Cool and spacious cavelike condos dug out of a jungle hillside are emblematic of a Costa Rican city that combines sustainable design and a healthy quality of life. Alouatta has 16 "green house" residences with individually titled, freehold lots, some as large as a half acre.

The development is located in Costa Rica, a visionary country with a high percentage of land that has been set aside in protected areas to protect its biodiversity.

Architects have engineered a city of freehold residences and condo clusters in the jungle. The designs demonstrate that a community can be both beautiful and sustainable in the midst of large tracts of native vegetation that allow for riparian protection areas.

Much of the power for the development will be generated onsite, and the designs use a combination of natural light and innovative strategies to conserve power and thermal energy. The developers have applied for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification based on the site's water conservation, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental air quality.

Alouatta also accommodates eco-tourists within this small-footprint settlement. The local community benefits from financing and volunteers to help with local conservation efforts. With viable, environmentally friendly alternatives to logging and farming at hand, the local economy can justify wildlife and habitat preservation.

 

The state of New Jersey has awarded a contract for an offshore wind farm to Garden State Offshore Energy (GSOE), a joint venture between Deepwater Wind and Public Service Enterprise Group. GSOE submitted a bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to build a 350-megawatt wind farm almost 20 miles offshore. The farm will consist of 96 turbines and is expected to be completed by 2012. The project is likely to cost well over $1 billion. As part of the contract, GSOE will receive a $4 million grant from the state of New Jersey to cover permitting costs and to spur project financing though the final project.

The new wind farm is part of New Jersey's Energy Master Plan, a set of goals calling for the state to switch at least 20 percent of its energy to renewable energy sources by 2020. According to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the planned wind farm could produce 1 percent of the state's energy needs.

GSOE competed against other contractors to win the New Jersey project: Fishermen’s Energy, Bluewater Wind, Occidental Development & Equities and Environmental Technologies. GSOE's backer, Deepwater Wind, won a $2 billion offshore wind project in Rhode Island just last week.

Image — GSOE

Capturing heat from the earth is not a new way to generate power, but, as fossil fuel prices continue to hover at all-time highs and the global economy stalls, people are looking to new and old sources of power.  Geothermal may soon have its day in the sun.

In fact, geothermal heat is picking up steam in 24 countries that are using the energy as part of their power portfolio. In the first six months of 2008, the global geothermal power supply achieved 10,000 megawatts of electricity. It is anticipated that by 2010, that supply will jump to 13,500 megawatts and be used throughout 46 countries. To put that in perspective, 13,500 megawatts is the approximate amount of electricity generated by 27 coal power plants.

Geothermal energy is created as naturally occurring isotopes decay deep within the earth’s core under immense pressure. The result: intense heat. Countries primed for the capture and resale of geothermal energy include Central and South American countries like Chile, Peru, the North American countries, as well as other major nations like Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Many of these nations are located along the Ring of Fire, an area with an abundant amount of geothermal activity.

Geothermal energy provides a cleaner energy resource as the capturing process emits less carbon than current fossil fuel processes. Additional benefits include the ability for heat capturing 24 hours a day, which means no need for backup or storage supplies -- saving money and resources. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided funding and tax credits for geothermal energy. On the whole, fossil fuel electricity and geothermal electricity cost generally the same, but with tax incentives for cleaner energy, those costs will decrease.

Nearly 100 geothermal power projects have been commissioned throughout 13 states with the potential to generate 4,000 megawatts of power. The Department of Energy is continuing to invest in research and development for efficient geothermal power. Geothermal energy will continue to be considered a potential power supply as its track record becomes better established and its efficiency gains recognition.

Holden Beach, North Carolina, is planning a low-impact development of luxury eco-friendly homes on an old lakeside site where sand and marl was harvested.

By redeveloping this previously disturbed area, developers avoid building on a pristine or undisturbed habitat, but home buyers get a premium waterfront view. The 100-acre development being developed by Stone Chimney Development Company will be the county’s first to use low-impact standards prior to the county’s mandate to build in environmentally considerate ways.

In an effort to add no new pollution to the local waterways, houses will feature native-plant rain gardens designed to capture stormwater runoff. The system will capture, treat and use rain water for the native-plant landscaping throughout the development without washing deposited pollutants into tributaries of the Lockwood Folly River.

The state’s Division of Water Quality and Coastal Federation have worked closely with the property owner and developers to ensure that the project will not hinder ongoing restoration of the local watershed and will help prevent future pollution of the area’s waterways.

Photo courtesty Wikimedia Commons

The renewable energy sector looks likely to rebound significantly faster than the rest of the economy, due to an unexpected resilience.

Government-guaranteed revenues have proved crucial to the sector's steady performance despite widespread economic turmoil. While many businesses are encountering cash-flow problems, utilities remain relatively flush with cash since they're able to invest in both small and large renewable energy projects.

The solar and wind power sectors are especially hearty; with the extensive goals for dropping carbon emissions levels, there is a demand for renewable energy that cannot yet be filled. The sector is not entirely safe from the current credit crunch, however. Development costs have risen quickly while access to large lines of credit has become tougher to come by. That tightened market has brought opportunities for big utilities, although their investments haven't quite matched the funds that were previously available.

"The big projects being built by big utilities don't need to borrow from banks for short-term loans," JP Morgan analyst Chris Rogers told Reuters. "But if banks don't lend to each other they certainly won't lend to small project start-ups."

Big utilities have another opportunity available to them that just isn't an option for most other business sectors: as government-regulated businesses, utilities can borrow inexpensively.

Danish consulting firm BTM Consult has estimated that, at the end of 2007, utilities owned only 40 percent of the world's installed wind power capacity. But that number is changing quickly. "I would say about 80 percent will be owned by the utilities in the next five years," said BTM Consult analyst Per Krogsgaard, adding that the credit crisis will speed up that transition.

This change marks a new step in the evolution of renewable energy. In the past, many renewable energy projects have been effectively outside the mainstream. But utility companies are funding and purchasing a growing number of such projects. These large utilities have come to the conclusion that renewable energy is going to pay off — and relatively quickly. Because of rising energy costs, renewable energy projects are cost-effective even if a utility needs to put up a large initial investment. Furthermore, companies across a wide variety of industries have made commitments to move to alternative energy sources.

Utilities' growing interest in renewable energy projects won't entirely shore up the sector. A number of renewable energy stocks have seen prices drop lately. But the green sector has an unusual ability to rebound.

Photo — Flickr user Phault

 

 

More than a third of Australia's power needs could be generated by wave technology, according to a report filed by giant engineering firm RPS MetOcean. The company specializes in engineering around coastal areas and monitoring the offshore oil industry. 

If it pans out, it would make Australia the first continent that could receive a significant portion of its power from wave energy.

RPS MetOcean found that the waves around Australia constitute an energy resource of almost 200,000 megawatts, or four times the country's total currently installed power-generation capacity.

This report was commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation, which won a five-year exclusive license in August to identify suitable areas for a wave-energy facility off the coastline. The technology behind Carnegie's Ceto (named after the Greek sea goddess) has been under development for 10 years.

Ceto is designed to harness the enormous renewable energy in ocean waves in an effort to produce energy with zero emissions. The technology simultaneously provides desalinated water to the shore.

Long columns -- multiple individual submerged units -- are anchored to the sea floor, and sway in unison with the motion of passing waves. The columns drive pumps, which in turn pressurize seawater that is delivered on-shore through a pipeline on the ocean floor. Each 125-unit Ceto farm can make enough power for 15,000 households.

While a Ceto farm is industrial-looking, it's mostly submerged, so nearly invisible to humans. It's a very attractive solution for generating energy renewably, without attracting the NIMBY element.

Map from oldprint.com
From smh.com.au

PepsiCo is making significant progress on its long-term sustainability goals. To meet those goals, Pepsi has launched a number of projects over the past two years. Pepsi has committed to reducing water consumption by 20 percent by 2015. Additionally, it will cut electricity consumption by 20 percent and fuel consumption by 25 percent per unit of production, as compared to 2006 figures.

In order to get a head start on its water goal, Pepsi has been using new technology and employee education to save nearly 1.5 billion gallons in the last year. In particular, the company has created a proprietary air-rinse technology to clean new bottles, eliminating the need for water in that step of manufacturing.

Pepsi has also turned to alternative power sources for its facilities. A subsidiary, Frito-Lay, built a solar concentrator field earlier this year to power the manufacturing of SunChips. PepsiCo has also turned to landfill gas to operate two of its other U.S. manufacturing facilities as well as using biomass to operate several facilities in India. Pepsi has also taken additional steps to reduce electricity use, including converting freezer and refrigeration systems to less-energy intensive systems. When adopting the new system at the Tropicana facility in Bradenton, Florida, Pepsi found that the new system preserves the freshness of juices without needing to freeze the product.

Image — PepsiCo

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory selected JCPenney and 20 other American companies to receive awards totaling $15 million. That money will be used to help each company adopt energy-saving technology in both new and existing locations. The other companies include some of the largest retailers in the U.S. as well as commercial real estate firms and financial institutions.

JCPenney will team with two of the DOE's national labs on specific projects intended to create a cost-effective savings of 50 percent above the standard set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers for new commercial building designs. JCPenney is aiming for a 30 percent savings on retrofits of existing buildings.

Other awards recipients will also have access to the DOE's help. Each of the 21 companies will be able to have its design and facility management teams work directly with the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory — and will have the same goals as JCPenney. The wide variety of expertise available at these labs make the opportunity to work with them as useful as a cash prize.

"We are honored to be part of this unprecedented collaboration to save energy and discover cost-effective ways to increase the efficiency of commercial buildings nationwide," said Jim Thomas, JCPenney's vice president and director of corporate social responsibility, in a press release. "This partnership has the potential to make a significant impact on the country's business and energy future."

Great Plains is teaming up with the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota to use the EERC's proprietary technology for developing next-generation biofuels from Camelina sativa.

Great Plains has been working with the camelina plant for over 10 years. Currently, it processes camelina seeds for biodiesel. The partnership with EERC offers Great Plains access to technology that will improve the biofuel potential of camelina to the point that the plant can be cultivated for jet fuel.

In particular, the EERC's feedstock-flexible process will significantly improve the versatility of Great Plains' product. The process uses a variety of crop oils to produce jet fuel, diesel, gasoline, and propane — all of which are essentially identical to petroleum-based fuels and can be directly substituted with no problems.

"This is an exciting opportunity for us and we can't wait to hit the ground running," said Sam Huttenbauer, the CEO of Great Plains, in a press release. "Not only is camelina a non-food crop, but it will also provide for an identical replacement of the traditional petrochemicals with the technology that the EERC has pioneered. Camelina-derived fuels will be 100 percent produced within North America and will be both environmentally sustainable and high performing without disrupting the current fuel supply infrastructure. Together, we will supply America with the next generation of biofuel."

Great Plains and the EERC will begin their partnership by testing camelina oil in the EERC's process. The two organizations plan to develop a full-scale refinery for renewable jet fuel.

In order to improve its access to a sufficient quantity of camelina, Great Plains has spent the past three years contracting with growers in both the U.S. and Canada to produce the crop. Camelina is not a food crop and is considered a next generation feedstock. It is exceptionally cost effective, and there is a current crop of the seed available to immediately begin fuel production.

Great Plains has based its renewable fuel business on the cultivation of camelina. The company is still in the early stages of creating biofuel, but already has a partnership in place with INEOS Enterprises, one of the leading biofuel producers in the world. The company's approach to biofuel development makes it an ideal partner for the EERC, which puts a high emphasis on moving promising research out of the lab and into the marketplace. The EERC's mission allows it to function like a business, rather than an academic research center.

Photo — Mexicanwave
 

Dockside Green, a sustainable housing development in British Columbia, is finding that its energy efficiency is paying off. BC Hydro, the local utility, is switching to a two-tiered billing system this month. The first tier of usage is for residents who use less than 1,350 kilowatt hours over two months. BC Hydro will reward these efficient customers with a lower billing rate. Those of BC Hydro's customers who use more than 1,350 kilowatt hours in two months will pay a higher rate for any energy consumed over that level.

The residents of Dockside Green pay a premium for homes with an LEED platinum certification. That premium is paying off, however, because Dockside Green has much lower energy requirements than most housing developments. Joe Van Belleghem, the developer responsible for Dockside Green, explained his approach in a press release: "Energy efficiency is one of the key elements of future proofing at Dockside Green.  As energy prices continue to increase, owners at Dockside Green can relax knowing that the design of their home will a have direct positive impact on their energy bills for years to come.  Two-tier billing will benefit all of our residents here, but more importantly it will help British Columbians become smarter consumers of electricity."

Belleghem used a number of energy efficiency techniques in designing Dockside Green. The development has its own energy source — a biomass generation system that covers the community's heat and hot water needs.

Image — Dockside Green

Reducing automobile oil consumption by 38 percent over the next two decades and increasing the market share of plug-in electric cars to 90 percent are central goals of a plan unveiled by Google.org, the philanthropic branch of the internet search giant.

Clean Energy 2030 proposes to switch America over to renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels power in the next two decades. The plan includes policy suggestions, discussions and costs for electric vehicles, solar and wind power, and also focuses on public support of renewable energy.

Google, of course offers dozens of internet applications, but bills itself as a socially conscious company, offering free e-mail services, donating to charitable organizations, even working to end America’s dependence on foreign oil. The Silicon Valley company sits near one of the most environmentally focused cities, San Francisco, and is itself becoming an region known for clean technology resources. 

While the plan would reduce oil consumption and increasing the use of electric cars, it would also increase auto fuel efficiency from 31 miles per gallon to 45 mpg, helping to lower gas costs for Americans while making fuel efficient cars more affordable.

Clean Energy 2030 would establish public policy committees that work to implement renewable electricity capacities, sufficient transmission lines and appropriate electric grid facilities that effectively promote switching from fossil fuel powered electricity to clean energy. Infrastructure overhauls may be needed to transfer clean electricity to homes and buildings. For example, electric grids will need to adjust their facilities from burning fuels to absorbing solar and wind resources.

Google and General Electric will lobby in Washington, D.C. for renewable energy legislation and funding. General Electric is also working on its own plan to increase clean energy resources, by developing more energy efficient appliances and appliances that do not draw power while plugged in and not in use.

Google anticipates the cost of converting to more renewable energy supplies will be $4.4 trillion (in today's dollars), however the payoff will be an estimated $5.4 trillion by 2030. If the plan works, then, Google will clean up in more ways than one. 
 

Italy’s biodiesel suppliers join forces to generate fuel from seaweed and take on climate change. Previously, the nation’s biodiesel companies have used crops like corn to convert the sucrose of the plant into energy for fuel. As the biodiesel industry has continued to experiment with other plants for efficient generation of biofuels, sea plants like algae and seaweed are being explored and are looking like reliable resources.

The Union of Biodiesel Producers in Italy is leading this effort which sprung from work at the University of Florence, which is currently conducting experiments on seaweed specifically grown as a feedstock, and not extracted from oceans. Large plastic tubes are filled with sea water and carbon dioxide that has been captured from power plants.

This method is intriguing because it keeps precious seaweed food resources in the oceans for biological life and prevents would-be carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere, a leading cause of anthropogenic climate change. Using seaweed also relieves biodiesel suppliers from criticism about the rise in food prices as more crop land is used for fuel production and less for food production, increasing the per item price of everyday fruits and vegetables.

The Union hopes to finalize production methods by 2010 and then build a manufacturing plant . 

A new report published by Lloyd's and Risk Management Solutions warns that without adaptation, insurance losses from coastal flooding for high-risk properties could double by 2030.

''With over half the world's population expected to live within 100 kilometers of the coastline in 25 years' time, it is imperative that we address this risk now by starting to adapt" said Lloyds' chief executive, Richard Ward. ''The world cannot insure its way out of climate change, but the insurance industry can play a key role in the fight against it by encouraging adaptation. If this doesn't happen, insurance will become more expensive and less available.'' 

The insurance sector has a particular interest in the outcome of the current debate as it has hundreds of thousands of coastal property and other key infrastructure on its general insurance books.  Developers, insurers and governments are all grappling with the impact of predicted rising sea levels on homes in low-lying areas close to the sea.

In Australia, insurers are suggesting the establishment of a fund into which owners of low-lying land would pay a regular levy for compensation when sea levels cause their land to become permanently unusable. The Insurance Council of Australia has estimated that over the past 12 months, severe weather has already cost about $2.2 billion in insured losses. One general insurer in Australia has estimated that the value of Australian coastal property at risk to rising sea levels and erosion is between $50 billion and $150 billion.

Detailed vulnerability mapping would be available there in 2010, but this mapping would not ban development or predict sea level rise precisely.  This is due, in part, to concerns that mapping of likely sea level rises could severely diminish property values -- the cornerstone of the wealth of thousands of people and families.

Related stories:
Investors Demand Climate Risk Disclosures
Who Will Pay The Costs Of Climate Change?

The inhaling and exhaling of the northern deciduous forests can be traced in historical carbon records, and the carbon impacts of tearing down the equatorial rainforests are well established. But a third, massive natural carbon sink has not been nearly as well studied as these other two—and some scientists fear its future is in question.

The Southern Ocean—a loosely defined body of water around Antarctica and below Australia—plays a massive role in collecting atmospheric carbon. Its rough seas churn tiny bubbles of air down into the water, trapping a good portion of these bubbles in deep transoceanic currents. The ocean also supports a sizable population of phytoplankton, tiny carbon-dioxide breathing animals that drift to the ocean floor as they die, trapping their carbon footprint down there with them.

But due to a lack of research in the region, scientists are unaware what impacts warming temperatures and other environmental changes will have on this invaluable carbon-catching resource. If warmer temps bring calmer seas and decrease phytoplankton counts, it could create a devastating positive feedback cycle, with warming caused by carbon leading to the release of more carbon.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has arranged for green buildings to hold open houses across the northeast U.S. on October 4. The public will be able to visit private homes, businesses, public buildings, and renewable energy installations during the 2008 Green Buildings Open House.

In addition to touring a variety of buildings, visitors will have a chance to learn first-hand how to improve their energy conservation, reduce heating costs and generate surplus clean energy in their homes and businesses. Buildings will be open to visitors in all six New England states, as well as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

"With fuel costs on the rise, the opportunity to talk one-on-one with building and home owners about ways they have reduced their fuel consumption is invaluable," said NESEA Executive Director David Barclay.  "The Green Buildings Open house presents ways to save money on energy costs and showcases how clean renewable energy is being used today. It is an easy way to learn from people who are living and working happily and comfortably with their energy-efficient choices."

The open house is part of the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour. Sponsors include Efficiency Maine, GroSolar, National Grid, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and NRG Systems.

Image — NESEA

While I have a hard time affixing the laurels of environmental friendliness to any company that produces congestion-forming, asphalt-crushing, gas-guzzling, carbon-emitting products, I’ve gotta say, Toyota is getting there.

Aside from producing the most noticeable hybrid on the road, the company also does a fair bit of work to keep the environment we still have worth saving. The world’s largest carmaker recently announced a $600,000 donation—in addition to five shiny new Priuses— to the Yosemite Leadership Program.

The YLP helps build an appreciation for the delicacy of wilderness areas, and drives home the importance of biodiversity in a sustainable world. While carbon emissions seem to be the primary rallying point of the eco-conscious these days, it would be nice to preserve the ecosystems that feed, support and inspire us, as well as with the climates that sustain them.

The YLP donation is the just the latest in a long line of donations from the company’s five-million-dollar program to aid US National Parks. I know the record losses currently being suffered my U.S. manufacturers are tough to deal with, but national-level support like this seriously debases the old adage about buying American.

Meeting Strategies Worldwide has created a website to help meeting planners find green venues. The tool, "Best Places to MeetGreen," actually offers two resources: the MeetGreen Scorecard and the MeetGreen Calculator.

The Scorecard provides event planners with a set of rankings of cities based on the green programs put into place by the local visitor's bureau, convention center and local hotels. Those offerings are verified by Meeting Strategies Worldwide and entered into a scoring rubric.

The Calculator helps visitors to estimate the emission footprints for potential destinations. An event planner can select destinations, enter the number of attendees they expect from different regions and calculate an emissions estimate report.

"This tool is the first of its kind offering easy-to-use information about sustainability practices and destination selection for the environmentally-minded planner," said Amy Spatrisano, a CMP and a principal of Meeting Strategies Worldwide. "We hope planners will return again and again for the newest information as our list of verified cities grows. We applaud all the verified cities for being progressive and taking the initiative in their journey towards sustainability and supporting a greener meetings industry." 

Meeting Strategies Worldwide is a consulting firm specializing in environmental solutions for the conference and hospitality industries.

Image — Meeting Strategies Worldwide

AT&T announced a partnership with SunPower Corporation, CH2M HILL, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Morgan Stanley to create a solar power system for the company's San Ramon campus. The California installation will be used to cover up to 25 percent of the campus' peak power needs and 5.5 percent of its annual electricity needs.

The San Ramon solar installation will be approximately one megawatt. It is funded in part by incentives that PG&E offers as a part of the California Solar Initiative (CSI), making the system ideal for AT&T's purposes. Not only is AT&T able to cut its energy costs with the new solar installation, the company even got a deal on the installation costs.

"Installing this solar power system on our roof reflects AT&T's commitment to balance the business need for affordable energy with the need to identify solutions that have less impact on the environment in the communities we serve," said Shawn McKenzie, AT&T's senior vice president of corporate real estate. "This effort will help us learn more about the benefits of renewable energy for our business and allow us to make educated decisions as we pursue future uses of alternative forms of energy."

SunPower is handling project construction for AT&T and will install its T10 Solar Roof Tile commercial system. It is a non-penetrating system that increases energy capture by tilting tiles at a 10-degree angle to boost energy capture. However, AT&T has not established a traditional power purchase agreement with SunPower. Instead, AT&T will buy power for its facility from an entity owned, in part, by Morgan Stanley. The rates for this electricity will be competitively priced against retail rates. CH2M HILL provided the initial scope and research into the San Ramon project and will continue to guide the project through development and implementation.

AT&T's project demonstrates the role that state and federal governments can take in encouraging companies to switch to alternative energy. The incentives provided by the CSI for the San Ramon project, as well as the Federal Investment Tax Credit, made AT&T's project financially feasible. 

Image — AT&T

Kobe, Japan, is doing its part to utilize green, clean technology that could power development as well as the needs of humans. A new residential neighborhood development in Kobe features houses equipped with solar panels. The panels, installed prior to purchase, supply power for cooking, heating, cooling and more.

More than half of Japan’s energy is produced from burning fossil fuels. Solar power emits less greenhouse gas and contributes less to air pollution.

Solar power benefits the Kobe homeowners immediately -- they don't have to retrofit their homes to benefit from major savings in electricity bills. As energy costs skyrocket all over the globe, homeowners are trying to cut costs. In many geographic areas, electric bills can be as much as rent or a mortgage payment.

Built-in solar panels help achieve those cost-saving goals. When excess power is generated by the panels, the surplus is sold back to the local power company and homeowners can make a few extra dollars. Solar panels are estimated to cost roughly $20,000 for Japanese households, and it is expected it will take 20 years to recoup that initial investment (without considering 20 years of electricity-cost savings).

Inside each home, wall displays show the amount of electricity the panels are generating and the amount the home is consuming.

Kyocera, a Japanese company manufactured the solar panels for the Kobe homes, subsidized by the Japanese government. Government subsidies helped reduce the cost of the solar panels by Japanese homeowners, and consumers who wanted cost savings purchased panels, increasing sales and investments in clean energy.

Ryutaro Yatsu of Japan’s Ministry of the Environment notes that solar power will help reduce the country’s climate-change impacts and overall environmental footprint. “We expect each household to have their own solar panel,” Yatsu says, whether with government assistance or private investment.

For other Kobe residents who want to power their homes using solar energy, Japan is working on subsidies to provide financial incentives for homeowners to go green. The Japanese government wants to double solar-power kilowatt hours from the current 1.4 million in the next few decades.
 

Because Chrysler's GEM division is already making a neighborhood EV, because  they've invested in a design that learns from wind-tunnel testing -- and because it's gorgeous -- this is one EV we may actually see more of on the streets.

The old GEM looked stodgy at the Global Electric Motors site, but it was bare-bones cool.

 

Like all neighborhood electric vehicles, the GEM would have taken a serious hunk out of your day to get far at a speed limited to 25 mph, but for just around town, it would have been fine.

I started seeing more of them around my neighborhood, at the farmers market and even zipping along at what must have been a souped up 40 mph with no sides.

So it's good news that Chrysler taken a new look at its old GEM brand. The division has been renamed GreenEcoMobility and the new car is the peapod (shades of iPod). Indeed you can plug your iPod into the dash.

In both design and size, the Peapod is more like the French Venturi's Eclectic (.mov) than the old GEM. There is something reassuring about that solidity and spaciousness in a zero-emissions EV.

Next, they should pop in the Volt range-extender, to get the kids to the beach and home, and that's how GEM will be reborn as GreenEcoMobility.

Welcome to the new and improved look of Matter Network. We hope you are enjoying the new layout as we present more content on the home page. Please send any feedback -- positive or negative -- about the new design to us.

We've also updated our RSS feeds to allow you to receive exactly the content you want. We have a new feed that combines our Feature articles and the Views That Matter from our fine team of contributing writers that is also available through our daily newsletter. There are individual feeds as well, so you can follow the latest happening in Energy or Transportation. We've also added links so that you can join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and WiserEarth.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. In the coming months Matter Network will be rolling out much more interactive content, features for conversing with like-minded folks, and tools that enable you to simultaneously live well and do good.

Stay tuned!

Computer servers naturally give off a lot of heat — so much so that maintaining a steady 70 degrees is a major expense for data centers.

Remember Google's clever idea to float data servers on the cold sea, and pump all that deep cold water up and around their data farms to keep them cool? Well, here's an ingenious idea that takes Google's a step further.

Just as data farms need to have warmth removed, conservatories require a consistent supply of heat. Indiana's University of Notre Dame is housing its computer servers in a conservatory for cacti and other desert plants.  It's a perfect match. 

Notre Dame has placed the data servers where the heat they give off is removed and circulated throughout the conservatory, reducing both the $100,000 data cooling bill, as well as the $70,000 in conservatory heating costs that had been paid by the city.

Since the conservatory had been eliminated entirely from the city’s 2010 budget, the boot-strappingly frugal good idea actually allowed its continued existence. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.
 

Via Terrapass

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, offered new hope this morning that House Democrats might now be more open to compromise in the wake of the defeat of a $700-billion Wall Street bailout package, which sent the stock market plummeting more than 700 points.

Economic experts warn that millions of Americans could lose their jobs if a rescue plan doesn’t pass.

Clean energy "green-collar" employment studies have shown that somewhere between 200,000 and 600,000 U.S. jobs and $232 billion in investment are at stake at a time when the economy is in a meltdown.

SolarCity's CEO Lyndon Rive said today “This is something that could create tens of thousands of jobs."

"The financial industry has collapsed, the construction industry has collapsed. The housing industry has collapsed. And solar is still growing. This will cause it to collapse … And if political leaders can’t see this, I can’t understand what they’re thinking.”

Most painfully for Democratic leaders, they hoped to count the renewable-energy tax breaks as a significant achievement of the 110th Congress, one that had passed the House in the "the first hundred hours" in January of 2007.

The four national renewable energy trade associations representing the geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind industries weighed in yesterday with a joint statement to Congress saying, "with hundreds of thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in clean energy investment at risk, we urge Congressional Leaders not to leave for the election recess until a House-Senate agreement is reached on the pending tax extender package."

Leading Senate tax writer Baucus (D-Mont.) predicted that House Democrats might now be more amenable to compromise with Senate Republicans on funding, faced with the prospect of letting renewable energy tax breaks expire while the nation’s economy teeters on the brink of recession.

“There are more dynamics in play now,” he said, speaking of how the bailout would affect negotiations on tax cuts. “Things are related.”

Updated: Indeed, by day's end Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported that on Wednesday night the new Wall Street omnibus bailout vote will in fact include the Senate version of the renewable energy and other business tax credits extension.

Related stories:
Renewable Energy Bill Endangered As Congress Ends
House Fully Funds Renewable Energy Act, Possibly Sinking It
On 9th Attempt, Senate Passes Clean Energy Provisions

Photo by Flickr user Visschman

The U.S. Department of Energy will spend $17.6 million on solar projects, helping six projects in early stages of manufacturing advanced solar photovoltaic technologies. The research is estimated to cost $35.4 million, including cost share from the solar industry.

"These projects will help promote the development of a diverse set of photovoltaic technologies and ensure that the U.S. is a world leader in next-generation, cost-effective solar technologies," John Mizroch, acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, said in a statement.

The funds are essentially an incubator for solar photovoltaic technologies, speeding up the time it will take companies to bring their products to market. The six companies receiving funding include 1366 Technologies (North Lexington, Massachusetts), Innovalight (Sunnyvale, California) and Skyline Solar (Mountain View, California). Each company will receive up to $3 million for an 18-month project. 1366 Technologies will use its investment to develop a new photovoltaic-cell architecture and reduce costs for silicon cells. Innovalight is improving ink-jet printed silicon wafers. Skyline Solar will work on the manufacturing and installation costs of its concentrating system.

Opportunity Green will hold its second annual conference in Los Angeles on November 7 and 8. This year's theme is "being green + being profitable."

Speakers include Rick Ridgeway (executive vice president of marketing and environmental programs at Patagonia), Tom Szacky (co-founder and CEO of Terracycle), Rand Waddoups (senior vice president of sustainability at Wal-Mart).

The first conference was very successful, initiating conversations about sustainability and business practices. "Honestly, we're back by popular demand because of our uniqueness," said Karen Solomon, the co-founder of Opportunity Green.

Participants in Opportunity Green range from established entrepreneurs to MBA students to non-profit organizers to CEOs. One of the greatest values of Opportunity Green is the chance to discuss sustainability with such a range of people. Michael Flynn, the other co-founder of Opportunity Green, said, "Opportunity Green intentionally mixes left-brain and right-brain thinkers and doers."

The conference will be held at UCLA. Registration fees range from $475 to $875. More information about registration, as well as a full list of speakers is available at the Opportunity Green website.

Image — Opportunity Green

More than 50 representatives of U.S. agriculture will help develop standards for sustainable agriculture. The experts come from a variety of organizations that include agricultural producers, food and clothing manufacturers, retailers, government, environmental and labor groups, and academia.

The new Standards Committee met last week in Madison, Wisconsin, to identify the crucial issues that will likely be the focus of future discussions:

• The relationship between organic, mainstream and sustainable agriculture
• The place of genetically engineered crops in sustainable agriculture
• The degree to which sustainable agriculture standards should establish a path for continuous improvement
• The inclusion of small and mid-size farms, as well as large agri-businesses
• The sequestration of carbon in soils and the role of agriculture in the global fight against climate change
• The strength of labor protections
• The intersection of product safety and sustainability
• The scope of the standard -- whether it should extend beyond plant agriculture to include livestock and other sectors

"The issues involved in sustainable agriculture are complex," said Dr. James Barrett, a professor of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida who served as interim chairman at the committe's inaugural meeting. "As a result, there are many diverse, valid points of view that will need to be articulated and considered as this process unfolds."

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the voluntary standards body that oversees guidelines for almost every business sector in the United States, has provided rules and other guidance for the Standards Committee. Leonardo Academy, a non-profit organization that specializes in environmental issues and ANSI-accredited, is handling the details of the development.

The Standards Committee's next step is to break into work groups to conduct a needs assessment for the sustainability standard, identify potential funding sources and plan outreach to affected stakeholders. The Standards Committee has also recognized the Draft Standard for Trial Use published by Scientific Certification Systems. The draft will be used as a reference document for future standards development.

"We appreciate the acknowledgment of the Committee and are delighted that the draft standard has helped to stimulate this national dialogue and to get the ball rolling toward the development of a consensus standard," said Linda Brown, executive vice president of Scientific Certification Systems and a Standards Committee member. "Looking ahead, the draft standard will continue to inform the process, both as a reference document and through real world examples of companies who are already meeting its requirements and adopting new sustainability practices in accordance with its provisions."

Photo — Evan Agee