Eating Planet Squeezing The Environment

Posted on April 21, 2012 by quest

A new book published in collaboration with the Worldwatch Institute, the book will be available for free on Earth Day, Sunday April 22nd. at the Barilla think tank. Worldwide, 30 percent of food is wasted, 1 billion people go to bed hungry each night while another 1 billion suffer from health problems related to obesity. Meanwhile, young people are increasingly disconnected from how their food is grown, making solutions to the global agricultural system – which contributes one third of global greenhouse gas emissions – seem even further out of reach.

In response to these problems, the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) is releasing a book, Eating Planet, highlighting the challenges facing today’s food and agricultural system, as well as the myriad of benefits that reform could bring. As Earth Day approaches, it is important to appreciate the links between technology, culture, and agriculture, and how they can help alleviate hunger and poverty. Eating Planet will be downloadable for free on Earth Day, April 22, 2012 from the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition’s website.

“Access to food is one of the first and most fundamental of all human rights,” says Guido Barilla, Chairman of the Barilla Group. “Where food is lacking, it becomes impossible to live with dignity, and the rights to a healthy life and peaceful coexistence are undermined.”The Worldwatch Institute’s Nourishing the Planet project, an evaluation of environmentally sustainable solutions to alleviate hunger and poverty, collaborated with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition to produce the report. “The study’s conclusions represent a major step toward ensuring that agriculture contributes to health, environmental sustainability, income generation, and food security,” said Nourishing the Planet project director Danielle Nierenberg. “The ingredients will vary by country and region, but there are some key components that will lead to healthier food systems everywhere.” Read the article.

Solar Roof Juice From Sungevity Goes Down Under

Hi Tech Rooftop Mapping For Solar Power Potential

Posted on April 20, 2012 by quest

GeoEye, a leading provider of geospatial information and insight, today announced a strategic relationship with Geostellar, an innovative technology company that is transforming the solar energy industry. Under the terms of the agreement, GeoEye will supply high-quality Earth imagery, digital surface models and other mapping data to help Geostellar dramatically expand its service. GeoEye also intends to take a small equity position in the company.

Geostellar has built a breakthrough analytics platform that automatically determines how quickly a given property owner can recoup an investment in solar energy. The company’s platform models roof slope, shadows, weather patterns, local utility rates and solar energy subsidies to automate what has historically been a highly manual process. Geostellar has built solar maps in Washington D.C., Boston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, where government agencies have made aerial imagery freely available. Geostellar needed a strategic partner to help collect and process massive amounts of Earth imagery data to catalog the solar power potential of every commercial and residential property in the United States. GeoEye will become Geostellar’s Earth imagery vendor of choice and apply image processing capabilities developed by GeoEye Analytics to provide the data required to develop solar maps for every key metropolitan market in the United States.

“High quality, digital surface models and mapping data provide critical fuel to our engine,” said David Levine, founder and CEO of Geostellar. “Our strategic relationship with GeoEye will help millions of residential and commercial property owners understand how quickly they can generate a return on investment by going solar.”

Solar Eclipse Live From Mt. Fuji Using Solar Power

Mike Biddle: We can recycle plastic

Eco Friendly Travelers Growing Greener

Posted on April 20, 2012 by quest

Trip Advisor one of the world’s largest travel sites today announced the results of its eco-friendly travel survey of more than 700 U.S. travelers. The green travel trend is gaining momentum among TripAdvisor members, as 71 percent said they plan to make more eco-friendly choices in the next 12 months compared to 65 percent that did so in the past 12 months.

“Green initiatives are an increasing priority for hospitality businesses that are trying to reduce their environmental footprint,” said Jenny Rushmore, director of responsible travel for TripAdvisor. “Our survey shows that TripAdvisor travelers are interested in eco-friendly practices, but hungry for more information about which green plans and policies are actually in place.”

The travel survey found among other things that twenty percent of respondents said they would consider an “eco-tourism” trip but 17 percent said they are unfamiliar with such trips. Nearly a third of travelers (30 percent) would choose a destination for a trip because it is considered eco-friendly. And this was no surprise, Costa Rica is the most popular destination in the world for travelers interested in an eco-friendly trip. TIES a trade organization founded in 1990 has been dedicated to promoting ecotourism. It defines “ecotourism” is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.”

Eco-Conscious Companies Are Growing on Job Seekers

Winning The Solar And Renewable Energy Race

Hydroponics Leaders Merge To Serve Urban Farming

Posted on April 20, 2012 by quest

Terra Tech Corp. a leader in controlled agricultural products, announced that it has merged with GrowOp Technology Ltd., a cultivation equipment manufacturer focused on the rapidly emerging medical Cannabis market and maker of “The Big Bud.” Derek Peterson, CEO of GrowOp Technology and newly appointed CEO of parent company Terra Tech Corp., says that traditional urban agriculture shares many of the same technologies and processes that are utilized in the cultivation of medicinal cannabis. Much of the technology that exists today has been funded by commercial cannabis cultivation.“Urban agriculture is a remarkable solution for effectively and efficiently feeding our global population, while delivering a product that is significantly more healthy for both the consumer and the planet,” said Peterson. “If not for cannabis being one of the largest cash crops of this country, the industry would be years behind in technological advancements.”

“Farming is going both urban as well as vertical, and tools like ours are going to be the staples of this new city-centric approach to agriculture,” said Peterson. “We are excited about the opportunity in this market, especially in terms of consolidation, and we plan to implement an aggressive acquisition campaign now that we are a public company.” “As more cultivation moves indoors, urban farmers need a new set of tools to regulate and manage these operations. The global population is growing exponentially, forcing us to seek out and adopt alternative methods for food production. Indoor, vertical and greenhouse cultivation are potential answers to many of our existing agricultural limitations,” suggests Russell Winnett, COO and lead design engineer of GrowOp Tech.

With a global population of approximately 7 billion, scarcity of food and the resources to produce it are rapidly becoming a concern. This increased need to sustain our population puts a strain on other global resources as the production and transportation of food significantly increases greenhouse gas emissions. Terra Tech believes this coupled with greater access to information and understanding that locally grown produce is not only better for the environment but also has a higher degree of nutrition has led to this current surge in hydroponically grown crops. Terra Tech intends to position itself to capitalize on this “growing” market. Locally grown produce is not only better for the environment but also has a higher degree of nutrition has led to this current surge in hydroponically grown crops.

Solar Power Has Ripple Effect On Job Creation

AAA Recycling Batteries Planting Trees For Earthday

Posted on April 19, 2012 by quest

Electric and hybrid vehicles are coming on strong as recent surveys show – and electric charging stations and new ion battery technology are an important component to their success. As this field evolves drivers want to know more. And who knows more about driving then AAA. In Honor of Earth Day, AAA Mid-Atlantic Plants a Tree for Every Auto Battery Replaced and Recycled from April 22nd – April 28th. In honor of Earth Day, April 22, AAA Mid-Atlantic will be planting trees in America’s National Forests, literally, on behalf of their members who take advantage of AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Battery Service. For every AAA member who uses AAA’s Battery Program to have a new car battery installed and the old battery recycled by the auto club, a tree will be planted in the national forest.

AAA has recycled more than four million automotive batteries and continues to promote the environmental importance of recycling this essential automotive part. Improperly stored or disposed car batteries create health, fire and safety hazards for humans, animals and the environment. To provide a simple solution, AAA encourages motorists to recycle their used batteries during its Great Battery Roundup from April 22-28 at their local AAA Car Care Insurance & Travel Center, and in recognition of their effort a tree will be planted in a national forest.

AAA has recycled millions of pounds of lead and plastic through the automotive battery recycling efforts of the AAA Mobile Battery Service and the AAA Approved Auto Repair network and AAA owned repair facilities. The auto club first began its mobile battery recycling efforts in 1997, and this year, AAA anticipates it will replace and recycle an additional two million batteries via its roadside battery replacement service. Regionally, AAA Mid-Atlantic recycles over 100,000 batteries a year on average throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. AAA has also started a mobile electric vehicle charging service in California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.

One Day On Earth To Screen Worldwide On Earth Day

What Green Jobs? These Green Jobs

Posted on April 19, 2012 by quest

Earlier this year Kellé McMahon is the CEO of The Green Science Academy wrote,”American companies, small companies, large companies, startups and mid-size companies all of which contribute to the growth and development of a new established emergent industry coined “the green economy.” The green economy encompasses many different aspects of the energy market sector. The United States has seen the largest growth in the solar market sector over the past two years. The industry has seen growth over 120% since 2006 (Engineering Magazine July 2010) and is experiencing a explosion of growth in the commercial residential sectors.”

Carol McClelland, PhD author and Founder of Green Career Central recently wrote -
Debunking Myths About Careers in the Green Economy, she says,” As we talk with people at networking meetings and our group calls, we hear them make assumptions about the Green Economy that aren’t true. They may have been true at one point, but times have changed. Are you holding yourself back from entering the Green Economy due to any of these assumptions?”

Now a new study from Environmental Entrepreneurs‘ report shows clean energy sector growing across country, industries could lead to 46,000 jobs in 42 states. Among other things the report says,”Manufacturing companies making everything from electric vehicles to solar panels and wind turbine parts announced 35 projects in the quarter that would create more than 10,000 jobs.” Read the article…