Silicon Valley doesn’t just produce innovative web companies — it’s also a mecca for the green tech boom. Bloom Energy, which launches officially on Wednesday, has built a refrigerator-sized box that can power your whole house.

Bloom Energy has actually been operating for 8 years, raising $400 million in funding from VCs including Kleiner Perkins (investors in Netscape, Amazon, Google and others). Its “Bloom Box” houses fuel cells that run on oxygen plus natural gas, landfill gas, bio-gas or even solar.

The company’s first customer was Google, which has been powering a datacenter on 4 Bloom Boxes for 18 months. Google’s boxes run on natural gas. eBay is also a customer — the company has 5 Bloom Boxes in San Jose, which it says have saved $100,000 in energy costs over 9 months.

The Bloom Box got its first TV appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes tonight, which will no doubt drive interest in the launch. Look out for more news on Wednesday.

Evolv lists its ingredients in the following order: Natural Spring Water, Extracts of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa), Leaves and Stems, Milk Whey Protein, Bromelain (from Pineapple), Papain (from Papaya), Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Lactase and Cellulase.

Let’s take a look at each of these individually:

Natural Spring Water – Minerals become dissolved in the water as it moves through the underground rocks. This may give the water flavor and even carbon dioxide bubbles, depending on the nature of the geology through which it passes.

Extracts of Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa) Leaves and Stems – Alfalfa has been used as an herbal medicine for over 1,500 years. Alfalfa is high in protein, calcium, plus other minerals, vitamin A, vitamins in the B group, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.

In early Chinese medicines, physicians used young alfalfa leaves to treat disorders related to the digestive tract and the kidneys. In Hindu societies, ayurvedic physicians used the leaves for treating poor digestion. They made a cooling poultice from the seeds for boils. At the time, alfalfa was also believed to be helpful towards people suffering from arthritis and water retention.

It is used in homeopathic preparations worldwide. Today, alfalfa is suggested by homeopaths for treating anemia, diabetes, to extend appetite and contribute towards weight gain, as a diuretic for increased urination, for indigestion and bladder disorders, and can also be used as an estrogen replacement in order to increase breast milk and to mitigate premenstrual syndrome, a dietary supplement, to lower blood cholestrol levels, and to lower the chances of severe heart conditions. However, claims of homeopathy’s efficacy beyond the placebo effect are unsupported by the collective weight of scientific and clinical evidence.

Milk Whey Protein – Whey protein is a mixture of globular proteins isolated from whey, the liquid material created as a by-product of cheese production. Some preclinical studies in rodents have suggested that whey protein may influence glutathione production and possess anti-inflammatory or anti-cancer properties; however, human data are lacking.  The effects of whey protein on human health are of great interest and this protein mixture is being investigated as a way of reducing disease risk, or as a supplementary treatment for several diseases.  Whey protein is commonly marketed and ingested as a dietary supplement, and various health claims have been attributed to it in the alternative medicine community.

Bromelain (from Pineapple) – Bromelain can refer to one of two protease enzymes extracted from the plant family Bromeliaceae, or it can refer to a combination of those enzymes along with other compounds produced in an extract.

Bromelain extract is a mixture of sulfur-containing protein-digesting enzymes—called proteolytic enzymes or proteases—and several other substances in smaller quantities.

Bromelain has a number of medical uses. It was first introduced in this area in 1957, and works by blocking some proinflammatory metabolites that accelerate and worsen the inflammatory process. In vitro research has shown that bromelain decreases migration of neutrophils to sites of acute inflammation, and in vivo bromelain has generated a 50-85% reduction in neutrophil migration. It is an anti-inflammatory agent, and so can be used for sports injury, trauma, arthritis, and other kinds of swelling. Its main uses are treatment of athletic injuries, digestive problems, phlebitis, sinusitis, and aiding healing after surgery. Doses of 200 mg have proven to be an efficacious alternative to NSAIDS.

It has also been proposed for the treatment of arthritis, chronic venous insufficiency, easy bruising, gout, hemorrhoids, menstrual pain, autoimmune disorders, and ulcerative colitis.

Studies have shown that bromelain can also be useful in the reduction of platelet clumping and blood clots in the bloodstream, especially in the arteries.

Bromelain supplementation may increase heart rate; care should be used by those with heart disease.

Papain (from Papaya) – Papain is a cysteine protease (EC 3.4.22.2) enzyme present in papaya (Carica papaya) and mountain papaya (Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis).

It consists of 212 amino acids stabilised by 3 disulfide bridges. Its 3D structure consists of 2 distinct structural domains with a cleft between them. This cleft contains the active site, which contains a catalytic triad that has been likened to that of chymotrypsin. Its catalytic triad is made up of 3 amino acids – cysteine-25 (from which it gets its classification), histidine-159, and asparagine-158.

Protease – A protease (or proteinase) breaks down proteins. A protease is any enzyme that conducts proteolysis, that is, begins protein catabolism by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain forming the protein.

Amylase – An amylase is an enzyme that breaks starch down into sugar. Amylase is present in human saliva, where it begins the chemical process of digestion. Foods that contain much starch but little sugar, such as rice and potato, taste slightly sweet as they are chewed because amylase turns some of their starch into sugar in the mouth. The pancreas also makes amylase (alpha amylase) to hydrolyse dietary starch into di- and trisaccharides which are converted by other enzymes to glucose to supply the body with energy. Plants and some bacteria also produce amylase. As diastase, amylase was the first enzyme to be discovered and isolated (by Anselme Payen in 1833).  Specific amylase proteins are designated by different Greek letters. All amylases are glycoside hydrolases and act on α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. It will start to denature at around 60C.

Lipase – A lipase is a soluble enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of ester bonds in water–insoluble, lipid substrates.  Lipases thus comprise a subclass of the esterases.

Lipases perform essential roles in the digestion, transport and processing of dietary lipids (e.g. triglycerides, fats, oils) in most, if not all, living organisms. Genes encoding lipases are even present in certain viruses.

Lactase – Lactase (LCT), a part of the β-galactosidase family of enzymes, is a glycoside hydrolase involved in the hydrolysis of the disaccharide lactose into constituent galactose and glucose monomers. In humans, lactase is present predominantly along the brush border membrane of the differentiated enterocytes lining the villi of the small intestine.

Lactase is essential for digestive hydrolysis of lactose in milk. Deficiency of the enzyme causes lactose intolerance.

Cellulase – Cellulase refers to a class of enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze the cellulolysis (or hydrolysis) of cellulose. However, there are also cellulases produced by other types of organisms such as plants and animals. Several different kinds of cellulases are known, which differ structurally and mechanistically. The EC number for this group of enzymes is EC 3.2.1.4.

by Carl H. Martens on 05/11/09 at 1:10 pm

http://helpers-crew.blogspot.com/

Yahoo is currently holding a contest to find a green logo, while just last week a green living social network was acquired. In short: green is the new black. We’ve rounded up 80+ tools, social sites and resources to help you help the planet.

—-Carbon Footprint Calculators, Other Calculators & Carbon Offsets

Environmental Defense PaperCalculator - Calculate the environmental impact of the paper products you use.

The Carbon Diet - Track your carbon footprint every day and compare your footprint with those of your friends.

NativeEnergy - Carbon offsets and a travel carbon calculator.

The Nature Conservancy Carbon Calculator - Another carbon footprint calculator.

BeGreen - A carbon calculator and information resource that also offers carbon offsets.

zerofootprint - Helping individuals, organizations, and cities reduce their environmental impact (their goal is to get 1,000,000 people pledging to reduce their environmental footprint by 10% in one year).

Yahoo! Green Carbon Footprint Calculator - Another carbon footprint calculator.

Ecological Footprint Quiz - Find out how much “nature” your lifestyle requires.

terrapass - A carbon offset company that has an emissions calculator.

Search Engines, Directories & Guides

sprig - A super-hip and fashionable resource for your green lifestyle, including food, fashion, beauty and home.

The Nature Conservancy Nature Preserve Map - A Google Maps mashup featuring nature preserves across the U.S.

EcoSeek - A search engine for green stuff.

Greener - An environmental search engine.

GuideMeGreen.com - A resource of green companies and brands for environmentally conscious shoppers.

Green Maven - A search engine and green directory powered by Google search.

Evolvist - A directory of eco-friendly & socially responsible business that will be released soon. They also have a blog and a Facebook app.

Holistic Local - A resource to find local conscious businesses, local events and courses, and articles & e-books, as well as a marketplace to buy and sell conscious products.

Sustainable Travel International - A sustainable travel guide that also offers carbon offsets for your travel.

Green Building Blocks - A green building product & service directory that also features information on green building techniques and ways to promote your green business.

Lime - Lime is a complete green living guide with online TV, radio, mobile, podcasts, shopping and more.

GoodSearch - A search engine that donates 50% of it’s proceeds to the charity of your choice (over 40,000 are currently participating).

Green Building Studio - Online tools for green builders, engineers, building products manufacturers and architects.

Yahoo! Green - Yahoo!’s green information site that includes a pledge to help reduce your environmental impact.

Games

ElectroCity - An online game that teaches about energy, sustainability and environmental management through the building virtual towns and cities.

KyotoPotato - An idle trading game for making energy efficiency more fun (all you have to do is remember to turn off your computer when you’re not using it).

MyAbodo - An interactive toy that lets you build a house online and see the impact that your choices make on the world around you.

Web Earth Online - Multi player online ecology game.

Communities & User Generated

Open Architecture Network - A collaborative community for sustainable architecture.

AlternativeE - A website for sharing news related to renewable and alternative energy that allows users to vote for stories (like Digg for alternative energy).

GreenOptions - An online blog, wiki, forum and news site for everything green.

The Nature Conservancy Groupspace - The Nature Conservancy’s online community.

Appropedia - The sustainability wiki.

NetSquared - An online community that’s helping non-profits and non-governmental organizations take advantage of the Internet to increase their reach.

GoodTree - An online community that’s all about idealism and effecting positive change.

Hooze - A community-built site for publishing useful information about the sustainability of products & companies.

sustainlane - User reviews of natural, organic and green products & companies.

Gusse - A worldwide community for collaborating on the best ideas for sustainable cities.

EarthLab Foundation - A climate crisis community for people who are interested in being more environmentally friendly. They also have a calculator to determine your “Earth Conservation Profile”.

GreenVoice - Offset your computer’s carbon emissions for free, join a campaign to voice your opinions and show your support, and join groups to communicate and collaborate with others who share your passions.

gigoit - A swapping network for finding what you need or giving away what you don’t.

Make Me Sustainable - A manager for reducing your carbon footprint incorporated into a social community of other like-minded individuals.

ecolocal - A source for green living and local news that allows users to submit tips, events and links.

PlayGreen - A green living wiki.

Youth Noise - A platform for young people to get involved and make a difference in the environment and other causes.

loanables - Brings together people who need to borrow things with people who have stuff to loan, and if your neighborhood is on their “Green Neighborhoods” page, the service is free.

Actics - An ethical community that helps you to live your values.

Change - A social network for activism, including environmental activism.

Hunuh - Community collaboration space where members can submit & discuss green technologies, services and processes.

Networking & Dating

idealist - Find people, ideas and resources worldwide and get involved.

Earth Wise Singles - A dating site for singles who are passionate about green living and sustainable lifestyles.

VeggieDate - An online vegetarian dating service.

dharmaMatch - A dating service that matches based on your beliefs, values and spirituality.

Green Drinks - Networking opportunities internationally for people who work in the environmental field.

GishiGo - A ride sharing network that connects riders and drivers.

pooln - A carpooling community with a social-networking approach.

GoLoco - Quickly arrange ride shares between friends, neighbors, and colleagues (it also helps you share trip costs online).

Environmental Projects

Tree-Nation - An online community that’s aiming to plant 8 million trees in the shape of a heart in Africa. They also have a news section and other resources.

Step It Up - A movement being organized online that will be a call for action to political leaders to address key priorities to stop global warming.

18Seconds - See how many compact fluorescent lightbulbs have been installed in your area, and the equivalent amount of money saved, cars off the road, pounds of coal saved, and pounds of CO2 prevented.

Google Earth Outreach - A Google Earth application that allows charities and non-profits to map what they’re doing on Google Earth for the world to see.

Charitable Donations

InviteForGood - Manage invitations for all kinds of events, and add an optional charitable gift registry to those invitations.

alonovo - Shop online and your purchases will benefit the cause of your choice.

Kiva - Allows you to lend to a specific entrepreneur in a developing country to help them with their business and lift them out of poverty.

Contribution Manager - Keep track of all your donations online (and if you’re in the UK, you can fill out all the necessary forms to make the claim).

GiveMeaning - An online fundraising site that emphasizing creative fundraising and unique charity donation.

Giveness - Online shopping widget that you can put on your site that will generate awareness and donations for the causes you support.

Blogs

World Changing - A group blog with tons of great articles on every topic (there’s also a World Changing book available in print).

Treehugger - Easily the most popular environmental blog out there.

earth2tech - A technology-focused green blog from GigaOM.

Gombe Chimpanzee Blog - A blog from the Jane Goodall Institute that also includes a Google Earth mashup with information about the Institute.

Other Resources

GreenPrint - A patent-pending app that figures out what to print and removes unwanted pages, saving trees (and money).

green tv - An all-green TV station online.

LA Green Living - Connecting the different segments of green living in Los Angeles into one larger community.

Hotel Chatter Green Hotels Map - A Google maps mashup that shows the best green hotels in the U.S. on a map.

LocalCooling - A software program that puts a more efficient power save mode on your PC.

Hunger Site - A leader in online activism committed to eradicating world hunger.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance - Reports and evaluations on charitable organizations.

Wild Sanctuary - An interactive nature sounds map that works with either Google Maps or FreeEarth.

Greenpeace Esperanze Interactive Route Map - A Google Maps mashup that plots the course of the Greenpeace ship Esperanza with interactive features detailing different parts of the trip.

Scorecard - Get pollution reports by county.

I just read the NYT article:

Women’s Health, Ungagged

President Obama on Friday began dismantling his predecessor’s broad and damaging assault on women’s reproductive health and freedom. He lifted the odious gag rule that President George W. Bush imposed on international family planning groups and began trying to restore financing to the United Nations Population Fund………

I think the UN should award Obama at least 4 gold stars this week for making decisive actions that support more than one MDG!

There really is HOPE that 2015 is within reach!

Aching to go green but don’t know where to start? Making your home more power-efficient and Earth-friendly has moved beyond obvious upgrades like swapping out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescents or installing a couple of solar panels. A lot of environmentally friendly home renovations have emerged in the last couple of years, and they’re easier to implement than ever before. Even better, lots of them look sexier, too. Follow the Continue jump below to read about the 10 newest green renovations you could be seeing in your home or your neighbor’s soon, and be sure to check out what other sites in the NBC Universal family are doing for Green Week.

1. The EcoDrain

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT In the shower

WHAT IT DOES Typical showers use lots of heat, but when that hot water hits the drain, it’s still pretty warm. EcoDrain works as a small heat pump, using the leftover heat from "used" water to help warm the incoming stuff. Don’t worry: clean and dirty don’t ever mix, and it squeezes out the extra heat that would otherwise help warm your city sewer system.

HOW IT’S GREEN Heating hot water is one of the biggest single energy costs in a typical house, and therefore possibly one of the biggest sources of your home’s carbon emissions. EcoDrain cuts energy use for a normal shower by almost 50%. The downside: It’s an extensive installation, since it’s hidden in the floor under your shower.

EcoDrain

2. Bluenergy Solarwind turbine

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT On the roof

WHAT IT DOES Combining solar and wind power generation, the turbine’s wind vanes are covered with solar cells that are themselves coated with a patented Teflon-like fluoropolymer. That means they can capture sunlight from any angle. Unlike the typical propeller windmill design, the Solarwind is virtually silent and poses no threat to birds or drunk partiers.

HOW IT’S GREEN The efficiency of the design means the Solarwind generates electricity in breezes as low as 4 mph.

Bluenergy Solarwind

3. Reclamator water recycler

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT Outside, buried under the lawn

WHAT IT DOES The Reclamator is a self-contained water-treatment system that lets you reuse the same water over and over again. Unlike a septic tank or a municipal system where waste water just goes "away," the Reclamator uses applies a proprietary process to settle out solid waste and draw off clean treated water that passes municipal standards for drinkability. It’s not cheap — each system runs around $25,000, there’s a monthly charge for maintenance, and if the kids dump motor oil down the toilet, you’ll need people to come fix it — but it does allow for self-contained living and depending on your water bill, it could pay for itself over time.

HOW IT’S GREEN Besides cutting down your water waste, the Reclamator can be made from recycled or repurposed materials. But the biggest savings are in energy and infrastructure costs, which are really the biggest part of your monthly water bill.

Advanced Environmental Systems

4. Swash toilet seat

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT The bathroom

WHAT IT DOES Bringing together the function of a bidet with the sleek styling and luxury of a European sedan, your Swash experience starts with a heated seat and ends with "a warm water wash with temperature, pressure, and pulsation adjustability" that you can tweak from a convenient touchpad within reach.

HOW IT’S GREEN The U.S. uses 3.2 million tons of toilet paper annually — about 54 million trees’ worth. The process of making that paper is bad enough, and then there are all the problems of treating that flushed solid waste. The Swash allows you to eliminate 90% of that paper.

Brondell

5. Redwood Renewable Smart CoolRoof

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT On the roof

WHAT IT DOES Redwood Renewable’s Smart CoolRoof takes rubber from old car tires to create new rubber material, and then embeds solar cells in it. Together, this gives you recycled roofing material with excellent insulation that generates power for your home. Plus it actually looks like a typical roof versus looking like a roof with big, ugly solar panels on it .Best of all, it costs about half of what a typical solar-panel installation would cost.

HOW IT’S GREEN Waste tires are a huge environmental headache. Redwood Renewables uses an ultrasonic, chemical-free process to actually devulcanizes the rubber. (To visualize devulcanization, think about how you’d "unfry" a fried egg.) The renewable energy generated is icing on the cake.

Redwood Renewables

6. GraniteCrete surface

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT Near your patio or in your driveway

WHAT IT DOES GraniteCrete is a new surfacing material that looks like a "crushed organic surface" on the outside (i.e. small gravel) but has nearly the strength and erosion resistance of concrete. It’s also porous, meaning water runs through, not off, a GraniteCrete walkway or driveway, so there are no water-runoff problems or slipping while running to the car in the morning.

HOW IT’S GREEN Storm water runoff is one of the toughest ecological problems we face. This water, carrying oils, trash and other pollutants, gums up sewage-treatment plants or goes straight in oceans or rivers. A porous surface like GrainteCrete allows excess water to run through surfaces, not off of them, and so it sinks into the soil beneath where natural filtration can help clean it.

GraniteCrete

7. Bonded Logic Ultratouch insulation

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT In your walls

WHAT IT DOES Bonded Logic has found a way to turn your old jeans into insulation. UltraTouch has better sound-absorption qualities than fiberglass insulation with an equivalent thermal rating. Rather than use the usual chemicals, Bonded Logic uses borate to ensure fire and fungi resistance, so its less toxic than table salt. That also means you don’t need to suit up like you’re going into a biohazard hot zone to install it.

HOW IT’S GREEN UltraTouch takes material otherwise bound for a landfill and finds another use for it. And it’s designed to replace fiberglass insulation, which is an environmental problem to make, shape, store and install.

Bonded Logic

8. Elevated Landscape Technologies Green Walls

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT Exterior walls, bathrooms, kitchens, or anywhere damp or smelly

WHAT IT DOES A new twist on the houseplant: Using recyclable plastic or wood as a base, a wall of plants helps filter out smells and particles from the air, absorbs airborne water vapor, and does the usual plant duty of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. You can plant your own wall, or if you’re black-thumbed they’re also available preplanted.

HOW IT’S GREEN You don’t have to waste power on ventilation since living walls can handle water vapor from steamy showers and cooking, as well as smells, dust and stale air. And using them on exterior walls will add insulation properties, too.

Elevated Landscape Technologies

9. Rhino-Shield ceramic paint

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT Your exterior walls

WHAT IT DOES Rhino-Shield makes a ceramic-based paint that lasts a lot longer than its non-ceramic counterparts. The paint contains tiny ceramic spheres as pigment "extenders." Ceramic paints look as good as new well after most other paints have faded — Rhino-Shield offers a 25-year guarantee — and those spheres give them better insulation, too.

HOW IT’S GREEN The 25-year lifespan of this product means it’s cleaner than applying other paints every five years.

Rhino-Shield

10. Plogs

WHERE YOU’LL FIND IT You may be living in one.

WHAT IT DOES We used to call it prefab housing. Or a cottage. Or a shed, even. But California’s Resource Conservation Group has found a novel way to reuse old Douglas Fir lumber, common in house construction in the early 20th century, into Portable Living and Office Green Structures — Plogs. Each one is custom-built, going as large as 16 x 16 feet. You also have your choice of skylights and windows as well as plumbing and electrical options. The designs start at a little under $10,000 and can be made into whatever hideaway your green heart desires.

HOW IT’S GREEN Construction and demolition waste makes up a huge portion of waste in landfills. And we’ve long since cut down the older forests that provided the lumber in the first place. Plogs take a discarded resource and makes it useful again.

Resource Conservation Group

Decreasing oil prices take fuel out of renewable energy’s fire
by Hallie Woods

When summer hit and gas prices soared, alternative energy sources and renewable fuels were the subject of every dinner conversation, political agenda and newspaper article.

Now, as gas prices fall dramatically and people wipe their brows at the pump, some say renewable energy has lost the wind beneath its wings.

“Certainly high gasoline prices increase the individual and national push for more renewable resources, with the thought that these alternatives will be cheaper, or more secure,” said Alan Wiggins, director of regulatory affairs at ConocoPhillips Co. “As prices decline, individuals, but mainly politicians will turn their focus to more urgent needs, such as today’s faltering economy. With these low prices, the push for offshore drilling will decline and increased subsidies for alternative/renewable fuels will be a tough sell. The clear effect either way is relative cost. It’s all about money.”

On July 17, 2008, the average regular gasoline price hit a whopping $4.11 per gallon, the highest recorded average price, according to AAA. People cringed and blamed Congress for the pain at the pump. Now, gas prices have dropped to an average $1.72 per gallon and mums the word.

“Now many oil companies are cutting budgets for conventional oil and gas development in 2009 and other major projects are being curtailed,” Wiggins said. “Our refining sector has gone from a major feast this summer, to current famine, with refining margins below zero on the gulf coast today.”

Conventional fuels aren’t the only ones feeling the cut backs. Solar and wind energy, hybrid vehicles and biofuels may all suffer because of lower gasoline prices. And it isn’t just that people have stopped talking about alternative energy, the financials of alternative energy companies are looking grim.

According to a Nov. 18 article in the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, a recent initial public offering from GT Solar, a solar cell manufacturer traded at $2.59 a share at the time the article was published, down from $16.59 on July 24.

Some energy experts say, however, that although the general public often equates alternative energy as a way to escape high gas prices, the assumption may be wrong.

“Energy experts would tell you that the link between gas prices and renewable energy is at most indirect, since for the most part renewable energy basically supplies electricity, not liquid fuels,” said Michael Canes, senior research fellow at Logistics Management Institute, a non-profit government consulting agency. “Hence, from the experts’ viewpoint, movements in the price of gas have little to do with whatever stress should be placed on renewables, at least in the short to intermediate term.”

But this isn’t the first time we have seen the fuss over alternative energy sources. In the 1980s, oil prices soared and talk of new power sources began.

“I’ve been in the business for over 38 years and I remember well all of the alternative energy proposals largely bantered about in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, only to see their ultimate demise as prices fell from $44 in 1981 to less than $10 in late 1985,” Wiggins said. “After buying my Honda Accord in 1980, I seriously thought that my next commuter car would be an electric vehicle.”

this is a blog entry

October 30, 2008, 7:48 am <!– — Updated: 3:48 pm –>

 

A recently released iPhone and iPod Touch application named greenMeter ($5.99) aims to help drivers lower their car’s impact on the environment by weighing parameters like the vehicle’s tonnage and the price of gas against “driving style” – a fancy way of saying whether or not you’re a lead foot.

The application taps into the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to gauge the car’s rate of forward acceleration, which in turn informs a series of real-time vehicle readings like fuel efficiency (miles per gallon) and carbon footprint.

The greenMeter from Hunter Research and Technologies makes use of the device’s built-in accelerometer. (Photo: Hunter Research and Technologies)

Getting accurate results depends largely on the accuracy of the variables you tap in before using the program. Some are easy, like the per-gallon cost of fuel (diesel or gas), weather conditions and the vehicle’s total weight, which means factoring in your own as well as that of any passengers. (The car’s weight is usually listed in the owner’s manual).

Other required variables are not so easy to produce. Drag coefficient? Rolling resistance? Those numbers are rarely on the tip of the tongue of any but the most passionate driving enthusiasts.

Fortunately, general estimates for those numbers can be found at the Web site of Hunter Research and Technologies, the developer of the app.

Accurate results also depend on proper placement of the iPhone or iPod Touch inside the car. Interior photos on the developer’s Web site show the devices resting on the dashboard or on the console between the two front seats. Either location works fine — though it illustrates one downside to greenMeter: viewing results means taking your eyes off the road.

 

Sure, there are plenty of toys that drivers routinely play with while on the road: dashboard GPS units and radio station buttons, or worse: cellphones.

The Hunter Research Web site, of course, instructs drivers to keep their eyes on the road. “If you plan to glance at greenMeter while driving,” the creators suggest, “be sure the iPhone/iPod is positioned like any other important gauge or instrument in the vehicle.”

There are plenty of auxiliary gadgets that will allow drivers to do this — though it will typically cost more than the application. Griffin’s WindowSeat, for instance, mounts the iPhone or iPod Touch at eye level on the dashboard or windshield. Cost: $29.99.

An even better solution? Making the greenMeter obsolete by adding the functionality — including the ability to detect hard-to-know variables like total weight and torque — to cars as they come off the assembly line. The Prius is a among a few cars that already offer some of this information, with its energy and fuel efficiency monitors built into the dashboard display.

set