Loading up the greenhouse was a lotto work but a lotto fun. The Burgoo was pretty good too.
Though you can’t really tell, this green house is stuffed. It took us 3 hours of steady work to get er done. Then we had a great Burgoo at their picnic table on the south face of the hill.
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More Tomorrow
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CES’ volunteers went to Starhill Forest Arboretum to help fill up its greenhouse.
http://www.starhillforest.com/
Guy supervised us.
We started with stuff like this.
And ended with this.
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More tomorrow
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It’s Jam Band Friday – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ1dPJt1K1g
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http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/10/07/google-warms-west-virginias-vast-geothermal-potential
The researchers calculated that if 2 percent of the available geothermal energy could be harnessed, the state could produce up to 18,890 megawatts (MW) of clean energy.
The study was conducted with more detailed mapping and more data points than had been used in previous research. For example, 1,455 new thermal data points were added to existing geothermal maps using oil, gas and water wells.
The research team found that most of the high-temperature points are located in the eastern part of the state.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jne9t8sHpUc
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“The presence of a large, baseload, carbon-neutral and sustainable energy resource in West Virginia could make an important contribution to enhancing the U.S. energy security and for decreasing CO2 emissions,” the report concluded.
Western Virginia is not a tectonically active zone, which has traditionally been seen as a requirement for economically viable geothermal power production and has resulted in most existing geothermal sites in the U.S. being located in the west of the country.
However, engineers reckon that emerging techniques could be used to harvest geothermal energy locked in tectonically stable regions. For example, pioneering technologies could be used to harvest hot geothermal fluids, along with oil or gas from the same well. Enhanced geothermal systems are also increasingly being used, in which fluids are injected into rock, replacing natural hydrothermal convection.
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The irony of this amazing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/05/science/earth/05fossil.html
With insurgents increasingly attacking the American fuel supply convoys that lumber across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan, the military is pushing aggressively to develop, test and deploy renewable energy to decrease its need to transport fossil fuels.
Last week, a Marine company from California arrived in the rugged outback of Helmand Province bearing novel equipment: portable solar panels that fold up into boxes; energy-conserving lights; solar tent shields that provide shade and electricity; solar chargers for computers and communications equipment.
The 150 Marines of Company I, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, will be the first to take renewable technology into a battle zone, where the new equipment will replace diesel and kerosene-based fuels that would ordinarily generate power to run their encampment.
Even as Congress has struggled unsuccessfully to pass an energy bill and many states have put renewable energy on hold because of the recession, the military this year has pushed rapidly forward. After a decade of waging wars in remote corners of the globe where fuel is not readily available, senior commanders have come to see overdependence on fossil fuel as a big liability, and renewable technologies — which have become more reliable and less expensive over the past few years — as providing a potential answer. These new types of renewable energy now account for only a small percentage of the power used by the armed forces, but military leaders plan to rapidly expand their use over the next decade.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the huge truck convoys that haul fuel to bases have been sitting ducks for enemy fighters — in the latest attack, oil tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan were set on fire in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, early Monday. In Iraq and Afghanistan, one Army study found, for every 24 fuel convoys that set out, one soldier or civilian engaged in fuel transport was killed. In the past three months, six Marines have been wounded guarding fuel runs in Afghanistan
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More Tomorrow.
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http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/solar-community-garden
Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley is sowing some palatable solar insights in the communities of Carbondale, Aspen, Vail and Eagle this weekend. The region’s Clean Energy Collective (CEC) is showcasing the nation’s first community-owned solar garden, the Mid-Valley solar array.
Sited on otherwise unusable land owned by the Mid-Valley Metropolitan District, the Mid-Valley solar array features 340 solar modules that collectively boast 77.7 kW of available renewable energy production capacity to offset the energy demands of those in neighboring communities who buy into the program.
Colorado is on the front lines of legislation and execution of the ground-breaking solar farm model, which began delivering power to members in El Jebel, Colorado in August. The Clean Energy Collective is a member-owned cooperative venture that builds, operates and maintains large-scale community-based facilities that deliver clean, renewable energy to community-based owner/members within specific utility service territories.
Both year-round and seasonal residents of the Roaring Fork Valley are qualified to buy individual portions of the array for as little as $725 per panel, or $3.15 per kW. Local utility coop Holy Cross Energy will then credit members’ utility bills directly each month at the rate of $0.11/kWh. Compensation is commensurate with how many solar modules each member owns in the community garden array. The owners of this community owned solar garden have essentially turned grey dirt into pay dirt as they create a more sustainable energy future.
There answer in September was NO!
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/white-house-spurns-solar-panel/
September 10, 2010, 11:54 am
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The answer in October is YES! Wonder what changed?
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/122559-solar-panels-heading-to-white-house-roof
The Obama administration on Tuesday announced plans to install solar panels on the White House roof.
“This project reflects President Obama’s strong commitment to U.S. leadership in solar energy and the jobs it will create here at home,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a statement. “Deploying solar energy technologies across the country will help America lead the global economy for years to come.”
The action highlights Obama’s support for low-carbon energy at a time when environmentalists are smarting from the collapse of climate legislation — a bill that was not the top White House priority.
Chu and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley announced the plan Tuesday at CEQ’s GreenGov symposium hosted by George Washington University.
The Energy Department-led project will install two White House solar systems — one that converts sunlight into electricity, and a solar hot water heater for the White House residence.
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More tomorrow
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/blog-5602-the-green-alternative-to-asphalt-roofs.html
In Section: Green Life Posted By: Kathleen Wills
For centuries, it hasn’t seemed like much of a problem to dig out the earth, erect structures and cap them with impervious asphalt roofs. But with population growth and ensuing urban development, it has become extremely problematic. Storm-water runoff, flooding, polluted watersheds, violent temperature contrasts, increased heating and cooling energy consumption and costs, gusting winds and stripped habitats are all by-products of the replacement of earth with concrete.
Of these complications, storm-water runoff has been the most challenging. When rain falls on our waterproof concrete jungles it picks up pollutants as it flows off roofs, walls and gutters and runs straight into storm drains and on to its final destination – our lakes, rivers and oceans. With nothing to slow down heavy downpours, wastewater systems flood, dumping raw sewage into local bodies of water.
The other major problem to contend with is the urban heat-island effect. Asphalt rooftops can reach 150oF, contributing to warmer temperatures in cities than their surrounding regions – a 10o difference in some areas. This translates to higher energy consumption and costs to cool buildings.
How to mitigate these environmental extremes is something city planners and architects worldwide have been grappling with for years. The solution? Green roofs!
Green roofs, also called living roofs, solve the flooding and water pollution problems by mimicking meadows. Soil composites and vegetation absorb water, filter and cleanse it, slow it down, and even store some of it for use during dry spells. They help the energy consumption quandary by acting as insulation thus reducing energy costs by as much as 20%. They even improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide. Water savings also come in to play in buildings where rainwater is collected and reused for watering exterior plants or flushing water for toilets.
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More next week.
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But the links don’t work so well. The place in Springfield is the FitClub Gym.
Solar Tour Website:http://tour.illinoissolar.org/
To find the location of an open house near you click here:http://tour.illinoissolar.org/directory-of-buildings
If you have questions contact Lesley McCain atLesley.McCain@CommunityEnergyInc.com
Illinois Solar Tour
October 2, 2010
10 am – 3 pm
FREE
Interested in renewable energy and have questions? Then this is the place to start learning.
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More next week.
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I hope everyone who can go will go…
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Please join us at a special screening of the film:
and a
Stefan Andermann
at the
Manship Theater
The event will take place on September 24, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. at the Manship Theater in Baton Rouge. For more information go to:
Visit SaveOurGulf.org to get more information about the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster from Waterkeeper organizations across the Gulf Coast and donate to Save Our Gulf!
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More Tomorrow
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This is so cool in so many ways. No heat absorption. High insulation values. Walkable. Why would anybody do anything else.
November 11 2007
Do you have a flat roof, or an area of your roof that is flat? Some of us do, and when you talk to almost any roofer they will give you standard options such as tar and gravel, or large asphalt sheets. Both of which are not good for decreasing urban heat. Well there is an option that is a bit greener. Foam. Yes a foam roof.
Cedric, and his wife Mai, in Redwood Shores, CA, recently installed their foam roof as an alternative to tar and gravel. Using a product from Sierra Spray Foam Roofing the couple simply removed the gravel from their existing room, and applied the foam product from Sierra Spray.
OLD ROOF NEW ROOF
GetWithGreen.com does not know the chemical breakdown (environmental friendliness) of the actual foam contents itself, or its sustainability, but we like the other eco-friendly positives that Cedric and Mai talk about in their blog:
Cedric also tells GetWithGreen.com that the insulation value of the foam roof is extremely high because there is no air circulation at all — the whole roof is one piece. The effective insulation of this roof is much higher than equivalent R value using traditional technologies that let some air circulate at the junctions between the insulation boards. The roof can also be walked on.
Pricing: $6 per square foot
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More tomorrow.
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