Even if we do manage to set up a shiny futuristic renewable smart grid made of glitter and staffed by zebra unicorns, there are still going to be times when it poops out. Maybe the wind isn’t blowing; maybe a mean old cloud got in the way. And when that happens, there aren't enough boat batteries in the world to store all the electricity we're going to need to keep everything running. That's why utilities are investing in giant batteries -- and the giantest of them all are called "flow batteries." Composed of large tanks of liquid electrolyte, they're easy …

Production of biofuel from palm oil has been an unmitigated disaster for the rainforest, leading to clear-cutting throughout Indonesia and propelling that country to the top ranks of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters. That's why it's so strange that biologist Willie Smits, last seen cooking up a plan to save orangutans, thinks that biofuels could actually save the rainforest. Smits’ plan is simple: instead of oil palms, locals will plant the Arenga sugar palm, which can only grow in a mixed, intact rainforest. He’s calculated that Arenga palms planted in otherwise undisturbed rainforest can produce 7.7 tons of ethanol …

If there's anything we learned from the revolutions in the Middle East, it's that the internet has become a critical tool for burgeoning democracies. So what to do in places where the internet is tightly controlled, or just unreliable? For residents of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the solution is: build your own. Using help from the National Science Foundation and a pile of household trash, they've built an open-source wireless network that can transmit up to several miles. The only commercial components of the "FabFi" system are the wireless routers -- all of the networking can be done with home-brewed reflectors, most …

Anyone still caring for a clipped green lawn can lessen their enviro guilt by trading in weed-killing chemicals for a herd of goats. If you’ve got invasive plants, never fear: Your milkweed brings all the goats to the yard. They could eat it, but they have to charge ($725/day plus tax for a 60-goat herd at Rent-a-Ruminant). Increasing numbers of companies offer goat-driven brush and weed control. Unlike cows, which eat grass, goats like to eat weeds and shrubs -- even poisonous ones. (I mean, they are GOATS. They eat whatever. It’s the beauty of goats.) Large lawn owners from …

The title of this post should really be "Bike lanes create jobs, duhhhhhhhhhh." A new study from the University of Massachusetts is only the latest evidence that bike infrastructure projects create more jobs than road infrastructure -- but the message hasn't gotten through to everyone, so with UMass' help we'll just keep beating that horse. Anyway, the latest study shows that bike and pedestrian projects generate 46 percent more employment than roads. So, you know, no big deal, just HALF AGAIN AS MANY JOBS.  Looking at 58 projects in 11 states, the researchers found that cycle-oriented infrastructure created 11.6 jobs …

Within the next year, Austin, Texas, could be home to In.gredients, a grocery store that eliminates the paper and plastic containers that most food comes in. Instead, the zero-packaging store will offer most of its wares in bulk bins. (Some products will be “packaging-light” instead, with recyclable containers.) Customers can bring their own boxes and bottles or borrow compostable ones from the store, weigh them, and fill them with goodies. This includes beer (bring your own growler!) and cleaning products. It’s a return to a simpler time, when our grandparents got along just fine without resealable plastic freshness packs, and …

Yo dawg, I heard you like solar power, so I put some solar power in your 3D printer so you can solar power while you 3D print. The Solar Sinter, an art project by Markus Kayser, is probably not actually going to replace energy-hog fabrication processes. It's more of a concept piece, but it's a pretty spectacular one that beautifully demonstrates the awesome power of the sun. Kayser uses the strong sun in the Sahara desert (yes, contrary to appearances, he is not on the Black Rock playa) to melt sand into layers of glass, building gnarled glass objects that …

The New York Times obtained government documents that call natural gas companies' enthusiasm about shale gas and hydrofracking "irrational exuberance.” That exuberance has convinced some lawmakers, though. Nine of them are writing to President Obama to ask him to push for more gas drilling. In other technology-that’s-not-actually-going-to-save-us news, China's building a $1.5 billion clean coal plant, the first commercial clean coal plant of this size. European countries are ditching even the tiniest of cars in favor of public transportation, because -- surprise! -- global treaties matter and EU countries need to cut carbon in some way to meet their Kyoto …

If you won't put animal products in your mouth, shouldn't it stand to reason you wouldn't put them on your wang? Or maybe you're courting a vegan, and you want to seal the deal. Lucky for you there are vegan lubes and condoms available, to replace the raw-meat-and-gelatin lube and condoms you were using before. I had figured that "vegan condom" was sort of a technicality -- you can get your facility certified as vegan, maybe, and thus gain the right to put a "vegan" label on your contraceptives. Sort of like getting declared kosher, but instead of a rabbi …

There's been a small vogue for houses and buildings made of shipping containers, which are cheap, plentiful, and often end up tossed in the sea (either on purpose or otherwise). This airy two-container dwelling is one of the prettiest we've seen, and it only cost $40,000 to build. Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe removed most of the inward-facing walls from the two containers and placed them about a hallway's width apart. The material from the walls then became a roof and clerestory window for the hallway, which keeps the interior bright and cool, while the slightly expanded footprint keeps the whole thing …