News: Federal flood insurance program; Turning a mall into a walkable community; Electric cars for power storage; Solar power poised for a huge year

> Federal Flood Insurance Program Drowning In Debt. Who Will Pay?: "Millions of American property owners get flood insurance from the federal government, and a lot of them get a hefty discount. But over the past decade, the government has paid out huge amounts of money after floods, and the flood insurance program is deeply in the red."

> How A Giant Mall Parking Lot Turned Into A Park And A Walkable Community: "Instead of paving paradise for a parking lot, this Seattle shopping center is showing how America's suburbs are changing: There are now nearly 400 LEED-certified apartments going up where cars once parked."

> The Dramatic Makeover of New York's Streets Under Bloomberg: "Filmmaker Clarence Eckerson has been documenting conditions on the city's streets since the 1990s, and he has a huge archive of footage. Here, he juxtaposes images of key New York locations before, during, and after radical redesigns that took place under the jurisdiction of the Bloomberg administration’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. Eckerson shows the transformation of Times Square, Herald Square, the Brooklyn waterfront, the Queensboro Bridge, and several other formerly car-choked areas that are now havens for human beings on foot and on bicycles."

Image: Evan Krape

Image: Evan Krape

> Electric cars may hold solution for power storage: "In a Delaware pilot project, electricity is stored in and retrieved from the batteries of idle vehicles. Car owners would be paid."

> Meanwhile, Ford creates plug-in car that runs on sunlight: "Ford is going to show a concept version of its electric plug-in hybrid C-Max crossover at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that comes with a giant solar panel on the roof. As a result, Ford says the C-Max Solar Energi Concept can get the same performance from collecting a day's worth of sunlight as from plugging in its regular C-Max Energi into a socket. The automaker estimates that the sun could power 75% of a typical drivers' trips in the concept."

> Solar Power Poised For A Huge Year In 2014: "The equivalent of a 5-megawatt solar farm every hour of every day – that’s how much new solar photovoltaic power is being installed around the world right now, according to a leading industry analyst, and it’s a surge that will help the industry to a mammoth total for 2014."

> 2013's 12 Greatest Strides Towards Reducing Food Waste: "The year of 2013 has been an exciting one for the future of food. Amidst moving to ban trans fats and demonstrating the threats of routinely using antibiotics in animal feed, the country woke up to the opportunity and moral obligation to waste less food. "

> The 2014 Clean Energy Resolution: "The most commonly made resolutions focus on health and well-being -- to stop smoking, eat better, get more exercise, spend more time with family and friends, and so forth. Sometimes they focus on more outward ambitions: to change jobs, get out of debt, or pick up a new hobby. But how many people make resolutions aimed at the kind of changes that are not just best for themselves, but best for everyone? Is there a way to do both?"


News: Water-free dyeing a reality; 10 greenest college campuses; Solar, wind energy continue to make headway; Oil from algae

> How Did A Small Illinois Town End Up With 300 Plug-In Cars?: "Don't let the name fool you; Normal, Illinois, is actually unique. Dubbed EV Town, the [electric-car] initiative includes electric-car purchase incentives, and an aggressive effort by the local government and businesses to develop charging infrastructure."

Image: Nike

> Nike Unveils Water-Free Dyeing Process: "The eco-friendly method called 'ColorDry' eliminates the use of water and harmful chemicals, reducing energy consumption."

> The Greenest Things to Do With Your Body After You Die: "Every year cemeteries across the U.S. bury over 100,000 tons of steel and 1,500,000 tons of concrete from coffins and re-enforced vaults. Green burials are all about reconnecting death and nature, reducing exorbitant costs, and sparking an environmental paradigm shift. "

> How Green is Your Campus? The 10 greenest college campuses in the U.S.

> Downtown Denver Launches Denver 2030 District: "The Denver 2030 District is a unique public/private partnership that brings property owners and managers together with local governments, businesses, and other community stakeholders to provide a business model for urban sustainability through collaboration, leveraged financing, and shared resources. The District's goals include an aggregated reduction in energy and water use, and an increase in alternative methods of transportation among the District member buildings by the year 2030."

> Solar Energy Is Heading to Mainstream in the United States: "Shayle Kann, Vice President of Research at GTM, wanted to assess whether solar is becoming mainstream. He decided to use a checklist, since the U.S. solar market is so complex... So Kann devised a checklist to help answer the question, At what point does solar become mainstream in US? And how close are we?"

Image: Paso Verde

> Paseo Verde in Philly First to Achieve LEED-ND Platinum: "Maximizing mixed use and transportation connections helped this Philadelphia project score the most points since LEED for Neighborhood Development’s creation."

> Haiti switches on to solar power as sustainable electricity solution: 'Solar energy is clean, green and can help to solve Haiti's power crisis. Now the world's largest solar hospital is lighting the way"

> Wind Power Rivals Coal With $1 Billion Order From Warren Buffett: "The decision by Warren Buffett’s utility company to order about $1 billion of wind turbines for projects in Iowa shows how a drop in equipment costs is making renewable energy more competitive with power from fossil fuels."

> SISCA asks students to innovate sustainable solutions: "Grad students from 17 universities around the world submit project proposals to the Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award (SISCA) competition, hoping to win the $10,000 grand prize or a $2,500 runner up prize."

Image: PNNL

> Algae to crude oil: Million-year natural process takes minutes in the lab: "Engineers have created a continuous chemical process that produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae — a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup."

News: Tech companies going green; Study reveals power of PV during peak demand; Levitating house could protect against earthquakes;

> Tech companies going green: "In a growing trend, Facebook and Microsoft have announced new purchases of wind power for data centres. They join Google in choosing wind for the power-hungry facilities, which house IT equipment for computing, networking and data storage, as well as infrastructure for electricity and cooling."

Image: nyc.gov

> World’s Largest Landfill Will Soon Be NYC’s Biggest Solar Plant: "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Freshkills Park on Staten Island, once the world’s largest landfill, will soon be converted into the city’s largest solar energy facility. Once completed, the plant will produce up to 10 megawatts of power — five times more than any solar energy system in the city and enough to power approximately 2,000 homes."

> 10 landscape design projects that turn damaged and neglected spaces into healthy, beautiful environments.

Image: Ron Pollard

> Architectural Record on "Performance Anxiety": "Creating buildings that deliver on progressively more ambitious environmental goals will require energy simulations that reliably predict post-occupancy consumption."

> Rooftop Solar Can Meet 58% Of Peak Power Demand: "A new study by the Pecan Street Research Institute found that residential solar panel systems can cut electricity demand during peak summer hours by 58 percent.

By monitoring 50 single-family homes in Austin, Texas with west- and/or south-facing solar panels from June through August this year, the study found that west-facing solar panels produced 49 percent more electricity during summer peak demand hours than south-facing panels, a finding that should make utilities think twice about excluding west-facing solar panel systems from solar rebate programs. According to the study, west-facing rooftop systems cut peak demand 65 percent, while south-facing systems reduced peak demand 54 percent."

> Startup helps restaurants and groceries turn food waste into fertilizer: "Food waste is a huge issue these days, not just in the home, but also in the food service and grocery industries, with an estimated 40% or more of the food in the U.S. ending up as waste each year – totaling millions of tons of organic matter. And with food production consuming as much as 80% of our freshwater, 50% of our land, and 10% of our energy, that food waste ends up also being water and energy waste as well.

However, one startup, founded by two former Microsoft employees, has a solution to dealing with the vast amounts of unusable food generated in food prep and sales, not necessarily by reducing the amount of waste, but by turning those wasted food scraps into a valuable resource."

Image: Air Danshin, Translated by Spoon & Tamago

Image: Air Danshin, Translated by Spoon & Tamago

> Japanese levitating house system could protect homes from earthquakes: "As fantastical as a home levitation system may seem, Air Danshin claims that the technology is not only effective, but also 1/3 cheaper than many other earthquake-proofing systems out there – and it requires little maintenance. According to Spoon & Tamago, the technology calls for a fairly simple, if powerful, set of mechanisms to be installed around a property. When an earthquake hits, a sensor responds within one second by activating a compressor, which forces an incredible amount of air under the home, pushing the structure up and apart from its foundation. The air pressure can keep the home levitating up to 3cm from the shaking foundation below. An indoor valve controls the flow of air under the house, keeping the structure steady as it 'floats.'"

> A 140 acre forest is about to pop up in Detroit: "The lower east side of Detroit is about to get a make-over. Hantz Woodlands (formerly known as Hantz Farms), has reached a deal with the State of Michigan to purchase 1,500 parcels of non-continuous land for the price of half a million dollars and plant urban forestry in place of blighted and derelict properties that scatter the landscape."

Image: RAND

> What will our future be like if we don’t change how we get around?: "How will Americans get around in the year 2030? A recent report from the RAND Corporation lays out two 'plausible futures' developed though a 'scenario analysis' and vetted by outside experts. While RAND takes a decidedly agnostic stance toward the implications of each scenario, the choice that emerges is still pretty stark."

News: New disaster housing from IKEA: Rebuilding after Sandy; NYC switching to LED's

> Flatpack solar-powered refugee housing is IKEA's latest design: "A team of IKEA designers have taken on a challenge a little different from their usual fun with flatpack philosophy. To aid the thousands of refugees who can live in tent camps for a dozen years, IKEA set out to design a more durable and permanent dwelling."

> 5 job search tips from a skydiving sustainability director . 

> The slow, uneven rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy: "After Hurricane Sandy, the south shore of Staten Island looked like it had been hit by a tsunami. The storm surge devastated whole neighborhoods suddenly, in a matter of hours. In the year since the storm, some families have been rebuilding their homes and their lives. Others are ready to sell their flood-damaged properties and move on."

> NPR asks "Is rebuilding storm-struck coastlines worth the cost?"

> Bright Lights, Big City: NYC swapping all 250,000 street lights to LED : "New York City will be seen in a whole new light over the next few years, as an effort to switch to LED street lights continues. Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced all of the city’s 250,000 street lights will be changed over to light-emitting diodes in a four-year initiative. 'LEDs are the wave of the future. They last forever and they use a lot less energy,' said Bloomberg. 'The plan is for all city streets to be lit up with LEDs by 2017 and doing that will save New York City taxpayers a net of some $14 million a year.'"

>  Making rubber from dandelion juice.

News: Edible forest planned for Colorado town; Volvo announces new method to store energy in EV's; Google invests in solar; Solana produces solar energy at night

> Turning A Public Park Into An Edible Forest Free-For-All: It’s like a community garden on steroids. The concept is pretty simple: planners recreate a forest ecosystem with edible plants and trees in a public space. Then, in a deviation from most community garden models, they open it up and allow people to forage for food for free.

“It is a forest. It is a park. But it’s all edible, so the whole community can come in and sit under the apple tree and eat from the apple tree,” said Stephanie Syson, manager at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute.

Genesis Farm, in Blairstown, New Jersey (Angela Evancie)

> Nuns With a New Creed, Environmentalism:  While many of their aged peers are living out their days in quiet convents, these women are digging gardens and offsetting carbon.       

> Report - Western wildfires growing more intense, insurers deeply concerned: As part of a company that reinsures insurance companies, and can take a large financial hit when an especially costly disaster occurs, the Exposure Management team at Lloyd’s of London is particularly interested in events like wildfires.The team released a report titled “Wildfires: A Burning Issue For Insurers?” earlier this year outlining in great detail the reasons why wildfires are growing in intensity, how these fires translate to financial losses, and ways to reduce the frequency and damage caused by future events.

> Volvo's New Electric Vehicle Battery Technology Stores Energy in a Car's Body Panels: Conventional batteries that power today’s electric cars and hybrids take up space and add a lot of extra weight to the vehicles. Volvo just announced that it has developed a concept for lightweight structural energy storage components that could improve the energy usage of future electrified vehicles. The material (which consists of carbon fibers, nano-structured batteries and super capacitors) allows the battery components to be integrated into a car’s body panels, thereby taking up less space than conventional batteries.

> This ingenious way to build bridges will fix our crumbling infrastructure.

> Google makes its 13th clean energy investment in 3 years: Google continues to lead when it comes to Internet companies supporting clean power. It’s latest investment is in a solar panel project in Southern California.

The trough-shaped mirrors of the Solana project in Arizona. Image: Shayla Chase/APS

 

> Arizona Utility Tries Storing Solar Energy for Use in the Dark: In a closely watched new solar project called Solana, the energy is gathered in a three-square-mile patch of desert bulldozed flat near Gila Bend, about 50 miles southwest of Phoenix. A sprawling network of parabolic mirrors focuses the sun’s energy on black-painted pipes, which carry the heat to huge tanks of molten salt. When the sun has set, the plant can draw heat back out of the molten salt to continue making steam and electricity.

> Video: A Staff of Robots Can Clean and Install Solar Panels: Working in near secrecy until recently, the company, based in Richmond, Calif., is ready to use its machines in three projects in the next few months in California, Saudi Arabia and China. If all goes well, executives expect that they can help bring the price of solar electricity into line with that of natural gas by cutting the cost of building and maintaining large solar installations.

News: New Chicago Recreational Trail; Solar can be Beautiful?; Sprawl is Still Sprawl; The Largest Wind Turbine Ever

An example of a residential community and communal walkway. 

An example of a residential community and communal walkway. 

"Instead of a street separating the $225,000-to-$400,000 homes that face one another, a landscaped courtyard divides them. Visitors walk to the front door of each home through a common walkway."
 "Chances are, you will be hearing more about pocket neighborhoods. This increasingly popular housing option generally consists of a dozen or so compact houses or apartments that share common or green space. That might be a pedestrian walkway, garden, courtyard or shared backyard or alley. Central mailboxes give neighbors even more opportunities to interact."

>Even the greenest development in the wrong location will create more environmental problems than it will solve. Sprawl Is Still Sprawl, Even If It's 'Green'. "Development locations far from existing cities and towns cause substantial environmental problems, disrupting agricultural lands and natural ecosystems; requiring the spread of resource-consuming infrastructure, including new road capacity that brings more runoff-causing pavement to watersheds; attracting ancillary sprawling development nearby; and causing major transportation impacts." A community just outside of San Diego is proposing a 1,700 home development entitled the, "I-15 sustainable community (the developer’s tagline)"

>Who knew that solar power could be beautiful? SRS Energy has developed roofing tiles that mimic Tuscan terracotta roofing tiles but contain amorphous silicon solar cells produced by Uni-Solar. The solar tiles are extremely durable, work in a variety of temperature ranges, and link in specifically with tiles from US Tile. The result is a stunning, seamless blend of dark solar tiles and traditionally colored clay tiles.

Solar tiles on a rooftop.

 >"Texas homeowners can now xeriscape their properties without being legally scrutinized by their homeowners association.

The new law, first proposed by state. Sen. Kirk Watson and state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, both Austin Democrats, prevents HOAs from prohibiting xeriscaping, the process of installing drought-resistant landscaping or other native, water-conserving natural turf."

One of the 46 potential designs.

One of the 46 potential designs.

> The next World Expo in 2017 will be held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan - and leaders are already preparing for the global event by unveiling 46 designs for the site master plan by firms from around the world! The theme of the 2017 Expo is 'Future Energy', and the competing plans all revolve around the concepts of renewable energy, sustainability and the green economy. 

 >"Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based accelerator program for cleantech start-ups, has received an investment of $30 million from the Navy’s Office of Naval Research under the Asia Pacific Technology Education Program." In many ways, "Hawaii is the perfect environment for energy start-ups. Electricity costs three to four times more than it does in the continental US, meaning young energy companies can compete economically, and the government is motivated to become less oil dependent. Sun, tides, and three growing seasons provide the resources for alternative energy, while the state’s military bases provide locations to test their systems."

 >"The abandoned freight line that cuts diagonally across Chicago will soon be a beautiful green-lined recreational trail. Construction has officially begun on the Bloomingdale Trail—now renamed The 606—which will be a 2.7 mile elevated recreational area connecting 5 area local parks and neighborhoods in a seamless way. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, along with officials from the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Department of Transportation, and The Trust for Public Land, broke ground on the project on August 27th. By the fall of 2014, the trail will be open end to end for public use."

> To further the technology of off shore wind power generating, "Danish wind energy giant Vestas has achieved a milestone by building its longest ever blade reaching 80 m length. The blade uses the structural shell design, a proven concept in which the loads of the blade are carried in the shell, rather than using a spar at the centre of the blade.

The length of the blade is the equivalent of nine double decker London buses and the swept area of the rotor will be 21,124m2, larger than the London Eye. 

In order to validate the strength and reliability of the blade it will be tested to its limits for six months, reproducing the challenging wind conditions of the North Sea over a simulated 25 year lifetime. The first prototype 80 meter blade for the V164-8.0 MW 'the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine'"

 >With Rooftop Solar on Rise, U.S. Utilities Are Striking Back

"Faced with the prospect of a dwindling customer base, some U.S. power companies are seeking to end public subsidies and other incentives for rooftop solar. In Arizona, the issue has sparked a heated public relations battle that could help determine the future of solar in the United States."

 

News: Hurricane Sandy; reuseable materials finds marketplace; 8 years after Katrina; the changing driving habits of Americans

> Hurricane Sandy task force releases report, urges more resilient construction in wake of Hurricane Sandy: "More than ever, it is critical that when we build for the future, we do so in a way that makes communities more resilient to emerging challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme heat, and more frequent and intense storms," the report said.

Image: Alice Waters 

Image: Alice Waters 

 > NPR profiles food activist Alice Waters, pioneer of the locally grown, organic food movement: "We've been separated from this experience through a kind of fast-food indoctrination that's been going on for the last 50 years. So we need to really come back to our senses and really understand, like most every other country in the world, that food is something precious."

> Planet Reuse Marketplace connects homeowners with reuse centers; offers materials that would otherwise have been discarded for use in new construction, renovations, and DIY projects.

>  Beacon Food Forest, Seattle's first urban food forest will be open to foragers: "The idea is to give members of the working-class neighborhood of Beacon Hill the chance to pick plants scattered throughout the park... It will feature fruit-bearing perennials — apples, pears, plums, grapes, blueberries, raspberries and more."

> Eight Years After Katrina: New Orleans recovery still a work in progress.

> American driving levels drop as Millennials turn to public transit: “The idea that the car means freedom, I think, is over,” said travel behavior analyst Nancy McGuckin. "

 Image by Tim Fuller

 Image by Tim Fuller

> Germany breaks monthly solar power generation record, nets 5.1 terawatt hours of power. Inhabitat adds, “The accomplishment proves once again that a lack of sunshine is no obstacle to scaling up solar energy — and if the Teutons can produce record amounts of solar power under grey skies, then the potential for countries with sunnier weather and more land mass (like the United States) is limitless.”

News: Competition announced for Sandy recovery; Obama talks climate change; Empire State building sees returns; pollution management ideas

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

>HUD secretary Shaun Donovan announces competition for Sandy rebuilding: "On Thursday, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Shaun Donovan launched Rebuild by Design, a multistage competition meant to generate designs that increase resiliency in vulnerable coastal communities."

>President Obama lays out broad plan to address climate change in address at Georgetown University.

>Empire State Building's energy savings beat forecast: "The upgrades, which included installing new lighting and windows, modernizing boilers, and insulating radiators, earned the building LEED Gold certification in 2011. Once the building is fully retrofitted, which will happen within four years, the upgrades are expected to save $4.4 million annually in energy costs, or about 38% of the building's current bill."

>Video: Green: Vegetation on Our Planet (Tour of Earth)

Image via the New York Times

Image via the New York Times

>Solar-powered boat harnessed for climate research: "In some ways the boat is suited to research. Being completely powered by the sun — the high-efficiency solar cells charge the batteries that power electric motors connected to the craft’s twin propellers — it produces no emissions of carbon dioxide or other gases that could contaminate air samples. And the boat has no problem going slowly, if necessary, as it samples the water — average speed is a sluggish five knots."

>MIT creates ‘plug-and-play’ CO2 scrubber for existing power plants: "As with the conventional thermal-amine scrubber systems, this technology should be capable of removing 90 percent of CO2 from a plant’s emissions, the researchers say. But while the conventional CO2 capture process uses about 40 percent of a plant’s power output, the new system would consume only about 25 percent of the power."

>This climate fix might be decades ahead of its time: "If you looked at knowledge as a commodity, we had generated this enormous amount of knowledge and we hadn't even begun to think of the many ways we could apply it," Eisenberger says. He decided he'd settle on a problem he wanted to solve and then dive into the pool of knowledge for existing technologies that could help him."

>MillerCoors brewery now recycles all waste.

News: Hurricane Sandy recovery; Joplin unveils new recovery projects; Renewable energy myths explored

>New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveils plan to protect city from future hurricanes and storm surge: "'This plan is incredibly ambitious,' Bloomberg said in a speech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, acknowledging that much of the work would extend beyond the end of his term this year. 'This is urgent work, and it must begin now.'"

>Joplin city manager unveils $130 million Community Development Block Grant plan including infrastructure improvements, EPA Complete Green Street Program development, tree planting, and a proposed Green Neighborhood development.

>New information released on Joplin tornado damage: "An investigative team of engineers sent to Joplin found that more than 83 percent of the damage on May 22, 2011, was caused by winds of 135 mph or less, which is equal to the maximum wind speed of an EF-2 tornado."

>West Liberty, Kentucky continues to embrace sustainable disaster recovery after 2012 tornado.

A tornado in Oklahoma, seven miles south of Anadarko, on May 3, 1999. Image credit: OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

A tornado in Oklahoma, seven miles south of Anadarko, on May 3, 1999. Image credit: OAR/ERL/National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL)

>Listen: Public radio program Science Friday speaks with David Prevatt, a structural engineer at the University of Florida, about how to best approach strengthening buildings located in tornado alley. 

 >Pictures: Colorado wildfire quickly destroys hundreds of homes; Black Forest fire 100% contained, additional wildfires force evacuations.

>Google X (the internet giant's innovation unit)  working on green energy project that could ""have an important part to play in the future of the world energy production".

biodiesel-evie-sobczek-537x292.jpg

 >Inspiration: 16-year-old develops a new way to turn algae into fuel, wins first place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

>Greenpeace Africa debunks 6 myths about renewable energy.

>Why you should care about Solar Impulse and renewable energy’s long, long journey: "There’s more to the story than a funky solar-powered craft that looks like “an outsized balsa wood toy airplane”. Solar Impulse’s journey, in many ways, is a microcosm of our nation’s love/hate relationship with renewable energy. We love the promise of clean energy and celebrate the arrival of the latest green gizmos, but we have very little patience for renewable energy strategies that take years, if not decades, to pay off."

>Poll: Americans consider the environment in what they buy: "The survey of more than 1,000 adults found that 52% said they “very consistently,” “often,” or “occasionally” weigh the environmental impact of their purchases. More and more companies are paying attention and reacting to these kinds of considerations among consumers by establishing better environmental practices, said Anne Kelly, director of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, a project of the corporate sustainability coalition, Ceres."