• Last updated 5/17/12 by jeremy999

  Spring is supposed to be a season of hope. We finally emerge from the depths of winter, Mother Nature is finally awake and the sun decides to make an appearance. However, for allergy sufferers, spring is the time of year they dread the most. Spores, grass and tree pollens fill the air and airborne allergy levels reach staggering proportions. Symptoms such as sneezing, sniffling and itchy eyes remain with allergy sufferers for months. As a result, spring is more a time of pain than hope for the millions of unfortunate individuals afflicted with various... read more

• Last updated 4/10/12 by ewidle

Energy Efficient Lighting Technologies "Incandescent light bulbs are incredibly inefficient, using only 10% of their consumed electricity to emit light. The remaining 90% of energy used is wasted as heat. Halogen lamps also waste a great deal of power and generate intense heat that can potentially cause burns or fires."   "Wasting electricity carries both global and personal health consequences. In burning fossil fuels such as coal to supply electricity to homes and workplaces, power plants discharge clouds of soot and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Among... read more

• Last updated 4/2/12 by KChaleunsouk

  Earth Day is April 22, but Hardwood Bargains is going green early this year. The online retailer of quality and affordable hardwood flooring, is stepping up to the plate of eco responsibility by partnering with American Forests, the nation’s oldest non-profit conservation organization, for the Global Releaf forest restoration program. Starting April 1, HardwoodBargains.com will replant two trees for each tree used in the production of the flooring they sell.   “American Forests applauds the commitment to sustainability by Hardwood Bargains,” said Lea Sloan, VP... read more

• Last updated 3/26/12 by stins

  In a kickoff segment, we introduced three types of eco-friendly beauty products: natural, vegan, and organic.  In this article, we go into more detail about organic cosmetics and suggest organic brands and products for the curious or full-on organic lifestyle.   Photo by Lauren Hammond, courtesy of Flickr.com   Here’s the skinny on “organic”: Organic beauty products come in all shapes and sizes. Some are 100% organic, while others are partially formulated with organic ingredients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate organic... read more

• Last updated 1/13/12 by dsager

Top Graduate Schools with Degrees in Sustainable Practices   For purposes of this article our definition of sustainable practices includes professional fields in science, management, public policy, engineering, architecture, and agriculture.  There are degrees in all of these disciplines that have been developed for careers relating to environmental responsibility.  There are some degrees that delve into sustainability in detail and others – such as MBA programs – that treat environmental concerns as simply another area of specialization.  We have tried to select... read more

• Last updated 1/3/12 by cleanenergyexp

Early indications are that 2011 will be the strongest year ever for solar installations, although not quite as strong as most people believed. For the third quarter of 2011, solar installations in the U.S. were approximately 449.2 megawatts which was an increase of almost 40% over the prior quarter, 324.3 megawatts, according to Solar Energy Industries Association and research firm GTM Research. That means that the total for the first three quarters in 2011 exceeded the entire total of installed solar in 2010.   The reason for this has been that the price of... read more

• Last updated 12/8/11 by cleanenergyexp

New York solar advocates are pushing for the adoption of a new bill that would create a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) market. If enacted, the New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act would launch an SREC market starting in 2013.   An SREC represents the environmental attributes from a solar facility and is generated each time a certified and registered solar power system produces one thousand killowatt-hours (KWh) of energy. For every 1000 killowatt-hours of electricity produced by an eligible solar facility, one SREC is awarded which can then be... read more

• Last updated 11/22/11 by cleanenergyexp

Last June, Governor Chris Christie ruffled the feathers of many in the clean energy community by released a draft of his administration’s Energy Master Plan (EMP) which called for more focus be devoted to larger projects that would be located in brownfields and larger commercial warehouses. This would less support for smaller scale projects, such as residential or small commercial solar, and is a result of Governor Christie’s desire that any renewable energy projects demonstrate larger “bang for the buck” and do not result in additional rate increases for... read more

• Last updated 11/16/11 by cleanenergyexp

A recent round table with Colorado-based solar executives and senior executives from national and regional banks explored the major roadblocks to solar companies in Colorado. The meeting, hosted by the Colorado Bankers Association and the Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (“COSEIA”), identified financing as the biggest impediment to substantial growth for solar in colorado.   According to COSEIA, approximately 80-90% of the solar companies in Colorado are facing growth restraints due to lack of available financing. This is particularly critical as more... read more

• Last updated 11/16/11 by cleanenergyexp

Recently, Evergreen Solar, one of the first casualties in the U.S. solar manufacturing business, declared bankruptcy and has received approval from the courts to sell off all of its assets. Thinking about the company, how did they get here?   Evergreen made its claim to fame with its String Ribbon technology: basically, instead of traditional silicon wafers, Evergreen produced ribbons of silicon crystals which were then cut into lengths which are treated with traditional processes to form solar cells. String Ribbon technology offers a less expensive manufacturing... read more