Photo credit: Peakware

We already know that glaciers in South America, the Arctic, the Himalayas and East Africa are melting at a swift clip. Now we have some news from Mexico. At a recent meeting of Latin American climate scientists, geophysicist Hugo Delgado of Mexico's National Autonomous University presented data showing that the glaciers atop the Iztaccíhuatl and Pico de Orizaba volcanoes in Central Mexico will disappear in the next 10 to 35 years due to global warming. Delgado predicts that Iztaccíhuatl glacier will be gone in 15 to 20 years, while Pico de Orizaba (the highest peak in Mexico) may last for 35 years. In 1999, Delgado's study showed that the glacier at Iztaccíhuatl had a depth of 70 meters.

You probably have heard the news that Barack Obama will have two more top notch scientists who have advocated for strong limits on greenhouse gas emissions on his team: Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and physicist/environmental policy expert John Holdren of Harvard and the Woods Hole Research Center to be Assistant to the President for Science and Technology.

The choices have been widely hailed, but what really stands out to me is the way in which Holdren has described current climate change policy as like, “being in a car with bad brakes driving towards a cliff in the fog.” (LA Times)

Here’s more of what Holdren has said about climate change that gives me some hope that the issue will be taken seriously at the highest levels of US government:

Photo via Good Clean Tech

Looks like there are going to be greener ways to charge up AA and AAA batteries, and it's not just a concept.

Energizer is going to debut a solar powered battery charger at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show.

Recent Comment by energyguy : "Nice to see this stuff go mainstream. How long in the sun does it take to charge the ba..." [read]

Not the solar powered ship itself, but a car carrier from Nippon Yusen KK, who developed the ship. Photo: NYK

Although it’s being billed as Japan’s first solar powered cargo ship the amount of renewable energy onboard is so small that I frankly find it laughable. Although the Auriga Leader, a freighter capable of carrying 6,400 automobiles, does have 328 solar panels on board they produce only 40 kilowatts of power, a figure which is a mere 0.2% of the ships overall energy usage. Here are some more details:

We write often how LEDs will change the way we look at lighting; how we will build them into the fabric of our houses, and how they will change the way we use light. Here is one of the first transformational ideas that show where they might be going. The Philips LivingColors lamp has four LEDs (two red, one each blue and green) that can be mixed and adjusted with a hand-held wireless colour wheel. You can adjust spectrum, saturation and intensity. It draws 50 watts max and is projected to last ten years.

You could maintain a guest room, or you could have Stay at my Home, designed by Nichole Lehner and Luzia Kälin of Designasyl, who write:

In our opinion, hospitality is a very important virtue. "stay at my home" is a series of objects for the good host. It enables him to install a comfortable overnight stay for his guest.

Photo via Clearly Ambiguous

The Smart Meter industry is really taking off. That means tech firms that want to solidify contracts in the UK are starting to have to duke it out.

An (expected) upcoming mandate will require a smart meter to be installed in every British home, so the tech companies involved in the industry now have the need to begin talks about the resulting run on contracts.

Richard Frankland of Manchester's FKDA has developed a small but complete little housing unit that is much more than a shed.

"The idea of creating such a small living environment came from the growing reports of people being forced from their homes unable to make their current mortgage payments, and turning to living with family, in garden sheds and even in cars."