Articles for October 27, 2008
ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a
weekly current awareness service provided by the Washington State University
Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy
Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field.
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BUILDING SCIENCE
"U.S. DOE Awards Six States $2.6 Million to Develop New Energy Codes," by Paul Karrer, reports on the plans for each of the six states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Washington. View the information, posted September 16, 2008, on the Building Codes Assistance Project website, at http://www.bcap-energy.org/node/274.
GREEN WIKI
"Wikia Green Launches as a ‘Wikipedia’ for Enviros," an article by Brian Clark Howard discusses the new wiki launched by Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia. Wikia Green is said to offer more information on green and sustainable activities, products, lifestyles, and the like than the more general Wikipedia can. See this article in The Daily Green, October 2008, at http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/wikia-green-launches-460908.
LOW-EMISSIVITY (LOW-E) WINDOWS
"Energy-Saving Windows: A Legacy Of '70s Oil Crisis," by Richard Harris, Correspondent, Science Desk, NPR (National Public Radio), is an interesting review of the ongoing efforts to design more energy-efficient windows in the decades since the 1970s. It includes observations from architect Glenn Justice, who is involved in the design of a 22-floor glass high-rise in Portland, Oregon, which is expected to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. The author also interviewed physicist Steve Selkowitz for his article. Selkowitz has been working at the U.S. DOE’s (Department of Energy) Lawrence Berkeley Lab since the 1970s on the development of energy-efficient windows and making them more marketable. See the print-out of the October 15, 2008, radio broadcast or select the broadcast itself, on the NPR web page at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95309739.
POLICY
Carbon-Free Prosperity 2025: How the Northwest Can Create Green Jobs, Deliver Energy Security, and Thrive in the Global Green-Tech Marketplace is a 71-page, October 2008, document from Clean Edge and Climate Solutions, authored by Ron Pernick, Clint Wilder, and Dexter Gauntlett, all of Clean Edge. The authors suggest ten policy actions including carbon pricing, increased RPS (renewable portfolio standards) in Washington State, green building codes, tax credits for renewables development, clean-tech workforce programs, and more. See the entire document at http://www.cleanedge.com/reports/pdf/CarbonFreeProsperity2025.pdf.
"California Adopts a Long-Term Energy Efficiency Plan," by staff, describes the Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan issued by the California PUC (Public Utilities Commission). The article also explains how the Plan lines up with the U.S. DOE (Department of Energy) Building Technologies Program’s Zero Energy Goals. The article links to both the related PUC press release and the Zero Energy Goals web page. See this article in EERE Network News, September 24, 2008, at http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/archive.cfm/pubDate=%7Bd%20%272008-09-24%27%7D#11992.
"Industry Leaders Forecast Dramatic Growth in the U.S. Solar Market by 2016 with Extension of Credit: Federal Solar Tax Credits Extended for 8 Years, US Poised to Become Largest Solar Market in the World" is an October 3, 2008, press release from SEIA (the Solar Energy Industry Association). The press release discusses the ramifications of the extension which was included into the recently passed federal legislation, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. View the press release at http://seia.org/cs/news_detail?pressrelease.id=217.
Renewables Portfolio Standards in the United States: A Status Report with Data through 2007, by Ryan Wiser and Galen Barbose is a 40-pdf-page, April 16, 2008, publication from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The document includes an Executive Summary on page one. See it at http://eetd.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-154e.pdf.
TRANSPORTATION
"San Jose Lands Electric-Car Plant," by Alan Ohnsman, Bloomberg News, describes Tesla Motors’ plans for the plant which is to receive assistance from the state of California in the form of state-bought assembly machinery that will be leased to the company. This article was carried by NWA.com, September 22, 2008, at http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/238135/.
WASTE-TO-ENERGY
"Netherlands Plant to Convert Poultry Litter to Energy," by Kris Bevill, explains that the power plant will convert one-third of the country’s poultry litter to electricity. See this article in Biomass Magazine, September 2008, at http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2006.
WHITE ROOFS
"Fight Global Warming With a White Roof," by Eli Kintisch, reports on the calculations made by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab that indicate painting the world’s urban roofs white would radiate solar heat away from the earth and, thereby, reduce an enormous amount of carbon emissions. View this article in ScienceNOW Daily News, September 16, 2008, at http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/916/4.
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Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication
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