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Elsa Wenzel

Extreme Compact Living: 300 Square Feet, 24 ‘Rooms’

A Hong Kong architect performs a magic feat of “green” design by packing 24 “rooms” into a 330 square-foot apartment. The dwelling he dubs “Domestic Transformer” glows with natural light.

Growing up with a family of five, plus tenant, Gary Chang once slept in the former tenement flat’s corridor-like living room. This helped cultivate a genius for making the most out of limited elbow room.

Modular walls slide to divide the space to serve the usual daily purposes. A wall full of shelving pulls forward, revealing a panel housing a linen closet. Behind another divider there’s a bathtub, and a guest bed can flop down over it. Rather than walking from room to room, Chang makes the living spaces shift by gliding the walls from one point to another.

“The house transforms and I’m always here,” he says. “I don’t move. The house moves for me.” See how it works in the video below:

April 29, 2010 0 comment

News in Green Jobs: Earth Day Update

written by Elsa Wenzel

On President Obama’s second Earth Day in office, how far have green jobs come toward fixing unemployment and environmental ills? The administration aims for 5 million green jobs to grow in the next 10 years. Should Americans still believe the “hype?” Here’s the latest in green jobs news from around the Web:

The White House early in 2009 announced $500 million for efforts to train green workers, and this January it described job-training grants worth $100 million of that package. But that’s not nearly enough cash for an effort that should be as big as the Space Race, says pundit Jesse Jenkins. And contrary to conventional wisdom, green jobs are already being exported beyond U.S. borders.

(Breakthrough Institute)

For now, “fewer than 200 factories in the United States are devoted to green production, employing no more than 15,000 workers.” Companies can apply for new, federal tax credits to boost U.S. manufacturing, but an economist finds that “fewer than 500 applications have been filed so far for the tax breaks, and if all were approved they would add just 75,000 green manufacturing jobs.”

(New York Times)

Yet, 10 percent of employers have added new, green jobs in the past year, according to a CareerBuilder poll of 2,700 hiring managers. Among the green occupations described as earning more than $60,000 on the job Web site are hydrologist, solar energy system designer, waste management engineer and urban planner. (However, CareerBuilder’s GoingGreenJobs site was kaput on Wednesday.)

(press release)

April 22, 2010 1 comment

Transportation, Energy Efficiency Dominate Cleantech Venture Funding

written by Elsa Wenzel

Venture capital investment in clean technology reached $1.9 billion in the first quarter, climbing 83 percent from last year, according to a report by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte.

Startups in North America raised the greatest share among 180 companies around the world, a three-year peak for the area with $1.5 billion, or 81 percent of all investments. That’s a 79 percent rise from the 2009 fourth quarter slump, described as a “blip” by Cleantech Group President Sheeraz Haji.

The transportation sector led the way with a record $704 million, notably $350 million for electric car battery and infrastructure firm Better Place, followed by significant investments in electric car and hybrid technologies. Fisker Automotive brought in $140 million, followed by $30 million for Coda Automotive, also based in California. Groupe Gruau of France reaped $23 million.

March 31, 2010 3 comments

Which Solar Panels Are the Greenest?

written by Elsa Wenzel

Solar power is supposed to be clean and green, but what happens to the dirty ingredients involved to make and dispose of solar equipment?

Two years since the Washington Post first reported that a maker of polysilicon for solar panels was dumping toxic waste into Chinese soil, a U.S. nonprofit has ranked the “green” aspects of 25 photovoltaic module makers. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition launched the Solar Scorecard (PDF) on Tuesday.

Installations of solar modules rose by 42 percent in 2009, according to SolarBuzz. If this growth continues, rooftop modules that wear out within two to three decades threaten to add toxic bulk to landfills, just as yesterday’s computer monitors and cell phones have created unwieldly piles of consumer electronics waste.

March 26, 2010 1 comment

Around the World with Upcoming Clean Tech Events

written by Elsa Wenzel

How far will you travel to get the latest news on clean-tech trends and rub shoulders with industry leaders? CleanTechies is sponsoring these upcoming events on three continents. Check out the CleanTechies Events and Conferences Calendar for more. Among the highlights in the coming months:

UC Berkeley, BERC, Energy Symposium 2010, March 3-4, Berkeley, CA

This student-run conference features presenters from more than 25 companies. Panels cover smart infrastructure, next generation technologies and more. Former Edison CEO John Bryson and Philip Moeller, commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will keynote. Meet the researchers, students, policy makers and experts from start-ups participating in the Innovation Expo on the first day of this event.

Energy 2010 Hannover Messe, April 19-23, Hanover, Germany This trade fair is built to document the complete energy mix of the future. Ask for the special CleanTechies package when registering, which provides:
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February 22, 2010 0 comment

Coming Attractions: CleanTechies Events Highlights

written by Elsa Wenzel

Whether you’re looking to share your expertise or just curious about the cleantech space, the CleanTechies Events and Conferences Calendar may feature a must-see event in your part of the world.

Among the highlights in the coming weeks:

U.S.-Japan Clean Tech Symposium, Feb. 18, San Francisco, CA

What’s big in Japan’s cleantech sector? This four-hour session explores the state of the overseas market as well as ties between U.S. and Japanese companies. It’s organized bythe U.S. State Department and Japan’s trade ministry officials.

Texas-Israel Cleanovation Conference, Feb. 22, Austin, TX

The launch of this conference promises to bring together some 200 attendees including from utility and clean energy companies, investors and technologists. Dr. Eli Opper, Chief Scientist of Israel, is among the keynote presenters.

February 11, 2010 0 comment

State of Green Business Strong Amid Recession, Says Report

written by Elsa Wenzel

The green economy is thriving despite the economic downturn, according to the State of Green Business 2010 report released Wednesday by Greener World Media.

“Green professionals weren’t among the first to be thrown overboard,” said Joel Makower, report author and Executive Editor of GreenBiz.com, in a statement. “Their budgets were slashed, their headcounts frozen, all while their mandates sometimes increased. But they managed to survive, even thrive, during tough times.”

What top trends are now driving green business? To start, the report says more companies and consumers are embracing “radical transparency.”

February 4, 2010 0 comment

Coming Soon: State of Green Business Forum

written by Elsa Wenzel

What are the latest corporate environmental trends, and how are business leaders meeting the toughest challenges?

GreenBiz.com will release its “State of Green Business 2010” annual status report to coincide with State of Green Business Forum events in San Francisco Feb. 4 and Chicago Feb. 9.

Veteran green business writers Joel Makower and Marc Gunther will lead the one-day sessions. Themes to be covered include “When Green Business Meets Cleantech” and “Can IT Solve the World’s Problems?” Attendees in Chicago will also hear about local issues, such as “The Green Economy Meets the Great Lakes.”

Thought leaders will include lawyer and longtime activist Van Jones, who stepped down from his post as White House green jobs “czar” amid a media firestorm in September. Other experts there should include:

January 28, 2010 1 comment

Video Game Teaches Biology Lessons

written by Elsa Wenzel

A nanorobot which defends a single cell against dangers such as the AIDS virus or H1N1 is the main character of a video game about molecular biology that is being developed by the Universidad Santo Tomas, in Chile.

Kokori, which means “collective game” in Rapanui (the language spoken in Easter Island), is one of six projects that won 2.3 million dollars in a contest about applying informative technology for educational purposes, organized by the National Commission of Scientific and Technological Research.

Of the six projects, Kokori, which uses information taught at the high school level biology, won $424,000.

October 15, 2009 0 comment

EcoDorm Offers ‘Green’ College Living

written by Elsa Wenzel

A dorm outfitted with composting toilets and kitchen cabinets made from recycled fence-posts is bringing new meaning to the concept of living “green” at college.

The EcoDorm, home to 36 undergraduates at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., was designed to be sustainable from top to bottom, or in this case, from its rainwater-collection system to a permaculture garden.

October 15, 2009 0 comment

More Optimism About Pre-Copenhagen Climate Progress

written by Elsa Wenzel

The U.S. Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, and a leading senator predicted that Congress will make good progress on climate legislation — and may even pass a bill — before a meeting in Copenhagen in December to forge an international treaty to slow global warming.

The remarks by Chu and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California were markedly more optimistic than those of President Obama’s chief climate and energy adviser, Carol Browner, who said 10 days ago that a U.S. climate bill would not be passed before Copenhagen.

October 14, 2009 1 comment

First Flight Takes Off on Kerosene from Natural Gas

written by Elsa Wenzel

A Qatar Airways flight from London to Qatar has become the first passenger plane to be powered by cleaner-burning natural gas that was converted to kerosene.

“Today’s flight opens the door to an alternative to oil-based aviation fuel,” said Malcom Brinded, international executive director of Royal Dutch Shell, which is partnering with Qatar Petroleum to produce so-called gas-to-liquid (GTL) kerosene from Qatar’s abundant natural gas reserves.

October 14, 2009 2 comments

Videos: Clean Tech to Address Triple Threats, Says Al Gore

written by Elsa Wenzel

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are key to solving crises in the economy, climate and security, said Al Gore on Friday (videos below).

The former vice president lauded fellow Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Barack Obama for efforts including an economic stimulus package with a significant renewable energy component.

“One way or another the reductions in emissions are about to accelerate,” said Gore at the conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Madison, Wis. “What is important, directly or indirectly, is that we put a price on carbon.”

He expressed hope that the U.S. Senate will pass a bill similar to that of the House, even in advance of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. “There is much more bipartisan dialogue behind the scenes than is publicly visible,” he added.

October 9, 2009 0 comment

Former Industrial Sites Ideal for Renewable Energy

written by Elsa Wenzel

The U.S. government has identified 4,100 contaminated industrial sites, covering more than 5 million acres, suitable for building wind, solar, and geothermal power installations.

With concern about renewable energy projects being built on pristine lands, the construction of wind and solar arrays on idle industrial “brownfields” could be an ideal solution, according to federal officials.

The Daily Climate reports that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Renewable Energy Lab will begin conducting detailed studies of some sites this month and will hold five workshops with state and local leaders, renewable energy developers, and conservation groups to discuss constructing alternative energy installations on brownfields.

October 9, 2009 0 comment

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