Top Green Building Opening in Pittsburgh

Posted on May 7, 2012 by quest

Opening on May 23, 2012 at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the new 24,350-square-foot Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) will emerge as one of the greenest buildings on Earth. Seeking to achieve or exceed the world’s highest sustainable standards, including the Living Building Challenge, LEED Platinum and Sustainable Sites Initiative certification for landscapes, it will also be the largest operational structure pursuing living building status in the U.S. when it opens.

Constructed with local talent and mostly U.S.-made materials, the CSL—home base for environmental education and research—aims to achieve net-zero energy consumption with solar photovoltaics, geothermal wells and a vertical axis wind turbine, as well as passive cooling, heating and lighting methods. It will also save resources by treating and reusing all water captured on site. Additionally, the CSL will interact with its environs as a vital part of daily operation, blurring the lines between the natural and built environments. And, as a global SITES™ pilot project, it will feature a restorative landscape with native plants and a demonstration green roof garden. Other site features include a lagoon, water distillation system, rain gardens, and constructed wetlands.

“Designed and built by Pittsburghers and Pennsylvanians as an innovation for the world, the CSL will serve as a model for how we can all work together with nature to make our communities healthier, safer and more supportive of life,” says Phipps’ Executive Director Richard V. Piacentini. “It will also give visitors the opportunity to see just how beautiful and practical green can be.” A leader in green building and operations, Phipps has also constructed the first LEED visitor center in a public garden—complete with a 3-star Green Restaurant Certified® cafe—and the world’s most energy-efficient tropical forest conservatory when it opened in 2006.

Congresswoman Johnson Backs Renewable Energy Bill

PlanetSolar Returns To Monaco Makes History

Posted on May 6, 2012 by quest

This is the kind of accomplishment that electrifies the imagination. A solar powered catamaran that looks like the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek has just completed a trip around the world . Planet Solar is the first boat ever to circumnavigate the globe with energy generated by solar panels atop the craft. The journey started in Monaco on September 27, 2010.

Some of their ports of call included Miami, Cancun, San Francisco, Sydney, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi before finally returning to Monaco yesterday.The purpose of project was to inform the public about the importance of sustainability and  renewable energies. I’m not sure if they encounterd any unknown deep sea creatures, but PlanetSolar has an impressive group of supporters such as IMMOSOLAR, Candino Swiss Watch, SunPower and Jean Verne, Great-Grandson of the writer, Jules Verne who wrote about the mission early on said, ” In the spirit of the PlanetSolar project that calls upon scientists, technicians, industries, financiers and scholars who are working together on an “extraordinary voyage into known and unknown worlds.

PlanetSolar catamaran (without flaps) boosts 31m in length, 16m in width, and approximately 540 square meters of solar panels as the solar generator. The specially developed energy storage should permit the boat to move for approximately 3 days and nights without sunlight. The MSTÛRANOR PlanetSolar was designed by the extraordinary designer and constructor Craig Loomes and his company LOMOcean (New Zealand). It has been built by high-performance yacht builder Knierim, based in Kiel (Germany). The boat is navigated under the Swiss flag.

PlanetSolar underway

Effects of Ecotourism on Tiger Sharks

Solar And Clean Energy Political Myths Revealed

Posted on April 28, 2012 by quest

The common wisdom is wrong: There is no political “fault line” that divides Americans along party lines when it comes to clean energy issues and solutions. Majorities of Republicans, Independents and Democrats agree that the United States should move away from its reliance on dirty energy sources that foul the air and water and toward a future that makes greater use of clean energy sources, according to a major new ORC International survey conducted for the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute (CSI).

A key finding: More than three out of four Americans (76 percent) – including 58 percent of Republicans, 83 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of Democrats — think that the United States should move to a sustainable energy future through “a reduction in our reliance on nuclear power, natural gas and coal, and instead, launch a national initiative to boost renewable energy and energy efficiency.”

However, the bipartisan support for clean energy does not mean that Americans think that Washington, D.C. is on the same page with them. More than three out of four Americans (77 percent) – including 70 percent of Republicans, 76 percent of Independents, and 85 percent of Democrats — believe that “the energy industry’s extensive and well-financed public relations, campaign contributions and lobbying machine is a major barrier to moving beyond business as usual when it comes to America’s energy policy.” The complete article: Survey- “Partisan Divide” On Energy Issues Is A Myth, Strong Bipartisan Support Seen For Shift To Cleaner Energy

See More On A Train

Water Farms Help Consumers Find Fresh Local Food

Posted on April 23, 2012 by quest

In honor of the 41st Earth Day the Recirculating Farms Coalition released a new interactive map that shows consumers where to buy fresh produce and seafood, and decorative plants and fish from innovative farms. The organization is a collaborative group of farmers, fishermen, educators, scientists and others who promote unique growing methods – recirculating farming.”Recirculating farms are amazing – they use inventive ways to be space, energy, and water efficient,” says Executive Director Marianne Cufone. “Because they can be so eco-friendly, Earth Day is the perfect time to get the word out that these farms are operating all over the U.S. Our new map helps people find and learn about them.”

Recirculating farms are what they sound like; they use naturally cleaned, recycled water, without soil, to raise plants and fish. There are many styles of recirculating farms, but generally they all fall into three categories: hydroponic (plants), aquaculture (fish), or aquaponic (plants and fish).Though recirculating technology is not new – it is similar to that used for ages in hanging gardens, fish ponds, and modernly in aquariums – it is ever improving. Today, these farms can grow more, in less space, using rainwater and renewable energy sources like solar power. Still, they are not well known in the U.S.

One focus for the Coalition is to raise awareness about these farms. Creating a map that shows commercial recirculating farms is a way to reach out to people who want to visit and purchase from the farms and are interested in supporting local, sustainable businesses.The new map uses color-coding to identify the type of farm and provides location and contact information. It is a work-in-progress, the Coalition expects to add more farms and additional details to each entry, including what is grown and where products can be purchased if they are sold off-site.”We are always learning about new recirculating farms, and farmers are contacting and joining the Coalition. This map will expand and be an important resource for consumers who want sustainably grown, fresh local food. We are excited to debut this in time for Earth Day, to help.

Eco Friendly Travelers Growing Greener

Kendall Jackson Winery Has A Taste For Solar Power

Posted on April 10, 2012 by quest

U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson and local business leaders convened today at Kendall-Jackson’s Wine Center to celebrate the company’s commitment to sustainability and unveil the solar cogeneration system, now supplying solar hot water and electricity to power the winery’s extensive tank and bottle washing operations.“Our founder Jess Jackson was a trailblazer who made sustainability a core part of Kendall- Jackson’s DNA largely through innovation,” said Kendall-Jackson’s Vice President of Sustainability Robert Boller. “We’re thrilled to take this leadership position with Cogenra by installing the largest rooftop solar electricity and hot water rooftop system to date and two upcoming installations at our other production sites. It’s a win for the environment and our bottom line.”

Cogenra partnered with local installer SunWater Solar to construct the array on the roof of Kendall-Jackson’s Kittyhawk winery. The solar cogeneration system provides up to 60 percent of the building’s hot water needs, with the electricity powering lighting and cooling. In addition to this initial solar cogeneration project, Kendall-Jackson will install Cogenra arrays at their Vinwood estate in Sonoma County and an additional winery in Monterey County. Expanding on Kendall-Jackson’s existing energy and water conservation projects, the 96-module, 241kW hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) and thermal array is expected to save approximately $30,000 in annual energy costs.

“The wine industry, and especially Kendall-Jackson, have been leaders in the sustainability movement,” said Gilad Almogy, CEO of Cogenra Solar. “Solar cogeneration is quickly becoming one of the industry’s most effective tools to maximize the impact of solar energy production to meet both electricity and hot water needs. We commend Kendall-Jackson for their sustainability leadership and look forward to deploying future projects.”“This partnership between two great California companies is proof that business can boost the bottom line while helping the environment,” said U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson. “Innovative new energy technologies, like Cogenra’s, and smart, progressive businesses, like Kendall-Jackson, will drive job creation in the years ahead.”

Don Cheadle Attending Sustainable Meeting In New York City

California Reaches Milestone of 10,000 Green Homes

Even The Water Commutes To LA

Posted on March 28, 2012 by quest

Robert Redford a longtime pioneer in the environmental movement joins his son Jamie Redford to narrate Watershed, a new documentary produced by Jamie Redford who resides in Northern California. The film focuses attention on the human demands being placed on the 250 mile Colorado River. Watershed was recently featured at the D.C. Environmental Film Festival.

Watershed

Advancements in Solar Energy Efficiency

Sometimes breakthroughs in technology are inch by inch. Think of the early days of the personal computer industry when new simply meant faster processors and more disk space. Such is the case with solar panels today. SunPower Corp, a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems today announced that its third generation SunPower Maxeon solar cell is now in commercial production. This world-record efficiency solar cell delivers sunlight to electricity conversion efficiency of up to 24 percent.

$artist Sven Geier fractal art work breakthrough 300x225 Even The Water Commutes To LA$ “We’re pleased to move our world-record breaking efficiency solar cell from the lab into commercial production,” said Tom Werner, SunPower president and CEO. “With the new Maxeon solar cells, offering efficiencies of up to 24 percent, SunPower continues to lead the industry in technology innovation, delivering to its customers the highest efficiency, most reliable solar panels for guaranteed performance.”The new Maxeon solar cells are currently being integrated into select SunPower solar panels that deliver efficiencies exceeding 20 percent. These panels contain up to 128 solar cells per panel and will be availability in limited quantities in 2012.

The new cell has low reverse-bias breakdown voltage to deliver better performance in shady and dusty conditions, and better temperature coefficient for increased energy harvest in hot environments. The new Maxeon solar cell offers improved aesthetics with a consistent, homogenous, sleek black look.