Thinking Energy

News

January 01, 2009

  • Devastating year made way to a year of opportunity
    Financial damage and loss of life caused by climate-related natural disasters made 2008 one of the most devastating years on record. "The extreme weather events we are witnessing underline the increasing vulnerability of humankind to natural disasters that scientists predict will rise if climate change is left unchecked," said Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), earlier in the year. An opportunity to respond climate challenges with decisive commitments is the UN climate meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. UNEP is calling on UN entities, governments, civil society, businesses and industries to unite to combat climate change by supporting the call for a post-2012 definitive agreement on climate change. - 5 days
    source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News)
  • Happy New Year, Quick Reflections

    Times Square LED Ball

    Hey, Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe an entire year just flew by, but it did.  On this day last year, we identified Five Green Trends to Watch in 2008 -- actually, the trends were specifically related to green building rather than the environment in general -- and you'll probably agree that we were right on.  I guess that means we'll take another stab at predicting the future in these unpredictable, turbulent times.  Keep an eye out for our next green trends article for 2009 ...

    Image: Times Square LED Ball.

    - 6 days
    source: (Jetson Green)

December 31, 2008

December 30, 2008

  • UN: New year carries green expectations
    There is evidence the dawning New Year may carry "green" expectations of environmental action on climate change, according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Old and new environmental benefactors are making enthusiastic pledges on the policy front. Voluntary action, on the other hand, continues to be a major driver on the ground. In December 2009, all eyes will be on Copenhagen in anticipation of a possible substantial climate deal at the UN climate conference. But as early as January 2009, the same eyes, and thoughts, will be on Washington when the new U.S. President and his administration take office, including a new widely hailed dream green team'. Together we must pledge to: Mobilize political will, make polluters pay, adopt green economy mechanisms, support alternative energy technologies, be carbon neutral, and UNite to combat climate change. - 8 days
    source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News)
  • BrightBuilt Barn on Track for Platinum

    BrightBuilt Barn

    When we last brought news of BrightBuilt Barn in September, it was only partially constructed.  Now it's all built and looks quite good.  Its trademark feature is the exterior LED lightskirt, which was designed to change color depending on the home's energy use.  GREEN means the BrightBuilt Barn is generating more energy than it consumes; YELLOW indicates a borderline condition; and RED means the energy usage is higher than required to meet the yearly net energy goal.  And like the lightskirt, everything about this home has been planned with meticulous care to create a livable, sustainable, replicable, flexible, and educational net-zero energy home.

    BrightBuilt Barn

    BrightBuilt Barn

    BrightBuilt Barn is the result of a collaboration between Bensonwood Homes (fabricator / installer), Thompson Architects (architect), Gibson Design Build (site contractor), and several other experts.  The 700 sf home will be monitored and energy use statistics will be published at BrightBuilt Barn. 

    Located in Rockland, Maine, BrightBuilt is on track to receive LEED Platinum certification.  But what's more, since it can be almost entirely prefabricated off-site, BrightBuilts will be replicated and proliferated all over the country.  So let's expect to see more of these in various places.

    Interior

    Interior2

    Brightbuiltcutaway

    Image credits: Naomi C. O. Beal.

    - 8 days
    source: (Jetson Green)
  • BrightBuilt Barn on Track for Platinum

    BrightBuilt Barn

    When we last brought news of BrightBuilt Barn in September, it was only partially constructed.  Now it's all built and looks quite good.  Its trademark feature is the exterior LED lightskirt, which was designed to change color depending on the home's energy use.  GREEN means the BrightBuilt Barn is generating more energy than it consumes; YELLOW indicates a borderline condition; and RED means the energy usage is higher than required to meet the yearly net energy goal.  And like the lightskirt, everything about this home has been planned with meticulous care to create a livable, sustainable, replicable, flexible, and educational net-zero energy home.

    BrightBuilt Barn

    BrightBuilt Barn

    BrightBuilt Barn is the result of a collaboration between Bensonwood Homes (fabricator / installer), Thompson Architects (architect), Gibson Design Build (site contractor), and several other experts.  The 700 sf home will be monitored and energy use statistics will be published at BrightBuilt Barn. 

    Located in Rockland, Maine, BrightBuilt is on track to receive LEED Platinum certification.  But what's more, since it can be almost entirely prefabricated off-site, BrightBuilts will be replicated and proliferated all over the country.  So let's expect to see more of these in various places.

    Interior

    Interior2

    Brightbuiltcutaway

    Image credits: Naomi C. O. Beal.

    - 8 days
    source: (Jetson Green)
  • Facebook Connect Enabled Comments

    Facebook

    If you read tech blogs, you may have noticed that Facebook Connect is spreading like crazy.  We're happy to announce that the commenting system that we use, Disqus, is now supporting Facebook Connect.  Unfortunately (and as is always the case), this new feature is kind of in beta: there are two glitches.  First, if you already have a Disqus profile and you've linked up Facebook in your Disqus profile, your Facebook Connect comments will be under a different profile.  Second, posting comments on Jetson Green may, in the future, allow you to publish the same in your Facebook profile news feed, but not for the time being.  The Disqus team is working on these features.  If you want to start commenting with Facebook Connect, here's how:

    Step 1:  Choose the Facebook Connect Radial, Click Connect with Facebook:

    Step1

    Step 2:  Log in to Facebook, Click Connect:

    Step2

    Step 3: Start Typing While Logged In:

    Step3

    Step 4: Hit Publish and Get a Profile Link Back to Facebook:

    Step4

    That's it!  Pretty simple ...

    - 8 days
    source: (Jetson Green)
  • Facebook Connect Enabled Comments

    Facebook

    If you read tech blogs, you may have noticed that Facebook Connect is spreading like crazy.  We're happy to announce that the commenting system that we use, Disqus, is now supporting Facebook Connect.  Unfortunately (and as is always the case), this new feature is kind of in beta: there are two glitches.  First, if you already have a Disqus profile and you've linked up Facebook in your Disqus profile, your Facebook Connect comments will be under a different profile.  Second, posting comments on Jetson Green may, in the future, allow you to publish the same in your Facebook profile news feed, but not for the time being.  The Disqus team is working on these features.  If you want to start commenting with Facebook Connect, here's how:

    Step 1:  Choose the Facebook Connect Radial, Click Connect with Facebook:

    Step1

    Step 2:  Log in to Facebook, Click Connect:

    Step2

    Step 3: Start Typing While Logged In:

    Step3

    Step 4: Hit Publish and Get a Profile Link Back to Facebook:

    Step4

    That's it!  Pretty simple ...

    - 8 days
    source: (Jetson Green)

December 29, 2008

  • U.S. DOE to invest in integrated biorefineries for advanced biofuels
    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will invest up to USD200 million in integrated biorefinery projects to demonstrate the commercial viability for producing second generation biofuels from a variety of non-food feedstocks, such as algae. This last week's announcement adds to the more than USD1 billion DOE has already committed to research, development, and demonstration of cellulosic biofuels technology. The latest funding opportunity covers the years 2009 – 2014. DOE anticipates to make 5-12 awards and to have integrated biorefineries operational within three to four years after applicants are selected. The two topic areas are pilot-scale with minimum throughput of one dry tonne and demonstration-scale with minimum throughput of 50 dry tonnes of feedstock per day. - 8 days
    source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News)

December 28, 2008

December 27, 2008

  • Office complex to become a visit card for Finnish solar energy
    Plans have been drawn to construct a chain of four office buildings, with solar panels covering the south-facing walls of the complex, in the vicinity of the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport. All construction solutions are being planned and materials selected in terms of sustainable development. The solar panels will be laminated between two facade classes, and they will look like spectrolite. The project is the largest of its kind in Finland, possibly even in the entire Nordic region. As yet, the Vantaa project is still on the drawing board, and no details are available of the quantity of energy that could be produced. - 11 days
    source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News)
  • First U.S. offshore wind farm project moves forward
    A plan to build the United States' first offshore wind farm took another step forward this week, after the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection approved its proposed undersea cables to transmit power to the mainland, reports Reuters. The Cape Wind project, which would place 130 turbines about 4.7 miles off upscale Cape Cod, would provide enough power for about 400,000 homes. Developers of the USD1 billion project are still waiting on a composite state and local permit, as well as federal approvals by the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of the Interior and the Federal Aviation Administration. The project expects the permitting process to be complete by March 2009. - 11 days
    source: (Energy & Enviro Finland News)

December 26, 2008

- 12 days
source: (Jetson Green)