Category Archives: green economy

Residential Energy Services – This Resnet site is pretty cool

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Sorry I had to put this website up piece meal, but it is so photo and graphic intensive that all I could manage is bits and pieces. As with all the posts this week I can not verify the veracity of these folks but they do seem comprehensive and have the customers best interests at heart.

 

http://www.resnet.us/

RESNET professionals have
specialized energy efficiency training. 

RESNET: A name you can trust!

Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Call: 760-806-3448

Looking for a: 
RESNET professionals have
specialized energy efficiency training. 

 

ENERGY AUDITS & RATINGS
  • Find Raters and Auditors
  • » Search for Certified Energy Raters and Auditors

 

ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING & RETROFITS
  • Find Contractors and Builders
  • » Search for ENERGYSMART Contractors & Builders

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Sorry I could not capture the last 2 videos. You will just have to go to the site and watch them.

Why Should I Have My Home Rated? 

Watch Now
Why Hire EnergySmart Contractors?

 

Why Hire a Certified Rater?

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More tomorrow.

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Residential Energy Services – Trying to get back to our roots

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This blog was really set up to parallel CES’ interest in the residential energy market. But I have ended up for one reason or another writing about nuclear disasters, the oil spill in the gulf last year and religion among other things. So this is an attempt to try to get back to our roots today.

http://www.residentialenergyservices.com/Home.html

Phone:  (440) 835-5735

Fax:  (440) 835-5780

Email:  info@residentialenergyservices.com

  2. RES is now a certified LEED Verifier! RES is now certified to support your efforts toward Green building design. Click here to read more about the LEED Green Building Rating System™ and how your home or project can become LEED certified today. LEED_Verification.html

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  3. Home Energy Audits
  4. Residential Energy Services is an experienced consulting and analysis firm providing an accurate, effective, and user-friendly approach to improving your home’s energy consumption.  After a scheduled home energy test we provide the home owner with a Home Energy Evaluation Report of prioritized energy saving recommendations.  The homeowner can then decide what improvements they can make themselves and what may need to be addressed professionally through a third-party contractor.
  5. For more information on our Home Energy Audit Services, including our service area, pricing, and the Home Energy Audit process click here or on the link at the top of the screen.
  6. Builder Certification
  7. At Residential Energy Services, we also provide Energy Star Certification services to builders in the residential new construction industry.  A contract can be arranged to provide scheduled testing of new projects upon their completion.  For more information or to discuss the benefits of Energy Start Certification in new construction, please call us at (440) 835-5735.

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And on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Residential-Energy-Services-Co-LLC/200562656621626?sk=info

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More tomorrow.

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Green Highways – We end the week at LID

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Apparently there have been some changes in the recent months at this organization but it is easily one of the coolest green sites I have been to in awhile. It is great to be around an organization that talks nothing but green planning. It’s like being in the future.

http://www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/about.htm

Low Impact Development Center
Follow us on twitter

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About Us
imageThe Low Impact Development Center was established in 1998 to develop and provide information to individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the environment and our water resources through proper site design techniques that replicate pre-existing hydrologic site conditions.

Organization Profile

Balancing growth and environmental integrity, the Low Impact Development Center (LID), Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to research, development, and training for water resource and natural resource protection issues. The Center focuses on furthering the advancement of Low Impact Development technology. Low Impact Development is a comprehensive land planning and engineering design approach with a goal of maintaining and enhancing the pre-development hydrologic regime of urban and developing watersheds. This design approach incorporates strategic planning with micro-management techniques to achieve superior environmental protection, while allowing for development or infrastructure rehabilitation to occur. This innovative approach can be used to help meet a wide range of Wet Weather Flow (WWF) control and community development goals.

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More next week.

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Green Roads Choked By Contractors – The past always repeats itself

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This is a guest post. I concur with it. I can’t post the whole thing here because it is a little long. Please go to the website listed below and read the rest.

http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/construction/green-roads-construction-are-constractors-our-roadbloc-1070711/

Green Roads Construction: Are Contractors Our Roadblock?

by Derek SingletonERP Analyst, Software Advice
Jul 07, 2011

The buzz of innovative ideas on how to build cheaper, greener roads is all around us. These ideas range from using scrap construction materials and rubber tires to using recycled glass to reduce our reliance on asphalt. While these brainstorms are laudable, they’ve yet to prove themselves in a total life-cycle analysis.

The green construction practices that have a demonstrated track record can’t gain traction because of an archaic contractor bidding process. And herein lies the problem. A problem that we can no longer afford to ignore given the sheer cost and impact of our highway system.

“Our roads are everywhere. Anywhere you turn, you’re automatically on a road. We can’t get away from them. We step outside of our house and we’re on a road. If we go to a National Park, we take a road. People don’t realize this but [building roads] is one of the highest impact things we do.” – Shane Stathert, Think Green Roads

The need for lower impact roads is a pressing economic issue. Each year, we spend roughly 7 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on transportation infrastructure. For fiscal year 2010, that amounted to nearly $1 trillion. A key input to these costs is the amount of asphalt we use. But the costs don’t end there.

A typical two-lane mile stretch of highway uses roughly 25,000 tons of crushed stone, which is what makes aggregate (the base layer for roads) one of the most mined materials in the world. Then there’s the CO2 emissions. The 32,300 lane miles of road the United States paves every year emits millions of tons of CO2. Here’s a conservative estimate.

Constructing a single-lane mile of road emits 1,200 tons of CO2. If we assume every mile of road built is single-laned (yeah right, not in America) then building our roads emits 38,760,000 tons of CO2 every year. That’s the same as the annual energy use of 6 million homes. Seriously, 6 million, stop and think about that for a second.

Needless to say, these exorbitant costs – both fiscal and environmental – left many in the industry wondering: how can we reduce expense and still maintain the quality of road construction? Thus, the green road construction movement was born.

Recycled Materials: A Reliable Aggregate Alternative?

With 94 percent of paved roads covered in asphalt, the first obvious target was determining how excessive use of asphalt could be reduced to minimize economic and environmental impacts. One idea that’s gaining a lot of attention in the green construction movement is the use of recycled materials for aggregate.

The logic is simple: pick a material with a good consistency that would normally sit in a landfill, grind it up and you’ve got an aggregate substitute or aggregate base. Popular fillers and aggregate replacements include rubber tires, roofing shingles and even glass.

Using recycled material for aggregate in this way not only saves money, but it also makes use of a material that would otherwise remain unused. A single lane mile of road constructed with rubber tires will use roughly 2,000 tires and save as much as $50,000. It also diverts rubber tires from landfills where they’d otherwise pile up and present a fire hazard or act as a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

But putting what would otherwise be considered trash into our roads raises a healthy amount of skepticism. What happens when the roads break apart? Is it safe for plastics, rubber and used construction material to be exposed to the elements? What if these wash into our water system?

There is a dearth of research on the environmental costs of using such recycled materials for aggregate or mixing them with asphalt. And using recycled rubber is one of the most promoted ways to green a road today. Both the Green Highway Partnership and National Asphalt Association tout recycled rubber as an environmentally safe and viable alternative.

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More tomorrow

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Greenest Cars For 2011 – We might as well stay on topic

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Since Evan got me started on transportation I figure we might as well stick with it for awhile. This from Mother Earth News. The obvious suspects are the Leaf, the Volt and the Prius. You will have to go read the article for their reveiws but here is the lead in.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/2011-best-green-cars-zm0z11zroc.aspx

Best Green Cars, 2011

The hybrid car that changed the world • The electric cars that will change the world • $1,000s in rebates and incentives • 40 mpg for the long haul • All-electric daily driving • 38 mpg with smiles • $2.75 to recharge • No range anxiety • 35 mpg with zip

June/July 2011

By John Rockhold

Back in 2000, Toyota released the Prius, a gasoline-electric hybrid, in the United States. That year, the average price of gas was just $1.49, yet here was a quirky little car that touted 40-plus mpg. A 2004 redesign gave the Prius even better mpg and its iconic shape, and it became so popular Toyota couldn’t keep up with demand. Today, the Prius is the most successful hybrid by far and has basically come to define “green car.” It’s no surprise, then, that the Prius is back among the annual MOTHER EARTH NEWS Best Green Cars.

Have you ever wondered what the heck “Prius” actually means? It’s a Latin word meaning “to go before.” Toyota chose it to signify that the car and its hybrid technology would be a precursor of the energy-efficient cars of the future?—?which has certainly proved true, given the numerous hybrids released by Toyota and others. However, it’s the two all-electric cars on our 2011 list that herald the next revolution in green transportation.

Yes, practical and accessible electric cars from major automakers are finally here. Neither electric car is perfect, but the Prius wasn’t either back in 2000. Of the many features that make the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf compelling, their driving range and cost to own are what may make them most appealing. The Leaf has a range of about 100 miles, depending on driving conditions. The Volt has a shorter all-electric range, but uses a gas engine to power its two electric motors when needed for a total range of about 375 miles.

Sick of paying about $50 to fill the tank of your gas car? How does $2 to $3 sound? Given the national average cost of electricity (11 cents per kilowatt-hour), that’s about what you would pay to “fill up” an electric car by recharging it overnight. And if you’re curious about the environmental costs of gasoline versus fossil fuel electricity, read Why Electric Cars Are Cleaner. In short, while there is regional variability, electric cars are cleaner than gas cars. That said, the ultimate solution is to recharge with renewable energy.

The three other vehicles that make up our 2011 Best Green Cars are revolutionary in their own right: The Ford Fiesta has the best blend of affordability and efficiency; the Honda CR-Z proves that hybrids can be fun to drive; and the Jetta TDI is the best example of clean diesel’s efficiency and workhorse longevity.

Whether you own one of these six cars now, later or never, you’ll benefit from them. They’re making mobility greener, reducing our dependence on oil, and instigating more innovation in the auto industry. In this new era of green car competition, we’re all winners.

Best Green Cars: Keys to the Data and the Experts

Base Price: the manufacturer’s suggested retail price + destination fee

EPA Gas Mileage: official fuel economy estimates (your mileage may vary)

Annual Fuel Cost: assumes $3.75/gallon regular gasoline; $3.95/gallon premium gasoline; $3.97/gallon diesel; $0.11 per kilowatt-hour of electricity; 15,000 miles driven annually at 55% city, 45% highway

Air Pollution Score: from the EPA; zero = most tailpipe emissions, 10 = least

Greenhouse Gas Score: from the EPA; zero = most greenhouse gas emissions, 10 = least

ACEEE Green Score: from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; the higher the score, the better; best 2011 score is 54; see www.GreenerCars.org

Brad Berman: founder and editor, www.HybridCars.com and www.PluginCars.com

Terry Penney: program manager for advanced vehicle technologies at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Ron Cogan: editor and publisher, Green Car Journal

Todd Kaho: executive editor, Green Car Journal and editor of www.FrugalDriver.com

Chelsea Sexton: founder, Lightning Rod Foundation; electric car advocate

James Kliesch: research director for the clean vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Jim Motavalli: author of High Voltage: The Fast Track to Plug in the Auto Industry

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More tomorrow.

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What Happens If Fossil Fuels Are No Longer Feasible

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I should have made the topic of this meditation explicit yesterday. What effect would the absence of fossil fuels have on major sectors of our society? Some people think society would collapse other people think it would mutate. I think it would slow down but not change much. So I started thinking about the transportation sector. Yesterday the topic was walking, and today’s topic is water transport. It maybe academic but walking may have happened after swimming. That is the true upright bipedal walking. Some monkeys love to swim and swimming is the original transportation system. Going back to our talks about Abraham Lincoln. Two of the most important events in Abe’s life were boat rides. The first barge he took to New Orleans got stuck on the dam at New Salem and the people there helped him get the boat free. When his family decided to move to a farm in Southern Illinois he paddled to New Salem to start his adult life. Finally he took another barge to New Orleans where he bought his first horse. Now this next “history” believes that travel by boat started much later in man’s evolution than I do. I believe that boating could be as old as 20,000 or 40,000 years old. Nonetheless it is a good discussion of the sequence.

http://www.essortment.com/history-transportation-21230.html

As man overcame the boundaries of land travel, his curiosity about the world around him increased. To his aid, man had developed a means of traveling on water even before he had domesticated the horse. The origin of the dugout boat is one of history’s great mysteries. Historians are unable to pinpoint when or where the very first water vessel was set afloat, and even speculate that it might have been purely an accident the first time. But, however it happened, the addition of the boat changed the face of transportation. Boats allowed man to, for the first time ever, cross bodies of water without getting wet.

Over time, the simple boat evolved to include a large square of cloth mounted on a central pole. This cloth, called a sail, would turn the boat into a sail-propelled ship. This new addition gave man the ability to use waterways as a means of swift travel from one place to another, and even to travel against the current of rivers. However, the evolution of water travel didn’t stop with the sail. Ships would eventually take on a sleekness as they increased in size. Before long, they would add oars and rudders, then deck covers. By Greek and Roman times, ships had grown clunky shipboard towers, as well, which developed, over time, into the Medieval stern- and forecastles. By the late Medieval era, these castles were built solid, as a part of the ship’s basic structure. Then, by the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration which followed, ships had gained tiers of rigging and sails, becoming sleek and speedy.

Then, in the 1800s, ships began to shed their sails on the rivers once again. The advent of automation was changing transportation forever. The very first automation in ships was the cumbersome paddlewheel. Due to their bulky form and inability to turn easily, paddlewheel boats were confined to river travel, where they would experience calmer currents and need less manueverablity.

After the paddlewheel came the steamship. These vessels used coal or wood, burned to heat water, which in turn created the steam pressure used to work the pistons which moved the ship. The steamship was to enjoy a long and trusted run on both rivers and seas. Then, in 1912, the first diesel-powered ship, the Danish Selandia, was launched. That diesel engine design was to become the industrial and military standard until after World War II.

Then, in 1958, the first nuclear powered ship was launched. However, nuclear power was soon discarded by industry as too expensive and risky, though it would continue to find use in the military community.

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More tomorrow.

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Beautiful Energy Efficiency – Most housing designs include solar

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All these new builds include some form of solar planning. Either in orientation, or window protection, or solar electric generation, the sun is never far from these planners minds.

http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/green_building/article/0,3142,HPRO_27916_6024083,00.html

Five Models of Energy Efficiency: A Guide to Beautiful, Energy-Efficient Homes

Five US builders are being honored for their exceptional achievements in high performance building at the second annual BASF Builders Challenge Awards.

Led by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), the Builders Challenge is working with homebuilders across America to build a new generation of high-performance homes, working toward the ultimate goal of providing cost-effective, net-zero energy homes by 2030 for all Americans.

To qualify for the Builders Challenge, homes must meet at least a 70 on the EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale) — which means they must use at least 30 percent less energy than a typical new home built to code.

2010 BUILDERS CHALLENGE AWARDEES
Colorado Builder’s Net-Zero-Energy House Costs Just 7% to 8% More

Ecofutures Building Inc. developed four certified Builders Challenge homes (two with minus-three HERS ratings). These net-zero-energy measures represented only 7% to 8% of the total building cost.

See how they did it so cost-effectively >>
Treating the Home as a Whole System

By treating houses as a complete system, David Weekley Homes qualified 280 homes for the Builders Challenge with HERS scores averaging 67. The homes ranged from 1,500 to 5,500 square feet.

Get better results by treating the house as a whole system >>
College Students’ Habitat for Humanity Home

Yavapai College students built a Habitat for Humanity house that achieved the remarkably low HERS score of minus-three. Their 1,207-square-foot home cost only $92 per sq. ft. cost to build.

Learn how the students got it done >>
Homebuilder Adds Net Zero Energy Upgrade Package

Artistic Homes of Albuquerque offers a net-zero-energy upgrade option on all their homes. They’ve completed and sold 11 true net-zero-energy homes ranging from 1,305 to 2,905 square feet and costing between $160,000 and $300,000.

Find out about the upgrade option >>
Builder Promises Zero Energy Bill for Five Years

Tim O’Brien, a fanatic about eliminating air infiltration, actually got $400 back from the utility the first month after construction was finished. He guarantees a zero energy cost for the first 5 years on his home.

See what makes this builder so confident >>

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More next week.

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University Pledges To Reduce Energy Use – Beautiful U Day

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5%? That isn’t much but I guess it is better than nothing.

http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2009/UR_CONTENT_109539.html

University of Minnesota to launch energy conservation program at Beautiful U Day kick off event Thursday

Media Note:

Photo opportunity as people sign conservation pledge at 8 a.m. tomorrow (April 23)

 

Contacts: Tim Busse, University Services, (612) 624-2863,
Patty Mattern, University News Service, (612) 624-2801

The University of Minnesota has set the goal of reducing energy consumption by 5 percent by the end of 2010. University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks and Vice President of University Services Kathleen O’Brien will introduce a new campus-wide energy conservation program the Beautiful U Day Kick Off event at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 23 at the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Building, 200 Union St. S.E., Minneapolis.

A 5 percent reduction each year will save the university $2.25 million and result in 25,000 fewer tons of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. Meeting this ambitious goal will require a campus-wide effort, said Tim Busse, University Services communications director. To work toward that goal, the university is challenging students, faculty and staff, as well as departments and academic units, to commit to energy conservation by taking the Energy Conservation Pledge. The theme of Beautiful U Day is “It All Adds Up.”

During the kick off event, stations will be set up where students, faculty and staff can sign the Energy Conservation Pledge. The pledge begins “While my individual steps appear small, I understand that It All Adds Up. Working together, we can make huge leaps in reducing emissions, cutting electrical usage and saving University resources.”

Suggestions for conserving energy include: turning off computers at night; turning off the lights when out of the room for more than 10 minutes; unplug cell phone chargers that draw power unnecessarily and use the stairs rather than the elevator. “All these efforts are small steps but it all adds up,” Busse said.

Tags: University Services

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More Tomorrow.

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Gwinnett – An Education Company That Practices What It Preaches

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I have fun with google everyonce in awhile. I will pick an odd phrase, like today I typed in “beautiful energy conservation”.  As always Procter and Gamble, Siemens and Johnson Controls greenwash pages popup first. Google is such a money hog. But this site was #4 so I thought what the heck. What a pleasant surprise.

http://www.gwinnettcb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=16&Itemid=58

Recycling Bank of Gwinnett
The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett, located at 4300 Satellite Blvd in Duluth, is open to the public for donations 24 hours a day, seven day a week.  Commercial haulers are served from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  There is no cost to consumers or businesses to drop off recyclables.
For safety reasons, the public is NOT allowed to remove newspapers or other recyclables from our facility.
The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett will accept 35 types of recyclables:

 

 

Newspapers and Inserts                School Papers

Cardboard Boxes                          Kraft Paper

Soda & Beer Cartons                    Cereal Boxes

Paperboard                                   Tissue Boxes

Paper Grocery Bags                      Shoe Boxes

Paper Shopping/Lunch Bags          Pizza Boxes

Magazines                                   Paper Towel Cores

Shopping Catalogues                    Tissue Paper Cores

Old Phone Directories                   Aluminum Beverage Containers

Discarded Mail                              Aluminum Food Containers

Greeting Cards                             Steel Food Containers & Lids

Envelopes                                    Empty Aerosol Cans

Carbonless Paper Forms               Plastic Soda & Water Bottles

Computer Paper                            Milk Jugs

Calendars                                     Plastic Detergent Bottles

Plastic Bottles #3-7                       Glass Bottles & Jars

Aluminum Baking Tins                   Books

Clean Metallic Lids

For other items you are interested in recycling, please use our Searchable Recycling Database to find a location near you to take your recyclables.

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More tomorrow.

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Beautiful Green Awards – Let us know who your favorite green businesses are

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Steve Blessman forwarded this to me and I am forwarding it to you. I did not know about these awards but they seem pretty cool.

From: Stephen Blessman <blessmans@yahoo.com>
Subject: Green Jobs Awards Application
To: “Steve Blessman” <blessmans@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011, 12:09 PM

Apply now for the 2011 Green Jobs Award!

TEXT/E-MAIL


Green Jobs Award Deadline June 15

Apply now or forward to a prospect
Don’t miss your opportunity to be recognized and celebrated as a leader who is creating great green jobs! Apply for a 2011 Green Jobs Award by June 15! The Green Jobs Award program is produced by SJF Institute and Clean Edge with support from the Citi Foundation. Innovative companies with a business model that preserves or enhances environmental quality and at least ten employees and over $500,000 in revenue are eligible. Winners will receive recognition, media exposure and a package of pro bono business services provided by Certified B Corporations.

The ten 2010 winners from across the country represented diverse industries from renewable energy and energy efficiency to consumer products, manufacturing and engineering. They included the latest in clean technology as well as green innovations in traditional industries. Together, they represented over $150 million in revenue and created over 1,300 great, green jobs.

Help us accelerate the growth of innovative green job creators and demonstrate the potential of the green economy for all communities. Apply now! The application deadline is June 15. Visit www.greenjobsaward.org to learn more.

 

 

TWITTER

  • Apply by June 15 for a Green Jobs Award #GJA2011 and be recognized as an innovative company creating good green jobs http://bit.ly/cjdc1R

 

  • Is your company innovating a traditional industry & creating green jobs? Apply by June 15 for a national award #GJA2011 http://bit.ly/cjdc1R

 

·         Are you enabling others to benefit from going green through your company’s products/services? #GJA2011 Green Jobs Award http://bit.ly/cjdc1R

 

  • Is your company creating great green jobs #GJA2011? Apply by June 15 for the nationally recognized Green Jobs Award http://bit.ly/cjdc1R

·

 

FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN GROUPS/PROFILE

  • Does your innovative company preserve or enhance environmental quality while creating great green jobs? Apply by June 15 for the nationally recognized Green Jobs Award. Go to www.greenjobsaward.org for more information and the application.
  • Don’t miss your chance to be recognized as an innovative company creating good, green jobs! Apply by June 15 for the nationally recognized Green Jobs Award. Go to www.greenjobsaward.org/apply to download your application.

http://www.greenjobsaward.org/apply

2011 Green Jobs Award Application

We are currently accepting  applications for the 2011 Green Jobs Awards!

Eligibility

Private, for-profit companies located in the United States with at least 10 employees and $500,000 in annual revenue in the last calendar or fiscal year are eligible to apply.

Apply

Is your company  creating great green jobs? We invite you to submit the Stage 1 Application here. Application Deadline is June 15.

 

SJF_GJA-button_120x60-apply_2011

Application Process

1. Review Eligibility
2. Use a PC operating system and Adobe Reader 8.0 or higher, to view and complete the application. Click here for a free download the newest version of Adobe Reader 10.0.
3. Download, review, complete and save a copy to your computer, then submit the Stage 1 Application by June 15. Click here to download the application.
4. Semi-finalists will be notified by July 1, and will be provided with the Stage 2 application to complete.
5. Semi-finalists complete and submit the Stage 2 application by August 1.
6. Winners announced at a Green Jobs Convening and Award reception in October 2011.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be evaluated on:

  • Business model’s viability and positive environmental impact
  • Creation of quality jobs (living wages, benefits, training, career track)
  • Diversity of employment opportunities
  • Positive workplace culture and level of community engagement

Winners will receive recognition, media exposure, executive mentorship opportunities,  as well as a package of pro bono business services provided by Certified B Corporations. Winners will also receive an all expense paid trip to the Award Reception in October 2011.

Send an email to greenjobsaward@sjfinstitute.org if you have any questions.

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More next week.

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