According to the US Department of Energy's site, the Obama Administration announced $8 billion in conditional loan commitments for the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies that will create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
The loan commitments announced today by the President include:
$5.9 billion for Ford Motor Company to transform factories across Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio to produce 13 more fuel efficient models;
$1.6 billion to Nissan North America, Inc. to retool their Smyrna, Tennessee factory to build advanced electric automobiles and to build an advanced battery manufacturing facility;
$465 million to Tesla Motors to manufacture electric drive trains and electric vehicles in California.
Maybe the government should consider following a model like the X-Prize, and instead of limiting the $8 billion to Ford, Nissan and Tesla, they could open it up to American citizens to build an energy efficient or zero waste vehicle.
I am sure there are a lot of inventors across America who have come up with green inventions and energy innovations, but lack the funds to take many of their green inventions to market or mass production. Most of the greatest innovations from inventors came from people who are working out of their garage or sheds.
Just think, $8 billion could have been broken down into 8,000 individual contests that awarded $1,000,000 to the best inventions. Which one do you think would work better?
If you have green inventions or an energy innovation coming out of your shed or garage, take a video of it and upload it to us.
The White House has a channel on Youtube and I just watched a video where Van Jones from the White House Council of Environmental Quality visits a local weatherization work site that gives us a glimpse of the clean energy economy that's on the way and the green jobs the government is creating.
The White House says "Weatherization is and will be one of many sources of job creation in the United States."
You can check out the video below and let us know your thoughts:
We will talk more about green jobs, companies going green, hybrid cars, leed homes, and feature alternative energy videos from our main sitewww.GreenEnergyTV.com
Six months ago I did a post about the Greenest Person on Earth and I put this person's photo up and asked if this is the greenest person on earth?
I know there are many people who claim to be the greenest person on earth, but I have to venture a guess that he or someone in his tribe is the greenest one of all and here's why...
There are about 400 million indigenous people spread throughout 70 countries world-wide. Is there someone in the "civilized" world who can claim they are greener than this guy?
We talk about people and companies going green, which I applaud the efforts of course and think its great! But, "civilized" people who would be considered "green" may eat organic natural foods, use eco friendly products, use solar energy, chemical free cleaning to rid their home of household toxins, wind turbines, green building, etc.
As I said, this is great stuff, but most indigenous people do not use chemical toxins in their everyday lives or build a leed homes and have a truck pull up with their energy star windows, geothermal heating system, wind power technology, organic mattresses, and solar panels so they can live "off the grid".
I believe we can look to them for answers on tips for living green and eco friendly living. They are intelligent human beings that have a close relationship to mother earth and we are not that different, even though we live in different ways. For example, a United Nations report shows that the top concerns of indigenous people are:
• land and resources • human rights • internal colonization • self-government • self-development • environment • discrimination • health • education • language • cultural survival • social and economic conditions
Sound familiar? Another interesting fact is that drug companies make $43 billion every year from drugs that are derived from medicinal plants that were discovered, developed and passed from generation to generation by indigenous peoples. We have a lot to learn from indigenous people.
If you are interested in getting rid of the chemical toxins in your home, then you can quickly start by switching to chemical free cleaning products. There's a company that has been around for over 50 years, and has been featured on Oprah, backed by Dr. Oz and many other credible sources and listed as one of the best green companies.
The company is called Shaklee. These guys were green before green was trendy. They sell non toxic and eco friendly products that are SAFE, POWERFUL, GREEN and SMART.
If you interested in eco friendly living and an environment friendly home, check them out. Unlike many chemical cleaning products, Shaklee lists all their ingredients.
One of their slogans is that "While you make your home cleaner, you can make your family healthier. You also make the planet healthier for other families as well."
If you are using any other chemical free cleaning products or making your own solutions, feel free to let us know in the comments section below. - Stay Green!
Devon County Council's Renewable Energy for Devon (RE4D) scheme is boosting rural regeneration by stimulating both supply and demand for renewable energy.
RE4D focuses on small and medium enterprises, providing advice and grants which have led to over 100 renewable energy installations with a total capacity of over 2 MW.
In the last two years RE4D has provided and helped secure over £1 million worth of grants. Fifty-five green jobs have been created and a further 16 safeguarded.
Check out this 2009 Ashden Award Winner'svideo below:
The 2009 Ashden Award winner, Geothermal International, is one of the UK's leading installers of ground source heat pumps, specializing in large commercial and public sector buildings.
The company has installed nearly 800 systems with a total heating and cooling capacity of over 100 MW. The overall carbon savings from their installations to date is about 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Many urban developments use innovative Energy Piles where the pump's ground loop is embedded in the foundations, making installation easier.
In the video below, you can see how this geothermal energy innovation works and saves energy as well as helps companies going green.
What is Architype? Architype is an architectural practice with 25 years dedication to sustainable design. The company designs buildings that require minimal heating, cooling and lighting through insulation, passive solar gain, natural ventilation and well placed windows.
It uses low carbon energy sources, and sustainable building materials to minimize embodied energy. As their designs continue to improve they will soon exceed current building regulations on CO2 emissions by 75 percent.
Architype is a 2009 Ashden Award Winner:
This is a great video for sustainability officers, sustainability programs, companies going green, sustainability executives and individual home owners to watch if they are interested in eco friendly living.
The Wall Street Journal reported today that Americans use more energy than any other country in the world.
Steven Chu, President Barack Obama's energy secretary, said "We use so much energy, but we misuse it." Recently, Steven Chu announced that all buildings in the US should paint their rooftops and it would save 10-15% on energy use. There are many companies going green, and by painting your roof white to reflect the heat will save a lot of money and also help the environment.
Part of the Obama alternative energy plan is to focus on decreasing our dependence on foreign oil, build solar plants, embrace wind power technology, energy innovation, green inventions and to modernize the US electric grid.
GM's Chevy Volt is starting to hit the pavement. This could be a perfect time for GM to introduce their electric car because you are seeing an increase in gas prices and the Obama alternative energy policies are moving forward as well.
The Chevy Volt, combined with GM's $1 billion battery research facilities could help save GM and position them to get back on the road.
Many of us take our stoves, the energy used to power these devices and cooking for granted. Over a million people die every year from the smoke they inhale while cooking for their families.
The Aprovecho Research Centre in the US and Shenghou Stove Manufacturers in China have pooled their experience and skills to produce a cheap, robust and efficient stoves for mass production.
They replace polluting kerosene stoves and open fires saving up to 50 percent of fuel wood and reducing 70 percent of dangerous emissions. SSM has sold over 60,000 stoves since 2007, producing 12,000 a month and selling them to distributors. The main customer is Envirofit International.
Honda is looking at how life will be in 80 years from now.
Ever since the dawn of man, mobility has been central to our growth and freedom as a civilization.
What about the future of mobility? Honda asked some of the great thinkers of our generation how people will get around in 80 years. From the hope of hydrogen to the dream of space exploration, these futurists, scientists, artists and forward-thinkers ponder the possibilities of future transportation.
Watch and see if you're ready for the surprises the experts are predicting and what they think life will be like in 2088...
The "golden egg laying goose" says a person in the video below in regards to the foot powered green inventions India is using to irrigate and pump water for the people.
The Farmers Friend, a simple treadle pump developed by IDEI, is changing the lives of poor farmers in Eastern India. The low-cost device, used for pumping water for irrigation, has trebled farmers incomes so they can now save and send their children to school.
Three quarters of a million pumps have been sold, with sales boosted by promotion campaigns using Bollywood-style films. IDEI is scaling up production fast aiming to sell up to two million treadle pumps by 2010.
Watch the 2009 Ashden Award Winning video:
Good luck to the people of India and the makers of these eco friendly inventions. This is clean, renewable and sustainability programs like these can save lives and have a huge impact on the lives of people who use eco friendly products such as these. Keep up the great work! Doing something to be green? You can Upload your video to us and share it with millions of viewershttp://greenenergytv.com/Login/?next=/Upload.aspx
Saran Renewable Energy in India is a 2009 Ashden Award winner, and has set up a biomass gasifying plant in Bihar to supply energy to local businesses plagued by constant electricity cuts and reliant on noisy, dirty diesel generators.
One hundred local farmers now have a secure income supplying the plant with biomass made from a local plant and along with businesses nearby they now have stable, clean power for eight hours a day.
The gasifier saves around 100 tonnes of CO2 a year from diesel. Saran Renewable Energy's clean alternative fuels program is helping companies going green through their energy innovation, saving money, creating green jobs and by using green inventions and clean technology.
The Solar Energy Foundation knows how to define solar energy. The Solar Energy Foundation has opened up new horizons for 10,000 villagers in Rema, Ethiopia and nearby.
Their homes now have electricity for the first time thanks to 2,000 new solar home systems costing families just 75 pence a month. Young people now have the chance to train as solar technicians in an International Solar School. Graduates of the scheme have opened four Solar Centres in other areas of Ethiopia with a further 8,500 solar home systems due to be installed by the end of the year.
The Solar Energy Foundation is creating green jobs, clean energy and endless opportunities for thousands of people.
We will continue to feature alternative energy videos and Ashden Award winners in the coming weeks that cover subjects on green inventions, energy innovation, green jobs, environmental education for children, eco friendly inventions and more.
Carolyn Roberts, a single Mom with no construction experience, built her own passive solar straw bale home near Tucson for $50,000 in 2001. Her eco friendly home was built using recycled materials and earthen plasters.
We will continue to keep you up to date on other alternative energy videos, alternative fuels program, eco friendly inventions, green inventions, hybrid cars, and more.
Honda is looking ahead, actually, 80 years from now and asking what will mobility be like in 2088?
Many people look at forecasts for 1 year out, or even venture a 5, or 10 year plan, but Honda is a forward thinking company and tackling an 80 year outlook. Its a positive way to plan ahead for our children and all future generations. People want their kids to be able to see blue skies, like we see today instead of pollution as one person mentioned in the video.
check out Honda's Mobility 2088 video: What are you working on now to change the future for the better? Upload your video to us and share it with millions of viewers http://greenenergytv.com/Login/?next=/Upload.aspx
We will continue to discuss hydrogen vehicles, hybrid cars, and alternative fuel ideas in upcoming posts.
It was recently reported that gas prices will hit around $5.00 per gallon in the next couple months. We seem to have a short term memory when it comes to gas prices, but when they are high, we come up with alternative fuel ideas.
T. Boone Pickens has been pushing his alternative fuel ideas and alternative fuels program for a while. He outlines a plan to get America off of foreign oil, and urges people not to wait. It appears that when the gas prices increase again, we will have another call to action to do something about it.
If you are looking to get a head start or want to refresh your memory of last summer when gas prices were over $4.00 per gallon, then feel free to watch the T. Boone Pickens video below:
Are you using alternative fuels, electric cars, hydrogen fuel or making your own eco friendly fuel? If so, feel free to share and upload your video of what you are working on for million of viewers to see http://greenenergytv.com/Login/?next=/Upload.aspx - Stay Green!
GreenEnergyTV.com has over 700 alternative energy videos and from time to time, we showcase and highlight many of the wonderful things that have been captured on video when it comes to green.
We house alternative energy videos on subjects such as solar energy, wind power technology, green inventions, companies going green, sustainable schools and more.
If you are doing something to be green, feel free to share your video and story with others. You can upload your video to us for free http://greenenergytv.com/Login/?next=/Upload.aspx or you can watch alternative energy videos on our main alternative energy website www.greenenergytv.com - Stay Green!
If you are tired of bad news and all the doom and gloom reported on mainstream media, then turn it off and click on the news section on our main site.
We have news releases that are positive, fresh and inspiring to see areas of growth for green jobs, solar energy, wind power technology, certified organic products, alternative and renewable energy and more.
Maybe the government should consider following a model like the X-Prize, and instead of limiting the $8 billion to Ford, Nissan and Tesla, they could open it up to American citizens to build an energy efficient or zero waste vehicle. 
Six months ago I did a post about the Greenest Person on Earth and I put this person's photo up and asked if this is the greenest person on earth?
Here's a link to the video conference where Shai Agassi talks about his audacious plan to put you in the seat of an electric vehicle:
