New Flights Into Costa Rica’s Ecotourism Haven

Posted on November 22, 2011 by quest

Costa Rica is truly a magical place and apparently JetBlue Airways realizes this because they recently announced four new weekly non-stop flights to Liberia, in Costa Rica’s rich Guanacaste region; from its home base at New York’s JFK Airport. Liberia, on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast, will be the airline’s second destination in the country. JetBlue has served Juan Santamaria International Airport in the capital, San Jose, with nonstop service from Orlando, since 2009. Named after the national tree of Costa Rica, Guanacaste is one of the country’s most popular vacation and ecotourism destinations thanks to nearly a dozen well-known biological reserves, national parks and wildlife refuges. Known as a haven for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers alike, stunning Pacific coastlines are plentiful in this northwestern province, as are the seemingly endless hours of summer sunlight.

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JetBlue five-hour flights between New York and Liberia will be operated with the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring convenient, assigned seating; a first-checked bag free; complimentary and unlimited name brand snacks and drinks; comfy leather seats; more legroom than any other carrier in coach ; and its award-winning customer service.

Nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Costa Rica is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. The country represents only .05 percent of the planet’s surface but shelters almost 5 percent of the world’s biodiversity and 3.5 percent of the world’s marine life. Costa Rica is home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, four types of forest, 12 microclimates and more than 500 species of flora and fauna, with more than 26 percent of its territory comprising national parks and other protected areas, making the country one of the most popular sustainable tourism destinations in the world. To celebrate, the airline is also offering an inaugural fare of only $119 if booked by December 1, 2011 for travel through February 15, 2012. We look forward to welcoming JetBlue passengers into our country, where they can experience first-hand our rich culture, commitment to sustainability and the happiness that is unique to our country,” commented Costa Rica Minister of Tourism Allan Flores.

Solar Energy Turned To Ice

Posted on November 22, 2011 by quest

When I first read this I thought…what? It turns out the Ice House of New Jersey, the Tri-State area’s largest ice arena, has flipped the switch on an 843 kilowatt (kW) solar system. That’s almost reaching one megawatts of power. And yet even at that level the system designed and installed by Mercury Solar Systems Mays Landing office is expected to meet only 22 percent of Ice House’s annual electricity needs. The facility has consistently drawn the attention of Gold Medal Winning Olympic Skaters to NHL Professionals. In 2002, Ice House sent 9 skaters to the Olympics including gold medalists Sarah Hughes, Elena Bereznaia and Anton Sikharulidze. Tara Lipinski, Oksana Baiul, and Sasha Cohen also utilize Ice House as their local training facility.

Over 3,660 solar panels will produce enough energy to power 265 average size residential homes every year. This is equivalent to recycling over 16 million cans of soda, planting 60,000 trees and taking 110 cars off the road every year. “This system has drastically reduced our reliance on fossil fuels and will provide a cleaner environment for the thousands of kids that utilize our facility every year,” commented Robert Bakos, Operations Manager at Ice House. “We are in the process of installing a solar information station in our facility to help educate the kids about the benefits of solar energy.”

Jared Haines, President of Mercury Solar Systems said, “”We commend Ice House for taking this step toward a greener future. Solar energy systems continue to produce significant savings and a solid return on investment for local businesses in New Jersey and we believe this will continue to drive the market forward.” Mercury Solar Systems is one of the leading solar integrators on the East Coast recognized for two consecutive years as one of Inc. 500′s fastest growing energy companies. The Company designs and installs solar panels and solar energy systems for commercial and residential customers and to date has installed nearly 2,000 solar systems in excess of 30MW of energy.

Global Warming Alert

Integrated Solar Energy Powering Homes And Cars

Posted on November 21, 2011 by quest

Its exciting to see home builders, solar panel makers and electric vehicle companies coming together to find cost effective and clean energy solutions that people can use right now. With the just completed “Plug Into History” press event featuring the Nissan LEAF with a City Ventures home pre-wired for electric cars, the dream is now realized. Integrated with each residence, City Ventures homes feature solar power and energy-efficient design, bringing energy bills to near net zero. The coupling of high-tech solar home with advanced electric car completes the circuit, allowing low-cost, low-carbon, gasoline-free living. The City Ventures earth-friendly neighborhoods, comprising over 190 homes, represent the largest collection of new, solar, no-gas homes in the United States. They are currently under construction in the California cities of Signal Hill, Santa Barbara and Brea. Prices for these homes start in the high $200,000s.

Savvy home buyers are now seeking homes with solar panels and electric vehicle charging capability. So it comes as no surprise that KB Home, one of the nation’s premier home builders, has also just announced that it is significantly expanding its popular solar initiative by making solar power systems a standard feature of homes in nearly all of its communities across Southern California. Including the high-efficiency SunPower solar power systems – now available at 28 communities – with a new KB home can help KB homeowners reduce their monthly energy bills by as much as 80% and lower their cost of homeownership for years to come. Consumers who buy a Built to Order KB home get the value of a custom home-like experience plus the tremendous energy efficiency of our latest advanced building techniques.

Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Homes said, “The response to our solar initiative has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to expand our program so that many more homebuyers in Southern California can take advantage of this unique opportunity.”To illustrate the potential benefit of solar power systems and the many other energy-efficient features of its homes, KB Home provides consumers with its Energy Performance Guide, which shows an estimate of monthly energy costs for each home as designed. A new KB home is could to save a homeowner about $2,000 annually on energy costs. Even if you don’t buy a house that has been built “green” from the ground up and process of greening up an existing home can be very rewarding.

US Could Save $80 Billion With Renewable Energy

China on U.S. Solar Panels Complaint

Mission College Takes Solar Megawatt Step

Posted on November 20, 2011 by quest

It’s happening all over nation state California. Now Mission College, Gilbane Co., a full-service construction company, and SunPower Corp., recently announced the dedication of a 1.1-megawatt (MW) solar power system at Mission College, located in Santa Clara, Calif. Over the 25-year-life of the system, Mission College is expected to save approximately $8.5 million in electricity costs. “At a time when schools are hard-pressed to reduce operating expenses, SunPower is working with K-12 schools, community colleges and universities to finance solar power solutions that supply significant, ongoing savings,” said SunPower Managing Director Bill Kelly. “To realize a great return on its investment in clean energy, Mission College wisely utilized low-interest financing mechanisms accessible to educational institutions and selected a system with guaranteed long-term energy performance and the highest efficiency, highest reliability on the market today.” Mission College President Dr. Laurel Jones said, “We are excited to be a model of sustainability for our student body and local community by introducing sustainable practices throughout our campus, including the new solar power system, development of clean tech curriculum and construction of LEED-designed, energy-efficient buildings.”

It turns out SunPower is actively installing solar power systems at more than 90 educational facilities in California. They have also built systems for community colleges including Bakersfield College, Mendocino College, Napa Valley College, Ohlone College, the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District, and the Los Angeles Community College District. SunPower has more than 750 large solar power systems in operation or under contract globally.

Statewide California just recently passed a milestone of one gigawatts of installed solar power. This puts California steps closer to reaching its goal of generating 33% of its energy statewide through renewable energy by 2020. In order for these goals to be achieved a combination of utility, commercial and residential programs are in effect to stimulate acceptance and purchasing. In fact as recently reported here,“California’s Ninety Nine Percent Buying Solar Energy”; The top cities on the list are not California’s wealthiest and are home to more mainstream families. For example, Bakersfield and Fresno are among the state’s top five solar cities with annual household incomes averaging between $40,000 and $50,000. By comparison, Malibu, which was not even in the top 25, has a median annual household income of $160,000. The percent of total installations in California’s highest income zip codes is only 2-3 percent.

New Solar Solutions Could Put Angelenos To Work

Green Jobs Future Here Now

Posted on November 20, 2011 by quest

The green jobs of the future are actually already here. Jobs for the Future a national organization that identifies, develops, and promotes new education and workforce strategies and the National Wildlife Foundation are introducing NASA‘s cutting-edge contributions in climate change science to community college green sector curricula as part of a new project launched this month called Building a Diverse, Green Workforce. The project builds on The Greenforce Initiative, a partnership between JFF and NWF to improve green career pathways for underrepresented students and connect campus sustainability to hands-on training opportunities. The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is also a partner in the new project. Edgecombe Community College in North Carolina, Wayne County Community College in Detroit, and Wilbur Wright Community College in Chicago are all piloting the new curriculum in at least nine courses, engaging up to 180 students over two years.

IRobot

In science fiction technology is suspect. Take for example the movies Terminator and iRobot where the machine are out to takeover humans. But then comes Disney’s hardest working droid in show business, Wall – E; and Optimus Prime from Transformers who were meant to save civilization. So I guess it depends how we use it. According to Maria Flynn, vice president at JFF, “Despite the slow growth economy, employment opportunities continue to increase in many clean economy sectors and sustainability skills are becoming more important for economic competitiveness. Through this project, we will strengthen the skill sets that adults attain in their green career training programs while also supporting the development of workers who are knowledgeable about and prepared for well-paying STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers.”

“Climate change, and the challenges it brings, will touch every corner of the American economy, and we must address it in kind at the career training level,” said Kevin Coyle, vice president of Education Programs, National Wildlife Federation. “We are excited to help that process along by adapting our teaching tools using more technically advanced NASA learning opportunities and resources more appropriate for community college faculty and students.” To promote greater access and success for students at different skill levels, Building a Diverse, Green Workforce focuses on credit coursework that leads to green job-related certificates and degrees; workforce training programs endorsed by green sector employers; and basic skills programs for students not yet ready for college credit-level work. The curriculum will be adapted from the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA Climate Change Connections, which incorporates NASA mission satellite data with ground-based observations for use with high school students and teachers. This national project was made possible in part by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Arctic Melt Unnerves the Experts

California’s Ninety Nine Percent Buying Solar Energy

Intersolar China Heading For Beijing

Posted on November 19, 2011 by quest

Intersolar which started in Germany is now making a sweep around the globe. Next stop…Beijing! For the first time, the international solar industry is assembling at Beijing’s China National Convention Center for Intersolar China, where the event makes its inauguration to the upcoming solar market in Eastern Asia. The exhibition’s extensive accompanying program not only gives visitors and exhibitors an overview of the latest product innovations, but also provides the perfect opportunity to network with the international solar industry and forge new contacts in new markets. The Intersolar China Conference, taking place from December 6–8 at the InterContinental Hotel in Beijing, invites industry professionals to join with experts in discussing the latest market trends and pioneering technologies – over 500 experts are expected in total.

Intersolar China is a continuation of the successful Intersolar exhibition series, the world’s leading exhibition series for the solar industry. This will be the fourth event, joining Intersolar Europe in Munich, Intersolar North America in San Francisco and Intersolar India in Mumbai. It showcases all areas of solar power generation as well as the entire supply chain – from production through distribution to project development – including raw materials, production technologies, solar cells, photovoltaic modules, systems technology and components.

While the global face off between China and US solar manufacturers has yet to resolved, China still remains the world largest producer of solar panels and its economy is showing no signs of slowing. In addition to the latest developments in international solar markets, conference attendees also focus their attention on technological advances. The spotlight is equally being shone on the topic of sustainability in PV production. Together with the PV Cycle initiative, the voluntary take-back and recycling program of the photovoltaic industry, the conference addresses the recycling of end-of-life solar modules.

Carl Pope steps down as leader of Sierra Club

Lakers Players Shoot For Green Solar Energy