2nd Green Revolution

I Don’t Understand Parking Lots

In an op-ed a few months back I alluded to the coming diatribe against parking lots. As a form of land use, parking lots make no sense to me. Conversely, ...

The Angry Pedestrian: An Introduction

Let me say first off that I own a car. I drive. I don't drive a ton, I don't drive everyday, I don't drive to my job, but I understand ...

What Will It Take to Make Mass Transit the Norm?

Will people start consistently riding mass transit when gas prices stay above $5 per gallon? $10? What about when we are paying the true cost of driving (i.e. emissions, disposal)? ...

Designing Cities with People in Mind

I'm not a city planner. I took one class in college, so I don't even pretend to be qualified. However, living in a city and trying to commute without a ...

Earth Day 2012

Celebrating the 42nd Earth Day and 4.5 billion years of earth. Image from NASA Johnson Space Center

General Electric to Build Largest Solar Factory in US

by Eric Wilson on October 15th, 2011

A recent news release from General Electric (GE) stated that the company will build the United States’ largest solar panel factory. GE estimates that it will create 450 jobs in Colorado and New York. According to the release, GE chose Aurora, Colorado (adjacent to Denver) “primarily because the location will allow for accelerated speed to market: GE expects the first panels to come off the assembly line in 2012, with commercial availability in the second half of 2013.” Earlier this year GE completed the purchase of PrimeStar Solar in an western suburb of Denver. GE’s latest move expands their presence in Colorado.

GE will not construct a new building, but rather will locate their factory in an existing structure. The company expects to produce enough solar panels to provide electricity for 80,000 homes annually when operating at full capacity. The Denver Post reports that the factory will make 400 megawatts of solar panels.

The Post goes on to state that

The Economic Advantages of Green Energy

by Guest Author on October 14th, 2011

The world is changing, and maybe not for the better. A look at The United States, as well as many other industrialized countries, finds that nearly 85% of energy comes from fossil fuels. Oil is integral in today’s society: we’re dependent on it. When oil is transported or burned, it emits CO2, among other air pollutants, which rises into the air and is breathed by everyone. The emitting of significant amounts of CO2 has been said to be a major impact on climate change. In order to preserve the future, the world needs to look towards green and alternative methods to produce electricity such as windmills and solar energy.

Solar panels harness the energy of the sun and converting it into power. On a micro-scale for the local homeowner, the benefits are tremendous. Not only do you do your part for the environment, you end up with cheaper utility bills. In California, more people are getting a solar energy system for their house, which can increase their property value when it comes time to sell the home, and it doesn’t take an MBA , online or otherwise, to figure out that’s just good business sense. People are also rethinking the way they travel, choosing greener hybrid and electric vehicles, taking public transportation, or seeking out carpool opportunities.

The biggest economic advantage of going green is to ensure that there will be a future for future generations.

FFF: Agriculture and the Environment

by Justin Manger on October 14th, 2011

The world has been able to feed increasing masses of humanity thanks to giant leaps in technology and mechanization that have increased yields and reduced the work needed to grow crops. It’s a marvel of modern engineering and human ingenuity. But, can it keep up with the still increasing population boom? What will agriculture look like when we need to feed 9 billion people? Can we do that without harming the very environment that makes our abundance possible? Has one of the most natural acts – living off the land – become too “unnatural”? The following facts culled from an NPR article provided this week’s Five Friday Facts. Please see the article if you’re interested further exploring this topic.

Cropland and pasture now cover 40 percent of our planet’s land surface
Farming consumes nearly three-quarters of all the water that humans use for any purpose
Farming accounts for a third of all the emissions of greenhouse gases that humans release into the environment. (Those greenhouse emission come from clearing forests or grassland for crops, the emissions of methane from rice paddies, and the conversion of nitrogen fertilizer into nitrous oxide — a powerful greenhouse gas.)
About 40 percent of the planet’s crops, according to this study, currently are fed to animals.
Demand for food is expected to double over the next forty years.

Green Garage: Eco-Friendly Car Maintenance

by Eric Wilson on October 13th, 2011

When one thinks about being eco-friendly, driving a car does not necessarily come to the top of the list. Some cars are more fuel-efficient than others, but all require massive energy inputs in their creation and maintenance. Beyond gasoline and electricity for internal combustion engines, hybrid gasoline-electrics, and the up-and-coming electric vehicles, the materials required to keep the cars running (think tires, motor oil, timing belts, and wiper blades) vary depending on the propulsion system, but all require material inputs.

Green Garage tries to combat some of the issues that arise in the area of car maintenance. With locations in the Boulder and Denver area, Green Garage offers services to help reduce oil consumption by increasing efficiency.

Green Garage offers some 60 green products. These include:

Known for Going Big, Texas Places Large Bet on Algae

by Justin Manger on October 13th, 2011

Austin is supposed to be great. I’ve never been but I fall into that category of people who have heard great things, yet never gotten around to going. For those who have been, did it live up to your expectations? Did you get the college vibe, the artsy vibe, the music vibe? How about the algae vibe? No? You must have missed it.

The University of Texas is hoping it doesn’t miss what could be the next boom in energy by investing (some would say gambling) on a potential blockbuster green fuel: algae. Using hundreds of 12 foot high tubes collectively holding 15,000 gallon of algae, UT is trying to find the breakthrough that will finally make algae a viable fuel source. According to a New York Times article,

the university opened the shadehouse at the J. J. Pickle Research Campus three weeks ago with the objective of mass-producing algae for use as biofuel and other byproducts. AlgEternal Technologies, a company based in Austin, whose chief executive is Representative Rob Eissler, [...] collaborated with the UTEX Culture Collection of Algae — one of the largest such collections in the world — to develop the technology to grow the organisms for the project. Another Texas company, OpenAlgae, works with the Center for Electromechanics at U.T. to extract oil from the organisms in a cost-effective manner.

Algae can be used to make products other than biofuel, including animal feed, food supplements and pharmaceuticals. One of the techniques that makes this approach intriguing is the use of those tall vertical tubes. Instead of large open ponds,

Apple’s New Headquarters: A Spaceship in the Woods?

by Justin Manger on October 12th, 2011

In the video below, Steve Jobs presents plans for Apple’s new massive corporate building to be built on 150 acres in Cupertino. The speech before the Cupertino city council was given June 7th, one day after his final Apple keynote presentation (introducing iCloud) and what may have been his final public presentation. Though he is visibly weak and very thin, he maintains his style of simplicity and focuses on marketing the project to the council. There are several green related aspects to the new building he describes, which is why we feature it here.

Landscaping occupies only 20% of the current campus area, mostly because of several huge asphalt surface parking lots. Most parking in the new complex, which will hold 12,000 Apple workers, will be put under ground, reducing surface parking by 90%. Greenery will be a main feature of the new complex, with an increase in landscaping to 80% of total campus area. This includes the planting of an apricot orchard and an increase in total number of trees from 3,700 to 6,000. Apple has hired a senior arborist from Stanford who is knowledgeable about indigenous trees to help plan the landscaping.The donut-shaped 4 story building made of curved glass will have greenery inside and outside the ring. There will also be solar panels to provide some electricity. Apple will also build a

“Wild Catch” Opens in Denver, Offering Sustainable Seafood

by Eric Wilson on October 11th, 2011

On occasion we write about local restaurants that we come across in our travels – or in this case in our neighborhood – that exhibit sustainable practices. This may be local, fresh produce, like the Black Bean Co. in Charleston, South Carolina or organic offerings, such as those at French Meadow Cafe in Minneapolis.

Sustainably harvested, local seafood may seem like an oxymoron in Denver, but Wild Catch, the new restaurant in the Uptown section of Denver aims to provide just that. The kitchen is run by Chef Justin Brunson whose “menu of sustainable seafoods and the produce of local farms and community supported agriculture is paired with an eclectic and varied wine list, local and international craft brews, and creative cocktails.”

Open for dinner only, Wild Catch takes reservations for the evening hours. Their hours are from 5pm to 10pm Mountain Standard Time. For those interested in hosting an event at the restaurant, send them an email at info@wildcatchrestaurant.com. On the restaurant’s blog, one can read about their approach to sustainability. The most recent post reflects a similar philosophy to a recent op-ed piece on this site. From their blog:

Benjamin Franklin Would Be Proud; Generating Electricity with Kites

by Justin Manger on October 11th, 2011

Windlift, a start-up in North Carolina is following the “think different” mantra by creating a unique way to generate power off the grid: kites. Now this is no tiny fly-on-the-beach-during-summer-vacation 10 buck version. These kites are massive 430 square foot airfoils tethered to a drum. After launching the kite, the drum slowly releases its tethers out to 500 feet while flying in a large figure-eight pattern. It is this figure eight movement that generates electricity. After reaching the maximum of 500 feet out, the kite -which is attached to 3 wires wrapped around a spool – is reeled back in and the process begins again.

In a 33MPH wind the current Model 8 kite can generate up to 12kW. This is enough electricity to run lighting, cooking, water pumping operations and could come in handy in rural areas, developing countries, or disaster areas that have become severed from the grid. Should the kite need to be transported, it fits nicely in the back of a pick-up truck.

You can see a demo and hear an explanation by the founders of the company below. What’s cool is

Common Misconceptions about Alternative Energy Sources

by Guest Author on October 10th, 2011

While alternative energy sources seem to be the in-thing today, not all the press it has gotten is good. Everything has pros and cons. However, it’s just as important to distinguish fact from fiction when weighing common perceptions about alternative energy. Here are some of the most common misconceptions:

They are always cheaper than non-renewable energy sources

Misconception: Sources of renewable energy can provide savings. However, the operative word is “can.” For example, various vehicles on the market today use a blend of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. The cost of such hybrids can range from about $23,000 to over $60,000. This is based on several factors, such as whether the vehicle is a sedan or an SUV, whether it’s a basic model or one with tons of extras, and so on.

Fact: The initial cost of using renewable energy sources are typically higher than when using non-renewable energy sources. Consider that a “hybrid” vehicle can have a price tag that’s $10,000 or more than a comparable vehicle that operates exclusively on gas. Also, consider that hybrid vehicles still use non-renewable energy sources. So, due to the technology available, there’s somewhat of a compromise when choosing them. The good news is that sources of renewable energy can indeed pay for themselves. However, this is based on several different factors. How much of the energy source is available? What’s the initial cost of the energy source? How much energy is needed? Such factors will determine the bottom line when using sources of renewable energy. For example, an 8-kilowatt solar panel system can cost $70,000 USD or more. So recouping the initial costs could take decades.

They never produce any pollution when we use them

The Green Apple: Who Will Be the Steve Jobs of the Clean Energy Sector?

by Justin Manger on October 9th, 2011

Yesterday, I briefly attended the CEATEC exhibition in Tokyo that focused on electronics and had a lot of green technologies on display: solar panels, EV charging stations, new energy efficiency measures, and even a planned sustainable community. What was lacking, however, was a whole other type of electricity- the electric atmosphere found at certain events where the audience knows something exciting and new and big is taking place; the electric atmosphere that accompanied an Apple event led by Steve Jobs, for instance.

As the remembrances, accolades, and reflections on his life and work pour in, let’s remember that Steve Jobs and Apple were so successful by making cool, quality, breakthrough products that people wanted. By loving his work, making beautiful products that were easy to use, and striving to match the visions he had in his head, he became the spokesperson for how these devices could make our lives better.

Steve Jobs wanted to have an impact on the word, and he unquestionably did. Now where do we go? Think different? We need to. For all the innovation and disruptive technology Apple brought us, the truly enormous leaps in human society are still waiting; an economy that doesn’t run on oil, for one. Who will bring passion and simplicity and excitement to the products and services that will transform us into a sustainable society? Who will turn the tide and push the boundaries – behind the scenes and in public – to create and sell the green technologies to a consumer base who, at least according to Jobs, is not supposed to know what it wants? Will someone come along who will make sustainable gadgets the must have items? Who will be the Steve Jobs of the clean energy sector? As a kind of remembrance, the following post from March of 2010 begs that question.

Whether you love him, hate him, or are indifferent, Steve Jobs has major street cred. His company makes products that are elegant, well-designed, easy to use, and revolutionary. The hype and excitement that accompanies the lead up to and release of a major Apple product is second to none. Not only that,

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