While some ‘green’ businesses do little more than changing light bulbs and focus on greening their reputations, TD Bank take a long term view and green themselves slowly and steadily from the inside out. In this exclusive interview, TD Chief Environmental Officer Karen Clarke-Whistler explains how this long term approach
Continue readingTag: solar
openalex: Community Scale Solar: Portland (OR) and Durban (South Africa)
[A piece I wrote is running in the most recent edition of UN-Habitat’s Urban World magazine. The article covers a gutsy and successful residential solar project in Portland (OR), and a similar project that I gave a hand with in Durban (South Africa). OK, I admit I’m a bit late
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar Cell System Produces More Energy Than Light Absorbed
In something that sounds close to magic, some researchers the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory have found a way to get solar cells to produce more energy with over an 100% quantum efficiency. Basically more energy is created than light that hits the cell. This is done by exploiting quantum
Continue reading350 or bust: Durban: “Down With Canada”
Concerned citizens from around Africa and the globe have gathered in Durban South Africa to “Occupy Cop17″, as hopes for a global agreement to address the climate crisis fades. As part of Occupy COP17, participants chanted “down with Canada” outside the official U.N. negotiations. It makes me so ashamed of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Charge Your Phone with the Sun
We’ve seen DIY iPod solar chargers before and now an Ottawa-based company has produced a consumer one. The PowerTrip is a small battery with a USB jack and a solar panel on it.
Enter the PowerTrip, from Ottawa-based Ecosol. In a package about the size of a deck of cards, the PowerTrip houses a battery […]
Things Are Good: Busy London Rail Station to be Solar Powered
Blackfriars station has been under some major construction in the past few years and it’s about to reopen to operations next year. While that’s happening construction has begun on installing solar panels making the bridge at the station the largest solar bridge. It’s a novel use of space in a very crowded city.
“Blackfriars Bridge is […]
Things Are Good: From Landfill to Sustainable Power Plant
Madison, New York, has a landfill that has been sitting and rotting and essentially not doing anything productive. That’s all about to change. A new pilot test of a Spectro PowerCap Exposed Geomembrane Solar Cover system – a sheet of something close to magic that will convert the mound of trash into a mound of […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Solar-Powered Wineries
Wine is good for you and can improve many aspects of your health. The wine-making process can be very intense on local ecologies due to the farming methods and shipping involved. Some wineries are looking to sustainable and responsible ways to create their wines.
Here’s one of a few wineries using solar power, catch four […]
openalex: Solar Map of New York City
New York City’s new Solar Map has gone live, and it’s a beauty. With a googlemap style interface, you can zoom into any building in the greater NYC area. Click on the building and up pops an estimate of the solar power you could generate on its r…
Continue reading