Justin Thomas
Latest Stories from Justin Thomas
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Volkswagen's Touareg: Now A Clean Diesel Vehicle
I rarely drive cars these days. But recently, Volkswagen convinced me to test drive their clean-burning Touareg TDI SUV. The test drive was to take place in Washington DC, which is about 30 miles from my home. This meant that I wouldn't have to fly
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2009 Green Car Of The Year: The Volkswagen Jetta TDI
Today, the Green Car Journal gave its 2009 Green Car of the Year award to the Volkswagen Jetta TDI at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2009 Jetta TDI is a quiet-running, diesel-powered car. It beat out hybrids and mini-cars to take the title. The Jetta
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Schwinn's Electric Bikes Now Available
After many delays, Schwinn's new electric bikes are now available in certain bike stores. The range includes the Campus, the least expensive model at $1,900, the World GSE, which sells for $2,200, and the Continental priced at $2,500. These bikes look
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eZee Electric Commuter Bikes
Earlier this week, I reviewed a $350 electric bike, the E-Zip Trailz. While this bike is a good entry-level bike, if you are seriously considering using an electric bike to replace your car for short trips you should probably invest in a quality
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Electric Uno Bike: A Clean Commute?
A young Canadian inventor named Ben Gulak has created an innovative new electric motorbike that takes some of the lessons learned from the Segway device, but implements them in cooler package. The bike, called the Uno, looks from its profile like a
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Bidets: Eliminate Toilet Paper, Increase Your Hygiene
Two years ago, I posted an article about bidets, and it generated a lot of healthy discussion. Since that time I've gathered more information on this topic, and I've been testing out a bidet for about three months. I now consider bidets to be a key
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Great River Energy Headquarters Aims For LEED Platinum
In Minnesota, Great River Energy is seeking LEED Platinum certification for their newly constructed headquarters, which will open tomorrow on Earth Day. Solar cells on the building's roof will generate power, together with a 160-foot-tall wind turbine,
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Sheep Replace Lawnmowers In Italy
Police are having to double up as shepherds in Italy after local councilors decided to scrap the city lawnmowers -- and use sheep instead. About 700 sheep have now been employed by Turin officials to keep the grass verges and lawns in city parks neatly
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Book Review: Green Building For Dummies
The book Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies was recently sent to me for review. I was curious to see the "Dummies" take on this subject, because there are few books on green building aimed at the layperson. The book was penned by Eric Corey Freed
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Wild Gift: Application Deadline For 2008 Coming Up
Last year, we featured Wild Gift -- an organization that supports people who inspire others to live in harmony with each other and with nature. And the application deadline for 2008 is coming up on April 1st! Each year, five lucky applicants are given
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Allison Rogers Throws A Very Green Party
Recently, Allison Rogers threw a very green party. I arrived there quite inefficiently by driving through the icy streets of DC (for some reason I couldn't take the metro and bus that night). I knocked on the door, and was welcomed by Kayanna, one of
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Powering 20,000 Homes: The World's Largest PV Solar Farm Opens
With an installed peak power capacity of 20 megawatts, world's largest photovoltaic solar power farm has opened in Spain. This farm surpasses the solar farm at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada which is rated at 14 megawatts. The new solar farm
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Cromley Lofts: A Closer Look At The First LEED-Certified Condos In Virginia
Last month, I wrote about Cromley Lofts, the condos in Virginia that received a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2007. Since then, I had to chance to visit the condos, and speak with William Cromley, the architect and developer of
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An Electric Car That Dives Underwater: The Rinspeed sQuba
The Swiss Company Rinspeed has developed a new concept car called "sQuba", which is the world's first green diving car. This zero-emission, electric vehicle (EV) is capable of driving on roads just like a normal car, yet it can also be turned into an
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The Greening Of The Capitol: Very Efficient Food Service
Last week, the highly optimal Allison Rogers, invited me to survey the current state of the Greening of the Capitol. To get to the United States Capitol, I struggled out of bed, walked a couple miles to the bus stop, and then took a bus to the metro
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Starbucks Switches To Hormone-Free Milk
Starbucks has announced that it is moving forward with its long-promised plans to serve only milk produced by cows free of the artificial hormone known as rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). According to the company, all of its core dairy
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Cromley Lofts: First LEED-Certified Condos In Virginia
Cromley Lofts are the first LEED-certified condos in Virginia. The three-story condos were part of a "adaptive reuse project" that received a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2007. The original building has a long history, beginning
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Red Worm Implementation By Allison Rogers
Vermicomposting is an optimal green technique. Recently, Allison Rogers implemented a red worm vermicomposting system on her balcony. Not one to be easily daunted, Allison got close up to the worms (see photos below). These worms will quickly turn her
