A Bit From The Green Glossary For Everyday People:
Eco-footprint - Measures how much land and water area a human requires to produce the resources he consumes and to absorb his wastes. It compares human demand with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate. Estimating how much of the Earth (or how many planet Earths) it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle. Example: For 2005, humanity’s total ecological footprint was estimated at 1.3 planet Earths - in other words, humanity uses ecological services 1.3 times as fast as Earth can renew them. If you want to calculate your own eco-footprint, try this site …
In 1800, Alessandro Volta made the first battery by layering plates of silver and zinc with blotting paper that had been soaked in salt water, he called it a voltaic pile. Each layer in the pile increased the battery’s voltage. In 1859, a French physicist named Gaston Plante created the lead acid cell. It later became the world’s first rechargeable battery.
Lithium-ion batteries (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) are a type of rechargeable battery in which a lithium ion moves between the anode and cathode. The lithium ion moves from the anode to the cathode during discharge and in reverse, from the cathode to the anode, when charging. Lithium-ion batteries can be formed into a wide variety of shapes and sizes so as to efficiently fill available space in the devices they power. They’re generally much lighter than other types of rechargeable batteries of the same size. (more…)
OK, environmentally concerned restaurant people, listen up! Been pulling your hair out over what to do with all that used vegetable oil you accumulate every day? Knowing it’s most likely being disposed of in landfills or wastewater treatment plants. Well cheer up Baldy, because here’s a solution invented just for you (well, and the planet).
The Vegawatt system uses waste vegetable oil from any food service operation as a fuel to generate on-site electricity and hot water, saving the restaurant thousands of dollars as well as providing a clean, renewable source of energy.
A Vegawatt system contains more than just power generation equipment. (more…)
At the risk of being labeled a MITophile, I must admit these clever people never cease to amaze me. For those losing sleep over how to store all the solar energy we can gather in the daylight to use at night, well I give you MIT……
Donald Sadoway, a materials chemistry professor at MIT, has developed a liquid battery that could store enough electricity to allow cities to run on solar power at night. This promising storage option is a new kind of battery made with all-liquid active materials. Prototypes suggest that these liquid batteries will cost less than a third as much as today’s best batteries and could last significantly longer.
The battery is unlike any other. The electrodes are molten metals, and the electrolyte that conducts current between them is a molten salt. This results in an unusually resilient device that can quickly absorb large amounts of electricity. The electrodes can operate at electrical currents “tens of times higher than any [battery] that’s ever been measured. No one had been able to get their arms around the problem of energy storage on a massive scale for the power grid,” says Sadoway. “We’re literally looking at a battery capable of storing the grid.” What’s more, the materials are cheap, and the design allows for simple manufacturing. (more…)
Ok….but, don’t get overly excited. Planet Green doesn’t start running the new episodes until May. In the meantime………..
Just to show you how much Greensburg is growing, here is a run down of permits being issued:
Permits Issued to Date (1/16/2009) :
Building or Repair Permits (Commercial, Residential, and Accessory Structures): 512
New Homes: 179
Accessory Structures: 111
Permanent Commercial Structures: 66
RVs: 24
Total Permits Issued (Includes multiple permits on a single structure): 963
What a way to start the new year out!
Univ. of Colorado's donation
The University of Colorado (CU) donated their winning home from the 2005 Solar Decathlon to GreenTown and the community of Greensburg. (more…)
EPA Put Environmental Fugitives on Most-Wanted List
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is starting a different kind of most-wanted list - for
environmental fugitives accused of assaulting nature.
These fugitives allegedly smuggled chemicals that eat away the Earth’s protective ozone
layer, dumped hazardous waste into oceans and rivers and trafficked in polluting cars.
And now the government wants help in tracking them down.
In its own version of the FBI most-wanted list, and the first to focus on environmental
crimes, the Environmental Protection Agency is unveiling a roster of 23 fugitives,
complete with mug shots and descriptions of the charges on its Web site: www.epa.gov/fugitives
A top EPA enforcement official said the people on the list represent the “brazen universe
of people that are evading the law.” Many face years in prison and some charges could (more…)
Their mission stays the same, as they ensure that the cooperative spirit remains
embedded within what they mean when they say green: social and economic justice,
community and environmental health, people and the planet.
Today’s interconnected crises (economic, climate, food, water, health) require
solutions from an economy that works for both people and the planet — which means
that their work together is more important that ever.
For the past 25 years, together with their members and allies, they’ve worked to
build the green economy into what it is today, and for the next 25 years, they’ll interconnect all of their green economy work with two overarching goals: (more…)
I was going to make this a short and sweet New Year’s message, then I heard this
news and …. well, pardon me while I digress from the holiday message a moment.
Today Lake Superior State University released it’s annual list of ‘Banished Words’.
Number 1 on the list is ‘GREEN’, AND any variations of the word. Number 2 on the list
is ‘CARBON FOOTPRINT’ and/or ‘CARBON OFFSET’.
‘GREEN’, is an easy generic word for anything having to do with healing and (more…)
Eco-footprint - Measures how much land and water area a human requires to produce the resources he consumes and to absorb his wastes. It compares human demand with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate. Estimating how much of the Earth (or how many planet Earths) it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle. Example: For 2005, humanity’s total ecological footprint was estimated at 1.3 planet Earths - in other words, humanity uses ecological services 1.3 times as fast as Earth can renew them. If you want to calculate your own eco-footprint, try this site … 
Lithium-ion batteries (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) are a type of rechargeable battery in which a lithium ion moves between the anode and cathode. The lithium ion moves from the anode to the cathode during discharge and in reverse, from the cathode to the anode, when charging. Lithium-ion batteries can be formed into a wide variety of shapes and sizes so as to efficiently fill available space in the devices they power. They’re generally much lighter than other types of rechargeable batteries of the same size. 
