Green Education Prospectus
Green Job Growth
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Green Job Distribution
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Tag Archives: sustainability
Cars Are Getting Cleaner, Faster
Taking a deep breath nowadays might just be a little bit healthier than it was just a few short years ago. It’s common knowledge that cars and transportation are a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and other airborne pollutants. However, according to recent figures new cars today are cleaner than ever before. Of course most consumers expect that cars will get cleaner as time goes on; as part of the natural progression of technology and the demands of continuing legislation regulating vehicle emissions. What might come as a surprise is how quickly the change is happening.
Of course progress is most noticeable among the cleanest of the herd. Average carbon emission figures for the cleanest cars dropped by 21 per cent over the last four years. According to consumer information website Green-Car-Guide.com, cars in the low-emission group emitted an average of 102.8 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven for the 2010 model year (CO2 is considered to be the primary contributor to global warming). In 2006 the same group recorded an average emission of 131.1 g/km. The difference of28.3 g/km represents the 21 per cent drop.
Continue reading
Posted in Car, Energy Efficiency, Green, Sustainable Living
Tagged alternative fuel vehicles, alternative fuels, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, cars, clean cars, clean diesel, eco friendly, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, fuel efficiency, global warming, green, green cars, green economy, green environment, green living, hybrid cars, sustainability, sustainable living, suv
1 Comment
5 More Green Living and Eco Friendly Apps for Iphone and Android
These days our phones are so much more than just simple communication devices. The Apple [Nasdaq: APPL] iPhone and Google [Nasdaq: GOOG] Android platforms are revolutionary. They are our lifelines, and they also provide us with help on things that many people would never imagine a phone can do. With that in mind, here are 5 more green related apps that Eco Institution found when researching our last article.
Carbon Tracker – The Carbon Tracker app is a GPS-enabled program that helps users to actually calculate and account for their carbon footprint from daily commuting, business trips and vacations. The cool thing is that you can actually set goals for maximum emissions per month and then check up on your progress. It can also be networked for use by more than one person for businesses and universities. Continue reading
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Green, Sustainable Living, green education
Tagged android, apple, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, eco friendly, energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, Google Inc, green, green environment, green living, iphone, iphone 4, smart phones, sustainability, sustainable living
13 Comments
Controversial Waste-Burning Renewable Energy Powerplant Moves Forward in Baltimore’s Fairfield Neighborhood
At the site of a former agricultural chemical processing facility in south Baltimore Maryland, Energy Answers of Albany, N.Y. is working on a different kind of renewable energy electrical generation facility. The power source? Trash. That’s right, garbage – the company hopes to take refuse off the curb and bring it right back to you through the meter. The generator would produce a moderately sized 120MW of electricity directly to the grid plus steam heat available locally to industrial consumers by burning up to 4,000 tons of garbage a day.
The project is classified as a renewable energy venture because it won’t be using fossil fuels to generate power. Because of that it is eligible for lucrative federal funding. Instead of functioning in the capacity of a normal incinerator, the facility will use Processed Refuse Fuel (PRF) which is essentially sorted and shredded residential and commercial garbage. The PRF burns cleaner and hotter than refuse that is used as fuel in traditional incinerators. The boiler will also use moderate amounts of Tire Derived Fuel (TDF) because of the high energy density of the material. Continue reading
Posted in Green, Renewable Energy
Tagged american recovery and reinvestment act, baltimore, carbon dioxide emissions, clean energy, clean energy jobs, department of energy, eco friendly, electricity, employment, energy, Energy Answers, Fairfield, green, green collar jobs, green energy, green jobs, incinerator, jobs, leed, recovery act, recycling, renewable energy, renewable energy companies, sustainability, tire derived fuel
1 Comment
Watchdog Group Releases Latest Scorecard of State Energy-Efficiency Rankings
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released their fourth annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard last week. The poll is a broad, comprehensive analysis of a variety of different factors that contribute to progress in increasing overall energy efficiency including information about residential, commercial, industrial and transportation energy use in each state. It looks at laws, policies, programs and incentives that residents are exposed to concerning energy use and how that successful they are at increasing efficiency and reducing waste. According to their website, the ACEEE is an independent, non-profit watchdog group that is focused on the advancement of energy efficiency as a means of promoting economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection.
The 2010 poll put California in the number one spot for the 4th year running. The state has occupied the top spot since the ACEEE began publishing its findings in 2006. According to information in the report, California nabbed the top spot because of its efforts in consumer energy efficiency programs and incentives, utility decoupling, alternative business models, reward structures for consumer efficiency and policies establishing efficiency as a priority resource.
Continue reading
GroundedPower Combines Home Energy Tech with Social Media Tools to Help Consumers Rein in Electricity Use
As the technology has become more accessible and cheaper, a number of companies have brought home energy displays to the market that are designed to help consumers track electricity use in their homes in real time. However, few of their offerings have been quite as promising as the new power management suite being released by Massachusetts based company GroundedPower.
Power monitoring devices have seen increased popularity recently as utility companies are making the transition to smartgrid configurations. Many power companies that are deploying smart grid technology have begun to supply power meters to their customers as a way of helping them to keep tabs on energy use. However the concern is that customers may not remain committed to using the monitors once the novelty of having the device wears off and they will fall back into old patterns. Continue reading
The Future of Solar Renewables: New Quantum – Dot Photovoltaics
Solar power has always been the renewable energy source that captures the imagination. Free, instant electricity with no moving parts and nothing to wear out –you just point your panel at the sun and plug in. It’s such a wonderful concept that it’s always been in the back of every renewable energy ecogeek’s mind. On top of that, it’s a commonly quoted figure that the sun blasts the earth with enough energy in an hour to produce a year’s worth of electricity. It all sounds very promising and seductive; the problem is that solar panels just aren’t very efficient. In fact most modern solar panels are only able to convert around 25% of the energy that hits them into electricity. That’s not very much and because of that solar panels just haven’t been very successful when it comes to development as a means of mass power generation.
But wait – there’s more! That’s not the only thing that is having a negative effect on the popularity of solar power. The other issue (and probably the killing stroke) is expense. Solar panels use components and materials (gold, to name one) that are extremely expensive. Because of that, the panels are very costly. The truth of the matter is that not everyone is committed enough to alternative energy that they have desire to shell out thousands of dollars to purchase a machine that only does its job at ¼ to 1/3 efficiency. Continue reading
Green Automaker Standings Announced for 2010
As the concern over global warming and its connection to vehicle emissions has increased over the past few years, alternative fuel vehicles and other green automobiles are now becoming more popular. Cars have been singled out as one of the major contributors to air pollution, so to minimize the effects that cars have on the environment different car manufacturers have made varying versions of their own green autos. This year the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) awarded Honda Motor Co. [NYSE: HMC] as the “Greenest Automaker” for the fifth consecutive year for its effort to reduce carbon emissions.
Toyota and Hyundai were tied at second place. Honda beat them by only one point. Toyota almost made it to the top this year but lacked effort in reducing carbon emissions. Hyundai’s fleet showed considerable improvements in fuel efficiency which put it in a contender spot. In order to determine the rankings, the top eight car manufacturers’ average per-mile smog pollution and global warming emissions of its vehicle fleet were studied. The top eight car manufacturers are Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Continue reading
Mobile Phone Manufacturing is Getting Greener
When asked to name one thing that they can’t live without, many people have the same answer: my mobile phone. Mobile phones have become more than just useful gadgets these days. Plain and simple, make our lives easier. From making a last minute call for pizza or working on the go, to engaging yourself in a social media network or sending that last-minute email from the train, mobile phones are part of our lives. And because many people find it important to own a mobile phone, reports have indicated that in 2009, mobile phone ownership exceeded 1 billion units. And of course just like anything else, increasing mobile phone use and manufacturing has had environmental impacts.
Of course making phone calls through our mobile phones uses electricity, which contributes to the production of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is the chemical largely responsible for global warming. So just like any other appliance, the more hours you spend making a phone call using your mobile phone adds up to the amount of CO2 added in the atmosphere. Continue reading
“Carboholics” (Carbon-Loving) US & China are Unlikely Marriage for Energy Efficiency Project
The saying “two heads are better than one” comes to mind when trying to work through a particularly difficult crossword puzzle; but how universal is this old adage? Are say, two countries better than one? Our leadership seems to be hedging their bets towards the conclusion that this is in fact the case. In line with this spirit of collaboration comes the latest in a series of interesting (and sometimes unlikely) pairings in the environmental research and development field. Berkeley Lab has been chosen to lead a cooperative US-China project called the Clean Energy Resource Center (CERC).
The project was conceived in 2009, beginning with a meeting between United States President Barack Obama and President Hun Jintao of China. The meeting was held in Beijing to establish a basis for the cooperative effort, which will work to develop efficient energy-saving buildings and cost-effective / waste reducing construction processes in the next five years. It is a dubious mating for the more cynical among us, especially considering the United States’ seemingly uncontrollable construction fetish (for wastefully assembled “throwaway buildings” which are simply replaced every 10 or 15 years or whenever they go out of style) and China’s love for all things carbon (if you recall the vicious smog that threatened the health of Olympic Athletes during the Beijing Summer Games and the mysterious “air scrubbers” that the Chinese government was supposedly using to keep the rampant pollution under control). Continue reading
Posted in Green, Green Government, Sustainable Living
Tagged berkely lab, california, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, china, clean energy resource center, eco friendly, electricity, energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, hun jintao, obama, sustainability
Leave a comment
Important Trends in Alternative Energy
Breakdown Of Alternative Energy Use in the US
Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released their most recent report regarding the consumption of alternative energy in the United States. While the nation’s complete dependence on fossil fuels is readily apparent in the report, there are signs of progress as well. Nationwide, renewable energy sources accounted for over 7% of the total energy consumption. Within that 7% the main type of renewable energy that was consumed was biomass, meaning the burning of fuels produced from renewable sources such as ethanol production and biodiesel accounting for 52% of the total renewable energy consumed. The biomass sector has seen substantial growth, more than doubling its market share in the period between 2004-2008. The second leading source of renewable energy consumed was hydroelectric power which accounted for 34%. Hydroelectric energy production has remained steady (with minor fluctuations due to water levels) at between 2.2 and 3.6 quadrillion Btu/yr for about 20 years. The leading states as far as hydroelectric power generation were Washington, Oregon, New York, California, Montana and Idaho, although there was some growth in Alabama, Arkansas and New York. Since plans for the construction of new dams is limited, it can be expected that these figures will continue basically unchanged.
Continue reading
Posted in Green, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy
Tagged alta wind energy center, american recovery and reinvestment act, california, clean energy, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, electricity, future of energy investment, renewable energy, solar, solar energy, solar panels, solar power, sustainability, types of renewable energy, wind energy, wind turbines
Leave a comment
