Daily Archives: February 3, 2011

DOE Technical Assistance Program February Webinar Schedule

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Keep your energy up this winter with the February Technical Assistance Program (TAP) webinars! These webinars will discuss valuable strategies to overcome grantee challenges as well as address best practices and technical information for state, city, county and tribal energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Fuels, Energy, Manufacturing, Meetings & Webinars, Renewable Energy | Leave a comment

Government Backs $1 Billion Plan to Make Gasoline from Wood

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full post at New York Times Green. The Energy Department has offered a Texas company a loan guarantee for a $1 billion project to build four small factories that would turn wood chips into an oil substitute. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels | Leave a comment

10 Wild Materials That Could Help Save the Earth [Slideshow]

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

View the slideshow at Fast Company. We take the stuff that makes up our world for granted. Plastic is plastic, right? And wood is wood? Absolutely not: Materials are still a hotbed of innovation, often involving ideas to help save … Continue reading →

Posted in Sustainable Design | Leave a comment

RAND report draws criticism

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in Biorefining Magazine. A report recently released by nonprofit research organization RAND Corp. regarding military use of alternative fuels is drawing criticism from both industry and the military itself. The report, titled, “Alternative Fuels for Military … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Green Government | Leave a comment

It’s Time for Millennium Consumption Goals

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story from WorldWatch. I read yesterday that “a Sri Lankan scientist is calling for the drafting of “Millennium Consumption Goals” to [help] rich countries to curb their climate-damaging consumption habits, in the same way the poor have … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Green Business, Green Lifestyle | Leave a comment

Google Unveils Not-Evil Office in Pittsburgh

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story and see the pictures in Fast Company. I don’t know if the renovation itself was green, but they did repurpose an old Nabisco factory, so I give them points for that.

Posted in Brownfields | Leave a comment

EPA Offers Proven Solutions to Support Sustainable Community Goals

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the formation of Sustainable Communities Building Blocks, a program designed to help interested communities adopt sustainable planning methods. Sustainable planning helps safeguard the environment and spur economic development while also improving Americans’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding Opportunities, Local Initiatives, Smart Growth | Leave a comment

Politics and Science in Confronting Environmental Change

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Watch the video from ISTC’s Sustainability Seminar Series. Talk given by University of Illinois Political Science Professor Steve Seitz. If the best available scientific knowledge recommends a policy response to climate change, why don’t governments act? What happens when certain … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Video | Leave a comment

Energy Firms Aided by U.S. Find Backers

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Read the full story in the New York Times. The firms were six out of a group of 37 that had received federal assistance because they were deemed too radical or too preliminary to attract private money.

Posted in Energy | Leave a comment

Thomas Thwaites: How I built a toaster — from scratch

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Laura B.

Watch the TEDTalk. It takes an entire civilization to build a toaster. Designer Thomas Thwaites found out the hard way, by attempting to build one from scratch: mining ore for steel, deriving plastic from oil … it’s frankly amazing he … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Business, Sustainable Design | Leave a comment