March 23, 2007

ECO-DESIGN & GREEN BUILDING

Re-Envisioning Neighborhoods – pro-People, pro-Polar bears, pro-Planet
April 14th Santa Fe – Designing Sustainable Neighborhoods Community Workshop

Twelve short months ago Brian and Rebecca Skeele gave their workshop, Designing Sustainable Neighborhoods–Building Community from the Inside Out to a modest group of single parents in Austin Texas. The group may have been small in numbers but the ‘let’s do this!’ energy that was spawned was huge and created the next workshop in Austin five months later to a group of 40+ coming from around the state.
At both workshops the Skeeles’ observed participants getting jazzed about redesigning their neighborhoods, but had no clear opportunities for implementing their ideas. In fact existing conditions block many of their great sustainable neighborhood ideas. That’s when Rebecca and Brian realized the opportunity to launch a 2010 Turnaround Challenge – setting the goal, that by the year 2010, necessary support mechanisms to allow neighborhoods to go sustainable – socially, economically and environmentally – could be in place.
Brian Skeele, Rebecca Skeele and John Goekler invite you to join them April 14 at Alvord School in Santa Fe, for an ‘Open Space’, community approach to Designing Sustainable Neighborhoods. For additional details and to RSVP visit www.2010turnaround.com or call 505.984-1739.

Dutch Pioneer Floating Eco-Homes
Source: www.news.bbc.co.uk

Small and densely populated, the Netherlands is one of the countries most at risk from climate change and rising sea levels, but in one village in the south of the country, they are trying out a new way of living with an increased risk of flooding. The landscape is saturated with water, cris-crossed by rivers and the network of dykes, which are supposed to protect the area from flooding. Dutch scientists predict a rise in sea levels of up to 43 inches by the year 2100. The Dutch government estimates 500,000 new homes will be needed in the next two decades. Most of the land suitable for conventional building has already been snapped up. So Dutch homebuilders are experimenting with new solutions. A row of amphibious houses lines the waterfront at Maasbommel. The homes have a hollow concrete cube at the base to give them buoyancy. Electricity and water are pumped in through flexible pipes.

RENEWABLE ENERGY & THE ENVIRONMENT

Greenest Ski Resorts
Source: fastcompany.com

Fast Company magazine has compiled a list of the 10 greenest ski resorts including usual suspects like Aspen, but also others like Kaprun, Austria (renewable energy powers its cableways + free bus service to the hills) and Park City (wind power, the second largest public transit system in the State). Most of the ten are converting to green power or buying green energy offset credits. The green-slope winners include:

- Aspen, Colorado
- Kaprun, Austria
- Whistler, Canada
- Meribel, France
- Davos, Switzerland
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Park City, Utah
- Killington, Vermont
- Squaw Valley, California
- Sugar Bowl, California

 Wireless, flexible solar technology gets White House backing
Source: energy.sourceguides.com

A company trying to harness energy from sunlight and interior light to wirelessly power everything from cell phones to signboards now has financial backing from the White House. President Bush's program to help solar energy compete with conventional electricity sources will help fund Konarka Technologies' development of flexible plastic solar cell strips, material that could be embedded into the casings of laptop computers and even woven into power-producing clothing to energize digital media players or other electronics. The technology, which received its first Pentagon funding three years ago, offers a lightweight, flexible alternative to conventional rigid photovoltaic cells on glass panels. The first commercial product using Konarka's technology isn't expected to hit the market until next year. Konarka says its material is lightweight and flexible so that it can be colored, patterned and cut to fit almost any device. The firm envisions embedding its material in cell phones, laptops and toys to provide power on the go. Clothing could be woven with the material to supply power for handheld electronics, and signboards, traffic lights and rooftops could be fitted with solar strips. Konarka was founded by Berke and Alan Heeger, who shared the 2000 Nobel Chemistry prize for showing that certain plastics can be made to conduct electricity.

Survey Finds Cleantech Investors Look to Solar, Ethanol and Hybrids

Source: renewableenergyaccess.com
Among renewable energy sources, solar power is viewed as likely to contribute most to the world's primary energy supplies by 2020, according to a survey of venture capitalists and other financial investors conducted at the Cleantech Forum XII in San Francisco last month by Jefferies & Company. Among renewable energy sources, solar was selected by 40% of respondents, followed by wind (33%), hydropower (22%) and geothermal (5%).
 

NATURAL PRODUCTS & ORGANIC /
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Tax Breaks Proposed for Landowners Who Offer Habitats
Source: enn.com

Landowners frustrated by the Endangered Species Act might get a carrot instead of the stick under a proposed revision of the law that would offer them tax incentives to give the critters a home. That approach is emerging as a narrower alternative to a comprehensive overhaul of the endangered species law, a priority for Republicans before Democrats took control of Congress this year. While environmentalists credit the law with saving and reviving species like the bald eagle and spotted owl, many farm and property rights groups contend it unduly restricts legitimate land uses, provoking lawsuits instead of helping plants and animals. Several senators, including the Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, are supporting a bill offering to $2.7 billion in tax credits over 10 years to landowners who take steps to help endangered species recover.

Canada Becomes First Country in the World to Track Organic Imports
Source: www.organic-and-wellness-news.com

Canada has become the first country in the world to track organic products moving across its border. Although all import and export commodities are tracked with Harmonization System Codes (HS Codes), they only have been coded by type (for instance, tomatoes are identified as roma or cherry), not by method of production. As of this year, HS Codes in Canada also add the certified organic designation to HS Codes to track an initial list of 41 imported organic products ranging from dairy to fruits and vegetables.

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS & INVESTING

UC Davis Helps Green Entrepreneurs Market Their Research
Source: GreenBiz.com

Researchers with projects holding promise for conserving energy and other natural resources will learn how to take their environmental solutions from the lab to the marketplace at a UC Davis program for entrepreneurs in late March. The Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy, hosted by the UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship, is at the forefront of an accelerating effort by universities to transform research into businesses that solve real-world problems. The academy will be held at the new Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences in Incline Village, Nev. A $24 million green building housing research and teaching programs, the facility is a collaboration of UC Davis and three other educational institutions.

Bank of America Launches $20 Billion Environmental Initiative
Source: environmentalleader.com

Bank of America has launched a $20 billion initiative to support environmentally sustainable business activity. Bank of America will commit $18 billion in lending, advice and market creation to help commercial clients finance the use and production of new products, services and technologies. Bank of America also announced investments to offset the impact its own operations and associates have on the environment.  It’s committing $1.4 billion to achieve LEED certification in all new construction of office facilities and banking centers, donating $50 million from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support non-profit organizations focused on environmental activities, and investing $100 million in energy conservation measures at its facilities.

Austin Named #1 Cleantech City in U.S.
Source: GreenBiz.com

With the current instability in energy prices and growing concern about global warming, the field of clean technology is quickly becoming a hot investment topic. SustainLane Government, an online resource center that offers sustainability tips to state and local government, has ranked the five U.S. cities that are hotbeds for the influx of cleantech capital, deep R&D, and real-world opportunities for field-testing and prototyping.

The cities in SustainLane’s to five rankings include:
1. Austin, Texas
2. San Jose, California
3. Berkeley, California
4. Pasadena, California
5. Greater Boston, Massachusetts

Cleantech is gaining rapid acceptance as a defined investment category amongst venture capital firms. In 2006, Cleantech companies received a record $2.9 billion in the United States out of $25.5 billion investments, according to CleanTech Ventures.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE & ALTERNATIVE HEALTHCARE

Seniors Stay Sharper With Selenium
Source: www.laspirit.com

Selenium intake may influence how well aging individuals retain cognitive functions, reports a new study of rural elderly Chinese published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Selenium is a mineral which affects the brain differently than other parts of the body, so correlations between the mineral’s intake and Alzheimer’s disease have been discovered. The study noted that the difference in scores on cognitive tasks between individuals with lowest selenium levels and highest selenium levels was equivalent to a 10-year age difference. In previous studies, adequate intake of selenium and other trace minerals have also been found to lower the risk of bladder and prostate cancer.

Five Ways Acupuncture May Boost Fertility
Source: prevention.com
           
Acupuncture is showing promise as a treatment for female infertility. Researchers from New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center reviewed existing studies and found that acupuncture helps reduce the following:

1. Reduce stress hormones that interfere with ovulation
2. Normalize hormones that regulate ovulation so an egg is released
3. Increase bloodflow to the uterus, improving the chances of a fertilized egg implanting
4. Improve ovulation cycles in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which makes getting pregnant difficult
5. Improve pregnancy rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)

Physicians who are licensed acupuncturists are best qualified to treat infertility; to find one, contact the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture.

Courtesy of Grace Communications, Inc.
Editor: Alexandra Friedman

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