Carbon dioxide from automobiles is a major contributor to global climate change. In "Virtual Rewards for Driving Green," Josh Pritchard proposes a computer application that will enable fuel-efficient drivers to earn "green" dollars with which to buy digital merchandise on the Web. Can getting items that exist only in cyberspace actually change a…

Climate change, energy price spikes, and concerns about energy security have reignited interest in state and local efforts to promote end-use energy efficiency, customer-sited renewable energy, and energy conservation. Government agencies and utilities have historically designed and administered such demand-side measures, but innovative…

The current worldwide concern over energy is primarily related to imported oil, oil drilling and refining capacity, and transportation capacity. However, this concern has bolstered interest in a broader range of "green" energy technologies. In this article, the author discusses the use of hydroelectricity as an alternative energy source…

Managers of university endowment funds are paying closer attention to investing in "green" industries, commonly bundled under the umbrella "cleantech." Cleantech offers the possibility of buying in while prices are low "and" making a "green" investment play, but it also harbors the risks inherent in any emerging industry. Cleantech has varying…

America's annual oil consumption continues to increase and is projected to continue the upward spiral into the foreseeable future. Alternative-fuel options are available that are not only cheaper in some cases on an energy-equivalent basis but are also more environmentally friendly. Education leaders need to be concerned with both these facts.…

The prospect of clean, well-paying jobs spurred by green development is attractive to many small Illinois towns. It is important for local leaders to understand this emerging sector of economic opportunity and implement policies that promote green jobs. Unfortunately, since the green movement is a new approach, there is a lot of misunderstanding…

How do children relate to and interact with their natural and built environments? What opportunities in science are schools and other groups offering children to help their environmental encounters to be a positive and healthy--even enjoyable--experience? These are questions raised by the concept of "environmental education"--the…

There is considerable interest in electric and hybrid cars because of environmental and climate change concerns, tougher fuel efficiency standards, and increasing dependence on imported oil. In this article, the author describes the history of electric vehicles in the automotive world and discusses the components of a hybrid electric vehicle.…

Purpose: This paper sets out to argue that the strategic implementation of technology is implicated in a range of crises or socio-economic disruptions, like peak oil, climate change and the rising environmental costs of energy consumption. It aims to argue that institutional technological implementation is contested, complex and should not be…

Everyone knows climate change is real, it's happening quickly, its risks are great, and it is not too late to do something about it. Indicative of change is the fact that as of early 2009 over 600 colleges and universities have pledged to achieve climate neutrality through the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Presidents…

Entering 2010 is a turning point in the debate on global climate change, in which the focus is rapidly moving from a scientific analysis of how human activity affects climate to a political discussion on how best to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so as to lessen the human and environmental toll of global climatic disruption. Policymakers…

Every building, from the smallest school to the tallest skyscraper, uses energy. This energy is most often generated by burning fossil fuels, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. Existing commercial buildings offer a significant opportunity for low-cost, immediate emissions and energy cost…

Consumers are constantly being presented with choices that have economic, environmental, and lifestyle/social dimensions. For example, is an energy-efficient hybrid car (with regenerative braking) a better choice than a regular petroleum-only vehicle when considered from all three dimensions? Surprisingly, although each and all of these dimensions…

Until recently, Australia had little installed wind capacity, although there had been many investigations into its potential during the preceding decades. Formerly, state-owned monopoly utilities showed only token interest in wind power and could dictate the terms of energy debates. This situation changed in the late 1990s: Installed wind capacity…

The Centre for Environment Education (CEE) added an Industry Initiative to its portfolio of more traditional environmental education programs in 1993. This article documents the start-up and evolution of that program and the ways that businesses and CEE have worked together for a sustainable future. A specific 18-month project, in which CEE and an…