Archive for September, 2011
Online Game Helps Households Go Green
A new online game lets you see how much energy you use as you choose the time of day and whether to use hot water when you do the laundry or whether you use the toaster or oven to heat the rolls.
A Way to Make Motor Fuel Out of Wood? Add Water
Using water super heated to the “supercritical phase” to convert the sugars in wood into fuel.
24 Hours of Climate Realty: Al Gore, Hour 24: New York
Presented on September 14 and 15, spanning 24 hours, 24 time zones and multiple languages, 24 Hours of Reality features a new multimedia presentation about climate change created by Vice President Gore and delivered by an army of personally trained slide show presenters from around the world. Beginning in Mexico City and proceeding westward around the globe, 24 Hours of Reality offers a round-the-clock snapshot of the global climate crisis in real time, sharing unique perspectives on the crisis from Tonga to Cape Verde, Mexico City to Kotzebue, Alaska, Jakarta to London. With one event scheduled in each time zone at 7 p.m. local time, the entire 24 hours was streamed live online from start to finish, and culminated in this final ‘Hour 24′ presentation by Vice President Gore in New York at 7 pm.
Return to Public Utilities?
The citizens of Boulder Colorado will vote this fall on whether to fire the private utility company that supplies their electricty, and start their own, green-oriented public utility. Could this be the start of a movement to un-privatize?
Read the article, Power to the People, from the Coloradan Magazine..
The Mayor’s Environmental Initiatives
On Wednesday, September 14, Rob Parsons will discuss Mayor Arakawa’s current environmental projects and initiatives, including the Mayor’s recent Charter Commission proposal to expand the County’s focus on sustainability. Topics will include an axis deer management plan, Hawaiian monk seal recovery efforts, win-win solutions for community and local agriculture, and renewable energy updates.
Rob is the Maui County Executive Assistant for Environmental Concerns, a 33-year Maui resident, a well-known writer and environmental advocate who has also twice run for political office. From 2003 to 2007 Rob was the first-ever Maui County Environmental Coordinator. He has authored nearly 200 articles on topics such as renewable energy, biofuels, local food production, water resources, conservation, planning issues, and politics—many of them in his Maui Time Weekly’s “Rob Report.” Parsons also served as Hawaii consultant to Food & Water Watch, doing education and outreach on open ocean aquaculture issues.
Rob’s presentation will be shortly after noon on Wednesday the 14th at the Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea meeting at Mulligan’s On The Blue at the Blue Course in Wailea. All are welcome. Meeting cost is $10, with lunch $15.
Solar bottle lights in the Philippines
Using recycled plastic bottles and a little ingenuity to bring light into dark homes.
Maui County to Install 1,000 Solar Panels
Maui County will install at least 1,000 solar panels on the rooftops of county facilities on Maui and Lanai. In a 20-year purchase agreement, the county will pay nothing for the installation, but will have a contract to pay the companies that install the panels for the electricity generated—and save about $50,000 per year in the process.
Eat Local Challenge
Kanu Hawai‘i’s Eat Local Challenge will commit thousands of islanders in the effort to build a more sustainable, secure, and healthy local food system. Building on the successes of the past two years, the Eat Local Challenge is expanding from one week to the entire month of September. The month will feature weekly mini-challenges:
Week 1: Education: Learn about Hawai’i's local food system
Week 2: Grow your own: Plant/harvest local foods at home and in the community
Week 3: Choose local: Find local food at restaurants and markets
Week 4: Eat strictly local: Strive to eat only locally grown foods for one week
Change
Personal Change. Join the Eat Local Challenge by making one or more of the commitments below to support locally grown food.
Policy Change. Individuals who participate in the Challenge will receive information about food policy issues that relate to their personal actions/commitments. They will be encouraged to advocate on local food and agriculture policies, and will also be provided information about where candidates in the 2012 and 2014 elections stand with respect to food policy.
Corporate Change. Restaurant Partners are asked to offer menu items during the Eat Local Challenge and beyond using local ingredients. Retail Partners are asked to make changes in the way they source, display and market local food items. Interested in partnering with us?
Sustain
The month of September is a time to focus our collective attention and commit to building a more sustainable, secure, and healthy local food system. We will continue to work together year-round to make change in our own lives and in these islands.
Here’s a list of Maui locations and a place to add your own.
