Commuting could take on a whole new meaning with the Safe Road Trains for the Environment (SARTRE) research project funded by the European Commission.

The project, based on the concept of linking vehicles together using wireless sensors, is aimed at finding an inexpensive and environmentally friendly way of getting cars to travel together, convoy style.

The way to do this, according to project SARTRE, is to create road trains of up to eight separate vehicles – cars, buses, and trucks – which has the potential not only to reduce fuel consumption, but also improve …

Tags: carbon emissions , carbon emissions reduction , fuel consumption , reduce fuel consumption , road trains , Safe Road Trains for the Environment , SARTRE

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A new study has found that the American health care sector accounts for 8 percent of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The study, conducted by University of Chicago researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, measured how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases the health care industries (hospitals, scientific research, pharmaceuticals, etc) released. It is the first-of-its-kind calculation of health care’s carbon footprint.

Using the environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIOLCA) model of environmental impact developed by the Green Design Institute at Carnegie-Mellon …

Tags: carbon emissions , carbon footprints , green hospitals , health care , hospitals , pharmaceuticals

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Anyone who subscribes the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) philosophy will appreciate the results of this new study recently completed by Thomas Dietz and his colleagues at Michigan State University.

In a first of its kind study, the researchers examined the potential emissions reduction (PER) of 17 well-known energy saving actions that individuals already do or could do without any major lifestyle disruption and minimal to little damage to the wallet.

What they found was that if these 17 simple household actions were universally adopted by Americans, US carbon emissions could …

Tags: carbon emission reduction , carbon emissions , green actions , green living , household actions to reduce carbon emissions , reducing carbon emissions

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Buying food really was a whole lot easier a hundred years ago. There was less choice, the food was usually homegrown or locally grown, and there was little in the way of additives and preservatives. Plus, the shoppers back then didn’t have to read the food labels to find out how many nutrients, calories or fat content a product contained.

Today’s shopper, on the other hand, is spoilt for choice. But along with the choice come responsibilities and obstacles – the 100 mile rule, organic vs. non-organic, food labels, sugar …

Tags: carbon emissions , food and environment , food guidelines , food labels , food's carbon footprint , Sweden

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Cats and dogs are the latest animals to fall under the microscope of green living with a new book called “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.” Written by two New Zealand architects specializing in sustainable living, this provocative book is bound to stir people up.

The authors, Robert and Brenda Vale, claim that these popular house pets use up more energy resources a year than driving a car. According to their calculations, published in New Scientist, …

Tags: carbon emissions , carbon footprint , cats and dogs , eco pawprint , global warming , pets and global warming

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It could happen. It’s already being (re)considered in the UK. In 2004, the then British Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, floated a “green tax” idea that would have motorists paying a road user tax of around  2p to £1.50 a mile, depending on time of day and levels of congestion.

But this road pricing scheme never really stood a chance. Almost 2 million Brits signed a petition against the green tax and as a result it was shelved.

Now a new report by the Committee on Climate Change, an …

Tags: britain , carbon emissions , Committee of Climate Change , eco-driving , green tax , road pricing scheme , road user tax

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I don’t know if it’s irony or hypocrisy that best describes that fact that Prince Charles is heading to South America next month to focus on environmental sustainability and climate change issues but is getting there on a private jet, leaving a massive 322 ton carbon footprint. I’m going to go with hypocrisy. Perhaps the Prince should consider leaving some of his 14-person entourage behind and just hopping on an ordinary plane like the rest of us.

Apparently the Prince does plan on offsetting his carbon emissions. But …

Tags: carbon emissions , celebrities , ethics , going green , greenwash , hypocrisy , Prince Charles

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