Danny Seo is a green lifestyle expert who champions green consumerism.
Dean Still had been researching and developing cleaner, more environmentally-friendly wood-burning stoves for almost two decades when, while working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he spotted a coal stove for sale on a street corner near Tibet, China.
Car expert Tom Torbjornsen answers a letter from a auto owner:
Maytag Corp. is recalling about 1.6 million refrigerators because of a potentially serious fire hazard, after receiving dozens of customer reports that part of the appliance ignited, a government agency said Tuesday.
The cold, dry air of winter can give you chapped lips, cracked hands, and now, a study suggests, a better chance of getting the flu. A new analysis of previous data shows that in low-humidity conditions, the influenza virus is more likely survive, possibly giving it a better shot at spreading from person to person and making its way to you.
In Sudan's Darfur region, where violence and genocide are rampant, women risk their lives every day performing tasks as seemingly mundane as seeking out firewood.
The hot water goes cold, the air conditioner goes hot or maybe the washing machine's spin cycle is starting to sound like a Harley-Davidson rally. Alas, your warranty on the appliance in question expired long ago. Suddenly you're faced with a tough, potentially pricey decision: fix the broken item or replace it? Repair would cost less in the short term, but you'd hate to invest in something that could spring another problem soon. These guidelines will help you decide.
At first glance, it looks like an actual product: A "USB Toaster" that plugs into a laptop to toast a single slice of bread.
You wanted to know more about greenwashing, and Scot Case, from environmental marketing firm TerraChoice, answered.
No one wants melting ice cream. Nor do we want melting polar ice caps. The trouble is, keeping our ice cream cold warms the planet because powerful greenhouse gases are used in most refrigerators and freezers in the U.S.
Danny Seo is a green lifestyle expert who champions green consumerism.
Dean Still had been researching and developing cleaner, more environmentally-friendly wood-burning stoves for almost two decades when, while working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he spotted a coal stove for sale on a street corner near Tibet, China.
Car expert Tom Torbjornsen answers a letter from a auto owner:
Maytag Corp. is recalling about 1.6 million refrigerators because of a potentially serious fire hazard, after receiving dozens of customer reports that part of the appliance ignited, a government agency said Tuesday.
The cold, dry air of winter can give you chapped lips, cracked hands, and now, a study suggests, a better chance of getting the flu. A new analysis of previous data shows that in low-humidity conditions, the influenza virus is more likely survive, possibly giving it a better shot at spreading from person to person and making its way to you.
In Sudan's Darfur region, where violence and genocide are rampant, women risk their lives every day performing tasks as seemingly mundane as seeking out firewood.
The hot water goes cold, the air conditioner goes hot or maybe the washing machine's spin cycle is starting to sound like a Harley-Davidson rally. Alas, your warranty on the appliance in question expired long ago. Suddenly you're faced with a tough, potentially pricey decision: fix the broken item or replace it? Repair would cost less in the short term, but you'd hate to invest in something that could spring another problem soon. These guidelines will help you decide.
At first glance, it looks like an actual product: A "USB Toaster" that plugs into a laptop to toast a single slice of bread.
You wanted to know more about greenwashing, and Scot Case, from environmental marketing firm TerraChoice, answered.
No one wants melting ice cream. Nor do we want melting polar ice caps. The trouble is, keeping our ice cream cold warms the planet because powerful greenhouse gases are used in most refrigerators and freezers in the U.S.
By any measure, it is a long way from the Park Avenue headquarters of JPMorgan Chase, the global investment bank that generated revenues of $100 billion last year, to the dusty streets of Kampala, Uganda, where a poor woman can buy a new cook stove for about $6.
Cut your energy bills by squeezing another year or more out of the things you own and postponing the day you have to replace them. Here are top tips on what you need to know.
Magnetic induction may just be the best technology to hit the kitchen since the microwave oven. In the past few years this style of cooktop, which turns magnetic energy into heat, has proved itself a worthy competitor to the traditional choices - gas and electric.
Consumer advocates Wednesday hailed the settlement of a class-action lawsuit over Sears stoves in which the retailer agreed to install safety brackets for free to prevent the appliances from tipping over or provide other reimbursements.
The holiday season is a bustling time of year in most kitchens. The host is preparing the bird in the oven and maybe frying something on the range. Guests file in, children play, and for minutes the stove goes unattended as the cook takes a call.
There's no place like home -- especially when it comes to affecting the environment, it seems.
LG Electronics was estqablished in 1958 as Goldstar, and produced some of Korea's first radios, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners through the 1960s.
Bigger, smaller, higher tech, lower profile -- the choices in kitchen appliances are multiplying faster than the cooking and cleanup chores they're meant to simplify. Just in case you haven't wandered the appliance aisles in awhile, there's a whole raft of new problem-solvers out there. Here are some to be on the lookout for.
Higher gas prices couldn't deter Americans from their urge to splurge, but a new survey Thursday showed consumers are much more scared about the twin squeeze on their wallets from declining home wealth and a credit market freeze.
Labor Day is right around the corner, but before you take off for the holiday weekend, make sure your home is safe when you're not there. Here are some guidelines to keep your home protected.
With the hot summer approaching and ever more air conditioners and other consumer electronic devices straining the nation's already burdened power system, utilities are scrambling to get customers to use less.
A "Kitty Washing Machine" video on YouTube, depicting a cat in turmoil while undergoing a Pet Spa treatment, is making quite a splash, cracking up some viewers and distressing others.
Maytag and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall Thursday of 2.3 million of its Maytag and Jenn-Air brand dishwashers because of a fire risk.
Wal-Mart's holiday discounts are coming fast and furious. The world's largest retailer on Friday announced it is rolling back prices on about 50 name-brand home appliances.
THE LAW Both old-world charm and high-tech dazzlery can be deployed against the unwitting shopper in this category. But talk to the experts and you'll find that when it comes to kitchen technology...
Businesses across the country are facing a big question this week: Will the heat wave sweeping the nation help or hurt their sales figures?
It's the first day of summer - are you set to stay comfortable as we enter the dog days? If not, today's Five Tips can help.
The Justice Department on Wednesday approved the proposed Whirlpool acquisition of Maytag in a merger of home appliance makers.
Shopping for, say, a DVD player means sorting through a series of choices: price tags that range from $35 to $200, brand names you recognize and brands you've never heard of. But if you were able t...
If you've got kimchi in your fridge, it's hard to keep it a secret. Kimchi, made from fermented cabbage seasoned with garlic and chili, is served with most meals in Korea, but when it's stored insi...
A federal safety agency announced Wednesday the recall of approximately 1.5 million food processors due to risk of cuts or amputation of a finger tip.
If you don't happen to own a vacuum cleaner, you're going to like what's on the next page: a concise analysis of five leading machines, which we examined rigorously by cleaning a white carpet left ...
As the temperature rises and sweat trickles down your back, it's nice to think about escaping the blaring rays of sun by slipping into an air-conditioned room.
Four years ago the stage was set for Ralph Hake to become the ultimate Maytag repairman. For decades the Iowa-based company had been the all-American brand for washers, dryers, and refrigerators. B...
A Transportation Security Administration official spent $500,000 on art, silk plants and other decorations for a new operations center and then went to work for the vendor after leaving the agency, according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.
Small home appliance manufacturer Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex will pay $1.2 million for failing to report defects in three products, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
At last, a reason to toss out that musty box of Arm & Hammer. In 2004, Samsung equipped its newest line of refrigerators with an interior coating of nanoscale silver particles—known to be a natural...
Think, just for a minute, about the amount of money you spend on wine in a year. An impulse buy here and there, a few cases for the holidays, a stash for impromptu get-togethers, special bottles bo...
People
The sky is the color of cement, hallmark of the rainy season in South Korea. For weeks, low clouds shroud the tops of Seoul's skyscrapers and make the seemingly endless clusters of nearly identical...
For years, companies have hawked promotional goodies like pens and coffee mugs, feeding a market that bulged to over $16 billion in the U.S. last year. While most tchotckes are thrown in a drawer a...
Kitchen renovations are among the most expensive home-improvement projects, but it's possible to give a tired kitchen new life without breaking the bank.
Ladies, if you are stuck doing laundry you have only yourself to blame.
One of the best inventions has to be the car seat warmer, more affectionately known as the "tushie toaster." I learned the term from my friend's mom growing up, and it always seemed a little warmer to me.
It is easier to reinvent the wheel than to invent something entirely new, because the faults of the existing system are fairly obvious. There are two approaches to finding new ways to do things: On...
Unlike other televisions sold in the United States, the $149, 13-inch Haier Ribbit comes in a frog-shaped console, doubles as a night-light, and forces kids to answer math problems before switching...
My friend Susan believes that repair people are the most powerful folks on the planet. No one else, she argues, can tell you that they'll show up sometime between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. and actually get...
Many of us associate semiconductors solely with personal computers. But those in the know understand that there are just as many flavors of chip stocks as there are of chips in supermarkets. There ...
Zhang Ruimin has a plan for entering American homes. The chairman and chief executive of Chinese appliance maker Haier is intent on capturing 10% of the U.S. market for full-sized refrigerators wit...
"I'm home," you announce to your house, as you stroll through the door like the Tom Cruise character in the futuristic thriller Minority Report. Your house, smart as a whip, responds warmly by swit...
When people come into the Wallingford, Conn., showroom of Delia, an upscale appliance distributor, they can't resist trying the big black knobs of the ten gleaming Viking Ranges lined up along one ...
When Robin Southgate designed the world's first weather toaster for his final project at Brunel University in Britain, he gave himself a tough criterion: to make an informative statement on white b...
After Marc Andreessen and his University of Illinois cohorts invented Mosaic, the browser that first opened up the Web to millions of people, he co-founded Netscape, the company that helped launch ...
The off-the-rack gray suit, tie clip, company button, and metal-rimmed glasses mark Yoichi Morishita, chairman of Matsushita Electric, as a prototypical Japanese salaryman. Through patience, hard w...
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In 1893, Henry Adams rode the train from Washington to Chicago to visit the Columbian Exposition. The historian and novelist (and grandson and great-grandson of Presidents) was no Luddite. He took ...
Last May, Bank One sponsored an "Immersion Day" in New York City to introduce the press to its new online spinoff--an Internet bank called WingspanBank.com. Even though the shindig was sponsored by...
With more than a month to go before the official start of summer, last year's record-high temperatures may be nothing but a hazy memory. But once the mercury climbs and your only redress is an over...
SUNBEAM NYSE, $46; 0.1% YIELD
TALK ABOUT stretch targets: Could any corporation operate without working capital? The answer may surprise you. A fast-growing number of companies are setting that audacious goal because pursuing i...
IT'S A FEW MINUTES before the morning shift at a Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. semiconductor plant. Workers are shuffling toward locker rooms to don ''bunny suits'' and other sanitized apparel...
DRIVING TOWARD Shekou, a throbbing port in southern China, is like a journey into a region hit by an earthquake. The ground seems to move under you. Mounds of red mud are piled everywhere as land i...
NOW that PC companies are worth billions and even software programmers are wearing shoes in the office, the whole technology thing is getting to be kind of a snore. Remember when Bill Gates was sca...
THINK BACK TO 1983, when the dream of a single European market was just starting to take shape. Leif Johansson, then 32 and a manager at Electrolux, the Swedish appliance maker, was captivated by n...
While it's far from proven that electromagnetic fields are harmful, a little caution can't hurt. In addition to power lines and wiring, many devices around your home or office produce fields when t...
WHIRLPOOL MANAGERS confronted a dilemma. A comprehensive company survey, conducted two years ago, showed that consumers wanted a cooking range with oven controls that were easy to clean. Whirlpool'...
''Consumers are putting in remarkable amounts of time and effort to get quality at a bargain price,'' says Madelyn Hochstein, president of the DYG consulting group. Tell me about it, Madelyn. Here ...
Though it's still unclear whether extremely low frequency (ELF) fields ^ contribute to cancer, you may want to play extra safe and not take unnecessary chances. Granger Morgan, a professor of engin...
It sure is tough to be a hero to your spouse. Take Yoshihiro Fujiwara, the director of Matsushita's intelligent electronics laboratory. He has put the principles of fuzzy logic -- a form of artific...
Thanks to the crisis in the Persian Gulf, the wood-burning stove is making a comeback. Homeowners scared by the high cost of fuel oil have been rushing to buy before winter sets in. The wood stove ...
Once again, Japanese companies are taking a technology invented in the U.S. and using it to create groundbreaking consumer products. The new technology is called fuzzy logic because it enables mach...
XEROX LAST YEAR celebrated the 25th anniversary of the first commercial fax machine, which it introduced. The company controlled 7% of U.S. fax sales in 1989. Japanese companies had two-thirds. -- ...
NOTHING IS MORE American than household appliances. You'll find Maytag's home offices across the way from a seed store in Newton, Iowa. General Electric's appliance division is stabled a few furlon...
THE COOLING ECONOMY will be hard on makers of big-ticket items like cars and appliances. Some of the steam will go out of basic industries. But times will stay good for suppliers of soft goods, con...
Old gimmicks die hard. Back in the '70s, when regulation prevented banks and thrifts from paying depositors decent returns, bankers camouflaged minimal yields with appliance giveaways. Now, with th...
PROFITS ARE formidable statistics. They stare out from annual reports with an air of finality. They weigh heavily in our decisions to invest or sell. They even influence our language and our though...
THERE IS FANTASY, and then there is vision, and Nolan Archibald has pursued both in his 45 achievement-obsessed years. His dream of playing basketball in the NBA turned out to be fantasy, though he...
For all the progress the U.S. has made, some industries still fall far short of the Europeans and Japanese in design. Many American managers simply aren't trained to appreciate it; the subject rare...
IT'S BEEN a long time coming, but American manufacturers finally have reasons to be optimistic. Profits are rising, and so are exports. With the engines of many industries revved up to capacity, th...
OZONE, A VARIANT of the oxygen we breathe, is the Jekyll and Hyde of the atmosphere. At ground level, where it is a pollutant from smokestacks and tailpipes, ozone contributes to smog. But in the s...
FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS a bunch of hip dudes who operate discount audio-video appliance stores played a fabulous gig with the cats on the Street. Between 1982 and 1986 they cut a long-playing recor...
For many Americans, unless something is made in the U.K. or fabrique en France it is just not up to snuff. Yet, as the following list of high-quality products demonstrates, we can glory in much of ...
Once again the automakers are in a race that none of them enjoys: the incentive sweepstakes. After a surge in December, when sales taxes still counted as a deduction from taxable federal income, ca...
Microwave ovens were once viewed as a triumph of convenience over common sense. Would you settle for, say, a gray slab of steaming beef curling up at the edges for the convenience of two minutes of...
THE ENGINE springs to life and revs to a powerful whine. Wheels grip surely as the sleek machine whooshes off on a carpet-smooth ride. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Mercedes-Benz vacuum clea...
ELECTROLUX GROUP of Sweden aims to be the world's first global appliance maker. That hardly seems a surprising ambition for an aggressive company, until you understand that the appliance business h...
TO THE CASUAL eye, much of what General Electric has been up to lately seems to epitomize the humbled circumstances of American business. For more than a century GE brought the world wondrous inven...
White Consolidated Industries rejected a proposed $711-million takeover bid by AB Electrolux of Sweden. The Cleveland-based appliance maker even sought without success to get a court injunction aga...
BIG FOOD-PROCESSING companies guard their technical secrets with all the zeal of defense contractors. Last year, after Keebler, Nabisco, and Frito-Lay marketed cookies that were crisp on the outsid...
BLACK & DECKER is halfway through the biggest brand swap in history. The company, known for power tools and its Dustbuster cordless vacuum cleaner, spent $300 million 19 months ago to buy General E...
A NEW KIND of semiconductor chip is about to work wonders on a vast assortment of products, including many standard household items. The chip is helping produce air conditioners that run without th...
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