Text Us: #30930
Phone: (800) 616 WBEN
Business: (716) 843-0600
A   A   A

1Thing Blog



At WBEN, we care about our world and our environment. To help you make your home, workplace, and life greener, we present our 1Thing Blog. Check back for environmentally-conscious news and tips to make our world a better place!



Iraq?s Green Zone Gets Greener With Biogas and Other Clean Energy Solutions
Culhane shows off a high-efficiency LED-powered street lamp at an energy workshop in Iraq.

Culhane shows off a high-efficiency LED-powered street lamp at an energy workshop in Iraq.

Iraq is longing for renewable and sustainable energy solutions, National Geographic Explorer Thomas H. Culhane found out. It just takes a little extra time to don body armor and get through security when you're packing food-waste grinders, solar panels, water pumps, and bio-gas systems. Culhane filed this report from his travels to Iraq, a place with personal meaning for him as the homeland of his maternal grandfather:

Earth Day is special for me....

On Science, Politics and Climate Change

U.S. Representative Lamar Smith?s strutting his science cred.

Smith, a Republican, represents the 21st District of Texas, which includes his hometown of San Antonio, and chairs the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. I met him a few weeks ago at a hearing on climate held by the Subcommittee on the Environment. He was the consummate gentleman. Despite the fact that I was testifying as a witness for the Democratic Party, he was cordial and gentle in his questions....

Tesla Motors' Success Gives Electric Car Market a Charge

Amid a decimated field of E.V. startups, Tesla Motors is riding high. But can its feats help take electric cars mainstream?

...

With a New Look, French Teams Take Top Prizes in Shell Eco-marathon Europe

For several years running, French engineering students from two neighboring Loire Valley schools, Polytech Nantes and La Joliverie, have shared engineering and effort to build rocket-shaped vehicles that captured top prizes at Shell Eco-marathon Europe fuel efficiency race. But the students began to feel there was something lacking in their cars' perennially award-winning profile.

"It didn't look like a car," explained Nantes student Frederic Calvez.

So the students designed Cityjoule, a super-compact, but street-legal electric blue coupe powered by a hydrogen fuel cell....

New Energy Secretary Moniz Stresses Efficiency, to Start

In his first official remarks as Energy Secretary Tuesday, Ernest Moniz focused on an aspect of energy policy that lends itself to consensus perhaps a bit more easily than others:  the need for greater efficiency.

Speaking at the Energy Efficiency Global Forum in Washington, Moniz noted it was fortuitous that the annual event followed his swearing in just three hours before: "Efficiency is going to be a big focus as we go forward."

The 68-year-old physicist and MIT professor was unanimously confirmed as energy secretary by the Senate last week....

The Aftermath of Rotterdam 2013

A mere few days after Shell Eco-marathon 2013, everyone from Eco-Runner Team Delft is still in a whirl. The team did a great job getting second place in the hydrogen prototype class. Even though we fought and hoped for first place, second is still a great achievement.

The week started perfectly. The Ecorunner managed to get through technical inspection without many problems. That enabled us to do some test laps on the real track at Ahoy on Wednesday. This gave us insight on the things that still needed improving in order to get the most out of the Ecorunner....

National Trails Day is Saturday, June 1st

In case you didn?t know, National Trails Day is Saturday, June 1st.  It?s the country?s largest celebration of trails.  There will be thousands of activities happening all over the country, including hikes, biking and horseback rides, paddling trips, birdwatching, geocaching, gear demonstrations, stewardship projects and more.  Get out & enjoy your environment!  You can find an event near you by clicking here....

Dads Day Green Gift Ideas

Dad's day is Sunday June 16th.
Here are 15 Green gift ideas for Dad, that will also make Mama Earth Happy!

1.) Blue Avocado- Launching an eco-friendly bag line w/ designer Ross Bennett

2.) Gaiam- Mens eco-conscious clothing and yoga/work out gear

3.) Rickshaw Bagworks- Zero Messenger

4.) Hornytoad- Men's organic cotton clothing and accessories.

5.) SEIKO Solar watch- Mens SEIKO Solar is a quartz watch takes its energy from light, stores it in a self-recharging battery which never needs to be changed....

Charge Your Phone While Cycling

There are many reasons why biking to work rules. You save money, eliminate the stress of parking, get in a quick workout, and now, thanks to Aaron Latzke and David Delcourt, you can even charge your cell phone using kinetic energy generated from your ride! Yeah, we know, pretty awesome.

The Kickstarter campaign for the Siva Cycle Atom was launched a few weeks ago, and with only a few days left to pre-order, the project has already seen more than $110,00 pledged by 1,200 backers....

A New Record for Our Team at Eco-marathon

After a really hard night, with some very last minute tweaking, we installed a Kinetic Energy Recovery System on our car at Shell Eco-marathon Europe. Even though the KERS system was pretty untested, we still chose to give it a chance, since we already had already set a new record of 612.3 kilometers on one liter of gasoline yesterday. (See also DTU Roadrunners 2013: Focusing On Evolution Instead of Revolution and At Eco-marathon Europe, Testing Commences)

But nothing comes easy when pushing the boundaries....

Poll
So, you encounter a nasty bug in your house, what's your reaction?
  Kill it!
  Scream and let someone else deal with it!
  Turn the other way.
 
View Results