Talk about buying locally grown produce !!  Having the store get produce locally reduces emissions from long distance travel and ensures freshness – the produce could have been picked that very day !!

the “greenhouse will provide  … access to the freshest, most delicious leafy greens, herbs and tomatoes, year-round …”

y operational at the time of the new Whole Foods Market opening and will create a variety of green collar jobs and economic development opportunities in the Brooklyn area. Whole Foods Market also plans to offer educational opportunities for area students and local schools to learn about greenhouses, farming and various environmental initiatives.

Via: Whole Foods  LINK

The Atlantic Wind connection is expected to be the backbone infrastructure to bring offshore energy from the mid-Atlantic states of NJ, and Delaware, Maryland and Virginia  to the grid.  The sponsors include GOOGLE and is led by Trans-Elect.  Trans-Elect is a independent power transmission company.

The area off the mid-Atlantic “ …  offers more than 60,000 MW of offshore wind potential ... allow for the development of large, distant wind farms, mitigating visibility issues and allowing for greater energy capture from stronger winds. …”

“ … single offshore backbone with a limited number of landfall points will minimize the environmental impacts of building multiple individual radial lines to shore.  …”

Along with bringing renewable energy to the grid there are expected “ … between 133,000 and 212,000 U.S. jobs …” from construction.  Based on 54,000 MV of wind capacity 9estimate for 2030)  it was estimated that there would be of 43,000 permanent jobs created to run and maintain the system.

Click here for larger image:  Atlantic Wind Connection phases

Via:  Atlantic Wind Connection  LINK

New York city residents will have the option of having their Christmas trees shredded instead of landfilled.  Mulchfest is Jan 12 – 13 this year and residents in NYC can find a location near them by dialing “311”.

“… to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. …. More than 24,000 trees were recycled last year. Help us top this number!”

You can take the mulch home with you or leave with the city and they will use it throughout NYC.

Mulchfest 2013

Via: City of New York - Parks and Recreation   LINK

If you keep this in your car cup holder it will quickly pay for itself … and will not leak like some paper cups … and is recyclable.

Starbucks uses a LOT of paper cups.  “ …  uses more than 4 billion disposable paper cups each year globally … Starbucks last year tested the concept … in its home market …. Cup reusage increased 26 percent in the test stores.”

  I have bought one and keep it in my car.  The cup is a bit thin so I need a sleeve to allow me to hold – but the sleeve is reusable too !

Via:  Epoch Times  LINK

Harvard is conducting research on a “flow battery” that might provide “ …  cost-effective, grid-scale electrical energy storage based on eco-friendly small organic molecules …..  “Flow batteries may make stationary storage viable in the marketplace, and that will enable wind and solar to displace a lot more fossil fuel.”

Flow batteries are like a rechargeable fuel cell using liquid chemicals to store generated  power.  Current technology uses vanadium redox (cost prohibitive due to raw material prices) or molten sulfur (must operate at very high temperatures).

Harvard’s research is looking at small organic molecules that are found in plans and can be made at low cost, are non-toxic and work room temperatures. These would offer high power density and could be co-located with the generating power source and would link directly to the power grid.

Via:  Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences LINK

Rarely is GHG mentioned in a positive light. 

Newlight Technologies  has found a GREEN use for GHG (greenhouse gas).  They have “ … developed, patented, and commercialized a thermoplastic manufacturing technology that converts air and greenhouse gas …. into thermoplastics that can out-compete oil-based plastics on price, performance, and sustainability.”

They can use GHG like CO2 and methane from sources such as landfill and water treatment plants and produce plastics.

This solves the potential problem of using food crops as a route  to plastics and can help make a dent  in GHG content. 

Imagine an almost unlimited raw material source and turning a pollutant into a raw material  while cleaning the air of GHG! 

Imagine GHG becoming a valuable commodity rather than a pollutant!

Via:  Newlight Technologies LLC  LINK

A dormant volcano in Oregon, the Newbury,  is the pilot site for exploring volcanoes as a route to geothermal energy.  Receiving approval from “ … The U.S. Bureau of Land Management …  Alta Rock Energy, will drill … wells ...” to power turbines and generate power.

The footprint of the wells is extremely small given the energy potential.  The site is basically a drill pad and “… occupies … five acres, and all of the equipment will be on that pad …”  Geothermal is a constant source of power unlike wind and solar which are not always available around the clock – so no back up power source is needed.

Newbury is targeted to produce “ …  about 2,000 megawatts of electricity, basically enough power for a city of one million people.”

While somewhat similar to the process used to “frack” for oil there is no hydrocarbons burned so there are no emissions.

Click to hear more MP3 

Via: PRI – Public Radio International  LINK

AQUA (NYSE – WTR) is committed to increasing its CNG fleet.  The AQUA Pennsylvania division has been piloting CNG vehicles for over a year and is ready to commit to transition this division’s fleet to CNG.

While part of the reason for the move is the lower cost of CNG there is a green side in that CNG burns cleaner and has less emissions compared to gasoline.  In addition the operating costs are lower – 30 – 50% lower.

The Pennsylvania division – AQUA Pennsylvania –  expects to start with “ … 20 dump trucks and 60 vans initially … there are not many passenger vehicle[car]  opportunities available currently. However, as it begins to turn over its vehicles, those that have original equipment manufacturer (OEM) CNG alternatives, will be transitioned to CNG vehicles.”

Direct benefits are lower fueling costs (approx $2.00 / gallon) and operating costs that are “ … 30-to-50 percent less expensive.”

A quote from their CEO, Nick DeBenedictis:  "We made the commitment to CNG because it is the right thing to do… ,"

Via:  AQUA  LINK

“ … offers [a] … guarantee complete destruction of each unit and the recycling of the constituent parts.”

“… steel will be recycled at the local scrap yard … foam and cotton will be … sent … back into the loop of manufactured goods to be turned into a variety of items including carpet pad.”

After the USS Enterprise’s final voyage all the mattresses will be removed and instead of being landfilled will be recycled by Nine Lives Mattress Recycling.   The cost to the Navy is actually less than the cost to landfill by approx. $12,000.

This is part of a pilot program including 3 naval ships.   The USS Enterprise is following the USS Mesa Verde and USS Abraham Lincoln in recycling rather than landfilling mattresses.  Approx. 13,000 mattresses equal to over 100,000 cubic feet of landfill space are being recycled  in this program. 

Via:  Nine Lives Mattress Recycling  LINK and MSNBC  LINK

Ikea is also converting all their in-store lighting LED lighting – over 1 million lights.

Why LED:  LED  is more energy efficient (uses approx. 85% less electricity) and longer lasting (up to 20X).

The one negative to LEDs is their higher initial price (but lower total cost of ownership).  To help make LEDs more attractive to consumers Ikea “ … will make sure our LED prices are the lowest on the market …”

Promoting LED lighting follows other green / sustainable practices including no longer selling incandescent bulbs (2010) and nor using plastic bags (2007).

Via:  Ikea  LINK

60% of the power needed will be generated onsite from solar arrays and fuel cells.  The remainder will come from the grid but will be from renewable sources making the site “ … the most environmentally sound data center ever built.”

The combined output of the solar arrays and fuel cells is 124 million kWh – the amount of energy needed for almost 10,900 homes.

Via:  Apple  LINK

Goals are to explore way lessen the environmental impacts such as carbon footprint,  fuel efficiency and noise.

The plane is on loan to Boeing and will be returned to revenue service / configuration later in 2012.

Via:  Boeing  LINK and co.exist LINK

Starbucks stores in Hong Kong generate 5000 TONS of waste coffee grounds and bakery materials yearly.  Researchers in Hong Kong are trying to create a "biorefinery" (picture below right) to turn the waste into a raw material that can then be used to make new products.

Using fungi that …” excrete enzymes that break down carbohydrates (like the ones in those coffee grounds) into simple sugars, which then go into a fermenter to become succinic acid. … used as an ingredient in a wide variety of products, including detergents, bio-plastics, and medicines.”

There are legitimate concerns using food crops as a bio raw material as this could drive up food prices.  By using otherwise waste material to generate raw materials this is no longer a problem.

Benefits are expected to include less waste and less pollution from waste incineration.

Via:  Good LINK

ColorZen™ technology is used to pre-treat cotton before dying with the end result that dying is more environmental friendly.

ColorZen™ cotton dyes three times faster, with 75% less energy, and 90% less water. … [and] requires no toxic chemicals.

“ … requires no capital investment [for the] dye houses … can be used with the same equipment  … added cost of our ColorZen™ process is offset by the dollar savings of water, energy, chemicals, and time, …”

To get a better idea of the benefits to the environment check out the interactive tool at this LINK where you can see that using ColorZen for 5 typical shirts = the daily water use for 75 people.

Via:  ColorZen™  Link

Intel and KT Corporation (a South Korea telecom) are developing data centers that operate at temperatures above 30C (86F).  Data centers normally operate at 18 – 21 C (64 – 70F).

Typically A/C for a data center is a significant operating cost. 

According to the US Dept of Energy …” half the power used by a typical data centers supports its infrastructure, including cooling systems …” 

Even small increases in temperature can result in large energy and cost savings.   “Data centers save about 7 percent on air conditioning costs for every degree they raise the temperature above 22 degrees …”

Higher operating temperature = Lower Energy Costs = Smaller Carbon Footprint.

Plans are to first deploy this technology in KTs Cheonan data center in 2013 followed by eventual deployment at all 10 of their data centers in South Korea.

Via:  Environmental Leader LINK