All organisms have the amazing ability to process all kinds of substances that enter their bodies-separating food into smaller components to be absorbed in the blood stream as energy, while the useless particles are eventually excreted. Our bodies try and make the most out of everything that passes through, turning any possible nutrient into a useful component. Food and minerals entering the body are transformed into proteins, energy or the ever popular; fat. Bedminster Industries named an integral part of their patented carbon-reducing technology the 'digester' that separates garbage into non-renewable waste and carbon-rich compost, thus mirroring the effect of any digestive system. According to their homepage, Bedminster Bio-Conversion (1970 to 1999) and Bedminster AB (1999 to 2003) developed the Bedminster Technology as a waste to compost solution for municipalities in the USA, Australia and Japan. Garbage arrives at a facility and is transferred to the Bedminster Digester. The Digester dutifully...

Tomorrow's leaders today, children at the slopes to Kilimanjaro. As the cleantech revolution gathers momentum and environmentalist values command unprecedented influence on policy, it is more important than ever to have a vigorous global dialogue as to what constitutes clean technology, and what constitutes a legitimate continuum of environmentalist values. How these questions are answered will have profound impact on the nature and speed of economic growth, as well as the quality of our lives and the quantity of our individual rights and freedoms. There are two fundamental assumptions that govern environmental values today: (1) use of fossil fuel should be phased out as soon as possible, and (2) resource scarcity is an inevitable reality will not be escaped for...

Does that get your attention?  It should, because when that happens, the Silicon Valley will become the sister city of Detroit, with the only difference being Detroit gave way to union power fifty years earlier, and is still paying the price.  Silicon Valley is a meritocracy, and as long as it stays that way it has a chance to maintain its high-tech dominance. Unions in 21st Century America are not nearly the same creature they were fifty years ago.  Back then unions legitimately fought for rights and benefits that have now largely become institutionalized - safe workplaces, reasonable work hours, competitive pay.  Back then American heavy industry enjoyed nearly a monopoly position, and as a result businesses such as the Detroit automakers could afford to grant generous concessions to unions - including pension benefits whose financial sustainability relied on the assumption Detroit's factories would always be hiring more people than they were retiring.  When the world...

There is one animal on the island state of Tasmania with the traits of a monster. It is aptly named the 'Tasmanian Devil' (or Tassie). Devils are typically heard before they are seen, emitting obnoxious screeches while feeding which can be heard several kilometers away. The spine chilling cries are hard to describe but can be heard here. As if their disturbing wails aren't enough, devils emit an incredibly offensive odor when stressed and are believed to be extraordinarily aggressive animals. (Even though this is mostly bluff as they tend to avoid confrontation with humans if possible.) Sarcophilus harrisii Devils are the largest marsupial in Australia and have an array of fascinating biological traits and behaviors: Unlike most other animals, fat is stored in the tail...

Industrial chemical manufacturers will be happy to know that a major venture is underway to produce cheap natural gas alternatives. In September, 2007 Synthesis Energy Systems, Inc.(SES), a company that builds and operates gasification plants, teamed up with the largest producer of bituminous coal in the U.S; CONSOL Energy. As stated in their first news release, the companies joined forces to "investigate the development of coal-based gasification facilities to produce feedstock for various industrial chemical manufacturers whose plants have been shut down due to high costs of natural gas." How clean will coal get? (Photo: Synthesis Energy Systems) "Under the agreement, SES and CONSOL Energy will perform engineering, environmental and marketing activities to analyze the feasibility of projects that would use coal gasification technology to...

There are dozens of credible companies rolling out next generation cars. From the GM Volt, now barely two years away, to the start-up Tesla Roadster, the list of companies aspiring to deliver the next generation car is growing almost as fast as the denizens of newly minted green journalists rushing to cover their progress. But what about the components? Three interesting companies provide a encouraging glimpse into progress occurring upstream of the finished vehicle, all of them working on ways to dramatically improve the performance of the internal combustion engine. In Camarillo, California, Transonic Combustion is developing an engine that can allow "operating conventional reciprocating piston gasoline engines at ultra-high compression ratios." Through a combination of innovations; advanced combustion chamber...

We are pleased to announce a new feature on EcoWorld's Investment page, the proprietary stock indices compiled by Mark Henwood, Editor of the financial blog Camino Energy. Since January 2006, Henwood has compiled data on pure play publically traded renewable energy companies, and now manages five perpetually updated indices - Renewable Electricity, Solar, Biofuel, LED Lighting, and Fuel Cells. Featured below is the latest of Henwood's weekly commentaries - we expect to bring you much more from this unique and very useful resource: Solar and LED-Lighting rise sharply, BioFuel Energy highlights risk and drags Biofuels down (week ending 8/15). Emerging markets, EAFA, and commodities (DJP) fell while the US market S&P 500) was flat. While Biofuels is the fourth largest strategy behind Renewable Electricity, Solar...

Do you get the impression Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has reached a level of flippant frustration in his efforts to "fix Kaleefornya?" The latest budget impasse may be the final, insulting reality that blew away any illusion he had that the nation's most populous state, and one of the world's largest economies, can be rationally governed. His recent executive order to reduce state employees' pay to the federal minimum wage level, and to lay off thousands of part-time state employees, might be an expression of peevish exasperation, but it does strike at the heart of California's chronic budget problem, namely bloated staffing and overpaid government employees. Not surprisingly, his actions were greeted with howling protests from the various International Brotherhoods...

Steam rises from the never-ending stretch of road ahead. What looks like water rolling over the street, is just heat escaping. Walking on the blacktop barefoot would leave anyone but a fire-walker grunting in pain. Our planet is covered with a web of streets and this cement absorbs and stores an abundance of the sun's energy. Researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), are looking into ways of using this heat as yet another renewable energy source. They have already developed solar collectors that would transfer the energy into electricity. The ball started rolling with the president of Novotech Inc., Michael Hulen, who funded the research project meant to prove the efficiency of Novotech's patented heat absorbing design. Based in Acton, Massachusetts, Novotech is one of the biggest suppliers of infrared optical and semiconductor materials. WPI's research was presented at the Annual Symposium of the International Society for Asphalt Pavements August 18-20, in Zurich, but like most things in life, the presentations are not accessible for free so I have no information about...

There is nothing wrong with encouraging clean, renewable, domestically produced energy.  But California's proposition 7 "would, if approved, require California utilities to procure half of their power from renewable resources by 2025" (ref. Ballotpedia).  Currently California's public utilities are mandated to generate 25% of their electricity by 2025, and this is an ambitious goal.  Just getting to 25% renewable electricity by 2025 would require more than doubling renewable power generation in California.  Getting to 50% by that time would require renewable power generation in California to nearly quintuple. To understand why accomplishing such an ambitious goal is not necessarily practical, you don't have to be an economist or a renewable power expert.  You simply need to take a look at the current cost for renewable power technology.  While you're at it, write off hydropower, which constitutes most of the renewable energy in California.  The chances any significant new hydropower...