Going Green

Green Venture Capitalists Need No Bailout

New York Times  |  Oct 4, 08 4:34 PM CDT

(Newser) - The canyons of Wall Street have been swept clean of liquidity, but the valleys of northern California are still flush with environmentally and financially green ideas, Jon Gertner writes in the New York Times ' Sunday magazine. Despite market madness, venture capitalists have seen little slowdown in their businesses, which are raising millions of dollars to fund “green tech” investments. More »

How to Keep Your PC Green

New York Times  |  Oct 3, 08 2:27 PM CDT

(Newser) - You’ve got the Prius and the reusable shopping bags, but did you know a PC and monitor perpetually left on use more than twice the kilowatt-hours per year consumed by a fridge? The New York Times reports what you can do to slow your computer’s energy drain: Turn it off after your workday. Have it set to sleep when unused, and dump the screensaver. More »

Child 'Climate Cops' a Bit Too Green

Treehugger  |  Oct 2, 08 7:30 PM CDT

(Newser) - A new website from British energy company Npower is encouraging children to spy on their parents—to save the environment, Mark Ontkush writes on Treehugger. After completing a series of “missions” on the Climate Cops site, kids are kitted out with the necessities for keeping careful tabs on the energy-consumption habits of local adults, and are encouraged to track the folks' “energy crimes.” More »

Calif. Adopts Stiff Anti-Sprawl Law

Sacramento Bee  |  Oct 1, 08 1:44 PM CDT

(Newser) - The country's most aggressive anti-sprawl bill was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday, the Sacramento Bee reports. The "first in the nation" bill mandates regional targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and uses $5 billion in transportation funding as an incentive to stimulate denser residential development. “This fundamentally changes the way we think about growth,” says the Democrat who sponsored the measure. More »

Bush OKs $25B for Car Giants

Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 30, 08 7:26 PM CDT

(Newser) - President Bush today approved the $25 billion in low-interest loans aimed at helping US automakers in their transition to building more fuel-efficient vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reports. The industry long pushed for the package, estimating the total cost of the makeover at $100 billion. It’s now up the Energy Department to set eligibility guidelines, with lawmakers hoping funds can be available by mid-2009. More »

Vertical Farming Puts Pigs High in the Sky

Scientific American  |  Sep 30, 08 4:57 PM CDT

(Newser) - They're not the most traditional tenants, but pigs, poultry, and crops might be reared in city skyscrapers of the future, drastically reducing environmental damage caused by traditional farms, Scientific American reports. Engineering airflow inside glass towers remains tricky, but the potential for a year-round growing season in the face of a booming world population has some urban developers looking to integrate skyscraper farms. More »

Cloth or Plastic: Greenies Debate the Diaper