2nd Green Revolution

Many couples will be doing something such as dinner and a movie to celebrate Valentine’s Day this weekend. Single guys may opt for “Rambotine’s Day” instead, having a few drinks at a friend’s house before eschewing the romantic for the “Rambotastic” by hitting the theater to watch something like Fight Club, Wolfman, or one of the many bloody Rambo series. Of course, should Rambotine’s Day not be an option, Hollywood has made sure that there are plenty of more romantic options. One such film is Valentine’s Day, a star-studded story in which “intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break-up and make-up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine’s Day”, according to IMDB.

Warner Bros. apparently paid some attention to reducing its carbon footprint while filming the movie. Read the rest of this entry »

On or around the first of every month, 2nd Green Revolution updates the green events calendar for the coming month. Last November we began including a post highlighting some of the intriguing events for that month. Many of the events on the calendar for February take place in India, New Zealand, and Australia. However, there are a few in San Francisco, California and several intriguing domestic events at the end of the month.

Here is a sampling of a few domestic symposiums that caught our eye. Read the rest of this entry »

As a science teacher I can tell you that people find science scary. Perhaps you already knew that. They think it is something they “can’t do” or “don’t get.” They may say they do not have a scientific brain. I can also tell you that these are entirely untrue. Real world, personally accessible examples, instead of theoretical situations, help make the connection to the here and now. For instance, the title of this post “Inefficient Devices and the Laws of Thermodynamics” would probably be enough to scare off most readers. However, by thinking about your own home, this scientific concept comes to life. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday’s post about fake and real Christmas trees and menorahs developed out of several conversations during the holidays, but was precipitated by an article in The New York Times about the use of so-called rare earth elements in the manufacture of clean energy components. Cradle to cradle design would suggest that all materials used in consumer products ought to be capable of serving some function once the original purpose of the object has long passed. This design philosophy necessitates making components for consumer goods out of materials that can return to the ecosystem with toxification of the soils, water, or atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

• The United States is likely to install just one-eighth as much new solar power this year as Germany.
• China is expected to surpass the United States this year as the leader in adding new wind energy capacity.
• General Electric, which has 10,000 wind turbines in the United States, says that to encourage growth in the wind industry, the nation should adopt a target of obtaining 12 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2012.
• Some note that even with the administration’s recent moves, it has spent less than one-fourth of the $80 billion clean energy component of the stimulus package. Administration officials boast that the $80 billion figure is by far the largest amount ever committed to renewable energy.
• Solyndra, a company that makes solar photovoltaic panels in Fremont Calif., received a $535 million loan guarantee to finance a manufacturing plant, creating 3,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs.

Source: New York Times

- 2nd Green Revolution

[image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art]

Team Germany's Winning Solar House

I am remiss to post this so late but still wanted to wish a quick and belated congratulations to Team Germany for winning the 2009 Solar Decathlon that was held last month on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The annual contest challenged 20 student teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. Full results and details are here, or click on the image below. The following synopses of the three top houses are from the Solar Decathlon website.

Overall Winners

First Place: Team Germany (Technische Universität Darmstadt)

The 2007 champions did it again! Team Germany focused on producing surplus energy by using the maximum overall building dimensions allowed, applying photovoltaics to every available surface, and pushing the envelope with new technologies. The team walked away with the Net Metering contest and performed well in several others, including Architecture, Lighting Design, Comfort Zone, and Hot Water. Demonstrating that they are true champions, members of Team Germany were extremely gracious in their victory and recognized the work of their peers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday I had the opportunity to tour New Belgium Brewery for the second time in the last 14 months. Earliest this month, 2nd Green Revolution carried a write up of the first visit. Subsequently, we have written several other stories about (or mentioning) the brewery. In yesterday’s visit there were several new features that were mentioned on the tour, and a few that I had not known of previously. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday marked the beginning of what could be the turning point in modernization of the nation’s electricity grid. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), “President Barack Obama . . . announced the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history, funding a broad range of technologies that will spur the nation’s transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system.” In the article, the DOE provided a map of the award winners (as a PDF). Included in the statement (from the DOE) were the following measures:

• Empowering Consumers to Save Energy and Cut Utility Bills — $1 billion
• Making Electricity Distribution and Transmission More Efficient — $400 million
• Integrating and Crosscutting Across Different “Smart” Components of a Smart Grid — $2 billion
• Building a Smart Grid Manufacturing Industry — $25 million Read the rest of this entry »

This afternoon I finally had a chance to visit the Solar Decathlon taking place on the National Mall. It was cloudy and cool in the capital today and by the time I got there after a half-day at work, the houses were all closed to the public. However, I did get to see some very interesting looking structures and got a sense of the excitement that these college students have for designing and building solar powered structures that are energy and heat efficient. And, perhaps the fact that it was cloudy was actually important in demonstrating the reality of solar power: it’s not a miracle solution and far from perfect. Cloudy days really show the limitations of the technology in its current state. But the hype and recent interest in solar power should still be used to bring it to mass market. Some decent solar power is generated even under cloudy skies and having a house with some kind of solar generation capacity is reasonable. Money can be saved and pollution decreased by being connected to the grid and using it when necessary while using your own, locally produced solar electricity on those days when the sun is shining. Like with the move to hybrid cars instead of all-electric or hydrogen cars, it’s not feasible to transition to a system of all solar, at least not right now. There need to be intermediate steps along the way and it’s really not realistic to relay so heavily on one main source of energy like we do today with oil for transportation and coal for electricity. These student built houses demonstrate the benefits of installing solar power while maintaining the current convenience and reliability of conventional grid power.

The event runs through next weekend, so take a trip to the National Mall if you can. Below are some of the structures that may be of interest:

- Justin Manger

For those of you in the Washington, D.C. metro region, this weekend brings a good chance to visit solar homes and buildings in the area. The 19th Annual Solar Tour runs from 11a.m. to 5p.m. on October 3rd and 4th. The homes and buildings are scattered throughout Maryland, Virginia, and the District and will provide opportunities to see a “remarkable variety of solar design, technology and sustainable living concepts illustrated in over 70 homes.” For those of you thinking about installing solar systems or just interested in learning about the technology, it could be a nice way to spend a few hours on a pleasant fall day. According to the website: Read the rest of this entry »