AZ State perfects cost efficient solar collectors

Gizmag report says new furnace type solar collectors can melt glass in seconds.

The DNA Barcode of Life

I love sushi, but high priced fish is often mislabeled. One of the biggest problems I run into with food is that I can't know for sure what I'm eating. There have been studies that show that most of what we eat in Sushi Restaurants is mislabeled. This is fraud, they are tricking the consumers into eating cheap or endangered species instead of the expensive premium fish they are charging you for. In Japan, using species substitution, fishermen sell illegal dolphin meat, labeled as whale, for school lunches, dosing kids with mercury, a known neurotoxin. Read more at Oceana.org ...

Now EarthSky reports that a clever team of scientists is planing to use cell phone bar-code readers to give consumers more of the information they need to make good choices for the environment.

David Schindel said: “The image that some people have in mind is being able to sit down to a restaurant meal and take out your smart phone and scan a barcode on the menu and find out more about how the dish is prepared, but also about the species. Where was it fished? What fisherman caught this? When it was caught? Was it tested? Does this fisherman have a good record of authentic labeling? And all of that could be on your smart phone while you enjoy a glass of wine and you wait for your meal to be served.”

For more information about what to eat, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's SEAFOOD WATCH list: seafoodwatch.org

The Water Energy Connection

KQED's California Report notes that about 20% of all California Energy is used to provide water to our residents.

Check out the full story at the Climate Watch Web Page.
You might call that report, entitled California’s Water-Energy Relationship, as The Great Wake-Up Call. The idea that so much power could go into this one vital activity—moving and treating and using water—is both stunning and captivating. See the illustrated guide to how water and energy are connected.

Update on Reinventing Fire, TED Video

Update on Reinventing Fire by Amory Lovins of the Rockey Mountain Institute

Pay special attention at time stamp 17:50

Reinventing Fire: Amory Lovins

Those who know Amory Lovins of the Rockey Mountain Institute know that he was one of the first to speak up about climate change and challenge the existing economy. I first learned about Lovins and RMI in 2007 watching a TED video in which he claimed "The whales were saved by profit seeking capitalist and technological innovators" (perhaps he spoke too soon). He offers a unique scientific vision of how business and industry should transition to a post oil economy, a synergistic model that claims that our entire energy economy can be replace through innovative efficiency and new energy technology with minimal infrastructure investments. Download his "Oil Endgame" here.

The Eight Guiding Principles of Rocky Mountain Institute

• Advanced Resource Productivity: Using natural resources much more productively — efficiently — is both profitable and better for the environment.
• Whole-Systems Design: Whole-systems design reveals lasting, elegantly frugal solutions with multiple benefits.
• Positive Action: We don't lobby, litigate, or harass those with whom we disagree.
• Market-Oriented Solutions: We believe in working with markets, not against them.
• End-use/Least-cost Approach: "What are we trying to do, and what's the best and cheapest way to do it?"
• Biological Insight: Nature offers extraordinary design solutions honed by 3.8 billion years' rigorous testing
• Corporate Transformation: We view the corporate world, which environmental groups often dismiss as "the problem," as an essential part of the solution.
• The Pursuit of Interconnection: We believe strongly in the importance of a "vision across boundaries."

About Amory Lovins - Lovins has been a visionary leader in sustainable technologies and soft energy paths since 1976, when Foreign Affairs published his landmark essay, Energy Strategy: The Road Not Taken?" As the co-founder, chairman, and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, Lovins has briefed heads of state, consulted with CEOs, and worked with environmentalists to create an alternative energy strategy---and he contends his vision can be achieved with no new acts of Congress or government regulation, and no major shift in our lifestyles. A prolific author and entrepreneur, Lovins has received honorary doctorates and awards around the world for his inclusive and broad-based approach to creating a sustainable economy. In 2009, Time magazine named Lovins as one of the 100 most-influential people in the world.

Clean Tech San Diego and The California Center for Sustainable Energy welcome Amory to San Diego.

How Cleantech Innovation in San Diego is Lighting the Way to Economic Prosperity

Reinventing Fire:
Amory Lovins Talks Energy Strategy
Wednesday April 11, 2012,  5:00 – 7:30pm

Energy Innovation Center
4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

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Amory Lovins is reinventing fire, and CleanTECH San Diego and the California Center for Sustainable Energy are bringing him to San Diego to explain how it can be done. In his latest book, Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, Lovins argues that it is possible to run a U.S. economy that is 2.6 times bigger by 2050---without oil, coal, or nuclear power---and in ways that will make the economy much stronger.

Named by TIME magazine as one of the “World's 100 Most Influential People” in 2009, Amory Lovins is the co-founder, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute – a nationally recognized, non-profit think-and-do tank in Colorado. He has been active at the nexus of energy and environmental resources and development in more than 50 countries for over 35 years, and is among the world's leading energy authorities.

Mr. Lovins will join CleanTECH San Diego President & CEO Jim Waring to discuss Reinventing Fire and how San Diego entrepreneurs and innovators are already applying some of his strategies for actionable solutions for the four energy-intensive sectors of the economy: transportation, buildings, industry and electricity. The event will highlight a number of clean technologies being developed in San Diego, and explore how they can be broadly applied to revolutionize markets around the world. The evening will conclude with a book signing and reception.

Reinventing Fire will be sold at the event at the discounted price of $30 (cash only). Reserve your copy here.

RSVP http://ctsdamorylovins2012.eventbrite.com

Limited seating available.
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About CleanTECH San Diego

CleanTECH San Diego is a private, non-profit member organization formed in 2007. As one of the nation's premier cleantech cluster organizations, its mission is to position the region as a global leader in the cleantech economy. CleanTECH San Diego serves as a catalyst for a diverse group of stakeholders to advance a common agenda.

www.cleantechsandiego.org

About California Center for Sustainable Energy

The California Center for Sustainable Energy ( CCSE) is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that helps residents, businesses and public agencies save energy, reduce grid demand and generate their own power through a variety of rebate, technical assistance and education programs. CCSE also provides the community with objective information, research, analysis and long-term planning on energy issues and technologies. The California Center for Sustainable Energy promotes change for a clean energy future.
www.energycenter.org

Bee Hive Colony Collapse Disorder linked to Pesticide, beware of corn-syrup

Wired reports yet another tragic use for tabaco is the manufacture of neonicotinoids like Imidacloprid.  This popular toxic pesticide, imidacloprid, is a systemic insecticide which acts as an insect neurotoxin and belongs to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids which act on the central nervous system of insects. 

"Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health '...have re-created the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder in several honeybee hives simply by giving them small doses of a popular pesticide, imidacloprid.' This follows recently-reported studies also linked the disorder to neonicotinoid pesticides. What is really interesting is the link to when the disorder started appearing, 2006. 'That mech...anism? High-fructose corn syrup. Many bee-keepers have turned to high-fructose corn syrup to feed their bees, which the researchers say did not imperil bees until U.S. corn began to be sprayed with imidacloprid in 2004-2005. A year later was the first outbreak of Colony Collapse Disorder.'"

Now off patent, you can buy imidacloprid under many trade names: Admire, Advantage (Advocate) (flea killer for pets), Gaucho, Merit, Nuprid, Prothor, Turfthor, Confidor, Conguard, Hachikusan, Kohinor, Optrol, Premise, Prothor, Provado, Intercept, Winner, and Xytect. 

(Note: You may want to sell your stock in Bayer, the Aspirin pharmaceutical company that created imidacloprid neurotoxin pesticides, they will likely be sued for all the damage to food crops, cooperate farms, and by starving nations for loss of production.)

The Proper Loading Order

People want the sexy new expensive technology, because it's profitable to sell, but the truth is that most of the things we can due to change our future for the better are fairly inexpensive, don't take an expert or any technical education, and you can do them yourself with a little help from your friends.

The following is a note from my friends at Sacraemento Building Performance:
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Energy Efficiency Loading Order

When contemplating improving our home’s performance it helps to have a general guideline or ordering of priorities when making the decisions that provide the most benefit for our investment.  It’s important to look at the house as a system where each part interacts and ideally works together with the rest.  If we ignore this interaction and focus our attention on single source solutions, at best we miss opportunities to leverage our decisions and in the worse case cause unintentionally negative results.

For example if we add insulation without first taking the time and effort to airseal points of unwanted infiltration, the R-value of that insulation can be reduced by over 50%.  We might be uncomfortable and think we need a new and larger HVAC system.  If we first seal the envelope and add insulation we may be able to downsize that new system, saving on first costs and subsequent utility bills.

It’s important to avoid the “silver bullet” mentality when it comes to energy efficiency.  Using the following loading order of upgrade priorities can help.   It starts with the easiest, least expensive items and progresses to increasingly complex activities.  Tightening up a home’s envelope by air sealing and adding insulation are the two most cost effective steps you can take toward affordable comfort.  It pays to put your money into simple measures first.

Envelope
1. Air sealing the envelope
2. Insulation
3. Duct sealing

Load Reduction
4. Fluorescent lighting
5. Energy efficient appliances
6. Reducing plug loads (especially phantom loads)
7. Reducing water consumption
8. Occupant behavior

Mechanical Systems
9. High efficiency HVAC
10. High efficiency water heating
11. Heat recovery ventilation

Renewables
12. Solar hot water
13. PV solar
14. Wind power
15. Rain water harvesting

Of course nothing can replace a comprehensive home performance survey performed by a competent professional to analyze our homes particular needs and to develop a cost effective strategy.

http://sacbuildingperformance.com/2010/05/26/energy-efficiency-loading-order/

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Bonus, went to the BLUE GREEN Jobs Conference in San Diego this week, learned a lot about the potential for collaborative solutions to seemingly catastrophic problems, but there is still a lack of public awareness and thus political will to dedicate the resources necessary to address the coming crisis.


You can download and listen to the rough audio here with QuickTime Player:
BlueGreen.3gp