Finalists were just announced for the California Cleantech Open, an influential national contest to pair emerging projects in need of financing with those valuable dollars. And the ideas to come out of it are, as always, intriguing.

Treehugger.com has the complete rundown, worth perusing for the scope of fascinating ideas. One worth pausing to think about is Micromidas, a Californian startup that aims to convert the carbon in organic wastewater into bio-plastics that can be used just like conventional plastics.

The company claims that “by applying a naturally occuring microbial phenomena, we convert the carbon in organic wastewater into polyhydroxylalkanoate (PHA), a family of high-performance, highly marketable biodegradable plastics. Our process consumes carbon and other nutrients from the waste stream that would have to undergo costly processes such as incineration or chemical treatment.”

The winner of the contest will be announced on November 17th, but each of the six finalists has already won a prize worth $100,000.

Mesa, Arizona, is the 1,000th city to sign the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ climate change agreement. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels brought the idea to the conference in 2005. Nickels is now president of the mayor’s group—members are meeting in Seattle this week to talk about climate protection and the recession.

The agreement is an effort to meet the international Kyoto Protocols for reducing greenhouse gases. The mayors who have signed on represent more than 86 million Americans. Nickels will lead a delegation of U.S. mayors to a global climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa, Ariz., said Friday that not all the mayors agree on how to deal with climate change but they do have a common goal of responsible environmental stewardship.

For more on the agreement, see the website for the Council of Mayors.

Can a lifestyle double as college credit, even a certificate?

The University of Iowa is offering a certificate in sustainability this fall, and one person has signed up so far.

But recent UI graduate Eric Holthaus has dedicated his job, apartment, and habits to being environmentally friendly.

“The idea is being aware and learning a formalized way to show a lifestyle,” said Holthaus.

He is an intern in the UI Office of Sustainability, created last December as an effort to bring green to a solidly black-and-gold campus.

On July 10, Holthaus manned a table at the information fair at freshman Orientation.

Approximately 40 students signed up, expressing interest in the new certificate. Only one person enrolled, but Holthaus said the program is valuable to students in all majors.
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There were many successes throughout my month of green living. My compost pile, above, was not one of them. Photo by Andy Kroll

So this is it. My final post for “Going Green: Cutting Environmental Impact on Campus,” this fascinating, frustrating, peculiar, enjoyable and enlightening month-long project to live as sustainably and “green” as possible.

No more blogging and writing and filming about solar-powered vibrators or Zipcars or “green” grocery shopping or unsatisfying Wendy’s salads or phantom energy. (At least for UWireGreen.com) In that sense, this post is an ending of sorts.

But it’s a beginning, too. The question I’ve been asked most often by friends, family and other journalists is whether I’ll keep up with my new green lifestyle.

To be honest, I didn’t think twice in responding. With all this knowledge about sustainability and eco-friendly consumption, I fully intend to keep living as “green” as I can from now on.

I may not be writing about it (as much), but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave all of my appliances plugged in, indulge in 30-minute showers and eat steaks and pork each night of the week. Read More…

The Chevy Volt: the great hope for the future—and viability—of General Motors. Photo courtesy of General Motors.

Last summer’s record spike in oil prices, which shot gas prices up to $4 a gallon or more, may have subsided for now, but the memory of painful prices at the pump still resonates with consumers and automakers.

Add to that the rising tide of legislators, policymakers and environmentalists calling for cleaner cars on the road, and the result is the one of the largest pushes for increased fuel efficiency in U.S. history.

The gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks that once ruled the road during the era of cheap gas are now looked at with derision. In their place are smaller, more efficient compacts and mid-size vehicles like the Chevy Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

Emerging technologies like hybrid engines, combining electric power with combustion engines, advance fuel efficiency technologies even further, as seen in Toyota’s Prius (the “icon of green automobiles,” according to U.S. News and World Report), or Ford’s upcoming Fusion Hybrid model.

At the federal government level, vastly improved fuel efficiency is a priority, as seen in legislation passed by Congress in 2007 mandating that fuel efficiency for cars and trucks meet or exceed 35 mpg by 2020.

On Friday, the Department of Transportation announced that the combined fuel efficiency of 2011 model cars and trucks must be 27.3 mpg, a 2 mpg jump from the existing standard.

“These standards are important steps in the nation’s quest to achieve energy independence and bring more fuel efficient vehicles to American families,” transportation secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. Read More…