The Little Yellow Byrd in the Coal Mine Sends Warning!

West Virgina politicians have long stood in the way of progress towards a clean energy future. Well, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), the infamous coal-loving nonagenarian, has recently warned his state that they might want to get with the times.

We’ll see how this effects his once-thought-to-be-guaranteed NO vote on the bipartisan climate and clean energy bill…

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How “green” is that oval little sticker on your car that reads “26.2″ in bold, black type? And while we’re on the subject, how environmentally friendly was that marathon you ran a few months back, the one that prompted you to buy the “26.2″ sticker in the first place?

Many of us don’t even think twice about the carbon footprint that a local footrace such as a marathon may have. But whether we’re aware of it or not, pretty much everything we do takes a toll on the environment. So, what should we do? Sit in our energy-efficient homes, eating only homegrown food, composting our lives away? Hell no.

What we can do is carry on with our daily actions in an attempt to do as little damage to the environment as possible. Or, even better, we can do things to actually counteract the damage that we inevitably make as we lead normal lives. These are exactly the kinds of things that many race coordinators around the country are doing to make their running events more environmentally compatible.

Runner’s World magazine recently released a list of the 10 Greenest Races in the country, and to our excitement, the Portland and Eugene Marathons were recognized as being two of the nation’s most eco-friendly running events. So, how did they do it?

For one, the Portland Marathon has been awarding all finishers a tree seedling since 1993, meaning that thousands of trees have inevitably been planted over the past 16 years. This alone has aided in offsetting the negative CO2 emissions caused by runners’ travel (cars, planes, buses), and even their gear (synthetic fiber, cotton shirts and socks harvested with massive amounts of pesticides). In addition, a portion of the finish-line food is certified organic, the start/finish area is powered by solar panels, and many of the materials used, such as chip removers, paper, and even scaffolding, is recycled or comes from surplus.

Like Portland, the Eugene Marathon also utilizes solar energy to power the event, including the finish line and vendor section. In addition, Eugene recruits volunteers to sort through garbage for recyclable items. These “master recyclers” end up collecting, on average, 70 percent of race-day waste for recycling, which means 70 percent less reusable material sitting in landfills. The first 9 miles of the course are paced with a hybrid vehicle, and bikers pace the last 16, which makes for minimal CO2 emissions during the race.

[Photo: eurospotter, Flickr]

We’re lucky enough to be getting frequent dispatches, along with video, of the trip from Christian Beckwith, former editor of The Alpinist, who is taking part in the project. You can read his first post here, but be sure to check back often at Greenery for updates.

This December, Powell’s will start harnessing the sun’s power with one of the biggest solar electric installations in Oregon. The installation will include a roof mounted 100 kilowatt photovoltaic system that will provide about 110,900 kWh per year, which accounts for about a quarter of the store’s annual energy consumption. There’s nothing greener than buying a used book (in other words: recycled) in a building that is powered by the sun!

Since the beginning of time, mankind has begged the question, ‘how can we get some use out of our dead?’ But every time we attempt to do something productive with our corpses, failure ensues. Soylent Green was too salty. Frankenstein’s monster was dangerous and unappreciative. So if the dead aren’t good enough to eat or to reanimate, then why do we even keep them around? Their lavish resting homes are creepy and take up good real estate. Their potential to rise and hunt us down to eat our brains is a concern of national security. But now, thanks to Spanish ingenuity, the age-old question of how we might profit from our dead may be answered at last.

Santa Coloma de Gramenet, a blue-collar town outside Barcelona, has installed 462 solar panels atop mausoleums at its cemetery, transforming the place of perpetual rest into a veritable energy mill that generates enough renewable power to satsfy the yearly energy demand of sixty homes.

At first, It wasn’t easy for city council members to convince residents that outfitting the coffins of their relatives with solar panels was a good idea. But they unleashed a successful public-awareness campaign that eventually convinced the public of the benefits.

The panels, which were erected at a low angle so as to be as unobtrusive as possible, have been well-receivd by the community and plans are in the works to put up more panels there – enough to triple the output of electricity.

[Via: Yahoo News]

Getting energy from the sun is nothing new in California, but the thermal plant that recently launched in Bakersfield, is the first solar thermal energy plant to be built in California in 20 years. The new plant, designed by Ausra, is also the first of its kind in North America, setting a precedent for plants to come.

With 1,000 foot long mirrors that convert the sun’s rays into energy, the plant is expected to generate 5 megawatts of electricity (enough to power 3,500 homes). The plant is actually a demonstration facility for larger-scale thermal solar energy plants, like the one set to open San Luis Obispo in 2010 which will produce 177 megawatts. That’s enough energy to power 120,000 homes!

But don’t think these mirrors are your regular solar panel. Actually the process for solar thermal energy is a little more complex: mirrors focus the sun’s heat onto tubes of water, which in turn creates steam that is used to drive power turbines to generate electricity.

[Via Inhabitat]

Unless you’ve been hiding out in a bomb shelter for the past year,  you’ve noticed that energy prices keep going up, and that fossil fuels are becoming scarcer and scarcer.   One of the most major incentives for the development of renewable energy in the private sector is concentrated on stimulating growth of solar power technology.   Currently, there is a 30% federally mandated tax credit on the law books to help encourage investment in the photovoltaic industry, for the purpose of making green energy competitive with fossil fuels (and to my mind, keeping our economy and future from total utter collapse and environmental armageddon).   Because of the federal credit, this energy sector has been expanding rapidly, attracting green venture capitalists into the energy arena.   As a result, solar cells are becoming more and more efficient, almost daily—  but beyond efficiency, scientists are learning to store the energy as well.  Just recently, MIT researchers have overcome one of the biggest hurdles facing solar technology, the ability to bank energy for use when the sun doesn’t shine.  Inspired by a plant’s process of photosynthesis, energy can be stored for night (or whenever) use by splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen can then be burned (cleanly) to fuel our energy needs.  

Beyond this development,  with the adoption/implementation of nano technology,  we should see the solar cell efficiency greatly increase in the very near future, and also reduce in size.  Scientists envision a day when nano solar cells can be added to something as simple as house paint, which would brush on and create an entire energy capturing skin around your house.  

All and all,  the federal tax credit for solar power has helped the industry develop by leaps and bounds, but the credit expires December 31st, and many in the renewable energy field believe that the consequence of this incentive lapse could all but kill the advancement of solar technology.   Write your congress person and ask him or her to renew the credit!!!

We certainly love the sun… especially when it takes the form of renewable energy. The latest in solar news comes from California where two new plants will soon produce 12 times the amount of electricity as today’s largest solar power plant. The two new plants will be built in the central part of the state and together they will cover 12.5 miles and in the middle of a hot, sunny day will be able to produce about 800 megawatts of power. To put that number in perspective, one megawatt is enough to run a large WalMart or 1,000 California homes…

The power generated by the plant will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric. The company is under a state mandate to get 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010 (the same year that LA’s plastic bag ban will go into effect). Good work California.

[Photo: laurenatclemson, Flickr]

You have a love of Scandinavian culture and trendy do-it-yourself furniture assembly; IKEA is your Mecca. But along with a cup of Swedish coffee and a low budget yet modern bookshelf, on your next IKEA shopping adventure, you just may be able to pick up some solar panels.

Despite mass producing furniture and exporting it around the globe, in recent years IKEA has made an attempt at taking steps to being environmentally friendly. To combat illegal logging, the company teamed with the WWF to promote responsible forestry as well as initiating climate change projects in Poland, China, UK and Sweden. Now IKEA is going even one step further: last week the Swedish manufacturer announced an approximate $75 million investment into cleantech startups over the next five years. The ultimate goal for this investment is to see solar panels and other clean technologies on sale in IKEA stores worldwide, easily available to consumers.

But what you come across in the IKEA aisles just might depend on where you live. “It’s quite natural that, for instance, solar panels are more interesting to Spaniards and Californians and so forth than they would be to Swedes,” said Johan Stenebo, managing director of Ikea GreenTech.

Just another reason to love the Swedes…

[Via Grist]

[Photo: Per Ola Wiberg, Flickr]

Living in a place like Portland — where gray skies and rain are a common occurrence — the moment the sun comes out you are basically trained to slather on sunscreen and immediately get outdoors to take advantage of the rare moment. But even in sun-intensive areas, soaking up the rays is of the essence; at least where solar energy is concerned.

Such is the case in Baja California, which is quickly becoming the region’s epicenter of solar panel manafacturing. In recent weeks the region that is already known as the “Silicon Border” has brought in investment from two foreign companies – Q-Cells from Germany and Kyocera from Japan — for a total of $4.9 billion in plants that will export panels mainly to the US.

In Baja there’s a lot of sun and sun equals investment. It’s therefore no surprise that this investment equals jobs; Q-Cells’ (which happens to be the biggest producer of solar panels in the world) new plant will account for 600 new direct jobs and 1200 indirect jobs. Following the solar energy trend, the region of Baja has also committed to obtaining 20% of its energy from renewable resources. This gives good inspiration for other cities and regions to take better advantage of the sun; just remember to wear sunscreen.

[Via Treehugger]