Climate Technology

Criminal Negligee-nce

Protests target Victoria’s Secret, call for protection of boreal forest Activists took to the streets in more than 100 North American cities yesterday to protest logging of the continent’s boreal […]

Could chain stores actually be good for the environment?

To some environmentalists, the shoppers of the world have nothing to lose but their chains. If only people stopped spending at these awful big-box stores, the thinking goes, the earth […]

VW goes lithium

I must admit, I enjoy watching Volkswagen TV commercials. They're hip ("Independence Day"), funny ("Airport"), sometimes innovative ("Squares") and sometimes weird ("Sardines"). But I've often wondered when VW will seriously enter the hybrid market.

According to Wired's Autopia blog, maybe soon:

Volkswagen is exploring using lithium ion batteries in future hybrid vehicles. The German automaker is working with Hybrid Technologies to develop a concept vehicle in North Carolina. Hybrid Technologies is currently working on hybrid Smart Cars for Europe with lithium batteries instead of the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in today's hybrids.

In September VW said it would begin building hybrid Touran cars in China with Shanghai Automotive. Speaking of China, GM recently agreed to work with SAIC Motor Company on producing low-cost hybrids for the world's third largest auto market.

Volkswagen has been late to the game, but I'm still holding out hope for a hybrid Golf TDI that will get around 70 mpg.

Me, I'm simply looking forward to the first VW hybrid commercial.

Get your company to clean up its janitorial act

Three years ago, the National Geographic Society’s director of general services wanted to clean up his cleaning operations. Bob Cline launched an investigation into the impacts of maintaining the society’s […]

Fallen Idles

Electrified truck stops let tired drivers turn off their diesel engines Long-haul trucking, however much our economy depends on it, is an environmental nightmare. For one thing, there’s all the […]

A Journey of a Gazillion Miles Begins With a Single Inch

Wal-Mart declares it’s going green After months of scattered signs — green-built Supercenters in Texas and Colorado, a program to conserve thousands of acres of land through The Nature Conservancy […]

Exhaust in Translation

Green cars all the rage at Tokyo Motor Show The most buzzworthy attractions this week at the 39th Tokyo Motor Show weren’t the biggest or the most powerful but the […]

Ford’s green guru discusses cars, climate, and time-warp activism

Last month, Ford Motor Co. CEO Bill Ford laid out a new vision to turn his company into a leader in technological innovation and, just perhaps, an environmental performance champion […]

The Melting Plot

Thawing Arctic opens new competition for northern territory, resources The melting of the Arctic ice cap is bad news for polar bears, seals, some Arctic natives, and, oh yeah, possibly […]

Sport Futility Vehicles

SUV sales take a dive as gas prices ascend It seems America is suffering from some shrinkage. SUV sales plummeted in September, compared to the same period last year. Ford […]