by jboullion | Jun 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nicole Strittmater in the Wausau Daily Herald:
An environmental superstar will visit Custer this week to help inspire central Wisconsin residents to go greener.
Bill McKibben, who wrote the first book about global warming 21 years ago and recently created an international campaign called 350.org to solve the climate crisis, is a keynote speaker for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday.
“I very much wanted to come, particularly because the kind of people who will be at the fair are the kind of people we need to reach,” said McKibben, 49, from his home in Ripton, Vt.
He spends the majority of his time traveling the world promoting his 350.org campaign, which draws its name from the parts per million of carbon that can safely be in the atmosphere. His focus is to get the planet from 392 parts per million of carbon, where it is currently, to 350 by encouraging people to take on environmentally conscious projects.
“We want all kinds of people who are good at doing practical things — putting up solar panels, community gardens, starting bike programs,” he said.
In 2009, he and his 350.org team coordinated 5,200 rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries in one day, which news outlets dubbed the largest globally coordinated rally of any kind.
This October, he’s organizing a global work party. He wants people worldwide to do environmentally friendly projects, such as putting up solar panels Oct. 10.
by jboullion | Jun 16, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nicole Strittmater in the Wausau Daily Herald:
An environmental superstar will visit Custer this week to help inspire central Wisconsin residents to go greener.
Bill McKibben, who wrote the first book about global warming 21 years ago and recently created an international campaign called 350.org to solve the climate crisis, is a keynote speaker for the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair on Saturday.
“I very much wanted to come, particularly because the kind of people who will be at the fair are the kind of people we need to reach,” said McKibben, 49, from his home in Ripton, Vt.
He spends the majority of his time traveling the world promoting his 350.org campaign, which draws its name from the parts per million of carbon that can safely be in the atmosphere. His focus is to get the planet from 392 parts per million of carbon, where it is currently, to 350 by encouraging people to take on environmentally conscious projects.
“We want all kinds of people who are good at doing practical things — putting up solar panels, community gardens, starting bike programs,” he said.
In 2009, he and his 350.org team coordinated 5,200 rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries in one day, which news outlets dubbed the largest globally coordinated rally of any kind.
This October, he’s organizing a global work party. He wants people worldwide to do environmentally friendly projects, such as putting up solar panels Oct. 10.
by jboullion | Jun 14, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Adam Wise in the Wausau Daily Herald:
GRAND RAPIDS — Mid-State Technical College expects to break ground on its renewable energy program center this fall, with the new teaching space ready for students by August 2011.
The project will include $1.5 million worth of new construction and about $750,000 in upgrades and remodeling at the Wisconsin Rapids campus, said Elizabeth Moran, MSTC spokeswoman. Somerville, an architectural company from Green Bay, is leading the design phase.
About 10,000 square feet of additional space will be developed, including several classroom labs and a rooftop laboratory for students to test wind and solar technologies, said MSTC Facilities Director Craig Hjelle. Several labs also will be remodeled.
“They will be rather high structures, so we can do the stuff with renewables and urban forestry,” Hjelle said.
The college — which has Stevens Point, Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids campuses and a center in the city of Adams — produced its first graduates from its five renewable energy programs this spring.
by jboullion | Jun 11, 2010 | Uncategorized
From an article by Andy Rathbunin the Pioneer Press, Minneapolis & St. Paul:
A local physician is building a house in Wisconsin without a furnace — it won’t need one.
Rising over the St. Croix River Valley, the 1,940-square-foot, three-bedroom home will use solar power and the latest in energy-efficient construction. Designed to let in the maximum amount of sunlight, its walls are 11 inches of insulated concrete surrounded by 11 inches of exterior foam insulation.
In extreme cold, electric heaters in the floors can help warm the entire house.
“On the coldest, cloudiest days of the winter, we’ll need the equivalent of like 2,500 watts, which is basically a couple of handheld hair dryers,” said Dr. Gary Konkol, who is building the one-of-a-kind home in the town of Hudson, Wis.
Once completed, Konkol’s house will be carbon-neutral — that is, it will produce at least as much electricity as it consumes.
The home will also be a “passive house,” a highly insulated type of construction reducing heating and cooling needs 90 percent to 95 percent and overall energy consumption 70 percent to 80 percent, said Katrin Klingenberg, executive director of the Passive House Institute US.
While there are tens of thousands of such buildings in Europe, there are only about a dozen in the U.S. certified as passive homes, Klingenberg said. Konkol’s home will be the first in Wisconsin and the first of the kind in the country to also be carbon-neutral.
by jboullion | Jun 10, 2010 | Uncategorized
From the newsletter of Energy Concepts:
Walking the conservation talk, Eenergy Concepts is hosting a ride share event for riders and drivers bound for the 21st Annual Energy Fair in Custer, WI. Ample free parking is available from the meeting place at our Hudson headquarters. Participants will also receive $5 off the price of admission. Sign up on our Facebook discussion board here. Don’t do Facebook? No worries, email Kat at kat@energyconcepts.us. The greenest show on earth just got greener.
