]]> http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2012/01/harvest-power-brings-sustainable-solutions-from-organic-waste/feed/ 1 http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2012/01/1380/ http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2012/01/1380/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:43:21 +0000 grmeyers http://ourgreenstreetsblog.com/wordpress/2012/01/1380/

Habitat pioneer George Nez and architect Doug Eichelberger stand in front on their organic structure using scrap materials

A vacant city block near downtown Denver, once home to a rundown public housing project, happens to be collecting a remarkable set of innovations that can serve as sustainable tools for the world’s poor.

The Denver Sustainability Park, opened this last April, is evolving into a demonstration for what can happen when renewable energy proponents, champions of urban agriculture, affordable housing, and sustainability sit at a table with a land owner who wants to demonstrate something good.

The rundown public housing project that used to dot this land has since been razed and its residents moved to better digs courtesy of its owner, the Denver Housing Authority (DHA), the largest landowner in the city. Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) manages the project.

The first look at this demonstration park under development is enough to amaze. It brings to mind Kevin Costner’s memorable line when he dug up his cornfield to create a baseball diamond: “If you build it, they’ll come.”

In this case, they have come, indeed. What many believed was blighted land is being transformed into a number of luminous examples for how a sustainable solution might really look. The park already showcases a number of impressive models for renewable energy, practical housing for impoverished or displaced people, urban gardens and aquaponics systems capable of providing low-cost fresh produce and fish.

DHA junior project manager Chris Spelke, reflects on the implications of what he sees being built: “Sustainability Park is meant to serve as a demonstration and education center for programs, technologies, and design elements that advance the vision for healthy, vibrant communities and sustainable development.”

Add a hands-on educational component to spread the word and the picture gets even better. Plus a complete bicycle station where a bike can be rented for an affordable price tag. “Transportation is critical to this idea,” adds Spelke.

The Denver Sustainability Park has attracted a coterie of humanitarian architects, designers, engineers, students and social entrepreneurs interested in demonstrating cost-effective ways to increase access to food and water, energy, education, healthcare, revenue-generating activities, and affordable transportation for those who most need them.

It’s fitting somehow that a block away Denver’s Redline Gallery has shown an exhibition, “Design for the Other 90%.” Scheduled to close this month, this national exhibit was developed by New York’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Concerning the rationale for this show, Cooper-Hewitt writes: “Of the world’s total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. Design for the Other 90% explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this “other 90%.”

Spelke says there is nothing quite like this demonstration site anywhere else in the United States. It’s a demonstration worth exploring. In upcoming articles on the Denver Sustainability Park, I will visit with some of the people who are building and teaching here.

Source: Clean Technica (http://s.tt/13gbA)

Photos: DHA & Meyers

“1 in 6 people in the world lack stable access to electricity. Many people must rely on dangerous and toxic kerosene lamps as a primary source of light and spend upwards of 30% of their income on this kerosene. With the increasing developments in small scale solar technology, there is no reason why individuals and families should not have a safer, less expensive, and more reilable source of light. The LuminAID solar light is a cheaper, safer alternative to kerosene lamps.” ”Some of you may have heard us talk for some time now about finding a new name for our product. We are excited to announce that we are renaming both our product and our company. The Solar Light Pillow Project will now be known as LuminAID Lab, and our light is now the LuminAID solar light!  Our new name came to us with help from our talented friends Stevie Belchak and Jess Tom. While we are sad to retire the well-liked “light pillow” nickname, we felt the change was necessary in order to better market our product. We consider it one more of the many lessons learned so far in having started our venture. There are many new exciting developments to come, so be sure to join our mailing list to keep up to date!

“The LuminAID solar light proposes a new direction for solar technology. Flexible, photovoltaic film is laminated to polyethelenevinyl acetate plastic (PEVA). The LuminAID solar light inflates to produce a quality of light similar to a lantern. The LuminAID solar light provides 5 hours of light and fully charges in 6 hours. The inflatable core measures 9″ L x 9″ W. Printed on the core is a frit pattern that consists of white dots. The frit pattern diffuses the LED light.

“The LuminAID solar light inflates to diffuse light like a lantern.

“The circuit and photovoltaic panels are sandwiched between the two layers of plastic, protecting it from damage and making the pillow waterproof. When inflated, the LuminAID solar light can float. The outside layer of plastic can be printed with additional logos or patterns.

“Restoring normal life in regions affected by natural disasters or war plays a vital role in recovery efforts. Re-establishing electrical grid infrastructure in those cases can sometimes take weeks or months. There is a need for a solution that can be deployed easily and immediately and with minimal maintenance. Sustainable lighting solutions, including photovoltaic cells coupled to rechargeable batteries, are an ideal approach to providing on-demand lighting with no operating cost. However, current solar-charged light solutions are expensive and difficult to manufacture and transport. This makes them unattractive for large-scale deployment. The LuminAID solar light addresses these issues while providing a useful and portable form of light for disaster victims.”

Bravo!

Justmeans has published the Global Sustainability Top 1000 list of publicly traded companies.

Justmeans Sustainability Top 1000 List

Most electronic devices contain toxic components and should not be sent to landfills.

Denver Recycles has announced an electronic devices recycling collection event called Eco-Rally. It is scheduled for Saturday, February 12.

For those who don’t reside near Denver, contact your recycling organization and inquire about events like this on the how and where of recycling electronics devices.

According to the announcement, “Denver residents may recycle their old electronic devices by scheduling an appointment to attend theEco-rally Electronic Recycling Collection Event.  Electronics recycling services will be offered at a educed price of $5 per vehicle (limit of 2 “screens” per vehicle, see below for more details).”

Denver Recycles writes that its Eco-rally serves as an electronics recycling, education and engagement initiative that addresses the “serious environmental concern of TVs and electronics in landfills.”

The recycling of electronic devices – once overlooked by people and companies – has grown significantly over the last decade. In fact, interest in the recycling of e-waste is growing worldwide due to concerns for protecting soil, water supplies, and people. Huge amounts of electronic toxins from computers, cell phones, and televisions get sent to landfills in the United States and overseas in poorer countries. The items that are tossed are known to leach poisonous chemicals into the soil and underground water supplies.

Here is the Eco-Rally drop-off information for Denver residents:

• LOCATION: Metech, 500 W. 53rd Pl., Denver
• APPOINTMENT TIMES: 8 AM to 4 PM
• FEE: $5 per vehicle, cash or check only.  Limit of 2 “screens” (televisions, monitors and/or laptops) per vehicle. Additional screens will cost an additional fee of $5 per screen.
• ITEMS ACCEPTED: Televisions, monitors, CPUs, laptops, printers, scanners, faxes, keyboards, mice, stereos, external hard drives and storage devices, cellular phones, telephones, DVRs, VCRs, digital cameras, video recorders, MP3 players, and some small appliances such as microwaves.
• ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED: Air conditioners, large appliances, vacuum cleaners, car batteries or household batteries (rechargeable batteries okay).

As for the practice of single-stream recycling, where all recyclables are put in the same container and sorted at a recycling centers like the one serving Denver, it is important to understand that certain items will not work with this practice.

Denver Recycles also posts information on five items that should never be put in a recycling cart or bin:

• NO FOOD OR LIQUIDS – Cans, bottles and other containers should be empty.  Containers don’t need to be spotless to recycle them, but a quick rinse can help to prevent any odor or pest problems from arising in your cart.
• NO TISSUES, NAPKINS OR PAPER TOWELS – These items are made from paper that has very short fibers (this makes them soft). Unfortunately these fibers are too short to recycle.
• NO STYROFOAM OF ANY KIND – Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is like no other plastic.  The available markets for reprocessing these materials are very limited.  There are a few companies that will take a limited supply of bulk packaging Styrofoam.
• NO COAT HANGERS – Neither metal nor plastic coat hangers are accepted in your purple cart.  Check with your local dry cleaner to see if they take back coat hangers for reuse or recycling.
• NO PLASTIC BAGS – Plastic bags are the worst thing you can put in your purple recycling cart. Plastic bags get caught in the equipment used to sort recyclable materials, and too many can cause the entire facility to shut down.  Most grocery stores accept plastic bags for recycling, or better yet reduce the amount of plastic bags by using reusable bags.

All recyclers should keep in mind that recycling practices such as these should be adhered to for all recycling locations. It is also important for information like this to be shared with many.

AireShare ductless system from Tjernlund Products

This much is true with most home heating, cooling and ventilation designs: no matter how appealing or green an abode might be, a person can usually pinpoint the cold spots in a house or the ones that are too warm.

Not to fret.

A Minnesota-based company  – Tjernlund Products, Inc. – sells a number of low-cost ductless systems that move air from one part of the house to another, whether through walls or through floors.

Here are two of its products:

• AireShare™ Level-to-Level Fan – Can move air from level to level. The unit either blows air up to a higher level or, when installed in the opposite orientation, down to a lower level. It can move stove or fireplace heat up or down a level or move cool air from a basement up to the main living space.
• AireShare Room-to-Room Transfer Fan – The tool for homes with split systems; pulls cool air from floor level or warm air from ceiling level to provide more even distribution.

This  case study from the Tjernlund website is worth reading:

AireShare systems move hot or cold air in a home

“Harbor View Windows, Heating and Air, Inc., based in Brookings, Oregon, has installed ductless split system heating/cooling for two years and is a top producing dealer. Ductless systems offer high-energy savings, but can also have comfort challenges if an air handler is not installed in each room.

“Rooms without air handlers are subject to being too hot or cold. On a recent multi-family project using ductless systems, Harbor View was able to overcome this problem by installing an average of two AireShareTM room-to-room ventilators per five-room townhouse. The ventilators, made by Tjernlund Products, effectively distribute conditioned air to rooms without air handlers.

“According to Pat and Sherry Nied, Harbor View’s owners, “This was a 168-unit town home development. The threebedroom, two-bath units ranged from 1,500 square feet to 2,000 square feet. The builder’s goal was to offer homes with tangible features that separated his product from others in the area and thus would be more attractive to potential buyers. Energy savings is one of the important features because people are now more conscious of it than ever.

“Using a split system was an ideal way to achieve the level of energy conservation the contractor was looking for. However, Nied recognized the downside of using the system in four or more room applications. “Typically there’s a vent in every room with a conventional heat pump system. But with the split system we used, we were limited to heating and cooling only three rooms. This meant air handlers in the main living room, kitchen and master bedroom, leaving two or sometimes three rooms without any conditioned air.””

It figures Tjernlund Products had great reason to develop its ductless products. It is located in White Bear Lake, MN – a cold enough place during the long winters, that inventive minds had no problem stepping up to the plate.

“SAN DIEGO, California, February 20, 2010 (ENS) – A panel of eminent U.S. and European scientists has confirmed the widespread scientific consensus that the Earth’s climate is warming due to human activities, but said they and their colleagues should have responded more quickly and effectively to news of an error in a major climate report and hacked researcher e-mails.

“In a symposium Friday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement Science, AAAS, the scientific leaders acknowledged errors in a 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and possibly impolitic email exchanges by East Anglian University climate researchers.

“”But they expressed shock at the political effects of the disclosures and said the impact was far out of proportion to the overwhelming evidence that human activity is changing the Earth’s climate.

Jerry North (Photos by Edward Lempenin courtesy AAAS)

“There has been no change in the scientific community, no change whatsoever,” in the consensus that global average temperatures have been steadily climbing since the mid-20th century,” said Jerry North, a professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University.

“The panel also included: Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academies of Science and chair of the National Research Council; Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society in the U.K.; James J. McCarthy, chairman of the AAAS Board; Alexander Agassiz, professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University; and Philip Sharp; a Nobel laureate and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“Some climate science critics and media reports have suggested that the e-mails, stolen from an East Anglican University server and released last November, show evidence of tinkering with climate change data. But many scientists say comments from the emails were taken out of context and used in misleading ways.

“An independent investigation is ongoing. The Royal Society will provide advice to the University of East Anglia in identifying assessors to conduct an independent external reappraisal of the Climatic Research Unit’s key publications.

“

Lord Martin Rees

“Rees said on February 12, “It is important that people have the utmost confidence in the science of climate change. Where legitimate doubts are raised about any piece of science they must be fully investigated – that is how science works. The names being put forward by the society will be acting as individuals, not representatives of the Society and the Society will have no oversight of this independent review.”

“In January, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations organization that has involved thousands of scientists from around the world in producing four major reports since the 1990s, acknowledged that it had included unsubstantiated data on Himalayan glacier melting in a 2007 report.

“Cicerone said “the appearance, if not the reality,” of a rift within the research community has “corroded” the climate debate in a way that “may spread over to other kinds of science.”

James J. McCarthy

“”Scientists need to redouble their efforts to share the implications of climate change with the public, he said, by breaking down the numbers and showing how the often-cited global average temperature rise of three degrees Centigrade could actually send temperatures over the land soaring nearly to nearly nine degrees in the next few decades.

“”A lot of what we need to do,” said Cicerone, “is translate basic information into terms the public can understand.

“Several of the scientists acknowledged that some of the details of climate change remain uncertain. But “we think despite all the uncertainties … action is justified and indeed imperative” to avoid the worst effects of climate change, said Rees.

“The IPCC conclusions are subject to rigorous peer review. Indeed, said Rees, some IPCC researchers did catch the erroneous statement that accelerated melting could lead to the disappearance of Himalayan glaciers by 2035. Still, the error slipped through.

“McCarthy, who formerly served as co-chair of an IPCC working group, predicted that the organization would certainly redouble its efforts to catch mistakes in the future.

Sunset in Germany, July 29, 2009 (Photo by Juergen Kuprat)

“He said the IPCC’s prestigious reputation as a Nobel Peace Prize winning organization was a factor in many news reports. “The greater the stature of the institution,” he said, “the harder the fall.”

“Some scientists were also not prepared to discuss the data in ways that were useful to the press and public, said North. While the diversity of data – from pollen samples to satellite data to computer modeling – is a key strength of climate change conclusions, the “culture” of each discipline is equally varied, he said.

“”Some of these [groups] are not really well organized to handle relations with the press,” North said.

“Climate change is “diffuse and international and remote in time,” two special hurdles that make it “very hard to get the public exercised on the matter,” said Rees.

“Wider access and transparency for research data is a step toward better communication, Cicerone said. The National Academies released a report last year on building specific standards for sharing research more broadly with scientific colleagues and the public.

“The controversy will probably play only a small role whether the U.S. Congress will pass a climate change law this year, said McCarthy and Cicerone, who said Americans remain more concerned about a sluggish economy than about climate change.

“So far, McCarthy said, scientists have not done “a sufficiently good job” of persuading the American people and their congressional representatives of the potential economic and health benefits of a comprehensive climate change law.”