Since 2005, the tiny town of Reynolds, Indiana, has been hard at work developing itself into Biotown USA. This designation awarded by the state government meant that Reynolds would become a hub for energy experimentation… particularly in using agricultural wastes and byproducts to power the community.

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Just came across several interesting tidbits on green-themed documentary films currently in the works, so thought I’d share them all at one time.

• Crowd funding green films: Tree Media Group, which produced THE 11TH HOUR with Leonardo DiCaprio, is trying out a different mechanism for raising money for two planned documentaries: crowd funding. If you check out the sites for URBAN ROOTS, which follows the growth of urban farming in Detroit, or INTO EDEN, which explores environmental crisis from the perspective of human consciousness, you’ll see NPR-like fund raising appeals. This is a model that’s currently being tried for all sorts of media — Spot.us is a great example of crowd funding for journalism, for instance — so we’ll be interested to see how well this works.

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Homes wired for electric vehicles, artificial islands, and floating power plants… here are your green tech finds for this week.

• Dell’s new Optiplex — most efficient desktop ever? According to Jaymi Heimbach at Treehugger, the new 980 model is, as it features a 90% efficient power supply, meets ENERGY STAR 5.0 standards, and has earned an EPEAT Gold rating.
  
  
• No more downcycling for plastic? That’s what researchers at IBM and Stanford claim their new development in plastic production does: the material can be continuously recycled. See the video above… (via Green Inc.)
  
  

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The ECOWEEK logo and their cringe-inducing slogan.

I was surprised to learn that ECOWEEK isn’t just a one week event, it’s the actual name of the NGO that hosts the weeklong conference as well as “eco awareness” all year long. To be honest, their mission statement is a bit naive: ECOWEEK was established because temperatures are rising; the glaciers are receding; permafrost is thawing…because our children and grandchildren face an uncertain future. That’s nice, but it’s not very specific. It’s also not very current and sounds as if it was written ten or fifteen years ago – by a third grade teacher.

And that’s a real shame when you take a look at their big event, the Eco Week itself, an Athens-based conference that focuses primarily on sustainable architecture and boasts speakers from some of the biggest firms around the world. Keynote speakers include Diebedo Francis Kere, the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Sustainability and Daniel Wicke from Rural Studio, the visionary architecture program at Auburn University. In fact, the more I peruse the week’s program, the more exciting the conference seems. There’s big picture stuff, but there are also talks about structural engineering and sustainable landscape design. Unfortunately, the ECOWEEK website is one of the most confounding I’ve ever visited, and it’s nearly impossible to retrieve all this information without taking the time to dig deep into their site. A case of good intentions and poor planning? It’d be worth the trip, but good luck figuring out how to get there (they don’t exactly make it clear).

While more American cities are including bicycling in transportation planning, and even shooting for status as “bicycle friendly communities,” it can still be tough to get around on a bike. Today, during the opening sessions of the National Bike Summit 2010 in Washington, D.C., Google will be announcing its contribution to making biking easier: a bicycling directions option in Google Maps.

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Got some old jeans you don’t wear any more? The Gap’s currently running a recycling drive for used denim in partnership with Cotton, Inc.’s “Cotton. From Blue to Green” campaign. Through March 14th, you can donate those old jeans at participating Gap, GapKids, or babyGap locations, get a discount for a new pair, and know that the old ones will be recycled into “UltraTouch Natural Fiber Insulation for communities in need.” This program has collected tens of thousands of pairs of old jeans since its 2006 inception, and used them for insulating homes in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.

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State-level budget crunches are taking their toll on local school systems, with many resorting to layoffs and service cutbacks to stretch funds. The Los Angeles Unified School District is no different: a quick scan of their news releases shows the board approving layoffs, and the district’s superintendent proposing a shorter school year and even taking furlough days.

LAUSD is also considering some more unusual, and more sustainable, approaches to making ends meet: cutting energy and water use through the implementation of green building and transportation.

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Robots, biogas, and a green 7-11… it’s green tech finds time!

• Solar power from pea plants: Many researchers are looking to the plant world for inspiration for harvesting solar energy more efficiently. Prof. Nathan Nelson of Tel Aviv University is looking at pea plants as a potential source of nano materials that could “…form the core of more efficient man-made solar cells.”
  
  
• Biogas a more sustainable option for rural China? Fenghuang, a village in the province of Sichuan, is testing this idea out.
  
  
• Identify local food with your iPhone: Augmented Living Goods, an iPhone app that lets you scan barcodes to discover the point of origin for “living goods” (produce, meats and dairy products) took top honors at last week’s Greener Gadgets conference. (via CNET Crave)
  
  
• Windy City piloting solar energy distribution: With a 100-home test, area utility ComEd is trying out the idea that homes could become “mini-utilities.” (via Cleantechnica)
  
  
• Kenya ramping up geothermal energy production: The African country has released plans for a 280 MW geothermal plant to meet growing demand for electricity.
  
  
• A greener Slurpee? No… but convenience store chain 7-11 has opened its first green store in Deland, Florida.
  
  
• The recycling robot: Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Corp and Osaka University have developed a robot that can separate six different kinds of plastic from one another… still no word on one that will carry the bin out to the curb for you, though. (via Ecogeek)
  
  

Got a green tech story to share? Do so… in the comments…

MORE FROM SUSTAINABLOG:

• Coal fired power plants on the way out?
• Looking for water saving tech? We’ve got it…

Image credit: 7-11

The news out of Washington has grown discouraging lately. Lawmakers are bickering and Congress is in gridlock. Corporations, meanwhile, have been given license by the Supreme Court to purchase more political influence than ever before.

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Try explaining climate change to young people in terms of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere, or the dangers of toxic wastes by focusing on water sheds… chances are they’ll be checking their phones, if not dozing off, in a matter of minutes. Now imagine these same concepts being addressed by rappers from the neighborhoods these kids come from… you’ll likely see more enthusiasm for the topics.

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You can call Annie Haven a “tea bagger” if you’d like, but keep in mind the title doesn’t necessarily reflect her politics (or any other preferences); rather, it’s a professional title. Haven is the founder of Authentic Haven Brand soil conditioner tea, which takes manure from her family’s cattle farm, puts it in 3×5 teabags, and sells it to homeowners looking for something akin to an energy drink for their house plants.

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