Net-Zero Energy Building

An article from the NY Times yesterday about a net-zero building and how it operates. Pretty interesting. One of the interesting things to me was how they wanted existing "off-the shelf technology", not anything particularly innovative, just conscious construction. They also talked about how some of these differences have also influenced human behavior in the office.

Soaking Up the Sun to Squeeze Bills to Zero

By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: February 14, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/science/15building.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha210

Bridging Into Renewable Energy

The proposed bridge would harness solar energy through a grid of solar cells embedded in the road surface, while wind turbines integrated into the spaces between the bridge’s pillars would be used to generate electricity from the crosswinds. The solar highway would stretch 12.4 miles, with the bridge's wind turbines generating enough electricity to power 15,000 houses a year (or 115,000, according to GizMag...). It would also include panoramic viewing points and entirely self-sufficient solar greenhouses. Visitors to the park will be able to stop and buy the local produce grown in these greenhouses.








Gizmodo | New Italian Blood | GizMag

One million electric vehicles by 2015? Biden outlines three-part plan to achieve goal

President Barack Obama on Tuesday night re-iterated his call for the United States to be the first country to put one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.  The goal, first proposed in 2008, could mean big things for Michigan automakers and suppliers in the near future.

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking today at an advanced battery manufacturer in Indiana, picked up where the president left off.

"As you heard President Obama say last night, this Administration is forging a new path forward by making sure America doesn’t just lead in the 21st Century, but dominates in the 21st Century," Biden said at Ener1, per a White House transcript.  "We’re not just creating new jobs -- but sparking whole new industries that will ensure our competitiveness for decades to come -- in industries like electric vehicle manufacturing.

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The Sahara Forest Project

The Sahara Forest Project proposes to use two separate technologies together,Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Seawater Greenhouses, to provide an array of sustainable energy and agricultural solutions, in the usually inhospitable desert environment, through the desalination of seawater into freshwater.


Much more at TreeHugger [via Gizmodo]