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A Vacation with a Purpose

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By Cameron Burns Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist at Rocky Mountain Institute, traveled to Borneo on his vacation to visit a world-class organization working to protect orangutans. What he found was an inspiring story about rainforest rehabilitation and sustainable economic development. Amory Lovins has long been a fan of "higher primates"-species that use their intellect for the benefit of their communities and the environment, even if inadvertently. One of his favorite such creatures is the orangutan (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus;). So, when they had some vacation time in May, Amory and his wife Judy decided to travel to Borneo "to hang out with our orange swinger buddies." The couple visited a number of outposts of the Balikpapan Orangutan Society/Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to protecting and advocating for the orange and their habitat. Characteristically, while Lovins was on a personal trip, he ended up learning as much as he could about rainforest rehabilitation and the remarkable attributes of the modest sugar palm-both of which tie into Rocky Mountain Institute’s approach and belief that ecosystems are vital, resilient, and reparable. At one of the BOS sites, Lovins explains, "They showed us … a 19- […]

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: August 6, 2008

DOE Pursues Zero-Net Energy Commercial Buildings DOE Initiative Promotes Energy Efficiency in Hospitals Housing Act Aims to Encourage Energy Efficient Mortgages Companies and Utilities to Launch Algae Farm in Hawaii Large-Scale U.S. Solar Power Facilities Becoming Commonplace Texas to Spend $4.93B on Transmission Lines for Wind Power PA Creates a $500M Alternative Energy Fund CA Establishes Statewide Green Building Standards Toyota to Build the Prius Hybrid in Mississippi DOE Pursues Zero-Net Energy Commercial Buildings DOE launched the Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) on Tuesday, with the goals of developing new commercial buildings that produce as much energy as they use and making these buildings marketable by 2025. Such zero-net energy commercial buildings will minimize their energy use through cutting-edge energy efficiency technologies and will meet their remaining energy needs through on-site renewable energy generation. To help with the CBI, DOE has also formed the National Laboratory Collaborative on Building Technologies (NLCBT), which will allow DOE and five of its national laboratories to work closely on the research, validation, and commercialization priorities that are critical to the success of zero-net energy buildings. Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and […]

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