“Mixed use” development is an exciting term in city planning. Mention it to a planner and chances are their eyes will widen, they will stand up straighter, and they will start talking with you in an excited tone about all the benefits of mixing land uses. When it gets down … [continued]
A new book touts energy efficiency as one possible environmentally and economic solution for solving the global energy crisis. In Crossing The Energy Divide, authors Robert and Edward Ayres argue that we need to reform the way we manage our existing energy systems to double the amount of “energy service” … [continued]
Transportation is one of the biggest parts of our lives, whether we think about it or not. How will 2010 help shape the future of transportation in the US? How should it do so? And, more specifically, what is going on in government on this matter? With an expired (in … [continued]
The world’s first demonstration facility for the large scale production of Amazonian “dark soil” is under construction in Hengstbacherhof, Germany. Dark soil, also known as terra preta, is a manmade, ultra-fertile soil that was first developed thousands of years ago in Amazon communities. The buzz about terra preta is its … [continued]
Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company … [continued]
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the largest energy efficiency program in U.S. history, authorizing $3.1 billion in consumer rebates and efficiency programs over the next three years. This brings the state a giant step closer to implementing AB32, according to Lara Ettenson, director of California Energy Efficiency Policy at the NRDC.
Ettenson told me that the funding comes from the part of the budget that California’s regulated utilities may use to invest in conventional electricity. This may include “negawatts” or energy efficiency measures, which is cheaper than building new plants and transmission.
Meg Whitman penned an op-ed last week stating she’d suspend California’s landmark climate-change legislation, AB32, on her first day if elected governor. This is backwards thinking, and I disagree. Experts estimate that the four largest clean-energy industries (solar, wind, biofuels, and fuel-cell) will have combined annual revenues of $255 billion … [continued]
[social_buttons] Micromidas, Inc. has turned its green eye on wastewater, and it is seeing gold. The company has developed a strain of microbes that can convert the carbon in wastewater into PHA (polyhydroxylalkanoate), a high performance plastic. PHA biodegrades quickly in compost piles and landfills, but otherwise it behaves the … [continued]
[social_buttons] The city of brotherly love is now the city of brotherly BigBellies. While it’s not the first city to adopt BigBelly Solar’s cordless trash compaction system, Philadelphia’s installment of 500 new solar trash compactors represents the most “comprehensive” program seen thus far. BigBelly Solar, originally the Seahorse Power Company, … [continued]
Bruce Foods, maker of legendary “Original” Louisiana Hot Sauce, is leading all other hot sauces into a more sustainable future. The company has nearly completed an expansion of its food processing plant in Wilson, North Carolina that includes a major methane capture installation. The Wilson plant, one of four owned … [continued]
