Hey all you gamers out there: are you fed up with the way that the government tries to run your lives? Do you think that you could do it better? Are you upset that your elected representatives don’t have the proverbial “stones” to make the big decisions that our country needs to come together and make for a brighter future? More importantly, though including the previous questions, do you care about the environment? If you are the kind of person who would rather drive a Prius than a Ferrari, not eat red meat due to the methane emissions and never use the a/c even when it is 110 degrees out: there is a computer game for you.

Eco Tycoon: Project Green is sure to assist in the mental and micromanaging advancement of any young “go-getter” who craves the ability to alter the world. In Eco Tycoon: Project Green, the player gets to control the ecological and economic performance of a government. Everything from controlling the importation and exportation of oil and natural gas, to building more power stations to keep the economy afloat are a part of the game. Don’t forget about levying carbon taxes (even though methane, not carbon is the main contributor to global warming), and of course pushing public transportation upon your happy citizens. The player gets 7 advisers, each one the modern equivalent of a “czar” to offer advice about how best to run your government. Of course, the player need not listen to them and re-live the W. Bush era of ecological denial. If the player does want to pursue this frightening course of not listening to the “experts”, watch out because natural disasters like oil spills and tsunamis may be the results of your actions.

Nanawalls

Green technology is in its ascendancy due to a desire to clean up the planet. Consuming less natural resources and converting from brown to green energies are some of the most important topics in the political world today. Though many of us do not exist in the political world, we go to work and we come home every day. We all spend a large amount of time indoors, not in the nature that we are so desperate to protect. A company called Nanawall has created an innovative, green way to bring the nature to you, inside your home.

Using systems of large, folding glass walls, Nanawall allows its customers an unobstructed view of the outside world. Which, at any time can become part of the room should you desire the natural elements in your living space. Due to the folding nature of the Nanawall design, the outside world can either be kept at bay and viewed through the sliding or folding doors. Or, the doors can be opened up, letting the outside world inside the home.

Nanawalls products come in a variety of different framing options, including: wood, aluminum and aluminum clad. The products that Nanawall sells are NFRC/Energy Star certified, the wood framing options are made from Douglas Fir, Pine, Meranti, Spruce and American White Oak. All wood framing options are created with an eco-friendly water based pre-treatment. The aluminum frames are made from 50% recycled material, and come with an eco-friendly powder coated finish. In addition, Nanawall systems are known for their weather resistance with high marks in air infiltration and water penetration.

Due to numerous businesses “going green”, and many new buildings adhering to green standards, the question arises: just who regulates these standards and what are they? For those unfamiliar with the systems of deciding what is deemed a green building, one need look no further than the LEED.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system that provides third-party verification in all things that are tied to consumption, environmental quality and maintenance in the eco-friendly world. LEED purpose is to reward those buildings that meet certain green standards in many different fields.

There are 9 major areas that LEED factors into its verification system, the information on these areas that follows is taken directly from the U.S. Green Building Website and is not the work of the author of this article.

Sustainable Sites
Choosing a building’s site and managing that site during construction are important considerations for a project’s sustainability. The Sustainable Sites category discourages development on previously undeveloped land; minimizes a building’s impact on ecosystems and waterways; encourages regionally appropriate landscaping; rewards smart transportation choices; controls stormwater runoff; and reduces erosion, light pollution, heat island effect and construction-related pollution.

Water Efficiency
Buildings are major users of our potable water supply. The goal of the Water Efficiency credit category is to encourage smarter use of water, inside and out. Water reduction is typically achieved through more efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings inside and water-wise landscaping outside.

Energy & Atmosphere
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, buildings use 39% of the energy and 74% of the electricity produced each year in the United States. The Energy & Atmosphere category encourages a wide variety of energy strategies: commissioning; energy use monitoring; efficient design and construction; efficient appliances, systems and lighting; the use of renewable and clean sources of energy, generated on-site or off-site; and other innovative strategies.

Materials & Resources
During both the construction and operations phases, buildings generate a lot of waste and use a lot of materials and resources. This credit category encourages the selection of sustainably grown, harvested, produced and transported products and materials. It promotes the reduction of waste as well as reuse and recycling, and it takes into account the reduction of waste at a product’s source.

Indoor Environmental Quality
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans spend about 90% of their day indoors, where the air quality can be significantly worse than outside. The Indoor Environmental Quality credit category promotes strategies that can improve indoor air as well as providing access to natural daylight and views and improving acoustics.

Locations & Linkages
The LEED for Homes rating system recognizes that much of a home’s impact on the environment comes from where it is located and how it fits into its community. The Locations & Linkages credits encourage homes being built away from environmentally sensitive places and instead being built in infill, previously developed and other preferable sites. It rewards homes that are built near already-existing infrastructure, community resources and transit, and it encourages access to open space for walking, physical activity and time spent outdoors.

Awareness & Education
The LEED for Homes rating system acknowledges that a green home is only truly green if the people who live in it use the green features to maximum effect. The Awareness & Education credits encourage home builders and real estate professionals to provide homeowners, tenants and building managers with the education and tools they need to understand what makes their home green and how to make the most of those features.

Innovation in Design
The Innovation in Design credit category provides bonus points for projects that use new and innovative technologies and strategies to improve a building’s performance well beyond what is required by other LEED credits or in green building considerations that are not specifically addressed elsewhere in LEED. This credit category also rewards projects for including a LEED Accredited Professional on the team to ensure a holistic, integrated approach to the design and construction phase.

Regional Priority
USGBC’s regional councils, chapters and affiliates have identified the environmental concerns that are locally most important for every region of the country, and six LEED credits that address those local priorities were selected for each region. A project that earns a regional priority credit will earn one bonus point in addition to any points awarded for that credit. Up to four extra points can be earned in this way.

Honda Insight

For the consumer inclined to buy a hybrid automobile, there are several different options. Many of the main automotive manufactures have at least one hybrid in their lineup these days, in the hope to stay competitive with one another. These hybrids come in all different forms, but the most popular have been those that are mid-sized sedans. Easy to park, easy to look at, easy to drive, the sedan is the car for the every-person who needs to get from point A to point B. Within this sedan market there are many contenders, though the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight come out on top.

Comparing the two hybrids, it is not easy to see much difference. Both the Insight and the Prius look very similar, both styled with sloping lines and a few gentle curves. However once you look beyond the everyday exterior, the sedans are different. First and foremost is the price, the Insight sells for a base price of $19,800 while the Prius sells for $22,400 base. It would seem that the Insight is the better buy, due to the several thousand less than the Prius, however the Prius has been outselling the Insight nearly 6 to 1.

The reasons why?

Read on.

The Honda Insight generates 123 pounds of torque from between 1000 to 1700 rpm, while the Prius only manages 105 pounds of torque. The Prius however is the better in terms of displacement with 1789 cc, compared to the 1339 cc of the Insight. Both the Prius and the Insight utilize a 4 cylinder engine, along with an electric motor.

Toyota Prius

In terms of pure performance, neither the Prius nor Insight are going to turn heads or get the adrenaline pumping. Neither car was designed for such a purpose, so neither is wicked fast. The Prius does win the 0-60 mph test though, with a plod-along-time of 10.1 seconds. The Insight fared slightly worse with a time of 10.8 seconds, a time far from one that would gain respect in a quarter mile.
Both however are big on gas mileage, though the size of their gas tanks is not terribly large. The Prius comes equipped with a 11.9 gallon tank while the Insight rings in with a 10.6 gallon tank.

The most important figures are those revolving around gas milage, and the Prius wins this battle. The 3rd generation Prius gets an average of 50 miles to the gallon, a solid 9 more mpg than the Insight which gets 41.

In summation, the Prius has the advantage over the Insight in several categories. What does this mean to the buyer, or the reader of this article? In the end of all things, it is usually something small or mundane that captures the eye about the car, not the facts and figures. That being said, what really matters is the taste of the individual, and how much they are willing to part with to be a part of the “wave of the future” that is the hybrid automobile scene.

For many, an automobile is the 2nd most important investment after their homes. A car takes one to and from work, as well as on various other trips that can potentially lead to a great and fulfilling life. It is fair to say that the automobile has replaced the dog as man’s best friend, at least in terms of economical practicality.

Honda Insight

The question remains though, who buys hybrids? For many Americans the benefits of having a hybrid car do not outweigh the negatives of having such an auto. The amount of gas spent in a hybrid auto is certainly less (depending on driving style), but besides that, what do you really get? The amount of time it takes to get from 0-60 is often near to 10 seconds in most models, which doesn’t make a hybrid particularly practical for getting up to speed while entering the freeway. The initial cost of a hybrid is far higher than a normal internal combustion car, and the styling on hybrid cars is, without a doubt, some of the ugliest ever created. There are more benefits than previously stated, such as reduced emissions and other eco-friendly advertisement gold, but what does it all come down to? Is the hybrid car a luxury item, just like a fine bottle of wine (wine industry hurt by economic downturn), or perhaps taking a vacation (amount of traveling down due to economic downturn). The answer is, not surprisingly: yes.

The new Honda Insight Hybrid has failed to make any kind of significant dent in the hybrid market, and thus the general automobile market. When a car company tries to make a knock-off of a proven success, the chances of failure are quite high. This is the case with the Honda Insight, which clearly copied much of the Toyota Prius. This is lack of success is a bit surprising however, due to the fact that the Honda Insight is in the same echelon of ugliness as the Toyota Prius but costs $2,000 less than its rival. Yet, the Prius is still outselling the Insight nearly 6 to 1.

This strange development in the hybrid market has induced speculation as to how the General Motors Volt will fare. Due to its extreme amount of gas mileage (53 miles to the gallon), and its certain lack of driving pleasure it should capture a large portion of the hybrid market. Chevy is producing this car, which is set to cost about the same as a Toyota Prius, though it looks far better than the elongated excrement body styling that the Prius has relied on all these years.

Despite the hybrid market growing at a good clip, who is going to spend $32,000 on a car that doesn’t have a shred of performance, sex-appeal or jaw-dropping speed? More to the point, who is going to spend $32,000 on the Chevy Volt when they can spend $10,000 less on a brand new Camaro? Who is going to drive a car that gets 53 miles to the gallon for anything but the amount saved at the pump? The young crowd won’t go for it due to the initial price, the midlife crisis folks won’t go for it because it doesn’t induce any sort of adrenaline rush. Who will want to buy this car is all speculation at this point. But it’s not hard to guess that it will likely be eco-friendly folks with a lot of money who want to “help the environment”. Many hybrid drivers have an annual average income of over $100,000, making the hybrid market a niche one, based solely upon this diminishing economic group. The question of who would buy the Volt having been answered, when are the car companies going to make a hybrid that all of us can afford and actually want to buy? The clock is ticking.

First Solar, one of the premier solar power companies has taken a few hits lately. One of their most recent issues has led to the stopping of one of their projects in Colorado, United States. In Colorado, First Solar was to build a 150 Mega-watt solar facility in the high desert of the San Luis Valley. This project however, has been stopped before it could make any kind of impact. Due to concerns about completing solar facilities that are of a higher priority, First Solar is switching their focus. The company would rather work on creating power in the near future as opposed to looking at a longer term strategy. Therefore, the 2,100 acre site in Colorado will not be built.

This is not the first blow to First Solar; recently they submitted a bid that was rejected around the Barstow area of California. These failures will result in 2.5 Giga-watts that will not make it into the California grid, a fair share of power. As a result of these missed opportunities and rejected bids, the price of First Solar has remained in flux. After the Colorado pull-out, the price of First Solar stock (FSLR.O) dropped a percentage point.

First Solar is having to battle against an electricity market that has been relying on brown energy sources for centuries, making it hard for renewable energy to truly make an impact. With only around 3% of the entire U.S. grid powered by renewable energy, there is a long way to go in creating a more sustainable future. With the way politics control and regulate the energy markets though, this low percentage may have a hard time becoming respectable.

Sony Greenheart

Sony has announced two more cellular phones in its line of eco-friendly phones, also known as the Greenheart line of phones. The names of these phones are, quite fittingly, Elm and Hazel. Each phone offers the basics, a 2+ inch screen, keys and a 5 megapixel camera that has the capacity to record video. Sony has integrated several features involving Google, such as the search function and Google Maps along with several more useful apps. Both phones also are able to access myspace, facebook and twitter, which is a must for the under 40 crowd. There are a whole range of additional features, but the features aren’t what make the phone “green”.

Both phones are made from recycled plastic, to cut down on the consumption of petroleum. Instead of receiving a thick manual that is likely to remain unread for the duration that one has their phone, in both phones there is an e-manual to reduce paper consumption. There are no hazardous chemicals used in the making of the Elm and Hazel, and both utilize a low-power charger to cut down on the costs of electricity when more battery power is needed. One of the most user friendly innovations has actually been to take away from the phone, in this case in the form of the excessive packaging usually associated with cellular devices.

Both phones will be available in the first quarter of 2010.

The recycling of electronics is slowly becoming big business. There are companies that withdraw the gold from computer processors, while others reuse different elements of our day-to-day electronics, turning them into new products that we all must have. This holiday season, Goodwill and Dell Computers are making it easy for consumers to recycle their unwanted electronic equipment. With 1,900 Goodwill stores participating in the Reconnect donation program. The Reconnect program allows consumers to recycle their products at little or no cost, proving an effective and cheap way to get rid of old electronic devices.

The Reconnect program began in Austin, Texas in 2004 and is celebrating its fifth year in operation. The Reconnect program, from that time has diverted more than 96 million pounds of electronic waste from landfills across the country. In addition, the Reconnect program has created 250 green jobs, which involve disassembling and remove components.

The participants of the Reconnect program receive a tax receipt regardless of the brand or condition of the electronic device. Donated equipment that meets a certain criteria may be re-sold while devices in need of repair may be refurbished, or simply broken down. For those who are looking to get a tax write-off while buying new electronic devices this year, the Reconnect program offers a great way to be a consumer as well as to be kind to the environment.

Global warming is on the tip of every tongue in many countries today. It is synonymous with Co2 emissions, and how our planet is gradually heating up. Many scientists are focusing on the problem and possible solutions that may lead to a decrease, or eventual halt in human created global warming. These solutions have come in the forms of renewable energies, as well as more environmentally products and structures.

One of the ways to reduce global warming is however, getting far less notice than those driven by human innovation. One of these ways, involves the rain forests of the world. Rain forests, and trees in general provide our world with a valuable resource in cleaning the air of Co2. To lower emissions, the protection of our rain forests must occur. These rain forests could potentially lower the amount of Co2 emissions by 20%, and if they were to grow unhindered by the wants and needs of humanity, that percentage could grow to become even larger.

However, due to deforestation, this number may never be realized. With Brazil and Indonesia leading the way in hectares of land cleared per year, the issue needs to be addressed now. As not only do rain forests aid in carbon capture and storage, they also help to create stable rainfall patterns. These stable patterns help correct the problems raised by global warming and the affects it has on our weather systems. Intense and extreme weather is lessened due to these more stable patterns, which aid in keeping the earths ecosystem balanced. With deforestation occurring from between 8-15 million hectares a year, the issue of global warming and deforestation must be raised soon if positive action in this regard is to occur.

In one of the largest growing markets in the world, the potential for green industry is huge. This is no surprise, as many things in China are huge. The country, the amount of people, and more recently a booming marketplace are what define the nation of China. With a rapidly growing global reach, and a massive amount of growth potential, many are looking to China for new and exciting markets.

It only seems natural that there would be a large possibility of having an expansive green marketplace. The projected eco-friendly potential in China is seen as upwards of 1 trillion dollars annually. Due to the still developing nature of China, this number could potentially grow as the Chinese economy grows. Large investments in China have continued a trend that has occurred recently. Many companies and corporations are looking to expand their businesses to nations such as India and China, due to the large population base and thus a large possibility for profit.

A week ago, Siemens signed over 100 million dollars worth of contracts in China. Siemens, the company known for coal and nuclear power has begun to rapidly expand their potential to create green products. Their revenue from these green ventures and products has become a large part of their business. Despite the global recession that has adversely affected industry this last year, it is hoped that the worst is now over and a rebound to prosperous times can begin again. Siemens is trying to harness this rebound with the hopes that their large-scale investments in China will pay off for them in the future.