Climate Technology

Electric cars a’comin’

I hear from my inside sources -- and by that I mean a press release I was sent -- that a company called Champion Motors of America is going to start manufacturing and selling a line of electric vehicles:

The company envisions its vehicles as workplace alternatives to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The line, which ranges from a 2-person personal car to a 14-passenger shuttle, will be offered to the public as well as to anyone interested in becoming a distributor/dealer. The small vehicles can be used for a number of duties calling for a light vehicle such as quick trips to and around industrial parks, college campuses, private communities, hotels and resorts, malls, amusement parks and security operations. According to company literature, they are environmentally-friendly because they are emissions-free and run on rechargeable batteries, are basically maintenance-free and provide relief in cutting the cost of expensive repairs and maintenance. Their lightweight design and compact size allows them to easily go just about anywhere. The company plans on providing technical support and assistance to its customers.

These are mainly for businesses, not consumers, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Don Shaffer, local-biz promoter and green skateboard entrepreneur, answers questions

Don Shaffer. What work do you do? I’m executive director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and co-owner of Comet Skateboards. What does your organization do? BALLE is […]

Blend Game

Wal-Mart looks into selling ethanol As part of its newfound determination to jump on the eco-bandwagon, Wal-Mart is considering selling E85, an ethanol/gasoline blend, at the gas stations it owns […]

They Should Volunteer to Be Penalized for That

Bush’s voluntary emissions-reduction programs not amounting to much Are you sitting down? We’ve got some earth-shattering news: the Bush administration’s voluntary programs to reduce industrial greenhouse-gas emissions aren’t working. A […]

How companies are driving down the impacts of shipping

We all know that planes, trains, and automobiles use gobs of fuel and spew mega-gobs of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere — and that makes freight transport […]

A Random Act of Mindfulness

Random House to bump up use of recycled paper For you fogies who still read books made of … what do they call it? … “paper,” here’s some good news: […]

Taking Care of Business

New York Times runs series on green biz The New York Times is running a ginormous series today on green business, creatively titled “The Business of Green.” (Hey, NYT, if […]

Carbon Upset

European Union’s fledgling carbon-trading market hits turbulence A hullabaloo has erupted in the European Union over its one-year-old carbon-trading market, established to help the E.U. meet its targets under the […]

Can you work as an environmental consultant without losing your soul?

As director of program development at The Environmental Careers Organization, Kevin Doyle knows a thing or two about job searching. In this recurring column for Grist, he explores the green job market and offers advice to eco-job-seekers looking to jumpstart their careers.

I have been working in the environmental consulting field for several years now. I must admit, I'm quite disillusioned due to clients who simply don't care about the environment. I turn away projects when I realize the goal is to use me to produce an assessment that removes their responsibility. When I explain that the data cannot be altered, many attempt to offer more money, but end up choosing to find another consultant. I want to return to why I entered this field in the beginning. I'm 40 years old now, and I need to make a change. Where does this idealist go from here?    -- Jacqueline M.

Is there something in the water, Gristers? Recent calls and emails are bringing plaintive cries from 40-something environmental professionals all over the country.

It's not only people like Jacqueline in the so-called "environmental industry." I'm hearing from federal, state, and local government employees, environmental officers at corporations, academics, and even a few activist types. Just this week at a pollution-prevention conference in Atlanta, I listened to a state government environmental leader declare flatly that the permitting work her team spent "thousands of hours on" was producing little or no additional benefit for people or the natural world. No one seemed shocked and appalled. No one suggested she was being too negative. Most everyone nodded and shrugged as if to say "tell me something I don't already know."

The message I'm getting is that many of the people who have been toiling in the greener part of the vineyard for years have begun to suspect that they may be part of a game -- one that's better at keeping expensive professionals gainfully employed than it is at creating a sustainable world.

Consulting With the Devil

Can you work as an environmental consultant without losing your soul? Jacqueline is a 40-year-old environmental consultant who’s disillusioned by all the pollutocrats asking her to fudge data. She wants […]