Guess Which State Towers Over All the Others on Wind Energy?, onEarth
In a state known for caucuses and cornfields, renewable energy has taken root. More than 30 percent of Iowa’s in-state electricity generation already comes from wind — and it’s only going to increase, thanks to a new wind farm housing a turbine that’s taller than the Washington Monument.
Using Literature as a Force for Good Among Austin’s Homeless Population, CityLab
Barry Maxwell, a former resident of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, is paying it forward. As founder of Street Lit, he collects donated books and provides a creative writing class (participants write short stories, poetry, blog posts) to create a sense of community among those living on the streets.
Choosing a School for my Daughter in a Segregated City, New York Times Magazine
More than 60 years after the monumental Brown vs. Board of Education court ruling, New York City public schools remain some of the most racially- and economically-divided in the country. So where does a middle-class African-American family enroll their daughter: A segregated, low-income public school or a “good” public or private one?
Tag: wind energy
A Wind Turbine That’s Bringing Clean Energy to New Heights
Wind turbines are found on land and sea, but now there’s a new type on the horizon that can tap energy thousands of feet in the air.
As the video below explains, the helium-filled Buoyant Airborne Turbine (BAT) is capable of producing twice the amount of energy of an ordinary turbine because it feeds off the stronger, faster and more consistent winds of higher altitudes. Cables tethered to the machine then send the generated wind energy back to a base station.
Created by MIT startup Altaeros Energies, the tube-shaped BAT can be inflated, set up within a day and transported anywhere by a truck, which significantly reduces the installation costs of a typical tower-mounted wind turbines. This is in sharp contrast to other land-based turbines, which require giant support platforms and lots of material, and offshore ones that need a platform strong enough to withstand punishing ocean waves, which is tremendously expensive to anchor to the seafloor.
MORE: Texas Breaks a Record, But Not the Kind You’d Expect
Another potential of the BAT is that it can cheaply and efficiently power remote and off-grid communities (as well as areas struck by disaster). As Popular Science reports, one such off-grid locale has already been piqued by this new technology.
Thanks to a $740,000 grant from the Alaska Energy Authority, Altaeros will be testing out the first commercial BAT near the city of Fairbanks starting next year. The 30-kilowatt system is poised to provide power and even WiFi to a dozen families living off the power grid. If the 18-month trial is a success, it could reduce the area’s diesel consumption by 11,000 gallons annually.
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DON’T MISS: 5 Inspiring Green Initiatives Moving America Towards a Bright Future
5 Inspiring Green Initiatives Moving America Towards a Bright Future
Stranded polar bears. Rising sea levels. Extreme weather. By now you know the devastating impacts of climate change, and it’s pretty easy to get disheartened by it.
Fortunately, there are some pretty smart cookies here in America who have come up with positive solutions that might change how you feel about our warming planet. Perhaps, you might even feel inspired to take action yourself.
Recyclebank has ranked the 10 most inspiring sustainable innovations happening from coast to coast. We’ve picked five of our favorite projects, but you should really head on over to EcoWatch for the whole list. (The polar bears will thank you!)
MORE: Can I Recycle This? 5 Things You Should Always Recycle (and 5 Things You Shouldn’t)
1. Organic food in La Farge, Wis.
We’ve already told you how the food industry is a big environmental nightmare in so many different ways. But at Organic Valley (aka the biggest organic farm co-op in the country) food and farmers are truly treated with respect. Its 45,000 square-foot barn (constructed from locally-sourced materials, naturally) sells sustainable food and hosts workshops and exhibits to help educate the entire community. As the company boasts on their website: “The central mission of our cooperative is to support rural communities by protecting the health of the family farm — working toward both economic and environmental sustainability.”
2. Xeriscaping in Denver
This form of water-wise landscaping might sound unfamiliar to you, but here’s why it’s important: Drought. For water-pinched states in the southwest, xeriscaping is not only a beautiful alternative to water-intensive lawns, it conserves much more water, too. As EcoWatch reports, Denver’s water board has put up free downloadable instructions so you can remodel your own yard.
3. Green building in Chicago
As we’ve mentioned before, it literally takes a lot of energy to go to work. The EPA found that commercial buildings in Chicago are responsible for 70 percent of the city’s carbon emissions. But in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, Chicago has a Green Permit Program that promotes, expedites and reduces the cost of green architecture. In fact, the Windy City has the most LEED-certified projects in the U.S. at 295.
4. Alternative transportation in Portland, Ore.
Light rail, streetcar, bus, biking, smart cars. If there’s one place you want to be without a smog-emitting automobile, it’s probably Portland. Thanks to the Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, it’s one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country.
5. Wind Energy in Corpus Christi, Texas
Back in 2002, Texas deregulated its electricity market, which meant that consumers could pick their own energy provider. That’s when Corpus Christi decided to pave the way for wind power. The city is now home to the county’s first on-port wind farm that ships wind turbines to all other states. By using the power of all-natural wind, Texas now saves more than 8.1 billion gallons of water and avoids 22 million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year.
DON’T MISS: Watch What a Climate Change Debate Should Really Look Like
Inspiring the Next Generation Of Energy Conservationists
If anyone ever questions the future of sustainable energy, look no further than Cindy Johengen’s fifth grade class at Allen Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
With the guidance of 32 engineering students from the University of Michigan who go by the nickname “Woven Wind,” these middle schoolers put up their own 15-foot wind turbine in their school’s backyard. MLive reports that this mini turbine — with its three three-foot-long blades — reportedly cost $600 and was just a temporary installation. (Woven Wind is working on securing permits for a permanent installation)
As for how much juice it provides, it can power small devices like cell phones. However, don’t scoff at the contraption’s tiny punch. There’s so much more to it than that.
MORE: Ask the Experts: How Can We Fix Early Childhood Education?
The student team — who usually build small-scale turbines to power rural villages in countries such as Guatemala — decided to work a little closer to home. The reason why? To educate and inspire these youngsters about sustainable energy.
“The greatest moments are when we see the ‘aha’ moments and the ideas click in their heads,” said Nick Kalweit, the lead engineer of the Woven Wind project and senior in mechanical engineering.
It’s more important than ever to teach the next generation the importance of sustainability, especially since the planet they will inherit is facing the impacts of climate change.
As Woven Wind team member Anastasia Ostrowski said, “When I was younger, growing up, I never had that education. I didn’t get the stress of renewable energies or the stress of finding ways to better our planet. These kids have a great opportunity that a lot of their education is stressed on that because of the times we’re in. Everyone is realizing that renewable [energy] is essential.”
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DON’T MISS: These Kids Are Powering Their School Just By Walking
Texas Breaks a Record, But Not the Kind You’d Expect
Everything’s bigger in Texas, which partly explains how a state known for its oil rigs, giant steaks, and five-lane highways has just broken a national wind energy record.
On the evening of Wednesday, March 26, wind power fed 10,296 megawatts of power into the state’s electricity grid — almost 29 percent of all wind power used in the state at that time. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, that’s a record for all power systems in the United States.
Texas is actually the largest producer of wind power in the United States, with the potential to collect more power than Italy, France, or the U.K., according to Next City. It’s no surprise, then, that the morning after the wind energy record, Texas broke a “wind power share record,” when 38.43 percent of the state’s power came from windmills. (To be fair, that happened at 3:19 a.m., so perhaps the state wasn’t buzzing with electrical needs.)
Most of the electricity comes from West Texas, which is home of Roscoe Wind Farm and Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, as well as the television drama Friday Night Lights. (Why was wind energy never a plot on the show?)
There’s a divide in the Lone Star State in terms of energy needs and energy generation, though: West Texas has the wind, but it doesn’t actually have a large enough population to use the power it generates. At the same time, places like Houston and Corpus Christi generate far less electricity than they need.
To solve the problem, Texas passed the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones Initiative. Now transmission lines zigzag across the state, successfully carrying wind power from north to south and west to east that was previously lost on its way to the electrical grid.
Other states and their power generators are trying to be more like Texas. The Southwest Power Pool, which serves Oklahoma, Kansas, and parts of Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas, is attempting to build a network of transmission lines that will hook into the one in Texas, funneling wind energy across state lines.
Currently Texas has 12 gigawatts of installed capacity in the state, and 8 more gigawatts are planned or under construction.
The lesson here is clear: Don’t mess with Texas, especially when it comes to transforming wind energy into electrical power.
How One State Is Making It Easier and Cheaper to Use Wind Power
Wind power is one of the cleanest sources of renewable energy on the planet, and now it’s more affordable than ever. An Oklahoma utility company is offering its customers a chance to buy Oklahoma-produced wind power for a lot less money. The Public Service Co. of Oklahoma (PSO) has cut the price of its WindChoice program by 40 percent, allowing its half-million customers the choice of buying wind power for part or all of their energy needs, the company announced in a news release. All told, a customer can allot half of their energy needs to wind for an extra $5 a month.
MORE: This Is What Happens When a County Bands Together to Get Cleaner Power
“By providing a lower price and greater flexibility, we’re making it easier than ever for our customers to take advantage of and promote the tremendous energy resource that is our Oklahoma wind,” said Bobby Mouser, PSO’s director of customer services and marketing.
Although wind energy can be costlier in the short term, it’s has actually caused the overall price of electricity to drop in several high-wind states. According to a report from the American Wind Energy Association, in the past five years, Texas, Wyoming, Oregon, Oklahoma, Idaho, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa saw their price of electricity fell 0.37 percent. Every other state, in contrast, saw their electricity go up by 7.79 percent. That should be energizing news to proponents of wind power.