08/03/10
by Jennifer Pinkowski
Every March, after more than 1,100 arduous miles through mostly tundra, mushers urge their exhausted sled dogs across the finish line of the Iditarod in Nome, Alaska. Locals line Front Street to cheer them on. Snow still covers the ground, and the average temperature is less than 20oF. But sunlight bounces off the snow, and the days are growing longer. Which means it’s the perfect time of year to exploit solar energy. (more…)
02/10/10
by Kelly Roberts
On the night of April 23, 2007, three processing tanks, filled with sewage and wastewater, overflowed and then spilled into Boulder Creek in Boulder, Colorado. The incident was a result of a lightning strike that blew three fuses connected to the wastewater treatment plant. The plant’s backup generators failed, and for almost two hours the plant’s staff was at the mercy of a broken power system. The incident left the City of Boulder wondering how a reoccurrence could be prevented. (more…)
10/29/09
by Leo Wiegman
In a grove of tall pines in Malta, New York, just north of Albany, the federal government once tested rocket fuels. The government eventually turned over the site to New York’s Atomic Space Development Authority. In 1975, this agency became the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). In the intervening years, the site was remediated but largely underused.
08/13/09
by Margaret Hathaway
When Samantha Strout answered a newspaper ad calling for applicants to the LearningWorks Weatherization Corps, she was simply looking for a job. Now, a month into the program, the twenty-three-year-old mother of two is a registered apprentice with Maine’s Department of Labor, on track to become a weatherization technician. She has also been designated a team leader and, with a crew of seven, recently finished working on the basement of a home in Portland. After just a few weeks of instruction, Strout thinks that “working on houses might be a new career.” (more…)
10/08/08
Alberta Bennett did not set out to own a state-of-the-art geothermal system, but she ended up with one. Her journey toward energy efficiency started in 1982, when she installed a 125-foot wind turbine in her backyard. Bennett had made a big financial investment—$40,000—but, only a year and a half later, the wind turbine was broken. (more…)
