Archive for September, 2009

A note from Alpha Energy:

Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA recently hired The Alpha Group, Alpha Energy to install a 21kW solar power system to be commissioned on October 3.

“It is exciting to see educational institutions getting involved in renewable energy projects like this,” said Drew Zogby, President and COO of Alpha Technologies. “By showing their own commitment to going green, Whitman College is leading by example and encouraging their students to follow the same path. By providing Whitman with high quality system design, installation and innovative monitoring systems, Alpha Energy is demonstrating our own commitment to the best at what we do. This turnkey system is something Whitman and their students can be proud of.” continue

Engineering firm Wight & Company announced Tuesday that the 9^th District Police Station in Chicago, a new facility located along S. Halsted St. from W. 31^st St. south to just past W. 32^nd St., achieved LEED Gold certification. The facility includes a 250-car parking structure, up-to-date holding cells, a secure viewing and line-up area, community room for group functions and a fitness room for officers and staff. One of the unique aspects of the project is its water management design that Wight & Company’s civil engineering group devised. A rain garden was constructed at the north end of the building to help implement this aggressive approach. Building on the city’s green initiatives, another notable achievement for the project was the diversion of over 97% of construction debris from landfills. This number surpassed the city’s requirement of 50% and was able to earn an Innovation point under LEED for going above and beyond. continue

Are you a California business, government or organization that is particularly proud of your sustainability efforts? Would you like to tell the world about those efforts?

Well, the California Sustainability Alliance can help. continue

Anyone who lives or works near a landfill is intimately familiar with methane, the gas that produces that readily identifiable “landfill smell.” Created by decomposing organic matter, methane is 20 times better than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. But those same properties make it a fine source of energy, as more and more local governments are discovering. continue

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week overwhelmingly passed what is likely the country’s most comprehensive recycling and composting ordinance. The Board voted 9-2 to require residents and business owners to sort recyclables, food waste and trash for weekly collection, in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and, ultimately, make the city landfill- and incinerator-free by 2020.
The ordinance, which will take effect this fall, provides fines for failure to comply with the recycling/composting regulations. continue

The World Car Free network www.worldcarfree.net is urging people around the world take the heat off the planet by giving up their cars for one day. International Car Free Day is September 22, and the organization, which promotes green transportation alternatives, is hoping that one day can turn into a week, then a month, and, eventually, a smaller carbon footprint for everyone.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund www.edf.org, the U.S. has 30 percent of the world’s cars but emits 45 percent of the world’s global automotive CO2 emissions; an estimated 450 million tons are emitted by personal vehicles alone.

So, on the 22nd, give your car the day off. Hop a subway or ride a bike. The planet will be grateful.

Novato, Calif.’s, Sustainability Committee is holding a public workshop to receive input and comments on the development of its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (EECS) and Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP).

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Farmers’ markets are sprouting up like, well, weeds in urban areas across the country. Some are wildly successful. Some never really get off the ground. continue