Nov 20 2009

The Green Seen

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

Time magazine's list of the "50 Best Inventions of 2009" is out with 10 green selections making the list. The top green invention at #3 is the Philips L Prize LED, a light-emitting diode bulb from Philips Electronics producing as much light as a 60-watt incandescent bulb using less than 10 watts and lasting 25 times as long. Other green innovations include an energy dashboard to measure home energy consumption and a Formula 3 race car running on a blend of chocolate and vegetable oil. The #1 invention? NASA's Ares 1 rocket to launch astronauts to the Moon and beyond.

Some online tips can help green your Thanksgiving next week: If turkey is your choice, pick out a USDA-certified organic free-range bird and also visit a local farmer's market for pumpkin, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, green beans and more. Buying locally grown produce reduces carbon emissions from long-haul delivery trucks. Guests should also bring reusable containers to share leftovers and scraps can go to the compost container. They can also make Thanksgiving a potluck with different side dishes. Happy Thanksgiving!

Death is going green, too. A "Green Funeral Fair" at a Berkeley church showed off eco-friendly exits such as burial shrouds and biodegradable wooden and cardboard coffins, straw crosses, and radio frequency tags to locate loved ones buried without tombstones. Some funeral homes in Canada are offering plant-based embalming fluids and urns made from 100 percent recycled materials. Promessa Organic, a company in Sweden, is working on a process to transform human remains into organic waste to support new life such as plants and insects.

© 2008 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms

"PG&E" refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.