DO YOU THINK THEY ARE A LITTLE LATE TO THE PARTY? Starbucks Testing Cup Recycling Program

Seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan have launched a cup-recycling program in cooperation with Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CORR). The pilot will test the collection and recycling of coffee cups when combined with old corrugated cardboard (OCC), which CORR says is the most extensively recycled material in the U.S. The objective of the program is to develop a cost-effective mechanism to close the loop on paper packaging, reducing greenhouse gases and assisting municipalities inreaching their solid waste diversion goals.

Starbucks participation in the pilot is an extension of the company’s efforts to develop a comprehensive recyclable cup solution by 2012. While Starbucks paper coffee cups can be recycled and composted in some communities, most commercial and residential services are not currently able to process this form of packaging. “In addition to the cup design, it’s critical that we address the full product life cycle—including the recycling collection infrastructure,” says Jim Hanna, Starbucks director of Environmental Impact. “Any enduring solution will require collaboration with stakeholders across the value chain.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT GREENERPACKAGE.COM

MAYBE SMARTER CONSUMER CHOICES CAN FUEL $ RECOVERY - Prius Sales up 45% From 2008

Toyota is continuing to see impressive sales of its new 2010 Prius hybrid here in the United States. Though not quite as high as last month's 48-percent sales increase over the previous year, we're sure Toyota is plenty happy to see the 45.7-percent bump in August sales over the same month in 2008.

For those that like seeing actual number in black and white, Toyota sold 19,173 Prius hybrids here in the States in July and another 18,866 in August. It seems highly likely that Cash for Clunkers helped those figures a bit for both months, and the Toyota brand in total saw a sales increase of about 15 percent last month over the previous August.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT AUTOBLOGGREEN

eSolar Prepares to Change the Face of Energy - US's FIRST SOLAR POWER TOWERS GO ONLINE

By Alana Semuels LA TIMES

The hundreds of glass mirrors break the dusty field in Lancaster, a sea of silver in a landscape of brown.

When switched on for the first time today at an opening gala with investors, local politicians and others, they'll make up the first operational solar tower energy facility in the United States.

They reflect the sun into a tower in the middle of the field, boiling water into steam that travels through pipes to power a turbine and create electricity. The plant, created by Pasadena company ESolar Inc., will be able to power 4,000 homes.

The strength of the small field of mirrors is surprising, but what might be more surprising is the technology's source. It was established by Pasadena incubator Idealab, a 1996 creation of entrepreneur Bill Gross. Gross, whom Time magazine once called the "man with a billion dollar brain," generated some big hits with GoTo.com, Internet Brands Inc. and Cooking.com, along with such misses as Eve.com and EToys.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT THE LA TIMES

MORE INFORMATION AT ESOLAR.COM

PV FROM HEAVEN - Solfocus Builds a More Productive, Efficient, Recyclable Solar Panel at Lower Cost

SolFocus, the leading developer of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems, announced today that its SF-1000P module is the first CPV product to meet the rigorous performance, qualification, and safety standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62108 standard. The IEC is the world's leading organization that prepares and publishes international standards for electrical and electronic technologies.

"The real-world testing conducted for the IEC CPV standard proves that SolFocus systems meet both the performance, qualification, and reliability criteria, critical in bringing CPV to a truly global scale," said Mark Crowley, president and chief executive officer of SolFocus. "We have already proven that CPV can yield nearly twice the efficiency of traditional PV systems, but meeting the IEC's rigorous CPV requirements proves that SolFocus systems can perform consistently across a variety of climates and environments. This validation sends a message to developers, investors and customers that CPV is on track to global commercialization."

The IEC 62108 standard for photovoltaic concentrators and receivers was created to verify the safety, photoelectric performance and environmental reliability of panels designed with CPV technology and ready to be introduced to this emerging marketplace. The standard was designed to be universal, taking into account different environments and manufacturing technologies across geographies.

The SolFocus system was shown to meet all requirements of the IEC 62108 standard, which specifies the design qualification and type approval of concentrator photovoltaic modules and assemblies suitable for long-term operation in general open-air climates. The electrical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the SolFocus CPV system were shown to be safe, high-performing and capable of withstanding prolonged exposure in varied climates.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT SOLFOCUS.COM

SUNNY NEW JERSEY PLANS TO STAY THE EAST'S TOP SOLAR PRODUCER-PSE&G's 'Solar 4 All' Program Approved

NEWARK, N.J., July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PSE&G today received approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to invest $515 million in 80 megawatts of solar projects, doubling the state's solar capacity and creating green jobs. Under an agreement reached in its Solar 4 All filing, the utility expects to complete the installations by the end of 2013.

The program has two segments, each 40 megawatts in size. The first segment consists of installing a solar unit (small distributed solar system of approximately 200 watts) on 200,000 utility poles in PSE&G's service territory, which includes the state's six largest cities and roughly 300 rural and suburban communities. It will be the largest pole-attached solar installation in the world. The solar units will be connected directly into PSE&G's electric distribution system and the power will be sold into the PJM wholesale grid.

The second segment will focus on centralized solar, with PSE&G developing solar gardens and roof-top installations on facilities it owns and also at third-party sites.

"Our program will effectively double the size of New Jersey's installed solar capacity," said Ralph LaRossa, president and COO of PSE&G. "That is more solar capacity than currently exists in any state other than California. We have worked with New Jersey regulators and the solar community to develop a program that brings the benefits of solar to all of our customers."

PSE&G also announced today that it awarded the contract for the supply of the 200,000 pole-attached units to New Jersey-based Petra Solar. With headquarters in South Plainfield, Petra Solar has committed to make the solar units in New Jersey and expects to hire more than 100 employees to meet the needs of the contract.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT PRNEWSWIRE

OPED: ROBERT REDFORD -Why We Need a Bold Vision for Preserving Our Wilderness

I have welcomed several promising signs coming out of the Obama Administration, from the president's push for clean energy to Interior Secretary Salazar's efforts to block oil and gas leasing near some of Utah's most stunning landscapes.

But there is still something I am waiting to see: a bold new vision for preserving America's wilderness.

Why does wilderness matter right now? It matters to me personally because I believe that our last public wilderness areas, with their rugged beauty, uncharted terrain, and ability to test human strength, are essential symbols of the American spirit.

But it also matters legally. According to the Wilderness Act of 1964, once a landscape has been altered by human development--including natural gas pipelines, oil drill heads, or roads for seismic thumper trucks--it can never become a protected wilderness area.

This is exactly the cynical calculus the Bush administration used to convert America's public lands into money-making ventures for a few energy companies.

OPED CONTINUES HERE AT THE HUFFINGTON POST

MAKING CLEAN ENERGY CLEAN - BioSolar Makes PV panels Less Toxic While Cutting Costs

Santa Clarita, CA – BioSolar, Inc. (OTC BB: BSRC) has garnered media coverage in numerous high-profile publications following its recent announcement that the company will be shipping its first commercial product, BioBacksheet-C™, in the second half of 2009. BioBacksheet-C is a protective covering in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells designed to replace expensive and hazardous petroleum-based film with a bio-based film.

“It’s no secret that solar panels, while capable of producing clean renewable energy, are themselves laden with potentially harmful materials. One California company says it has developed products that will make panels more environmentally palatable,” reported Sustainable Industries of BioSolar’s line of proprietary BioBacksheet™ protective coverings on June 18.

The same article mentions BioSolar has been working with several unnamed solar panel manufacturers to test its products before transitioning into production mode by the end of 2009 for its cotton- and castor oil-derived materials that “match plastic’s durability and can be used in existing panel manufacturing facilities.”

ARTICLE CONTIUES AT BIOSOLAR.COM

87MPH & 34%PV EFFICENCY - 4time World Solar Challenge Winner NUON SOLAR Unveils Newest Car

The World Solar Challenge is a grueling car race that runs across more than 3000km of Australian outback, spanning the entire breadth of the continent from Darwin to Adelaide. But the real challenge of this race, which is rather obvious from the name, is that all the competing cars must be completely solar-powered. The objective of this race is to promote research on solar-powered cars and teams from various enterprises and universities participate in it for their quest to better alternative power source technology for automobiles.

For the last four outings of the World Solar Challenge, the team from the Delft University of Technology in Netherlands has been taking home the top prize with their Nuna solar-powered racer. Now, the Delft University's Nuon Solar team has unveiled its latest contender for the 2009 challenge, the Nuna5. Like its predecessor, the Nuna5 is covered by six square meters of solar panels, but now, thanks to advancements in technology, weighs in 30kg less, a total of 160kg excluding the driver, than the previous car.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT ZIGWHEELS.COM

WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED GREEN SUPERMARKET Opens in Maine & Achieves LEED's 1st Platinum Green Rating

AUGUSTA, Maine -- From its roof sown with plants to the depths of its two geothermal wells, a new Hannaford supermarket has been declared the greenest of the green groceries in the United States. It's the first to earn the highest rating possible from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The 49,000-square-foot store on the grounds of a former high school in Augusta, Maine, opens on Saturday.

With its newly minted LEED-Platinum certification, awarded this week, the Hannaford store has become the most prominent symbol of success among the growing efforts by supermarkets to make their operations more environmentally responsible through stricter management of energy and water use and waste.

Improving energy efficiency is a key challenge for food retailers whose imperatives are to keep perishables chilled properly and customers comfortable in buildings with large front doors that are constantly opening and shutting. Typically, refrigeration eats up the most energy (PDF) in a supermarket and accounts for more than half the electricity consumed. Lighting and HVAC systems are the No. 2 and No. 3 draws, respectively, on power.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT GREENERBUILDINGS.COM

NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL MAKES HISTORY, Becomes 1st Nation in Indian Country to Initiate Green Jobs

“Once again, the Navajo Nation Council has taken the lead in Indian Country and has displayed a leadership role in paving the way for other Nations and tribes to begin their own initiatives. It’s a good day in Indian Country.”
— Navajo Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation Council made history today by becoming the first Nation in Indian Country to pass legislation promoting green jobs. In a 62-1 vote, the Navajo Council passed the Navajo Green Commission Act that will establish Green Jobs across its sprawling 27,000 square-mile reservation

Legislation No. 0179-09 was sponsored by Navajo Council Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan. On April 22, the legislation was tabled during the Council’s Spring Session to allow more time to educate the Council members about the commission, with a then directive to create an Energy Policy by the Navajo Division of Natural Resources.

In a presentation to the Council, Speaker Morgan urged his colleagues to support the legislation which will have great positive impacts on the Navajo people and the Navajo Nation.

NAVAJO PRESS RELEASE CONTINUES HERE AT NAVAJO.ORG

Ahhh....A Stroll Down Memory Lane IN PICTURES- GREEN TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE AGES

6 August 1882: The operation of a solar-powered printing press, which produced copies of Le Chaleur Solaire by Augustin Mouchot, a newspaper that he created especially for the event. The press rattled off 500 copies an hour. The experiment was conducted in the Garden of Tuileries, Paris, for the festival of L'Union Francaises de la Jeuenesse.

THE SLIDE SHOW CONTINUES HERE AT GUARDIAN UK

VIDEO: STEVEN CHU ON THE DAILY SHOW

They talk Cap&Trade, White Roofs and Climate Deniers.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Steven Chu
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

FEED-IN TARIFFING SPREADS TO CALIFORNIA - 100mw Worth To Be Available In Sacramento Area

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has established a feed-in tariff (FIT) that will become effective in January 2010.

According to SMUD, the FIT will be aimed at systems up to 5 MW connected to SMUD's local distribution system, and is capped at 100 MW system-wide. The SMUD FIT will apply to both renewable and fossil-fuel generation technologies, and the utility states that it will set higher prices for power produced from renewable sources like solar and biogas.

SMUD adds that it sees the FIT as a way to provide a new opportunity for customers to own or host efficient small-scale generation plants, and that it will help the utility meet its
renewable portfolio standard and greenhouse gas reduction goals.
ARTICLE POSTED AT ALTERNATIVE ENERGY RETAILER

FEDERALLY FUNDED FUEL CELL FUTURE - Hydrogen fuel cell funding amendment passed in Washington D.C.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which includes an amendment to restore $45 million in hydrogen fuel cell research funding, New York Democrats Eric Massa and Steve Israel announced.

Because of the amendment, funding for the Department of Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell budget for 2010 totals $153 million. The initially proposed DOE budget included just $68 million for hydrogen fuel cell research, a substantial decline from this year’s levels.

“I want to thank Congressman Israel for joining me in our effort to make a meaningful investment in zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell technology. My district has a 21st century, state of the art fuel cell research and development center where General Motors has built and is literally driving the cars of tomorrow. By making an investment in this technology today, we are paving the road toward the clean energy economy of the future,” said Massa.

“Hydrogen fuel cell development is driving our auto industry into the future. New York is already home to important hydrogen fuel cell research and development centers. We can’t let Japan and Germany leap frog the United States in the implementation of this promising technology. That’s why I restored federal funding for hydrogen fuel cell research,” said Israe

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE ELMIRA STAR GAZETTE

URANIUM MINING HALTED NEAR GRAND CANYON - Salazar moves to block new mining claims

By David O. Williams 7/20/09 10:25 AM

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today issued a notice of withdrawal of nearly 1 million acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land around the Grand Canyon from new mining claims for the next two years to allow for more study and analysis.

The move drew the praise of conservation groups such as the Pew Environment Group, which has been hammering on the antiquated 1872 mining law and the pressing need for reform in light of thousands of new mining claims for minerals such as uranium, copper and gold in and around some of the nation’s most treasured national parks.

“We are pleased that the Obama administration has encouraged Congress to protect our national parks and other special places by modernizing the country’s 1872 mining law,” Jane Danowitz, U.S. public lands program director at the Pew Environment Group, said in a release. “Clearly a law that is powerless to prevent mining just outside one of the most iconic treasures in the world needs to be reformed.”

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE COLORADO INDEPENDENT

DID VENUS HAVE AN OCEAN? - New Map Hints at Venus' Wet, Volcanic Past

Venus is often referred to as Earth's twin, as the two planets share a similar size. But perhaps the similarities don't end there. A new infrared map from Venus Express hints that our neighboring world may once have been more Earth-like, with a plate tectonics system and an ocean of water. While previous radar images have given us a glimpse of Venus' cloud-shrouded surface, this is the first map that hints at the chemical composition of the rocks. The new data are consistent with suspicions that the highland plateaus of Venus are ancient continents, once surrounded by ocean and produced by past volcanic activity.

ARTICLE CONTINUES HERE AT UNIVERSETODAY.COM

YOUR PUBLIC LANDS WILL BE USED FOR LARGE SCALE SOLAR PROJECTS AND THE BLM SEEKS YOUR INPUT

The federal Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comment on its proposed designation of federal acreage in Colorado and neighboring states for large-scale solar energy development.

The land management agency announced June 29 that 24 large tracts of federal land in the West — including nearly 21,000 acres in Colorado’s San Luis Valley — would be studied for their solar power potential.

Other states involved are California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. The goal is to speed project permitting for utility-scale solar power projects.

The 24 tracts — known as Solar Energy Study Areas, totaling 670,000 acres — will be evaluated for their environmental and resource suitability for large-scale solar energy production.

In Colorado, the three areas in the San Luis Valley that will be part of the study could generate up to 4,182 megawatts of solar power if fully developed, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees BLM.

Areas deemed suitable for large solar power projects would be available for companies to build installations with a capacity of 10 megawatts or more. Companies proposing projects in these areas would be eligible for faster permit processing, the department said.

Click here to download maps of the study areas in PDF format.

Click here to submit comments. The public comment period ends July 30.

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES AT BIZJOURNALS.COM

DRINK BEER TO CREATE FUEL-German-led Collaboration Yields Biofuel from Beer Waste

By Emily Gertz- ENERGY BOOM

Love your ales, pilsners, weissbeers and stouts, but worried about all that fermented grain waste?

Thanks to German researcher Wolfgang Bengel, brew lovers can help create cleaner energy every time they down a pint.

Bengel, the technical director at German biomass company BMP Biomasse Projekt, has developed steam boilers that safely burn the spent grain left over from brewing beer. In the process, Bengel and his partners created a system for effective anaerobic (oxygen-free) treatment of waste water from breweries as well.

The combined systems offer breweries a comprehensive way to reduce their environmental footprints, as well as cut operating costs: recycling their brewing waste into a biofuel source; slashing the amount of grain waste trucked out of their facilities; and ultimately using less energy overall.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT ENERGYBOOM.COM

VIDEO: AGREE or DISAGREE? Futurist STEWART BRAND Updates His Views on Energy & Geo-Engineering

The man who helped usher in the environmental movement in the 1960s and '70s has been rethinking his positions on cities, nuclear power, genetic modification and geo-engineering. This talk at the US State Department is a foretaste of his major new book, sure to provoke widespread debate.

Why you should listen to him:

Founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, cofounder of the Well and the Long Now Foundation, writer, editor and game designer, Stewart Brand has helped to define the collaborative, data-sharing, forward-thinking world we live in now.

Since the 1960s, he has maintained that — given access to the information we need — humanity can make the world a better place. One of his early accomplishments: helping to persuade NASA to release the first photo of the Earth from space. The iconic Big Blue Marble became the cover for his Whole Earth Catalog, a massive compendium of resources and facts he thought people might like to know. And we did: the 1972 edition sold 1.5 million copies. In 1987, he wrote The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at MIT; in 1994, How Buildings Learn.

Currently Brand is working with computer scientist Danny Hillis to build the Clock of the Long Now, a 10,000-year timepiece; his Long Now Foundation also runs a number of spinoff projects, including the Rosetta Project, cataloguing the world's languages, and the Long Bets website. He's also busy with the Global Business Network (part of the Monitor Group), helping businesses plan for the near and way-far future.

VIEW ORIGINAL AT TED.COM

NO ONE WANTS SMOG - LOS ANGELES to Be Completely Off Coal By 2020- Helps UTAH Abandon Another Coal Plant

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

"Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said his city would completely wean its 1.45 million electricity customers from coal-fired power by 2020"

The Intermountain Power Agency said Wednesday it will let the air-quality permit for a coal-fired Unit 3 expire. Instead, the company will focus on other options for the central Utah site, said IPA spokesman John Ward.

"The understanding within IPA is that if there were ever an attempt to start another third coal-fired power unit at that location, they would have to start over," he said. "This particular permit application would be moot."

Environmental groups, who have been fighting Unit 3 since it was first proposed, applauded the move.

The plant "would have burdened Utah with more coal-burning pollution," said Wayne Hoskinson, chairman of the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club. "This opens the door for additional renewable projects, like the Milford wind development, allowing the state to still be an exporter of energy without the cost of worsened air quality and more mercury pollution."

The Sierra Club's appeal of the Unit 3 air permit has been on hold for more than a year, while IPA, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems were in court over a breach-of-contract suit over the new 900-megawatt generating station. That suit was settled quietly last month.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE