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Sydney Harbour was abuzz  as the crew of the Plastiki, a boat made from recycled plastic bottles, ended its voyage across the Pacific ocean earlier this month. The ship set sail to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastics in our oceans and landfills. The crew, including project leader David De Rothschild, ended a 130-day trip that began this Spring in San Francisco.

The boat was constructed using 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles. The sail is hand-woven from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is also utilized in several other components of the boat’s frame, and the mast is reclaimed aluminum irrigation pipe.

Besides the wind energy harnessed by the Plastiki’s sail, wind turbines and solar panels provide renewable power as well, along with trailing propeller turbines and bicycle generators.

A flotilla of boats welcomed the seafarers and guided them into port, where friends, family and supporters awaited the 10 crew members with an arrival ceremony. According to the Plastiki Blog, all on board witnessed the pollution — much of it plastic waste — slowly strangling our oceans, “affirming their mission to share their experience with the watching world and most importantly highlight solutions to protect our oceans and beat waste.”

Find photos of the Plastiki’s arrival in Sydney, as well as pics and documentation from the entire voyage, at ThePlastiki.com.

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Green, green, green. Like a flock of hungry seagulls, businesses are screeching “green” in advertisements and PR events around the world. Unfortunately, with that comes a good deal of greenwashing, or companies painting the illusion of green to sell a product or re-brand but in reality working very little toward sustainability.

Doubly unfortunate for truly green business is the competitive advantage these greenwashing tactics have over genuine ones. Some examples: BP’s now infamous green-and-yellow sunflower and “Beyond Petroleum” slogan or McDonald’s localwashing billboards. Such companies appear green but spend little or none of the time and cost to really go green, giving them the advantage, when by all rights it should be the real green businesses getting the recognition and the consumers.

So how do green businesses get the competitive edge and karmic rewards associated with green business tactics? Certification. The trend toward product and business certification is strong and growing fast. Avenues for certification, from LEED points (for the green construction process) to Green Seal (for the end product), are popping up all over the world.

Eco-minded consumers are increasingly aware that you can’t trust phrases like “all-natural” or “earth-friendly” without further investigation anymore. That fact is beginning to give green businesses the edge they deserve and facilitating a rise in independent certification programs. Here are some examples:

• U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification for energy efficiency improvements to the building that houses the businesses.
• Institute for Green Business Certification
• Green Business League
• EcoLogo and Green Seal certify eco-friendly products
• Green-e certifies businesses and products incorporating renewable energy
• Scientific Certification Systems certifies green businesses in the agricultural, manufacturing and electricity fields
• Energy Star certifies appliances and recognizes business partners that produce energy efficient products
• USDA Organic, how green produce growers get their products sold

These examples alone cover nearly all types of products and businesses. These sites are easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection and are expanding as more consumers use the resources at their fingertips to make eco-friendly purchases from certified green businesses. With certification comes the right to carry these organizations’ eco-labels—a valuable sales pitch for consumers walking down store aisles or browsing advertisements and websites.

The trend toward eco-labeling is far from over. Indeed, it is still evolving. We’ve already seen the green building industry move from Energy Star alone to include LEED, and now it’s evolving further to better represent life-cycle assessment (LCA) in LEED ratings. Even Wal-Mart is creating its own eco-label to illustrate the eco-friendliness of products on its shelves. And when the nation’s largest retailer is developing its own eco-label, as well as demanding that its suppliers calculate the environmental impact of their products, who could say straight-faced that the trend is a passing one?

Indeed, the competitive edge of the future will go to certified green businesses. Now, all we have to do is maintain transparency and independence among budding eco-labeling organizations.

Greenwash photo via WebEcoist

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SunRun solar financing, close friend to CalFinder, brought the solar power message to national television this morning when company president and co-founder Lynn Jurich was given a featured spot on Good Morning America. You may remember SunRun for its landmark financing deal with Pacific Gas & Electric, or its pioneering activities in New Jersey, or its innovative solar leasing programs in general. It was for that very purpose — solar leasing — that Jurich appeared on this morning’s Good Morning America.

With solar panel in tow, she educated everyone on the always-crowded GMA stage, as well as those watching from home, on the benefits of going solar and the cost benefits of leasing — that SunRun pays for, installs, remotely monitors and maintains the home solar power system. All this comes at little or no cost to the homeowner, who only pays for the clean, renewable electricity the system produces.

“All you have to do is buy the electricity just like you’re paying your normal electric company,” Jurich explained. “It’s actually even or at a discount to what you’re paying the electric company.” Except with the SunRun way, you’re using little or no fossil-fueled electricity.

So far, SunRun has delivered solar power to more than 5,000 homes in five different states. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company operates in California, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey. In just three years, SunRun has grown into a national leader in solar financing and solar installations, thanks in large part to the company’s high level of service, which includes solar insurance, in addition to monitoring and maintenance.

In case you missed it, you can watch the video of SunRun’s Lynn Jurich, as well as find more information on going solar with SunRun, at the GMA website.

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Another coalition of groups–this time agricultural–has just come out in favor of adding a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) to the energy bill pending in the U.S. Senate.

The [url=http://nfu.org/news/2010/07/28/nfu-agriculture-groups-call-on-senate-to-include-renewable-electricity-standard.html]National Farmers Union[/url], National Association of Wheat Growers, American Farmland Trust, and International Biochar Initiative signed onto the [url=http://files.e2ma.net/5030/assets/docs/agriculture_res_letter_-_final_-_7.28.10.pdf]letter[/url] to Senate Democratic and Republican leaders.

Notes the letter, “Inclusion of [the RES] will help America’s drive toward energy independence, re-invigorate rural communities through job growth and income generation for agriculture, and significantly improve the environment and the air we breathe,” adding, “American agriculture stands ready to help meet the country’s clean energy needs.”

NFU President Roger Johnson commented, “We are very disappointed with … Majority Leader [Harry Reid's] omission of an RES from the recently introduced energy legislation. America’s farmers and ranchers support the opportunity to increase energy production under an RES, and the Senate should have an opportunity to vote for it.”

The agricultural groups’ initiative follows a similar one a few days ago by a [url=http://www.awea.org/blog/index.php?mode=viewid&post_id=427]coalition of labor unions, utilities, environmental groups, and renewable energy organizations[/url] and adds to the growing drumbeat in support of the RES. To add your voice to this effort, go to [url=http://www.powerofwind.com]powerofwind.com[/url].

Success greets the research team of National Research Council’s National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) and the University of Alberta. The plastic solar cells have now an operating life of 8 months instead of mere hours. And they are low-cost, environmentally efficient, unsealed plastic dollar cells – a green energy source. Developing economically viable plastic [...]
Posted in: Industry, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power

Thank God, for some environmental sense that has taken over mobile companies of the world. All of these companies now offer their customers a chance to have their mobile phones recycled against a payment. This means that if you happen to have a classic phone that you would want to dump or sell off, then STOP! You can go to the specific company’s dealer and ask them to pay you the amount for giving the cell phone for recycling.

According to statistics that was held in 2005, 15 million cell phones were discarded in the US alone! And out of that only an approximated value of 4% of them were recycled, with the rest of the cell phones going to the dumps. The point to worry here is that cell phones contains dangerous substances such as Cadmium, Rhodium, Palldium, Beryllium etc which happens to poison the land fill site or even the sea, when garbage is dumped there. On the contrary if the cell phones are recycled, then the very parts could be used to make even more advanced versions of a phone.

Many schemes and methodologies have been set up to recover various parts of a mobile for gaining precious substances back. For example the metal used in the cell phones are quite precious to be wasted.

If a cell is grinded back to the powdered form the very same metal could be recycled and used to create another beautiful cell. In this way the Earth’s resources could be saved, the lands would be free from poisonous substances and even the public could earn an amount of cash by simply recycling! So many advantages over one simple act.

Depending upon the condition of the cell phone it is recycled into four categories. If it is in excellent condition then it is donated to charitable organizations where the poor and the needy would be very glad to receive a cell phone. Regular cell phones are refurbished and distributed throughout the country and some are also exported to other under developed countries. Finally if cell phones are too damaged they are grinded and precious metals are extracted. So no matter what your cell phone’s condition is, you can always have it recycled for a better use.

You can also search for legitimate online companies that provides users with the option of recycling their phones in return for some good cash. If you live anywhere besides the US or the UK then look up to the mobile company’s franchise in your city or country and visit them for a detailed information on how much you can gain on giving the cell phone for recycling. Do not sell away your phones to unauthorized dealers as that would do you no good.

Even in this century of touch phones, there are many classic phones that were strong, portable and pretty popular amongst the masses. Those classic phones are now a treasure for mobile companies. If they gain such a phone which apparently is in good condition they can pay you a very good amount for it. Do your self and your planet a service by recycling as many products as possible.

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Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released details of the energy bill he is putting before the Senate on Tuesday, making it official that any hope for a national renewable electricity standard (RES) is dead. Last week Reid said as much while foreshadowing the contents of his bill, which focuses more on oil spill response than renewable energy. Since then, dozens of democratic senators (including one republican) and industry groups pressed Reid for, at the least, inclusion of a national RES to promote a shift to cleaner power over the long term.

For at least the short term, any RES prospect has been declared dead by the one man who could have given it life.

To make matters worse, the bill excludes just about everything else that could really help the renewable energy industry, especially the troubled wind sector, which has seen quarterly figures drop 71 percent from the same time last year.

NOT included are:

• A national RES
• Extension of the production tax credit (expires next year)
• Extension of the Treasury Grant Program (expires this year)
• Any cap or tax on carbon emissions by polluters

What the bill does offer:

• Oil Regulations: A removal of the $75 million cap on economic liability that oil companies must account for in response to an oil spill. Companies would pay higher fees into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. It would also speed up the claims process for people damaged by oil spills and overhaul government regulation to ensure that conflicts of interest do not exist.
• Energy Efficiency: The bill would set aside $5 billion for the proposed federal Home Star rebate program that incentivizes homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements.
• Conservation: The bill would also fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses a portion of receipts from oil and gas leases to support state and local conservation programs.
• Electric and Natural Gas Vehicles: Encourages the deployment of electric cars through $400 million doled out to certain cities. Also funds a federally-run competition to develop a battery that will power an EV for 500 miles in a single charge, and encourages federal agencies to introduce EVs into their operating fleets. Finally,  the bill offers incentives to retrofit heavy-duty vehicles to run on “clean natural gas” (CNG).

The oil industry is railing against the bill, which means it must be doing something right. Yet while incentives for electric vehicles, increased oil regulation (so obviously lacking in the lead up to the BP spill) and energy efficiency incentives are good steps, this can hardly be called an energy bill — at least not in the sense that the renewable energy industry, President Obama, nor any environmental advocate had hoped for.

Harry Reid and other Senate Democrats admit that the bill is far from sweeping, but claim that it’s the best they can do without a guaranteed, filibuster-proof 60 votes — something Reid says they most certainly do not have. And even this gutted sham of a climate change bill faces stiff opposition from republicans, whose main objective seems to be to oppose anything and everything until the GOP has a chance at regaining power in November. Although, they apparently have all the power they need already, or at least enough to stop the less-than-brave democrats tiptoeing around the Senate floor and all over the progress-minded constituents that voted them in nearly two years ago.

And where’s President Obama on all this? Good question.

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Despite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s assurances that no such provision will be included in a climate bill this summer, 27 Democrats and one Senate Republican are nonetheless pressing the Nevada senator for inclusion of a renewable electricity standard (RES). An RES would require utilities to obtain a percentage of their power from renewable resources within a set time frame, and is considered one of the best ways to promote clean energy production in the United States over the long term. Last week, Reid came out saying that such language was not in his vocabulary.

Sam Brownback of Kansas (a state that already gets 20 percent of its electricity from wind power) is the lone Republican senator to join Democrats in signing the letter urging Reid to include a national RES in his bill. Brownback is, however, staunchly opposed to any carbon cap or tax being included.

Reid and many other Democrats in the Senate are apparently fearful of a Republican filibuster because they do not have the 60 votes necessary to nullify that option (although, why they don’t force the Republicans’ hand instead of constantly allowing the opposite is beyond me). Still, Brownback and his unlikely Democratic allies believe they can get the 60 votes and that there is enough bipartisan support in the Senate to pull off an RES-inclusive bill.

Senators Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Mark Udall of Colorado and Tom Udall of New Mexico led in drafting the letter, which argued, “A strong RES will give certainty to clean energy companies that are looking to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. to manufacture wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy components.”

29 states already have their own renewable energy mandates, but legislation would have to be uniform throughout the country to truly facilitate wide-scale, permanent growth in the national renewable energy industry.

Why the Opposition to RES?

The main opposition to a national RES comes from senators of both parties representing the American South, where only four states — Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas — have state-level RES portfolios.

Many of these states are rich in coal and have a strong lobby against any legislation that would tax or otherwise inhibit its production. Senators from these states often argue that their states do not have the renewable resources that other states have, such as the Southwest’s sunshine or wind along the coasts and in the Midwest. Subsequently, their states would be at a disadvantage when trying to meet RES requirements and would pay an unfair amount of penalties for noncompliance.

How the South Could Benefit from Renewable Standards

However, Environmental Leader reports that a new study, Renewable Energy in the South, released by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University, asserts that a national RES would be an economic boon to the South. It claims that southern states could obtain 20 to 30 percent of their energy from renewable resources within 20 years if strong federal mandates are passed, all while adding thousands of new jobs. The South gets less than 4 percent of its energy from renewables today. Most of what there is comes from hydropower.

Yet despite letters, broad support outside the South and intense pressure from RE industries, nearly all hope for a strong climate bill coming out of the Senate this year is gone. The heavily compromised bill Harry Reid is expected to release this summer will include some minor but largely ineffectual clean energy incentives and some oil and gas industry regulations in response to the BP oil spill. Reid has shown no signs yet of relenting on his no-cap, no-RES position.

Photo Credit: Switched

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[img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/4837973107_10d9c75824_m.jpg[/img]
[b]Russ Germick, Strategic Sourcing Manager, Repower USA Corp.
[/b]
About 300 business men and women are gathering in Grand Rapids, Michigan, today to get the latest facts and figures on the wind industry, as well as advice on how to get into the business.
The Supply Chain Summit is being hosted by The Right Place, an economic development organization in Western Michigan, in partnership with AWEA.
Economically crippled by the near-death of the U.S. auto industry, Michigan has emerged In the past two years as the nation’s fastest-growing wind manufacturing region, leading the U.S. in 2009 with 5 wind facility expansions, 2 new online wind facilities and 3 announced wind facilities. The state now has about 3,000 wind industry manufacturing jobs.
Topics covered at the summit included an overview of the U.S. wind industry and the Michigan manufacturing base, success stories from Michigan wind suppliers, and insights from Michigan manufacturers.

Margaret Meade once said ‘‘We won’t have a society if we destroy the environment.” Truer words were never spoken. We owe our mere existence to the environment. Without it providing us resources we would have gone extinct years ago. Therefore, it becomes our duty to take care of it and not continue with the pattern that we have been following which has endangered the environment.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Reduce air pollution and save car fuel by driving less. Try not to drive within the 5km radius of your home. Instead walk or take you bi-cycle. It will prove to be a good exercise also.
2. Using stairs instead of the elevator can not only be good for your health but the environment also.
3. When you are stuck in a traffic jam, turn your car off. It uses up more fuel.
4. During summer, the use of air conditioner can use up to 20% more fuel. So turn the air conditioner off when the car gets cool enough. Also make sure that the coolant I recyclable.
5. Try servicing your car on a regular basis. A car can use up to 50% more fuel and give off 50% more carbon if not tuned properly.
6. Instead of using your car daily try joining a car pool. It’s less fuel-consuming.
7. Grow your own food. Not only is it much healthier but food transportation, which is the reason for greenhouse gas emissions will automatically decrease.
8. Be kind not only to the environment but to the creatures in it. Try not eating endangered animals/birds/fish.
9. When visiting your local coffee café, take your own mug/flask instead of using their unrecyclable cups.
10. When grocery shopping, take your own cloth bag or basket and not use their plastic or paper bag. And if you do use them then save them n reuse them.
11. Adopt the key word: Recycle. From cans to bottles, papers, glass etc. keep on recycling.
12. When your not in a room or leaving the room, remember to trun off the lights, fans, switches or any other electrical items that are not in use.
13. During the day, instead of turning on the lights just draw the curtain and take advantage of the natural light at our disposal: the sun.
14. In winter, instead of using the heater try closing the windows and wearing warm clothes indoors as well as outdoors.
15. In summer, use the air conditioner to cool the room for half an hour and then let the ceiling fan take over. This way you’re saving the environment and your electricity bill.
16. If you do not have a full load of dishes or laundry, do not start your washing machine or your dish washer.
17. Save water by taking short showers and turning off the tap when brushing your teeth.
18. At work too you can do your bit by printing only those that needs to be printed. Turning off your computer, printer, and fax machine etc when you’re not using it.
19. For your garden, use a push lawn mower than an electric or gas one. Water the grass or plants in the morning or late evening and not in the afternoon when the sun is at its peak and can absorb more water.
20. Try and grow more trees. Trees absorb carbon and give out oxygen.
21. True happiness is in giving. So if you feel you no longer need something like your toys, or books, or clothes, give it up for charity instead of throwing it away.

Besides this, you can do your part by spreading the awareness word around. Get your family, friends and others involved because it takes one person to make a start and a whole lot of people can make a difference.

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