2nd Green Revolution - Part 138

Site Visit to IdleAire’s Denver Facility: Seeing How Truckers Can Save Money While Reducing Pollution

by Eric Wilson on September 8th, 2009

idleaireRecently, 2nd Green Revolution toured IdleAire’s Denver, Colorado location. Founded in 2000 (back story on their website), the company aimed to answer one question: “How could a driver park, shut off the engine (along with its noise, fumes and vibration) and still stay warm or cool while having access to the comforts of home?” IdleAire now has over 100 locations at truck stops in 34 states. Though a previous guest post by IdleAire employee Noah Spitzer provided a good overview of the product and its benefits, touring an actual facility brought added insight. At the TA Travel Center off of Interstates 70 and 270 in Commerce City, IdleAire employee Jennifer Winter took a few minutes out of her schedule to explain the pricing, operation, and benefits of the IdleAire System. At the truck stop there were around 60 slots with IdleAire units, the majority of which were in use.

A regular retail hour of IdleAire use costs $2.89 and includes:

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

Recap of Thursday’s High Speed Rail on NPR

by Eric Wilson on September 7th, 2009

Last Thursday, National Public Radio’s week long series investigating high speed rail in the United States took a look at California’s plan as well as those who doubt that train travel is the answer to America’s transportation and energy future.

NPR suggests that California may be the most likely place for a high speed rail line. The state has been working on a plan for 13 years and last year voters approved nearly $10 billion (US) in bonds to fund the project. If completed as planned, California’s high speed rail network will connect San Francisco to San Diego, as well as Los Angeles and Sacramento, in addition to several other cities. California’s High Speed Rail Authority hopes to be ready for construction by 2012, with the help of stimulus money available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The total bill for high speed rail in California would be roughly $45 billion (US). In addition to the high cost, University of Minnesota’s David Levinson claims that the rail is a “solution to a nonexistent problem,”

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

White House “Green Jobs Czar” Resigns Among Controversy

by Justin Manger on September 6th, 2009

06cnd_jones_190Van Jones, appointed as a special adviser for “green jobs” by President Obama, has stepped down after weeks of controversy about his past actions and comments. Appointed as a “czar”, he did not go through the traditional vetting process for administration officials who must be confirmed by the Senate. According to the New York Times, some of his controversial remarks included “his derogatory statements about Republicans in February and his signature on a 2004 letter suggesting that former President George W. Bush might have knowingly allowed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to occur in order to use them as a ‘pre-text to war.’” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Jones “decided that the agenda of this president was bigger than any one individual.” Gibbs said President Obama did not endorse Jone’s past actions “but he thanks him for his service.”

For more information and to form your own opinion on the whole matter, here are links to articles from a range of news sources:

Fox News
The Huffington Post
The New York Times
The Washington Post

Before getting involved in environmental and energy issues, Jones was a civil-rights activist in California and author of the Green Collar Economy (his “green” background/vision is summarized in this post). He joined the administration’s environmental council in March.

- Justin Manger

[Image Credit]

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

Recap of Wednesday’s NPR Series on High Speed Rail

by Eric Wilson on September 5th, 2009

Wednesday’s story from National Public Radio week long series on High Speed Rail focused on so-called multimodal design or transportation. This idea goes beyond the rail system and into what happens when riders get off the rail. A major concern for commuters and rail riders is the complete public transportation equation. Once riders arrive at the train station after riding trains (high speed or otherwise), there is often a gap between the intended destination and the station itself. The difficulty arises when trying to finish the trip and reach the destination, not to mention getting to the station in the first place.

In order to achieve these goals, it is imperative to design transportation systems that work in concert with each other.

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

Five Friday Facts

by Justin Manger on September 4th, 2009
  • h2_49.59.1The U.S. is responsible for more greenhouse gas pollution than South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Japan – all put together.
  • Net carbon emissions from producing a ton of new material are 4 to 5 times higher than producing with recovered material in the steel, copper, glass, and paper industries, and 40 times higher for aluminum. (Office for the Federal Environmental Executive, 1998)
  • Global warming paradox: while it produces more evaporation from oceans to fill the warmer atmosphere with increased moisture, it also sucks moisture out of soil, leading to increasing desertification.
  • Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world’s land area, but swaths the size of Panama (75, 517km2/29,157 sq.mi. or 1/5 the size of California) are lost each and every year.
  • Americans generate, on average, 26.5 tons of greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons—per person per year.

Source (except for 2nd bullet point): National Geographic

- 2nd Green Revolution

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

Recap of Tuesday’s NPR Story on High Speed Rail

by Eric Wilson on September 3rd, 2009

NPR reported on Tuesday, as part of their week long series on high speed rail in the United States, that the federal government has already received 278 proposal for rail projects from 40 states and Washington DC. These proposals are competing for the $8 billion (US) made available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Tuesday’s report was divided into three stories, focusing on the Southeast, Northwest, and Florida, with the former including states from Louisiana to Georgia while the northwest project linked Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

According to the report, Florida has requested $2.5 billion (US) for the first leg (approximately 100 miles) of a statewide system stretching from Orlando to Tampa. They are hoping to be “shovel ready” in time for disbursements of the stimulus funding. NPR reports that Florida has been planning and working on a rail system for 30 years, indicating that it may indeed be ready to begin as soon as the funding is available. Florida’s department of transportation is also seeking funds to develop the next planned rail line which would connect Orlando to Miami.

In the Pacific Northwest, a high speed rail project hopes to link Portland, Oregon with Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

Introducing “A Lighter Shade of Green”

by Justin Manger on September 2nd, 2009

inside_products_green_onion“A Lighter Shade of Green” takes a humorous and sometimes off-the-wall look at the second green revolution. This part of the website will contain humorous and sometimes wacky quotations, thoughts, and stories relating to the clean energy economy. Think of it as a sort of “green” version of The Onion for parody, sarcasm, and humor on all things green. We have no delusions about replicating the often brilliant “fake news” organization that’s done things like this great video on the “revolutionary” MacBook Wheel laptop. Our satirical area of diversion may include original posts but will also feature snippets from late night comedians or amusing videos pertaining to green and sustainable living. The page can be found under the “Features” heading on the drop down menu or by clicking here.

Let us know if you have some funny news or experiences relating to being eco-conscious or “green”. For those of you with a gift for writing, we’d love to show off the community’s wit and ability to see the lighter side. We’ll start off with a picture from Failblog.org, which can be found here.

- 2nd Green Revolution

[Picture Credit]

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »

NPR Begins Week Long Series on High Speed Rail

by Eric Wilson on September 1st, 2009

High Speed RailMonday marked the beginning of National Public Radio’s week long series on high speed rail in America. The buzz surrounding high speed rail has been growing ever since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law earlier this year by President Obama. NPR reports that some forty states, as well as Washington DC, have submitted proposals for the funding. The $100 billion (US) in proposals are competing for $8 billion (US) available through the stimulus bill.

According to the report, many of the projects would not exceed 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour). However, the California proposal, which includes 800 miles of track, would reach speeds of 220 miles per hour. The only system currently in place that surpasses 150 miles per hour is the Acela line between Washington DC, New York City, and Boston. The average speed though for the Acela is only 80 miles per hour, as it can only travel at the faster speeds for a short stretch of track. NPR states figures that put the price of California’s project in the billions of dollars. “The estimated price tag for the California high-speed-rail project is $40 billion, and expanding this sort of high-speed rail network to the rest of the country would cost in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Google Buzz RSS Feed EMAIL TOP HOME Read More »
Page 138 of 176« First...1020...136137138139140...150160...Last »
Twitter Facebook RSS Feed Flickr
Social Energy Marketplace

  • Advertisements

Save 30-60% at GreenDeals: Daily Deals from Green Approved Businesses

  • Featured Video

  • Events

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Topics

Powered by WordPress | Cell Phones for Sale at Bestincellphones.com. | Thanks to Cheap Palm Pixi, iCellPhonePlans.com and iCellPhoneDeals.com Wireless Deals
Paperblog Increase your website traffic with Attracta.com