A 24 percent growth rate in installed green roofs in 2012 is part of the results of the Annual Green Roof Industry Survey.

“On the heels of a huge 115 per cent growth rate in 2011, the green roof industry still grew by 24 per cent in 2012,” said GRHC founder & president Steven W. Peck. “Green roofs are being embraced around North America, by policy makers, designers, Continue reading… » 

The U.S. Energy Department is investing up to $4.3 million in a pilot biomass project that will convert the stalks and leaves of corn plants into diesel fuel using a new chemical process.

The pilot plant in Indiana will be run by Mercurius Biofuels, whose goal is to convert the corn biomass Continue reading… » 

Did you know that if you are federal contractor and are on the General Services Administration, or GSA, schedule, you will be asked to report on your sustainability efforts?” That’s the question posed by Anca Novacovici, founder and president of Eco-Coach, an environmental sustainability consulting business, in a recent Huffington Post blog. Not surprisingly for a post Continue reading… » 

Here’s a lengthy but excellent article from The Atlantic: “What If We Never Run Out of Oil?”

It certainly is an interesting concept – one that I find quite credible. For instance, we have recently discovered untapped reservoirs of methane hydrate (think of it was combustible ice) that collectively is the volume of the Mediterranean Sea. Continue reading… » 

Sea surface temperatures along the northeastern U.S. were warmer in 2012 than during any year in the last 150 years, a new report finds. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) latest Ecosystem Advisory for the Northeast Shelf, sea surface temperatures across the region — which extends from Cape Hatteras, N.C., to the Gulf of Continue reading… » 

A previous post reported on the acquisition of Beacon Power, formerly the largest flywheel player, after the company went bankrupt.

One of the technical hurdles faced by designers of these whirling rotational energy storage devices is that spinning masses have a natural “wobble.” Most flywheel designers have employed Continue reading… » 

A pretty big wad of money – $40 billion – is hiding somewhere inside the lights, AC, thermostats, furnaces and fans of our offices, stores, hospitals and schools.

That’s the amount of money the federal government estimates we can save annually by reducing energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020. To achieve the goal, the Obama administration in 2011 Continue reading… » 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week issued a fuel economy rating of 119 MPGe to the Chevrolet Spark EV, making it one of the most efficient cars in the United States. The all-electric subcompact goes on sale this summer in California and Oregon. The news begs this question: What is that little “e” doing at the end of MPGe? Continue reading… » 

General Electric recently announced it had started testing the prototype of what it calls the world’s most efficient high-output wind turbine. The new 2.5-120 is being tested in Wieringermeer, Netherlands.

The 2.5-120 harnesses the power of the Industrial Internet to analyze tens of thousands of data points Continue reading… » 

In recent test flights, NASA researchers have confirmed that commercial airliners can safely fly on an alternative jet fuel blend and that under some conditions the biofuel mix produced 30 percent fewer emissions than typical jet fuel.

After flying DC-8 aircraft using a biofuel blend Continue reading… »