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By Rob Maguire, on May 20, 2013, at 4:40 pm How large of a solar farm is needed to completely power the United States?
The simple answer is that a solar farm 100 miles long and 100 miles wide would be “more than enough to meet the country’s entire energy demand.”
The far more interesting answer, however, is that this hypothetical solar farm could be contained by a 460-mile line of chalk currently being drawn across Arizona by artist and activist Joseph DeLappe.
Project 929: Mapping the Solar, is both a long-distance bike ride and work of performance art. DeLappe hit the road on May 19 with a (Read more…)
By Mark Brooks, on May 16, 2013, at 10:55 pm
Download: earthgauge-podcast-may16-2013.mp3
This week is our last show before the summer break! I’m taking a few months off to recharge the batteries so we’re ready to come back strong in September for an all new season. On today’s program, we’re going to hear an interview from our friends at Generation Anthropocene who talked recently with international law expert Andrew Guzman. He has taken a step back from analyzing climate change in terms of precise temperature changes, melting glaciers and meters of sea level rise and breaks down all the ways climate change will affect humanity, from environmental refugees to changing (Read more…)
By jeanette, on May 9, 2013, at 7:52 pm Thursday, May 9, 2013
It was a very long way to travel to be turned away at the door.
As I noted in an earlier post, a delegation of us journeyed from BC to Enbridge’s Annual General Meeting, on Wednesday, May 8th, to deliver to shareholders and the Board of Directors a message about the financial risk of the Northern Gateway pipelines and tankers project. The Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal has created unprecedented unity amongst BC communities opposed to the project, and our diverse group represented many of those communities: First Nations, farmers, fishers, unions, and environmental (Read more…)
By Andrew, on May 8, 2013, at 8:48 pm Thursday, May 9, 2013
On Earth Day (April 22nd) we joined many other environmental organizations in applauding Adrian Dix and the NDP for standing up for our coast, and expressing opposition to the expansion of the KinderMorgan Pipeline. Although the NDP’s position is a bit less precise than the BC Green platform (which pledges to “Reject any expansion of the Kinder-Morgan pipeline from Alberta to Vancouver“), it is a clear indication of where the party stands. It is sometimes said that the federal government has the ultimate say on the proposed Enbridge and Kinder Morgan Pipelines and Tankers Projects. (Read more…)
By Adam, on April 29, 2013, at 9:05 am The need for a biofuel that can be used in standard automobiles is needed more everyday as the bloody global thirst for oil only increases. Thankfully researchers have engineered a bacteria that can produce a fuel substance that can be used in standard internal combustion engines.
To be used as a mainstream alternative to fossil fuels – desirable because biofuels are carbon-neutral over their lifetime – engines would have to be redesigned, or an extra processing step employed to convert the fuel into a more usable form.
To try to bypass that, John Love from the University of Exeter in (Read more…)
By Mark Brooks, on April 25, 2013, at 10:36 pm
Download: earthgauge-podcast-april25-2013.mp3
This week on Earthgauge, we have a veritable green medley with a jam-packed show covering everything from urban sustainability, climate change, biodiversity, biking to work and even the latest green news. I have 4 features today:
Presentation by Alex Steffen called The Shareable Future of Cities Alex Smith’s interview with Dr. Thomas Lovejoy on biodiversity and climate change My interview with Jamie Stuckless of EnviroCentre on Bike to Work month in Ottawa This week’s green news from BradBlog.com
We also have our usual update on local environmental events and campaigns with Kathy of Ecology Ottawa. This week, (Read more…)
By Adam, on April 25, 2013, at 9:42 am At the recent Paris marathon the runners literally generated electricity. Pavegen put down a series of tiles that create an electric charge when compressed, so all they had to do was lay the tiles along the marathon route. The resulting energy generated by the runners was enough to power signs and screens during the event; the goal is to have the marathon fully powered by the runners themselves.
The flexible tiles made from recycled truck tires will span a portion of the Champs Elysees for about 25 meters (82 feet) of the 42.2-kilometer course, according to Pavegen Systems Ltd. (Read more…)
By Adam, on April 24, 2013, at 2:12 pm
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses the difference in temperature at different water depths to produce energy, similar to how geothermal works. A green resort in China is going to be powered by the OTEC system and the companies involved in building the power plant are hoping that this will prove the technology works well enough for larger projects.
OTEC uses the natural difference in temperatures between the cool deep water and warm surface water to produce electricity. There are different cycle types of OTEC systems, but the prototype plant is likely to be a closed-cycle system. This sees warm (Read more…) seawater pumped through a heat exchanger to vaporize a fluid with a low boiling point, such as ammonia. This expanding vapor is used to drive a turbine to generate electricity with cold seawater then used to condense the vapor so it can be recycled through the system. . . . → Read More: Things Are Good: 10 MW Ocean Power Plant Planned for China
By Stephen Elliott-Buckley, on April 23, 2013, at 12:00 pm Some years, Earth Day clicks for people in a profound way. I’ve spoken to a few who were distinctly non-plussed with how things didn’t come together for them and their dreams this year.
If you need some optimism for the rest of your week, check out this compendium. Pay attention to the ages of those in photos, and immediately scroll to the bottom to read what our dear Cascadian friends to the south got up to at U-Dub. What would that look like in your community?
Embrace peace, watch your footprint, look up for bald eagles, imagine the future you (Read more…)
By Adam, on April 22, 2013, at 9:38 am Algae can be used for all sorts of wonderful things from cleaning up oil to producing energy. Architects in Hamburg have built a building that uses algae to power the complex and it opens this week. The building is meant to be a demonstration of cutting-edge sustainable architecture.
“Using bio-chemical processes in the façade of a building to create shade and energy is a really innovative concept.” says Arup’s research lead for Europe, Jan Wurm. “It might well become a sustainable solution for energy production in urban areas, so it is great to see it being tested in a (Read more…) scenario.”
Arup led the design project, which also included work by Splitterwerks Architects from Austria and Germany’s SSC Strategic Scientific Consult. It was funded by the German government’s “Zukunft Bau” (“Future Construction”) subsidy, which looks to support innovation in the construction industry when it comes to renewable and . . . → Read More: Things Are Good: Algae-Powered Building Opens This Week
By Obert Madondo, on April 21, 2013, at 5:59 am By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: An annual report by International Energy Agency (IEA) says the development of low-carbon energy is progressing too slowly to limit climate change. “The drive to clean up the world’s energy system has stalled,” said aid Maria van der Hoeven, the IEA’s executive director, during the presentation of the report [...]
The post Clean energy progress too slow to limit climate change, says report appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
By Adam, on April 18, 2013, at 8:11 am Lancaster, California has nearly half a million citizens and they want to reduce their carbon footprint. Their most recent step to being a green city is a world’s first as far as I know: every new residential development in the city is required to produce energy using the sun.
“However, to truly establish ourselves as the Alternative Energy Capital of the World, we must continue to take a progressive approach. I would like to commend our Planning Commission for this innovative revision of the Residential Zones, which will rapidly advance us towards becoming a net-zero City in record time.”
By Adam, on April 17, 2013, at 1:00 pm Keeping buildings cool in the summer is hard enough as it is and we have access to air conditioning technologies. Now, there’s a better way to keep buildings, cars, and whatnot thanks to some research out of Stanford University. Their new approach to cooling entire structures doesn’t require electricity and means that air conditioners won’t be needed and thus a huge decrease in energy consumption can be achieved.
A team of researchers at Stanford has designed an entirely new form of cooling structure that cools even when the sun is shining. Such a structure could vastly improve the daylight cooling
. . . → Read More: Things Are Good: A Solar Structure That Cools in the Sun
By Adam, on April 16, 2013, at 9:00 am 2012 was a very successful year for the young wind-power energy industry in the United States. Throughout last year over 6,700 were installed around the country with the industry benefiting overall from new investments into the sector.
Let’s hope this is a sign of the future of what;s to come in sustainable energy in the world’s largest economy!
Overall, America ended the year with 45,100 turbines, producing enough electricity to power around 15.2 million households. Wind power added 42% of all new capacity to the grid last year, beating other sources of energy generation. Rob Gramlich, AWEA’s Interim CEO
. . . → Read More: Things Are Good: 2012 Was a Record Breaking Year for US Wind Industry
By Mark Brooks, on April 12, 2013, at 2:18 pm
Download: earthgauge-podcast-april11-2013.mp3
This week marks our 50th program since Earthgauge Radio was launched in the fall of 2011! So we’re celebrating a big milestone today and are sending out our thanks to all the guests we’ve had in the past year and a half, the numerous people who have contributed to the show, the whole CKCU radio family and of course to our faithful listeners for tuning in every week either live, online or by podcast.
On the program this week, we discuss Eco-bricks, saving energy (and money!) on home heating and the 50th anniversary of Rachel (Read more…)
By Obert Madondo, on April 10, 2013, at 9:05 pm In response to Exxon Mobil’s disastrous tar sands spill in neighboring Arkansas, Oklahoma residents are engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience to halt construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline By: Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance | Press Release: ALLEN, OK – April 9, 2013 – Oklahoma grandmother Nancy Zorn, 79, from [...]
The post Oklahoma Grandmother Locks Herself to Keystone XL Heavy Machinery appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
By Mark Brooks, on April 10, 2013, at 3:04 pm On Earthgauge Radio this week, Xerez Bridglall will bring us her interview with two Carleton University undergraduate students who participated in the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program this year. ASB is an immersive year-long program that culminates with a week of cultural exchange and community service over reading week in February. Mario Pizzuto and Megan Stacey went on the ASB trip to Guatemala where they were involved in building a structure made out of eco-bricks, an environmentally friendly, additive free pressed kiln dried hardwood sawdust bricks used for home heating fuel in wood burning stoves, wood burning fireplaces and
. . . → Read More: Earthgauge Radio: EG Radio this week: EcoBricks, Ontario Home Comfort and Rachel Carson
By Andrew, on April 10, 2013, at 2:47 pm Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Last Thursday, April 4th the National Energy Board (NEB) announced that anyone who wished to comment on Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline proposal in Central Canada even by simply writing a letter would need to fill out a 10 page application form within 2 weeks. This is, of course, absurd, since it will take the NEB far longer to review these 10 page applications and decide who will be allowed to write a letter, then it would have taken to read the letters. While the NEB says this new form is in response to Bill C-38
. . . → Read More: Environmental Law Alert Blog: NEB should abandon undemocratic limits on public comment
By Obert Madondo, on April 10, 2013, at 5:53 am Political satirist Andy Cobb’s take on the recent ExxonMobil tar sands oil spill in Mayflower, Arkansas: America’s oil industry is terribly misunderstood. When a lot of people hear “364 pipeline spills in 2012″ they think it’s a big mess, like a nearly realized advent calendar of crap. What they fail [...]
The post Tar Sands: Exxon’s New “Energy Everywhere” Program (Satirical Video) appeared first on The Canadian Progressive .
By Obert Madondo, on April 9, 2013, at 4:11 pm By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: A new national coalition against TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline launched in the U.S. on Monday with a cutting-edge TV ad. The All Risk, No Reward Coalition seeks to debunk Big Oil’s propaganda about jobs and related benefits. The coalition argues that “the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is all risk, [...]
The post New Progressive US Coalition Launches Keystone XL ‘All Risk, No Reward’ TV Ad appeared first on The Canadian Progressive .
By Andrew, on April 8, 2013, at 8:51 pm Tuesday, April 9, 2013
A snow storm that blew through central Canada made this year’s March 19 Ottawa’s snowiest on record. But there was more than weather to distinguish this as a historic date. In the evening, nine First Nations from across North America came together in a ceremony to mark the ever-growing opposition to tar sands pipelines, by signing of the Save the Fraser Declaration and the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred from Tar Sands Projects. Although the storm had kept many witnesses away, those of us who had made it were moved by the ceremony and
. . . → Read More: Environmental Law Alert Blog: ”Fighting not just for our children, but for your children too …”
By Obert Madondo, on April 8, 2013, at 9:33 am Rules “a consequence of weakened federal environmental laws under Bill C-38″ By: Greenpeace Canada & Environmental Defence | Press Release: TORONTO, ON, Apr 5, 2013 – New undemocratic rules are creating a barrier to public participation in upcoming National Energy Board (NEB) hearings into the proposal for Enbridge’s Line 9 oil pipeline. [...]
The post New undemocratic rules barrier to public participation in Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline hearings appeared first on The Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis.
By Marc Lee, on April 5, 2013, at 12:46 pm The following is based on a talk at the Bring Your Boomers election forum on April 3 at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver, the fourth in a series of intergenerational dialogues from Gen Why Media, and was co-sponsored by the CCPA, Get Your Vote On, LeadNow and Vancity credit union. I was asked to set the stage for a conversation on climate justice between three youth and five politicians seeking office in the coming election.
BC’s 2013 election comes at an important moment in history. Worldwide, extreme weather events from drought to floods to powerful storms and record-breaking (Read more…)
By Obert Madondo, on April 5, 2013, at 7:16 am By: Obert Madondo | The Canadian Progressive: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday imposed a no-fly zone over the site of the ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline disaster in Mayflower, Arkansas. ExxonMobil’s Pegasus tar sands oil pipeline ruptured last Friday and spilled more than 318,000 litres of tar sands oil into a local neighborhood, drainage system and lake. [...]
The post FAA imposed no-fly zone over Exxon’s Pegasus tar sands oil spill site appeared first on The Canadian Progressive | News & Analysis.
By Mark Brooks, on April 5, 2013, at 2:38 am Sometimes it helps to remind ourselves of the basic science of climate change and why scientists are so certain that the planet is warming and humans are to blame. David Roberts is a climate change and environment columnist at Grist. I’m not so sure about the somewhat distracting musical soundtrack in the background but it’s worth a look in any case.
“We are stuck between the impossible and the unthinkable. For the rest of your life, your job is to make the impossible possible.”
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