D’Angelo Plays Eco Arts Bonnaroo Music Festival

Posted on June 10, 2012 by QuestPoint

Rock the Earth, a national not-for-profit environmental organization that partners with the music industry, just held the largest music festival in the United States – the 11th Annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn., June 7-10. Rock the Earth held a series of artist interviews and performances live on Bonnaroo’s Planet Roo Solar Stage, as well as a series of environmental films at the festival. To coincide with its environmental programming, together Rock the Earth and Bonnaroo held a cell phone recycling campaign that rewarded participants who recycled their old and unused mobile phones with free goodies and entry into the daily drawing for prizes.

Moderated by Rock the Earth’s founder and Executive Director, Marc Ross, the theme of this year’s performances and discussions on the Planet Roo Solar Stage were on “Social Change Through Music.” Attendees learned what inspires musicians to be activists, and explored the synergies between the artists that create music and music’s interconnectedness to the environment and world.

From Manchester, Tennessee the Newsfeed Resecher reported, “D’Angelo is back. The reclusive R&B singer made his first live U.S. appearance in 12 years at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival early Sunday morning, surprising a few thousand fans during Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s Superjam session. “I’ve been waiting 12 years to say this ladies and gentlemen, D’Angelo!,” Thompson said as the crowd roared. It was his first U.S. show since 2000 and a prelude to an appearance at July’s Essence Music Festival and a European tour with many of the same players who backed him Sunday morning. D’Angelo played live in Europe earlier this year.”

GE Opens Electric And Hybrid Vehicle Innovation Center

Extreme Rains In Midwest Have Doubled

Posted on May 23, 2012 by quest

A Report Details Major Storm/Flooding Trends in Midwest Illustrates Growing Concerns About Climate Link Between Big Storms and Flooding. The kind of deluges that in recent years washed out Cedar Rapids, IA, forced the Army Corps of Engineers to intentionally blow up levees to save Cairo, IL, and sent the Missouri River over its banks for hundreds of miles are part of a growing trend, according to a new report released today by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Big storms, leading to big floods, are occurring with increasing frequency in the Midwest, with incidences of the most severe downpours doubling over the last half century, the report finds.

Stephen Saunders, the president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the report’s lead author, said: “Global studies already show that human-caused climate change is driving more extreme precipitation, and now we’ve documented how great the increase has been in the Midwest and linked the extreme storms to flooding in the region. A threshold may already have been crossed, so that major floods in the Midwest perhaps now should no longer be considered purely natural disasters but instead mixed natural/unnatural disasters. And if emissions keep going up, the forecast is for more extreme storms in the region.”

In addition to region-wide trends, the report presents trends in the eight Midwestern states. For the worst storms (three inches or more of rain in 24 hours) from 1961-2011, the report outlines the following state-level trends: Indiana (+160 percent); Wisconsin (+203 percent); Missouri (+81 percent); Michigan (+180 percent); Minnesota (+104 percent); Illinois (+83 percent); Ohio (+40 percent); and Iowa (+32 percent). The full report

Solar Decathlon Gets $1 Million For Great Park XPO

Suniva Named 2012 Cool Provider in Solar Energy

Posted on May 14, 2012 by quest

Suniva, Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, today announced that it has been recognized by Gartner as a 2012 Cool Vendor in Solar Energy. The Gartner Cool Vendors in Solar Energy 2012 report highlights four vendors whose innovations could have a disruptive impact on the PV solar industry by dramatically reducing the cost of solar-generated electricity. The report highlights that improving the energy conversion efficiency of solar cells can be an effective cost reduction strategy, but only if increases in manufacturing complexity and cost are kept to a minimum. Suniva recently announced that its ARTisun(TM) Select series solar cells are now averaging 19 percent efficiency in plant-wide production, yielding conversion efficiencies of up to 16.3 percent at the module level.

“The report by Gartner recognizes that the Solar industry will continue to be driven by innovation that produces high efficiency, high performance cells at a cost that is sensible for today’s market conditions,” said John Baumstark, CEO, Suniva. “We’re proud of our inclusion in the report and for the recognition of our pioneering and proprietary work in producing the highest efficiency cells and modules possible through low cost manufacturing techniques.”

Suniva’s continued research, innovation and deep experience have led to these most recent cost-effective cell-efficiency improvements. In 2011, the company formed its Manufacturing Innovation Center to improve processes and enhance performance. Suniva’s unique, low-cost approach achieves these efficiency gains without the added steps and processing costs that traditionally characterize the means of increasing performance, thus avoiding the complexities and premiums of enhanced performance.

End Polluter Welfare Invest In Solar

Nicaraguan Travelers Enjoy Ecotourism Dazzling Views

Posted on May 11, 2012 by quest

Nicaragua, Central America’s hottest (and safest) tourist destination, has unveiled a website feature to make traveling to “the land of lakes and volcanoes” easier. Ready for volcano boarding?The new booking engine on VisitNicaragua.US enables tourists to make reservations for hotels, flights and tours in a simple, direct and easy-to-navigate way. Nicaragua offers visitors an authentic experience that puts them in touch with the country’s vast natural beauty and warmth of its people. Travelers can enjoy ecotourism, adventure tourism and simply relaxation against a backdrop of dazzling colonial architecture; spectacular volcanoes, lakes and rainforest; and pristine beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Central America’s largest country and the safest, Nicaragua beckons with a wide variety of travel options at affordable prices

Among the featured hotels that visitors to VisitNicaragua.US can book are Hotel Casa San Francisco in Granada, Nicaragua’s most popular tourist destination; Marina Puesta del Sol, a luxurious fishing resort on the northwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua; and Pelican Eyes Resort and Spa, in the lively beach town of San Juan del Sur. Visitors to VisitNicaragua.us also can choose from dozens of tours of Nicaragua, including the 4-day “Nicaragua’s Colonial Highlights” and the 10-day “Magic of Nicaragua”

The new booking engine on VisitNicaragua.us comes on the heels of the new Nicaragua Tourism Facebook page, which recently launched with a vacation giveaway contest. Until June 11, 2012, visitors to www.facebook.com/visitnicaragua can enter the Nicaragua Ultimate Adventure Sweepstakes to win an amazing trip to experience all the unspoiled nature, beauty, culture, adventure and fun that Nicaragua offers tourists.”We are delighted to offer the new booking engine on VisitNicaragua.US as well as the vacation sweepstakes on our new Facebook page,” said Mario Salinas, Nicaragua’s Minister of Tourism. “Both are examples of our commitment to expanding our tourism offerings and to welcoming more visitors from North America to our beautiful country.”

Electric Vehicles Harvesting Energy Report

End Polluter Welfare Invest In Solar

Posted on May 10, 2012 by quest

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont along with Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota and others at his side said, “I am proud to be here today with Congressman Ellison, with my good friend and fellow Vermonter Bill McKibben, with Brent Blackwelder from Friends of the Earth and Ryan Alexander from Taxpayers for Common Sense.

We are here today not just to announce new legislation, but to send a message – and that message is that it is time to end the absurdity of taxpayers providing massive subsidies to hugely profitable fossil fuel corporations. In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we support the taxpayers of this country and not the fossil fuel industry – one of the most powerful special interests in the world.”

Our federal government is set to give away over $110 billion in taxpayer dollars to the oil, gas, and coal industries over the next 10 years. That is totally absurd. When we have a $15.6 trillion national debt, we cannot afford it. When the five largest oil companies have made over $1 trillion in profits in the last decade, they don’t need it. When some of these same polluters have, in a given year, paid zero in federal income taxes and actually received IRS rebate checks worth millions, they don’t deserve it. When fossil fuels are the number one source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, creating a planetary crisis of global warming that is already causing devastating extreme weather disturbances, we can’t ignore it. As people throughout our country are demanding that we invest in energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and when Congress has instead allowed key sustainable energy incentives to expire even as Big Oil reaps billions in subsidies, it is time to change our national energy priorities. So today, Congressman Ellison and I are introducing the End Polluter Welfare Act in the House and the Senate. Continue reading

Ecotourism Can Save Javan Rhino From Extinction

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.