Let me see if I can find another way to be Green this year. Oooooohhhhh! I smell something burning. Well, maybe not burning, but definitely getting hot.

I know that sentence was a tease, and I am going to take full advantage of it! Sooooo, I’ll explain that later in this article. (more…)

India currently is the fourth largest emitter of carbon in the world, and has so far resisted any binding emission targets under an international agreement. India, and the Group of 77 developing nations have been opposing such binding targets unless they come tied with financial and technological support from developed nations which have so far led in carbon emissions.

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If the larger and medium economies of the world have to be motivated to cut down immensely on the carbon footprints, it might be the smaller nations which have to set an example stating that it can be done in a manner easier than anticipated.

Tuvalu, the fourth smallest nation in the world with a population of 12,000 people intends to become the first zer0-carbon country in the world – an example which could surely influence others.

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According to stats given by Harvard University’s Alex Wissner-Gross, it would be safe to deduce that by just using the Google search, the world actually produces as much carbon dioxide as a country like Laos would do.

But how far are these claims real and if they indeed are true, do we really need to go ringing the alarm bells? According to Wissner-Gross, co-founder of Enernetics, two Google searches produce as much carbon dioxide as boiling enough water in an electric kettle for a cup of tea. And that is just the energy used up at Google’s end and not on our own system it seems.

The claims statistically might not really have much backing and to be honest it would be impossible to verify as there is no way Google is going to let you in to check on how much energy its hardware components eat and hence how much pollution it actually costs.

But the larger question on hand is about how the ICT sector is contributing to global warming and how it can actually cut back on its carbon footprint. It is already known that the carbon footprint of the ICT sector is as much as aviation- about 3% of the total carbon emissions produced.

But there is also little doubt that it is a necessity that we cannot escape and in fact saves more energy than it spends in the form of digital information. While we do hear the odd Yahoo and Google offices going green, Wissner-Gross’s statements do indeed merit a discussion. The net and its giants have a responsibility of going green to save energy, and they do indeed need to take the cause of the planet more seriously.

We wonder if that will help hasten the green wave, or not!

Source: Guardian
Image courtesy of Mark Knol

It seems that the sinking Motorola is not going down without a fight and if not in the mobile world, it sure is winning the battle in the ‘green domain’ with the unveiling of the world’s first carbon neutral mobile cell phone at CES this year.

Motorola Renew W233 is being dubbed as the world’s first carbon-free mobile and that is not just in regards to its production. The green mobile from Motorola is not just eco-friendly in regards to its making by using 100% recycled materials and recycled water bottles, but also extends the planet-friendly features in its operation and disposal.

Motorola has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offset the energy to manufacture, distribute, and operate the phone by investing in renewable energy sources and reforestation. This keeps your conscious clean every time you make a call from your cell, as you will now know that you are really not causing any damage to the planet. The W233 will use packaging that is minimal in pollution and once you are done with it, you can mail it back to Motorola in a specially designed envelope that comes with the purchase.

Motorola has gone in a completely different direction with the Renew W233 and the mobile’s green features along with simple and ergonomic looks make it an affordable delight.

This obviously is no high-end smartphone, so do not expect a whole lot of features, but for those who care for the planet, Renew W233 is a fine start; a blueprint that hopefully will be taken up by other mobile firms. [via Inhabitat]

I probably should have studied harder when I was in science class, but I seem to remember that all plants thrive on CO2. Even so, Ota Florticulture Auction Co., which is Japan’s largest flower wholesaler, is planning to market a series of arrangements made up of potted plants that gobble up large amounts of CO2.

There’s always someone wanting to capitalize on the green movement, why not a flower company, too? Ota will market carbon offset plants for homes and offices that come in pots that combine six kinds of plants such as the orchids and cacti, even at night and the company says each plant arrangement will trap 4-10kg of CO2 gas each year.

The price for having someone buy a plant to do what the plant would do anyway is going to be ¥8,000-40,000 ($85-$425). Watch for the plants to come on sale by Thanksgiving. – via Nikkei (sub needed)

Images by Rosberond, cobalt123

Carbon Sciences has recently declared that it has made an important breakthrough that can convert CO2 emissions into fuels. This would cut down on the 62 billion metric tones of CO2 – root cause of global warming, which is let out into the atmosphere every year.

The technology will use these harmful emissions and convert them into useful sources of energy.

As CO2 requires a lot of energy to break them into hydrocarbons that is used for fuel, Carbon Sciences is working on a technology, with the help of chemical and bioengineering principles that would hasten up this process. Since this process is highly energy efficient, they’ll set up a CO2 transformation plant that would use the CO2 released by a larger producer such as a power plant, and transform it into useable fuels.

This breakthrough technology promises that it can successfully give the world a cleaner atmosphere by closing the loop on carbon releases. – via Inhabitat