I recently had a chance to ride along in a Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE at Eco-Products 2008 in Japan — a green event held for three days in Tokyo.

Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE and Mercedes-Benz Smart on road.

Several green vehicles were on hand at the event for visitors to take on approximately 10 minute rides. The cars you could pick from were: the Toyota FCHV-adv (fuel cell), the Nissan Clean Diesel X-TRAIL 20GT, the Subaru Plug-in Stella Concept (EV), the Audi Cabriolet A4 S-line 3.0 TDI (Diesel), the Mazda RX-8 Hydrogen RE, the Mitsubishi i MiEV (EV), the Mercedes-Benz ...

Salvaging thousands of used disposable chopsticks from the Koriyama’s city hall cafeteria over two years, Shuhei Ogawara has built a 4-meter (13-ft) long canoe.  It took three months for Ogawara to glue 7,382 chopsticks together to form the canoe shell.

Via:  Pink Tentacle

Editor’s Note: Sasha is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome Sasha!

North Dakota’s fund for helping ethanol producers hedge against fluctuating corn prices is about to run out, and the producers are getting worried.

The fund, paid for in part by farm vehicle registrations, was drained by high corn prices earlier this year, according to the Bismark Tribune. Ethanol facilities operate on very slim margins, amplifying the effect of market turbulence. The goal of the fund, run by the North Dakota Commerce Department, was to create a safety net — $1.6 ...

China-based BYD has introduced a plug-in hybrid that can be plugged into a regular electrical outlet, and achieve sixty miles on one charge.

The BYD F3DM is the first mass-produced plug-in vehicle in the world. While the car will not be available in the United States until approximately 2011, according to an article on Bloomberg.com, the release of the vehicle provides a boost for the sagging vehicle market, and for the Chinese market in particular.

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Ethical diamonds and sapphires are spectacular and let me tell you Brilliant Earth is a beautiful blessing for the green girl wearing white. They offer certified conflict free diamonds and sapphires crafted with love, fair labor practices, and eco-friendly ethics. 5% of all their profits donated go to help local African communities harmed by the diamond industry.

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CPSIA Legislation May Put Crafters Out of Business

 

The CPSIA(Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008) states that even a simple wooden toy maker will be required to have a third-party lead test every different variation of marionette he makes, costing upwards of $2000 a pop. While well intentioned in the wake of numerous recalls of imported products for lead and toxic chemical content,  CPSIA ignores the financial constraints and mostly excellent track records of domestic toy manufacturers. It means that as of February 10th, 2009, if you offer for sale any items marketed to, or for use by ...

A Park Slope hardware store has pledged to spend 22% of Sunday’s revenue to make their store more energy efficient.

They have not made this pledge because of a mandate, a threat of punishment or an altrusitic love of the environment. Tarzian Hardware wants to make a direct profit.

This is because the Carrotmob is arriving in New York City. Started by Brent Schulkin in San Francisco, Carrotmob is a reverse boycott where similar businesses compete to see who will go the furthest to green themselves up. The winner is rewarded with a “mob”-hundreds of customers who arrive ...

Bombay Bleeding - We Will Never Forget, a painting by Feroza Unvala

Charity is considered to be the act of benevolent giving. A gesture of goodwill towards the needy and suffering. Could there be any doubt that the act of bettering society is a good economic decision?

Twenty years ago, the act of charitable giving was perhaps frowned upon by companies as it affected their bottom line. Today, even in perhaps the worst economy of our times, ‘social entrepreneurship‘ has become a buzzword. Companies are looking for charitable giving opportunities as any contribution to the betterment of society makes them look ...

HP teams with U.S. based Boston-Power to create the first line of eco-friendly laptops.

In the race to come up with newer eco-friendly laptop solutions HP has not only led the way, but helped achieve a few firsts in the process, according to a recent Boston-Power press release.

Not only will HP be launching what it calls its new “Enviro” series of notebooks, but it will also be teaming with Boston-Power to be the first manufacturer to bring a product of this type to market.

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Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest makes me laugh a little. Not just because he tried to sell Obama’s seat, but also because I happen to have been born and grew up in Chicago’s suburbs, and it’s always fun to hear about corruption going on back home.

With all the fuss over the Senate seat and the Tribune Company’s editorial board and the five-year investigation that’s been going on and Rod’s wife’s potty mouth…I decided to check in on Blago’s environmental record.

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As today’s blue collar workers lament the loss of jobs to illegal immigrants or offshoring, a whole new movement is afoot that very well may provide the solution to unemployment woes.  As we experience the total revolution of our economy as we know it, an entirely new set of jobs are being created; green collar jobs.  In fact, not since the Industrial Age has the global economy experienced the onsite of such a dramatic transformation!

The Urban Habitat blog lists an impressive array of sectors where these new jobs will come from:

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Oymyakon, Russia

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Oymyakon (map) is the coldest inhabited place in the northern hemisphere. It’s so cold, locals say that birds freeze to death in mid flight. Ironically, the village is named for a hot spring. In the local minority language, Sakha, the name means “non-freezing water” because of a nearby hot spring that keeps water from freezing. The village is home to about 800 people, a school that only closes when temperatures sink below -52°C, and one general store. At -60°C, spit freezes before it hits ...

Former solar installer David Llorens nearly plunged four-stories to his death after faulty instructions from the building owner.

“Ma’am, what’s the best way to get to your roof? We need to see where we’d put the solar panels and we don’t have a four story ladder.”

HER:   “I think this door goes out on to the roof, but I’ve never been out there.”

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via TreeHugger via The Beast via Boing Boing

Earlier this week, Mongolia’s parliament announced that it was permitting the Mongolian government  re-open talks with international mining companies about the Oyu Tolgoi gold and copper mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposits.

Potential investors include Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto, claim that an agreement on the Oyu Tolgoi gold mine would increase Mongolia’s GDP by 34%.

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[Creative Commons photo by Russian Doors/Marine Photobank]

Cleanup crews are working to mop up an oil spill off of the Santa Barbara coastline of over 1,100 gallons. The 27 barrel spill occurred at Platform A, the site of a disastrous 1969 spill which killed thousands of sea birds and covered hundreds of miles. The Department of Fish and Wildlife is still doing checks and flyovers to look for injured wildlife, especially sea birds.

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Nowadays the internet offers a wide variety of green resources to keep you updated of environmental news and events. It is interesting to watch this web niche evolve. Social media has brought a new generation of green resources. You can now be a green news source yourself (by participating in green social networks), become a part [...]