Rendering of Milan's Bosco Verticale, via Stefano Boeri Architetti

Green buildings offer a tremendously reduced environmental footprint compared to traditional buildings.

Buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of global warming causing greenhouse gas emissions. And buildings are huge consumers of raw materials: they account for 40% of the global raw materials demand or 3 billion tons annually.

American buildings represent 38.9 percent of primary energy use and account for 38 percent of the country’s CO2 emissions. They consume 13.6 percent of the nation’s potable water, or 15 trillion gallons per year.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that at least 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris are generated in the US each year.

The alternatives to traditional buildings offer major savings. LEED certified green buildings offer a 30 percent energy saving, 35 percent carbon saving, 30-50 percent water saving and a 50-90 percent waste saving. When combined with long term cost savings, the significantly reduced enviromental impact makes green building the obvious choice.

“Green Buildings Combat Climate Change” republished with permission from The Green Market.

Richard

Richard Matthews is a consultant, sustainable investor, writer and owner of The Green Market a leading sustainable business blog that covers the convergence of sustainable capitalism and the global environment. The Green Market is one of the most comprehensive resources for information and tools on sustainability. Richard is a contributor to more than 50 publications including, Environmental News Network (ENN) and The Green Economy Post. Find him on Facebook and Linkedin. Follow The Green Market’s twitter feed and see the Facebook Fan Page.

Editor’s Note: Article published for information purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation or solicitation.

Green Buildings Combat Climate Change is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Image courtesy of 2daydesign (sxc.hu)

High unemployment rates and the rising cost of college are causing many students to seek a college education that offers marketable skills.

Education is an increasingly crucial component of preparing a prospective workforce for the new economy. From preschool to post graduate studies, education supplies us with the tools we require to succeed in a rapidly changing world.

In the US, there were 76 million children and adults enrolled in school throughout the country in 2007, comprising 27 percent of the entire population 3 and older. In 2007, almost half of all college students were 18 and 19 years of age, however with 15 percent of all college students 35 and older, higher education is not only for the young. The older age group made up 36 percent of those attending school part time.

Image courtesy of mihow (sxc.hu)

Recent university attendance numbers show an increasing number of people are enrolling in school for advanced degrees or specialty training. The projected number of students enrolled in US colleges and universities for fall 2010 is 19 million, up from 13.5 million 20 years ago. With many losing their jobs or having trouble finding employment, going back to school is a logical way to upgrade skills.

A new trend study from the University of California San Diego Extension reveals that sustainability is one of the hottest career options for college graduates in this challenging economy. Sustainable education aims to help people to develop the attitudes, skills and knowledge to make informed decisions for the benefit of themselves and others, now and in the future, and to act upon these decisions.

By the mid-21st century, all jobs will be sustainable jobs. Organizations must prepare themselves for inevitable legislative and regulatory changes, some of which are already well underway. We know that the future will be much greener than it is today and increasingly diverse sectors are looking for business growth opportunities in the area of sustainability. People who understand these challenges will be well positioned to benefit.

In the new era of environmental economics, sustainable jobs will be in high demand and have unparalleled growth opportunities.

“Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy“ republished with permission from The GREEN MARKET blog.

Richard

Richard Matthews is a consultant, sustainable investor, writer and owner of The Green Market a leading sustainable business blog that covers the convergence of sustainable capitalism and the global environment. The Green Market is one of the most comprehensive resources for information and tools on sustainability. Richard is a contributor to more than 50 publications including, Environmental News Network (ENN) and The Green Economy Post. Find him on Facebook and Linkedin. Follow The Green Market’s twitter feed and see the Facebook Fan Page.

Sustainable Education is Key to Accessing the Green Economy is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

In the last few years, the number of green schools has significantly increased. With burgeoning student demand and a wide range of innovative programs, green schools are cool. Until this year, the majority of green schools were private colleges. Now there is a diverse mix of public and private institutions.

Sustainability is the most daunting challenge we have ever faced and students around the world are serious about exploring the ways we can address this grave and growing problem.

Environmental leaders in one school organized students to use a pedal-powered generator to produce the electricity to play Guitar Hero. At another college, incoming freshmen were given energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs along with their campus IDs. However, efforts to manage climate change on campus are not limited to video games and lightbulbs.

The Sierra Club reports that, “collegians nationwide turned down thermostats; performed waste audits; and lobbied their schools to reduce energy use, provide healthier and organic food, and set a sustainable example for the rest of the world.”

Four hundred college and university presidents have signed a pledge to make their institutions carbon neutral. And students at almost six hundred US and Canadian schools are organizing clean-energy solutions as part of the Campus Climate Challenge.

On campuses across North America, we are seeing creative campaigns that speak to students and raise awareness about sustainability. Dorms, fraternities, and neighboring campuses are competing against each other to reduce energy and water use. Students compete for fun and to help the environment. At Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, the winning residence hall received an energy-efficient flat-screen TV.

A six year old annual college recycling competition was won this year by California State University San Marcos, the school recycled nearly 60 percent of its waste. Cornell and Rutgers Universities are the winners of MTV’s Break the Addiction Challenge for their climate-friendly campus activism.

We have known about our negative impact on the environment for decades, but we have not reversed the alarming trend. In the past, some have appeared disinterested, others overwhelmed, but this new generation of students are optimistic about the opportunities to find solutions to the climate change dilemma.

Colleges across North America are raising awareness about the scope of the climate change problem and providing the resources to innovate solutions and address the considerable challenges we must face.

With students eager to engage the greatest problem of our times, Green schools are indeed cool schools.

This post republished with permission from The Green Market.

Richard

Richard Matthews is a consultant, sustainable investor, writer and owner of The Green Market a leading sustainable business blog that covers the convergence of sustainable capitalism and the global environment. The Green Market is one of the most comprehensive resources for information and tools on sustainability. Richard is a contributor to more than 50 publications including, Environmental News Network (ENN) and The Green Economy Post. Find him on Facebook and Linkedin. Follow The Green Market’s twitter feed and see the Facebook Fan Page.

 

Green Schools are Cool! is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

The US imported 1.2 million vehicles from Japan in 2009. The earthquake, tsunami and radiation from damaged nuclear power plants may impact supplies of high-mileage cars made only in Japan.

Toyota Motor Corp. halted auto production on March 14 and said it will extend production halts at its car plants affected by the quake and tsunami through March 22. This will impact almost 100,000 vehicles. The company said it hopes to restart plants that make parts for overseas factories on March 21.

Nissan said all North American manufacturing plants will continue to operate on schedule. However, Honda Motor Co. has suspended production at six Japanese plants until at least March 21 because of the shortage of parts from northeastern Japan.

Cars affected by the quake and tsunami include the Toyota’s Prius, and the Camry Hybrid. The Honda Insight and CR-Z are also made in Japan. At present, Honda cannot get its products out of the country due to road damage inflicted by the killer quake.

Delivery of Nissan’s all-electric Leaf may also be undermined. Supplies of other small fuel-efficient models, such as the Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, and Scion xB and xD, could also be affected.

The timing for a disruption of distribution of Japan’s greener vehicles comes at a time when high gas prices have produced greater demand for Japanese electric vehicles, hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Japanese Earthquake and the Supply of Greener Cars republished with permission from the GREEN MARKET blog.

Richard

Richard Matthews is a consultant, sustainable investor, writer and owner of The Green Market a leading sustainable business blog that covers the convergence of sustainable capitalism and the global environment. The Green Market is one of the most comprehensive resources for information and tools on sustainability. Richard is a contributor to more than 50 publications including, Environmental News Network (ENN) and The Green Economy Post. Find him on Facebook and Linkedin. Follow The Green Market’s twitter feed and see the Facebook Fan Page.

The Japanese Earthquake and the Supply of Greener Cars is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

ARRA investments also funded research projects to develop next generation renewable energy technologies. These types of innovations create a cost competitive alternative to dirty sources of electricity while simultaneously creating long-term economic growth.

Due in large part to ARRA, the renewable energy industry survived the worst financial crisis in decades and is making significant progress toward attaining its goal of doubling renewable generation capacity over two years.

According to Gisela Kroess, a director at UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), “[ARRA incentives have] spurred a lot of the growth we’ve seen,” she said at a renewable-energy finance conference.

Despite Republican opposition, the US Department of the Treasury’s 1603 cash grant program for the solar and wind industries was extended through 2011 as an add-on to the 2010 Tax Relief bill. The extension provides incentives so that developers of new solar and wind farms will continue investing in new projects beyond those already slated for construction.

ARRA Report Card: Two Years Later, is the latest industry study from market research publisher SBI Energy, it examines the ARRA clean energy investments and their impact on the various clean energy markets within the power, transportation, and building sectors.

Solar Energy

The report card indicates that according to forecasts from the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), ARRA investments will help the domestic manufacturing capacity for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to grow from less than 1 GW per year in 2008 to nearly 4 GW per year in 2012. Solar EnergyARRA investments are also accelerating the rate of innovation in solar photovoltaics and will drive down the costs of solar panels over the next five years by as much as 50 percent. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, ARRA has supported more than 1,100 solar projects in 42 states, creating enough new solar capacity to power 200,000 homes. ARRA has resulted in nearly 40 percent growth in the solar power market in 2009 and nearly double in 2010.

Wind Energy

Despite weak economic and investment conditions, US wind power capacity grew 40 percent in 2009 compared to 2008. In July 2010, the CEA reported that ARRA was responsible for approximately 6 GW of wind capacity installation that might not otherwise have occurred in 2009.

Geothermal Energy

An April 2010 U.S. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) survey indicated a 26% increase in new projects under development in 2009 and concludes that the stimulus funding played an important role in propelling geothermal growth amidst recessionary economic conditions.

Combined Renewable Energy

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that US renewable generation capacity will increase 32 percent more than without ARRA, reaching 155 GW in 2015.

The results of this report card clearly indicate that government investment has significantly increased America’s renewable generation capacity.

Government Incentives are Growing Renewable Energy republished with permission from The GREEN MARKET blog.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The GREEN MARKET, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

Government Incentives are Growing Renewable Energy is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Green Jobs for America

The realization that green jobs have a vital role to play in America’s employment picture is nothing new. A 2008 report indicated that green jobs fight global warming and help put an end to America’s dependence on fossil fuels.

The green jobs report was created by the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research Institute, it is titled, Job Opportunities for the Green Economy: A State-by-State Picture of Occupations that Gain from Green Investments. Read the full report (pdf)

The report examined 12 states and the people employed in occupations affected by six green economic strategies: building retrofitting, mass transit, energy-efficient automobiles, wind power, solar power and cellulosic biofuels. It also looked at what the average wages are in each state for these jobs.

The report indicates that millions of US workers, across a wide range of occupations, states, and income and skill levels, will benefit from efforts to transform the United States into a green economy. Read the national report and press release.

The Green Jobs for America campaign is at work in twelve states:Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio,Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
It is clear to all but the willfully ignorant, that millions of US workers will all benefit from transforming the United States into a green economy.

Green Jobs for America is republished with permission from The GREEN MARKET blog.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The GREEN MARKET, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

Green Jobs for America is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt may be the two best known 2011 green cars, but they will have to compete with up to three dozen electric or hybrid vehicles that are expected to hit the market by 2015.

There are a diverse assortment of hybrid vehicles for the 2011 model year, including the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid, the Lexus CT 200h, the Kia Optima Hybrid, the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and the Infiniti M35h Hybrid.

Other greener cars include an electric version of Honda’s Fit, its popular five-passenger hatchback, which it says will have a range of 100 miles and will fully recharge in six hours. Toyota is making an electric version of its RAV 4. Toyota has also joined forces with Tesla, to provide a sleek new sedan.

Many of these cars are capable of extraordinary performance.The Tesla has breathtaking acceleration that includes a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.9 seconds. The Touareg has a top speed of 150 mph. Ford’s Fusion Hybrid delivers the fuel efficiency and added performance that define most hybrids, but unlike many of its peers, it can be driven at speeds of up to 75 km/h on electric power alone. These cars also get high mileage and offer low or no emissions.

Electric and hybrid cars are increasingly popular. The electric Tesla roadster is one of the electric cars that you will soon be able to rent from Hertz at airports and in their car-sharing program in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

The diverse hybrid and electric car offerings for 2011 demonstrate that greener cars are becoming mainstream.

Competition in the 2011 Greener Car Market is republished with permission from The GREEN MARKET Blog.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The GREEN MARKET, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

Competition in the 2011 Greener Car Market is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Hybrids and fully electric cars are already on the market around the world. Toyota has the Prius, but it also has a fully electric subcompact car. Honda has the Insight and the carmaker has also announced its intention to launch a hybrid version of its Civic and an all-electric car by 2012. Nissan is now selling its affordable all-electric Leaf compact. The Koreans and the Chinese are also getting in on the greener car action.

In North America, General Motors has the Chevrolet Volt and Ford has the Fusion. In Europe, Volkswagen has launched a fleet of award winning hybrid and electric cars in its bid to become a world leader. Volkswagen subsidiaries, Porsche and Audi are also contributing greener cars. Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes are amongst a number of European carmakers producing hybrid and fully electric cars. Even Jaguar is producing a very efficient luxury. There are also a host of less well known entrants into the greener vehicle market, including one from South Africa’s Joule.

From commercial transports, family cars and subcompacts, to supercars and SUVs, virtually every niche of the vehicle market now offers greener choices.

Competition in the Green Vehicle Market republished with permission from The GREEN MARKET blog.

Read the entire series of articles relating to electric vehicles.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The GREEN MARKET, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

Competition in the Green Vehicle Market is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

End Fossil Fuel Subsidies by Richard Matthews

US President Barack Obama is calling on the world to end massive government subsidies that encourage the use of fossil fuels blamed for global warming.

The G20 has been discussing plans to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies for a while now. According to estimates the fossil fuel industry currently receives subsidies of between $300-$500 billion a year. Fossil fuels are not only destructive sources of pollution, subsidies make cleaner sources of energy less competitive.

In 2009 G20 leaders issued a statement recognizing that fossil-fuel subsidies “encourage wasteful consumption, distort markets, impede investment in clean energy sources and undermine efforts to deal with climate change.”

According to a Greenpeace, a leaked copy of the Toronto 2010 draft G20 declaration calls for for “voluntary, member-specific approaches,” to ending fossil-fuel subsidies, a major softening of last year’s commitment “to phase out and rationalize over the medium term inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies while providing targeted support for the poorest.”

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) hopes that as chair of the G20 summit, Canada will make a solid commitment on fossil fuel subsidy reform as a critical next step.

According to IISD CEO and president Franz Tattenbach. “Canada’s promotion of fossil fuel subsidy reform at the G20 level can greatly assist the international movement towards cleaner energy and make a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.”
Canada’s deputy minister of Finance Michael Horgan indicated that phasing out federal tax preferences to the fossil-fuel industry would have significant benefits for Canada, notably maintaining the nation’s image as a clean energy superpower and improving its reputation with respect to oil sands.

“Fossil fuel subsidies have encouraged wasteful spending and harmful greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mark Halle, Geneva-based director of IISD’s investment and trade program. “The removal of fossil fuel subsidies will level the playing field for the development of clean energy alternatives.”

The IISD’s Global Subsidies Initiative’s initial findings show that the Canadian oil industry currently benefits from more than 40 different subsidy programs, mostly in the form of preferential tax treatment and investment incentives for exploration and drilling.

Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington environmental group, said there is “no greater cause of climate change than fossil fuels. There’s no greater cause of that than artificial subsidies. It’s a great idea to eliminate those subsidies and let the marketplace work.”

If the G20 is serious about a green recovery and sustainable global growth, ending fossil fuel subsidies is an important initial step.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The Green Market, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

End Fossil Fuel Subsidies is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

Green investments are full of promise, but like any investment there is always some risk. To protect themselves against risk, investors diversify. Within the realm of green investing there are many diverse sectors that are destined to grow. Here is a selection of companies in the conservation, solar and raw materials sectors that are expected to perform well.

Conservation

Fuel Tech: A US company that is working to cut a substantial percentage of carbon emissions from fuel combustion units. Fuel Tech’s APC technologies are installed worldwide on over 580 combustion units,including utility, industrial and municipal solid waste applications. Products include customized NOx control systems, which can reduce emissions from 30% – 85%, and proprietary urea-to-ammonia conversion technology, which can provide safe reagent for use in selective catalytic reduction systems.

Clean Air Power: A London-listed company working to get trucks to use natural gas. Clean Air Power has entered into a concept development agreement with Navistar, Inc. to develop a MaxxForce 13 Natural Gas/Diesel Engine Program for the North American market. The development program will utilize Clean Air Power’s Dual-Fuel™ combustion technology to deliver an engine that achieves the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2010 emissions standard. Negotiations have been underway for 2 years, during which time Navistar has evaluated a number of different environmental technologies and chose Clean Air Power’s Dual-Fuel™ technology.

Solar

Q-Cells: A German company that makes photo-voltaic (PV) cells. This company started with 19 staff members in 2000 and now has over 1,500 staff. It exports half of its product and is the world`s second largest maker of PV cells, after Sharp of Japan.

Elements (raw materials)

Recyclex: A French company producing gallium amongst other metals. Recylex is a European specialist in the field of recycling lead and plastic (from automobile and industrial batteries), recycling zinc and metals for the electronics industry. The group operates in France, Germany and Belgium and brings together a dozen production sites.

New Jersey Mining Company: This company produces gallium from mining operations in Idaho. They are also exploring for and developing gold, silver and other base metal ore resources.

Gold Canyon Resources: A Canadian-based unique mineral exploration company with a long history of exciting projects in both Canada and the United States. They own prospective gallium deposits in Nevada.

Bluglass: An Australian company that produces gallium. They produce LED lighting technologies that lower energy consumption with LED lighting. They have developed a new technology for producing semiconductors. Through this technology and approach to depositing gallium nitride, LED manufacturers can produce less costly light emitting diodes (LEDs) in a more environmentally sensitive way. BluGlass has taken the first steps to commercialise this technology for a rapidly growing world market for LED devices. To secure a share of this market, BluGlass has built a strong technical and commercial team and has been seeking out potential partners and customers. The plan is to refine their gallium process in the new BluGlass research reactor and in a commercial-scale demonstration reactor in Ireland.

Dowa Mining: Listed in Japan, it is the worlds largest producer of gallium. Guided by its corporate philosophy, “Through its business operations on the world stage, Dowa seeks to contribute to a high standard of living and the emergence of a resource-recycling society,” the Dowa Group seeks to offer various types of value to its stakeholders and to make a contribution to society.

AXT INC: A NASDAQ-listed maker of satellite solar panels, mainly producing semiconductor substrates for electronic and optoelectronic uses. AXT is committed to environmental protection and positive corporate citizenship. In 2006, they were certified as meeting the international standards of ISO 14001:2004, an Environmental Management Standard. The certification followed an audit of our Beijing facility and environmental systems, conducted by SGS an ANSI accredited third party auditor.

Richard Matthews is a Marketing Consultant and author of The Green Market, a blog dedicated to green investing and the economy. Richard hails from Quebec Canada. He enjoys hiking, canoeing, and rock-climbing.

Eco-Investments is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag