th comments
Anthony said: "That 10-20 seconds was for a smaller battery (either phone or laptop, I can't recall). The time they proposed for a car battery was something 5 min..." [read]

Anthony said: "I think that projection is overly pessimistic. Consider: power plants are designed to last ~60 years. So between now and 2050, we will need to repl..." [read]

Sirerdrick said: "... Or we could just make the poaching of poachers legal. Illegally kill an endangered animal and you risk having your own life taken...." [read]

tcolberg said: "Thanks for the review. It's nice to see postings about products that allow us to get incrementally greener with all the things we need to do...." [read]

Sirerdrick said: "Hate to break it to y'all (just kidding, I'm loving it!) but the Chinese have already beat the world to the punch. The BYD F3DM, which costs about..." [read]

Sirerdrick said: "I second glittalogik's take...." [read]

Worst-Case IPCC Climate Change Trajectories Are Being Realized: Copenhagen Climate Congress Concludes

by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 03.12.09
Science & Technology

drought rice plants photo
photo: International Rice Research Institute via flickr

Though a comprehensive compilation of the research presented at the Copenhagen Climate Congress will be completed by June, and the results published in an academic book, as well in a 30-page executive summary to be presented to politicians heading into the COP15 talks at the end of the year, at the closing session of the Congress six key messages were presented. In attendance was Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, who was given a printed copy of the following conclusions:

Article continues: Worst-Case IPCC Climate Change Trajectories Are Being Realized: Copenhagen Climate Congress Concludes

Lithium-Ion Breakthrough! A Battery that Charges as Fast as a Supercapacitor

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.12.09
Science & Technology

lithium-iron-phosphate image
Lithium-Iron-Phosphate particule.

Is this the "Holy Grail" Battery We've Been Waiting For?
Nature published a very interesting paper by MIT researchers Byoungwoo Kang & Gerbrand Ceder this week: Battery materials for ultrafast charging and discharging. In it they claim that they have discovered a way to make a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery charge and discharge about as fast as a supercapacitor. In practice, this could make plug-in hybrids and electric cars much more practical (charging time would mostly be limited by the availability of fast-charging stations with fat "electrical pipes", and regenerative braking would be more effective), as well as some smart grid tricks to better use intermittent renewables. Read on for more details.

Article continues: Lithium-Ion Breakthrough! A Battery that Charges as Fast as a Supercapacitor

40% of World's Electricity Will Come From Wind and Solar Power by 2050, With Proper Support

by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 03.12.09
alternative energy

wind turbine photo
photo: Chuck Coker via flickr

TreeHugger has covered all sorts of plans to transform the US's energy mix towards far greater amounts of renewable energy over the coming years, Al Gore's generational challenge to repower America being perhaps the most prominent. Under than plan (really more a visionary proposal) the US would generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources within the next 10 years. A more sober projection was made at the Copenhagen Climate Congress by Professor Peter Lund of the Helsinki University of Technology:

Article continues: 40% of World's Electricity Will Come From Wind and Solar Power by 2050, With Proper Support

Want to Tour a Renewable Energy Site in Denmark? Interactive Energy Map Shows Where You Can Go

by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY on 03.12.09
alternative energy

energymap.dk image

In amidst all the academic presentations and statements by high-profile politicians and climate change campaigners, there were a couple of booths set up displaying some interesting products. If you're like me and enjoy playing around with interactive maps and interested in energy issues, then EnergyMap should be right up your alley. While concentrating on Danish companies, it details projects in continental Europe (mostly Denmark), the UK, Turkey and China:

Article continues: Want to Tour a Renewable Energy Site in Denmark? Interactive Energy Map Shows Where You Can Go

Bluecar Electric Car by Pininfarina and Bolloré (Slideshow)

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.12.09
Cars & Transportation

pininfarina bluecar electric car photos
Click on image above to see photos of the Pininfarina/Bolloré Bluecar.

Photos of the Bluecar EV
Last week, we wrote about the very promising Pininfarina/Bolloré B0 (B Zero) electric car, which is now known as the Bluecar. Many of you wanted to see more photos, so here they are. A whole slideshow about the Bluecar, interior, exterior, battery pack and supercapacitor. Everything we could find! Check it out.

Bluecar Electric Car by Pininfarina and Bolloré

Second Sighting Of Hybrid Coal, Gas, Wind, Solar-Thermal Power Beast

by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 03.12.09
alternative energy

centaur fight climate change image
Image credit:Libra Rising, Centaur, Art and Myth: a pictorial

The last sighting of this beast was during US Congressional testimony, during 2008:- Mythical Hybrid Beast To Battle Climate Change. Recent news indicates a growing interest in co-locating wind turbines and large scale solar thermal plants with fossil-fueled electricity generators. See below for an excerpt from the US Department of Energy announcement about the places hybrid plant projects are being investigated, or actively pursued.

Article continues: Second Sighting Of Hybrid Coal, Gas, Wind, Solar-Thermal Power Beast

ETech 2009: Plantr Uses Recycled Cell Phones to Get Urbanites Gardening

by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 03.12.09
Science & Technology

plantr cell phone gardening photo

What on earth do we do with all these cell phones headed to landfills besides sending them to recyclers? What if there's a way to recycle them without the effort of taking them apart and reprocessing the materials? Plantr is a project looking to explore that very idea, and has already come up with a way to revolutionize urban gardening. And you can help!

Article continues: ETech 2009: Plantr Uses Recycled Cell Phones to Get Urbanites Gardening

ETech 2009: Amazing Adobe Tools for Sustainable Design

by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 03.12.09
Science & Technology

adobe tool presentation at etech photo

Adobe's CTO Kevin Lynch presented some great tools the company is working on to help designers be a whole lot more sustainable while creating products, as well as some other great tools for sustainability - including one 3D tool that is pretty incredible. Click through to watch the video.

Article continues: ETech 2009: Amazing Adobe Tools for Sustainable Design
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.

TreeHugger breaks it down for you in a series of in depth how-to articles that will help you green your life. No time like the present!