What should we do about climate change?
Instead of waiting for policy makers to act, you can help figure out the answer at the Climate CoLab; previously discussed in Opening the [Copenhagen] talks. Working alone—or in teams of people from all over the world—you can create proposals for what to do about climate change. The winning proposals will be presented to key policy makers, including officials at the UN and the US Congress. And if your proposal is one of the top two, you’ll receive travel funding for a representative of your team to attend one of these briefings.
We especially encourage entries from teams of undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in climate and sustainability issues. As usual rules and restrictions apply.
The deadline for the contest… [view entry]
For those of you who missed PARK(ing) day, the Boston Globe had some coverage as did WBUR. And the Livable Streets Alliance have posted a mess of pictures to flickr.
The RelayRides onboard computer
On Saturday we tried out a Boston-based car-sharing service called RelayRides. It’s much like the other locally-based car-share service Zipcar, except that all the cars are owned by regular people. When they’re not using them, they rent them out.
Jason and I are thinking of enrolling our car, since we rarely use it on weekends, but we wanted to try out the system from the other side first.
Like with Zipcar, a membership card locks and unlocks the door, but only during your scheduled time. An electronic device near the rearview mirror shows how long you have the car for and allows you to extend or shorten your reservation. It also houses the gas card. Gas is the owner’s responsibility (figured into the cost of the… [view entry]
Brad Winnett from MassRIDES discusses green alternatives while other panelists look on.
On Wednesday August 25th, the Cambridge Energy Alliance and the Sustainable Business Leader Program hosted a Green Transportation Workshop. Panelists discussed ways to make a key facet of business operations, employee transportation, “green.”
Stephanie Anderberg from Cambridge Community Development discussed how businesses can support alternative transportation with help from Pre-tax Commuter Benefits. Basically, these are ways in which businesses can pay for their employees’ green travel (e.g. shuttles, vanpools, biking, the T) before taxes are considered. These can be administered in several fairly easy ways, including giving vouchers or using a 3rd party administrator.
Jim Gascoigne from the Charles River TMA opened with a significant statistic: a staggering 67% of people… [view entry]
Although the specifics may have since changed, this chart from Bio Hope, Bio Hype in the September 2007 issue of the Sierra Club’s magazine provides a nice overview of the major biofuel options.
What about moving Beyond the Corn Field: Balancing Fuel, Food and Biodiversity? After all, if there’s one thing that thing that our reliance on fossilized sunlight has taught us, it’s that that there should be room for every fuel that makes ecological (and economic) sense. Indeed, there are a number of exotic fuel feedstocks you are probably not yet familiar with. Indeed, on Earth Day the Navy tested a bio-blend jet fuel made from 50% German sesame seed oil. What of the much touted cellulosic ethanol? An alternative to the use of… [view entry]
As the World Expo in Shanghai enters its second month, the company Suntech Power delivered an extra attraction at the Chinese display: a solar-powered sailboat. The 10o foot long catamaran was unveiled on the Huangpu River yesterday, in a ceremony attended by Communist Central Committee Secretary of Shanghai, Mr. Mr. Zhengsheng Yu, as well as representatives from Suntech. Both the party leader and the CEO of Suntech voiced the need for continued expansion of solar energy as an indispensable part of the Chinese energy production. ”To meet the soaring global demand for Suntech’s solar products, we plan to add 1,000MW of crystalline silicon cell and module production capacity at our Shanghai facility within the next three years,” said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Founder, Chairman, and CEO.” In addition to the boat,… [view entry]
Although the expanded fleet of trucks that might eventually be passing through California’s coastal redwood in Garberville should be less polluting due to the administration’s recent move to regulate fuel efficiency of the traditionally exempt trucking fleet, they now face another threat besides vehicular NOX.
CalTrans—the state’s department of transportation—has filed notice that it intends to expand US-101 which currently narrows before passing through the old growth forest of Richardson Grove State Park; view larger map. Besides the destruction of individual trees, the widened road would promote the use of this comparatively lazy country road over the I-5 corridor of the central valley.
Last month the EPA awarded funds to MIT, Harvard and UMass Amherst among others to study the consequences of climate change. Harvard will be working with UMass Amherst to study allergies and asthma. Separately it will be researching the health impacts of pollution from forest fires. MIT will be modeling transit policy’s effects on air pollution and the resulting impacts on human health. Full news release
The Californian Sunpods Inc manufacturing company produces innovative, modular and tested solar power stations. One of their latest projects, is to build the first solar power-assist for buses. This system will help Bauer Intelligent Transportation meet strict anti-pollution standards laid down by the State of California. Diesel vehicles are not allowed to remain idle for more than five minutes after the passage of the California Anti-Idling law in 2008. California joined 17 other states in passing anti-idling legislation.
Sunpods Inc ‘s solar power-assist system is made up of four solar panels which are fixed on the roof of the bus. They can charge an on-board battery bank to power the air-conditioning and wireless connectivity equipment when the bus is inactive. Tested on a Bauer Intelligent Transportation bus since January… [view entry]
On their face, biofuels seem like a pretty good idea: carbon dioxide and sunlight in, carbon dioxide and energy out. Certainly some hobbyists manage to recover waste grease for use in diesel engines, but commercially the field has been dominated by the fermentation of sugars from food crops into ethanol. Unfortunately, due to the large petro-chemical inputs often employed it is unclear whether the result is a net gain. In addition, much attention has been given to the competing interests of fuel vs. food (vs. land conservation).
There is hope that research into the production of cellulosic ethanol, or alcohol from plant fibers, could soon tip the balance decidedly in favor of biofuels. One could use agricultural waste or fast-growing special cover crops however, this material should arguably be composted… [view entry]
