How can we live lightly on the Earth and save money at the same time?
Staff members at the Worldwatch Institute, a global environmental organization, share ideas
on how to GO GREEN and SAVE GREEN at home and at work.
See: 10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green
Worldwatch Institute delivers the insights and ideas that empower decision makers to create an environmentally sustainable society that meets human needs. Worldwatch focuses on the 21st-century challenges of climate change, resource degradation, population growth, and poverty by developing and disseminating solid data and innovative strategies for achieving a sustainable society.
For more information, see: About Worldwatch
How are climate change, scarcer resources, population growth and other challenges reshaping society? From science to business to politics to living, our reporters track the high-stakes pursuit of a greener globe in a dialogue with experts and readers.
Access: Green – A blog about Energy and Environment from the New York Times
See also: Green Energy Reporter
Dr. Sabrina Spatari, assistant professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at CoE, and Alexander Stadel, civil, architectural and environmental engineering student, with the assistance of the Eastern Regional Research Center, led a Life Cycle study of winter barley ethanol, which resulted in a turnaround of the EPA’s proposed rule that would have banned winter barley ethanol’s certification as an “Advanced Biofuel.” Their work has helped winter barley ethanol receive a “green” rating.
Source: Who’s Doing What, Drexelink, April 5, 2010
See also:
CIVE 790/380 – Life Cycle Assessment I- Intro and Conventional Process Model Approach
As part of its ongoing term focus on energy and sustainability, the Great Works Symposium will host guest lecturers on our historical and future reliance on coal, nuclear and oil on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 6 p.m. in Disque Hall room 108 (32nd Street between Market and Chestnut Streets).
Bill Maguire, site vice president of Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station; David Sexton, vice president of business development for Sunoco, Inc.; and Ned Leonard, vice president of technology policy for the American Coalition for Clean Coal, are the guest speakers.
The lecture is free and open to students, faculty and staff. For more information, visit Energy Alternatives: http://www.drexel.edu/greatworks/.
John B. Carnett, PopSci’s staff photographer, is using the latest green technology to build his dream home. This is the first entry in his new blog tracking the build–follow along at popsci.com/green-dream
See: Green Dream: A Solar Power Plant in Your Backyard
A post just for a chuckle!
Gwyneth Paltrow, in her lifestyle newsletter GOOP, gives her top recommendations for Green Living. This week’s GOOP newsletter includes recyclable socks ($16) all the way to a full electric car ($12, 500+). As an added bonus, Cameron Diaz drops by to also give her top seven green products and services.
Everyone’s going green!
Last week, I attended the Entrepreneurship in Libraries conference in Greensboro, NC. I went to a panel discussion about greening libraries. Panel members were from UNC-Greensboro, Wake Forest, and Georgia Perimeter. They recommended installing low-flow aerators into facets, replacing incandescent bulbs with CFLs, and also switching from desktop computers to laptops, which use much less energy.
Website: http://greeningyourlibrary.pbworks.com/
And Facebook page: greenlibraries
Professor Richard Cairncross from the Drexel University Chemical and Biological Engineering Department was recently awarded a Fulbright Lectureship Award to spend four months at the University of El Salvador in Spring 2010. The topic of the lectureship is “Sustainable Engineering – A Multidisciplinary Curriculum for Training the Engineers-of-the-Future.” Professor Cairncross and the Drexel Chapter of Engineers Without Borders are also involved in sustainable development of a potable water supply system for the small, rural community of Miramar in southwest El Salvador; Professor Cairncross will continue to support this project and explore opportunities for other sustainable development projects during his lectureship.
See: Professor Cairncross Receives Fulbright Scholar Award to Teach Renewable Energy at the University of El Salvador
The senior design team of Eric Eisele, Courtney Reid, Dan Pugh, Sarah Byrnes, and Charlie Woods was awarded a Phase II People, Prosperity, and Planet Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Eric and his team used several Library resources over a period of time. These include:
- ASCE Civil Engineering Database
- ASCE Conference Proceedings Online
- BuildingGreen – (BuildingGreen Suite integrates online versions of GreenSpec, Environmental Building News, and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies.)
- DoE Energy Codes
- Ei Compendex and INSPEC
- Environmental Engineering Abstracts
- Google Scholar
- Home Depot Smart Home
- Knovel: Engineering and Scientific Online References
- MAD CAD – (NOTE: access to cross-referenced collections of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire, and maintenance codes from BOCA, SBCCI, ICBO, ICC, and NFPA.)
- ScienceDirect
- Statistical Resources
- Statistical Resources on the Web-Energy
- Web of Knowledge
Eric also needed some ASTM standards for the Solar Coating project. Using How Do I access ASTM, SAE, ASHRAE, ISO or ANSI standards? Any other standards? Eric was able to obtain ASTM standards that he needed for the project. Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering and Materials Engineering Site include a few resources that may also help in future for other projects. See also Cool Roofs and Cool Roofing Materials Database available from Heat Island Group Resources.
Eric also contributed in creating Drexel’s web site for Sustainability and Drexel Green.
Congratulations to the Senior Design Team!
he senior design team of Eric Eisele, Courtney Reid, Dan Pugh, Sarah Byrnes, and Charlie Woods was awarded a Phase II People, Prosperity, and Planet Award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Competing against 43 university teams, the Drexel University Department of Materials Science and Engineering team received one of six Phase II awards on Monday, April 20, 2009 in Washington, D.C. at the National Sustainable Design Expo.
The award-winning senior design project, “Cool Roof Coatings Utilizing Glass Hollow Microspheres for Improved Solar Reflectance,” increases the reflectance of cool roof coatings while cutting raw material costs. Cool roof coatings save energy and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Previously, the team received a Phase I award in the amount of $10,000. The Phase II awards provide $75,000 of funding for two years and will be used to develop the coating further and field test the technology by reaching out to the neighborhoods surrounding Drexel. The team will work in conjunction with the Drexel Smart House initiative.
See: Senior Design Team Wins $75,000 Phase II EPA Funding
