Monday, 11 Jun 2007

O Pioneers

Western states fired up over clean energy

When it comes to clean energy, the West is the best -- or at least, it wants to be. In Deadwood, S.D., this week, 10 Western U.S. governors and two Canadian provincial premiers are meeting to talk about the region's power prospects, including solar, wind, biomass, and "clean coal." Reporting that the region is on track to add 30,000 megawatts or more of "clean and diversified" energy by 2015, the Western Governors' Association took the federal government to task for withholding support. "Western states are serious about the development of domestic renewable energy," said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D). "Congress, as usual, is talking about it. We need action." The guvs are hoping for help in the form of tax credits and other incentives, and one speaker called for a research investment on the scale of the atomic bomb-producing Manhattan Project. But Gristmill contributor Patrick Mazza explains why none of this progress will even matter if the nation's power grid isn't modernized.


Ever wish you could have lived with conservation hero Aldo Leopold? Well, this week's InterActivist got to do it -- and call the acclaimed author of A Sand County Almanac "dad" besides. Growing up in the Leopold family's legendary shack, A. Carl Leopold turned out to be quite the environmentalist in his own right. In answering Grist's questions, the younger Leopold (going strong at the age of 88) talks about his famous father, his weakness for tango music, and why working at a scrappy green website might not count as environmentalism. Send Leopold a question by noon PDT on Wednesday; we'll publish his answers to selected questions on Friday.

We Always Knew They'd Turn to Communism

U.K. green-computing task force recommends centralizing data

A newly formed United Kingdom task force will work to reduce the energy-sucking impacts of computing equipment, which some say pumps as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere there as the airline industry. The public-private partnership, called "Green Shift," will study how to make PCs and their related equipment more efficient. The group's first endeavor is to reduce the load on home computers by making applications such as office programs, email, and internet browsing available through a network of remote data centers accessed via broadband. This, they say, would allow manufacturers to build stripped-down PCs that use 75 percent fewer resources during production and take 98 percent less energy to operate. "Cyber-warming is a massive issue," says Minister of Local Government Phil Woolas. "The new task force is the first of its kind in the world and is a sign of how serious the U.K. is about tackling this issue." The data-center scheme will be piloted in 2008, with a debut planned for 2009.


A reader in Long Island, N.Y., wonders if solar power is a viable option for him -- and, more to the point, wonders how to wade through the oceans of information on the topic. Ever eager to shed light on alternative energy, advice maven Umbra Fisk offers tips for navigating the marketplace, and points him in the right direction.

Fun Guys

Two recent college grads make insulation using mushroom spores

Let's play a word game: we say "college students" and "mushrooms," you say the first thing that comes to mind. OK, now get ready to eat your words, because two recent Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute grads are having a different kind of fun with their fungi. Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre used mushroom spores to create a new kind of eco-insulation. Dubbed Greensulate, the organic product contains water, flour, oyster mushroom spores, and perlite, a mineral blend common in potting soil. The pair, who have applied for grants and formed a company called Ecovative Design, admit there's still some fine-tuning to be done; for one thing, says McIntyre, "We've been growing the material under our beds." Still, those involved in the project have high hopes. "I think it has a lot of potential, and it could make a big difference in people's lives," says RPI Professor Burt Swersy. "It's sustainable and enviro-friendly, it's not based on petrochemicals, and [it] doesn't require much energy or cost to make."