Here’s a great idea that makes so much sense you wonder why it hasn’t happened long before now. Community Solar Farms. Solar panels are appearing on more and more roofs. But what about people who rent, live in a condominium, have shaded roofs, who might move or live in a historic district or home owners association? This is the majority of Americans! In several states, people can own solar panels in a common array called a solar garden,supplying their homes through the existing power grid. The Solar Garden Institute out of Westminster, CO advocates for community based energy development through legislation in several states, and the federal SUN (Solar Uniting…
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Bob’s Ultimate Driving Machine
People with the ability to take something that interests them and turn it into a passion have always fascinated me, and, I might add, raised a certain amount of envy as well. And, even more so, when that passion makes a difference, not only in that person’s life, but in the lives of all of us as well. Quite often, and usually during times of crisis, these people come to our attention because the focus of their passions offer solutions to that very crisis. Enter Bob Simpson, who gave a presentation at a recent Solar Oregon gathering that I attended. He briefly described the conversion of his gasoline powered BMW…
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EcoApprentice Brings College Students and Businesses Together for the Environment
A soon to be launched, interactive website will unite businesses and college students in an ongoing effort to better the environment. EcoApprentice.com is the brainchild of Richard Halpern, a public high school counselor who drew on 15 years of experience in education to combine two of his passions‚ sustainability and career based education. EcoApprentice will foster collaboration between college students and businesses in the implementation of sustainable goals. Participating businesses and nonprofits will post EcoChallenges, while students enrolled in participating colleges and universities will post EcoSolutions. This practical collaboration could lead to earning college credits, career based learning experiences and future employment contacts for the students. Moreover, businesses could gain…
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Life Without Wheels – An Interview with Kevin Pile
Surely you’ve had one of those days when you thought about just giving up owning a car altogether. You know, one of those days when you just found out that the new timing belt’s going to cost you $1800 and while they are in there working on that they might as well do…(you fill in the blank)… for another $….(again, you fill in the blank)…. Or maybe it was the day the monthly payment, the gas bill, the new plates and the insurance premium all had to be paid in the same week. Or even better, maybe you are one of those that is tired of spewing exhaust gases into…
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Purple Wind Turbines May Be Less Likely to Harm Birds
Researchers Chloe Long, Dr. James Flint, and Dr. Paul Lepper, all colleagues at the Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, conducted experiments to learn whether color might play a role in attracting insects to wind turbines. They measured how many insects were attracted to different colored cards laid out in random order next to a 43-foot-tall three-blade wind turbine. The experiments showed that insects are most attracted to yellow followed by white and light gray. The researchers discovered that the color least attractive to insects was purple and reasoned that wind turbines painted purple would likely kill fewer birds and bats: Birds and bats are often hit when…
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The RINSE Project Helps Wineries Reuse Wine Bottles
Cowhorn Winery in Applegate Valley, Oregon has teamed up with Wine Bottle Renew to establish a powerful new bioregional program called ‘The RINSE Project.’ The project cuts per-bottle costs and reduces wineries’ carbon footprints by recycling used wine bottles and preparing them for industry reuse. Some 300 million cases of wine are sold in the United States each year and the wine bottles from about 210 million end up in landfills. As the first Southern Oregon winery to ship used bottles through the RINSE Project, Cowhorn Winery aims to help change that and cut its carbon footprint in the bargain. In addition to cleaning, packing, and shipping wine bottles for…
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There Are Alternatives To This
America’s consumption of gasoline is insatiable, which is, of course, the engine that drives the BPs of the world to search for more crude. Every dollar we spend at the gas pump is another request, from us to them, to go forth and seek more oil even though we all know that means drilling in more challenging areas. For decades there were just too few options for breaking our addiction to oil. But now, thanks to the Nissan Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt, the Ford Focus, the Mitsubishi iMiEV, and others, the electric vehicle (EV) will be available to consumers at the end of this year or in 2011. This means…
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Azure Standard
Celebrating 20 Years The Green Living Journal has been publishing practical information for friends of the environment in Vermont for 20 years and our Portland-Vancouver edition has been up and running for over 2 years now. As part of our celebration of these milestones we felt we needed to publish the stories of some of the other local businesses that are also 20 years old or more. We look forward to the next 20 years and all the exciting changes that are coming. In this issue we asked David Stelzer of Azure Standard to tell us their story. Azure Standard Five generations of our family have been farming in the…
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Fiber Cells + Pokeberries = Solar Power
Here’s an exciting article by Alicia W. Roberts, Wake Forest University and posted on RenewableEnergyWorld.com website. Seems Wake Forest University holds the first patent for fiber-based photovoltaic, or solar cells, granted by the European Patent Office in November. A spinoff company called FiberCell Inc. has received the license to develop manufacturing methods for the new solar cell. And now the scientists at the University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials have used the red dye made from pokeberries to coat their efficient and inexpensive fiber-based solar cells. The dye acts as an absorber, helping the cell’s tiny fibers trap more sunlight to convert into power. These low cost fiber cells…
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SoupCycle Delivers Organic Soup-Based Meals Made from Locally Sourced Foods
A several years ago, a couple of college students made a business plan to make and sell locavore soup and deliver it by bicycle. The students came to Portland and set up their business, SoupCycle. Jed Lazar and Shauna Lambert are the creative cooks and bicycle peddlers behind the food service business. They source local produce whenever possible and actively pursue environmentally sustainable, socially responsible business practices. They do have help with deliveries from fellow SoupCyclers Jen and Matt and they’re avid bicycle advocates twittering support for bike events and get-togethers. Soups and soup meals are available by subscription. Ordering online is easy and both the soup…
