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Shades of Greensburg

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:30:14 +0000

Twister, wall cloud, cyclone, call it what you want, on May 4th 2007 one of the highest recorded winds ever produced from a tornado struck the small town of Greensburg, Kansas. The storm was nearly off the scale, a class EF-5 tornado, called by the National Severe Storms Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The hurricane like winds well over 210 mph, leveled 95% of the town structures and took the lives of eleven people. That was about two years ago, now the town is living up to its name. The rebirth of the farming community has taken a green approach of sustainability with a renewable sense of energy production and conservation. From platinum LEED’s , (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), certified public buildings, a futuristic Arts Center with solar panels, wind turbines and a green glass facade to city hybrid fleet vehicles, Greensburg is setting an example of green collar mindfulness Al Gore would be jealous of. A steady parade of journalists, The Discovery Channel, bloggers of all shapes and forms and also your environmentally concerned tourists flood Greensburg to see what the earth friendly buzz is about. The call for an unconventional energy path is getting louder with every rebuilt home using bamboo flooring to solar panels. The newly under-construction city hall is making use of sustainable technologies in tandem with the application of recycled materials for rebuilding the public recreation areas fallen victim to the killer tornado. We all need to give Greensburg two very high green thumbs-up for showing us all an alternative path to follow.

Let There Be LED’s

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:44:31 +0000

Nano tech, the teeny, tiny, hard working particles only visible by microscopy, has given humanity the gift of LED lighting. Next time you stop or motor past a traffic light, give thanks to the Gods of nanotechnology. The solid-state pleasing lights only consumes one-tenth the energy required to power an old fashion incandescent bulb, and will last for 20 years. Thomas Alva Edison maybe spinning in his grave over that one. The high tech light source is slowly making its way to the shelves of your local hardware store, but according to The New York Times, the mass rush of the pint size power misers into consumer hands is running into technical problems due to inadequate output levels compared to conventional fluorescent tubes. The Big Round Cubatron, a dynamic luminous sculpture using close to 20,000 LED’s, can be powered by solar charged batteries in the evening hours, thus proving the low wattage draw from the futuristic light source, although the number of LED bulbs to illuminate a given space can be numerous. The traveling art exhibit is one way to bring awareness to the development of LED’s for “real world” results and help put us all on a brighter path when it comes to energy efficient lighting.

Slab Happy

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:44:14 +0000

Unplugged and far off the grid, the residents of Slab City, aka Slabbers, make their home on the far eastern side of the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley of California. The former World War II military base, (Camp Dunlap), is home to over 500 residents, (according to the Slab City Newsletter), mainly during the winter. An eclectic mix of tenants from snowbirds squatting in their $200.000 RV’s to footloose, tent packing, hitch hikers make this 141 feet below sea level desert their home. The nearby Chocolate Mountains echo the blasts of USMC aircraft pulverizing the surrounding hills with an assortment of munitions during practice runs for the distant landscapes of the Middle East. The unfazed Slabbers have grown accustom to the almost daily thunder under clear skies. With no rent due and zero utility bills to worry about, solar panels, solar ovens and other off-grid methods are used to ease the wild west environ. The other side of the coin, no trash or waste disposal services available for Slab City residents, they have to resorted to burning, dumping or hauling. A long term air quality and ecological challenge, even for the crusty, off-grid nomads and long term Slabbers.

SoCal Solar

admin — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:30:27 +0000

It never rains in Southern California, maybe thats a good thing. The popular electric utility, Southern California Edison will be installing the largest rooftop solar array by a private enterprise in the country, according to The Los Angeles Times. This comes with the blessings and prodding of Gov. Arnold Schnwarzenegger, who often displays shades of Al Gore, as one of the greenest public servants the Republican party has ever ridiculed.
California being the most populous state in the union boasting the fifth largest GDP in the world, at about 1.7 trillion is trying to reach the goal of providing 20% of its electricity needs through renewable means with solar and wind leading the charge by 2010. Now that’s putting energy needs where the sun shines.

Gore’s Grid

admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:58:25 +0000

The timing couldn’t be worse, American iconic legends from Detroit’s Big Three to small town governments are asking for a hand out, the bailout business is booming. Al Gore is asking for public support to build a national grid fed by renewable energy streams, to power America and ween the population from fossil fuel dependency. The national grid could pay for itself in less than four years, to the tune of $400 billion, since it currently costs $120 billion per year to stoke the coal fired and natural gas driven turbines to power all our gadgets and keep the midnight oil burning. If we can send the proverbial man to the moon in ten years we can certainly have energy independence and cleaner skies in less than a decade, to do so we must all pitch in together and send foreign oil where it belongs and get plugged in Gore’s green grid. Can we afford not to?

I can drive 55

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:16:40 +0000

If Sammy Hagar could be in our driving shoes at this moment, he would most likely be considerate of posted speed limits as the price of gasoline reached levels unseen since the 1970’s oil embargo this past Spring. Currently with the economic malaise affecting every corner of the globe, consumers still need to be aware of the pain at the pump.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientist, driving at 65 mph or below reduces gas consumption by 30% on highway driving, giving the consumer a savings between 30 to 75 cents per gallon. You only loose about 10 to 15 minutes of travel time by slowing down to 65 mph on any giving commute. Not to mention fewer emissions being spewed adding to the climate change challenge. Plan your trips and leave your home earlier to make it on time to work or play. So Sammy, slow down, we can’t afford not to drive 55.

The Greening of the American Work Force

admin — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:15:32 +0000

From erratic and unpredictable weather patterns, contaminated watersheds affecting potable water supplies and the growing urban air contamination causing respiratory problems in children and the elderly. A new workforce will be needed to address the rapidly changing concerns of a society undergoing the challenges of fewer natural resources coupled with an increasing global demand. Green Collar workers will be needed to begin a new era of earth friendly stewardship with energy conservation and green power generation as paramount to a sustainable society. President Barack Obama is counting on passing a bold, new initiative to employ 2.5 million workers in the next two years, many of those will be rolling up their sleeves and working along with green technologies pushed by Al Gore, Dennis Kucinich, and other green-minded reformers. Let us not only change our light bulbs to compact fluorescent, but also politically support those on a local, state and federal level, the ones committed to a greener place for all to live.