Whole Travel Blog

This week, ExxonMobil announced that it will invest more than $600 million into research and development of next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight, water and waste carbon dioxide by photosynthetic pond scum. In a collaboration with Synthetic Genomics expected to last 5-6 years at a new test facility being constructed in San Diego, the hope is to develop the technology to a point where ExxonMobil can invest billions more into bringing it to commercial markets.

Pond Scum: the next source of renewable energy?

Craig Venter, founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics, said, “There are different approaches to what is truly economically scalable, so we’re testing things and giving a new reality to the timelines and expectations of what it takes to have a global impact on fuel supply.” It’s a big strategy shift for ExxonMobil to move into developing renewable biofuel technology after years of publicly opposing investment in renewable energy. If all goes well, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Geonomics hope to be producing biofuels similar in structure to today’s conventional hydrocarbons, but from completely renewable sources, by the end of the project. You can read more about it at Synthetic Genomics’ website: www.syntheticgenomics.com.

Bloomberg today announced that Zipcar, the world’s largest car-sharing company, is gearing up for an initial public offering in 2010. Over the past 9 years, Zipcar has grown from an idea conceived in a Cambridge, Massachusetts to a single lime-green VW bug to a fleet of more than 6,500 autos. 

Zipcar helps you go green when you rent a Prius.

Unlike traditional rental car agencies, Zipcar allows members to swipe a card over a dashboard reader, which unlocks the car with the keys already inside. Members can take cars by the hour or for a few days, leaving them at different drop locations based on their online reservations. Even Hertz’s CEO, Mark Frissora, talks about Zipcar: “It’s a cool technology. My two sons use Zipcar. They said, ‘Dad, you have to get into this.’”

At Whole Travel, we’re excited to see Zipcar doing so well. Whether you don’t need a car too often or if you just don’t want to own a car, it’s a great way to reduce the overall number of automobiles produced and reduce our consumption of natural resources. Here’s to hoping the IPO market keeps heating up for green businesses, and way to go Zipcar!

Recharging electric cars has always been a bit of a pain to get done, but in the Bay Area, it is about to get a lot easier.  The mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland have plans to spend up to $1 billion to put up a service network to make charging your electric rig a lot more convenient.

Better Place, a Palo Alto company backed by private investors, will be building the system.  According to SFGate.com, “The firm proposes installing thousands of parking-meter-size plugs in homes, lots, garages, and shopping centers for an electric fill-up.  Also planned are battery swapping spots, where a depleted power package can be switched for a fresh one withing minutes.”

The article is not clear as to whether the electricity used at the recharging stations will come from renewable sources.  To read the full article, click here.

Just in time for Halloween, Google released a haunted house full of energy-saving suggestions, calculating the corresponding amount of money and carbon emissions saved if followed.

Check out their tips here.

Earlier this week, Apple released a new line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros, that are, as we’ve come to expect from Jobs’ product lines, sleeker, slimmer, and sexier than the last generation models.

One major addition to this line: its environmental friendliness.

With features including a revolutionary energy efficient LED-backlit display, a recyclable aluminum body and glass screen, and even 41% less packaging, these new laptops are a surefire solution to overflowing landfills and increasing energy consumption.

Read more specfics here.

Google recently announced its efforts to green its data centers, wanting to operate the “world’s most efficient data bases.” However, beyond just efficient data centers, before the end of the year, two of its data centers “will run on 100% recycled water, and by 2010 [Google] expects recycled water to provide 80% of [their] total water consumption.” They even created a website dedicated to “sustainable computing” which outlines its green mission and Google’s commitment to being carbon neutral as a company. Will this mean that Larry and Sergey will be buying carbon offsets for each trip they take aboard the Google jet?

Check out details of Google’s greening efforts here.

This past weekend, San Francisco hosted an outdoor music festival in Golden Gate Park, Outside Lands, that proved to not only be jam-packed with such notable acts as Beck, Radiohead, Ben Harper, and Jack Johnson, but also, to be eco-friendly. Artists jammed on a solar-powered stage, music lovers feasted on organic, sustainably farmed foods, and various eco-education opportunities abounded. Ecomomentum discusses the event here. Check out the festival’s “Eco Lands” website for more detailed information.