I read Changes in the Land by William Cronon out of a requirement for a class but it is actually an interesting read. The book tells the history of Native Americans and European Settlers: their relationship with each other, the land, and how they altered the landscape and ecosystems. Cronon uses journals and documents from [...]
Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category
Book Review: Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England
February 11th, 2012 
Megan Stilley 
Posted in Agriculture, Behavior, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability 
Tags: Book Review, Forests, Megan Stilley 
No Comments »Department of Energy Announces 2013 Solar Decathlon Details
February 9th, 2012 Eric Wilson Last month the US Department of Energy (DOE) selected teams from 20 colleges and universities to take part in the 2013 Solar Decathlon at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. (A full list of schools can be seen below). The location for next year’s Decathlon marks a departure from previous ones which were held [...]
California Strengthens Vehicle Emission Standards
February 2nd, 2012 Chris DeArmond Over the past couple of decades, California has earned a reputation for passing its own environmental standards that are often much more rigorous than those set by the federal government. Following this trend, California’s Air Resources Board (ARB) released a tougher vehicle emissions program for vehicle model years (MY) 2015 through 2025. The Advanced Clean [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, News, Policy, Transportation Tags: California, Carbon Dioxide, Cars, Chris DeArmond, Climate Change, Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid, Pollution No Comments »2012 Green Cup Challenge is Underway
January 28th, 2012 Eric Wilson From January 18th to February 15th, 116 schools throughout the country will compete to reduce electricity usage at their schools by taking part in the 2012 national Green Cup Challenge® (GCC). This year marks the 5th rendition of the project. Click here for information on the 2010 version. Sponsored by the Green Schools Alliance (GSA), [...]
Obama Returns to Energy Theme in State of the Union
January 26th, 2012 2nd Green Revolution As he has done previously in talking about the state of America, President Obama had several things to say about energy in Tuesday night’s speech (transcript here). For one, due to a surge in domestic oil production, imports of foreign oil have fallen to the lowest levels in 16 years and “American oil production is the highest that [...]
Posted in Behavior, Business, Clean Technology, Economics, Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Green Economy, Justin Manger, News, President Obama, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Transportation Tags: Alternative Energy, Clean Energy, Congress, Electricity Generation, Energy, Green Technology, Renewable Energy, Washington DC No Comments »Efficiency is not the Key to Sustainability
January 22nd, 2012 Eric Wilson Justin has written a few posts about the importance of getting outside; one titled “Encroachment” and the other “The Set Aside“. This post follows up, but takes the idea in a slightly different direction.I realize the title of this post may be heresy, but hear me out. The other day I was in a building [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Op-Ed, Sustainability Tags: Nature No Comments »Automakers Unveil Electric Vehicles at Detroit Auto Show
January 13th, 2012 Chris DeArmond Despite the fact that hybrid and electric vehicles accounted for less than 3 percent of cars sold in 2011, they dominated this week’s Detroit Auto Show for the second year in a row. While several hybrid/electric vehicles revealed at the show were concept cars—for example, the hybrid Lexus LFLC sports coupe and the iconic Acura NSX [...]
ARPA-E Director Majumdar Lays It Out Plain and Simple
January 11th, 2012 Justin Manger Modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the agency responsible for such technological innovations as the Internet and the stealth technology found in the F-117, the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E) within the Department of Energy (DOE) was established to focus on creative “out-of-the-box” transformational energy research. Regarding our current energy situation, this [...]
Honda’s Recent Ups (and Down) in Green Cars
January 10th, 2012 Eric Wilson Honda Motor Company’s natural gas powered Civic won the 2012 Green Car of the Year at the most recent L.A. Auto Show. While this is nothing new for the car, it does help balance some of the recent negative publicity surrounding a court case brought against the automaker. Their hybrid Civic has come under fire [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Transportation Tags: Electric Vehicles, Fracking, Honda Clarity, Lifecycle, Natural Gas No Comments »Out with the New in with the Old
January 8th, 2012 Eric Wilson A few months back I had the opportunity to tour three LEED certified projects on three consecutive days. All three projects achieved LEED gold and were located in the greater Denver area. The following op-ed is a bit of a reflection on these visits and what it means to build green. They are listed in [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Featured Posts, Green Building, Op-Ed, Recylcing, Site Visits Tags: Denver, EPA, LEED, Waste No Comments »
