Proposed Bill Applauded by US Energy Leader


WSJ’s Market Watch posted an article saying that the CEO of the nation’s Number One renewable energy provider, applauded the proposed new energy  and climate bill. mw-logo-240x70

Lew Hay, chairman and CEO of FPL Group, a top-five electric power company and No. 1 producer of renewable energy from wind and solar power, issued the following statement today on the energy and climate bill introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.):

“Senators Kerry and Lieberman deserve tremendous credit for crafting a proposal that would move the country in the right direction on energy and climate issues. After years of debate and half measures, the United States still lacks a long-term national energy strategy, leaving us behind other countries in building and exporting the clean energy economy of the future. If we are to continue to lead the world in technological advances, job creation and economic security, we need a new approach. The most essential step — which is at the heart of the American Power Act — is to set a price on carbon dioxide emissions. With a gradually escalating price on carbon that begins to reflect the full social costs of emitting greenhouse gases, the country will make a smooth transition from the high-carbon fuel sources of the past to the next generation of low- and zero-emitting domestic energy sources. No legislation is ever perfect, this bill included, but Sens. Kerry and Lieberman have shown true leadership in their efforts to reach a balanced solution that all parties to this debate should be able to support. We applaud their efforts and look forward to working with them to get a bill signed into law.”

Read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/2avojo2

Free Recycling of Old Electronics!


YouRenew.com — renew your old electronics.

Everyday, thousands of people buy and sell electronics. But sooner or later, that new cell phone, mp3 player or other gadget becomes outdated. Unfortunately, there aren’t many places where you can recycle electronics easily, which results in too many electronics ending up in landfills. Most you renewpeople agree that recycling of electronics is important, but don’t know an easy way to make that happen.  Here’s a great site that takes moments to look up your old device and find out what value, if any it has.  You can ship it free to recycle, or sell or upgrade.  It’s easy, it’s green, it’s great!

Taiwanese Building Made of PET Bottles


The inspiration for using these beverage bottles as the primary construction material for the building came to developer Arthur Huang, of the Miniwiz plastic bottle building taiwanSustainable Energy Development Company by observing what was in the trash bins.  This is a link to a short and amazing video of a beautiful three story exhibition hall made of bottles. 

Builders turned bottles from Taiwan’s waste stream for reprocessing, into plastic containers that interlock strongly enough to block the elements and withstand storms or earthquakes, said Arthur Huang, managing director of the contractor Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8622212.stm

What is Texas’ Piece of the Stimulus Pie?


The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will send over $290 million to SECO, the Comptroller’s State Energy Conservation Office.  SECO is dividing these funds up into four programs, and the largest chunk of that cash goes to fund the Texas State Energy Fund.  That money funds Texas SEP, our state energy program which promotes energy conservation and efficiency and reduces energy demand by developing and implementinghome-img comprehensive plans.  The fund allows technical assistance, training, education, project implementation of commercially-available energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, but can’t be used for research activities or construction.  Lots of good work will be accomplished through this program and funding. 

The Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate program was part of the total funding package, with over $23 million allocated by SECO to give rebates to people who upgraded to Energy Star rated appliances.  That program went into effect on April 7, and the waiting lists filled almost immediately with an unexpected and overwhelming response from energy and money conscious Texans!  If you aren’t already on the list, I hate to say it, but you’ve missed out already.  Want to read more?  http://www.secostimulus.org/  has all the details and links you could possibly want to understand how much and who got it…

Political Progress with “Cash for Caulkers”


Consumer Reports: March 26, 2010

$6 billion Homestar energy-efficiency proposal gets over one legislative hurdle The bill for the Obama administration’s $6 billion Homestar energy-efficiency program, or cash for caulkers, was approved by the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment this week. Under the Homestar HVACproposal, homeowners would receive a 50 percent rebate up to $3,000 for a specific energy-efficiency improvement—adding insulation; sealing ducts; installing efficient windows, roofing, or heating or cooling equipment—and a 20 percent rebate up to $3,000 for a whole-house energy-efficiency upgrade. Much of the subcommittee discussion on Homestar centered on spending. Republicans wanted to set a $1 billion cap, which “would be adequate to see how this program performs,” Representative Parker Griffith, an Alabama Republican, told E&E News. The subcommittee agreed to a $6 billion cap for cash for caulkers, though Republicans did succeed in adding an amendment to grant rebates for geothermal heat pumps and tankless water heaters. —Daniel DiClerico

First Affordable Electric Car?


Nissan Leaf: The First Affordable Electric Car?

If you’re wondering when we’ll finally have an all-electric car that’s both affordable and dependable, Nissan may have the answer. The all-electric, five-passenger Leaf sedan goes on sale in December in select markets, with nationwide availability starting in 2011. The Leaf is highway-capable, as it MEN-AM10-gazette-nissan-leaf_resized400X266can top 70 mph, and its range (about 100 miles) more than covers average commutes. But what really sets the Leaf apart from other electric cars is its price. Starting at about $33,000, the Leaf’s price tag can fall to as low as about $25,000 after tax incentives. Actually driving the Leaf will cost significantly less than a comparable gas car. Recharging the Leaf can cost less than $3 per “fill up.” Sound promising?

This article courtesy of Mother Earth News.  To read the full article, go to http://tinyurl.com/yjweqxr

Greenest Building in US? Surprise!


The greenest building in the U.S isn’t a fancy hotel, apartment complex, or office building. It’s a monastery. The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded the Benedictine Women of Madison’s Holy Wisdom Monastery a Platinum LEED rating with 63 out 69 possible points–the most points of any certified building in the country.

The Sisters at the 30,000 foot, two-story monastery in Middleton, Wisconsin never intended to set a LEED record. Apparently, they have always prized sustainability–just take a look at their restoration of 95 acres of farmland to prairie and their project to dredge a glacial lake that had been previously been filled with silt.

Of course, the monastery still had to work hard to set the record. Some of the ultra-green features in the Hoffman LLC-designed building include a geothermal heating and cooling system, a photovoltaic system on the Chapel roof, windows with special glazing that allow for light and climate control, and the restoration and reuse of old pipe organs and bells. Almost 100% of the 60,000-square-foot old Benedictine House was also recycled or reused in the building process. Not bad for a bunch of Sisters with a dream.monastery2

This article courtesy of FastCompany.com, written by Ariel Schwartz.

Dell: Earth Day and Refurb Ink


Earth Day is coming, and Dell has a wonderful program to plant trees to celebrate.  In partnership with Team Earth, Dell’s Facebook® fans will have the opportunity to donate one of 75,000 trees in a friend’s name. Become a fan and keep an eye out on our Facebook page for this special Earth Day event beginning mid-April.

Dell is also offering NextLife refurbished ink cartridges for many popular printer models that print up to 20% more pages than new, reduce waste in our landfills, and reduce resources used to produce new.  EPA estimates in 2003 said we dump 400 million cartridges into landfills each year.  If even 1% of that number was refurbished, it would be the equivalent in CO2 reduction of planting 15,000 trees.  That makes NextLife Ink cartridges a economically AND environmentally good choice!  Go to the Dell site and type in NextLife into the site search.

Are Green Jobs Putting America to Work?


Can green jobs spur an economic recovery? There’s no doubt about it. Just ask the veterans in Denver who once crawled around attics and tight spaces in Iraq and Afghanistan seeking terrorists but now crawl through homes in the United States to track down air leaks and find places that need insulation. After having graduated from a green jobs training program, they are among a new wave of workers who have found employment improving the energy efficiency of America’s residential and commercial buildings.

greenjobsgroupOr ask the manufacturing workers in the Midwest who, because their companies successfully transitioned into clean energy manufacturing, escaped the job loss that befell millions of their brethren over the past decade. In Ohio, a business that once manufactured packaging materials now produces harvesters that transform algae into fuels and plastics. Another that produced large-diameter bolts for construction projects is now making bolts for wind turbines. Not only do these jobs provide the income and stability that Americans want, but they also contribute to U.S. energy independ­ence and fight global climate change.

The statistics don’t lie: Even without a comprehensive national policy, clean energy jobs in the United States have grown at more than twice the rate of overall jobs over the past decade, according to a 2009 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Passage of a federal clean energy and climate bill will increase these job numbers exponentially by unleashing a torrent of economic innovation that has the potential not only to save our environment and climate but also to revive the U.S. economy.

By Jerome Ringo in US News and World Report

Jerome Ringo is the former president of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition that promotes clean energy and green jobs. He is currently senior executive for global strategies with Green Port, a private company that focuses on establishing sustainable “green” ports around the world.  Full Article available at:  http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2010/02/22/green-jobs-are-putting-america-to-work.html

Hope in Haiti-Massive Recycling Effort


In an encouraging article from American Recycler,  we find massive efforts underway to recycle tons of building materials demolished by the quake.  Port Au Prince was full of buildings built “on the cheap” with little in the way of building codes, and many were damaged already by ealier quakes.  The good news is, several American companies are working to send mobile recycling equipment there to salvage a great percentage of the materials, which will then be used to rebuild the city with more hurricane and earthquake resistant structures. 

High percentages of asphalt and concrete can be crushed and reused, and in a place like Haiti, where importing of materials is expensive it makes economic sense as well as environmental sense. 

According to the report, in the U.S. sometimes disaster clean up crews are paid by the yard and so little effort is put into separating materials so that recyclables can be harvested to use again.  The economics of recycling C&D material vary depending on the nature of the project. The bigger the project, the better the economies of scale and Port Au Prince may prove to be huge. In the United States, recycled aggregate usually costs less per ton than virgin when buying recycled materials from another site.  In this case, where the city already owns the materials, the savings will be truly significant.

Read more at http://www.americanrecycler.com/0310/095haiti.shtml