Here is the article on how monstrous the Greensburg tornado really was.

Greensburg study finds that storm contained 22 tornadoes

By STAN FINGER
The Wichita Eagle

The first in-depth study of the Greensburg, Kan., tornado has uncovered new
details about one of the strongest and most dramatic tornado outbreaks ever
recorded.

“There are a lot of things in that storm that made me go, ‘Wow,’” said Les Lemon,
a co-author of the study and research associate meteorologist with the Cooperative
Institute in Mesoscale Meteorological Studies at the University of Oklahoma. (more…)

(Silver Spring, Md.) – Planet Green, Discovery Communications’ multiplatform environmental initiative and leading non-profit environmental organization the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today announced plans to join forces on a broad range of activities and initiatives including grassroots community outreach, public affairs and content creation.

“NRDC has taken a leadership role across the spectrum of environmental stewardship, from the water we drink to the fuels we use, to the protection of our fragile ecosystems,” said Clark Bunting, President Discovery Emerging Networks. “NRDC is an important addition to Planet Green’s distinguished group of partners as we work together to inform, engage and inspire people to create a positive and lasting legacy for the planet.”

“Discovery’s Planet Green has become a critical voice for the solutions to our
most pressing environmental challenges,” said Frances Beinecke, NRDC president. (more…)

Energy efficiency boom leads 9 clean technology predictions for 2009

SHANGHAI, China, December 4th, 2008 – Continuing an annual tradition, the Cleantech
Group™, founders of the cleantech investment category and providers of leading global
market research and financial services for the cleantech ecosystem, today issued nine
predictions for clean technology markets in 2009, forecasting progress in some sectors,
but delays and setbacks in others.

A reflection of undercurrents in the global clean technology category from the company’s
conversations with industry and government leadership worldwide, the nine predictions
include a global focus on energy efficiency as a job creation and economic engine, and an
increase in valuations of global wind companies. (more…)

Here is a little item I found wandering around and thought it was unique.

The Spanish town of Santa Coloma de Gramenet has placed more than 450 solar
panels on top of mausoleums at its cemetery to generate power, it emerged
yesterday. The crowded, working-class town outside Barcelona decided that
flat, open, sun-drenched land was so scarce that the graveyard was the only
viable spot to site the panels, which provide enough electricity to power 60
homes. They rest on mausoleums holding five layers of coffins. The idea was
a tough sell, said Antoni Fogue, a city council member. But town hall and
cemetery officials waged a campaign to explain the project and the panels
were erected at a low angle, to be as unobtrusive as possible.”This
installation is compatible with respect for the deceased and for the families
of the deceased,” Fogue said.

Necessity is the mother of invention OR don’t just lay there, make yourself
useful!

Give this a try…. Internet Marketing Crash Course

Mariah Power, the manufacturer of the Windspire®, a residential and commercial wind power appliance, was recognized in “Best of What’s New” in the green tech category by Popular Science in its December 2008 issue.

Windspire turbine

The Windspire is a 30-foot tall, propeller-free, vertical-axis wind turbine designed for harnessing wind power in urban, suburban and rural locations for both residential and commercial use. Each year, Popular Science reviews thousands of new products and innovations and chooses the top 100 winners across 11 categories for inclusion in its annual “Best of What’s New” issue, the best-read issue of the year. To win, a product or technology must represent a significant step forward in its category.

This award comes on the heels of the company’s announcement of its first volume manufacturing facility in Michigan that will be up and running next year, and the first multi-unit commercial installation of six Windspires at Devon Bank the first “green bank” in the Chicago, Illinois area. (more…)

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr’s
office, the checkout girl at the market, everyone you run across.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside
your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic
button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue
to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home (more…)

The Forests of the Earth are the lungs of the planet.  Today we need them more
than ever to breath in and absorb the excess emissions of carbon dioxide.

As CO2 levels in the atmosphere are rising, the forests of the world are falling.
20,000 square miles, the size of W. Virginia are lost every year due to
deforestation.  Which accounts for a forth of all excess green house emissions.

We need to reverse the cycle.  To replace the worlds disappearing forests, we
need to replant an area twice the size of Manhattan every single day.  Today’s (more…)