Nov 13 2009

The Green Seen

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy and the environment caught our attention this week:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is celebrating the one millionth home to receive the blue Energy Star label for energy efficiency since the program was launched in 1995. Energy Star homes are at least 15 percent more efficient than conventional homes, saving residents energy costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The homes have thick insulation, energy-saving heating and cooling systems, and other efficiency features. The top five markets for Energy Star homes are Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The brown pelican has been taken off the federal endangered species list after its population along the West Coast plunged in the 1960s due to DDT poisoning before the chemical was banned in 1972. About 8,500 breeding pairs are believed now to be living in the Channel Islands National Park in California. "The brown pelican is a treasure of the California Coast, and the announcement that the species has been able to rebound is exciting, not only for me but for all who enjoy our coastal wildlife," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said.

Spain's large wind farms supplied more than half of the nation's electricity last weekend as strong winds battered the country. Early last Sunday morning when power loads were low, the wind turbines generated a record 53 percent of Spain's total electricity demand. For the entire day, wind power covered 39 percent of demand. Spain, with 18 gigawatts of wind turbines, is the third largest wind power generator after the U.S. and Germany.

 

 

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