Safran and Honeywell have designed an electric green taxiing system or EGTS that allows jets to taxi on the ground without having to use their engines.  Instead the planes would use electric motors attached to each wheel and run by the plane’s auxiliary power unit.  The electrical system should provide better maneuvering control to pilots when docking at a gate and should save four percent of energy costs.

Earlier this week Joule Unlimited secured $70 million in funding.  The company happens to have algae facilities that turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into biodiesel and ethanol.  Meanwhile Bio Architecture Lab was able to get seaweed to create chemicals and biofuels.  Both processes use patented organisms to create the biofuel.

Parisian firm Influx Studio is proposing a radical retrofit of the Marina City towers in Chicago.  The renovation of the buildings would result in a variety of green innovations and architectural features that would result in renewable energy, vertical agriculture and cleaner air.

Umeå, Sweden just got a brand new hybrid bus and fast charging infrastructure.  The bus is a combination electric/diesel hybrid. It is currently being tested in a collaboration between the companies Hybricon AB, Opbrid SL, e-Traction BV, Umeå Energi AB and the Umeå City Corporation.

The European Union (EU) Commission is proposing an ambitious transportation that will transform the way goods and people travel.  The proposal calls for investments in infrastructure as well as changes in systems and policies.

Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) in Canada has expertise and experience with hydrogen buses. They just can’t use them anymore.  Unfortunately, the buses proved too expensive to run and so the buses are being shipped back to Ford.

MIT students won a $3,000 prize in last year’s IDEAS competition  for their Green Grease project.  The service project was designed to improve the lives of the Brazilian catadores (waste pickers) by cutting down on their fuel costs and using their skills. 

Some people might question whether there can ever be waste beer, others might question the concept of waste soft drinks.  Rest assured both types of drinks can indeed have batches that are undrinkable and therefore waste.  What is the best way to dispose of unsuitable drink products?  Why turning it into energy of course.

Ben & Jerry’s, some of the world’s best ice cream, my personal opinion of course, just got better.  The company which has always been known for it’s social and environmental activism as well as its ice cream.  Now Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever is going to green up its ice cream factory in the Netherlands.

Tobacco farmers rejoice!  A new use has been found for tobacco and it doesn’t require a warning label.  Scientists have found that a tobacco virus can be used to make “tiny components” for future batteries.  Tobacco has also been found to be a good source of enzymes, sugar and oil for biofuel production.