1. Home
  2. Articles posted by: Rona Fried (Page 1418)

Green-Designed Passenger Boat Debuts

A green-designed passenger boat, “The Explorer,” recently completed a journey from Freeport, Florida to its home port in Pittsburgh. This green-engineered floating classroom is a 90-foot, 150-passenger vessel, designed by RiverQuest, which conducts river-based experiential sustainability education on ecology, climate change, green engineering and river history and culture.Because there are no official standards for the design of “green” boats, RiverQuest assembled a team of naval architects, marine and electric-drive engineers, and green building experts to design the boat. “We congratulate the engineering, design and green-building teams for an incredible achievement in building a boat that truly is the first of a kind – setting the educational standard for rivers-based science programs and setting a new green standard for marine vessels,” said Maxwell King, president of The Heinz Endowments. The foundation, a steady supporter of RiverQuest since its founding in 1991, has contributed more than $1 million toward Explorer’s $3.5 million construction cost. Other significant funders are the Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, the Hillman Foundation and the state Departments of Environmental Protection and Conservation & Natural Resources. King said the development of green certification for watercraft would bring significant health benefits to Allegheny County, where more than a […]

Read More

Off-Gassing: How Does Your Car Rate?

Everyone knows that cars are a major source of air pollution. While tailpipes emit the pollution we hear most about, there’s also that “new car smell” – which is a major source of indoor air pollution. The smell, which many people associate with the fun of buying a new car, actually comes from toxic chemicals being released from plastics, foams and fabrics used to make steering wheels, dashboards and seats. Chemicals are added to indoor auto parts during the production process to give them specific properties such as rigidity, durability or flame resistance. Many of the chemicals are released into the air during the life of the vehicle. product. This “offgassing” is sometimes present as a window film or “fogging” thatdevelops on the inside of the windshield. Heat and UV-ray exposure can accelerate the process and can cause chemicals to break down into even more toxic compounds. We inhale or ingest these chemicals as we drive through dust and air, potentially causing allergic or other acute reactions, or even long-term health impacts such as birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer..And when vehicles are discarded at the end of their life, the majority of plastic and other nonmetallic parts […]

Read More

Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:March 21, 2007

News and EventsDOE Sets Spending Plan for $1.474 Billion in New EERE Funds DOE Selects Missouri Cooperative as Wind Cooperative of the Year Growing U.S. Wind Industry Yields Two New Wind Blade Factories E.ON and Lunar Energy to Build 8-Megawatt Tidal Power Project GM Introduces the 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line Hybrid Tragedy Mars Circumnavigation Attempt by Biodiesel-Fueled Boat DOE Sets Spending Plan for $1.474 Billion in New EERE FundsDOE released its spending plan last week for funds appropriated by last month’s continuing resolution, which included $1.474 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Compared to the appropriations for fiscal year (FY) 2006, DOE’s spending plan will more than double the funding for EERE’s programs in hydrogen technology, solar energy, and biomass and biorefinery systems research and development. The plan also increases funding for research in wind energy and energy efficiency technologies for vehicles, buildings, and industries. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory fares well under the plan, garnering $83 million to build a new integrated biorefinery research facility and a research support facility, along with more than $24 million for operation and maintenance of its existing facilities. Other programs that will see funding increases under the […]

Read More