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This California geothermal power plant is one method of using heat from the Earth.

Use a banking analogy for the untapped and clean geothermal energy our planet provides to find we live on top of a remarkable energy safe deposit vault.

In 2008, geothermal power supplied less than one percent of the world’s energy. However by 2050 it is anticipated that geothermal power will meet between 10 and 20 percent of the world’s energy requirements, notes a report from Renewable Energy World.

Colorado engineer and geothermal innovator Merline Van Dyke says here are many different kinds of geothermal systems, some that rely on hot water from beneath the earth’s surface, others that simply use the constant temperature of soil below the surface as a means of heating and cooling.

“What I’m interested in talking about are the efficient ones,” says Van Dyke. He began experimenting with making homes more efficient in 1994, building a home in the foothills west of Denver, using structural insulated panels.

Van Dyke is presently working with Sims Construction, a Denver builder, as they finish a three-story, 2,400 square-foot geothermal house that uses structural concrete insulated panels (SCIP) on the exterior to maintain efficient temperatures. Net result: R-40 insulation value, an electricity bill that will run half of a normal bill, and no need for natural gas.

Source: Amasond

The house is located in central Denver and features an Amasond geothermal system. Amasond, an Austrian-based company, provided a geothermal system where pipe was drilled to a non-water level of 118 feet, where the earth temperature was a constant 52 degrees Fahrenheit.  This past summer, Sims flew to Europe to participate in an Amasond training program.

“I am very excited about how efficient this home is going to be,” he says, noting this is the first home of this kind to be built in Denver.

Understanding Geothermal Basics

Geothermal energy – or heat from the Earth – has been used in a variety of ways since the early annals of human life on this planet. Perhaps best, in this day and age, most geothermal energy is clean and sustainable, depending on what procedures are used. Hydraulic fracturing of rock below the surface, a procedure used in oil and natural gas capture, is being explored as a way to obtain hot water, but the environmental impacts to this procedure are being questioned by some. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth’s surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Merline Van Dyke and Richard Sims in front of Denver geothermal house using structural concrete insulated panels

A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork), and a system of pipes buried in the ground near the building (see photo). In the winter, the heat pump removes heat from the heat exchanger and pumps it into the indoor air delivery system. In the summer, the process is reversed, and the heat pump moves heat from the indoor air into the heat exchanger. The heat removed from the indoor air during the summer can also be used to provide a free source of hot water.

The Department of Energy, working with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, CO undertakes ongoing research to develop and advance technologies for various geothermal applications.

Geothermal heat pumps use much less energy than conventional heating systems, since they draw heat from the ground. They are also more efficient when cooling your home. Not only does this save energy and money, it reduces air pollution. The GEO Exchange http://www.geoexchange.org/ is a trade association for geothermal heat pumps, an integral part of any geothermal system.

In modern direct-use systems, a well is drilled into a geothermal reservoir to provide a steady stream of hot water. The water is brought up through the well, and a mechanical system – piping, a heat exchanger, and controls – delivers the heat directly for its intended use. A disposal system then either injects the cooled water underground or disposes of it on the surface.

Geothermal Electricity

In 1911, the world’s first geothermal power plant had a capacity of 250 kilowatts. By 1975 the Larderello fields were capable of producing 405 megawatts of power. It was the world’s only industrial producer of geothermal electricity until 1958, when New Zealand built a plant in Wairakei. The Geysers Resort Hotel, California, was the site of the first geothermal power plant in the United States. The Geysers currently produces over 750 Megawatts of power annually.

Today, 69 geothermal power facilities are in operation at 18 sites around the United States, and geothermal power is generated in over 20 countries around the world.

New paper-based bottles use 70 percent less plastic. Source: Seventh Generation

In the 1967 Dustin Hoffman movie, The Graduate, a businessman at a trendy cocktail party said, “The future’s in plastic.” Today, at Seventh Generation and its development partner, Ecologic, a new paper bottle containing laundry detergent may soon have insiders repeating the mantra, “The future’s in paper.”

This March, Seventh Generation is distributing a new liquid laundry detergent bottle made from 100 percent recycled cardboard and newspaper. Seventh Generation’s Natural 4X Laundry Detergent bottle, designed with Ecologic Brands, features a fully-recyclable and compostable outer shell made from 70 percent recycled cardboard fibers plus 30 percent newspaper fibers. A recyclable lightweight plastic pouch is inside. The new bottle uses 66 percent less plastic than a typical 100 ounce 2X detergent bottle, the company reports.

Ecologic was founded in 2008. President Julie Corbett designed a bottle combining a sturdy molded fiber shell made from cardboard boxes and old newspapers with a thin inner plastic pouch and re-sealable cap. She patented her technology and Ecologic Brands was born.

When empty, the bottle’s shell can be recycled with other household paper. The #4 plastic pouch and the #5 cap can go into the plastic recycling bin. The Natural 4X Laundry Detergent will be available on natural retailer shelves throughout the country by the end of March.

Created as an alternative to rigid plastic bottles and laminated cartons, this design features a biodegradable and compostable shell made from recycled cardboard and a lightweight recyclable liner with 70 percent less plastic than a rigid container. Consumers gain the functionality they expect with a re-sealable cap, a rigid outer container and easy-to-grip profile. Disposal is simple: Consumers split open the shell’s side to separate and recycle components.

Ten package designers and developers have been named finalists in the “Package of the Future” competition, a key component of Project 2020: The Consumer Experience, sponsored by DuPont.

During November 2010, Environmental Leader reported about this company’s launch of new packaging that featured 96% post-consumer-recycled  content. This packaging was developed by Seventh Generation and partner, Consolidated Container Company, the packaging is made of resin derived from recycled milk jugs and other plastic bottles.

Pompidou Center - Paris

Once a finely constructed house or building hid the vast majority of its inner parts. Like the skin on a body, drywall, plaster, or some other curtain was constructed to conceal a complex web of plumbing pipes and joints, electrical wiring and outlets, and a crisscross of ductwork used to feed heating, air conditioning and ventilation runs. And don’t forget the structural members – the 2×4s or steel beams that held the whole works together.

Such concealment is not always the case today. The ceiling components in many new stores and restaurants – once discreetly hidden by a drop-ceiling grid containing 2’ x 4’ panels – now reveal a run of girders, PVC pipes and smartly painted ductwork for the HVAC system.

Colorado Architect Doug Eichelberger says his first memory of encountering exposed infrastructure was the Pompidou Center in Paris, named after then president, Georges Pompidou. Opened in 1977, the center is famous for its structure. Its distinctive architecture depicts all of the air ducts, water pipes, electrical lines, etc. on the outside of the building. It is an interesting example of visual mapping.

Each building could be mapped with its pipes and electrical lines that are usually hidden within the walls. The Pompidou Center shows all of these lines and pipes painted in different colors so that one can distinguish them; the air ducts are painted blue, water ducts are green, electricity lines are yellow and staircase and elevators are red.

As the center’s flyer clearly states: “The building’s structure is turned completely “inside out” and even the steel beams that hold the construction together are visible on the outside.”

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Thanks to guest contributor, Mariana Ashley, who posts this report about colleges offering more programs conerning sustainability and environmental issues. Ashley writes frequently about online colleges.

Most incoming college students are becoming aware of the need for environmental protection and a way to ensure the healthy and long-standing existence of the human race on Earth. They are also aware that some of the biggest surges in job opportunities will be in these areas. For this reason, college programs in sustainability and environmental protection are becoming more readily available. Here are some of the top programs in this important field.

Sustainability is one of the fastest growing degree programs in the United States today. Much of the focus in a sustainability program will be on how human beings can promote the well-being of their species and environment over the long term. Students will study the environmental, social and economic factors relating to this goal.

There are many colleges and universities offering degrees in sustainability. As long as the school is accredited, the degree should provide a thorough background in all areas necessary to begin a career in this field. There are also very interesting subsets within sustainability studies. For example, The University of New Hampshire offers a degree in EcoGastronomy, in which students study sustainable agriculture and holistic nutrition. They receive hands-on experience in kitchens, farms and laboratories in order to learn how to create and prepare food in an agriculturally sustainable way.

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