Sundance Channel

New Chicago green building brings lighter footprint to food distribution

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:47:22 +0000

While I don't have numbers at my fingertips, I'd be willing to bet that most new LEED certified commercial buildings fall into the office space category: corporate headquarters or other buildings in which lots of people work behind desks. There's nothing wrong with that; These structures certainly use plenty of energy and water, and elements of green building such as the focus on daylighting and air quality make for more pleasant and productive workplaces. But what about those buildings where products are manufactured, processed and/or distributed? In many cases, these are the real resource hogs sorely in need of, at the very least, a good green retrofitting. And new structures built around resource efficiency can be real cost savers for their owners.

Renewable energy as art: the Bakken Museum’s Green Energy Art Garden

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:12:37 +0000

The Sonic Articulation of Sunbeams from Ben Moren on Vimeo.

A solar array, or a wind farm, can certainly have aesthetic appeal... but the visual interplay between the technology and its surroundings, or the beauty inherent in those panels and turbines themselves, usually isn't high on the priority list of installers. The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, which is dedicated to "exploring the mysteries of our electric world," thought that beauty needed further exploration... and commissioned local artists to create works that "demonstrate a new, creative approach to using alternative energy sources."

Green tech finds (10/7/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:37:40 +0000

Off-grid battery packs for the developing world, a green tech playground, and more... this week's green tech finds.

Making solar cells from wind: Welsh solar cell maker G24 Innovations is preparing for the installation of a wind turbine at its Wentloog Environmental Centre in Cardiff in order to produce its renewable power systems with renewable power (at least partially). (via Treehugger)
The off-grid battery pack: Start-up Fenix International rolled out its website and first product this week: the ReadySet, a "a 12-volt lead acid battery designed specifically for frequent charges from a variety of sources, including a solar panel, bicycle generator, the power grid, or eventually hydro and small-wind turbines." The product is designed for use in areas of the developing world without access to power. See the video above for details. (via CNET Green Tech)

Brownfield and landfill sites: Perfect for renewable energy development?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:14:19 +0000

Yesterday's Boston Globe took note of Canton, Massachusetts' negotiation to use a capped landfill as an energy production site. While many localities have discovered landfill gas as an alternative energy source, Canton plans to use about half of the 41-acre site as a solar farm.

Green tech finds (5/20/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:54:21 +0000

Poop, planes, and bikes... it's green tech finds time.

Poop-powered data centers: Want to run a data center more sustainably? Start shoveling! Scientists from HP's sustainable IT ecosystem lab presented the idea of powering these energy hogs by farm wastes at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability. (via GreenTech Pastures... how appropriate!)
The low-emission airplane? A research team at MIT has presented an airplane concept to NASA that "...is likely to use 70 percent less fuel than existing ones while slashing noise and emission of nitrogen oxides."

Green tech finds (4/1/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 20:04:31 +0000

No foolin'... here are this week's green tech finds.

Low-tech renewable energy storage: In Vinalhaven, Maine, they're testing out a system of distributed energy storage for wind power... and it's based on old technology. (via Green Living Ideas)
The green(er) bookmobile: A new bookmobile for Wood County, Ohio, runs on natural gas.

No foolin'... here are this week's green tech finds.

Low-tech renewable energy storage: In Vinalhaven, Maine, they're testing out a system of distributed energy storage for wind power... and it's based on old technology. (via Green Living Ideas)
The green(er) bookmobile: A new bookmobile for Wood County, Ohio, runs on natural gas.

Climate Science Controversy Flares in EPA Budget Hearing

Sundance Channel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:31:40 +0000

U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's appearance today before a Senate Committee to justify the agency's $10 billion FY 2011 budget became a showcase for the split in the Senate over climate change and clean energy that has to date prevented approval of a climate bill. The House of Representatives passed a climate bill in June 2009.

Green tech finds (2/11/10)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:44:29 +0000

New skins for old buildings, hybrid race cars, and solar chargers that work inside... your green tech finds for the week.

Reskinning old buildings: New green buildings are great, but what about older, existing structures? Australia-based Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has conceived of a building "skin" that "which could create a microclimate, cooling the building inside," and could contain all sorts of sustainable goodies like solar panels and rainwater collection systems. (via Fast Company)
Poop to carbon capture: West Virginia chicked farmer Josh Frye is trying to do his part to curb climate change -- and make a little extra money -- by turning chicken manure into biochar.

Green tech finds (9/24/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:47:37 +0000

Yep, it's that time again... here are this week's green tech finds.

Fighting the downturn with rooftop windfarms: Co-op and condo building owners are exploring wind and solar energy options as a way to cut building costs during the down economy.
Deep water floating wind turbines go online: Norwegian company Statoil has flipped the switch on the world's first floating wind turbine. (via EcoGeek)

Green tech finds (7/10/09)

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:53:47 +0000

Techies rejoice! Here's your weekly run-down of some of the cooler green tech stories out there...

Free energy? There's a ton of it out there -- 7 quadrillion BTUs -- in the form of wasted heat. The Department of Energy has announced funding opportunities for R&D on how to tap this massive source of energy. (via Cleantechnica)
NYC -- the wind energy capital? It seems counterintuitive, but the Carnegie Institution and California State University have found that high-altitude winds, which are concentrated over the Big Apple (among other places), "contain enough energy to meet world demand 100 times over." (via Green Living Ideas)

Houston Endowment Funds Study to Prepare for Next Hurricane

Sundance Channel — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:22:36 +0000

What would happen if a major hurricane made a direct hit on Houston and NASA's Johnson Space Center? Researchers at the center for Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters, SSPEED, at Rice University in Houston have received a grant of $1.25 million to find out.

Five critical questions to ask before installing that home wind turbine

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:30:06 +0000

Dreaming of a green home? Already got a picture in your head of your carbon neutral, low impact house? Even if it's just an upgraded version of your current home, that picture almost certainly includes solar panels on the roof, and/or a wind turbine situated on your land. It's an inspiring image. In reality, it may also be one that's going to produce more headaches (financial and otherwise) than clean energy... unless you do your homework. Learn more on what you need to do if you want to use solar or wind energy on your property...

Time to transform Utah’s energy-producing future

Robert Redford — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:25:57 +0000

image credit: the russians are here used under a creative commons license Anyone who knows Utah knows the power of wind, water and sun. You can see that power in Utah's sculpted arches of stone, in our majestic mountains capped with snow, and in the cracked earth of our deserts. Nature's power is so obvious that you have to wonder why we've mostly ignored it as a source of energy to run our homes and businesses, and to propel our cars and trucks.