Green Building

Solar Thermal Factory Opened in Vegas, Triples Worldwide Manufacturing Capacity

11thhouraction — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:25:52 -0500

While Ausra CEO Robert Fishman was far from excited yesterday about the BLM solar moratorium policy, he was perfectly happy to tout his company’s new 130,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas. “This is a crossover point for this industry. Ausra’s factory is accelerating Nevada’s and America’s solar future by tripling worldwide manufacturing capacity, relieving the supply constraint that has slowed the industry, and continuing to drive down costs,” Fishman said in Ausra’s press release.

The factory will be the Palo Alto-based companies first North American manufacturing and distribution centers and will supply reflectors, absorber tubes and other components for the company’s solar thermal power plants. At full capacity, the facility will produce more than 700 MW of solar collectors annually.

Site provided by www.treehugger.com

Compact Fluorescent Bulb Recycling Now Available at US Home Depot Stores

11thhouraction — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:27:33 -0500

The Home Depot has expanded the recycling program for compact fluorescent light bulbs begun last November in its Canadian stores to in 1900-odd stores in the United States. Customers can bring in any expired, unbroken CFL bulb the store’s returns desk. “The bulbs will then be managed responsibly by an environmental management company who will coordinate CFL packaging, transportation and recycling to maximize safety and ensure environmental compliance.”

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Site provided by www.treehugger.com

NEW SEARCH ENGINE SEEKS TO BUILD A GREEN FUTURE!

mhaney — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:13:38 -0500

The first Flash Search Engine is an Environmental Search Engine!! http://www.greenplanetsearch.com is now live!

When Mike Haney first presented the idea behind the technology behind

www.greenplanetsearch.com, he was laughed down. Virtually, of course. “Everyone can

dream,: scoffed one, erroneously.

A few people were intrigued. The combination of Haney’s vision of a Flash-driven search

engine, and the plan to create a dazzling environmental education resource, eventually

attracted a loose-knit corps of collaborators, most of whom have never met in person first

among them Andre Roussille, a French computer programmer, and now part owner of the

company.

The upshot from this collaboration, apart from the stunningly beautiful homepage, is the

only people involved in the creation of the search engine, is that the only people involved

in the development devoted environmentalists, who genuinely wish to disseminate good

information to students and educators.

Later, through a similar serendipity, Mr. Haney teamed up with a veteran journalist who

agreed to lend his services to the site, building from scratch a source of environmental

news and policy analysis.

Advertisers will be strictly vetted by the companies shareholders, limited to companies

that are making a meaningful contribution the planet’s health.

The final result, which was launched this week, is the culminating of thousands of

hours of work, and more than a few false starts.

It boasts easily navigable information, experiments, lesson plans, presented in an interactive and graphically enhanced format,

and has an exclusive global climate change resource section for teachers and kids.

If you would like more information about greenplanetsearch.com, or to schedule an

interview with Mike Haney, please call Mike Haney at 305.531.3746 or e-mail info@greenplanetsearch.com.

TV Alert: “GREENSBURG” Premiers Sunday June 15th on the Planet Green Channel

AZ_Sun — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:51:33 -0500

Just a reminder that GREENSBURG premiers this Sunday, June 15th at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery's new Planet Green channel. The 13-part series follows the green rebuilding story of Greensburg, Kansas after a devastating EF5 tornado traveled through the area on May 4, 2007 destroying at least 95 percent of the city. The series features Leonardo DiCaprio as its executive producer, and will be a behind-the-scenes look into the rebuilding of Greensburg as an eco-friendly community which will showcase as a model for the rest of the world to follow.

I have been feeling a little guilty about looking forward to this new series since a disaster had to happen in order to make this series possible. But now with all the recent disasters happening all over the country with more tornadoes and severe flooding causing people to lose their homes, businesses and towns, a series like this is hitting the airwaves at exactly the right time. The community of Greensburg can give hope now to other people by showing how they turned life’s challenges into personal triumphs.

Since Planet Green debuted this past June 4th I have had the opportunity to watch a few of the shows. My eco-ego has enjoyed watching WA$TED the most. I have to admit that watching this show gives me an air of superiority, in that I feel I’m very green compared to the people they profile on the show. LOL

Then I watch Living with Ed and my air of superiority gets diminished very quickly, because my actions pale in comparison to Ed’s actions. I don’t do anything even close like riding a stationary bicycle every morning to generate enough electricity to make toast like Ed does.

Compared to Ed, I’m a very light shade of mint green.

No one can do everything, but everyone can do something...and that's what counts.

Future Apple Devices Looking to Solar Power

11thhouraction — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:23:19 -0500

Employees at Apple have filed a patent for integrating solar cells into portable devices by placing them underneath the layers of a touch-sensitive display, according to the filing.

Solar power could help make devices truly portable, freeing from the need for wires to connect them to a power supply.

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Site provided by www.nytimes.com

It's official: Bay Area passes carbon tax

11thhouraction — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:13:44 -0500

Despite widespread national ambivalence about its merits, air pollution regulators in the Bay Area have overwhelmingly approved the nation's second ever carbon tax (Boulder, CO, was first) -- voting 15-1 to require companies to pay 4.4 cents per ton of carbon emitted. The tax will cover 9 counties in the Bay Area and will take effect July 1.

Though a modest measure at best -- the fees will likely only generate an additional $1.1 million per year in revenues -- members of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District hope it will help set a national precedent, or at least get policymakers thinking the right way.

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Site provided by www.treehugger.com

Tree House - it's in their hands............

Bill McKimm — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:08:40 -0500

we are on a journey that we believe will change early years child education and attitude to the environment, we plan do this in a building that will be built from sustainable sources and will be carbon neutral.......................... does anyone no of any other similar projects happening world-wide? where we can share ideas and inspiration ????? do you have any ideas?

How Are College Campuses Going Green?

11thhouraction — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:42:24 -0500

The question was asked: What initiatives are taking place on college campuses to reduce the footprints of these large users of energy and other resources? -- Shawna Smith, Hamilton, NY

Microcosms of the world at large, college campuses are great test beds for environmental change, and many students are working hard to get their administrations to take positive action. The initiatives that are emerging are models for the larger society, and the students pushing for them will be taking these lessons with them, too, as they enter the work force after graduation.

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Site provided by www.thedailygreen.com

Change! Recycling and building green...well, trying.

Intensetigergirl — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:07:39 -0500

Hello all!

Welcome to my first blogging experience on here.

I absolutely love the idea of going green, too bad it took me this long to feel this way. I have started recycling through my trash service and it is only about six dollars more every three months. I didn't even realize this was an option until I started calling around! I'm sure, if this option is available in Wichita, Kansas, then recycling through your trash service might be an even greater possibility. The only worry that I express with this option? I'm not sure that it is actually going into a recycle center. I know that we do have a large company (Weyerhauser Recycling) who recycles just about anything you can think of; soooo possibly my trash service (Lies Trash) is sort of a middle men for them. I hope!

Next on my agenda, building a community green house. I want this so badly...I can smell the fresh manure! I really don't know how to go about this zany idea. Do I look for investors? I imagine that Most of the people that I live around are in the same financial state that I'm in: Paycheck to paycheck or worse, so what's a girl to do?

Another "green" project that I'm working on is remodeling my small house. Why OH Why is building green SOOO expensive!? I have one of the smallest, two bedroom houses on the planet (well, okay...not that small) and I have been pricing "alternative" energy sources and I'm blown away. How is a limited budget supposed to convert, especially since the time is NOW? The house is not livable right now, we have to gut the bathroom, replace the windows, install a new heating and cooling unit, and place a fence around the property (dogs, yo). I would like to go as green as possible or no, I take that back...I want to go COMPLETELY green! Would love to save the planet and my budget from another cold winter or flippin crazy "smokin" hot summer. I have large leafed trees that grow in the front of the house, so that saves a bit of energy for cooling; but I would really love to be able to cut out so much more. Who do I have to coerce out of a cool million for these projects? HMMMM? Could that be you reader? Would you like to fork over a cool mil. so that I can live green. I know you worked for your dollars, or maybe you didn't and you feel like a King and just Want...no NEED to throw around some big cash. I propose that if you threw that money my way, I would put it to GREAT use. I could even get off my lazy arse and take before and after photos...proving my vow of selfish good. :) Yea, well a girl has to try...right?

Take care all who read this and happy green evolving!

Elizabeth

The Omnivore's Green Grill: How to eat green this summer

11thhouraction — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:06:59 -0500

With the savory scent of summer grilling in the air, here's how to pick the best meat, fish, fowl and veggies for your outdoor cooking. Article written by David Worthman, published on The Green Guide.

As the days grow longer and warmer, grillers across the country will be sizzling and flipping their way through millions of burgers, chicken pieces and fish fillets. Americans eat, on average, 67 pounds of beef and 59.2 pounds of chicken per person, per year, most of it from "concentrated animal feeding operations" (CAFOs). This year, the American Public Health Association has asked that state governments impose moratoriums on new CAFOs due to the pollution and health threats posed by factory farms. Our seafood consumption, which hovered at around 15 pounds per capita until 2000, is expected to rise 26 percent by 2020—provided that fisheries aren't depleted by overfishing.

READ MORE of David Worthman's artile
www.thegreenguide.com