Many ski resorts tout their “green credentials” these days. To offset their energy consumption they purchase wind power or other renewable energy from utilities. A few years ago National Geographic reported on the migration toward wind power on behalf of ski resorts. They pointed out the obvious connection between climate change and the potential decrease [...]
Archive for February, 2009
Jiminy Peak Ski Resort: Using Wind to Weather Recession
February 28th, 2009 
Eric Wilson 
Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Green Economy, Local Energy/Food, Renewable Energy 
Tags: GE, Offsets, Renewable Energy, Wind Power 
No Comments »Ecopolis Part 4: Buildings
February 28th, 2009 Eric Wilson In the fourth installment of Science Channel’s Ecopolis, host Dan Kammen reviewed four projects dealing with buildings. The major environmental issue facing structures, both commercial and residential, is the exorbitant amount of energy these units consume. According to Kammen, buildings consume two-thirds of all energy. The main culprits are heating, cooling and lighting. Kammen looked [...]
Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Green Building, Renewable Energy Tags: Ecopolis, Energy, Photovoltaic, Solar Energy No Comments »Fort ZED: Zero Energy District
February 27th, 2009 Eric Wilson Tuesday night, President Obama laid out his vision for renewable energy in a speech to a joint session of Congress. He said, “[w]e know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century.” Among projects awaiting funding is Fort ZED, short for “zero energy district”, in Fort Collins, Colorado. [...]
Emory University Named Conservationist of the Year
February 27th, 2009 admin The Georgia Conservancy has given its highest honor for 2008 to Emory in recognition of the university’s sustainability initiatives and efforts to minimize environmental impacts. The university, located 15 minutes outside downtown Atlanta, has a small and compact campus with 54 percent of the area dedicated as green space. 300,000 gallons of storm water runoff [...]
Posted in Education, Green Building, Justin Manger, Sustainable Development Tags: Emory, Water Conservation No Comments »50% of World’s Solar-Cell Electricity Produced by Germany
February 26th, 2009 Justin Manger This week’s trade fact from the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington DC is about solar power. Though technology for capturing and using the sun’s energy has improved over the years, the untapped potential is still enormous. Some of the numbers are staggering: Solar Land Surface Radiation: 223,400 trillion kilowatt-hours/year World electricity consumption: 17.48 trillion kilowatt-hours/year [...]
Posted in Clean Technology, Green Products, Justin Manger, Local Energy/Food, Renewable Energy Tags: Solar Energy No Comments »2010 Winter Olympics: Sustainable Games
February 26th, 2009 Eric Wilson Vancouver, Canada has set forth an ambitious sustainability goal for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Vancouver Olympic Committee’s (VANOC) website details specific steps they are taking to host a “green games”. The measures go well beyond simple energy efficiency. Sustainable development is based upon 3 major cornerstones: environmental health, economic viability and social equity. In [...]
DC Area Green Jobs Fair Tomorrow, February 27
February 26th, 2009 admin For those looking for work in the Washington DC area, this is a reminder about tomorrow’s job fair. In collaboration with the Green Careers Center, the Virginia Sustainability Building Network has organized for a Green Job Fair to be held tomorrow in Arlington, VA. According to their website, the event will feature: 1) Employers in [...]
Ecopolis Part 3: Waste
February 25th, 2009 Eric Wilson Episode three of Ecopolis deals with the waste from cities. Journalist Elizabeth Royte published her treatise on waste in 2005’s Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. Royte takes an in depth look at our trash, where it goes and how it is handled. In the third installment of Ecopolis, four projects are considered [...]
Big 3 Showcase Electric Vehicles at DC Car Show
February 24th, 2009 Eric Wilson NPR reported yesterday from the Washington DC car show on a number of high tech innovations planned by the big three automakers. With the advent of Chevrolet’s plug-in hybrid Volt due to enter production in late 2010, Ford Motor Company has pinned their electric vehicle hopes on a battery powered version of the Focus scheduled [...]
Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Transportation Tags: Chevy Volt, Electric Vehicles, Ford, Plug-in Hybrid, Washington DC No Comments »Ecopolis Part 2: Transportation
February 23rd, 2009 Eric Wilson In the second episode of the Science Channel’s Ecopolis, host Dan Kammen reviewed four proposals to deal with the issue of transportation. For a brief background of the program, please see the previous post on Ecopolis. In the transportation episode, Kammen considered the following carbon dioxide reducing concepts: 1) a blended wing plane 2) oil [...]
Posted in Clean Technology, Eric Wilson, Renewable Energy, Transportation Tags: Biomass, Diesel, Ecopolis, Electric Vehicles, Mass Transit No Comments »
