Green tech

President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday said that building energy efficiency is central to his administration's economic recovery plan and outlined the conditions he intends to impose on ailing U.S. automakers. In his weekly radio address, whic...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Amory Lovins, a renowned author and big thinker on energy, specializes in making the impossible real. His 4,000-square-foot Colorado home has no furnace, uses a few dollars' worth of electricity a month, and features an indoor tr...

WASHINGTON--Amid an uncertain future for the U.S. auto giants, one of the most exciting products is the Chevy Volt, one of dozens of electric cars under development. General Motors showed off the 2011 Volt at the Electric Drive Transportation As...

Here's a sampling of green-tech news, with quick commentary: Energy Goals a Moving Target for States - The New York TimesGood reality check on the mixed record of utilities meeting renewable portfolio mandates. One advocate says the speed of adopt...

Tiny bits of toner wafting from laser printers can't be blamed for polluting indoor air, according to research released this week. In 2007, a study from Queensland University of Technology in Australia suggested that breathing toner particles from...

When it comes to European Union efforts toward a climate action plan, the devil, it turns out, is in the details. All of the member states of the EU are willing to commit their countries to draw 20 percent of their energy from renewable resources,...

(Credit: Virgin America) Virgin America announced Thursday it will offer customers the option to pay a voluntary fee when booking their ticket, which will go toward supporting carbon offset projects. The U.S. domestic airline based in California...

Editors note: This is part of a series of stories about the recession's effect on the tech industry. On paper, things couldn't be much better for Bruce Jamerson. As CEO of Mascoma, he runs an ethanol company staffed by brilliant scientists, wooed...

Makers of mobile phones produce few "green" models with biodegradable, recycled, or fully recyclable materials. And although most vendors offer recycling options, less than five percent of the world's handsets will be recycled ethically in the end,...

A variety of off-grid devices use the wind, the sun, or fuel cells to power up small electronics. But what if you could charge your cell phone just by talking into it, eliminating the need for batteries or cords? What if power cords and batteries...

The Better Place Rogue is an all-electric version of the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.(Credit: Better Place) Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Lin...

Web sites that promise to pay for your old gadgets look bright around the holidays, when every extra dollar can count toward new gifts or even utility bills. But are the services worthwhile? How much can you earn? We examined nine services that ...

Here's a sampling of green-tech news with quick commentary: Southern California Edison Completes First of its Major Commercial Rooftop Solar Installations - Press releaseSCE completes 150 solar installations, part of a plan to cover up to 2 squar...

Ford Motor made electric vehicles a centerpiece of a turnaround plan presented to Congress on Tuesday, saying that it will introduce an all-electric van for fleet use in 2010 and a sedan in 2011. The Big Three U.S. automakers are scheduled to ret...

Tesla Motors, a start-up focused on high-performance electric cars, appears to be in a bit of trouble. Although Tesla just raised an additional $40 million, it is asking for $400 million in low-interest loans from the federal government as part of...

President-elect Barack Obama's choice of James Jones as national security adviser brings a former general who advocates a comprehensive overhaul to U.S. energy policy in the name of national defense. Before being announced on Monday as part of t...

While millions of Americans watch the saga of the Big Three automakers pleading the federal government for a bailout, the finances of tiny electric car start-ups are coming under the microscope. The Irish Independent newspaper on Sunday reported-...

Retailers anticipate a bleak Black Friday. Yet, despite the economic downturn, many Americans are still cramming into malls in hopes of snagging the best and earliest holiday buys. Some consumers, on the other hand, will shun shopping and observe...

Big-box retailers are increasingly adding solar panels and wind turbines to sprawling stores to offset rising electricity costs and groom a "green" image. Last week, Wal-Mart Stores announced it will add wind power to 360 Texas outlets. The compa...

IBM has won two deals to supply IT gear and services for utilities' smart-grid energy-efficiency programs. Ohio-based American Electric Power on Tuesday said that it has chosen IBM to be the systems integrator for its gridSmart initiative, which ...

Poet in buyout talks with other ethanol producers - AP...

The Tesla Roadster is simple to drive, but very fast, with smoothly delivered torque.(Credit: CBS Interactive) Every automotive journalist who drives a Tesla comes away impressed with the car's power, and I can say the same after taking the car ...

Greenpeace said that electronics manufacturers are making progress on reducing toxic materials and waste, but not making bold enough moves to cut energy usage. The environmental watchdog on Monday published its 10th Guide to Greener Electronics, w...

So much has been written about Tesla Motors and its Roadster electric sports car that I fully expected a letdown. Tell you the truth, if I were personally shelling out $109,000 for one of these babies, I might be pickier about leg room or ...