WebEcoist » Energy & Fuel

Fuels Paradise: THUMS Islands Help Big Oil Look Good

Steve — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:00:28 +0000

Greenwashing may be a new term but it has deep roots. Take the THUMS Islands, for instance. Constructed in the mid 1960s, the four artificial islands just off Long Beach may have been built to look like tropical resorts but they conceal a slippery secret more valuable than gold… BLACK gold!

(image via: Curbed LA)
The THUMS Oil Islands are hard to miss. Situated just off the coast of Long Beach, California, the quartet of artificial islands stand in plain sight whether one is onshore and looking out to sea, or on a boat in San Pedro Bay, looking inland towards the Long Beach city skyline.

(image via: CA Dept. of Conservation)
It’s perhaps because of their prominence that the City of Long Beach and the State of California exacted some surprising (for the times) concessions from the consortium of oil companies who sought to set up what would later be known as the THUMS islands as drilling platforms.

(image via: Energy Tomorrow)
This all occurred in the early 1960s, an era that extolled unbridled economic expansion as the New Frontier and the prime route to prosperity. It was years before the first Earth Day in 1970. On the other hand, 1962 saw the publishing of Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” and a budding environmental movement was slowly gathering steam.

(images via: Energy Tomorrow, Seeing Stars and CSU Long Beach)
The oil companies forming the consortium were Texaco, Humble, Unocal, Mobil and Shell – line up their first initials and you get “THUMS” – were bought out by Occidental Petroleum in the year 2000. The oil tapped by wells on the four islands has a much longer history, however, being drawn from the immense Wilmington field discovered in 1932.

(image via: Energy Tomorrow)
Drilling in and around Long Beach within the protected Long Beach Breakwater was the preferred option for Big Oil but, to their undoubted shock, Big Government wasn’t about to let them walk in and “strip mine” the scenic coast. Instead, a partnership agreement was put forth that required THUMS to not only disguise the sight and sound of their activities, but to beautify the infrastructure so that it would complement the sophisticated style of the southern California cityscape. And agree they did: such was the power of the abundant “black gold” lurking beneath the seabed.

(image via: Art Scene California)
By 1964 a design study had been prepared for the Thums Long Beach Company by, and this is not so surprising, the same designers who worked on Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. The designers gave the four islands a tropical resort look complete with palm trees, faux buildings and (on two of the islands) waterfalls up to 45 feet tall. The purpose of the waterfalls was twofold: provide an appealing appearance and help mask the sounds of the drilling and pumping equipment.

(image via: Getty Images/Hulton Archive)
By 1965 construction began and quickly shifted into high gear. The islands were built up from 3.2 million cubic yards of silt and sand dredged from the bottom of Long Beach Harbor. The above image dates from 1967.

(images via: Tidelands DOE and Energy Tomorrow)
Larger rocks and boulders – 640,000 tons of them – intended to protect the islands’ shores from wave action were quarried at Catalina Island and barged to the islands, which grew to about 10 acres in area each. Over 700 palm trees were planted to add that sense of tropical flair and to stabilize the new soil with their root systems.

(images via: CA Dept. of Conservation and Businessweek)
The oil derricks were covered with faux skyscraper skins; painted white with contrasting colored blue or green “balconies”. In some cases the disguised derricks were mounted on wheeled platforms so that they could be shifted to other locations on the islands.

(image via: RicWarrenVideo)
The urban camouflage of the THUMS oil islands was remarkably effective by day; it was at night that the real beauty created by the Disney designers was unleashed.

(images via: City-Data, Joits and The LACMA Blog)
Banks of multicolored spotlights bathe the faux buildings and waterfalls in a riot of rainbow light, making them popular subjects for amateur and professional photographers alike.

(images via: Thad Hogan and Travel Webshots)
Last and not least, the oil islands were given a final polish of respectability through the names they have been given: Moving from east to west, you’ll find Island Chaffee, Island Freeman, Island White and Island Grissom.

(images via: NASA and WIRED Science)
Each name is that of a NASA astronaut who perished in the line of duty – Roger Chaffee, Ed White and Virgil Grissom in the Apollo 1 tragedy on January 27th, 1967, and Theodore Freeman who died in a plane crash on October 31st, 1964.

(image via: Tidelands DOE)
In most every respect, the THUMS oil islands have been a shining success that has brought some unforeseen benefits to the Long Beach seacoast.

(images via: RicWarrenVideo and Jeromy Jorgensen)
Besides the revenues that provide the City of Long Beach with about 5% of their annual budget, the boulders (some weighing up to 5 tons) that surround the four artificial islands have proved to be favored shelters for a wide variety of marine life. In effect, the Oil Islands were one of the first examples of an artificial reef. Above sea level, wetland birds including herons, grebes, falcons and even parrots have not only survived, but thrived.

(image via: Patrick Cates)
Greenwashing as a term has, due to abuse by cynical corporate PR departments, taken on a pejorative quality. It’s good to know that in cases like the THUMS Oil Islands, greenwashing has surpassed the realm of hype and provided an improved quality of life for both Man and beasts.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

10 Incredible Natural Private Islands & Island Nations

From a Mayan treehouse playground of the rich to the home of descendants of Bounty mutineers, here are 10 mysterious and unusual islands. 5 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

7 Alternative Fuels and Fuel-Powered Vehicles

Between hydrogen fuel cells, bio diesel, electricity and compressed air, the world is hard at work creating the next generation of non-oil consuming vehicles. 17 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Ten of the World’s Most Unique Islands

Though the islands on this list are not as well known as the world's biggest and most scenic isles, they have plenty of characteristics that make them among the world's most unique islands. 5 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

13 Fantastically Fun & Frightening Eco-Infographics

Steph — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:00:46 +0000

Nothing puts the imminent threat of rising seas or the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into perspective quite like an effective information graphic. Infographics make complex data or information much more accessible, which definitely comes in handy when you’re trying to make sense of things like the half-formed arguments of global warming skeptics. Some of these great eco-infographics are scary, others are hopeful or humorous, but they’re all really effective.

Click on each image to view details in the larger version.

When Sea Levels Attack

(image via: The Guardian)

At the current predicted rate of rising seas, when will each city in the world go under? This visually striking infographic organizes cities by their height above sea level, and at just 1 meter above sea level, Venice will be the first to go within about 100 years. Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Hamburg, St. Petersburg, Lower Manhattan and San Francisco wouldn’t be too far behind, while London and Taiwan – at 20 meters above sea level – have about 1000 years before the party’s over. Of course, this graphic uses the lowest, most conservative figures available – so it could be much worse, much sooner.

A Core Set of Environmental Indicators

(image via: cool infographics)

We’ve known for a while now that something needs to be done about serious environmental issues like threatened species, drinking water and CO2 emissions – but have these issues really gotten any better? This infographic breaks down progress on core issues during the period between 1995-2005, making it easy to see that while we’re doing great in correcting ozone depletion, energy and governance, we’ve got a long way to go on greenhouse gases and the oceans.

The Effects of Bike Commuting on Obesity

(image via: good.is)

If we all rode bikes instead of driving cars to work, how much healthier would we be as a whole? This chart shows the percentage of people in various countries who commute on bicycles (in green) and people who get around on foot (in orange), along with a graphic representation of a person on a bicycle that reveals the percentage of the population that’s overweight.

The Facts About Bottled Water

(image via: online education)

Just how much damage does bottled water do to the planet? This infographic breaks down the disturbing facts – like the fact that 22% of bottled water brands contain contaminants at levels above strict state limits, that 17 million barrels of oil are used annually in the production of water bottles and that it takes three times the amount of water to produce a bottle as it does to fill it.

How Long Will It Last?

(image via: infographics blog)

How many years do we have left of resources like aluminum, zinc and tin if we keep using them at the current rates? We’re damn near out of inidium, used to make LCDs, with just about 4 years left on the clock and a 0% recycling rate. The darker shade of each spoke on the wheel represents the years left at today’s rate, while the lighter shade shows how long we have if the world consumes at half the US consumption rate.

What’s the Difference Between Humans & Animals?

(image via: metrobest)

We consider ourselves to be pretty special, but the truth is, every year scientists are finding characteristics that we once considered “purely human” in other species. Elephants have empathy, apes have a sense of humor, dolphins have culture and even magpies have self-awareness.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

(image via: metrobest)

It can be tough to wrap your head around the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. How big is it? What’s in it? Where did it all come from, and how is it affecting marine life and ecosystems? It’s all here to ponder, and quite incredible to see the size of it compared to the gigantic state of Alaska, located to the north of it.

Surface Area Required to Power the World

(image via: information is beautiful)

If we were to power the entire world with solar energy alone, producing zero emissions, how much land would it take? The answer is astounding. We’ve got the land – we just need the dedication, the materials and the technology.

The Global Warming Skeptics vs. The Scientific Consensus

(image via: sodahead.com)

The so-called ‘global warming debate’ is complex in terms of defining the precise points on which skeptics and climate scientists disagree. The main issues are pinpointed here – the ‘CO2 lag’, reliability of temperature records, the medieval warm period, the hockey stick graph and more.

The Coming Water Wars

(image via: princeton university)

“Of all the water on Earth, only 2.5% is fresh, and less than 0.007% is readily available to people through rivers, lakes, and streams. As worldwide populations surge, temperatures rise, climates change and diseases spread, clean water will become even more essential (and more rare).”

Globalization: Starbucks vs. McDonalds

(image via: princeton university)

Starbucks and McDonalds are global forces, but each in their own way. While Starbucks has indeed spread across the world, its sales – about $4.1 billion annually – are still dwarfed by those of McDonalds, which top $41 billion a year. This graph of McDonalds locations around the world looks like some kind of plague. Meanwhile, it takes 19 countries to make one cup of Starbucks coffee.

How do Carbon Offsets Work?

(image via: the onion)

When you pay for a carbon offset so you can take a guilt-free international flight, what exactly happens to that money? It’s a long and winding road, as illustrated by this humorous graphic from The Onion. “Enjoy your clear conscience for 0.13 seconds, the amount of time that will lapse before your carbon offset is entirely erased by a new coal-powered drinking-straw factory outside of Chongqing, China.”

None of These Rainforest Species Are Endangered

(image via: gizmodo)

The list of endangered rainforest species is depressing… chimps, orangutans, jaguars, Bengal tigers, toucans and gray mice are all going the way of the wooly mammoth. But don’t forget that there’s also a nice long list of species that are doing fine, like the Le Tourneau 5594 Log Stacker and the John Deere S43 J Feller/Brancher.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

15 Fantastically Futuristic Plant Growing Design Concepts

Not all of use own land for farming, but even urban dwellers can grow gardens and plants. Here are 15 fantastically futuristic plant growing design concepts. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

The Devastating Impact of Rainforest Deforestation

Here's a look at the major ways in which deforestation is impacting our world and our lives today. 7 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Rodents Rock: 20 Radical Facts About Rats

Rats are amazing creatures with amazing skills, abilities, intelligence, memory and traits. Learn rat stories, trivia, and unusual facts about these rodents. 5 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Going Green Underground: 16 Subterranean Eco-Buildings

Delana — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:00:12 +0000

While green walls and roofs are becoming ever-more-popular ways to reduce energy costs and decrease the visual impact of buildings, there’s a step beyond that: subterranean and earth-sheltered homes. Building a home that is buried in the ground or surrounded by dirt above-ground is a simple way to drastically decrease the energy needs of the home. The dirt and plants surrounding the structure provide excellent insulation and protection from the elements. And the design in no way has to be a dirt hut with a grass roof and tree-branch furniture – architects are enthusiastically producing subterranean home designs that are modern, unique and fantastically desirable. But it doesn’t stop at homes – you can even vacation underground or raise an entire farm’s worth of food in an underground chamber. Click the thumbnails below for more images of and information on these amazing designs:

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

Eco Expectations: 14 Green Buildings of Tomorrow

What will the buildings and cities of the future look like? These futuristic designs all feature green walls or roofs to maximize their eco-friendliness factor. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Beyond Green Roofs: 15 Vertically Vegetated Buildings

Greenery isn't just for roofs. These 15 beautiful buildings feature walls decorated with trailing vines, moss, sedum and other plant life. 29 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Earthen Architecture: 15 of the World’s Dirtiest Buildings

Incredible things can be made of dirt, as shown by these 15 examples of earthen architecture including adobe pueblos, hobbit holes and modern marvels. 12 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

The Grass Is Always Greener: 16 Home Greenifying Tips

Delana — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:00:40 +0000

If your new year’s resolution had something to do with reducing your ecological footprint, cutting down on energy costs, or just making your home a more comfortable place to live, you’re in luck. Here are 16 resources for making your home a cleaner, greener place to live.

What’s an Eco-Footprint?

Your ecological footprint basically refers to how much of the planet’s resources you use. That includes the impact caused by driving your car, heating your home, eating your meals, buying your belongings, and everything else you do. The first step to reducing your ecological footprint is figuring out just what it is. Treehugger’s Green Basics article on Defining, Calculating and Reducing Your Environmental Footprint is a good place to start.

Go Green and Save Money

One of the benefits of going greener around the home is that you’ll often significantly cut down on utility costs. From heating and cooling tips to reducing electricity and water costs, these 10 Cost-Saving Green Tips For the Home will please both the environmentally-conscious and the wallet-conscious. Of course, one of the simplest and most readily available solutions for adding a bit of green to your house is the venerable CFL bulb. Find out everything you need to know here with Treehugger’s guide to CFL bulbs.

Reduce Heating and Cooling Costs

Heating and cooling a home is expensive – and unless you’re lucky enough to live in a very temperate location, you’ll have to do at least one of those at some point in the year. Aside from insulating your home (which is in itself a fantastic way to minimize heating costs), here are projects to make every room in your home more energy-efficient. Whether you decide to DIY or BUY, your energy bills will be a lot less painful. And, although summer is only a distant dream for the northern hemisphere at the moment, here are 10 low-tech ways to cut down on cooling costs in the warmer months. But for the simplest of the simple tips, just replacing your HVAC filters can save you money on heating and cooling your home.

Monitor Your Energy Usage

There are a ton of dandy little gadgets that will tell you just how much energy your home is consuming. The Home Joule does that, plus it tells you when your energy bill will spike based on weather and time-of-day costs. Keeping an eye on the device’s face helps you determine when you should try to cut back on discretionary energy consumption: green means electricity costs are low, yellow means mid-range, and red means they’re high.

Put Your Garbage to Good Use

Besides recycling, which pretty much everyone agrees we should all be doing, there’s another way to make the most of your waste: composting. According to the EPA, yard trimmings and organic household waste make up 26% of America’s solid waste. Learn how to compost your household organic waste and you’ll not only be keeping a significant amount of waste out of the system; you’ll also be giving yourself a great foundation for growing your own food. A garden provides natural exercise and cuts down on your grocery bills; what more could you ask for? Take it a step further and add worms, and there you have vermicomposting and some incredibly rich gardening material.

Build Some Green In

When you’re remodeling or building a new home, it’s the perfect chance to build some green features right into the house. Most of us won’t be able to afford GE’s new “green gizmo” home, but when you’re remodeling or just improving your home, you can almost certainly fit in some green materials.

Produce Your Own Power

There are no two ways about it: coal-powered power plants are dirty and harmful. But taking a home entirely off-grid simply isn’t an option for most of us. If you want to start powering your home with greener electricity, here are five great ways to get started. For the DIY crowd, here’s how to build cheap solar panels with damaged solar cells found on eBay. Or, if you’d prefer not to hunt around for deals, here’s an inexpensive DIY solar kit: for $600 you could power some, but not all, of the appliances in your home. These solar curtains may not be commercially available yet, but they give us hope for what could be a fashionable energy-producing alternative in the future. And finally, if solar just doesn’t cut it for you, you could always spring for the hallmark of the modern alt-energy home: the wind turbine.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

15 Tips, Tricks and Hacks for a Greener Home

Reduce the Environmental Impact of Your Home with Green, Eco-Friendly, Energy-Saving ideas for carpet, wall, heating, appliances, energy leaks and landscaping. 12 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

16 Painless Green Habits for Living Greener

Easy green living tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle at the office and work, at home, with others, volunteering, shopping, and with friends. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Do it Yourself: 28 Great Articles For a Greener Life

Making and doing things for yourself is a great start to living greener. These helpful links will help start you down the path to a more eco-friendly life. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Amphibious Garden Produces Own Power, Cleans Rivers

Delana — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:00:38 +0000

As we approach World Water Day 2010, it’s important to take a moment to consider just how essential clean drinking water is. More than a billion people worldwide have no access to safe drinking water. Millions die each year from their lack of access to clean, potable water. Many initiatives have been proposed to address this global concern, but it’s a continuing threat in developing nations around the world. Vincent Callebaut Architectures has proposed a novel way to both purify European waterways and raise public awareness of the water shortage problem.

The proposed solution is this self-sufficient, positive-energy floating garden called the Physalia (which means “water bubble”). The design is zero-emission, in keeping with the firm’s commitment to an environmentally-responsible design. But even more importantly, the structure actually produces its own power with photovoltaic cells and hydro-electric turbines. By producing more power than it consumes, the Physalia crosses over into positive-energy territory.

The Physalia is designed to travel between the major rivers of Europe, purifying the water and facilitating international water conservation research. By far, two of the most prominent physical features of the Physalia are its rooftop garden and its massive sunroof. The garden would be nourished by the water in which the vessel floats, while the sunroof and side windows let passengers admire their surroundings. Because of its reflective windows and natural contours, during daylight hours, the vessel looks more like a biological presence or a trick of light than a carefully constructed fluvial craft.

While it glides along in river waters, the TiO2-coated surface reacts with ultraviolet rays to purify the fluvial water. It absorbs and neutralizes waste from agricultural and industrial sources, as well as the water pollution created by other river vessels. It would become a sort of floating laboratory, a testing ground to see just how successful an innovative vessel like this can actually be. At the same time, it could be a floating classroom, a tourist attraction and a conference location all centered around the idea of clean water accessibility.

The vessel itself is an eco-minded traveler’s paradise. It contains four distinct areas with themes based on the four elements. The Water Garden is the vessel’s main entry point. The open-air reception area would house temporary exhibitions and provide a seamless view of the water below and to every side. The Earth Garden houses the research laboratory. The Fire Garden is a womb-like chamber in the underwater section of the Physalia; it features a roaring fire in the fireproof hull and would be home to permanent exhibits on aquatic ecosystems. The Air Garden is described as “an audacious avant-garde project” that would educate visitors about water respect.

Will we ever see a vessel like the Physalia floating between the major rivers of Europe? That remains to be seen. But such an ambitious project would certainly prove to not only raise awareness of the clean water shortage, but also help to cut down on the widespread pollution of river water. Let’s hope that one day, we can look out over the Seine to see this floating bubble drift by.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

10 of the World’s Most Vital Rivers for Survival

Rivers are still important transportation routes in places where roads and rails cannot go. They are also a source of energy and drinking water. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Brain Power: Studying Animal Brains for Future Gains

From insects and brain size to genetically-altered mice and Alzheimer's to sea lions and toxic brain damage, these animals help educate about the brain. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

How to Guerrilla Garden in 5 Fun Steps

How to Guerrilla Garden: Tips and Hacks for Guerrilla Gardening and Urban Renewal for Urbanism and Gardening Fans. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Very Alternative: 5 Unusual Alternative Energy Sources

Delana — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:00:52 +0000

Solar and wind energy seem to get most of the attention from alternative-energy supporters, but there are plenty of other alternative fuel sources being explored. Some of them are entirely possible, some of them are dangerous or impractical, and some are downright silly. These five unusual alternative fuel sources are just a few of the possibilities currently in development.

Tornadoes

(image via: Iwa519)

Tornadoes are usually seen as very destructive forces, but one Canadian engineer believes that we can one day harness the power of the tornado to power entire cities. Louis Michaud believes that by pumping warm, humid air into his Atmospheric Vortex Engine (AVE), a chamber 200 meters wide with 100 meter tall walls, he can create an artificial tornado. The rotation of the tornado would then power wind turbines at the chamber inlets, creating enough electricity to power a small town. Michaud proposes using waste heat from power plants since they typically reject more than half of the heat they generate. He admits that the tornado would probably cause some extra precipitation in the surrounding area, but says that the whole setup would be inherently safe.

Dead Bodies

(image via: left-hand)

At least one UK crematorium is using the gases released from the cremation process to warm the mourners in attendance. While it may seem morbid, it’s actually an eco-friendly use of an energy source that is currently wasted. A lot of talk has been flying around about environmentally friendly burials, so why not extend that environmental consideration to cremations as well? The energy inherent in cremated bodies is already being captured in a way, since it has to pass through filters to remove the mercury in the deceased’s fillings. The only change would be pumping that energy into the building’s heating system rather than allowing it to escape.

Dancing Bodies

When was the last time you made the world a better place by clubbing all night? Sustainable Dance Club was formed in the Netherlands with the idea that dancing bodies could create enough kinetic energy to actually power a building. Club WATT in Rotterdam was the first to install the Sustainable Dance Floor, but SDC is looking forward to taking their technology all over the world to other clubs, festivals, and wherever there are people willing to dance for the good of the Earth. They hope to spread the knowledge that living a greener lifestyle isn’t all about sacrificing the things you love.

Chocolate

(images via: Science Daily and eszter)

This racing car isn’t remarkable only because of how it’s fueled – it’s also made entirely from sustainable materials. The body is made from recycled carbon fiber, recycled resin and woven flax, the steering wheel is made of carrot pulp, and it’s lubricated with plant oils. The car is fueled solely with biofuel made from a mixture of chocolate and animal oils. Biofuel has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t been seriously considered as a long-term fuel source until the last decade or so. While it may not be ready to power entire cities just yet, biofuel is currently being used in plenty of vehicles, either as an additive or as a sole source of fuel.

Ancient Mudstones

(image via: Andreas-photography)

300 million-year-old mudstones could one day reduce our dependence on conventionally-obtained fossil fuels, according to researchers at the University of Leicester. Shale gas can be found in the stones, much as it’s been found in sandstone for many years. But mudstone yields up to four times as much gas as sandstone. However, extracting the gas from the stones could be challenging since the stones aren’t consistent in their gas retention.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

5 Sensational Recent Advances in Alternative Energy

Alternative energy is undergoing many changes and advances every year. These amazing stories about alternative energy have caught our attention recently. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Burning Green: 15 Cutting-Edge Biofuel Sources

A new generation of bio-fuels, as well as new approaches to established fuel sources, are making a cleaner, greener future seem like more than a mere pipe dream. Click Here to Read More »»

7 Alternative Fuels and Fuel-Powered Vehicles

Fanning the Future: Kids Bring Wind Farm to Utah Town

Delana — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:37 +0000

Most of us know that there are ways to make the world a greener place, but we get frustrated when we don’t see our actions making an immediate difference. A group of high school kids in rural Milford, Utah, are seeing the benefits of their efforts, and in a big way. The kids and their teacher Andy Swapp are responsible for bringing a 200 megawatt wind farm to their town – that’s enough energy to power 44,000 Southern California homes. The resulting increase in tax revenue has revitalized the town’s economy, and the whole project has given the town’s residents an increased sense of pride in their community.

Milford High School teacher Andy Swapp’s curiosity was piqued one day when he was plowing a field on his farm. The wind blew so hard that the soil he’d plowed up effectively sandblasted the side of his barn. Seeing the wind’s power made him wonder just how hard it was blowing, which led to him obtaining an anemometer to measure its strength. The teacher couldn’t let this unique learning experience go to waste, so he invited his students to his farm to help him put up the tower. Within weeks, energy companies showed an interest in the project and Swapp’s data.

That little class project eventually turned into a 200MW wind farm backed by First Wind. Already, the town of Milford is reporting increased revenues in service and retail segments of their economy. A new hospital is being built with the tax funds generated by the farm. And maybe the best part of this project is the reaction from the students and other Milford residents. They have a renewed sense of pride in their hometown and the knowledge that they can do great things that will impact countless other people. Their wind farm isn’t just an environmental achievement or a community service project – it’s an inspiration to everyone who ever thought that they couldn’t make a difference. What started out as a fun field trip has turned into a project that stabilized a town’s economy, renewed the residents’ sense of community, and moved the entire country one step closer to clean power.

The first phase of the Milford Wind Corridor Project became operational in October 2009. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the 97 towers and wind turbines cover more than 40 square miles and connect to an 88-mile-long transmission line providing power to Southern California. The entire project cost over $400 million and invested about $84.5 million in Utah businesses and laborers. The project created 240 related jobs in construction and operation. There’s more information about the Milford project and other First Wind projects at their website.

(Thanks to Jean for the tip!)

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

Future In A Flat Spin: Horizontal Wind Turbines

No matter how majestic wind turbines seem, they're as incongruous as a lampost in a field of corn. So why don't we just turn them 90 degrees and design our homes a little differently? 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Get Outta Town! 10 Super Helpful Eco-Travel Links

Now is the time to start planning for spring and summer vacations. These eco-travel links will help you travel a little lighter on the earth this year. Click Here to Read More »»

What Is KIDS and Why Should Koala Lovers Care?

In addition to habitat loss, chlamydia and other threats, Australian koalas are now rapidly suffering from KIDS (Koala AIDS) that is similar to human AIDS. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

5 Sensational Recent Advances in Alternative Energy

Delana — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:00:41 +0000

Alternative energy is on just about everyone’s minds these days, and it’s evident in the news stories we’ve been seeing around the web. These are some of the most interesting stories that have caught our attention recently.

In an exciting solar power advance, the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed the first 3D photovoltaic system that collects solar power from underground. Using extremely thin optical fibers, sunlight is captured on a tiny area and produces electricity in a system that is six times more efficient than planar zinc oxide cells with the same surface area. This breakthrough is huge – it could eventually lead to the elimination of large, unsightly solar panels and the installation of photovoltaic systems in new locations.

Have you ever heard of osmotic power? Don’t worry – neither had we. This type of energy generation happens when fresh water is passed through a special membrane into salt water. After over a decade of study and development, Statkraft in Norway recently opened the first osmotic power plant prototype. It won’t wean Norway off of grid electricity just yet, but the technology could evolve to that point in the foreseeable future.

The 2009 Tech Awards in San Jose, California recently crowned From Cows to Kilowatts as a winner in the environmental segment. The idea has slaughterhouse waste – a gigantic environmental burden – being converted into methane gas. The resulting methane can be used in developing countries to generate electricity or as a cooking fuel.

National Geographic says that wind turbines are gaining popularity with families in Denmark. Their short film about a family of seven generating their own electricity with several turbines shows that it is possible to generate not only enough electricity for one family with turbines, but enough to power several homes.

(image via: Pranav)

India’s long-awaited solar power mission was finally officially announced, and it aims to produce 20 gigawatts of solar power by 2022. The plan could reduce greenhouse emissions by an estimated 12-18% and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 434 million tons annually, according to calculations from Greenpeace.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

Very Alternative: 5 Unusual Alternative Energy Sources

Solar and wind energy get a lot of time in the news, but what about all of the other fuel sources being considered? These are five of the more offbeat ideas. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Radical Rent-a-Bikes Generate Eco-Friendly Energy

Power from bicycles is not an entirely new energy idea but this highly creative public use could take the technology to the next level as people rent them. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Driving Force: Harvesting Kinetic Energy From Passing Cars

A UK supermarket chain is using cars to power their checkouts. Sainsbury's has installed kinetic energy plates to harness the power of passing cars. 4 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

ReBurbia: Designers Take on Greening the American Suburb

Delana — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:00:39 +0000

In the past few years, we’ve seen some interesting shifts take place between urban and suburban dwellers. Gas prices have risen and the life of the commuter has gotten to be too expensive for many; massive foreclosures have prompted countless former homeowners to downsize to urban apartments; and a move toward a greener lifestyle has driven a growing segment to move to the inner cities where owning a car isn’t a necessity. So for the first time since their inception, we’re seeing the suburbs becoming the less desirable place to live. But the homes, supermarkets and big box stores are all still out there, languishing in the urban sprawl. What can we do about it? Short of demolishing entire neighborhoods and wasting the space, we can haul out the repair kit and start fixing the suburbs.

Reburbia was an inspiring design competition run by Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat. It called for planners, urban designers, architects and engineers to come up with a way to re-use suburban space in a positive way. All of those wasted areas with nothing in them (many part of the original suburban design), all of those big box stores with their massive parking lots, and all of those McMansions with their ridiculous array of way-too-many bathrooms and wasted yard space would be repurposed into something useful and beautiful – something that would serve future generations of Earthlings. These are the four winners of the Reburbia competition.

First prize went to designer Calvin Chiu for his project Frog’s Dream. He envisioned turning abandoned suburban neighborhoods into wetlands and natural water processing centers for nearby urban centers. A natural population of plants, algae and bacteria would purify the water that would then be transported to the closest city. While it may not be the most immediately do-able idea, it does demonstrate just one of the many ways that we can start transforming deserted suburbia into part of a new and improved urban support system.

Entrepreneurbia, the entry from Urban Nature, F&S Design Studio, Silverlion Design, took second place in the competition. It’s less a model than it is a simple, common-sense suggestion: change rigid suburban zoning laws to allow for more constructive use of the space. The entry suggests that when living, eating, shopping and working spaces are no longer segregated, these formerly suburban areas become self-sustaining communities. Residents wouldn’t need cars because everything is within walking distance, but public transportation would exist to carry them into urban centers when needed. Forward-thinking business owners would be drawn to these promising new areas. Overall, suburbs that used to be sterile and boring would become vibrant, independent cultural centers.

Forrest Fulton took third place with his proposal, Big Box Agriculture: A Productive Suburb. The idea is a somewhat radical one: take supermarkets away from being resellers of food to being producers of food. According to the designer, as suburban businesses close their doors for good there will be a growing number of empty buildings, lots and parking areas going unused. Fulton suggests that we reuse those areas to grow sustainable crops: container farms can be built right on top of the asphalt, the interior of the stores can double as restaurants and greenhouses, and customers can pick their own produce. Customers would even have the option to bring their harvest right into the store to an on-site chef and enjoy one of the freshest meals they’ve ever had. Putting the food production in suburbia reuses the land wisely, drastically cuts down on food transportation costs, and as a result of both lowers the cost of food.

The Urban Sprawl Repair Kit from Galina Tahchieva took the special People’s Choice Award, and for good reason. Her thoughtful, practical suggestions are by no means out of reach for today or the future. She suggests making use of the typically wasted wide open spaces that define suburbia, putting homes and office buildings into the vast unused street setbacks and parking areas. She also suggests building onto existing buildings to make the formerly monofunctional space into a multifunctional one, cutting down on the long drives to get anywhere that mar suburban life currently. Even the foreclosed McMansions can be revamped into senior centers and community centers without demolishing any existing buildings or erecting any new ones.

The other entries, though they didn’t take a prize, were all thought-provoking and brilliantly conceived. While they may not all be suitable for immediate (or even eventual) implementation, they do deserve a real, honest look. Projects like the above from Ha Young Ihn and The Miller | Hull Partnership encourage us to think about all of the ways existing buildings and infrastructures can be re-used in a positive way. By turning dead shopping malls and empty big box stores into green markets, community centers, and even suburban farms, we can revitalize faltering areas without making the economic and environmental impact that comes with new construction.

Some of the entries focused less on living and working spaces, and more on energy generation. Proposals from Alan Berger & Case Brown and Joseph De Le Ree showed us that we can exploit existing structures and highways to generate cleaner energy for everyone. By reusing abandoned big box stores as biofuel generators or putting massive wind turbines over heavily-used freeways, we would be giving something back to the environment and to the citizens of the area.

The entries that dealt with housing were perhaps the most inspiring: both where to house people in suburban-turned-urban environments, and what to do with the abandoned foreclosed McMansions that dot the suburban landscape. The two above were incredibly creative in their visions: LivaBlox from Evan Collins proposes re-using existing big box stores (and their cargo containers) as residences, then using the tops of the buildings for urban farms and solar power collection. T-Tree, by Adil Azhiyev & Ivan Kudryavtsev, proposes social housing built on currently unused suburban land. The solution would cut down on energy and living costs; wind mills on the top of each structure would further reduce utility costs.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:

8 Eco-Friendly Ways to Spice Up Your Home

Here are 8 great and eco-friendly decor choices that are sure to make any home more inviting and comfortable! Click Here to Read More »»

Illuminating Reuse: 15 Recycled Lights and Lamps

Traffic lights, egg cartons, cardboard and other junk materials are transformed into brilliant light fixtures in these recycled lamp designs. 46 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

15 Awesome Ways to Reuse Shipping Containers

Once their conventional usefulness is up, shipping containers can be transformed into spectacular, modern buildings like hotels, museums, homes and shops. 3 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Glaring Answers: How We’re Taking A New Shine To UV

Mike — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:00:51 +0000

(Image via: Matt McGee)

Our relationship to ultraviolet light is an environmental pickle. On the one hand, Westerners chase that perfect Californian tan (while other parts of the world pursue pastier complexions) and flirt with unsightly, permanent sun-damage – and on the other, they plaster themselves with non-biodegradable chemicals that coat the surface of the sea, blocking sunlight and causing mass extinctions. Can’t we change the way we use UV for the better? You bet – as the following two examples show.

(Images via: Josh Spear and SteriPen)

UV plays havoc with our skin because it disrupts living tissue, right down to the DNA level – making it a natural, zero-chemical method of killing viruses and bacteria in places that need to be sterile, such as hospital wards. The World Health Organisation already recommends solar water disinfection as the most effective method of scrubbing toxic organisms out of water supplies – and the makers of SteriPen have taken it further, with a battery-powered UV lightstick you poke into your waterbottle to rid it of nasty gremlins. It’s cheap and portable, and unlike using water purification tablets, SteriPen renders your bottle of mountain springwater bacteria-free without compromising the taste.

(Image via: Yanko Design)

So, UV packs a lethal punch. So how do we feel about putting a low-powered UV lamp in our mouths?

(Images via: Yanko Design)

The Shake Toothbrush, as featured at Yanko Design, powers itself up while you’re brushing your teeth by converting that kinetic energy into an electrical charge. When you’ve finished, you press a button and the energy expends itself through LEDs houses behind the bristles, drying the brush head, dousing it in UV and killing off any lurking bacteria. Perfectly hygienic! Except – it looks like you can turn that button on while you are holding it, including when the brush is in your mouth, and here is why that has us worried. Great idea…but let’s have the lightshow docking-station only, please?