2nd Green Revolution

This post comes from a 2nd Green Revolution reader who forwarded us the idea. Originally from the Maine Solar Primer booklet 2nd Edition by Richard Komp with drawings by Caleb Crawford, the SunGrabber is a relatively easy way to capture some of the sun’s heat by attaching a home-made solar panel to an existing window. Also known as a “thermal siphon”, the idea in its simplest form works on the principal that hot air rises. The best way to understand the concept is to look at the drawing after the jump or at this URL at Build It Solar. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite announcing his intention not to seek a second term as governor of Colorado, Governor Bill Ritter has continued to pursue a clean energy future for the state. While many states have mandates of 20% or 25% electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2020, Ritter is pushing ahead toward 30%. Ritter’s goal is one of the most ambitious, ranking in the top three states as measured by a percentage of electricity production.  Read the rest of this entry »

A few months ago Solar Roadways was the recipient of extra attention in the blogosphere. 2nd Green Revolution did its part and brought you news of this company as well. All of the attention resulted in a redesigned website with flash animation. The older version of the site (one of which can be seen here) lacked the “Wow” factor that is now a part of the new site.

While the revamped site contains a wealth of information on the benefits of solar roadways in an attractive, easy to access format, there does not seem to be much movement on the development and implementation side. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a quick note about the increasingly mainstream move to non-oil based plastics. Starting this spring, Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. will use PET bottles made using Brazilian bioethanol for the first time in Japan.

The new plastic bottles will be used for three of the company’s products. Up to 30% of the oil-derived materials used in existing bottles will be replaced with bioethanol made from sugarcane, according to the Nikkei Shinbun. The company expects to cut its use of crude oil by 2,045 kilolitres (540,000 gallons) annually by using the plant-based material. Importantly, the new bottles can be recycled at existing facilities and have the strength of the old bottles. Coca-Cola has said that the company plans to produce plastic bottles in the future that are made completely from plant-derived materials. The company has similar plans to introduce the bottles in the Americas this spring. 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 »

Over the past few days we have featured a couple of different stories about geothermal energy. The first recapped two of the main sources (deep well drilling for electricity generation and ground source for home heating and cooling). The second gave you a homeowner’s perspective. Today we bring you another take on geothermal. Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana (alma mater of David Letterman) has implemented a plan to power the school with geothermal. Read the rest of this entry »

While climate change has no scientific connection to earthquakes, one of the contenders to provide renewable energy may. Two geothermal projects – one in Basel, Switzerland and the other in Northern California – have recently been shut down amid concerns about increased earthquake activity believed to be related to the tapping of thermal energy in the earth’s inner layers. While the move seems precautionary, the seismic activity has raised concerns. Since shifts in the earth’s tectonic plates cause tremors, there appears to be a causal relationship between the drilling and earthquakes, as the activity occurred at both locations. Read the rest of this entry »

Denmark stands at the forefront of clean energy development. Nearly 20% of the electricity generated in the country comes from wind power. A New York Times article from earlier this month discusses the state of electric cars in Denmark – host to the United Nations Climate Change Conference. With such a significant percentage of energy produced from wind, storing the energy becomes an important issue.

Currently, “the biggest Danish power company is working with a Silicon Valley start-up in a $100 million effort to wire the country with charging poles as well as service stations that can change out batteries in minutes. The government offers a minimum $40,000 tax break on each new electric car — and free parking in downtown Copenhagen.” With huge financial incentives, the Danish government is hoping that collaborating with Shai Aggasi’s company Better Place will Read the rest of this entry »

We’ll be featuring “Green IQ Tests” all this week as a way to mark the climate change negotiations in Denmark. Regardless of the outcome of the conference, the second green revolution is well underway among consumers and businesses.  Here are another couple of questions from the Wall Street Journal’s Green IQ Quiz to test your knowledge.

Just how does the U.S. keep the lights on? Match the share of electricity generated this year to the fuel source:

A. Coal
B. Nuclear power
C. Natural gas
D. Hydroelectric
E. Other renewables

1. 3.4%
2. 22%
3. 45%
4. 21%
5. 7.4% Read the rest of this entry »

With the international climate change conference now underway in Copenhagen, Denmark, there is plenty of talk about the environment. But among all the media and discussion, what are the facts? The Wall Street Journal had an interesting set of questions in today’s paper to test your environmental knowledge. We’ll put up two a day this week to mark the negotiations and broaden understanding on some key facts. I found some of the answers surprising and enlightening. How many can you get correct?

The full quiz can be found here.

What’s the most prevalent greenhouse gas in the earth’s atmosphere?
A. Methane
B. Carbon dioxide
C. Water vapor
D. Tropospheric ozone
E. Hot air from politicians Read the rest of this entry »