CleanTechnica.com, December 23, 2011
Vermont is known for its lush Green Mountains, idyllic farm landscapes, and progressive politics. What many people may not realize is that Vermont has a pretty active secessionist movement too.
Vermont isn’t likely to secede from the U.S. But it is undertaking an ambitious renewable energy program that could at least put it on a path toward “energy secession” — developing a road map for procuring 90% of its heat, electricity and fuels from renewables by 2050.
By Andrew Michler
September 13, 2011
Up to 20 square miles of virgin desert in New Mexico will soon be home to the nation’s newest town, only with a twist — no one will live there. Developer Pegasus Global Holdings (a communication, technology and defense contractor) and the state of New Mexico have announced plans to create a “mid-sized” smart city that they are calling The Center for Testing, Evaluation and Innovation. Details are vague, but the concept is clear enough: design a town that mirrors real cities in order to test sustainable infrastructure and technologies to see if they would work in the actual built environment without fear of disrupting real communities. Think of it as the green version of Westworld – only if something goes wrong nobody gets hurt.
by Angeli Duffin, December 16th, 2011
The Oak Grove School District in San Jose, Calif., is not just bringing renewable energy into the curriculum – they’re using it to power their classrooms. In partnership with Chevron Energy Solutions, the district celebrated the completion of a 1.8 megawatt solar photovoltaic system that will save more than $13 million in energy costs over the project’s lifetime.
CleanTechnica
December 13, 2011
We have the pleasure of working with hundreds of people every day that want to reduce their energy bills, go green and jump on the solar power bandwagon. And the question we see over and over again is: Just how much do I need and what will it cost? We’ll tackle that question here and show you how we calculate system size and cost. We have simple solar calculators that can do this on our website but so many people have asked how this is actually calculated that we thought we’d give a quick solar design lesson.
Richard Black, BBC News
December 9, 2011
A tiny nation you may well have never heard of fears it may become an early casualty of climate change - and will almost be the first to make its entire energy supply carbon-free.
Kristy Hessman, Earthtechling.com
December 5th, 2011
Eco-friendly, affordable housing. That might sound like an oxymoron, but it’s exactly what is in the works just east of downtown Denver. KTGY Group Architecture+Planning has announced construction of the Bluff Lake Apartments, a residential community of 92 high-quality, eco-friendly units. The project is a partnership between the architects, affordable housing developer Mercy House and the city of Denver.
On November 30, Zerofootprint participated in a workshop held at Ottawa’s Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General.
The Right Honourable David Johnston hosted the day-long workshop, aimed at developing an energy efficiency strategy for the Canadian landmark.
The workshop gathered academics and experts from across Canada to share their insight on making Rideau Hall greener.
Janice Zaltman, Sierra Club
December 1, 2011
In my real estate and consulting business, the one question that comes up time and time again is: “What steps can I can take to lower my home energy costs?”
“Ask your neighbors what they spend on their energy bill each month,” advises Ben Millar of E3 Building Sciences in Fort Myers, Florida. “If you are spending the same as everyone else with similar square footage in your neighborhood, maybe your home is okay,” he explains.
Susan DeFreitas
November 29th, 2011
Zero waste. Better batteries. Less money. That’s what earthCell has a plan for, and — with a little help from you, via Kickstarter — perhaps even the cash to make it a reality.
Reuters
November 24, 2011
Air pollution caused more than 100 billion euros ($134.95 billion) in health and environmental damage, highlighting the need for more renewables sources of energy, a report published on Thursday by the European Environment Agency found.
Europe’s 10,000 largest factories and energy facilities resulted in 102-169 billion euros in health issues, such as respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and environmental costs because of air pollution in 2009, the most recent available data.
Per citizen, the cost was between 200-300 euros.
