Published on May 7th, 2008
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If you think the virtual, online world helps reduce energy consumption in the real world (a topic we’ve touched on before here at Green Options Media), think again: a new study by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company provides scary insights into how Internet computing is devouring more and more power and spewing out more and more greenhouse gases.
Based on data from the Uptime Institute, a technology consulting company based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the McKinsey report finds that, between 2000 and 2006, the amount of energy needed to power data centers doubled, and that consumption is likely to double again by 2012. In the U.S. alone, we would need to build 10 new power plants by 2010 just to meet the growing energy needs of this country’s data centers.
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Published on May 6th, 2008
The U.S.’s rush to grow corn for fuel has already been blamed for rising food costs that are pricing the world’s poor into hunger and malnutrition. But the high cost of corn is having another unintended consequence: a plunge in biofuel plants’ profit margins.
About one-fourth of all corn grown in the U.S. is now cultivated for fuel rather than for food. Meanwhile, the growing demand for both food and fuel is driving commodity prices for crops like corn to record highs. That means, even with the federal government’s generous subsidies for ethanol production, today’s biofuel profits aren’t what they used to be.
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Published on May 1st, 2008
Inspiring eco-entreprenuers and would-be B&B owners everywhere, the Venice Beach Eco Cottages are the new cool spot to stay on sizzling Venice Beach. Their tagline says it all: sustainable, environmentally friendly, gezellig - a chill-sounding Dutch word meaning a cozy, relaxing, and warmly enjoyable environment.
These one-time crack houses were renovated by Cynthia Foster and Karel Samson to become 450 square feet of sustainable, solar-powered beach heaven. Each bungalow has been rebuilt using green materials, like reused wood and recycled denim insulation. Inside, each of the three cottages sports organic linens and mattresses, repurposed furniture, and energy efficient appliances.
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Published on April 30th, 2008
When is a housing bargain not a bargain? When you add in the costs of getting from home to work, school, the stores and elsewhere.
Seems logical, right? But knowing how your transportation costs can affect your decision on where to live isn’t easy. Fortunately, along comes a new online tool that makes it considerably easier.
The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index lets you see which parts of the U.S. are truly affordable when you factor in both housing and transportation costs. The index lets you zoom in and explore 52 metropolitan areas across the country and, to be honest, it’s both fascinating and a little addictive.
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Published on April 29th, 2008
Liberal arts college Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine, recently announced that it will purchase green power from the 42-MW Mars Hill wind project. Owned by UPC Wind, the Northern Maine-based Mars Hill wind project will provide Bowdoin with renewable energy certificates (RECs) that will offset approximately 70% of campus electricity use over the next three years.
The voluntary REC purchases from UPC Wind will put Bowdoin at an impressive 100% green power usage level—well above the the requirements of Maine’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
“Our primary focus has been and will continue to be switching to lower carbon fuels and increased energy efficiency, but as we seek to become carbon neutral, purchasing offsets are a necessity,” explains S. Catherine Longley, Bowdoin’s Sr. V.P. for Finance and Administration & Treasurer and chair of the College’s climate commitment group. “We are excited that the Mars Hill wind project allows us to procure wind RECs locally.”
Of course, this isn’t Bowdoin’s first step toward a more ecologically responsible approach to the world. In 2006 the college signed the Maine Governor’s Carbon Challenge agreeing to reduce emissions to 11 percent below 2002 levels by 2010. They easily surpassed that goal in 2007.
Bowdoin also joined the EPA Green Power Partner Program in 2006, and the recent move to 100% green power ensures that they will remain in the EPA Program through 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 28th, 2008
Here’s an idea even the most un-green person could warm up to: a four-day work week.
Several communities across the U.S. are considering four-day work weeks for government employees as a way to reduce commuting demands and gas consumption. The various efforts have typically been inspired by today’s record-high fuel prices, but the idea promises other benefits too: lower greenhouse gas emissions, happier and more well-rested employees and cost savings elsewhere (i.e., less energy to cool/heat and light offices, reduced need for work-time child-care, etc.).
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Published on April 25th, 2008
Students in a horticultural technology class at the University of New Hampshire’s Thompson School for Applied Science completed a final project for last week’s Earth Day celebration that brings learning outside of the conventional classroom.
Associate professor Dana Sansom’s grounds management course installed sustainable landscaping around the university’s Putnam Hall, designed to provide low-maintenance beauty throughout the year. Additionally, the landscaped area will be used as a living classroom for the school’s future horticulture students.
Thompson School student Jim Lynn, who designed the landscape with students Henry Hess and Katie Leipold worked with nine other students over the course of the past year to develop and implement the project. The site, which had been largely neglected for a decade, was overgrown and unkempt. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 19th, 2008
All of us here at EcoLocalizer will be working to keep you apprised of what’s happening across the U.S. on Tuesday, April 22 … Earth Day. But we know we can’t cover it all, which is why we’re asking you to let us know what’s going on in your community.
So if you haven’t seen an event in your area posted yet here on EcoLocalizer, now’s your chance to let your neighborhood, city, county, state and nation know: please use the comments section below to provide the particulars of what you’ll be doing on Earth Day, or what special activities or programs will be taking place in your neck of the woods.
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Published on April 17th, 2008
AltBuild, the Alternative Building Expo sponsored by the City of Santa Monica, CA, returns for its 5th year on April 25-26, 2008.
Designed to promote green building, alternative energy, and sustainable technologies and practices, the Expo brings together all members of the building and construction community. This includes architects, contractors, designers, government representatives, as well as the interested public. And really, aren’t we all interested these days?
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Published on April 14th, 2008
Recycled cell phones as art.
Boston, Mass.—In yesterday’s Boston Globe, I came across an article in the Lifestyle/Green Living section that really caught my eye…and my ear. An art student from Allston, Mass. has an installation in Boston’s School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) that consists entirely of discarded cellular phones.
Rob Pettit, 26, has been spending months collecting, sorting and arranging old cell phones, even using their ring tones and camera shots in some of his pieces.
“It’s just interesting to see what an explosion of products [this is], and realizing that every time you get one, it’s on the verge of being replaced by another,” Pettit told the Boston Globe. “There’s an estimated half a billion cellphones just sitting in people’s desk drawers.” Read the rest of this entry »
