Radio Broadcast of Renewable Now

Just in case you have missed it, we are broadcasting the audio from our shows every Weds on WARL, 1320 AM, and on their web site at:  http://1320warlradio.com/gs/.

We will soon announce Renewable Now's move to broadcast TV.  We expect to add a call-in, one hour per week radio show soon as well.

Stay with us as we keep expanding our reach and audience.

Here's the station logo.

United Nations Environmental Program

Some amazing reports, at this site, on the world wide growth in the green economy.  First, here is how they define the green economy:  "A Green Economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental and ecological scarcities."

 

Now, some recent stories: 

 

1. Cuba’s transition to organic agriculture emerged as a necessary response to the food crisis that gripped the nation in the early 1990s. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a longstanding trade embargo that severely constrained industrialised agricultural practices on the island, Cuban producers turned the declining availability of pesticides, fertilisers and petroleum into an opportunity to shift towards organic production with numerous environmental, social and economic gains

 

2. Barbados’ overreliance on imported fossil fuels has become one of the island’s major environmental concerns. The Barbadian government’s National Strategic Plan of Barbados for 2006-25 is designed to rectify this dependency by increasing the country’s renewable energy supply, with a particular focus on raising the number of household solar water heaters by 50 per cent by 2025. Solar water heaters are now a widely used renewable energy technology in Barbados, with installations in nearly half of the island’s dwelling units.

 

3. Waste management and recycling in the Republic of Korea’s has not reduced waste generation, but has also encouraged reusing waste as an energy resource. Over the past years, targeted policies have significantly increased the recycling rate while creating thousands of jobs in an endeavour to build a Resource Recirculation Society.

 

4. In the Makete District of Tanzania, forest, woodland and grassland resources are essential to the local economies, and are crucial for the protection of vital watersheds for the conservation of the environment for agriculture and livestock production. Using smallholder woodlot management practices as a strategy for climate change adaptation has created a new stream of income for local communities and revenues for the city, while enhancing resilience to climate vulnerability.

 

5. As the protection and management of the environment is one of the pillars of Rwanda’s Vision 2020, the “country of a thousand hills” has undertaken many initiatives to protect ecosystems for income generation and good governance. Several of these projects, including the initiative to preserve the Rwandan mountain gorilla and wetland restoration efforts in the Nyabarongo-Akagera network and Rugezi, are already beginning to reap environmental, economic, and employment benefits.

 

6. China is taking considerable steps to shift to a low-carbon growth strategy based on the development of renewable energy sources. The outline of 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010) allocated a significant share of investments to green sectors, with an emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Plan projects that the per-unit GDP energy consumption by 2010 should have decreased by 20 per cent compared to 2005. In addition, the Chinese government has committed itself to producing 16 per cent of its primary energy from renewable sources by 2020.

 

7. Kenya’s energy profile is characterized by a predominance of traditional biomass energy to meet the energy needs of the rural households and a heavy dependence on imported petroleum for the modern economic sector needs. As a result, the country faces challenges related to unsustainable use of traditional forms of biomass and exposure to high and unstable oil import prices. In March 2008, Kenya’s Ministry of Energy adopted a feed-in tariff.

 

8. Uganda has taken important steps in transforming conventional agricultural production into an organic farming system, with significant benefits for its economy, society and the environment. Organic agriculture (OA) is defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a holistic production management system, which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It prohibits the use of synthetic inputs, such as drugs, fertilizers and pesticides.

 

That is just a sampling.  Very global stories, touching all continents.  These successes span a migration to organic food sources, locally grown and distributed consumer goods, reductions in the use of imported oil, preservation of land, heavy investments in renewable energy and waste management.  All stories, topics, ideas we've been following and reporting details to you on our shows.

 

Please watch, comment and send us your ideas and success stories.  Across the globe, we are in this together. 

 

 

	Organic Agriculture in Cuba Cuba’s transition to organic agriculture emerged as a necessary response to the food crisis that gripped the nation in the early 1990s. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a longstanding trade embargo that severely constrained industrialised agricultural practices on the island, Cuban producers turned the declining availability of pesticides, fertilisers and petroleum into an opportunity to shift towards organic production with numerous environmental, social and economic gains.
	Solar Energy in Barbados Barbados’ overreliance on imported fossil fuels has become one of the island’s major environmental concerns. The Barbadian government’s National Strategic Plan of Barbados for 2006-25 is designed to rectify this dependency by increasing the country’s renewable energy supply, with a particular focus on raising the number of household solar water heaters by 50 per cent by 2025. Solar water heaters are now a widely used renewable energy technology in Barbados, with installations in nearly half of the island’s dwelling units.
	Waste Management in Republic of Korea Waste management and recycling in the Republic of Korea’s has not reduced waste generation, but has also encouraged reusing waste as an energy resource. Over the past years, targeted policies have significantly increased the recycling rate while creating thousands of jobs in an endeavour to build a Resource Recirculation Society.
	Woodlot Management in Tanzania In the Makete District of Tanzania, forest, woodland and grassland resources are essential to the local economies, and are crucial for the protection of vital watersheds for the conservation of the environment for agriculture and livestock production. Using smallholder woodlot management practices as a strategy for climate change adaptation has created a new stream of income for local communities and revenues for the city, while enhancing resilience to climate vulnerability.
	Ecosystem Restoration in Rwanda As the protection and management of the environment is one of the pillars of Rwanda’s Vision 2020, the “country of a thousand hills” has undertaken many initiatives to protect ecosystems for income generation and good governance. Several of these projects, including the initiative to preserve the Rwandan mountain gorilla and wetland restoration efforts in the Nyabarongo-Akagera network and Rugezi, are already beginning to reap environmental, economic, and employment benefits.
	Renewable Energy in China China is taking considerable steps to shift to a low-carbon growth strategy based on the development of renewable energy sources. The outline of 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010) allocated a significant share of investments to green sectors, with an emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Plan projects that the per-unit GDP energy consumption by 2010 should have decreased by 20 per cent compared to 2005. In addition, the Chinese government has committed itself to producing 16 per cent of its primary energy from renewable sources by 2020.
	Feed-in tariffs in Kenya Kenya’s energy profile is characterized by a predominance of traditional biomass energy to meet the energy needs of the rural households and a heavy dependence on imported petroleum for the modern economic sector needs. As a result, the country faces challenges related to unsustainable use of traditional forms of biomass and exposure to high and unstable oil import prices. In March 2008, Kenya’s Ministry of Energy adopted a feed-in tariff.
	Organic agriculture in Uganda Uganda has taken important steps in transforming conventional agricultural production into an organic farming system, with significant benefits for its economy, society and the environment. Organic agriculture (OA) is defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a holistic production management system, which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It prohibits the use of synthetic inputs, such as drugs, fertilizers and pesticides.

Good data from Environmental Leader

Pretty interesting charts from Environmental Leader:  Now let's track returns (ROI'S)  

Exciting New Shows

Renewable Now goes on the road, in front of a live audience, for the first time ever as we take an inside look at new legislation, milestone legislation, which experts feel has moved RI into the forefront of renewable energy and sustainability.  Here's our tease:

We are really excited about bringing you these shows.  Tune in and see how a state can, potentially, change its environmental, and economic, landscape with a simple set of bills...or can it?

From Mark Learn/Weekend Editon

Thanks, Mark, for two good articles.  Here are the links:  http://www.autoobserver.com/2011/02/ford-f-150-hybrid-may-deliver-40-mpg:  .html; http://www.ecogeek.org/component/content/article/3569

Ford F-150 Hybrid May Deliver 40 MPG

"A hydraulic hybrid powertrain similar to the one Chrysler is developing for its minivan with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Eaton Corp. may boost the highway fuel-economy of Ford's best-selling F-150 pickup by about 80 percent compared to the conventional gas-powered version. The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), along with Folsom Technologies, is developing a prototype powertrain for an F-150 that will deliver as much as 40 miles per gallon highway. The CCEFP is part of the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center and includes seven universities and 55 industrial companies.

The CCEFP is following up similar efforts by Chrysler and the EPA, which announced last month that they would adapt hydraulic hybrid technology for the light-duty auto market with the goal of designing a Chrysler minivan as a demonstration vehicle by 2013 using EPA's own patented technology. A joint engineering team will design and integrate the Chrysler-EPA hydraulic hybrid system into a minivan and test the demonstration vehicle in 2012. The minivan will feature a unique powertrain that replaces the automatic transmission.  

The hydraulic hybrid system differs from conventional hybrids, which use batteries to store power and reduce the work done by the combustion engine,  by capturing and reusing the energy lost in braking through a hydraulic pressure vessel. The system can also turn off the engine when it is not needed and only fully use the engine when it can operate at peak efficiently."

AND:  

LED lighting is finally reaching mainstream.  As the years have gone by, the prices have dropped and more appropriate bulbs for home use have started popping up.  Now that GE is releasing 60W, 75W and 100W replacement LED bulbs within the next 18 months, there's no more saying that LED bulbs aren't ready to replace incandescents yet.
The new bulbs follow GE's release of a 40W replacement bulb last year.  All models are dimmable and will have a lifespan of over 20 years based on three hours a day of use.  The 13W bulb (60W replacement) will be available this November, while the 18W (75W replacement) and 27W (100W replacement) bulbs will follow by the end of 2012.  The 60W bulb is the most popular incandescent bulb, so having an LED replacement ready for that brightness level is key to consumers making the switch.
All of the GE LED bulbs will come in a range of colors and shapes including bulbs suited for spot and flood lights, ceiling fans, candle and night lights and small and medium globes for lamps and other fixtures.

Thank you to Mark, Eco Geek and Edmund's Auto Observer for their stories.

Voice of America

We want to send you back to the VOA site, their Going Green section, to watch a great video on turning algae into fuel.  Take a look at the below link:  

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/going-green/

Also, while you are there, browse some of their other stories, many of which touch on the business side of green.  One of those stories looks at sustainable coffee practices, which should be of interest to just about everyone, and will help you chose your morning coffee just a little differently.

Enjoy the weekend.  We will have a weekend edition, with stories provided by one of our regular contributors, Mark Learn, who sent me two great stories today.  We look forward to hearing from you, too.

Finally Getting to Test-Drive a Nissan Leaf

From Gina at Sierra Club (who will be filming a show with us this month):  A great article of her spin with the new Nissan Leaf.  The article comes from Sierra's Compass Magazine.  Here's the link:  http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2011/08/finally-getting-to-test-drive-a-nissan-leaf.html.

Here is some interesting data from her article:

"Though I have read or skimmed thousands of news articles about EVs, there is nothing like actually driving a car to get to know it better.  Here are some of the things that Abe shared with my tour group and then with me personally:

• The Leaf is all-electric, which means it relies on electricity instead of gasoline to fuel it.  A fully charged Leaf goes between 70 and 130 miles per charge (depending on a range of factors).
  
• It takes six to eight hours to fully charge a Leaf on a level 2 charger, which most consumers will either have installed at their homes or rely on at work or at public charging stations now being installed in many cities nationwide. 
• • The Leaf has an AC motor and one gear, which means it doesn't need to shift; there is just park, drive, reverse, eco-mode, and neutral.
    
  • Nissan does not officially state how fast the Leaf accelerates, but at least one web site claims it goes 0-60 in a speedy seven seconds. 
    
  • The optional eco-mode mode reduces air conditioning, increases regenerative braking, and could increase your range by up to 10%.

  
  
  • The car is 95% recyclyable, and many components are from recycled materials, such as seat fabric from recycled water bottles.
    
  • Without having to replace the whole battery pack, Nissan says it's easy to replace one of the lithium ion battery cells on the Leaf if it gets damaged.  There is an eight-year/100,000 mile warranty on the whole battery pack.
    
  • Unlike with a cell phone, partial charging won't deplete the battery.  However, according to the Nissan web site, "like any battery, usage and age will lead to a gradual loss of capacity and will impact your driving range" over time.
    
  • The Leaf has no spare tire, sun roof, or power seats –these are heavy and would drain the battery, and Nissan decided that drivers would rather have a battery with a longer life than these amenities.
    
  • An iPhone ap has come out that allows you to remotely turn charging on/off, check the state of charge, turn heat or air conditioning on, unlock the car, and determine where nearby public charging stations are.  Similar aps are coming are becoming available for other hand-held devices. 
    
  • Price:  The 2011 model is $32,700 or $25,280 after the maximum federal tax credit.  The 2012 standard model is $35,200 or $27,700 after the federal tax credit. Some states have additional state tax credits that further reduce the price.
    
  • The 2012 model includes new quick-charging capacity (if/when you can find a quick charger) and cold weather features that are not part of the 2011 model.   The cold weather package include a battery warmer (that increases range), heated steering wheel, and heated front and rear seats." 

  If you are from Nissan, we'd love to test drive the Leaf and talk about the car on a future show, as we did with the Volt.  

  
  

  And, if you own, lease or have driven the Leaf, or Volt, get in touch.  We'd like to publish your comments.