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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category

Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College’s Impressive Solar Array

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

Bowdoin’s new solar panel complex — which includes a field of panels at the former Navy base and panels atop the Watson, Farley and Greason athletic buildings — went online in October. More than six times the size of the next largest existing solar project in Maine, this system will provide about 8% of the College’s electricity. SolarCity will install an additional 12-kW system on the new residence hall at 52 Harpswell Road later this year.

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Green Highway Snow and Ice Control Cuts the Chemicals

Monday, November 24th, 2014
Xianming Shi with the industrial size mixer he uses to concoct green deicers and ice-free pavement. (Photo by Rebecca Phillips, University Communications)

By Rebecca Phillips, University Communications, Washington State University PULLMAN, Wash. – Ice-free pavement. “Smart snowplows.” Vegetable juice ice-melt. Cold-climate researchers at Washington State University are clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand and chemicals typically used for highway snow and ice control. As a nation, “we are kind of salt addicted, like […]

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Star Power: The Growing Role of Solar Energy in America

Thursday, November 20th, 2014
Figure ES-1. Solar Electricity Technical Potential Compared with Electricity Consumption

ENVIRONMENT AMERICA
Nationally, solar PV capacity increased at a rate of 77 percent per year from 2010 to 2013. If solar installations continue to increase at less than one-third of that annual rate of growth (22 percent) between 2013 and 2030, America would have enough solar energy to generate 10 percent of its electricity.

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Climate Change & Resilience: Recommendations to the President

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014
High tide flooding in Broward County, Florida. Photo Credit: Paul Krashefski.

PRESIDENT’S STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LEADERS TASK FORCE ON CLIMATE PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE
At state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, leaders are making bold decisions on ways to invest in more resilient infrastructure, revise land use, update building codes, and adjust natural resource management and other practices to improve the resilience of their communities to climate impacts. The Federal Government has a critical role to play in supporting these efforts by ensuring that Federal policies and programs incorporate climate change, incentivize and remove barriers to community resilience, and provide the information and assistance communities need to understand and prepare for climate risks.

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Johnson State College, Vermont: Bringing Solar Energy to Campus

Wednesday, November 12th, 2014

With the new solar farm on campus, you can look forward to an even brighter future.

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Chicago: Waste Management – Unrealized Environmental & Economic Benefits for Chicagoland

Wednesday, November 5th, 2014
Figure 1. Average Total Costs of All Waste Management Components for 20 Municipalities in the Chicago Metro Region

DELTA INSTITUTE
The Chicago Metropolitan Region’s waste management statistics lag behind national averages. Currently, Cook County residents produce 7 pounds of waste per day compared to the average American who generates 4.4 pounds of waste per day, and Cook County’s 29% (excluding Chicago) recycling rate trails the national average of 34%. Concerned by Cook County’s above-average waste generation and below-average recycling rate, Delta Institute sought to determine the existing conditions of the region’s waste management system and its associated environmental and economic impacts.

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Clean Economy Rising: Wind Powers Michigan’s Energy Industry

Monday, November 3rd, 2014
Renewable Electricity Power Plants, More than 1 Megawatt Capacity

THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS
Michigan’s 2008 Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act established a renewable portfolio standard, which requires electricity providers to generate 10 percent of their sales from renewable resources by 2015. The standard also allows electric utilities to use energy efficiency and other advanced energy technologies to fulfill part of the requirement.

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Making the Grade: How Investments in America’s Infrastructure Benefit Our Economy and Environment

Monday, October 27th, 2014
FIGURE 1. ASCE Grades, Annual Investment, and Investment Needed, Billions

BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE
Much of the physical infrastructure of the United States is in a state of disrepair. As documented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in their 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, our roads, transit systems, dams, and airports need billions of dollars of investment to return them to adequacy. Our water, air, and land are threatened by aging systems designed to provide safe drinking water, handle hazardous waste, treat wastewater, and manage our solid waste. Half of our schools were built to educate the generation that is now retiring, and our electric grid is widely recognized as being incapable of meeting the needs of our changing energy system.

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Natural Defenses from Hurricanes and Floods: Protecting America’s Communities and Ecosystems in an Era of Extreme Weather

Tuesday, October 21st, 2014
Figure 1. Natural and nature-based features at a glance.

NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION
This report represents a collaborative effort of the National Wildlife Federation, Allied World Assurance Company, and Earth Economics to address the mounting risks of flooding and hurricanes to U.S. communities. Specifically, this report focuses on the U.S. coasts and coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico and the nation’s extensive network of rivers and streams –places where millions of Americans live and work. It asks whether federal, state, and local officials are paying enough attention to the growing threats of floods and hurricanes across the country and whether they are using the policy tools at their disposal to protect people and property endangered by these potentially-catastrophic natural hazards.

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Streetfilms: Pittsburgh Mayor Boosts Cycling & Livability

Wednesday, October 15th, 2014

Mayor Bill Peduto is putting the rest of the United States on notice. His city is on the rise and he fully intends on implementing bicycling, walking and complete streets policies that enhance and make his city more attractive to young talent and business. For the first time in over half a century, Pittsburgh is expecting an increase in residents as the trend in the number of people moving back to cities grows.

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