http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board en-us Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board Mon, 21 May 2012 03:31:18 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss YaBB 2.4 Revision: 1.28 30 http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1320968189/1#1 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Recycling http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1320968189/1#1 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:50:42 GMT wow..very good http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1251659318/1#1 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Success Stories http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1251659318/1#1 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:46:25 GMT good information.. http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1320987948/1#1 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Important Earth Issues http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1320987948/1#1 Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:41:29 GMT it is very fearable news http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323838424/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Zero Emission Vehicles and Transportation http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323838424/0#0 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:53:44 GMT Nissan and FedEx, the mail delivery company, have teamed up to test a fleet of Nissan NV200's, which will be zero-emission all-electric vehicles (EV), on the streets of London. The fleet will be used to evaluate how the Nissan NV200 prototype electric vehicles perform in the daily grind of normal traffic. http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323838364/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Solar http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323838364/0#0 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:52:44 GMT It's time to stop thinking of solar energy as a boutique source of power, says Joshua Pearce.<br />    <br />Sure, solar only generates about 1% of the electricity in the U.S. But that will change in a few years, says Pearce, an associate professor of electrical engineering and materials science at Michigan Technological University. The ultimate in renewable energy is about to go mainstream.<br />    <br />It's a matter of economics. A definitive new analysis by Pearce and his colleagues at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, shows that solar photovoltaic systems are very close to achieving the tipping point in many regions: they can make electricity that's as cheap— sometimes cheaper—than what consumers pay their utilities.<br />    <br />Here's why. First, the price of solar panels has plummeted. "Since 2009, the cost has dropped 70%," says Pearce. But more than that, the assumptions used in previous studies have not given solar an even break.<br />    <br />"Historically, when comparing the economics of solar and conventional energy, people have been very conservative," says Pearce.<br />    <br />To figure out the true cost of photovoltaic energy, analysts need to consider several variables, including the cost to install and maintain the system, finance charges, how long it lasts, and how much electricity it generates. Pearce and his colleagues performed an exhaustive review of the previous studies and concluded that the values given those variables were out of whack. http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1321329163/1#1 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Success Stories http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1321329163/1#1 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:42:52 GMT awesome. Great story! http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323633215/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Zero Emission Vehicles and Transportation http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323633215/0#0 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:53:35 GMT Plastics are playing a larger role in making cars lighter and commercializing electric vehicles, but for one prominent automotive designer, more still needs to be done.<br /><br />In an interview at the recent Business of Design Week in Hong Kong, Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW Group Design, said he was excited by the creative possibilities opening up with the new lightweight materials, including traditional plastics, carbon fiber reinforced plastics and aluminum.<br /><br />But he also urged materials firms to continue making advancements, as car companies come under more environmental pressure, and had some specific advice for plastics companies.<br /><br />"Reducing vehicle weight is getting more and more important because we are going into I think an era of quite a lot of change in the automotive field," said van Hooydonk, who is responsible for the design development of the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands. "We are going to zero emission mobility."<br /><br />BMW, for example, plans to roll out what it calls "zero local" emission or low emission models in 2013, its all-electric i3 for urban driving and its hybrid i8 sports car.<br /><br />Van Hooydonk, who worked as a designer for GE Plastics Europe in Bergen Op Zoom early in his career, said both of the new i Series cars use all-plastic body panels, a carbon fiber plastic composite structure and aluminum substructures.<br /><br />They're all needed to cut weight to accommodate the heavy batteries these next-generation cars need, he said. http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323633023/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Solar http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323633023/0#0 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:50:23 GMT The pace at which major solar developments come before Kern County policy makers in coming months is expected to pick up as the local wind energy gold rush tapers off.<br /> <br />But it won't be as fast-paced as wind's, even though there have been more solar projects proposed by a larger pool of developers. And unlike wind, some solar projects have gone inactive.<br /> <br />"We'll still be busy in 2012 processing requests, but there (are) less projects in the queue as we move forward through 2012," said Chris Mynk, a Kern County supervising planner.<br /> <br />Solar development has some advantages over wind.<br /> <br />For one, solar developers are blessed with five more years of federal subsidies -- 30 percent breaks on construction costs available through 2016. The deadline for wind projects is the end of 2012.<br /> <br />And solar can use a much more diverse range of land than wind. Projects are proposed all across Kern County from the foothills of the Temblor Range in the west to the upland valleys of the Sierra Nevada and down into the deep desert east of Mojave.<br /> <br />"The sun touches a lot more places than the wind blows," Mynk said.<br /> <br />But solar also faces some substantial challenges that wind avoided.<br /> <br />Examples of the challenges can be seen in the 700-megawatt Maricopa Sun project, where work is still going on behind the scenes eight months after the Kern County Board of Supervisors gave its blessing.<br /> <br />Developer Jeff Roberts of Granville Homes in Fresno proposed a 4,868-acre network of photovoltaic solar panels strung like jewels on a necklace between Taft and Interstate 5 capable of powering some 170,000 homes.<br /> <br />He said his company is in talks with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Game to develop a plan for protecting critical species of animals that live near his property.<br /> <br />And it is going through an additional federal environmental review.<br /> <br />"We will get through this process some time in mid-2012," Roberts said.<br /> <br />The three solar power operators http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323632906/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Zero Emission Vehicles and Transportation http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323632906/0#0 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:48:26 GMT a couple of upstart, green companies in the South Bay say they are testing a new kind of technology never-before used on big-rig trucks that will satisfy SCAG's emission-free requirement, while enabling truckers to reach their destinations without a single drop of pollution entering the atmosphere. If they are successful, they say an East-West Freight Corridor could be built much cheaper and without any electrified roadway. Most important, the impact to Puente Valley residents would be minimal.<br /><br />"We have the solution now," said Rudy Tapia, president of Vision Motors in El Segundo, developer of the Tyrano big rig which runs on an onboard fuel cell that powers a battery pack. It produces zero emissions, only water vapor.<br /><br />A fleet of his Tyranos could be hauling everything from computers to cucumbers on the 710 and 60 freeways by the end of next year, he said.<br /><br />"We don't have to do some futuristic thing where we electrify the road or have electric wires overhead. Just give us some incentive and we could put this in by next year," said Tapia, a Southern California native. http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323632795/0#0 Environmental Forum Earthie Environment Bulleton Board/Solar http://www.earthie.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1323632795/0#0 Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:46:35 GMT Many analysts claim that solar power for the masses is simply not cost effective, and therefore not a realistic option for most power requirements.<br /> <br />However, a recent study conducted at Queen’s University and published in the December edition of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews concludes the public isn't properly informed about the viability of solar photovoltaic energy. <br />    <br /> "Many analysts project a higher cost for solar photovoltaic energy because they don’t consider recent technological advancements and price reductions," says Joshua Pearce, Adjunct Professor, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering.<br />