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In the first year of California’s competitive electric market, more than 50 percent of all residential power switches, or about 100,000 households, have been to green power marketers. Power marketers are thus shifting their focus from selling the cheapest electricity to the greenest blend possible! Public and private organizations are contributing to the shift: Patagonia, Toyota, the City of Santa Monica, and seven Episcopal churches have fueled the green power bandwagon. The result: almost 500 MW of new wind, geothermal, biomass and landfill gas capacity is being added. In a 1000-person survey conducted by the Yankee Group, 25 percent of respondents said they would select an environmental organization as a power supplier if offered the option. Over half of all utility customers in the U.S. would switch to a green power supplier if offered a 10-15% discount in cost. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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From biobased paints, inks and chemicals to biofuels and renewable construction materials, the Carbohydrate Economy Clearinghouse provides one-stop shopping for information on the latest developments in this new materials economy. It is produced by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a nonprofit that provides technical assistance and information on environmentally sound economic development strategies. The clearinghouse includes information on hundreds of plant matter-derived products and the companies who manufacture them. Some of the topics it covers from this emerging green economic sector are: industrial uses for biobased chemicals, the state of the industrial hemp industry, and why ethanol may be increasing its market share. [sorry this link is no longer available] ILSR: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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A study by the Council on Economic Priorities, a nonprofit research organization that rates companies on social/environmental responsibility, gives Mitsubishi and Honda top marks as the manufacturers of the most fuel-efficient car lines, but ranks them as the overall worst performers in clean manufacturing operations. The report, “The Worst and Best Auto & Tire Companies,” shows that Mitsubishi generates 21.6 lbs of toxic pollutants per vehicle at its Normal, Illinois manufacturing plant, more than four times the emissions of the cleanest plant, a Chrysler facility. Paradoxically, manufacturers of the most fuel-consumptive and polluting vehicles have the cleanest factories. The study also ranks tire manufacturers’ production processes for their overall environmental quality. Michelin has the most polluting production process and Bridgestone/Firestone, has the cleanest. Read the report: http://www.cepnyc.org
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4,638 organic farmers participated in the survey. It gives an overview of the most common organic management strategies and examines constraints and challenges to organic production. Organic Farming Research Foundation: research@afrf.org
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Corning Inc.’s new 900/2 catalytic converter enables car manufacturers to reduce emissions by as much as 70 percent over current national standards, allowing them to meet the U.S. Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (Super ULEV) standards, which begin in 2004. Automobile manufacturers may begin using it as early as this fall to reduce fleet-average emissions of automobiles, trucks and sport-utility vehicles. A substrate coated with a precious-metal catalyst is positioned at the core of the catalytic converter. Untreated exhaust gas passes through the substrate, where it reacts with the catalyst and is converted to harmless gases and water vapor.
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This 6-page paper from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory notes the U.S. has an annual resource base of about 200 million dry tons of various waste feedstocks available. Using a fraction of this would supply the equivalent of 3.6 percent of the projected light-duty vehicle energy demand in 2010. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Natural Resources Canada’s EnerGuide label, in use for appliances and vehicles, is now available for houses. Experts audit houses and advise homeowners on ways to improve energy efficiency and the rating of their houses while maintaining or improving indoor air quality. As more homes are rated across the country, Minister Goodale predicts energy efficiency will become an increasingly important factor in Canadians’ building, buying and renovating decisions. The Sun Ridge Group received $105,000 from the Climate Change Action Fund to educate homeowners, renovators, real estate agents, community based groups and First Nations about how they can play a role in meeting Canada’s climate change commitments through the EnerGuide for Houses Program. The EnerGuide awards for vehicles recognize the most fuel-efficient vehicles in all categories and challenge car and truck makers to improve fuel efficiency. Every new vehicle in Canada carries an EnerGuide label which identifies its fuel efficiency rating. EnerGuide for Houses: Office of Energy Efficiency
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The “Consumers Guide to Buying a Solar Electric System” can be downloaded free. Anyone want to do a similar country or state-specific guide? To find out about state incentives for renewables, check out DoE’s site. All 50 states list their financial and regulatory incentives to promote renewable energies. Natural Resources Canada offers a free software tool, RETScreen, to evaluate renewable energy projects. The software identifies whether the following technologies are cost-effective in a given situation: wind, small hydro, photovoltaic, solar ventilation air heating and biomass heating. Solar water heaters, passive solar heating and ground source heat pumps will be added to the tool in August. Natural Resources Canada: rets@nrcan.gc.ca Download it: [sorry this link is no longer available] [sorry this link is no longer available] DoE: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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The “Consumers Guide to Buying a Solar Electric System” can be downloaded free. Anyone want to do a similar country or state-specific guide? To find out about state incentives for renewables, check out DoE’s site. All 50 states list their financial and regulatory incentives to promote renewable energies. Natural Resources Canada offers a free software tool, RETScreen, to evaluate renewable energy projects. The software identifies whether the following technologies are cost-effective in a given situation: wind, small hydro, photovoltaic, solar ventilation air heating and biomass heating. Solar water heaters, passive solar heating and ground source heat pumps will be added to the tool in August. Natural Resources Canada: rets@nrcan.gc.ca Download it: [sorry this link is no longer available] [sorry this link is no longer available] DoE: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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The “Consumers Guide to Buying a Solar Electric System” can be downloaded free. Anyone want to do a similar country or state-specific guide? To find out about state incentives for renewables, check out DoE’s site. All 50 states list their financial and regulatory incentives to promote renewable energies. Natural Resources Canada offers a free software tool, RETScreen, to evaluate renewable energy projects. The software identifies whether the following technologies are cost-effective in a given situation: wind, small hydro, photovoltaic, solar ventilation air heating and biomass heating. Solar water heaters, passive solar heating and ground source heat pumps will be added to the tool in August. Natural Resources Canada: rets@nrcan.gc.ca Download it: [sorry this link is no longer available] Consumer’s Guide: [sorry this link is no longer available] DoE: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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