Ariel Schwartz

No one can deny that McDonald's food service is fast, but up until now it hasn't been very energy efficient.

The company's 32,000 stores spend a whopping $1.5 billion each year on cooking, lighting, heating and cooling.

With some help from Engenuity Systems, Inc., McDonald's expects to cut energy costs by 13.6 percent. Engenuity will install devices to turn off lights at certain times of day and when buildings are empty, as well as air conditioning and heating equipment that monitors temperatures and controls.

Each store location will also be able to set start and stop times for its equipment, so the sundae machines won't automatically turn on at...

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A variety of industries have been racing to eliminate toxic substances from their products, and the t-shirt screen printing business is no exception.

California entrepreneurs Peter Imai and David Whitaker have taken advantage of this trend by creating Ecoprintworks.com, a site that sells toxin-free t-shirts.

Most t-shirts use PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic-based ink— a dangerous proposition since PVC is known to cause everything from immune system suppression to cancer. Ecoprintworks.com, however, uses a 100 percent water-base, solvent-free ink called Permaset Aqua. In addition to being toxin-free, Imai and Whitaker claim that Permaset Aqua is more...

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Of the 35,000 dry cleaners in the United States, only 35 use toxin-free carbon dioxide cleaning methods. A Seattle startup called Blue Sky Cleaners is aiming to grow that number.

Most dry cleaners use a cancer-causing chemical called perchloroethylene that often ends up in public water supplies. But Blue Sky Cleaners uses a carbon dioxide cleaning process that actually yields better results than traditional methods.

Fortunately for Seattle-area consumers, Blue Sky recently expanded its operations and bought Four Seasons Cleaners, a company that owns two retail locations.

As a result of its purchase, Blue Sky is now in competition with some of the biggest...

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Toshiba has big plans for its rapid charge SciB (Super Charge ion Battery) battery in the new year.

Due to an anticipated surge in demand for automotive and industrial applications, the company is constructing a second SCiB production facility in the fall of 2009.

The new facility will most likely be in Kashiwazak, Japan. The city is attempting to become a model "EV and plug-in hybrid town", and offers a substantial subsidy program.

Toshiba's SCiB battery was released in April 2008. It features a charge-discharge capacity of over 6,000 cycles, a high safety profile, and the ability to recharge almost completely in 5 minutes. 

The SCiB battery isn't the...

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New Yorkers who only skim their electric bills probably don't notice that it contains a charge for something called SBC/RPS. And why would they? The Systems Benefits Charge only averages out to $1.08 per month for most New York City residents.

But all that pocket change adds up. The Systems Benefits Charge, which was introduced 11 years ago in order to reduce electric grid strain and environmental damage, will rake in $350 million this year.

Last year, the SBC brought in only $178 million. The expansion of funds is due to an increase in the SBC portion earlier this year from .18 cents per kilowatt to .30 cents.

The SBC has financed an array of projects since its...

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The western Negev's Kibbutz Reim will soon receive the distinction of being the first Israeli community to rely entirely on solar energy as a result of an installation project with the firm Sunday Solar.

Sunday Solar's installation in Kibbutz Reim is part of the company's two-year plan to invest NIS 500 million ($133 million) in solar arrays for kibbutzim.

At Kibbutz Reim, solar panels are to be placed on top of all 130 rooftops of the community, and excess energy will be sold back to the Israel Electric Company.

During peak production, the system is expected to be able to produce over 2.5 megawatts per hour.

Kibbutz Reim's panels are expected to be installed...

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In a move that has angered environmental activists, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has ceased issuing fines against Indiana state agencies that violate environmental permits.

Instead, the agency is using legal settlements, or "agreed orders", to take care of issues.

However, these agreed orders carry no risk of fines or other penalties, so there is no incentive for agencies to stop violating their permits.

The Indiana Department of Transportation, for example, violated wastewater permits over 550 times by releasing ammonia into streams. INDOT's agreed order stated that it had to close certain treatment plants and send wastewater to a public...

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This spring, San Francisco International Airport will allow fliers to feel better about their gas-guzzling plane trips with certified carbon offsets available at airport kiosks.

The program will be jointly led by SFO and 3Degrees, a firm that sells renewable energy and carbon reduction investments. Thus far, SFO has invested $16,000 in the kiosks.

According to airport officials, the carbon offset kiosks will allow passengers to input a destination into a computer that calculates both the trip's carbon footprint and the investment necessary to offset it. A credit card swipe will let travelers erase their guilt, and a printed receipt will act as proof of the good...

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