Solar Charging Project Brings Renewable Energy Future to Jordan-

AllCell Technologies, a leading manufacturer of lithium-ion battery packs, has teamed up with multiple cleantech companies to create a completely off-grid solar EV charging station. Located in Amman, Jordan, the station can charge both a Nissan LEAF and multiple light electric vehicles simultaneously, is off-grid and includes a lithium-ion energy storage system that is protected from the scorching heat of the desert sun using AllCell’s thermal management system. The country, despite its ideal location for energy derived from oil, is apparently lacking in fossil fuel resources and imports over 90 percent of its energy. What the country lacks, however, it makes up for with a solar radiation zone perfect for generating clean, renewable energy which has been largely untapped as of yet.

The charging station consists of a 3 kilowatt solar canopy developed by Sun Phocus, AllCell’s 25 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion energy storage system, and DBT’s Level II charging station. For the project, Nissan provided its all electric Nissan LEAF vehicle, Matra contributed two electric scooters and a pair of electric GEM cars – with each GEM car incorporating a solar roof. AllCell CEO Said Al-Hallaj, who has been overseeing the project since the fall of 2010, is very excited at what the future will hold for energy impoverished nations like Jordan. “The combination of solar energy, electric vehicles, and energy storage holds enormous promise as a solution to multiple problems inherent in today’s energy systems. The benefits include reduced oil consumption and carbon emissions, increased peak electricity generation, and grid-friendly load shifting. As the prices of solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles continue to fall, such a system will be economically feasible in the near future.” The charging station will serve as a model for a large-scale infrastructure project to eventually help the government meet its goal of using at least 10 percent renewable energy by 2020.

Internet Giant Secures Second Fund for Residential Solar Leases in 3 States-

Google recently put up $75 million in funding for roughly 3,000 residential solar installations in Arizona, California and Colorado. Clean Power Finance will oversee the fund and will work with solar power installers to provide homeowners with financing options. The initiative will give consumers an option to enter into lease agreements or power purchase agreements with the installers, which is especially beneficial for the majority of homeowners who cannot afford cash down on expensive solar installations. This is Google’s second fund, with the first being a landmark residential solar deal between the company and California-based SolarCity to the tune of $280 million in project funding. The latter was established to provide installations, lease agreements and power purchase agreements in 11 states as well as Washington D.C. Currently, federal and state governments are providing long-term extensions of solar tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations which makes it a very good time to look into PPA’s and lease agreements in your state. Lowe’s, for instance, has partnered with Sungevity and are offering $0 down for residential solar installations in most states throughout the U.S.

Ontario Makes Seed Money Available to Develop EV Charging Infrastructure-

In an effort to spur EV development, Ontario, Canada has announced $80 million in funding for companies who will work to advance recharging technology and expand facilities around the area. The seed money aims to ensure that charging stations will be readily available to consumers in order to get more EVs on the road. The province currently offers car buyers incentives to choose electric cars, including up to $8,500 and “green license plates” which allow drivers to use the network of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. “We’re taking the next step to ensure car-charging stations are in the right place to power the next generation of vehicles. Just as we worked hard to become North America’s number one producer of cars, we’re working hard to become number one in North America when it comes to clean energy. Today’s announcement takes us one step closer to our vision,” said Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario. The announcement is part of the Ontario government’s development plan, in which it will invest more than $35 billion into the province’s infrastructure over the next three years. In similar news, large scale auto manufacturer Toyota has recently announced it will begin manufacturing its newest RAV4 EV in Woodstock, Ontario.

Is the Global Warming Theory a Reality or Simply an Agenda?-

While its commendable and, I believe, the job of every person living on planet earth to take care of the common ground we all share; sadly, it appears that environmental conservation has become more of a radical religion than anything else. In reading posts on blogs and news organization sites, its obvious that folks are worried about literally every last ounce of carbon emissions that enter into the atmosphere. But here is something most of you probably didn’t know: GASP! CO2 is actually GOOD for our environment. According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, “carbon dioxide is essential to photosynthesis in plants and other photoautotrophs, and is also a prominent greenhouse gas. Despite its relatively small overall concentration in the atmosphere, CO2 is an important component of Earth’s atmosphere because it absorbs and emits infrared radiation at wavelengths of 4.26 µm (asymmetric stretching vibrational mode) and 14.99 µm (bending vibrational mode), thereby playing a role in the greenhouse effect”. So while major governing bodies around the world, like the United Nations and the United States for example, would prefer to have you completely cut your carbon and methane emissions, it is evident that would produce catastrophic effects. For instance, without carbon dioxide there would be no plants. Thus, no oxygen for humans to survive. And as mentioned above, CO2 and methane (both considered “bad” by global warming enthusiasts) play a vital role in the greenhouse effect — which, in layman’s terms, means that both gases regulate the temperature on earth which allow life to be maintained.

So while CO2 happens to be accelerating at a rapid rate, that is only because human life is also accelerating. Ill just make it clear here that I do not believe this theoretical climate change is going to devastate the world. The UN has made it absolutely clear that it disapproves of the rising global population, so hmmmmm…. I wonder what agenda they have in pushing such a catastrophic theory that is directly related to the steadily increasing world population? If you’ve ever heard of population control, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. The UN’s new Agenda 21 goes under the guise of “sustainable development”, which sounds all good in theory; but in its own words is a “comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.” Even Al Gore, the main proponent of global warming has made the following statement regarding population control: “One of the things we could do about it is to change the technologies, to put out less of this pollution, to stabilize the population, and one of the principle ways of doing that is to empower and educate girls and women. You have to have ubiquitous availability of fertility management so women can choose how many children have, the spacing of the children. You have to lift child survival rates so that parents feel comfortable having small families and most important – you have to educate girls and empower women. And that’s the most powerful leveraging factor, and when that happens, then the population begins to stabilize and societies begin to make better choices and more balanced choices.” Yet another quote from Dave Foreman, Earth First Co-Founder: “My three main goals would be to reduce human population to about 100 million worldwide, destroy the industrial infrastructure and see wilderness, with it’s full complement of species, returning throughout the world.” Even President Barack Obama’s top science adviser, John P. Holdren, co-authored a book dubbed “Ecoscience” back in the late 1970′s in which he supported a sort of global police called the Planetary Regime to enforce population control — even by methods of “compulsory abortion”.

A portion of text on page 837 of “Ecoscience” reads: “Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society.” Furthermore, on pages 942 and 943, he goes on to say: “Perhaps those agencies, combined with UNEP and the United Nations population agencies, might eventually be developed into a Planetary Regime – sort of an international superagency for population, resources, and environment. Such a comprehensive Planetary Regime could control the development, administration, conservation, and distribution of all natural resources, renewable or nonrenewable, at least insofar as international implications exist. Thus the Regime could have the power to control pollution not only in the atmosphere and oceans, but also in such freshwater bodies as rivers and lakes that cross international boundaries or that discharge into the oceans. The Regime might also be a logical central agency for regulating all international trade, perhaps including assistance from DCs to LDCs, and including all food on the international market.”

“The Planetary Regime might be given responsibility for determining the optimum population for the world and for each region and for arbitrating various countries’ shares within their regional limits. Control of population size might remain the responsibility of each government, but the Regime would have some power to enforce the agreed limits.”

On page 917, he encourages surrender of U.S. national sovereignty to the proposed international organization: “If this could be accomplished, security might be provided by an armed international organization, a global analogue of a police force. Many people have recognized this as a goal, but the way to reach it remains obscure in a world where factionalism seems, if anything, to be increasing. The first step necessarily involves partial surrender of sovereignty to an international organization.”

Its a dangerous place to live when the government controls what its people do. Research into the way Hitler obtained control of the masses if you aren’t aware of how government control sneaks in usually under the pretense of the common good of mankind. So am I saying that major governmental organizations are working hard to ensure that more power be given over to themselves to carry out their agenda of global population control? All signs point to yes*.

*I’m no conspiracy theorist here, I am giving the facts straight from the mouths of those who have advocated for global warming. The real scary thing in all this is that the majority of the public actually agrees with the above statements regarding better control over the growing population. I am a creationist, as scientific theories have never been proven as to how complex life was created out of nowhere, and I view human life as God-given and as something that should be valued and protected.

Collaboration Will Give a Boost to EV Charging Infrastructure-

GE and Urban Green Energy (UGE) have announced its newest collaboration called the Sanya Skypump, an electric vehicle charging station that combines both GE’s WattStation and UGE’s Sanya hybrid wind/solar streetlamp technology. The station will provide consumers with green power to charge their EVs which will help to sustain America’s sometimes unreliable electricity grid. EVs are rapidly growing in popularity, seeing that they are an excellent alternative to gas guzzling, high maintenance automobiles. However the main problem still, and the reason that most people in America still don’t own one as of yet, is due to the lack of a sufficient charging infrastructure. “Our collaborative efforts with GE Energy have resulted in the breakthrough Sanya Skypump, which is powered by the energy available in both the wind and the sun,” said Poul Heilmann, head of business development at UGE. “Consumers’ concerns for a more environmentally friendly form of transportation include the source of power for the electric car. The Skypump uses a UGE-4K wind turbine along with solar panels to offset a significant amount of the usage of a commercial charging site,” he continued. “We are thrilled to be partnering with GE Energy in bringing innovative and elegant design to enhance the adoption of renewable energy technology while minimizing the impact on the environment.” Beginning this fall, UCE will begin installing first Skypump stations in New York, Beijing, and Barcelona while the global installations will begin in early 2012. “Building upon the success of the GE WattStation™, GE continuously is seeking evolutionary EV solutions,” said Michael Mahan, product general manager at GE Energy Industrial Solutions. “By marrying the elegant design of UGE’s Sanya Streetlamp with the GE WattStation™, we have enabled the further adoption of electric vehicles by making access to renewable power easier.”

An artist’s rendition of the Sanya Skypump collab:

Partnership Will Bring Jobs, Green Energy to Canada-

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. and SunEdison have signed an agreement that will lead to large-scale production of solar panels in Ontario, Canada. The green investment is thanks to Ontario’s progressive clean energy strategy, through which the city intends “to become North America’s leading manufacturing centre of excellence in solar energy production,” says Sandra Pupatello, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade. Manufacturing solar panels on this large a scale will help lower the cost of installations throughout the city, and will (more importantly) develop a more reliable electricity system to meet tomorrow’s needs. “SunEdison is pleased to be part of building a long-term and sustainable solar market in Ontario. We believe that solar and other renewable energy solutions are key components of the province’s supply mix as they create jobs and cleaner energy solutions,” said Jason Gray, VP and Country Manager of SunEdison.

Here are just a few ways that the city has brought green energy investment to the mainstream:

• Ontario’s clean energy economy has attracted more than $20 billion of investment.
• Since 2009, more than 30 businesses have announced they are setting up or expanding plants in Ontario to manufacture parts for the solar and wind industry.
• Ontario has the most solar energy of any jurisdiction in Canada, and Ontario is home to the 10 largest solar farms in Canada.
• Ontario forecasts that by 2018, 10,700 megawatts of renewable power from wind, solar and bio-energy will have been brought online – enough electricity each year to power more than 2 million homes.
• Coal-fired generation was down 90 per cent in the first three months of 2011 compared to the same timeframe in 2003.
• Ontario has conserved more than 1,700 megawatts of electricity over the past five years – the equivalent of taking more than half a million homes off the electricity grid.

The Resort Giant Will Contribute Fuel Made from Waste Vegetable Oil-

For the third year running, Caesars Entertainment Corp. is again sponsoring the Big Green Bus tour across America. Operated by students from Dartmouth College, the Greyhound bus was converted to run on recycled waste vegetable oil (WVO) and will travel across the country to help cause a buzz around the importance of sustainability. The journey will take place through an 11-week period and will travel 12,000 miles through 31 states. The bus will make refueling stops at Caesars resorts — including Harrah’s New Orleans on July 23rd, Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino on August 3rd, Harrah’s Rincon Hotel and Casino in North San Diego on August 5th, and Cleveland Thistledown on September 3rd — along with other scheduled locations around the U.S. “Having Caesars Entertainment as a sponsor has given us great insight to its compelling sustainability practices,” said Nicholas S. Devonshire, Big Green Bus Fundraising and Logistics Coordinator. “With its broad reach, the company has shown us how caring about the environment can translate into large opportunities for innovation and resource savings.” The sponsorship initiative by Caesars Entertainment will help foot the costs of this “classroom on wheels”, offering the public a unique opportunity to receive the hands-on experience of working with a converted alternative fuel vehicle as well as education on the significance of conservation in today’s world. Every year, Caesars recycles 640,000 gallons of oil from its resort and casino restaurants around the globe with 123,000 gallons coming directly from the Las Vegas Strip. The veggie oil is actually recycled at the resorts, or removed and re-purposed for use in biodiesel and other products. “We are very proud to power the Big Green Bus and support these driven students in their quest to spread the message of sustainability across the country,” said Gwen Migita, Corporate Director Sustainability and Community Engagement for Caesars Entertainment. “Caesars employees are excited to take part in the many events scheduled at the resorts across the country.”

For further information about the 2011 Big Green Bus tour, its crew and sponsors visit www.thebiggreenbus.org.

For additional information about Caesars Entertainment’s sustainability efforts visit http://www.caesars.com/corporate/environment-sustainability.html.

Renewable Energy Investments Skyrocket in 2010, Especially in Developing Nations-

According to a recently published UN study, global investment in green energy sources have increased by 32 percent during 2010, hitting a record high of $211 billion. The UN reported that the main factors of growth were due in large part to rooftop solar installations in Europe and wind farms in China. Surprisingly enough, the report showed that developing countries invested more in renewable technologies than larger, more prosperous nations during that year. “The continuing growth in this core segment of the green economy is not happening by chance,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program. “The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funding is underpinning the renewable industry’s rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach.” Topping the list of green energy investors for the second year in a row was (of course) China who spent $48.9B, up 28 percent from 2009; South and Central America spent $13.1B, up 39 percent; Middle East and Africa spent $5B, up 104 percent; and India spent $3.8B, up 25 percent.

New Technology Looks Past the Grid for EV Charging-

Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc. have developed a new EV charging station powered solely by the sun. The charging station is powered by 96, 175W solar PV modules from Mitsubishi Electric and supports CHAdeMO-compatible EVs like the soon-to-drop Mitsubishi i. Its capable of charging up to four cars at once, and boasts three different types of chargers (Level 1, 110v; Level 2, 220v; and Level 3 quick charge). “This project will build awareness of solar power’s versatility and efficiency,” said Katsuya Takamiya, president and chief executive officer, Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA. “As electric vehicles’ popularity grows, we expect to see more charging stations at large employers, automobile dealerships, shopping centers and schools, where cars can charge while people work, shop or study.” MMNA President Yoichi Yokozawa said, “We hope that our dealers, learning institutions, and municipalities will look to this technology with a keen eye towards the future, and bear in mind that the gradual acceptance of the pure-EV transportation will be aided by increasing the number of facilities like this one.”

Originally Posted on Wilderness.org-

Green weddings are getting easier than ever. Whether you plan to say ‘I do’ at a church alter or from the overlook of a gorgeous mountain vista, choosing a few green wedding tips will help you ensure that the lasting impression of your wedding is on the hearts of those attending, not on the wildlands you cherish.

Planning a wedding yourself? Here are 9 green wedding tips to make your day beautiful in all ways:

1. Order tree-friendly invitations: Save trees by printing your invitations–and thank you notes–on recycled paper. These days a host of companies specialize in beautiful hand-crafted invitations on 100 percent recycled paper.

2. Register for gifts that don’t end up in the landfill: Ask for donations to charities you care about rather than gifts that will eventually end-up in the landfill. TisBest offers offers charity gift cards so you can pick your favorite organization to support (like The Wilderness Society!) Or, if you don’t like that idea, you can always register for eco-friendly gifts, such as trees for your yard. The trees will be cherished for years to come while they perform double duty soaking up carbon.

3. Consider organic or local flowers: Select seasonal flowers that don’t have to be shipped from afar or organic flowers, which are grown using fewer chemicals. Organic Bouquet is one option.

4. Save money on your dress: Save money and resources by revamping vintage wedding dresses, or purchasing a dress made out of sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, silk or hemp. Recycled Bride connects buyers with sellers. Also, consider letting your bridesmaids wear their own previously purchased dresses within a color theme you pick, or select dresses that they can easily wear again.

5. Buy conscientious wedding rings: To avoid conflict diamonds and the environmental impacts of gold mining you might consider exchanging rings made of recycled materials, or vintage family heirlooms, which can make the meaning even more special. Greener Diamond offers resources on alternatives to conflict-free, green diamonds and questions you can ask to ensure you’re buying a clean ring.

6. Find a caterer who offers locally sourced, organic or vegetarian options: Supporting locally produced food helps reduce greenhouse gases created in the transportation of food–not to mention it’s generally fresher, healthier and better tasting. Organic fare uses fewer chemicals and agricultural practices that harm ecoysystems, and eating vegetarian helps decrease greenhouse gases and water pollution associated with meat production. (Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the livestock sector is responsible of 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, even outdoing transportation.) Greenyour.com is a great resource for choosing organic and locally-sourced caterers and restaurants.

7. Get creative with wedding favors: Eco-friendly wedding favors include simple items that your guests will appreciate, such as organic chocolate, wildflower seeds, plants or hand-made items.

8. Don’t make your guests travel once in town: Choose hotels near to your ceremony and reception to eliminate the need for rental cars.

9. Reduce, reuse, recycle: Weddings can be huge affairs. If you can’t bare to go with a smaller wedding that uses less resources, see what you can do to recycle and reuse after the big event. For example, ask your facility about their recycling policy, and after the big day is over, donate your flower bouquets and table adornments to a nursing home, where they will be fully appreciated.

Still not sure how easy a green wedding might be to arrange? Take if from our Wildlands Communication Manager Emily Diamond-Falk, who says planning a green wedding is easy, and much better for the budget.

For her eco-friendly wedding, Emily and her fiancée Alex have arranged to have local, seasonal flowers, locally sourced food and recycled materials for their reception and ceremony. With the exception of hard liquor, all of their beer, wine and food (which will be vegetarian) will come from within a 150 mile range. Invitations will be printed on recycled material. And Emily’s wedding dress is also recycled in a way – it was originally her mother’s. “Even the yarmulkes we are giving out are made from recycled cardboard,” Emily said. Emily and Alex also picked hotels that are walking distance from the wedding and other weekend events, so out-of-town guests won’t need to drive.