Jake is a freelance writer living in Providence, Rhode Island. A Minnesota native, outdoorsman and traveler, Jake writes for several outdoors publications and green organizations. Find more information at www.jakekulju.com.
Europe definitely has a head start on biofuel development and access. Hopefully this step by Massachusetts will help get biodiesel on the map. I’ve only seen one or two biodiesel fueling stations in the U.S., and I’d love to see more, as my truck is rigged for biodiesel.
From infrastructure to product and service offerings, everything the organization is involved with will be built upon the triple bottom line values of people, planet and prosperity. The bank is mobilized around a green economy and a sustainable environment, as well as supporting growing consumer and business demands around these issues.
Rather, IzzitGreen.com, the new Boston-based web site is asking that question all over the city. Regular columns, reviews and business spotlights give information about how green the places Bostonians frequent really are.
Looking to reduce energy costs and “green” up the community, Norwell, Mass. is considering placing wind-powered turbines right in town.
A new study, “Awnings in Residential Buildings: The Impact on Energy Use and Peak Demand,” conducted by the Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota, has found that awnings over windows on residences can save energy costs and reduce energy use throughout the year.
Higher fuel prices means more than taking a beating at the pump—it also affects the prices of the foodstuffs you buy. From Brazilian bananas to Moroccan couscous, the price of food is directly related to the energy it takes to cultivate, harvest and transport it.
A community artist and a South Providence neighborhood will help raise awareness about a health hazard in the community while designing a series of informational signs through a partnership between three state agencies.
Warwick, Rhode Island-based artist Holly Ewald has been commissioned by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts to create a series of informational signs warning residents of the South Providence neighborhood near Mashapaug Pond off Adelaide Ave. about the dangers of swimming and fishing in the pond. The pond has contained unsafe levels of dioxins and PCBs for years—the State Arts Council is working in collaboration with the Rhode Island Departments of Health and Environmental Management on this project to help educate community members and youth of the danger.
I have to ask—wouldn’t the money be better spent on cleaning up the pond? Community awareness about health hazards is definitely a positive step, and I am glad to see that a South Providence neighborhood is getting attention from state agencies and artists, but I think this needs to be taken a step further.
Cambridge, Mass., is known for a lot of things—and now it can be known for going green, as well. Located at 1776 Mass. Ave. in Cambridge’s Porter Square, a year-old independent boutique specializing in eco-modern goods is garnering some attention.
The place is called Greenward. It’s popular. So popular that it made the Boston Magazine 2008 Best of Boston Home! list. Not bad for a new business in a major metropolitan area. The shop didn’t just make the cut to fill the token green business spot, either. It walks the walk.
It can be hard to find products with a conscience, and Greenward knows that. That’s part of the reason that they carry nearly anything you can conceive of that has gone green. If you need books, jewelry, bike accessories, stationery, homewares or magazines, Greenward’s got it. If you want clothes, notebooks, tables, candles or speakers…Greenward’s got it.
Liberal arts college Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine, recently announced that it will purchase green power from the 42-MW Mars Hill wind project. Owned by UPC Wind, the Northern Maine-based Mars Hill wind project will provide Bowdoin with renewable energy certificates (RECs) that will offset approximately 70% of campus electricity use over the next three years.
The voluntary REC purchases from UPC Wind will put Bowdoin at an impressive 100% green power usage level—well above the the requirements of Maine’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
“Our primary focus has been and will continue to be switching to lower carbon fuels and increased energy efficiency, but as we seek to become carbon neutral, purchasing offsets are a necessity,” explains S. Catherine Longley, Bowdoin’s Sr. V.P. for Finance and Administration & Treasurer and chair of the College’s climate commitment group. “We are excited that the Mars Hill wind project allows us to procure wind RECs locally.”
Of course, this isn’t Bowdoin’s first step toward a more ecologically responsible approach to the world. In 2006 the college signed the Maine Governor’s Carbon Challenge agreeing to reduce emissions to 11 percent below 2002 levels by 2010. They easily surpassed that goal in 2007.
Bowdoin also joined the EPA Green Power Partner Program in 2006, and the recent move to 100% green power ensures that they will remain in the EPA Program through 2010.
When the Internet extended its wiry tentacles to the small town that I grew up in, I had no idea what it was. I pictured it being a room full of wires and lights, like a super computer android version of a phone operator.
As I matured, I realized it wasn’t that at all, but a more mystic existence of floating pockets of digital information in constant flux, existing in digital clouds that were suspended just above the atmosphere.
Of course, neither of those images is or was correct. But as it turns out, I was closer to the target with my first guess. Massive server rooms take up space and energy all over the world, storing the information and websites we web junkies feed on for survival. Luckily, they are starting to go green.
Digital Realty Trust, Inc., a technology real estate company, has taken a bold step into the green world by renovating a 90-year-old printing facility in Chicago. They have turned the plant into the world’s first LEED gold-certified data center. Not only is this a paradigm shift for future data centers—it may change the way LEED building companies approach renovations.
