^{Photo by Steve Allen, The Environmental Blog}

Portland is nationally recognized as a leader in the movement to create bicycle-friendly cities. Portland is so nationally recognized as a transit leader that it lands on the New York Times media publication quite often as can be read in "Developers Cater to Two-Wheeled Traffic in Portland, Ore." and "Portland Plans for Transit All Powered by Electricity" and "36 Hours in Portland, Ore.". About 7 percent of commuters here travel by bike (the national average is under 1 percent) and the city has an ambitious plan, adopted last year, to increase that proportion to 25 percent by 2030, which can be read on another blog post we wrote about here.

Bicycle oriented development is beginning to appear around the city as can be seen by residential and commercial projects built near popular bikeways, green streets, and cycle tracks. Businesses and residential developments are increasingly catering to the bicycle community by outfitting with cycling-related services and amenities such as increased bicycle parking and storage and some businesses will lend you a bike lock if you forgot yours at home.

The change seems to be coming from private businesses who recognize that a really strong market exists with the bicycle community or phenomenon in Portland. Some people say that the development that spurred from the streetcar being built in the Pearl District by means of transit oriented development, is also occurring with bicycles in North Portland because of high bike traffic, particularly, N. Williams which continues to bring businesses oriented for the bicycle community.

The city of Portland's ambition plan to increase bicycle ridership in the city include:

Attract new riders
Plan and design for people who are not yet riding by developing safe and comfortable low-stress bikeways (such as bicycle boulevards and trails) that reduce conflicts between people riding bicycles and people driving.

Strengthen bicycle policies
Adopt policy changes outlined in the Plan, including a new bicycle transportation policy of making bicycling more attractive than driving for short trips.

Form a denser bikeway network
Expand the network of bikeways in Portland to achieve a fine-grained system that offers riders an array of route choices.

Increase bicycle parking
Implement measures to satisfy the growing demand for bike parking.

Expand programs to support bicycling
Expand established programs, and develop new programs, to encourage and support bicycling.

Increase funding for bicycle facilities
Pursue multiple strategies to increase funding for bicycle facilities and other green transportation modes.

People who think that investing in bicycle infrastructure is a waste of time and money should try hopping on a bike sometime and experience how liberating it can be. Also, it would help those that oppose bike infrastructure understand the ways it can be improved and why it should be improved. Some of the reasons bike infrastructure investment should be a line item in the city budget include:

Streets can carry far more people with far less wear and tear if people are riding bicycles instead of driving cars. That means the streets and bridges of Portland will work better for moving goods and for buses and streetcars.

Forty percent of Oregon’s carbon dioxide emissions come from transportation, the fastest growing source. Meanwhile, about half of all trips in Portland are three miles or less — a distance easily covered on a bicycle without breaking a sweat.

The Centers for Disease Control say that “automobile trips that can be safely replaced by walking or bicycling offer the first target for increased physical activity in communities. “ Studies suggest getting more people bicycling instead of driving helps make everyone safer.

With the average cost of owning and operating a car now estimated at more than $7,000 a year, bicycling is the most affordable form of personal transportation. Improved bikeways will give even more Portlanders the choice to bicycle to jobs, school, shopping, and transit.

Each year, about $800,000,000 circulates in Portland’s local economy that would leave the region if we drove as much as the U.S. average. The bicycle industry itself annually contributes about $100,000,000 to the city’s economy and now accounts for nearly 1,000 green jobs.

Bicycling is distinctly Portland! Bicycle trips promote interaction between neighbors, strengthen the rider’s connection to the community, increase the chance of shopping locally, put more “eyes on the street,” and contribute to a sense of place.

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rainforest_(Dominica).jpg

The rainforests are one of our most precious natural habitats, providing homes for thousands of unique plant and animal species, as well as a fair proportion of the oxygen that we breathe. It is also a source of many life-saving medicines, including 70% of the plant-based ingredients in cancer drugs, and it helps to prevent climate change by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and plant matter via the process of photosynthesis. Unfortunately, this priceless resource is disappearing at an alarming rate.

Between 2000 and 2005, more than 50,000 square miles of Brazilian rainforest were lost due to deforestation. The rainforest is a highly complex, self-sustaining natural habitat that has taken millions of years to develop. Much of the deforestation is caused by cattle farmers, who cut down large areas of rainforest to make way for cattle farms, providing cheap beef for the North American, Chinese, and Russian markets. It has been estimated that 200 square feet of rainforest is permanently destroyed for every pound of beef produced on rainforest land.

Rainforests are a self-supporting ecosystem, in which the evaporating moisture from the forest is the source of most of the clouds that form above the forest and provide it with life-giving water. When you clear a large section of rainforest, the ground dries up within just a few years, turning once-fertile land into a crusty desert. This means that the cattle farmers can only use this land for a short time before they have to cut down another section of rainforest to provide grazing land for their cattle. This style of farming is known as ‘slash and burn’, and is believed to be responsible for half of all rainforest destruction.

The second biggest cause of deforestation is logging. Rare woods such as teak and mahogany grow in the rainforest, and can command a high price on the international furniture market. Often loggers will cut down a large area of rainforest for just a few logs of these sought-after timbers, with the rest of the trees being used for wood-chipping and charcoal. The roads that are created in order to transport the timber cause further damage to this fragile ecosystem.

Other threats to the rainforest include mining, agriculture, dams, oil exploration and global warming. A recent report from the WWF predicts that deforestation could wipe out or cause severe damage to almost two thirds of the Amazon rainforest within twenty years, unless something drastic is done about it. If you would like to get involved with the fight to save our precious rainforests, you can find out more about rainforest protection at rainforestrescue.sky.com.

SOURCES:
Rainforest Concern
WWF

Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net

Angela Ryan

How the world will be fed in coming years is a highly controversial issue. Not only is the world population increasing exponentially, we are also quickly depleting the non-renewable resources which our current agricultural practices depend on – namely ground water, oil, gas and nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium.

The UN has predicted that the population would peek at 9.5 billion by the year 2070, in other words, the population will increase by a third of todays population. It has also been recognised that we will have to feed this population without increasing the space in which we grow crops. In fact, due to increasing urbanisation and desertification, space in which to produce food is decreasing.

Some claim that normal yield increases will be enough to feed the world, but yields are increasing less every year – much less than demand is growing. Others claim that Genetically Modified (GM) plants are the answer. However, a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists has found that GM crops are not only expensive for farmers, but despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialisation, GM crops have had no significant impact on crop yields. More so, the paper concludes that GM technology is not likely to increase yields in the foreseeable future.

In the near future, farmers may have difficulty maintaining their current yields, let alone increasing them. Current farming practices are extremely ‘high input’ – meaning that to grow their crops, they input large amounts of pesticides, fertiliser, and water. This method of farming is exceptionally energy intensive - In the USA, an average of 1,000L of oil is used to produce food from one hectare of land, and 400 gallons of oil a year is expended to feed each US citizen. In the US, an average of 1,450 gallons of water per person is used every day, mostly on agriculture, 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides is used in the US every year, and huge quantities of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser are used*.

Peak Oil is the name given to the point at which world oil availability will begin to decrease, as opposed to the almost constant growth witnessed over the last century. Many believe that we have reached peak oil already – although oil companies would not admit it for business purposes, they appear to be consolidating rather than investing in growth and expansion. Predictions for peak oil range from 2011 to 2030. Although peak oil does not mark the end of oil usage, oil will continue to increase in price until it is no longer viable.

Our entire global food system is dependant on cheap and plentiful oil – from the high input nature of producing the food itself, to the global nature of food transport. Pesticides are manufactured and transported with oil, water irrigation systems are powered by it, and farm machinery uses it.

Fertiliser is produced using natural gas rather than oil. Natural gas, due to the nature of its extraction is predicted to hit a ‘cliff’ rather than a peak. While oil will slowly but steadily decline when it hits its peak, when gas hits its ‘cliff’ availability will fall steeply and suddenly. Due to soil depletion, yields will decrease without fertiliser.

Water shortage is tipped to me a major problem in coming years. Much agriculture worldwide depends on overdrawing water from underground reservoirs. These reservoirs recharge very slowly, if at all, and so this source of water is non-renewable. The loss of this source of water will adversely affect food production. For example, Central Valley, California leads the USA in agricultural production and exports, but the level of production is unlikely to be sustained without the constant and unlimited withdrawal of water from underground reservoirs.

Pesticide use is always increasing, and yet more crops are lost to pests every year. This is because farmers have abandoned crop rotation practices and entire regions have ‘specialised’ in a single crop, resulting in large areas of monoculture. Also, in some cases pesticides kill or harm the natural predators of pests as well as the pests themselves and harm microorganisms in the dirt that contribute to the health and fertility of the soil.

The solution to food shortages is not an increase in inputs, but a decrease. Sustainable agriculture revolves around the concept of making the best use of natures goods and services, without damaging them. For example, seeking to integrate agriculture with natural processes such as nutrient cycling, soil regeneration, and using the natural enemies of pests in food production. Organic farming, permaculture and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) are examples of more sustainable agricultural endeavours. Several studies have shown that organic farms can produce yields as good, or better, than those using high input, conventional methods. Similar results have been found using Integrated Pest Management. It relies on substituting costly, fast inputs for more time consuming, knowledge-dependant practices.

Sustainable agriculture will not only reduce the impact farms have on the local environment, but also reduce agriculture's dependence on non-renewable inputs and begin the regeneration of heavily degraded soils. Also, because most food shortages will be occurring in poorer countries, organic agriculture offers cheaper and more accessible methods for increasing yields. A problem with Organic Agriculture is that it is less flexible than conventional farming practices, and requires farmers to choose crops to suit the areas climate, rather than crops, which are most profitable. Sustainable agriculture requires a more in-depth and involved approach to farm management, rather than the simple ‘input-output’ methods of current conventional farming.

A frequent criticism of Organic Agriculture is that it lacks the ability to feed the world in the near future. But conventional farming practices which depend on oil and gas is not the solution to world hunger. Genetically Modified foods which have failed to increase yields, and which are expensive and high-input are also not an appropriate solution. Sustainable Agriculture is the only viable future of food.

* See Eating Fossil Fuels, Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture by Paul Allen

Demonstration of EngagingPlans by Chris Haller of Urban Interactive Studio (September 28 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT/5 pm GMT). Communication and collaboration with the public is often the key to the success of a project but can be time-consuming and expensive. EngagingPlans is a Web “microsite” that facilitates broad-scale outreach and public participation. It can be used to share information and updates, collect ideas and input, review and manage comments, and respond to inquiries. All features can be spatially referenced allowing the public to provide spatial input. Other features include a mobile theme for use with smartphones, integration with Twitter and Facebook, the ability to set varying levels of user access to information, a centralized dashboard for adding and modifying content, and automatic back-ups. EngagingPlans is a fully-hosted solution that runs on Drupal open source software. It combines out-of-the-box functionality with customization capabilities so that it is flexible as well as economical and cost-efficient. Learn more at http://engagingplans.com. Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/764130352.

Presentation on Marine Ecosystem Services Database by Linwood Pendleton of Duke University (September 15 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT/5 pm GMT).  The Marine Ecosystem Services Partnership (MESP) is a spatial portal and community of practice to help policy makers find data on marine ecosystem services and researchers who conduct these studies.  The MESP launched its website http://www.marineecosystemservices.org in May 2011.  The website offers a dynamic mapping tool that spatially represents the MESP database of over 2,000 values of economic valuation data.  The mapping tool allows users to burrow down through different types of data through spatial and thematic searches.  The MESP database is not intended to replace other valuation databases.  Rather, the Partnership strives to be a community of practice through which data users and managers can work collectively to better integrate ecosystem services data with marine policy needs.  The effort is directed by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in collaboration with The Ocean Foundation and Duke’s Marine Geospatial Ecology Laboratory. Learn more at http://www.marineecosystemservices.org. Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/439569360.

The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership is developing and applying several tools to support decision making during the implementation of and updates to the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan.  The tools include the Cumulative Impacts model and an ecosystem services tradeoff model developed by the University of California at Santa Barbara, the MIMES ecosystem service model developed by the University of Vermont and Boston University, and the MIDAS decision support interface developed by Boston University.  This webinar will provide an overview of these tools, why they were selected, a demonstration of draft and final products, and how they are being applied in Massachusetts.  We will also provide some lessons and recommendations for their continued development and potential application within the marine spatial planning context.  Learn more about the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership and its work at http://massoceanpartnership.org/.  Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/400008192.

Presentation on Integrating Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation in a Conservation Planning Approach by Patrick Crist and Ian Varley of NatureServe (July 13 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT/5 pm GMT).  This webinar will give an overview of an approach and toolkit to help natural resource managers and conservationists assess the vulnerability of resources and infrastructure from a variety of stressors including climate change and develop adaptation alternatives for landscape scale planning. The approach is comprised of six steps ranging from initial project scoping to scenario visioning and assessment to development of strategies and alternatives and integrates established concepts from vulnerability and cumulative effects assessment, the mitigation hierarchy, and systematic conservation planning.  All steps in the approach are supported by a decision support toolkit, and the process is intended to be carried out by natural resource planners and managers and GIS staff, consultants, partners, or any combination of these.  The approach and toolkit are adapted from NatureServe’s work on a land-sea decision support toolkit and Refuge Vulnerability Assessment process developed in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Learn more about the land-sea decision support toolkit at http://www.ebmtoolsdatabase.org/resource/integrated-land-sea-planning-technical-guide-integrated-land-sea-planning-toolkit.  A final handbook on the approach and toolkit including pilot case studies will be available in Fall 2011.  Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/495951384. ***Please Note: This webinar will last 1.5 hours.***

Overview of Ecosystem Based Management of the Bird’s Head Seascape by Joanne Wilson of The Nature Conservancy (July 25 and 26, Multiple times, See below).  The Bird’s Head Seascape (BHS) is located in the epicentre of the Coral Triangle and is a national and global priority for marine conservation as it contains the world’s most diverse coral reefs, high levels of endemism and numerous endangered marine species. While tourism, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries are emerging as a source of income for local communities, governments are still looking to commercial industries such as large scale fisheries, coastal development, forestry and mining as the main economic drivers. From 2005-2010, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Conservation International (CI) and WWF-Indonesia worked together with local partners to undertake 24 EBM studies encompassing biological, social, economic and governance topics to help find solutions for sustainable development, determine scales of connectivity and support the development of the BHS MPA network. During this time, the number of MPAs in the BHS increased from four to 12 and this network now covers more than 3.5 million hectares. However, additional strategies were needed to address the management of conservation features outside MPAs and the impacts of coastal development and catchment clearing on marine habitats throughout the BHS. The strong communications and capacity building components of the EBM program resulted in key decision makers requesting management recommendations for fisheries, spatial planning, species management and MPA management.  The BHS now serves as a working model of EBM for the Coral Triangle, though ensuring that this strong framework continues to guide economic development decisions into the future remains a significant  challenge.

Webinar #1:

July 25 at 4 pm US EDT

July 25 at 1 pm US PDT

July 25 at 8 pm GMT

July 25 at 10 am Honolulu, HI

Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/452506745. 

Webinar #2:

July 25 at 9 pm US EDT

July 25 at 6 pm US PDT

July 26 at 1 am GMT

July 26 at 8 am in Jakarta, Indonesia

July 26 at 9 am in Hong Kong, China

July 26 at 9 am in Perth, Australia

July 26 at 11 am in Brisbane, Australia

July 26 at 1 pm in Suva, Fiji

July 26 at 3 pm Honolulu

Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/200568105.  

The EBM Tools Network, NatureServe, and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Coastal Training Program are pleased to present a workshop on Assessing Vulnerability to Climate Change: a Conservation Planning Approach at the 2011 Headwaters to Ocean (H2O) Conference in San Diego on May 23.

This half-day participatory training will:

• Provide methodological, technical, and scientific guidance for conducting climate change vulnerability assessment and development of adaptation alternatives for landscape scale planning 
• Assist participants in assessing the vulnerability of resources and infrastructure from a variety of stressors including climate change
• Support the enhancement of strategies and options for resource management.

Participants in the training will:

• Acquire key sources of information in the very dynamic area of climate change effects assessment and adaptation planning
• Identify the utility of data and tools in climate change adaptation planning, and apply it to your work
• Become acquainted with the framework and key concepts of an integrated land-sea planning decision support toolkit and the Refuge Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) developed in partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more details about the 2011 H2O Conference, visit http://www.coastalconference.org.

To register for this training, contact Kristen Goodrich, Coastal Training Program Coordinator, at kgoodrich@parks.ca.gov. Priority will be given to conference attendees.

***If you can’t make this workshop but are interested in a similar workshop for your own project or event, please contact the EBM Tools Training Coordinator John Rozum at john_rozum@noaa.gov to discuss the feasibility.***

Presentation on Ecosystem-Based Zoning in the Bay of Samaná, Dominican Republic by Elianny Dominguez of The Nature Conservancy (June 21 at 3 pm EDT/Noon PDT/7 pm GMT). The Nature Conservancy and Center for the Conservation and Ecodevelopment of Samaná Bay have recently completed a project to produce an innovative design of a marine zoning scheme using a participatory approach.  Aspects of this project included: 1) designing a new database for the Samaná Bay region with the data needed to address multiple management objectives, 2) providing technical training for key decision-makers on the benefits of using GIS systems for marine spatial planning efforts, accessing and using the new database, and using Marxan and the Caribbean Decision Support System to support resources management efforts and mitigation of local threats; 3) indentifying zoning schemes for Samaná Bay through the consensus of local stakeholders and government representatives; and 4) supporting the fishing sector to incorporate its knowledge and interests into digital formats for a marine spatial planning process.  This webinar will describe the project’s work to Increase the capacity and skill of planners and practitioners in the use of marine zoning tools and develop a draft zoning scheme for Samaná Bay using a participatory approach. Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/535894857. 

Presentation on the "Decision Guide: Selecting Decision Support Tools for Marine Spatial Planning" by Melissa Foley and Erin Prahler of the Center for Ocean Solutions (August 18 at 1 pm EDT/10 am PDT/5 pm GMT). As marine spatial planning (MSP) becomes a priority for the United States and other countries around the world, there is a real need to: (1) identify the visualization and decision support tools (collectively referred to here as DSTs) that are currently available to ocean and coastal planners and managers (users); (2) understand why they were developed and where they have been used; (3) characterize how current DSTs can be used in MSP processes; (4) identify synergies between DSTs; (5) identify groups of tools that could be used in tandem as part of “MSP toolboxes” throughout MSP processes; and (6) bring these toolboxes to the user community. The Center for Ocean Solutions has developed the Decision Guide to help users select DSTs for marine spatial planning processes in their own jurisdictions. This presentation will describe the Decision Guide and available tools. Download the decision guide at http://www.ebmtoolsdatabase.org/resource/msp-guide.  Register for this webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/737259696. 

Presentation on Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) by Jeff Adkins of NOAA Coastal Services Center (August 2 at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT/6 pm GMT). A wide range of economic activity is linked to the oceans and Great Lakes. Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) aggregates data for 448 coastal counties, 30 coastal states, and the nation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to tell compelling stories of the economic importance of living resources, marine construction, marine transportation, offshore mineral resources, ship and boat building, and tourism and recreation. For the first time, data on these vital components of our national economy are available for mapping and analysis, using four economic indicators: establishments, employment, wages, and Gross Domestic Product. These data as well as products ranging from quick summaries of county-level statistics and in-depth reports on regional trends are produced by NOAA Coastal Services Center and are available for download at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/enow.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/202059513.

Presentation on development of framework for making catchment tradeoff decisions by Bob Pressey of James Cook University (June 15 at 4 pm EDT/1 pm PDT/8 pm GMT).  Managers of catchments have to deal with multiple objectives, corresponding to different sets of stakeholders and different funding sources. The application of systematic conservation planning to this problem begins by turning qualitative goals into quantitative objectives. These include but are not be restricted to: protection and restoration of endangered species and vegetation types, maintenance of connectivity for climate change adaptation, livelihoods of local communities, and river-mouth water quality.  Values of areas within catchments for protection and restoration emerge from data and objectives and can be expressed, for example, as the relative contribution of areas to each objective or the irreplaceability of areas for achieving objectives. Inevitably, there will be imperfect, and sometimes poor, congruence between maps of values emerging from different objectives. Managers have limited resources to achieve their objectives, so action toward protection and restoration is incremental.  While incremental management action is proceeding, the values that actions seek to preserve are being eroded.  All this makes for difficult tradeoffs: managers must choose between actions in areas that have very different characteristics and contribute very differently to each of their objectives. Because of the background loss of values, decisions about what to protect this year are also decisions about what will remain at risk.  This presentation will describe a new project that is developing an analytical framework to guide managers through these decisions.  The framework will be developed in close collaboration with managers.  Study sites will be in Australia but the framework can be applied globally.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/699605392. 

Demonstration of SimCLIM by Peter Urich of CLIMsystems (May 4 at 4 pm EDT/1 pm PDT/8 pm GMT).  SimCLIM is a computer model system for examining the effects of climate variability and change over time and space. Its "open-framework" feature allows users to customise the model for their own geographical area and spatial resolution and to attach impact models. SimCLIM is designed to support decision making and climate proofing in a wide range of situations where climate and climate change pose risk and uncertainty. A user customised SimCLIM Open Framework System software package has the capacity to assess baseline climates and current variability and extremes. Risks can be assessed both currently and in the future. Adaptation measures can be tested for present day conditions and under future scenarios of climate change and variability. With the program, users can conduct sensitivity analysis and examine sectoral impacts of climate change. SimCLIM supports integrated impact analysis at various scales. Learn more at http://www.climsystems.com/simclim/about.php.  Register for the webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/995899513.

It’s no secret that homeowners throughout the nation are looking for ways to cut down on their energy bills and go green. As a result, the solar technology market in the last five years has grown exponentially as homeowners install traditional solar panels on their roofs. Yet many of these households are running into problems, as their panels become the target of theft. Further, many Homeowner Associations don’t allow traditional panels on roofs because they jut up and can be seen by neighbors. This is keeping people from trying solar power, but a number of companies offer solar shingles as a solution. They are built to integrate with regular asphalt shingles, and don’t sit up on racks like traditional panels. And, since they are installed directly into the roof, they are much harder to steal. Here’s a detailed look at the more popular shingles available.

Powerhouse Shingle: Aided by $20 million in funding from the US Department of Energy and justifying their $1.5 billion annual investment in R&D, Dow CEO Andrew Liveris unveiled their Powerhouse Shingle in late 2009 and it is widely available to homeowners this year. They have received a lot of publicity since Dow's shingle uses a much more low-cost and sturdy material called Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) instead of the usual silicon. These shingles are meant to replace traditional roof tiles so they integrate seamlessly with the home. This means regular roofing companies can install them with an electrician connecting them to the home once installed, so homeowners don’t have to hire a separate solar installation company, which can often be very expensive. Dow’s extensive history with plastics allowed them to create an incredibly strong plastic cover to replace the glass most solar panels use, without allowing any less light through. This lets the shingles protect the roof from the elements just like a normal roof.

Sun Energy Shingles: Made by BIPV Inc, Sun Energy Shingles can provide up to 50 Watts of electricity per shingle. They are intended to sit directly over the already existing composition or asphalt roof, so they lay flat and provide a much more atheistically pleasing look than panels installed on racks. They use polycrystalline silicon, which BIPV claims makes them more efficient than other cells they produce using thin-film technology. Further, they have a Class A fire rating and a high wind and snow load rating, so they are rather durable and will continue to protect the home just like a roof is designed to do. The Sun Energy Shingles are currently available to homeowners, and have been installed on a number of homes in the western part of the country.

Other companies, like OK Solar, are also getting in on the action to help homeowners power their home by alternative energy without having to sacrifice the aesthetics of the house itself. Plus, because of their design and installation, solar shingles are a great substitute to the traditional panels, especially if dealing with theft or Homeowners Associations. If considering ways to green your lifestyle or home, solar shingles are a terrific option.

Alan Parker is a blogger based out of New York, NY who writes about alternative energy, green business, sustainability, and climate change.
Follow on Twitter @AGreenParker

Environmental health is not limited to plants and animals – it also encompasses human well-being in relation to the natural world. Just because a substance is naturally occurring does not mean it cannot be a pollutant. Some plants give off VOCs, the same dangerous substances found in certain paints and solvents, and so should not be kept in unventilated indoor environments. Another natural material that humans have turned into a pollutant, an extremely fire-resistant mineral whose use has dire consequences for both human and environmental health.

If asked, most Americans will likely say that asbestos is dangerous, but they may mistakenly think it is no longer used in the United States. They also may or may not know that it is the main cause of mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer of the lining of the chest or abdomen. Mesothelioma symptoms may take between 20 and 50 years to manifest after asbestos exposure, so we are just now seeing an upswing in the numbers of cases thanks to the ubiquity of asbestos in construction and manufacturing industries through the majority of the 20th century.

The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat routinely compiles a list of the countries that have placed a ban on the use of asbestos. The most recent list is from January of this year, and the United States isn’t on it. In 1989, the EPA issued a ban on most asbestos-containing products, but the ban was overturned by New Orleans’ Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Asbestos is regulated under the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act, but certain materials are still allowed to contain more than 1% asbestos, and the EPA does not oversee the manufacture, processing, or distribution of these products.

To see the devastation that asbestos causes, you have only to look to the vermiculite mines in the small town of Libby, Montana. Mining itself can be extremely detrimental to the environment, as the land is often stripped of vegetation and then polluted with runoff. While vermiculite is not dangerous in itself, it is often found in the same deposits as asbestos, and miners are exposed when they break up the rocks to harvest the vermiculite. Though the EPA had been aware of the asbestos-related health problems in Libby since 1978, the mine remained open until 1990 and the cleanup did not begin until 1999. To date, it is the nation’s deadliest Superfund site, with over 400 deaths directly attributable to the mines. The clean-up is ongoing, and will most likely continue for at least the next few years.

Mesothelioma symptoms, which have been documented as occurring in animals as well as humans, are serious, and the average life expectancy after diagnosis is only 9-12 months. Doubling this tragedy is the fact that approximately 80% of mesothelioma cases are preventable by avoiding exposure to asbestos. The EPA needs to use a firmer hand in regulating the toxic mineral, keeping careful track of its use until it can be phased out entirely and replaced with alternative insulating materials that are just as energy-efficient. Though asbestos itself is cheap, the cost on human and natural health is more than we can bear.

MIAMI, FL (February 28, 2011) – Concise Conferences, LLC. will be hosting a Vertical Farming Conference with some of the world's best known experts in the field, (there is no registration fee).

Vertical Farming is a concept that argues that it is economically and environmentally viable to cultivate plant or animal life within skyscrapers or high rise buildings. With 60% of the world's rising population now living in urban areas, the demand to produce food efficiently and environmentally friendly has never been greater.

The organizers have recruited five of best known personalities in this space.

Hans Hassle is a pioneer in Corporate Social Responsibility and CEO of Plantagon. January 20th 2011, Plantagon signed a letter of intent with the Botkyrka municipality in Sweden for establishing a vertical greenhouse. The construction of a vertical greenhouse in Botkyrka, (Sweden) will be one of the first of its kind within the Vertical Farming concept.

Dr. Dickson Despommier, Ph.D. is a full-time professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University and arguably the best known personality within the community.

Gordon Graff is responsible for designing the Toronto Skyfarm. The Toronto Skyfarm is a self-sustaining, low impact system, equipped with its own bio-gas plant able to produce methane from its own waste which could be burned to generate its own electricity.

Nick Brustatore is a partner at Converted Organics & Owner of TerraSphere Systems LLC. Nick is an eco-entrepreneur and owner of a series of green tech and socially responsible companies. His team have rolled out several exciting initiatives that include models in waste management, energy saving technology, recycling, upcycling, and vertical farming.

Stephen Fane is the CEO of Valcent Products Inc. Stephen became a hydroponic greenhouse entrepreneur twenty years ago. In 1990, he acquired a five-acre hydroponic greenhouse operation that produced bell peppers, which he expanded to over 75 acres under glass.

This is an online conference starting at 12pm February 28th. Follow this link for more information and to register: http://bit.ly/eIK1mY

Concise Courses LLC, (Trading as Concise Conferences)
http://www.concise-conferences.com/vertical-farming.html
Media: Max Dalziel, max@concise-conferences.com
900 Biscayne Boulevard
Suite 4302
Miami, FL 33132
1.800.620.0950

We here at The Environmental Blog wanted to introduce you to Indow Windows http://www.indowwindows.com, which is a new environmental product company that has recently launched in Portland this last winter. They make a thermal window insert that just presses into place on the inside of a window frame to upgrade the thermal performance of a single pane window to almost be equivalent to a standard double pane.

They are addressing a huge environmental problem with their product! Buildings are the number one consumers of energy and windows are the number one source of energy loss from Buildings. 55 million residences in the United States and about 650,000 residence in Oregon still have single pane windows.

Indow Windows has worked hard to create an easy to use, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing product that delivers huge energy savings. You can visit Indows Windows website to see how their product works.

They have done an installation at People's Yoga up on Killingsworth Avenue and they are super pleased with the increased comfort, lower energy bills, and dramatically reduced noise from trucks and busses passing in front of their studio on Killingsworth in Portland. Indow Windows reduce sound transmission by 50%, which was huge for them.

Another step in the right direction towards a cleaner more sustainable Portland, Solarize North and Solarize Northwest are projects to help homeowners in Portland dive into alternative energy. The goal is to make purchasing solar power more affordable by grouping entire neighborhoods together with volume purchases - and thereby reducing costs. The projects have full support from Neighbors West- Northwest Coalition (NWNW), North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS), City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and the Energy Trust of Oregon.

North and Northwest Portland area homeowners looking to control their energy costs by using solar electricity have a new helping hand to guide them through the steps of a home installation. Solarize Northwest and Solarize North Portland are two new grassroots, community-based projects coordinated by Neighbors West -Northwest and North Portland Neighborhood Services.

With almost eight megawatts (MW) of solar power installed across the city (enough energy to power almost 700 homes) - Portlanders have helped prevent 4,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. The City of Portland is nearing its goal for installing 10 MW by 2012. There are currently 600 residential solar electric systems (also known as photovoltaics or PV), totaling 1.6 MW, installed in Portland. The growth of the local residential market has experienced a 400 percent increase in installations from 2008 to 2010.

For more information about the history of the Solarize programs, visit http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/solarize

Free workshops makes going solar easy and affordable

Solarize Portland neighborhood projects are designed to simplify the process of going solar and bring cost reductions through volume purchasing. Free workshops make the process easy to understand by covering topics such as the size of system to purchase, budgeting and financing, and how to get started.

View the schedule of free workshops in North Portland:
http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org/workshops-north

View the schedule of free workshops in Northwest Portland:
http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org/workshops

Online enrollment for both group purchase projects is now open at http://www.solarizenorth-nw.org and closes March 31, 2011.

The City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and the nonprofit organization Energy Trust of Oregon are working together to support the launch of Solarize Northwest and North Portland, and can help any Portland neighborhood associations or groups interested in operating Solarize projects. For these two projects, the City of Portland is providing strategic assistance and coordination, and Energy Trust is providing technical assistance and cash incentives to help lower the upfront cost of the solar electric systems. Also, Solar Oregon is offering educational workshops and providing database services.

Have you ever wanted to learn about solar power but you weren't sure how to get started? Are you worried about high costs or feasibility? If I told you their were kits that you could buy that you could purchase to assemble your own solar panels for a fraction of the cost, would that interest you?

I found this website that offers information, DIY solar kits, solar lighting, etc...they have everything you need to get started on solarizing your home for much cheaper prices than you could buy elsewhere when fully assembled. I believe we are in a changing environment where everyday people can utilize the power of the solar energy to supplement or replace their home utility bills.

If you think that doing it yourself is too much to do on your own, you can check out the solar contractors at this link that you could use a starting point for your solar project.

These kits are THE BEST way to get started in learning about green energy. The videos and books are available only here and will teach you to install solar panels, make your own, or even how to start a business in the green power industry. So what are you waiting for?!

Solar power advantages can be measured on several levels. Why go solar? Solar power systems have a great number of advantages over traditional electrical systems. Generating your own solar power is also a great way to reduce carbon footprints. Here’s what you should know if you are thinking of making the switch to solar.

Solar power is clean renewable energy. 50 years ago that might not have seemed like a big deal. But today, it’s what might save this planet.

Greenhouse gases caused by our need to fuel our homes, cars, boats and other items are accelerating climate change. Our excessive use of energy is also depleting and destroying the natural resources of the planet. So we have to find new ways to generate energy.

By harnessing the sun’s energy we can power these items but in a way that is environmentally friendly. And since the sun isn’t going anywhere, it means clean energy use for the foreseeable future.

Solar power is free. Energy from the sun costs nothing. What costs are the products needed to collect and distribute the energy. Unfortunately, prices for solar panel systems are expensive and in many cases cost-prohibitive. Even cave dwelling people in Turkey are using solar panels to generate energy and heat their water. After the initial costs are incurred the advantages of solar power become clear. Since solar systems don’t rely on electrical components, maintenance costs are minimal and a good solar system can last for up to 30 years. Generating solar power is one of the best ways to reduce carbon footprints.

Technologies in solar panels and thin film are developing more quickly now as well. At their best right now at the end of 2009, solar panel collectors are able to capture about 10 percent of the UV rays. Hopefully sometime soon, the efficiency of collectors will be improved even more and competition will bring down the price of solar power systems.

Some other solar power advantages are that many states offer tax breaks and incentives for buying solar panel systems and generating solar energy. Do a search online of solar tax breaks and discover the wide array of rebates and other incentives offered. These are often listed by state but will contain information pertaining to all available incentives in the specified area. Also check with local utilities to sign up with their programs – some offer a special rate for those who sign up to receive a block of wind energy, for example.

If your home generates more power than it uses the extra power can be sold to the power company. Solar grid tie systems automatically transfer the excess energy back into the grid helping to power other homes. On rainy days when you don’t have enough solar energy to power your home, you can tap into this grid and the extra energy that you generated on a previous day that went back to the grid will basically pay for you to receive electricity on that rainy day. Batteries also can be used to store excess energy.