As the economic downturn hits municipal budgets, towns are looking for ways to cut back on their expenditures. One easy to achieve step is referred to as “low hanging fruit.” An earlier post discussed President Obama’s plan to help insulate older homes, a quick and effective way to inexpensively reduce heating and cooling costs. In an article last year, Wall Street Journal Columnist Jim Carlton highlighted a number of cities both domestic and abroad that are attempting to curb energy consumption. Among the projects he detailed was Chicago’s rooftop garden program. Begun in 2001, the initiative has added 4 million square feet of green roofs as of 2008. The century old City Hall was one of the first buildings to have a garden added to its roof. Before the installation, rooftop temperatures reached 160oF (70oC). According to the City of Chicago’s Department of Environment, the planted version of the City Hall Roof ranges from 91 – 119°F (33-48°C). “The savings were felt immediately, with the annual power bill for the building falling by 11%, or almost $10,000.”
In an interview on NPR, Mr. Carlton cited changes underway in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The city has replaced the old light bulbs in its streetlamps to light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are 50% more efficient than incandescent bulbs.
One of our favorite parts of working at 2nd Green Revolution is periodically visiting the sites where exciting new technologies and ideas are being implemented and talking to the people behind the scenes. We’ve started collecting these tours and interviews on a new page called “Site Visits.” It can be found in the upper right-hand side bar under 2nd Green Revolution or can be accessed by clicking NigelYoung_530x712.jpg "Hearst Tower")
How will the $4 billion of stimulus bill money for the Smart Grid actually be spent? Will it be used efficiently and/or effectively? A large part of the answer to these questions lies with the states, who will ultimately decide how to spend the federal funds that they receive.
If the American car manufacturers make it through the downturn without going bankrupt, the fight for survival will only have just begun. China is set to turn out the next wave of electric vehicles and sell them cheaper than anyone else.
