Volt’s Future Questioned as Bailout Talks Continue
November 20, 2008
Filed under: Cars and Transportation
GM wants to have the eagerly awaited Chevy Volt, a real-life electric car, buzzing around your neighborhood by 2012. The bad news? GM, along with Ford and Chrysler, are currently begging for a massive billion company-saving bailout from the U.S. government.
With the future of GM looking shaky, there is some real concern that the Volt will be lower on GM’s to-do list, especially when staying alive is the number one concern.
While some critics see the potential collapse of the American auto industry as a green-car killer, the optimistic crowd sees the bailout as a chance for the government to force U.S. automakers to speed up and increase green car development.
GM still plans to launch the Volt by 2010 and they’ve put a lot on the line for a greener shade of vehicle. While they have stated they will protect their investment in the rechargeable car, GM faces huge challenges. For starters, a 25 year low for U.S. auto sales while attempting to cut billion in costs is not going to be easy. Then there’s the slightly longer term woe of eager Indian and Chinese competitors eying the American market.
Even though the future of the Volt and other American-made green cars could be in peril, I’m trying hard to have a battery-is-half-full outlook.
Volt’s Future Questioned as Bailout Talks Continue originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:15:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Update: Hijacked Supertanker Held for Ransom
November 20, 2008
Filed under: News, Plants and Wildlife
As the bizarre story involving the Saudi-owner oil tanker and the Somali pirates continues to unfold, the plot grows thicker. The Sirius Star, holding about 2 million barrels of oil, is now parked only 3 miles off the coast of Harardhere, a notorious pirate city. The pirates — well aware that no there are no refineries in Somalia — are apparently holding the ship’s crew and cargo hostage in order to exact some kind of ransom, and negotiations are underway.
The cargo is valued at 0M at today’s prices, but no figures have been released as to how much the ransom could be. Unlike other recent pirate incidents like the recent capture of a Hong Kong cargo ship filled with wheat, captors in this scenario control a substance that is much more precious if refined, and extremely destructive if dumped — so the pirates can pretty much name their price.
From what I’ve read, no mention has been made of the eco-terror aspects of this confrontation, but the potential for a ginormous oil spill — intentional or otherwise — gives the situations some very seious environmental, as well as human implications.
Update: Hijacked Supertanker Held for Ransom originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Green Jobs that Won’t Make You Poor
November 20, 2008
Are you dissatisfied with your current job? When one thinks of “green jobs,” it almost seems synonymous with “non-profit” — a rewarding venture that doesn’t offer much in terms of salary. However, there are careers out there in the green market that can earn six figures for the right candidate
- Demand for environmental engineers is expected to grow over 25% over the next eight years. This consulting gig can pay well over 100K.
- If you are an environmental lawyer, your 5,000 salary means that you swim in the same league as those “other guys.”
- Industrial designers with an eye for reducing packaging and substituting sustainable materials are paid handsomely.
- Like to watch the thermometer? Climatologist might be the right career for you. That and other science jobs can earn you over six figures.
Green Jobs that Won’t Make You Poor originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:28:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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PETA Cooking Mama Parody is Gross
November 20, 2008
PETA has decided to go after those of us still interested in cooking a Thanksgiving turkey with a rather disgusting version of the Cooking Mama video game.
In the original game, available for a variety of platforms, you do a variety of actions that cause you to “cook.” In the PETA game, you cook, but in the most disgusting way possible I think. You have to do a variety of things to the turkey that those of us buying turkeys at the supermarket would never experience.
First you pull off the feathers, which results in much blood running down your arms and later you have to cut off the turkey’s head and chop its neck into bits for the gravy. The blood may be animated but I still found it rather gross and off putting. This game is definitely not for children.
The game did not convince me to take the Pledge to go Veg as PETA hoped. Instead, it made me more annoyed with them for feeling the need to make the message so very unpalatable. I prefer facts to gore when making my decisions.
[Via Planet Save]
PETA Cooking Mama Parody is Gross originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:04:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Consuming Peanuts in Infancy Lessens Risk of Allergy, Says New Study
November 20, 2008
Filed under: Kids and Parenting
Contrary to everything that many parents around the world have been told for years, it has been found that consuming peanuts in infancy appears to lessen, not increase, a child’s risk of developing a peanut allergy. This research comes from Gideon Lack at King’s College London.
This finding goes against pediatric practices of the past decade, in which parents have been told to avoid feeding peanut products to their infants. For example, since 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended withholding peanut products until a child is three years old. Recently, the AAP changed that recommendation back to four to six months of age.
The team analyzed nearly 9,000 food allergy surveys sent to thousands of Jewish families in London and Tel Aviv. Peanut allegies showed up in 0.17 percent of the Israeli children and 1.85 percent of the British children, making the British children six times as likely to have a peanut allergy. The surveys revealed that early peanut consumption was more common in Israel; at 9 months of age 69 percent of Israeli babies had started eating some form of peanuts.
However, before you start feeding your baby any peanut products, be sure to ask your pediatrician first!
Consuming Peanuts in Infancy Lessens Risk of Allergy, Says New Study originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:29:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Budget Disaster: New York Subway to Scale Back, Way Back
November 20, 2008
Filed under: Cars and Transportation, GreenFinance
Sure, we knew that the economic downturn would make life a little less comfortable for the next couple of years, but who could have expected this? Only a few months ago, Mayor Bloomberg was talking about putting wind turbines on the Empire State Building. This month, NYC transit authorities are announcing drastic cutbacks on one of the city’s most iconic and seemingly healthiest public services — the subway.
I’m having a little trouble believing it myself. Earlier this year, we’d seen reports that subway ridership was up to record levels. Now, it’s being reported that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority may cut 1,500 jobs, including 600 station agents, as well as completely do away with the “W” train (running from Queens to Manhattan) and “Z” line (which runs through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan).
At a time where people are ditching their cars left and right, it’s hard to understand how a mass transit authority could be in such dire straits financially. I guess, there’s only one real explanation — serious incompetence. Officials at the MTA have placed no limitations on what they’ll cut in order to recover from a .2B budget deficit.
Also under the knife are the “G” and “M” trains, which will run only half the number of routes. Along with the cuts in service, the MTA is also expecting to hit riders with substantial fare hikes. According to NYPIRG’s Gene Russianoff:
“I can’t give you an exact number, just the adjective: whopping. It would be a huge fare hike for the public.”
What a huge bummer. Hope they hurry up with those divided bike lanes, because it looks like New Yorkers might seriously need them soon.
Budget Disaster: New York Subway to Scale Back, Way Back originally appeared on Green Daily on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video Game Consoles Waste $1 Billion in Energy a Year
November 19, 2008
Filed under: Gadgets and Tech, Home
As video game consoles get more advanced, their power consumption increases. This evolution of entertainment has led to an estimated 16 billion kilowatt-hours of energy consumption a year from the more than 40 percent of homes in the United States that own at least one of these consoles. This is roughly equal to the annual electricity use of San Diego.
In a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, better power management for these consoles could result in a savings of around 11 billion kilowatt-hours per year. This in turn would cut more than 7 million tons of C02 annually. The NRDC goes on to compare the exact usage of each console, among Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. You may be surprised to find out which consoles use the most energy, and why.
The scariest part is the fact that some of these consoles, like the Xbox 360, actually have an energy-saving feature built in, yet it’s just a matter of the users initiating that feature. Through the cooperation of hardware manufacturers and energy-conscious consumers, these wasteful practices can be greatly reduced or eliminated.
Video Game Consoles Waste Billion in Energy a Year originally appeared on Green Daily on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:03:00 EST 0. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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