Green Tech China and The New Arms Race
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Chinese companies are now flooding the American market with cheap Chinese solar panels and devastating the American manufacturing sector that was gearing up to create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs for our own ailing economy. Hundreds of U.S. solar manufacturers now see their prospects as grim. BP Solar, Evergreen, and General Electric have already announced the closing of American-based solar panel factories and outsourcing, primarily to China.
Add comment November 20, 2009
Algae turned into high-temperature hydrogen source
A team of researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory showed that photosynthesis may function as a clean, sustainable source of hydrogen.
The team, led by Barry Bruce, a professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology at UT Knoxville, found that the inner machinery of photosynthesis can be isolated from certain algae and, when coupled with a platinum catalyst, is able to produce a steady supply of hydrogen when exposed to light.
Add comment November 16, 2009
New Ways to Boost Solar Development
New Jersey is the number two U.S. state (after California) for solar power generation. In the hope that market efficiencies could help control costs over time, the state has turned not to a tariff-style guarantee, but to a complex approach that relies on a floating, market for tradable solar renewable energy credits (SRECs).
An oversimplified version: install a solar system on your roof or install a commercial system on a warehouse or in a field and each year you’ll earn SRECs based on how much power your system generates annually — one credit for each 1,000 kilowatt hours. You can then turn around and sell your credits back to companies that generate power for the state’s grid. The companies can use the SRECs to help them meet state renewable portfolio standards that steadily ramp up to a mandate requiring that 22.5 percent of their energy come from renewables by 2021.
The credits are actually sold by brokers on an electronic market, like stocks or bonds, at whatever price the market will bear. At the moment, the market is bearing a fabulous price. It takes a calculator to work through the complexities, but with SRECs currently selling for just under $700, and the federal tax credit as well as a reduced state rebate in play, a homeowner in the state can pay for a solar system in four years or less.
Add comment November 15, 2009
New Food Preservation Committee Formed
Food Preservation Information
The Food Preservation committee is dedicated to helping gardeners preserve their bounty. One of the worst things that can happen to a gardener is to have a gorgeous crop only to see it go to waste or rot because it cannot be used before it goes bad. We hope to remedy this situation by giving you all the information we can on food preservation.
There are many ways of preserving food. Some of them are; dehydration, canning, pickling and freezing.
The main thing is to not be scared of the process. It is not necessary to put up an entire acre of food as was done in years past. It is possible to preserve a few jars or bags at a time. This is especially important these days when we all have to work at jobs away from home.
Some publications that might be helpful are the following.
Dry It You’ll Like It, by Gen Macmaniman. This is a self published book full of fun and neat ideas. It is available from amazon.com.. The last printing was 2000, and it may be only available as used. But if you are into drying food it is worth the effort to find it.
Ball Blue Book, Guide to Preserving, available online but not through the Ball canning jar company’s web site. This book has been around since 1909 and is still the definitive book on food preservation. It covers almost all aspects of food preservation from canning to pickling to freezing. All types of foods are included.
Preserve It Naturally, The Complete Guide To Food Dehydration. This book is put out by the Excalibur Dehydrator company and is available at www.excaliburdehydrator.com. This is an excellent guide to dehydrating all foods and is especially helpful by rating how well each food dries.
We will be having a table set up at the Sustainability Fair on Nov. 12. Be sure to stop by and see us.
Add comment November 6, 2009
The Botany of Desire – full program online
A PBS video available online featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world — seen from the plants’ point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species — the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato — evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control.
Add comment November 3, 2009
South Maui Water Quality – What You Can do
On September 10, 2009 Robin Knox spoke at the monthly SMS meeting about South Maui water quality and how we can have a hand in designing and creating the South Maui Watershed.
Robin Knox is an environmental scientist with more than 25 years experience in Clean Water regulation and pollution control. She specializes in developing water quality-based pollution controls that protect aquatic resources from man-made sources of pollution.
Add comment November 2, 2009
Maalaea Bay’s once-vibrant reefs suffer decline at an alarming rate
The best place to see vibrant coral reefs in Maalaea may be at the Maui Ocean Center. The popular aquarium displays an abundant range of marine life that no longer exists in the adjacent bay, which has experienced a total collapse of its underwater ecosystem in recent years, due largely to human impacts.
Add comment October 25, 2009
New County Working Group to Examine Injection Well Options
Mayor Charmaine Tavares has convened a Community Working Group (CWG) to explore options to increase treated wastewater reuse to 100% within Maui Island. Represented in the group of 18 participants are developers, scientists, environmentalists, large and small scale farmers, community association representatives, a native Hawaiian fisherman and others. The CWG will meet at least once monthly over the next year and produce a report with recommendations in December 2010 to the Department of Environmental Management.
Below are the details for the first meeting. Subsequent meetings will be scheduled after consulting with the CWG members.
Where:
Kalana Pakui Building, First Floor
Planning Department Conference Room
250 S. High Street
When:
October 29th from 1:30-4:30 p.m.
Members of the public are invited to attend all the CWG meetings and provide comment. For more information, contact the Department of Environmental Management at 270-8230.
Add comment October 23, 2009
The American Meadow Garden
In his new well-illustrated book, The American Meadow Garden, John Greenlee has targeted the Great American Lawn – that notorious sink of fossil fuels, water, chemicals and spare time – for destruction. “The revolution is clearly on,” he says, adding: “It’s a one-garden-at-a-time revolution.” Greenlee describes one of the most exciting new directions in horticulture and design, yards made of combinations of grasses and compatible accent plants for different kinds of meadows. One chapter catalogs grasses and grasslike plants now available in the horticultural trade; another showcases outstanding domestic meadows, including some of Greenlee’s own designs.
Add comment October 21, 2009
Smart grid gets test in Wailea
General Electric Co. recently announced it would test its “smart grid” technology in Wailea, hoping to reduce peak electricity consumption there by 15 percent by 2012.
Add comment October 21, 2009
