UC Solar Decathlon

Turning heat into electricity ...

2008-07-14T10:50:00.014-05:00

So, the experimenting began in earnest about July 1. The big project now concerns converting, or harvesting, excess heat produced from solar heated water into electricity.

Most of the experimentation takes place in the Flow and Heat Lab, located in Old Chem, where the experiments can (hopefully) be performed on a smaller but still accurate scale.

Solar-heated water is stored in an insulated tank that holds several hundred gallons of water. That water is used for typical usages as well as for the modified air-conditioning system. But should weather conditions not necessitate air conditioning, the water tank will hold excess heat. Eventually that heat will dissipate into the environment, which essentially amounts to wasted energy and a wasted opportunity.

University faculty members Professor Anton Harfmann and Dr. Michael Kazmierczak are working with students Todd Kolloff and Adam Saltzman to develop the technology and measure efficiency and feasibility. Here is an illustration of the basic equipment and procedure involved:

Here is a photo of the apparatus attached to a hot water source in the lab:

Here is a photo of the equipment deconstructed:

Here, Todd is pointing to thermoelectric devices that are responsible for actually converting the heat into electricity. More on that in a moment ...

When the experiments are running, the thermoelectric devices are sandwiched between the heat conducting panel and the cooling fins.

The devices are attached to a conductor that will be attached to the heat source, in this case the water tank. This temperature here is naturally maintained at a releatively consistent 90 degrees Celsius (about 190 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit).

The black piece is a fin that is intended to wick excess heat away from the backside of the devices. The fins act like a radiator. It is essential for the temperature at this part of the apparatus to remain ambient -- the lower the better, and in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius (50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) is acceptable.

In order for electrons to move through the devices and generate electricity, the hot side must stay hot, while the cool side must stay cool.

Here are other views of the thermoelectric devices. The devices consist of multiple kinds of metal, all conductors, that will route generated electricity through the center teeth and out through the wiring into storage or usage, or in the case of this experimentation, into a measuring device.

The main challenge at this stage of the game is maintaining the temperatures required to generate electricity.

The easiest way to accomplish this would be to use a fan to keep the ambient side cool. The problem with that is that the fan will use electricity. Depending on how much energy is used by the fan, the entire process may not be worthwhile, for example if the fan uses more electricity than is generated.

So instead of using a fan, the first step for the team is to find another way to wick heat through and off the apparatus without raising the ambient-temperature side above desirable levels.

The team tries to create a chimney that will facilitate the movement of excess heat up and away from the fins as quickly as possible and without using electricity.

We'll check back with the next post to evaluate progress.

Summer Home

2008-07-14T08:49:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of photos of the Solar house in its current location, in front of McMicken Hall.

2008-07-12T07:57:00.002-05:00

It's summer 2008 and the UC Solar House is buzzing with activity. On campus since the Decathlon back in October, the house's future may be uncertain, but a select group of faculty and students will be conducting experiments throughout the summer, in hopes of both creating new technologies and advancing efficiencies of existing technologies.

Pogue's Video

2007-11-13T05:27:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone - I know it's been while. Here's a quick wrap-up video I found about the Decathlon:

David Pogue, the New York Times technology columnist and author of the blog Pogue's Posts, was on CBS News Sunday Morning last week to talk about the Solar Decathlon. Here's a video of his coverage - he's got a great sense of humor, and it's only an 8-minute video, so go check it out.

The Finish

2007-10-23T09:12:00.000-05:00

Kevin Brosnahan of the DOE estimated that over 100,000 people showed up to visit this year's Solar Decathlon, a testament to the public's growing interest in all things green. Saturday, the final day for house tours, the crowd was thick, and the lines - especially at winners' houses - longer than ever.

Luckily for everyone, the weather was beautiful. Saturday night UC's [re]form team began deconstruction of the house. I think everyone agrees that our team worked extremely hard on this house, and established UC as a world-class university that is absolutely dedicated to furthering itself innovatively and collaboratively. As Nancy Zimpher said Friday night, "This is what UC 21 is about."

UC's Journalism team was extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to go and report on something like the Solar Decathlon. We had our challenges, but overall I think we would do it again in a heartbeat.

Thanks, Elissa.

Crowd Control

2007-10-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

The crowds of visitors and guests in the Solar Village are still lining up to catch a glimpse of the future. There's anticipation and speculation in the air as we get closer to the final results when the winner of this year's competition will be announced.

Today's the Day

2007-10-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

Last night, UC's [re]form team served a (very low-lit) dinner to team members from Texas, Maryland and Cornell, one of the last elements of the competition to take place.

Today at 2 pm the winners of the Engineering contest will be announced, followed by the announcement of the overall winner of the 2007 Solar Decathlon. There is plenty of speculation right now, with Maryland and Darmstadt going head to head for the win - right now they're about one point apart, a minuscule difference - but the Engineering contest could result in a surprise for everyone. We'll see you on the flip side!

The Tightening of the Race

2007-10-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday the winner of the architecture competition was announced: Technische Universität Darmstadt! The team, pictured above, was very gracious and called all the houses "beautiful" and deserving of an award.

Today the winner of the communications contest was revealed to be the University of Maryland, which is currently in the lead all around with 98.2 out of 100 points for their "leaf house."

Rest & Relaxation

2007-10-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

The ReForm team taking a breather after a long day of anxious visitors and solar house tours.
InForm team member and photojournalist Emily Schneider steps out from behind the camera to chat with the team during a much needed break.

Digital Design

2007-10-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

The system overview console located on the kitchen wall that controls everything in the house. Lights, heating and air conditioning-all at the touch of the screen. You hold the power in your hands!

In the Hallway

2007-10-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

A view from the corridor connecting the bathroom, master bedroom and entrances to the kitchen and patio.

Don't forget to flush!

2007-10-14T10:39:00.000-05:00

The solar house has the best bathroom. Looks like it's straight out of an IKEA catalog.

Sleep in heavenly peace...

2007-10-14T10:37:00.001-05:00

The master bedroom and its shagadelic rug. Very Austin Powers, huh? Doesn't it look like someone forgot to shake out the wrinkles in the comforter set? :-)

The DoE Family

2007-10-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

A guest is introduced for the first time to the DoE Family, our residents in the solar house.

Educating the Masses

2007-10-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

Guests take a moment to learn about the solar and thermal energy techniques used to heat and cool the house in each season and generate electricity inside.

The Grand Tour

2007-10-14T10:24:00.002-05:00

Comfy, chic and contemporary accents in this quiet corner of the living room. Perfect for curling up with a good book or a copy of The Washington Post.

The Grand Tour

2007-10-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

More details and explanations about the kitchen from the team. Check out the brilliant use of storage and appliance space underneath the island countertop.

The Grand Tour

2007-10-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

UC ReForm team members give guests a tour through the kitchen and dining area.

Smithsonian Peek-a-Boo

2007-10-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

Our house with the Smithsonian peaking up from behind it.

In the Solar Village

2007-10-14T09:02:00.000-05:00

The view from the entrance to the Solar Village with the Washington Monument standing tall in the distance.

Gaining Ground

2007-10-14T02:40:00.000-05:00

The ReForm team woke up this morning with six days left and smiles on their faces in preparation for the juries to come for a contest inspection of their houses. Close to 8:00 a.m. right after breakfast, the first set of three jurors came strolling up the ramp to critique the team on its architectural advances. Out of the ten contests, each team is required to design and build an attractive home utilizing solar and energy efficient techniques all incorporated in the home’s overall design. Each team can earn up to 200 point in this contest category, the most crucial one holding the most value among the other categories. ReForm team member and architecture grad student Nick Germann stopped to talk to our reporters about the morning’s judicial encounter.

“They were bland, but they gave a whole lot of feedback,” said Germann. “Hey, it was still early. I guess they were still asleep.” Keeping an open mind and sense of humor has been one of the major factors of keeping the team together in the heat of the moment according to Germann and his design teammates. Carl Sterner, another UC grad student studying architecture, stood at the top of the ramp to explain his feelings on today’s juries.

“Those jurors saw our exhibit and loved it, we really worked the exhibit design,” said Sterner “Most others use the batch mentality by escorting groups and all they end up getting is a quick view all at once, but generally the same information.”

Another teammate and interior design student, Tina Sevilla chimed in on this morning’s visitation from the jurors and her feelings on what they experience while there.

“They seemed really impressed,” said Sevilla. “The jurors loved the amount of natural lighting in the house. They also loved our rain screen. In fact, everyone who has come to see the house comes to see that screen.”

Next up, the jurors for the category of communication were introduced to a consistently impressive way of introducing certain aspects of the solar home. Sterner was on site again for this and gave us his thoughts later this afternoon.

“They loved our strategy,” said Sterner. “Then we were able to take them through one at a time to absorb it all in then allow each could ask questions.”

Sevilla caught a few jurors admiring the evacuated tubing set up and more.

“Those tubes kinda got us through it today,” said Sevilla. “People asked a lot about the evacuated tubing and actually powering the house.” Sevilla says the photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof create the solar home’s electricity, but most of the home itself relies on produced and converted thermal energy. Apparently, a marketing question came from the marketing viability jurors surrounding the manufacturers of the tubing. The answer was Sunda, a Chinese company which currently leads technology in the solar thermal field.

Stay tuned for more from Washington, D.C. as we continue gaining ground in the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

Photo Update from DC

2007-10-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

Judging took place today in three areas: architecture, market viability and communication. I was lucky enough to be present for the communication judging, and we seemed to do really well! (Don't tell, but I peeked at one judge's notes, and they were really positive!) It was interesting trying to explain the absorption chiller to them, but difficult to do well in the 20 minutes we had. Overall, though, the experience was a great one, and our exhibitry obviously impressed them. Here are some photos from yesterday (I'll upload today's later).

Team members relax once tour hours are over.

The kitchen has a nifty touch-powered control screen to moniter the systems of the house.

The facade yesterday afternoon.

ReForm Team One Step Closer to Victory

2007-10-12T23:39:00.000-05:00

It’s almost time to begin judging the entries in this year’s Solar Decathlon, but the ReForm team’s spirits are even higher than the temperature here in our nation’s capital. Amid 64 degree weather, plenty of sun, and a chilling breeze, the team delighted in explaining the details of their competition entry to the hundreds of passers by clad in light jackets, sweaters, wool ponchos and shades visiting each spectacular solar house on the National Mall earlier Friday afternoon.

After scoping the scene to get a feel for the team’s energy level and their ideas of their current place in the competition, the team generally felt they were in good standing. According to competition entry regulations, Decathlon houses were to cease construction on Friday morning. UC’s ReForm team finished ahead of the rest in the crisp evening after hours on Thursday around 2:00 a.m. leaving about 10 of their opponents in the dust to scramble completing cosmetic changes to their houses. Some were even applying a few last minute coats of paint well into the afternoon. Jonathan Herman, a graduate architecture student, spoke of the team’s experiences working to get to this final leg of the competition and a few lessons he’s learned along the way.

“The greatest lesson was simply learning how to go about building things,” said Herman. Like other architecture students who had the most to say about the team’s effort and structure, Herman acknowledged what could’ve been a dilemma from the start.

“Working with the engineering students has been fun. We have different mindsets. They’re about getting it done, doing it the standard way the way the industry does.” But separate mentalities didn’t slow the team down; it actually made them stronger.

“We (architecture students) have had to fight our ground. We think of how it can not only be the best, but how it can look its best, too. We all still had fun coming together.” Herman and his fellow teammates now appreciate even more the differences that have helped them create a finished product they can now be proud of.

Hopefully one of their most distinctive features proves to be a goldmine for the team. The 120 evacuated tubes serving as solar thermal collectors forming the outer wall of the house’s courtyard is the largest number of tubes for any past or present Decathlon entry. This puts them a step above the rest once again just on the premise of doing something a little different in the competition. The team undergoes architecture, marketing appeal, and communications judging beginning tomorrow and Sunday promptly at 10:00 a.m. so we’ll see if all these positive vibes start to pay off soon. Stay tuned for more from Washington, D.C. as we bring you the exclusives from the 2007 Solar Decathlon.

Eine Gespräch mit Thomas Köhler von die Technische Universität Darmstadt

2007-10-10T09:06:00.000-05:00

Beyond their Germanness and shiny corduroys, the Darmstadt team seemed a little foreign at the 2007 Solar Decathlon. Conceptually and geographically, their approach to the solar home they constructed seemed removed from other entries.

The Darmstadt team's motto was ostensibly the same as the Cincinnati Yellow Pages: Work Smart, not Hard. Thomas Köhler, the architecture student that designed the dwelling, decided that the house should be a "passive structure," meaning that either side of the house is donned with glass doors, The purpose behind this design is almost entirely for ventilation purposes: if the house is too warm, open the doors for a delightful breeze: if too cold, shut those doors and the sun filtered in through the doors will heat the house.

"Our first concept was to save energy and not produce a lot of energy," said Köhler.

In addition, the Darmstadt house has a paraffin ceiling. As the house is warmed, the paraffin melts, releasing energy so as not to trap in too much heat. As the house cools, the paraffin harden to trap the remaining heat.

As we all know, Germans are the best at everything and are quite possibly the coolest people in existence. As such, the Darmstadt team had the most unique and potentially marketable innovation in the house. In conjunction with the movable photovoltaic panels attached to their roof, the Darmstadt team itself custom designed and built their own PV panels for the front of the structure. They combined the panels inside a wooden trellis that bordered the south side of the house, created almost a venetian blind feeling.

Also, the team had installed invisible, surrounds sound speakers INSIDE (nestled in between slats) the drywall!

Köhler and the rest of the Darmstadt team were eager to participate in the competition surprisingly because Germany typically never hosts these kinds of events. "If you study [architecture], you usually just plan, but [only] theoretical, nothing practical," said Köhler, his beautiful teeth glistening in the sunshine's wake.

"It's really interesting for us to see 20 different types of houses which are thinking in different ways to deal with energy," said Köhler.

Santa Clara University: Fear of the Underdog

2007-10-09T07:41:00.000-05:00

On Friday Oct. 5th, there were only 19 solar powered homes present on the National Mall at the 2007 Solar Decathlon. Santa Clara University's solar home had fallen off the back of their truck in California en route to the event. Axles on their carrier truck had cracked from pressure on a steep grade causing their house to slide off.

Luckily, around 7 pm that night, a new carrier gingerly drove Santa Clara's home on the site with no significant damage. "Our house actually made it in really good condition so we don't have a lot to worry about," said Brian Brocco, electrical engineering student. Even with such a huge setback, Santa Clara was nearly equidistant with others teams a day after getting their home on site.

What may have saved Santa Clara University from complete disaster? Planning. While many others teams were adjusting electrical and plumbing systems on site, Santa Clara had the forethought to install and adjust those systems while back in California.

Other factors in this competition posed problems for the team from the start. They were the 21st team selected at the start on the competition, and not eligible to compete unless another team dropped out. A neighboring school California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, a contestant in the 2005 Solar Decathlon, did withdraw, allowing Santa Clara the 20th slot.

Others problems surfaced for the team:"Santa Clara University is really one of the smaller schools here," said Brocco. "We don't even have an architecture school." Cal Poly actually assisted the team in creating a design for the house, passing on a few floor plan designs after they withdrew from the competition.

It will be interesting to see how this small Silicon Valley school fares in the weeks to come.

video from Washington

2007-10-07T01:37:00.000-05:00

the inform team would like to thank:
Apple: for making the 12" powerbook that is pretty light
Volkswagen: for our Jetta that gets great mileage
the Department of Energy: for hosting the solar decathlon
Chrome: for making nice messenger bags that don't hurt our shoulders
and
the D.C. metro system for getting us all around this 100 sq. mile town

Panda bears, Germans, and solar energy

2007-10-07T01:13:00.000-05:00

Today, we took a much needed break to visit the National Zoo in Washington to sneak a glimpse of their Pandas. Sorry for the terrible photo, our camera charger was left in Ohio, and the Pandas were a few hundred miles away.

As mentioned below, we also chatted with the lead architect for the German team. The story is to follow.

And here is a photo of the village from the roof of the Smithsonian, courtesy of the DOE.

more from the Washington

2007-10-07T00:54:00.000-05:00

The amount of work being done in the solar village this week has been tremendous. As with any event of this magnitude, there are great stories to tell, and we will be bringing them to you over the next few days.
The lead story from the national mall in Washington has been the team from Santa Clara University. They had the longest voyage for any domestic team, and had been sitting on the sidelines until Friday evening when their house finally arrived. One of the six axles on their semi trailer broke in Nebraska, delaying the delivery of their house. As the other teams progressed with their construction, Santa Clara was receiving news that their house was back on the road in O-H-I-O, and finally on the way after roadside welding to the broken axle.
In Saturday's team meeting, all of the teams offered a team member to the Santa Clara group so they could finish on time. Santa Clara graciously declined, feeling that they could complete construction with the team they brought.
The solar decathlon may very well be the only competition where other teams offer their members to help another team. That shows that the solar decathlon is about more than winning. The participants feel so strongly about sustainability and alternative energy sources that they are willing to hurt their own team to help another team in need.
Inform will be bringing you more on the Santa Clara team, including an in-depth story; as well as information about the Darmstadt team from the Deutschland tomorrow.

more pics of the solar village

2007-10-06T15:41:00.001-05:00

more pictures

2007-10-06T15:36:00.001-05:00

more pictures of the UC house (the only bright multi-colored house in the photos), and the rest of the solar village.

more pictures

2007-10-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

more pictures of the UC house (the only bright multi-colored house in the photos), and the rest of the solar village.

the competition

2007-10-04T23:49:00.001-05:00

UC's first Solar Decathlon house is stacked up against some pretty stiff competition. Here are a few pics. Interviews with some of the competing teams to come later. For now, it's some much needed rest for the inform team.

inform in DC

2007-10-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

After a full day (5a-3p), the inform team has arrived in Washington, D.C. for the Solar Decathlon competition. So far, there are a lot of bees (which might be simply because we're blogging from the Smithsonian garden).

Well, after a lot of this:

in this:

we got here:

The site is looking good, and according to Anton Harfmann, re-construction is already ahead of schedule on day two.

Keep it locked here for multiple daily updates over the next week.

Update

2007-10-02T14:08:00.001-05:00

The reForm team is getting ready to begin working on reconstruction when time opens up at midnight this evening. Also, be sure to check the team website for video and photo updates of reconstruction.

On Our Way

2007-10-02T12:50:00.001-05:00

Well, as of Friday the house is in Washington, DC and being prepared for final judgment - a rather stressful but altogether exciting prospect. I just wanted to share one of the final images I shot before it left - Eric Stear drilling in the last panels of [re]form's ceiling. Wish us luck!

China Water Crisis

2007-09-27T15:58:00.000-05:00

A while back, I mentioned a new series on The New York Times' website called Choking on Growth, about pollution in China "reaching deadly extremes." Now Part II of that series has been released on nytimes.com.

It's really fascinating to take a look at the video that accompanies the article, and also the interactive graphic. For instance, did you know that there are 489 million people living in water-scarce areas in China? (The next-closest country to that is India, where 221 million people live in areas with insufficient water.) Worse, pollution has rendered much of the water that is available in China unusable.

Anyway, be sure to check out Choking on Growth Part II to find out what China is doing about the water problem.

The Rebirth of the Electric Car

2007-09-26T09:53:00.000-05:00

Last week, David Pogue published an article in The New York Times that expanded on a CBS News report that aired a couple of Sundays ago. The video is available on CBS News' website, and it's really long and "juicy" (Pogue's word), and just incredibly interesting. When you have some time, you should really check it out. (I recommend pressing the fullscreen button, at the lower right of the embedded video player, to watch.)

Arctic Ice Continues to Melt

2007-09-21T09:56:00.001-05:00

This may seem like old news, but...

The New York Times' environmental journalist Andrew Revkin published a story today stating that Arctic ice melt has reached a "particularly striking" level.

According the the article, "The cap of floating sea ice on the Arctic Ocean, which retreats under summer’s warmth, this year shrank more than one million square miles — or six Californias — below the average minimum area reached in recent decades, scientists reported Thursday."

This crisis is yet more evidence of climate change as a result of greenhouse gas buildup in the Earth's atmosphere.

“You can’t dismiss this as natural variability,” said Dr. Mark Sereze, a senior researcher at the National Snow and Ice Center in Boulder, Colo. “We’re starting to see the system respond to global warming.”

Remember the Ozone?

2007-09-19T14:40:00.000-05:00

In 1985, scientists in Antarctica discovered a seasonal breach in the earth's ozone molecules that was linked to the use of synthetic chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons) found in solvents, sprays, etc.

This discovery begot the Montreal Protocol in 1987 which led to ban of 95% of the pollutants that were responsible for the breach in the ozone

Diplomats and enviro-nuts met Sunday for the 20 years anniversary of the Protocol and to gloat over it's successes. Weird, eh?

The anniversary in now being used as impetus by environment groups and even the White House in order to confront the threat of global warming, perhaps using the Montreal Protocol as a model for success.

Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/science/18clim.html?_r=1&ref=environment&oref=slogin

Amish and Sun Power

2007-09-19T14:34:00.000-05:00

Typically, when I think of Amish country, my thoughts travel toward my 10 th birthday when myself and my family went to Sea World in Cleveland. Little did my fledgling mind know that just before killer whales and over priced hot dogs, I would be treated to Adams County, home of the Amish, buggys and the horses they rode in on.

I don't don't remember much about that trip except warm Sunkist and especially fresh cheese.

But the Amish now are much cooler.

Roughly 80% of Amish communities in Ohio rely on Solar energy because it conforms with there efficient and independent way of living.

Read more here:

http://www.thatscrispy.com/index/news-app/story.2136/title.amish-lead-the-way-for-solar-energy

BP Retracts after Lake Pollution

2007-09-19T14:28:00.000-05:00

(August 14, 2007)

The BP oil refinery in Whiting, Ind. was supposed to expand in order to refine crude oil from Canada. The expansion would have made this refinery the 4th largest refinery in the United States.

The plant expansion would allow for over 54 more ammonia and other suspended solid pollutants (containing toxic heavy metals) to be dumped into the lake.

That's gross.

But conscioutious residents of Michigan and Illinois successfully thwarted such an expansion.

read more here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13903534

Enquirer Visits Solar House!

2007-09-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

On Monday, a photographer visited the UC Solar House for an article being written in the Cincinnati Enquirer!

Stay tuned for the article!

Greenhouses Gases Effecting Nuclear Plants?

2007-09-08T13:02:00.001-05:00

Nuclear power, while potentially dangerous in cases of meltdown i.e Chernobyl, is relatively safe. Nuclear Power plants, after they are up and running, contribute virtually no greenhouse gases to the already overloaded atmosphere.

However, the carbon emissions already present may be effecting Nuclear Plants as they run currently. Many power stations in Europe, especially in France, have been experiencing dangerously hot summers.

The temperatures of some of the nuclear reactors in France are reaching threatening highs, so that attempts to cool them fail. Typically, the natural water supply that flows into French reactors is cool enough to maintain the reactor's temperature, but in the summer heat, the French Government is beginning to recognize the limits of nuclear power in the face of a sizzling planet.

The French Power Grid relies heavily upon the 58 Nuclear facilities that reside within the country. The French Government considered rationing energy during the height of heatwave season this summer.

Mr. Strickland Comes to Cincinnati!!

2007-09-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory and President of the University of Cincinnati Nancy Zimpher gathered at the Solar Decathlon house to observe the progress of the ReForm team.

Luke Field, the architecture graduate student that has been spearheading the construction of the house this summer, took the Governor on a tour of the house, explaining the layout of the structure and discussing the sustainable technologies that the house will employ.

Both Mayor Mallory and Governor Strickland expressed their eagerness to have the house displayed in Columbus and later at Fountain Square after the competition is over in October.

It Begins...

2007-09-06T12:21:00.000-05:00

Further extrapolating on my theory that everything is better is Europe, the first solar thermal power plant that produces (huh?) only solar energy was recently developed in near Seville, Spain.

The power plant uses concentrated solar thermal, using converted solar energy to run steam turbine engines.

And it doesn't produce a singel greenhouse gas.

Read more here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13826548

Pollution in China

2007-08-28T12:25:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Matt mentioned Beijing's possible plans to build a wind farm and run the 2008 Olympics on wind power alone. I commented at the time that, according to Wired magazine, the air quality in Beijing was so bad that there was talk of shutting the whole city down for a while before and during the Olympics.

Well, as part of The New York Times' "Choking on Growth" serie s, Joseph Kahn and Tim Yardley recently wrote an article about China's pollution reaching deadly extremes. They say that "Beijing is frantically searching for a magic formula, a meteorological deus ex machina, to clear its skies for the 2008 Olympics."

The article is a bit long, but definitely worth checking out when you have some time. Read the article here and the series here, which even has goodies like an audio slideshow and a video report.

DC Small Business Owners Go Green

2007-08-21T04:54:00.000-05:00

An article in last Wednesday's New York Times chronicles the shift of many small businesses in Washington, DC to green power.

Reporter Shawn G. Kennedy says that nationally, most companies to switch to wind power "have been large electric power customers like universities, hospitals, hotels, government agencies or owners of large office buildings." So the nine "small, independent and mostly food-related businesses on or near U Street" in DC are fairly unusual in that respect.

The businesses in the "wind power consortium" include Ben's Chili Bowl, Boundless Yoga, CakeLove, Love Café, Rumberos restaurant, Coppi's Organic restaurant, Busboys and Poets, Luna Grill & Diner, and the Diner and Tryst, a coffee shop and restaurant.

Check out the article here.

Finland, Bastion of Nuclear Waste

2007-08-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Instinctively, when the topic of nuclear energy is broached, I immediately think in broad terms, of meltdowns, of the tragic and destructive occurrences on at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, of my German friends that were prohibited from playing out of doors for months in 1986 due to wave upon wave of caustic radiation wafting across the European countryside.

And now I think of Finland.

Finland, still a practitioner of nuclear energy, is spearheading responsible strategies in the disposal of nuclear waste, the radioactive material that is produced from nuclear reactors. This material is highly toxic and must be stored safely in order to ensure that its contents don't contaminate the area it is disposed in.

In the city of Olkiluoto, Finland, a disposal facility for Nuclear waste is currently under construction. The facility is being built smartly into the bedrock in a comb-like cavern, one that is comprised of a long cavern with similar, smaller caverns branching off. Construction is to be complete by 2010.

The facility is a clever move for many reasons. Since the nation's tectonic plates are still shifting from the last ice age, the land has been steadily rising out of the sea for hundreds of years, making it impossible for the waste to contaminate the ocean or the groundwater.

And instead of fashionably worrying about Global Warming like most countries, Finland facility is built in order to be impervious to the impending ice age that planet will invariably receive within the next few hundred years. Since radioactive material has a half life of roughly an ice age, this is good thing.

In the wake of the current energy crisis, Nuclear energy is becoming a more viable prospect in addition to solar energy. Currently in the U.S., roughly 20% of all energy is produced in reactors per year.

And in all honesty, it is relatively safe, a few meltdowns aside. Nonetheless, intelligent management of nuclear facilities and radioactive matter is essential if we are to rely in it in the future.

Grist.org: interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton

2007-08-14T22:05:00.000-05:00

Grist.org, the popular online environmental news outlet, recently published an interview with Hillary Rodham Clinton, conducted by Amanda Griscom Little, as part of a series called "How Green is Your Candidate?" The series is meant to educate voters on where each candidate stands when it comes to issues surrounding the environment and global warming. Little really asks hard, straightforward questions and gets some very revealing and often articulate answers.

I always try to lean away from the political in my notes on environmental news, but this series is just incredibly interesting, because there is so much at stake in the upcoming presidential election.

Check out the interview or the whole Grist Election '08 Series.

Forecast: Earth

2007-08-13T12:14:00.000-05:00

For anyone interested in climate change, here's an article in The New York Times about Heidi Cullen, "the only climatologist with a Ph.D. in the country who has her own weekly show." The show is the Weather Channel's Forecast Earth.

It's interesting to note that Cullen, before being offered the job, "had never even seen the Weather Channel." But she says that she moved to Atlanta and took the job "because they were giving [her] a chance to cover things people need to know more about," such as "global warming, El Niño, energy policy."

Besides her weekly show, Cullen writes for the Forecast Earth blog. One entry discusses "Building a Climate-Proof House."

Windows!

2007-07-26T18:57:00.000-05:00

Quick note: the four parts of the house have now been joined together and the clerestory windows have been installed!

PG&E cleans up

2007-07-24T14:08:00.000-05:00

West Coast energy company Pacific Gas & Electric has entered into an agreement that will make them one of the cleanest suppliers of energy in the country.

The 15-year agreement with PM Energy's Klondike III Wind Project in Sherman County, Oregon will provide 85 MW of wind energy. The clean energy will account for more than 50 percent of the energy the company provides to its customers.

Read the story here.

Beijing looks to wind up the Olympics

2007-07-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

The city of Beijing is building a wind farm, and state officials say it will be ready in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The project calls for the construction of 33 windmills at a cost of more than $75 million.

The goal is to have 20 percent of the Olympic venues powered by renewable energy, and to build awareness for the need for sources of renewable energy.

http://www.enn.com/todays-news/13188

Project Phin

2007-07-24T14:02:00.000-05:00

At first, the web site looks like the promotional page for a new Kevin Smith movie, but Project Phin is about getting into a different kind of act: clean fuels for common transportation.

Celebrity supporters include Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman and Jason Biggs. The site advocates support for new flex-fuel cars, and they want to make ethanol a mandatory alternative at the gas pump.

http://www.cleanmyride.org/

Taking Solar Power to Heart

2007-07-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

The German city of Frieburg has made clean, renewable energy one of its top priorities.

In 2006, renewable energy accounted for about five percent of the city's power usage. The city's ultimate goal is to increase that usage four-fold by 2020.

Also, one of the coolest looking solar houses you've ever laid eyes on is in Frieburg: it rotates during the day to maximize the exposure of the sun to the house's solar panels.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19849134/

via Wired: Green Dorm

2007-07-24T00:36:00.000-05:00

The new issue of Wired magazine, which arrived in my very lucky mailbox yesterday (really, who could resist an image of Martha baking a Wii cake?), was chock-full of interesting tidbits and eco-news.

One of the most interesting, to me anyway, was a blurb about a so-called Green Dorm being partially designed by students of Stanford University. (Above is a SketchUp drawing of the proposed dorm.) According to Wired, "one student created a system of skylights and floor cutouts to illuminate hallways. Another's findings on low-flow showerheads will be implemented campuswide, saving 9 million gallons of water a year." It's great to see schools being so receptive to the ideas of their students. In addition to being incredibly easy on the earth, the school's plan is to make it "the swankiest pad on campus."

Read more here.

Looks like the foam trend is spreading...

2007-07-17T14:46:00.000-05:00

... to your seat.

Ford Motor Company and Lear Corp. are going to be using soy-based foam for seat cushioning.

This sounds a lot like a different application of the same product we've seen used in [re]form.

http://www.world-wire.com/news/0707120001.html

Chill out.

2007-07-17T14:40:00.001-05:00

Ice (Ice), baby.

Instead of using air conditioning, landlords of several buildings in New York are turning to ice keep their tenants cool.

The method saves money and reduces pollution.

http://www.enn.com/greenb.html?id=1357

Rooftops key to Florida energy goal

2007-07-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

Instead of building wind or solar fields, the state of Florida is looking to utilize residential rooftops to achieve its green goals.

If the plan discussed here is implemented, Florida would become the most power plant-populated state!

http://www.enn.com/todays-news/13147

The Cost of Saving Energy

2007-07-16T11:20:00.001-05:00

Ever wish you lived in New York?

If you were a landlord in New York city right now, maybe you'd wish you didn't. According to an article in The New York Times yesterday, "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has created a blueprint, called PlaNYC, to control future development in the city, with a goal of reducing total greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 by 30 percent, compared with 2005 levels." Buildings will need to go on a strict "energy diet" in order to comply with the requirements of the plan, and some of the proposed changes are not inexpensive.

Be sure to check out the graphic that accompanies the story, which outlines changes that can be made in older buildings to reduce their energy consumption.

Green Energy + Free Beer = Drunken Environmentalism

2007-07-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

An Eco- Festival in Manhattan this weekend found a progressive way to warm patrons to cleaner forms of energy.

As their robin's egg blue sign stated, "Sign up for Clean Energy and Drink Free beer."

Beer enthusiasts, and perilously drunk individuals, who signed up for electricity from Community Energy, an owner of three wind farms in NY and Penn., received drink tickets for a very economic 4 pints of beer.

Now that's progress.

Read the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/nyregion/15beer.html?_r=1&ref=environment&oref=slogin

Cows that burp less...

2007-07-10T14:18:00.000-05:00

...help the environment.

According to a recent report, feeding cows a diet that makes them less likely to burp could impact the effects of global warming.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19680497/

Perpetual energy?

2007-07-10T14:12:00.000-05:00

According to manufacturer Steorn Ltd., their device, dubbed the "Orbo," is able to produce free, clean and constant energy. According to the company's website, the device violates the principle of the conservation of energy, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

The device uses conflicting magnetic fields to create mechanical energy. The claim is disputed by many scientists.

Steorn Ltd. says that they will have validated their claim by the end of the calendar year.

Check it out!

http://www.steorn.com/orbo/claim/

Floating Windmills!

2007-07-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2649035,00.html

This is exciting news. Windfields used to be limited by geographical boundaries. They were land-bound. And windfields were viewed as eyesores by many, and dangerous to local avian wildlife.

But now? If it works, it expands the amount of real estate available for use as sources of renewable energy.

The company making the floating windmills says it believes that the devices can be installed as far out as waters 700 meters deep!

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

2007-07-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Boeing unveilled its new 787 Dreamliner, billed as the most environmentally friendly commercial airliner ever, reports the BBC.

The Dreamliner is made carbon fiber instead of aluminium, which significantly reduces the overall weight of the plane. That means lowered fuel requirements and reduced CO2 emissions, as much as 20% lower than commercial airplanes currently in use.

Detractors, though say that while the 787 is essentially more environmentally friendly, lowered fuel prices will translate to more travelers, and cancel out the benefits by volume.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6282820.stm

Message in a Bottle

2007-07-09T23:06:00.000-05:00

Fast Company published an article this month about bottled water, from an economist's perspective. And I have to say, it's pretty shocking. Did you know that last year, Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water? And that our PET recycling rate is only 23%, so the majority of water bottles end up in landfills? The author, Charles Fishman, takes a look into the history of bottled water, and shares the fruits of his research into a few individual companies that produce bottled water. Here's an excerpt:

The Fiji Water plant is a state-of-the-art facility that runs 24 hours a day. That means it requires an uninterrupted supply of electricity--something the local utility structure cannot support. So the factory supplies its own electricity, with three big generators running on diesel fuel. The water may come from "one of the last pristine ecosystems on earth," as some of the labels say, but out back of the bottling plant is a less pristine ecosystem veiled with a diesel haze.

Definitely something to think about.

'Buying into the Green Movement'

2007-07-01T16:29:00.001-05:00

An article in today's New York Times style section discusses the notion that many people buy green just to look cool and because they can do it guiltlessly, and it doesn't end up doing much for the environment.

"Critics question the notion that we can avert global warming by buying so-called earth-friendly products," writes Alex Williams, "from clothing and cars to homes and vacations, when the cumulative effect of our consumption remains enormous and hazardous."

Apparently "green is the new black." And it's not actually solving the problem of climate change.

There's a great quote from Chip Giller, founder of Grist.org: "Over even the last couple of months, there is more concern growing within the traditional camp about the Cosmo-izing of the green movement — '55 great ways to look eco-sexy.' Among traditional greens, there is concern that too much of the population thinks there’s an easy way out."

"The assumption that by buying anything, whether green or not, we’re solving the problem is a misperception," says Michael Ableman, an environmental author and long-time organic farmer. "Consuming is a significant part of the problem to begin with. Maybe the solution is instead of buying five pairs of organic cotton jeans, buy one pair of regular jeans instead."

Image credit: Post Typography

Investment in renewable energy up 43% from last year

2007-06-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

http://www.plentymag.com/news/2007/06/investment_in_renewable_energy.php

According to the story, an additional $71 billion was invested in renewable energy in 2006, which accounts for 18 percent of all investments in energy. However, only two percent of all energy used around the world comes from renewable energy sources.

Projected capital investment for 2007: $85 billion.

Green Brunch

2007-06-19T09:46:00.001-05:00

Member Event: Green Brunch
Contemporary Arts Center
Beyond Green Brunch and Tour
CAC, 6th and Walnut Streets, Downtown
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Member Seating · 10:00 AM
General Public · Seating 11:00 AM*

Join us! Jamerasol, Rohs Street Café, Park + Vine, The Green Book and other sustainability-conscious groups partner with ETA and the CAC as we GO GREEN! Inspired by the exhibit, Beyond Green: Toward a Sustainable Art, members and friends are invited as ETA and the CAC go GREEN! Enjoy food by emerging culinary talent Jamerasol, coffee from Rohs Street Café, try out Park + Vine’s green-friendly goods & gear, and relax to the sounds of Russ Childers as he performs on a dulcimer made from recycled items. CAC Education will help you turn a shopping bag from EcoBags into a work of art, and some lucky winners will receive The Green Book. (See www.readthegreenbook.com).

Capacity is limited - reserve early!

$12 per person for brunch, tour, and art activity
RSVP to (513) 621-4700 with credit card
Have questions? E-mail events@etastart.com
Bring as many friends as you like
*This event is part of the Mayor’s Arts Allies Series.

2007-06-15T12:40:00.000-05:00

Did you know that in the average home, 40 percent of all electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off? According to an article published yesterday in The New York Times, added up, that equals the annual output of 17 power plants.

The author of the article, Larry Magid, used a $25 energy meter to measure the amount of electricity his electronic devices used overnight, when they were turned off or not in use. The results of his tests are pretty surprising. Check out the article, or visit the homepage of The Times' Energy Challenge.

Masque of the Green Death

2007-06-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

Good news! Environmentalists can continue contributing to green causes post humously!

There are a string of environmentally friendly methods of burial available primarily in Europe and in certain parts of the United States. In the United Kingdom, there are dedicated woodland burial grounds where, if loved ones are buried in biodegradable coffins such as untreated wood, cardboard etc, no essential pollutants enter the ground (providing that the deceased is a staunch environmentalist and waived their embalming privileges.)

Eco-friendly coffins are also being constructed of cellulose fibres from recycled trees.

In Sweden, ecologist Susanne Wiigh-Masak has devised a method of turned human remains into human compost. The deceased are placed in liquid nitrogen, shattered (a process relatively easy considering the human body is 73.8% water) and placed in bio degradable containers for 6 months. After that time, they can be transferred to traditional compost heaps.

For more, read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Thomas Edison's legacy

2007-06-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

There's an interesting article in today's New York Times Magazine about Thomas Edison's contributions to renewable energy technologies. The article is accompanied by a picture of Edison with his electric car, the Baker, holding a battery proudly.

It discusses Mayor Bloomberg's recent announcement that he wanted to reduce New York City's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in the next 25 years.

What's kind of funny about Edison is that while he was "an unlikely green pioneer whose ideas about renewable power still resonate today," he also built one of the country's first central power stations in New York City and invented the incandescent light bulb (which we all know to be a "notoriously inefficient" source of light).

At any rate, the article ends with a scarily foretelling quote from Edison in 1931: "I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."

The administration's goals regarding emissions

2007-06-01T00:21:00.000-05:00

A timeline put together by The Times' Andrew Revkin and Farhana Hossain showing changes in the administration's view of global warming (click image to enlarge)

Yesterday, Bush spoke at the United States Agency for International Development in Washington. “In recent years, science has deepened our understanding of climate change and opened new possibilities for confronting it,” he said.

The New York Times Radio Editor Jane Bornemeier discussed the talk and its implications with Times reporter Andrew Revkin. "There's been a groundswell of concern about climate that's built over two years," he said, "counting high energy prices, Hurricane Katrina, the Al Gore movie, and then the series of science reports from the UN have really built a case that's hard to undermine."

Revkin explained that Bush has never really said that we needed to cut emissions until now. The timeline above illustrates that fact. After several minutes of discussing this, Bornemeier got down to business: "Is this all talk?" she asked Revkin. "It's all talk until they meet," he replied, referring to the Group of 8 (or G-8) nations that will meet in Germany next week. "This is a long-term process."

“There is no more time for longwinded talks about unenforceable long-term goals,” said David Doniger, climate policy director for the National Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group in Washington, as quoted in the article. “We need to get a serious commitment to cut emissions now and in the G-8.”

The Times article can be found here.

Greywater Guerillas

2007-05-31T16:22:00.000-05:00

The Greywater Guerrillas are a team that advocate the use of water from dishwashers and bathtubs i.e. "greywater," and are focused on installing apparati in homes that effectively recycle it for use in toilets or garden irrigation.

Greywater recycling is legal in California, but installation of clandestine tubing can be pricey. The Guerrillas are crusading to prove, through their own methods, that greywater recycling is easy and affordable.

Read more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/garden/31greywater.html?ref=science

Eco Friendly art!

2007-05-31T09:40:00.000-05:00

http://www.contemporaryartscenter.org/exhibitions/beyondgreen

There is an interesting art exhibit at the CAC downtown about sustainable art!

Solar power in an unlikely place

2007-05-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

A drive through the rolling hills of Lancaster County, Penn. is like stepping into a patch of colonial America. Turn down the side roads, flanked by white flaking barns, grazing cows and fields lined with crops. Weave around horse-drawn buggies and past women tending laundry on sagging clotheslines as toddlers play nearby with wooden toys. This is Amish country – American Gothic in the flesh – yet here lies a technology most Americans only dream about: solar panels.

When you think of the latest consumers of hip, green technology, the Amish probably don’t immediately come to mind. Known for their plain dress and strictly limited interaction with the outside, secular world, the Amish typically shuns the use of modern conveniences such as automobiles and electricity.

Although many today have running water, the Amish believe electricity would connect them with mainstream society, and so have found ways of adapting appliances to run on gasoline and now, solar power.

But as solar panel technology becomes more available, affordable and easy to use, Amish communities across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana have embraced its use. Solar power is now being used to fire up buggy lights, sewing machines and power the rest of the community’s modest electrical needs.

Solar electricity fits seamlessly into the Amish self-sufficiency model. It is convenient, safe and, unlike some Amish-sanctioned alternatives, there are no noxious fumes or noise and no fuel costs.

The technology has become so prevalent amongst the Amish that Green Energy Ohio is organizing an Amish Country tour during the American Solar Energy Society's 36th annual convention, July 7-12, in Cleveland. About 1,800 people from across the nation are expected to attend the conference and trade show. Read more here.

It strikes ironic that it is the Amish who are leading the so-called modern world down an alternative energy path.

City Dump Used to Operate Factory

2007-05-24T10:51:00.000-05:00

The Interface Company in LaGrange, GA, discovered that a local City Dump, a place where they had originally acquired much of their recycled rubbery backing for their manufactured floor tiles, is also a giant source of a greenhouse gas, Methane.

This Methane bed was so voluminous that it was successfully harnessed in order to power the Interface Plant for 40 years.

The results were astounding. The city of LaGrange now receives a multimillion dollar revenue stream, the Interface Plant uses a cheaper source of fuel and the life is the landfill has been extended, since as the methane was harassed, the volume of the landfill went down.

Most importantly, LaGrange is now deflecting methane away from earth's atmosphere.

Somebody call Rumpke.

Read the complete article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22interf.html?_r=1&ref=environment&oref=slogin

Edible gardens

2007-05-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

Gardening Like the Forest Date: May 24, 2007
Time: 6pm-8pm Location: The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati
Healthy forest ecosystems are self-maintaining, self-fertilizing, and self-renewing. Wouldn’t it be nice to grow food in an ecosystem like that in your back yard? Well, you can! Edible forest gardening is the design of gardens that mimic the structure and function of natural forests, but also grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, and “farmaceuticals.” This talk provides an overview of the concept, with inspiring and practical ideas, images, and examples, as well as information on the multiple uses of some key forest garden plants. Fee: $10 Registration required.
The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati
2715 Reading Road
Cincinnati , OH 45206 513-221-0981 www.civicgardencenter.org

cool guy

2007-05-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

http://www.mcdonough.com/

check out this website....Dale Murray calls him the pioneer of eco-design

Eco-tecture

2007-05-20T20:15:00.000-05:00

Everybody should take a look at today's issue of The New York Times Magazine - the entire issue is devoted to "Eco-tecture," with numerous articles about green building. One, titled "Why Are They Greener than We Are?" discusses how Europe is best at designing green buildings. Another, called "The Accidental Environmentalist," is a profile of a Japanese architect who makes buildings (literally) out of paper. Anyway, the issue is chock-full of fascinating stuff. Check it out!

The Sky's the Limit

2007-05-19T09:45:00.000-05:00

Homes that are heated and cooled using the Earth's natural underground temperature. Appliances run by solar-powered batteries. Food grown in one of 571 acres of gardens or community orchards.

Sound like an environmentalist's dream? It may be closer to reality than you think.

CNN reports today on the proposed development for the future site of Sky. Fl., located an hour away from Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle.

"Part of a growing, $12 billion a year sustainable-building industry, Sky is meant to be the green town of the future -- the way Americans will live when they realize they use too much energy, its developers say. They hope it will serve as an experiment into what can be done to accomplish that goal, and maybe be a model for other communities."

Because of rising numbers of Americans relocating to Florida - about 900 a day - new development is a necessity, says Sky developer Bruce White. But White and his partner, architect Julia Starr Sanford, wonder why it all has to be suburban sprawl.

Florida State University's Center for Advanced Power Systems is collaborating on the project, its engineers helping design the town. Then, they'll study what works and what doesn't.

"You've got almost a zero-carbon footprint just by living here," White said. "Just by being here you will be an environmentalist."

If you have the cash, that is.

Tagged more as a "luxury community" than commune, it won't be cheap to live in Sky. Developers expect Sky will appeal to a younger, professional demographic - who want the conveniences of having a holistic spa, a planned lodge and can work from home via the town's wireless capability.

Park and Vine to open June 1

2007-05-18T18:11:00.000-05:00

The historic Over-the-Rhine area in Cincinnati often gets a bad rap. Despite consistently dropping levels in the crime rate through the past several years, OTR still finds it difficult to shake its reputation as the site of the 2000 race riots in Cincinnati.

Though the district does have its woes of higher-than-average levels of crime and poverty, it's also home to several distinct and eclectic stores not found in other parts of the city.

On June 1, Park and Vine will join the unique OTR shopping district. Hailed as a 2,000 square-foot "green" general store, the shop takes its place in the community's Gateway Quarter section at 1109 Vine Street.

"The store focuses on goods that minimize the use of natural resources, toxic materials and animal by-products," said owner Dan Korman, as quoted in Whole Living Journal.

Products offered include accessories, apparel, footwear, personal care products, home furnishings, home improvement supplies and other items. Korman also plans on-site creative programs such as installations, lectures and film screenings on sustainable living.

'Neutral' is the New Black

2007-05-17T12:49:00.000-05:00

Within the few years, "carbon neutral" entered the world vocabulary, the process by which companies offset their carbon emission by purchasing credits for emission reductions that are produced by environmentally friendly projects, i.e wind farms.

Enter "Packing Neutral," the process by which Wal-Mart slashes the amount of packaging material used annually for merchandise, and pressures competitors to do likewise.

Retail giants Wal-Mart, Proctor and Gamble and Coca-Cola are at the forefront of the consumer packaging slim down.

Recently each behemoth retailer introduced products with reduced packaging, and strategy to cut down on waste products, in efforts cut down on waster materials, thereby helping the environment.

Superfluous boxes, say for toothpaste, are being eliminated, Coke bottles are getting gastric bypasses and thin layers of plastic insulation will soon take the place of giant cellophane mittens that are typically seen girding shipped products.

For the complete NYT article, go here:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070514/BIZ/705140322

Even Antarctica Can't Resist Climate Change

2007-05-16T13:25:00.000-05:00

from Nasa - a QuikScat satellite image of Antarctica taken in January 2005 shows areas of snowmelt in yellow and red.

According to a New York Times article published today, Antarctica, which has largely resisted the worldwide climate crisis known as global warming, is finally beginning to melt.

NASA has found that a large warm spell occurred over one week in 2005 and did significant damage to the continent. "Unusually warm air pushed to within 310 miles of the south pole and remained long enough to melt surface snow across a California-size expanse," wrote Times reporter Andrew Revkin. NASA detected this area with the satellite QuikScat, which uses radar to distinguish between snow and ice in areas like Antarctica and Greenland. In the past, other areas of melting have been detected in Antarctica, but not so far inland as this.

“It is vital [that] we continue monitoring this region to determine if a long-term trend may be developing,” said NASA scientist Son Nghiem.

Little House "Under" the Prairie

2007-05-16T12:45:00.000-05:00

Something green this way comes just around the corner from the university campus.

At the EPA annex project now underway in Clifton, more than 50 percent of the new roof will be green, planted with sedums and low-growing groundcovers, says James Geers of SFA Architects, downtown. The project should be done by summer.

So, what are these green roofs of the future? Vegetative roofs - called green roofs in the industry - have two jobs: provide an extra layer of insulation from heat and cold and absorb water that would rush into gutters, carrying pollutants picked up along the way to streams and waterways, writes Joy Kraft of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Not only will green roofs make our houses more attractive - if in a slightly odd Hobbit-like way- by carpeting roofs with ground cover, flowers, grasses, native plants and even trees; they promise to be much better insulators, trimming energy bills and protecting air and water quality.

Green roofs are more common in Europe, especially Germany, where they have been in use for years, but are relatively new in Cincinnati, says landscape architect Vivian Llambi, who sees green roof planting as a rising sub-specialty.

Other green roof projects afoot in Cincinnati:

Ridgeway Pavilion, part of the Health Alliance complex in Avondale, is getting a green roof replacement for the original concrete roof built on the 1984 structure. "It turned out to be cheaper than replacing the concrete," said site manager Jerry Emmerett, site manager.

The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, part of the Flower Show exhibit, is converting a former gasoline station next to its Avondale headquarters into a learning center for environmental sustainability with a green roof.

For more information, visit http://www.greenroofs.com/

Duke Energy Goes Green?

2007-05-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

Duke Energy recently announced that its green energy pilot program was approved, that they would soon allow their subscribers to invest in renewable energies, such as solar, wind, biomass and hydro.

The program would cost the consumer an extra 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The average home would see anywhere from a $5 to $10 increase per month.

Learn more here:
http://www.duke-energy.com/news/releases/2007050901.asp

The issue has already been featured on WCPO TV's "Don't Waste Your Money," with John Matarese.

Way to invest in the future, John.

Garage Band

2007-05-10T14:32:00.000-05:00

At the meeting on tues. at Panera Chris suggested we use Garage Band to edit our audio. I have this on my computer and we can mess around with it if anyone needs to use it.

Interview

2007-05-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

I will be attending/ recording/taking photos of a confrence call interview on Tues 5/19 @ 10:00 in Anton's office. The interview is for a section of the Dept. of Energy I believe. Anton, Ashley Vissing, Chris Davis and Brian Zimmerly will all be there so let me know if you need anything from them.

This Solar House

2007-05-10T07:54:00.000-05:00

In Maine, the average winter snowfall can reach up to 90 inches of white stuff with a wind chill factor of 20 degrees below zero. But Bill and Debbi Lord stay quite warm and cozy in their solar-powered home.

The couple and their house-of-the-future are featured in the PBS Nova feature, Saved by the Sun, which aired April 24.

Like UC's solar decathlon team, the Lord's were challenged with providing enough energy output to provide enough power to cool and heat their home, and also to operate all the appliances and electronic gadgets necessary for a modern day existence. The couple lists detailed information on their house's energy generation, along with explanations of its heating and cooling systems on their website.

Particularly interesting on the PBS/Nova site is a Q & A with Steven Strong, founder and president of Solar Design Associates, Inc.., who, in 1999, was named Time Magazine's environmental "Hero of the Planet." Or check out the presentation on the latest solar technologies or learn how a solar cell really works.

climate change and gardening

2007-05-09T12:51:00.000-05:00

As someone interested in gardening (and climate change), I found a recent article in The New York Times really interesting. It talks about how certain plants that could previously be grown only in certain regions can now be grown in more (or fewer) regions due to changes in the climates of those areas. For instance, Tara Dillard, a landscape designer and garden writer, says that while people used to be able to grow rhododendrons in her hometown, Atlanta, they couldn't be grown there anymore: "We have heated out of the rhododendron zone," she said. The graph above, from the article, shows how the warm climate zones have spread across the southern part of the U.S., and how the dark blue areas (the coldest parts) have all but disappeared.

Eco-friendly wheels

2007-05-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

What's cooler than one of those cute Vespa scooters? A solar-powered scooter, of course.

Solar powered mobility scooters could soon be on the streets thanks to the work of a student at The University of Nottingham. Matt Alvey, who is studying Architecture and Environmental Design, says the photovoltaic (solar electric) recharging system will turn the mobility vehicles truly green.

Read all about it here.

Denmark: Equally as cool as Germany, sans Schnitzel

2007-05-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

Denmark has been a pioneer in sustainable energy since 1891. The Scandinavian country of 5 million produces 20% of it's energy from the wind. The Danish government projects that by 2025, 50% of all Danish Energy will be produced by wind powered turbines.

Go here now:
http://www.windpower.org/en/core.htm

http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/nature/wind.htm

http://windpower-monthly.com/

And for your added pleasure, here is information about the United States' first large-scale, off shore Wind Energy development that, comically enough, has severe local opposition. Go fig, America!

http://www.capewind.org/

Update for Friday

2007-05-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hey Team,

Here is the event information for next week. Please try to come to as many events as you can.

On Tuesday, we will again meet at Panera on Calhoun at 8:00 am. Christopher Davis will be joining us to talk about what the team is doing and how we can coordinate ourselves with them, so if you need any questions answered, this should be a very clarifying engagement.

The Steering Committee will meet in the DAAP dean's conference room in the main office (near Anton's office) at 8:00 am on Thursday. The DAAP main office is on the 500 level.

Lastly, Dale's studio meets from 2-5 pm Monday and Friday in Sander Hall, not DAAP. We will be going as a class on Friday at 2pm. I will post the room number when it becomes available.

Aufwiedersehen,

Ryan

Germany: Progressive Leaders in Eco-Friendly Travel

2007-05-03T22:42:00.000-05:00

As if we needed another reason, beyond Rammstein and Schnitzel, to love the the German people...

Germany's Bundeskranzlerin, Angela Merkel, is not only embarking upon highly influential meetings with world leaders about energy consumption and Carbon dioxide emissions, including a recent visit with George W. Bush, but German automotive companies are well above par with the production of environmentally friendly autos. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Audi all have models available that rely on alternative forms of fuel. Thus far, these companies employ not one, but five different options for eco-friendly transportation: Bio-diesel, Ethanol, Fuel Cells, Hybrid technology and Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines. Currently, only the bio-diesel and ethanol models are available in the United States.

For more info:

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/40658/newsDate/05-Mar-2007/story.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6421961.stm

http://www.german-world.com/articles/e_200701_LACar.htm

I finished my podcast!

2007-05-03T19:36:00.000-05:00

Ok, everyone: if I can use WavePad, anyone can. It rules! It took me a couple hours to edit my .wav file down (including removing a number of oh's and ah's), add my intro to it, and just generally get it sounding pretty good, but I did it! (Needless to say, there's no music, at least not right now.)

Since I don't know how to use that filespace thing - isn't it \\filespace.uc.edu\UC_ArtSci\j-force? that isn't working for me - I uploaded it here for the time being. It's 20 minutes long if you're interested in listening.

Oh, also, I got some decent pictures of Luke and Eric today while Katy interviewed them.

Green business sense

2007-05-03T08:25:00.000-05:00

How much do you know about the business of being green? Take the quiz at MSNBC and post your results.

Sustainable art @ the CAC

2007-05-01T22:43:00.000-05:00

Think your weekend couldn't get any greener? Kick it off with a celebration of sustainability as it relates to art at the opening for a new exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center. The Zaha Hadid-designed downtown museum opens its doors for a preview party from 7-11 p.m. Keep your eye out for new staffers--maybe even the museum's new director--for a real scoop on artistic green living:

Update for Wednesday, Part II

2007-05-01T09:56:00.000-05:00

Hey team,

For those that missed this morning's meeting, we still are wrestling with the issue of podcasting. We searched and listened to a few podcast sites and downloaded some instructions on how to create our own. So far, we have at least three podcasts (with streaming video) ready to post. Anyone with any podcasting experience would be helpful at this point. Also, those of you conducting your interviews on digital recorders can volunteer your interviews for podcasting purposes . Please do so!!

Stay tuned for more info on Thursday's class!

Ryan

Sustainable Living Series

2007-05-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

The Boone County Public Library will offer a summer-long series on sustainable living, with a focus on the relationship between human culture and the natural world we inhibit.

The series kicks-off with three discussions in May:

The Great Work
Tuesday, May 1, 7:00 p.m.
Scheben Branch
How do we transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans are connected to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner? Many questions raised by Thomas Berry’s book, The Great Work, press upon us. Join James Schwantes for a lively discussion of the issues and questions confronting humans at this remarkable time in the history of planet Earth.

Energy Alternatives
Thursday, May 17, 7:00 p.m.
Scheben Branch
Find out how homes use energy and are responsible for pollution. Alternative energy expert John Robbins (and founder of Earthsave) explains how to understand home energy use, set reduction targets, and implement a variety of strategies, including alternative energy sources, to improve your home’s energy efficiency.

A Natural History of Kentucky Trees
Tuesday, May 29, 7:00 p.m.
Scheben Branch
Learn how to recognize some of the major groups of trees seen in Northern Kentucky. Dr. Maggie Whitson from Northern Kentucky University shares some interesting highlights about their biology, their relatives, and their uses by both people and wildlife.

The Scheben Branch Library is at 8899 US 42 in Union, KY 41091. For more information, call 859-384-5550 or visit www.bcpl.org.

Green lecture series

2007-04-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

Northern Kentucky University's Institute for Public Leadership and Public Affairs and the University of Cincinnati's School of Planning will present the final speaker in its three-part 2007 series, Building a Future: Sustainable Urbanism & Green Design, featuring nationally recognized leaders in sustainable, high-performance design.

May 2, 2007 - Andrés Duany
"Smart Codes Smart Communities" Public Lecture
May 2nd
5:00-6:30 PM
Carnegie Arts Center
1028 Scott Street
Covington, KY 41011

Admission is $20 and $10 for students with ID. For tickets call 859.957.1940 or visit www.thecarnegie.com

The Segoe Symposium on Smart Growth
May 2nd
7:30-9:00 PM
University of Cincinnati
College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning
Aronoff Room 5401
342 Clifton Court
Cincinnati, OH 45221 No registration necessary
Intended for a technical audience of professionals and students in the design and planning fields