Is the nascent LED market already going through a consolidation phase?

Lamina Lighting, a seven-year old LED lighting company, on Tuesday said that it is selling its assets to Lighting Science Group Corporation (LSG), which makes customized LED lighting fixtures.

Lighting Science Group is paying $4.5 million in cash …

Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors, USA

Well, we have good news and bad news. The bad news is that a Tesla Roadster, number six it seems, has been crashed in San Francisco. The good news is that the machine is likely not totaled and its battery pack is undamaged. So, the owner of the car hopefully won't need to go too long without his black beauty. According to eye-witnesses at the scene, the Roadster went rather unnoticed due to its silent operation, which may (or may not, who knows?) have contributed to the accident. This is the first customer car to be involved in an accident, though you may recall that Founders Series car number two, which was to be handed over to Martin Eberhard, was damaged in transit to its new owner. Fortunately, that car was also repaired and has now been delivered.

Though the airbags did not deploy, the unfortunate Roadster was wedged underneath a Mercedes-Benz in front after being rear-ended by a Toyota Camry. The police report has yet to be seen, so we have no idea who was at fault. Thanks to all who sent this in!

[Source: Hey.com - photo: Alex Volkov]

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How can a mahogany desk, made of slow-growing hard wood plundered from the Amazon, be eco-friendly?

When it’s re-used.

A guest post from Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh

original news source

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Toyota, USA

Plug-In Supply has just released its new $4995 kit which converts your 2004-2008 Prius into a Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV). Because the system is based on the Cal Cars reference design and uses lead-acid batteries as opposed to the more expensive lithium or nickel-based batteries, this new kit is cheaper than many other PHEV conversion options. According to Plug-In Supply, the kit will allow your Prius to operate in electric-only mode for up to fifteen miles and at speeds of up to fifty-two miles per hour. Getting 15 miles out of a lead acid pack will be a real stretch given that Toyota is only getting eight with a NiMH pack in its prototype PHEV Priuses. Getting a Prius up to 52 mph on batteries will also take a long time with the size of the electric motor used and all of this will absolutely, possitively void any warranty you may have left. The lead-acid batteries which help make this new kit relatively affordable aren't likely to last the life of the vehicle. Therefore, the pack has been designed to be upgradeable to lithium batteries in the future. Due to the 360-pound weight of the included battery pack, heavy-duty springs have also been made available for the rear of the Prius.

While it still may not make sound economic sense, this kit proves that the costs associated with creating PHEVs is going down. Those living in California, though, might be hard-pressed to purchase a kit such as this if CARB passes its new regulations, as kits using lead-acid batteries may find it rather difficult to meet some of the proposed requirements.

[Source: Plug-In Supply]

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Filed under: Alternative Energy

This is one of those topics that I feel strongly about, yet I'm not exactly in the position to stretch the ole budget. We've talked about it before with gas prices, and we've seen it in action. If the price raises to the point where buying gas is not practical, we seek alternatives. This is called progress. Yet, does the same hold true for the energy that powers our homes?

Of course this isn't a cut-and-dry method of determination. According to a recent study at WorldChanging.com, price definitely affects usage, yet price and consumption aren't perfectly correlated. There are many factors to consider here, such as climate, building size and type, but it is clear that when faced with higher energy prices in general, consumers will opt to save where they can. Despite the fact that budgeting for higher energy prices is not something anyone would look forward to, I consider it a necessity in the journey to much lower consumption.

 

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Brian Cooley looks at a pavilion full of electric cars at the 2008 British International Motor Show. He checks out a Gem, a G-Wiz, a Smart concept, a Think, and a Nice.

Filed under: Health, Movies, TV and Books, Fitness

I take it all back, Beijing was a great choice to host this year's Olympics. Preparations for the Summer Games don't usually produce much newsworthy material -- heck, sometimes the entire event goes over with a big yawn. In stark contrast, the buildup to this year's games has been a hotbed of stories that draw our attention to the environmental degradation that Beijing is working to hide.

With only 10 days left to prepare and almost all of the options already exercised, Beijing's air quality is still so bad that it looks like many Olympians will be wearing anti-pollution masks. While I doubt that highlighting the state of China's environment was the goal behind awarding Beijing the Olympics in 2001, the choice has definitely put all sorts of political and environmental concerns at the center of the world stage.

One of the most fascinating things about Beijing's situation is the fact that most of us probably believed that the government would be able to clean it up by now. Sure, I write about the irreversible doom and gloom of climate change almost everyday, but even I assumed that Beijing would be able to reverse centuries of degradation in a couple of months.

Now, just 10 days from the opening ceremony, it seems that all the air pollution measures might not be enough. How far is Greyjing willing to go in order to avoid embarrassment for the next couple of weeks? Will the government actually shut down even more industry for the remainder of the Olympics?

Here's a rundown on what they've already done to curb the smog: shut down polluting factories all over the region, taking 3.3 million cars off the road with license plate restrictions, and halted almost all construction. According to the China Daily:

"More vehicles could go off the roads and all construction sites and some more factories in Beijing and its neighboring areas could be closed temporarily if the capital's air quality deteriorates during the Olympic Games,"

 

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Filed under: Hybrid, Honda

Looking like a cross between the FCX Clarity fuel cell car and the Toyota Prius, Honda's upcoming dedicated hybrid model should come in at a cost a bit lower than current hybrid models. Part of that lower price is due to the fact that Honda has literally cut the cost of its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) technology in half when compared to the system currently being used in the Civic Hybrid. Apparently, Honda's engineers have managed to simplify the IMA's complicated mechanicals, making it smaller and easier to package in the process.

All of these detail changes add up to a new hybrid contender with an expected base price of just $18,580. Honda so far has had notably less success with its hybrids than rival Toyota, but much of that can be attributed to the fact that the original Insight could seat only two people and the Civic and Accord hybrid models differed too little from their non-hybrid siblings. All of these issues are being resolved with its newest hybrid, which has us awfully excited about the as-yet unnamed (we vote for Insight) Prius-fighter.


[Source: Nikkei]

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Filed under: Celebrities

Scandal! Celebrity watchers and Indiana Jones fans have probably heard that Shia LaBeouf was caught early yesterday morning driving under the influence (dude collided with another vehicle, flipped his truck and had to have two-hour hand surgery -- ouch!). But what's even more interesting is that LaBeouf was caught -- at three in the morning, drunk -- with his sexy co-star from Transformers 2, Isabel Lucas.

So why should you care? For starters, Lucas is dating Adrian Grenier, so it's a little odd that she'd be partying with some other guy until all hours of the morning. But what's worse is that Lucas and Grenier are Hollywood's eco-power couple, as both of them are high-profile activists against climate change, whale hunting, fur, etc. So, this little LaBeouf indiscretion is not only bad for their relationship, but also bad for the planet.

Shia, you homewrecker. You should be ashamed!

 

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Filed under: Celebrities

The Obama family is looking for a family dog, and PETA's got a message for them: Adopt! Back in early July, ecorazzi reported that the American Kennel Club (AKC) was holding a contest to help pick a purebred dog for the Obamas. Barack Obama has promised his daughters that they can get a dog after the presidential election is over.

Now PETA has sent the Obamas a letter asking them to consider adopting a mutt. PETA writes, "There is something deeply wrong and elitist about wanting only a purebred dog. Millions of Great American Mutts -- the dog that should be our national dog -- are set to die in our nation's extremely overcrowded pounds and shelters for lack of good homes."

While there is nothing wrong with a gorgeous purebreed like Barney, I think it would be awesome if the Obamas, regardless of which way the election winds blow, adopt a dog instead of buying one. According to Washington Whispers, the Obamas are considering the adoption idea.

For more information on finding a dog, cat or other creature to adopt, see Petfinder.com.

Crystal, shown above, is an Australian Shepherd, Appenzell Mountain Dog Mix, available for adoption at the Washington County SPCA in Oklahoma.

[Via ecorazzi]

 

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