. It performs like an ultracapacitor with rapid charge times, reaching 90% charge in about 5 minutes. It is good for thousands of cycles without extensive capacity loss, and it has a life span of 10 years or more. And, of potentially particular interest for vehicle manufacturers, it is able to perform even at low temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit).
The SCiB batteries are based on lithium chemistry, as are many other batteries currently in use. However, according to Toshiba, in addition to the other beneficial features the SCiB offers, they also have an internal structure which helps prevent short circuits and avoid “thermal runaway” even if they do develop a short circuit.
Link: Toshiba
via: NA Windpower
New York State Grid Increases Net Metering
Feb/100
Eco Geek
The state of New York has opened up its electrical grid allowing further net-metering with the passage of a bill in the state legislature following a “Net Metering Summit” in the state last year. Among other provisions, the new regulations cap interconnect fees for small facilities under 25 kW, and allow non-residential wind- and solar-power projects to participate in net-metering arrangements.
The new law also helps move New York closer to its ‘45 by 15′ goal which targets the State meeting 45 percent of its electricity needs by 2015 through increased energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Net-metering provisions in state laws are one of the fastest ways to speed the adoption of residential and small-scale renewable power production from wind, solar, and other renewable sources. A statement from Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, noted that “Net metering propels us into the 21st century and moves NY forward as our electric meter moves backwards.”
via: NA Windpower
images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moe/ / CC BY 2.0 and Martin Bodman / CC BY-SA 2.0
Curb Your Footprint: Curb Your Appetite
Feb/100
Treehugger
Jeff Garlin weighs in on going green. Image from Simon Spotlight
Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Jeff Garlin is on a carbon and calorie loss diet. His new memoir, My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World, released this past week, chronicles his year-long journey to lower both his physical footprint and his carbon footprint. With wisecracks and candid wisdom, he describes facing down his food addiction and the steps he took for the environment. But is the comedian’s two-pronged attack to go lean and gr…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Behind The Scenes, A Green Apple ‘Walking The Walk’
Feb/100
Treehugger
Green apple. Image credit:Aztec International, Inc. candle making scents.
Those of you who have read my previous missives on personal electronics know I have little use for the like of Greenpeace’s electronics rating scheme and am anoyed by the constant hectoring of Apple by NGO’s. Often they are chasing trailing indicators and pushing protocols that miss the big picture. Continuing along those lines, I recently congratulated Apple’s Board of Directors for opposing shareholder demands that Apple publish an ann…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Can Animals Foresee Natural Disasters?
Feb/100
Treehugger
Earthquakes, like the one that struck today in Chile–which, at the time of this writing, is believed to have claimed 147 lives–are all the more devastating for their unpredictable nature. While geologists have resources available to indicate a probability of when a quake will strike, such as measurin…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Is Your New Phone (Apple iPhone, Perhaps) Cancer Causing, Too?
Feb/100
Treehugger
My cell phone makes me feel funny. Does yours?
I couldn’t tell if it was my better body awareness from yoga or my generally strong cell phone neurosis (long live the bees!). Every time I held my phone up to my ear, I felt a vibratory drum-like sensation as though something external and vampire-ish was sucking life out of me. Dash in a little of my hypochondria and you can imagine the visions of brain tumors, breast cancer and salivary gland cancer</a…Read the full story on TreeHugger
PETA’s at it Again: Sexiest Vegetarian Next Door 2010
Feb/100
Treehugger
Image credit: PETA
Much like Blythe’s excellent slideshow on PETA porn, I’m never quite sure what to make of PETA. On the one hand, the constant focus on <a href=”http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/09/petas-latest-ploy-has-pamela-anderson-stripping-peop…Read the full story on TreeHugger
Green Politics, NIMBYism & EVs: LlewTube Meets Chris Goodall (Video)
Feb/100
Treehugger
Image credit: LlewTube
From test driving the Mitsubishi MiEV through taking a ride with Ecotricity’s Dale Vince to interviewing Diarmuid O’Connell of Tesla, I am a huge fan of Robert Llewellyn’s Llewtube show. The format of taking an interesting personality—often involved in green technology or po…Read the full story on TreeHugger
