An evening dress made of grocery bags stapled together in a way that enhances your curves? You just might see it at a “Trashion Show”, a Project Runway-like challenge involving piecing together recyclable materials to create fashion masterpieces!

One was held recently in Miami Gardens, Florida, as a way to “educate our residents on the environment in a hands-on way”, according to Keep Miami Garden’s Beautiful program director Tsahai Codner. Students participated in the challenge, creating eco-friendly fashion designs using items such as candy wrappers, paper bags, magazine and newspapers, bubble wrap and bottle caps.

The winning outfit was created by an eight-grader,who took home $500 for his trash bag vest and pants combination. Other creative outfits included a dress created from recycled magazine pages, a skirt made out of coffee filters, vests composed of bubble wrap, and hats made of water bottles.

Here is a video from YouTube showing how the youngsters converted their trash into fashion!

There is even a homepage for Trashion shows! Here is an excerpt from the website:

Come get involved in the second annual TRASHION SHOW!

No experience necessary!  We are looking for interested recyclers and artists alike to create fashionable outfits to be modeled at the Earth Day Celebration.  Create your own design or contact us to join a team to make some recycled fun!

This is your chance to challenge your creativity! Come play with us!

Fabulous Prizes and Awards could be yours!  Contact us today and get involved.

The Judges will be looking for the following:

1) Best use of Recyclable and Non Recyclable materials

2) Wearability

3) Overall Artful Design and presentation
Try to create your design with all found materials.  Avoid remaking garments.  Scrounge in your recycling bin.  The judges will be looking for originality and the most creative use of non traditional materials.

What do you think readers, is this an excellent, fun idea or what! If you agree, leave a comment!

Cindy Renewable Energy eco-friendly fashion, green fashion, green living, recyclable materials create clothing, recycled fashion, trashion show

If the major oil companies have their way, biofuels made from plant-based materials such as pecan shells, switch grass and poplar trees may be fueling vehicles in the not so distant future. The catalyst is a mandate by the federal government limiting the amount of biofuel that can be provided by corn ethanol in the future, thus providing a challenge for fuel producers to find appropriate alternative sources for biofuel development.

The government mandate specifies that by 2022, producers must supply 36 billion gallons of biofuel annually by 2022, with a maximum limit of 15 billions of that total comprised of corn ethanol by the year 2015. Corn ethanol critics argue that the conversion process for corn is inefficient and takes away from the perceived “more important” use of corn as a food crop.

As a result of the upcoming regulations’ laboratories throughout the Bay Area and across the United States are filled with researchers  focusing intently on finding methods to produce  second-generation biofuels. The materials under consideration stem from byproducts like sawdust, or from plants that can be cultivated and grown on so called  “marginal” land.

A significant amount of money — in excess of $700 million in grants — has been coming in the direction of many Bay-area university research facilities, and progress is being made studying bioconversion and other biological processes to access sugars for fuel production.

Huge grants, mostly from major oil companies, are rolling in and may well provide the funding to achieve the agressive goals set by the mandate. Chevron has provided $25 million in funding to the University of California-Davis for the biofuel study efforts, along BP which provided three bay-area universities with $350 million in funding for similar efforts several years ago. 

Chevron, which gave $25 million to the University of California-Davis to study biofuels. The DOE awarded Lawrence Berkeley Lab $125 million back in 2007 for biofuel research, while Stanford University received $225 million from Exxon Mobile in 2002 for biofuel and other energy research projects.

As a result of this research and the government mandates as a catalyst, cellulosic ethanol could turn out to be the fuel driving this country’s declaration of oil independence. With oil prices continuing to escalate and global warming effects on the increase, this research is yet another key aspect in the overall war on saving our planet for future generations.

Cindy Biofuels alternative fuel, Biofuels, biomass, cellulosic ethanol, corn ethanol, oil company grants, plant-based fuels

The term “green” and “brothel” together doesn’t exactly conjure up images I would expect to see on an alternative fuels/green living website, but believe it or not, the connection is relevant! A recent news snip-it released by Reuters caught my attention, emphasizing that the recession was affecting the brothel business in Berlin with a serious downturn for the working girls.  In response, the owners reportedly are targeting a new clientele – the environmentally friendly (translation, bikers and public transportation users). An excerpt from the piece:

“The recession has hit our industry hard,” said Thomas Goetz, owner of the “Maison d’envie” brothel.

“Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people,” he added. “It’s good for business, it’s good for the environment — and it’s good for the girls.”

Customers who arrive on bicycle or who can prove they took public transportation get a 5-euro ($7) discount from the usual 70-euro ($100) fee for 45 minute sessions, Goetz told Reuters. He said the environmentally friendly offer was working, and was attracting three to five new customers a day who were eager to do their part for the environment.

Apparently the affect of the recession on the prostitution business is widespread. The director of the Nevada Brothel Owners’ Association, George Flint, reports that business is down significantly in NV, and those women that are vying to work are taking a lot less pay (about 50% less) than several years back.

Even Heidi Fleiss, best known as the “Hollywood Madame”, is combining the sex business with green energy. Well, sort of — she announced back in early 2008 that she was going to open an eco-friendly, wind-powered brothel on her property in Las Vegas. Apparently, those plans have been modified according to an article in the Huffington Post earlier this year. The article states that due to changes in the economy, instead she is focusing her attention on an alternative energy project she said is “perfect for Nevada.”

So what is the moral of this story? Is it that you can effectively combine the sex business with green living practices?Is it that everybody and everything is affected by the recession, even business that cater to the “vices” of life? Readers, what do you think of this rather interesting partnership?

Cindy Green Communitites, Green Living berlin brothel goes green, go green, green brothels, green living, public transportation, working girls go green

Earlier this year the Congressional stimulus bill was passed which earmarked tens of billions of dollars in loans, grants, and tax incentives for advanced battery research and manufacturing, as well as hefty incentives for plug-in hybrids and improvements to the electrical grid. The hope was that the provisions outlined in the bill could create a catalyst for a new, multi-billion dollar industry in the United States for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrids and electric vehicles and for storing energy from the electrical grid.

The plan seems to be working. The U.S. Department of Energy, which controls the stimulus funding, has received proposals from more than 120 companies for development of hybrid vehicle battery technology. The competition for the eight available grants is in full force in an industry that has been dominated by overseas manufacturers to date. Currently,  Japanese, Chinese and South Korean manufacturers represent about 80 percent of the lithium-ion battery business, mainly because their governments are subsidizing their work. In the past, U.S. companies were reluctant to get into the lithium-ion business because research and development is expensive, but this is rapidly on the reverse with the incentives offered by the stimulus funding.

One of the companies that has thrown their hat in the ring is Southern California based Quallion. The company is requesting $220 million to build a manufacturing plant that will produce more than 20,000 batteries a year for hybrid cars and trucks by 2012. The lithium-ion battery manufacturer is hoping to secure a portion of the $2 billion in stimulus funds aimed at developing batteries for hybrid cars.

Other rivals for the government grants include Compact Power Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Chem, which is supplying lithium-ion batteries for the soon-to-be-released Chevrolet Volt; and JC-Saft, a joint venture between Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc. and French battery manufacturer Saft, which produces batteries for a Mercedes hybrid sedan.

Obviously, the companies that ultimately are awarded the stimulus funding will have a leg up over their competitors in the effort to move forward in to research and development of lithium-ion battery technology. But competition often breeds ingenuity and price advantages, thus the process will likely work out for the best for everyone — especially the environment.

Cindy Battery Technology battery research, hybrid batteries, hybrid cars, Hybrid Vehicles, lithium-ion battery manufacturers, lithium-ion battery technology, quallion, stimulus funding

Don’t worry readers, your steaks will still taste most excellent, but the air you breathe will smell sweeter!

Most folks have heard news stories regarding the amount methane gas that is given off through the burps of cows and other ruminant animals. Ruminant animals, which include not only cattle but also sheep, goats, and buffalo, have unique digestive systems. Their ability to convert otherwise unusable plant materials into nutritious food and fiber has been providing the human race with a staple of their diet for many years. On the flip side, this special digestive system also produces methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide as potential side effects, which are all greenhouse gases that can contribute to global climate change.

Various studies have been done to assess the impact of the gas emissions of livestock. According to the epa.gov website, ruminant livestock produces approximately 80 million metric tons of methane annually on a global basis — about 28% of the total worldwide methane emissions from all human-related activities. Although a single cow is an insignificant contributor giving off 80-110 kgs of the gas, when you multiply that by the estimated 1.2 billion ruminants on the planet, the result is one of the largest sources of methane.

At least one farm in Vermont, organic yogurt company Stonyfield Farm, is doing something about it. Dubbed the Stoneyfield Greener Cow program, the pilot study began at the end of 2008 involving 15 Vermont Organic Valley farms which supply the milk for Stonyfield’s yogurts. Stonyfield had been measuring its carbon footprint for over a decade, and had known milk production was the biggest part of its footprint.

According to their press release:

The pilot program works by feeding cows a diet high in natural omega-3 sources, such as alfalfa, flax and grasses. This results in an increase in the milk’s omega-3 content and decrease in the levels of saturated fats. Through intensive, ongoing analysis of the feed and the cow’s milk, the pilot program re-balances the cow’s main stomach or “rumen.” This results in a reduction of the waste by-product methane, a greenhouse gas, which the cows emit primarily through burping.

“Stonyfield Farm has been able to reduce the enteric emissions from the cows by as much as 18%, an average of 12%. If every US dairy were to adopt this approach, in less than one year, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we could reduce would be the equivalent of taking more than half a million cars off the road!” announced Nancy Hirshberg, Stonyfield V.P. of Natural Resources and the director of the Stonyfield Greener Cow Project.

Other ancillary benefits noted from the change of diet is that it significantly increases the nutritional value of the milk produced, as well as has reduced the vet bills for the farm.

Sounds completely win-win for all involved. For more information on the Greener Cow Program, visit www.Stonyfield.com

Cindy Climate Change methane emissions, reduce global warming, reduce greenhouse gases, reduce livestock carbon footprint, ruminant livestock, Stonyfield Greener Cow Program

Now I’ve heard everything, the latest buzz being that the silence of  hybrid vehicles makes them unsafe in certain situations. Wait, isn’t a quieter automobile an advantage? Hasn’t much of the engineering of vehicles for years had “noise reduction” as one of their key design parameters? Although the answer is likely “yes” to all of the questions, it is still an interesting topic to consider and discuss.

Particular concern over the noise factor (or lack thereof) is being addressed by the Japanese government, who is apparently considering requiring certain cars that are too quiet with mandatory noise-making devices. The most popular vehicles in Japan are predominately hybrid vehicles, namely the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight. When these vehicles operate at low speeds, they normally operate exclusively on electricity, therefore the traditional rumbling that a gasoline-combustion engine makes is absent from the ears of pedestrians and onlooker. The concern is that in situations such as entering and exiting driveways, the silence may result in negative consequences with unsuspecting pedestrians, particular to the visually-impaired.

So the Japanese have created a panel to study the need to implement such a device on hybrid vehicles, comprised of  scholars, consumers and visually impaired people. The panel is expected to have a report finished by the end of the year, and its recommendations could have an effect in the U.S., where hybrids are gaining popularity for their fuel-efficiency. In fact, this country may have their own study in place concurrent to the Japanese one, given that U.S. senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced a bill called the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 earlier this year which would require the U.S. government to conduct a similar study on how to protect visually impaired people from such cars.

What do you think, readers — is this a waste of taxpayer’s money, or a valid safety issue? Let us know your view by leaving a comment!

Cindy Hybrid Cars honda insight, hybrid cars, noise factor of hybrid vehicles, quiet hybrid cars, silence of hybrids, Toyota Prius

What color is your roof?

We’ve blogged about the benefits of white roofs, the reflective coatings purported to provide energy-saving benefits in specific climates. But is a “green roof” really green?

Green roofs have been a part of life in Europe and Asia for many years, similar to sod or garden roofs. Composed of earth and living plants, a green roof provides a cooler roof during the summer months than a traditional roof, thereby reducing the energy required for cooling. Additionally, the earthen roof will soak up precipitation, thereby reducing the quantity of rainfall going into storm sewers or streets. And no, a “green roof”  is not always green – due to changes of season, green roofs may appear red, orange, yellow and all colors in between at different times of the year.

Green roofs are just beginning to become a trend in the United States, but the implementation is not as simple as it may sound.  Green roof technology requires significant training and knowledge regarding plant biology, hydraulic engineering and architecture. Green roofs are the result of a complete underlying roof build-up system, providing continuous, uninterrupted layers of protection and drainage. Calculations of load bearing weight can be limiting factors in the design, as a structural engineer will need to assess roof loading capacity and maximum loading conditions.

Basically, green roofs are vegetated roof covers, with growing media and plants taking the place of bare membrane, gravel ballast, shingles or tiles. The number of layers and the layer placement vary for each individual project, but at minimum all green roofs include a single to multi-ply waterproofing layer, drainage, growing media and the plants, covering the entire roof deck surface.  Green roofs have two distinct types of design, termed extensive and intensive, but may also include features of both and then are referred to as either semi-extensive or semi-intensive.

Typical costs for the technology is quite varied contingent on the type of green roof chosen, commonly ranging from $14 a square foot to upwards of $40 a square foot. There are several websites that provide extensive information on the concept and design of green roofs, such as www.greenroofs.org and www.greenroofs.com so for detailed information we recommend your visit these specialists.

Readers, if you have any experience with this type of roof please share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment!

Cindy Conservation, Green Communitites, Green Living earthen roof, energy conservation, garden roof, going green, green roof

In the quest for reducing our carbon footprint, if we could just eliminate the need for gasoline-powered vehicles — or vehicles altogether, for that matter — a huge drain on the environment would be taken care of.  If only all our needs for living were within a reasonable walking distance, the planet would be thankful, as well as our pocketbooks!

Of course, the likelihood of this happening is slim to none. But we recently stumbled across a website that at least can provide us with a little advance information about the places that we may choose to live, and how easy it might be to get around using the old fashioned method called “walking”.

The website is called “Walkscore” (www.walkscore.com), and they promise to “help you find a walkable place to live by calculating a Walk Score for any address.” Using a scoring system from 0-100, WalkScore decides which city is deemed “Walkers’ Paradise,” “Very Walkable,” “Somewhat Walkable,” and “Car-Dependent”.  The Walk Score algorithm measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.  The site also features helpful maps and other pro-pedestrian propaganda.

When I plugged in my address in Scottsdale, Arizona, my resulting walkscore was a paltry 43 — and gave me the sad (but obvious) news that I lived in a car-dependent area. Not that I would be walking much with summer temperatures frequently eclipsing 110 degrees, but given that the walkability factor for a given address is calculated based on the proximity to nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc, I think a bicycle would be more appropriate in my case.

Walk Score ranks 2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities to help you find a walkable place to live.  The top scorer, not surprisingly, is San Francisco, CA, with a walkscore of 86 overall (chinatown has a 99 score!). The remaining top 10 are 2. New York, NY; 3. Boston, MA; 4. Chicago, IL; 5. Philadelphia, PA; 6. Seattle, WA; 7. Washington D.C.; 8. Long Beach, CA; 9. Los Angeles, CA; and 10. Portland, OR.

What is your city’s walkscore? Check it out — it might surprise you!

Cindy Green Communitites green living, places to live without a car, reduce carbon footprint, walk-friendly cities, walk-friendly citys, walkscore

A  95-page report issued earlier this month by the California Public Utilities Commission presents positive data associated with the state’s “Solar Initiative Program”. The program was launched in January 2007, and contains plans to install 3,000 megawatts of new solar power over a ten year period and transform the market for solar energy by reducing its cost. The expansion program is currently the largest of its kind in the United States, and is funded by state and federal tax credits.

A brief summary of the findings included in the report:

• The annual growth rate for new solar installations in the state of CA was close to 50% from 2007 to 2008, up from an average annual growth rate of 35% in prior years.
• The solar initiative has been responsible for over half of the solar power capacity that is now connected to the electric grid, or 226 megawatts of the 515 total that is the current capacity for the state.
• The number of new applications for the program continues to grow, with May of 2009 resulting in a peak of 1,444 applications, the most yet in a single month.
• The total number of applications (pending and completed systems) to date exceeds 22,000.
• The top five counties as far as the quantity of solar installations in the state are Santa Clara (41.2%), Los Angeles (29.1%), Alameda (23.2%), San Diego (22.4%, and San Bernadino (18.9%).
• After 2 1/2 years, the initiative has installed 13% of the total 10-year program goal, and it has an additional 8% projected through pending applications for installation later this year.

The good news is, despite the poor economic conditions that are plaguing our country there is still progress being made in the area of renewable energy. The news regarding the California Solar Initiative Program’s success is a bright spot in a sea of otherwise murkey media communications.

Cindy Solar California Solar, California Solar Initiative, CSI, solar energy, solar initiative, solar power, Solar Tax Credit

It is good news for U.S. Automaker General Motors, as Japan’s biggest industrial electronics group Hitachi announced last week that it will supply lithium-ion batteries to GM starting in 2010.

Hitachi currently makes 40,000 lithium-ion batteries per month and will expand the production capacity to three million units. The production ramp-up is due to the increasing popularity of gas-electric hybrid vehicles worldwide. According to Hitachi spokesman Shinya Yamada, “We plan to boost our production capacity for lithium-ion batteries as we expect demand for hybrid vehicles will continue to grow worldwide.”

Last month, Toyota announced that it planned to use lithium-ion batteries for the first time in its plug-in hybrid vehicles,  in place of the currently used nickel-metal hydride battery technology. The advantage of using a lithium-ion battery is that it will produce more energy, allowing hybrid cars to run more as an electric vehicle, but there have been some technological challenges as well.

According to the Nikkei Business Daily, Hitachi plans to invest approximately 30 million yen (or $311 million dollars) to achieve the increase in production capacity of the lithium-ion batteries.  The companies longer-term goal is to generate lithium-ion battery sales of 100 billion yen by March 2016. The Nikkei article also specified that the output increase will power approximately 700,000 hybrid vehicles, adding that a hybrid vehicle is generally powered by 30-50 lithium-ion batteries.

Hitachi has had its challenges recently, announcing the loss of nearly 7,000 jobs last January due to a significant reduction in sales. The lithium-ion batteries appear to be a major factor in their plan to return to profitability. It is a tough economy out there for businesses of all types — we certainly wish Hitachi good luck in this endeavor.

Cindy Cars, Oil gas-electric hybrid vehicles, GM hybrid cars, Hitachi, Li-Ion, Lithium Ion Batteries, lithium-ion battery technology

Google is sure busy these days, with “irons in the fire” in all sorts of different technologies. According to Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy at the highly successful cybersearch company, Google engineers are working on various energy-related research and development projects with a focus on making renewable energy less expensive. To date, Google has invested approximately $45 million in various energy-related businesses, ranging from geothermal, high-altitude wind, and concentrating solar power systems, to name a few.

Automobile  “smart charging” software, or development of a smart grid, is one of Google’s latest projects. The idea behind the project is to ensure that during peak “charging hours” for PHEVs, power grids don’t get overloaded. The fear is that with commuters all returning home from work around the same time each day and plugging in, the grid would be unable to effectively handle the need, resulting in power disruptions or outages.

To address this, Google has written software with “vehicle dispatch algorithms” that can decide how to best charge cars, Reicher said. In addition to smoothing out the load on the grid, smart charging makes it easier to take advantage of solar and wind power, which are variable sources of electricity.

The software is also designed to simplify matters for grid operators. To maintain a steady frequency on transmission wires, utilities typically call on power generators to increase or decrease the flow of electricity to match the demand. According to Mr. Reichter, the plug-in electric vehicles could effectively fill that “grid regulation” role with Google’s smart-charging software.”You can tell the power generators to power up or you can tell 250 cars to stop charging. It’s exactly the same difference,” he said. “It could be that the car charges for two minutes and then goes off–whatever is  most effective.”

This technology could help alleviate concerns over potential peak-time overload and grid saturation. And smart-charging software can be implemented in the near and medium term, according to Google.

This is good news, and it is refreshing to know that Google is concerned in searching for solutions for our country and environment as well as their own profits. Don’t you agree, readers?

Cindy Cars, Oil google, grid saturation, hybrid cars, PHEV, PHEVs, Plug-In Cars, plug-in vehicles, smart-charging software

Better late than never, German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is joining the hybrid bandwagon, with their announcement of the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid. As the first series-production Mercedes-Benz passenger car with hybrid drive, this S-Class model is the world’s most economical luxury car with a gasoline engine.

Many European automakers have been lagging in their efforts to become involved with hybrid-electric technology, which may be attributed at least in part to the fact that nearly half of the new cars sold overseas are diesels, which use less fuel to start with.

The Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid is the very first production hybrid in the world with a battery that uses lithium ion cells, rather than the less energy-dense nickel-metal-hydride found in every other hybrid thus far. Its estimated combined fuel consumption of 29 miles per gallon (23 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway) sets a new worldwide benchmark in this vehicle segment.

According to the Mercedes-Benz press release:

“The S400 HYBRID is a major milestone on our road towards emission-free mobility”, says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Our first series-production hybrid passenger car exemplifies the long-term, sustainability-oriented development strategy of Mercedes-Benz, which has a clearly defined aim: economical and environmentally compatible premium automobiles, with no compromises in terms of safety, comfort and a superior driving experience.” The S400 HYBRID is also a trailblazer where energy storage is concerned: the new luxury sedan is the first series production car in the world to be equipped with the very latest lithium-ion battery technology. “In this way the S-Class and the Mercedes-Benz brand are doing important pioneering work for the electrification of the automobile.”

Sales of the new model are targeted to begin in August of 2009 in the United States. Mercedes-Benz hasn’t released final pricing to date but is aiming for around $91,000.

Cindy Cars, Oil hybrid cars, Mercedes Hybrid, Mercedes S400, Mercedes-Benz Hybrid, S400 BlueHybrid

Preface: this is definitely not the type of summer road trip I recall from my college days.

In a Big Green Bus fueled by vegetable oil, 15 Dartmouth students recently embarked on a cross-country trek  to raise awareness of energy conservation and environmental responsibility.

This has become an annual event for a small number of undoubtedly lucky Dartmouth students, as this year’s trek is the fifth repetition of the summer journey. The participants travel in “style” in a specially modified and incredibly tricked out 1989 MCI coach bus complete with a living area, kitchen, solar panels, surround sound, LCD TVs, sleeping areas, and wireless internet. The journey will include driving through over thirty states across the U.S. coast to coast, while hosting close to fifty various types of events that the public is encouraged to participate in. The charter is teaching the public how to change our reliance on energy.

From a May press release from Dartmouth College:

The crew plans to make numerous stops at parks, science museums, and other public venues during their trip. The bus itself is a rolling science fair, outfitted with a variety of exhibits that highlight five areas of green living: reduce, reuse, and recycle; energy efficiency; cleaner and renewable energy and fuel; food choices; and action through voting on the local, state, and national levels. The entire interior will be transformed into a rolling science fair.

The Big Green Bus officially kicked off the journey on June 16, and the itinerary places them in San Francisco on July 25 and back to New Hampshire by late August, with numerous stops in between. For details on their tour schedule and to meet the 2009 crew, visit the Big Green Bus website and follow them on Twitter. Daily reports from the road, along with photos, will also be available at their Changents page.

By setting an example of sustainability, the students in The Big Green Bus are teaching us all that you are never too old to learn something new.

Cindy Renewable Energy alternative energy, big green bus, Dartmouth big green bus, Dartmouth students road trip, energy conservation, green living, sustainable living practices