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 Ken Richardson, the inventor of the ground splitter for trenching, the gas can carrier for watercrafts, and the fexiciser, is also credited as the inventor of the Earthmister.
In 2005, Richardson recognized that millions of gallons of water runoff from sprinkler head irrigation, evaporation, and overwatering wasted our most abundant but also most precious resource at an alarming rate. Thus, he founded Global Eco Soil Solutions, a Southern California company manufactures the Earthmister, a subsurface pressurized irrigation system.
The system is installed 6-8 inches under the surface with a jet spray either laid out horizontally for larger landscapes or vertical for trees. The Earthmister uses its pressurized spray to water the roots directly within a range of 1,000 linear feet without pumps or added devices to maximize water pressure.
After each watering cycle the moisture is retained underground while the surface remains dry. In addition, the innovative technology also aerates the root zone underground promoting a stronger and deeper root mass.
The Earthmister is operates as a delivery system for bio-microbes and liquid fertilizer. Richardson claims the gizmo reduces water usage by 80 percentage, there is no water runoff, there is no evaporation. With the Earthmister system, the root zone is aerated and creates a healthier atmosphere for proper and stronger root growth, and the dry surface impedes weeds from germinating. |
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 Interview w/ Gary D. Conley, Chairman, Solfocus
As the earth turns so does advancement in solar technology and our ability to capture more power from a single ray of sunlight.
Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV), marrying satellite solar cell technology with advanced optical systems, rapidly accelerates the global vision for 15 percent solar by 2025 and could soothe the burn of the proposed cap and trade tax.
The real advantage is in the durability and high performance of reflective optics versus refractive. SolFocus has marked its vision on advanced optical engineering combined with advanced cell, continually refining the CPV solar system to balance long-term sustainability and the great demand for energy.
The reflective method employs a wider field of view when focusing on the sun, providing the flexibility for high volume manufacturing and rapid deployment in the field. Developers can go from kilowatts to megawatt with less time and space. In sunny environments, the CPV technology squeezes more energy from a single ray and thus, yielding higher output per kW installed. In addition, with lower energy cost, this technology preserves and protects natural resources.
SolFocus CPV systems use a shallow mirrored dish about the diameter of a pie pan to reflect sunlight onto a smaller mirror roughly half the size of a business card. The mirror shoots light directly into a small highly efficient solar cell at 650 times concentration. Like a giant treetop, these cells are sprawled out and held up on a dual axis tracker that follows the earth’s rotation from sunup to sundown.
According to Gary D. Conley, chairman of SolFocus: “CPV technology uses no water to operate and serves multiple purposes – a covering for shade crops in the desert, a shaded parking lot, or an electric vehicle powering station.”
Other concentrating solar methods such as solar thermal or CSP uses water to create steam that turns a turbine to create electricity; it is estimated that such systems consume as much water as do coal plants, about 850 gallons per megawatt hour.
Conley comments that “many of those coal plants are being cancelled, not because of the pollution factor, but because of water usage. For that same reason CSP projects in the desert are delayed in permitting and may be cancelled, as well.”
While the dollar per Watt for CPV may be higher today than traditional technology, in the important category of cost of energy – cents per kWh – CPV is already a lower-cost solution than traditional solar technologies in rich solar regions.
CPV also promises better land use, faster energy payback, and an optimized cradle-to-cradle footprint. Such an investment in reliable solar energy could level the battlefield in 2013, the anticipated year of the carbon tax war between brown (polluting) and green (clean) industries.
The Obama Administration seeks to pass a cap and trade bill, also known as the pollution reduction bill. This law will slap new taxes on companies considered to be heavy polluters. However, the blow will ricochet back to the consumer on necessities like electricity, gasoline, transportation and food.
“We think putting a price on carbon is an excellent step in forcing a level playing field which takes into account the true cost of various energy sources, not for the U.S. only but to the global community,” said Nancy Hartsoch, vice president of sales and marketing at SolFocus. “If we put the right price on carbon we can advance renewable energy, achieve our RPS standards faster, and make renewable energy mainstream energy.”
Still, while man tames the earth and its resources to suit their desire for ease and comfort, the fight over very limited clean energy to offset the volume of man-made pollutants continues. In the end, one carbon credit may become weightier than a brick of gold.
But the proposed cap and trade legislation before Congress has yet to stick a price on carbon, or define a trustworthy measurement device. The bill does guarantee the collection of taxes from high polluters to fund cleaner energy projects. There is no guarantee however, that those taxes would be spent on getting cleaner energy to your power socket.
In a not so divisive manner, utility providers charge customers a premium on their monthly bills for renewable energy investments. According to the California Energy Commission, in 2008 only 10 percent of electricity used in the state came from renewable sources, and less than one percent came from solar energy.
With Executive Order, S-14-08 signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in November of 2009, a call for 33 percent renewable energy sources by 2020 was established. Clearly, the state is aggressively ramping up its clean energy portfolio – to more than one percent. The California Solar Initiative (CSI), for example, pays out a performance-based incentive depending on the type and scale of the system.
For instance, on May 25th, under the blazing sun, SolFocus powered up a one megawatt CPV solar installation at Victor Valley College, Victorville. The tree-like sprawling photovoltaic arrays across six acres of parched California desert offers much needed clean solar energy to cover a third of the annual power usage at the college.
The shade provided by the arrays can also allow vegetation to grow on the dry hot land. Students at Victor Valley College now have hands on skills training in solar technology. For its 1MW installation, the college received a check for $3.1M from SoCal Edison as part of the California Solar Initiative. The check represented the incentives that will be paid to the college over the first five years of solar generation.
Hartsoch pointed out: “You can’t build a renewable world without solar. Incentives are the tools that allow you to move new technology quicker to compete with traditional energy.”
The unanswerable questions remain; will cap and trade score any positive points for the environment itself or merely fan the fire on global warming? Or, do incentive programs to transform places like the California Desert into landscapes of towering glass and steel and wires adequately address the issue of looming problems for the future?
What is more important to Hartsoch however, is the impact Global Warming will have on the pure nature of the desert. Hartsoch believes, “we must consider both – create clean energy to mitigate global warming, and do it with the lightest environmental footprint possible.” |
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 Title: Solar LED Lights defying Darkness
Interview w/ Patrick Beugnon, Vice President, Solar LED Innovations
Slug: Our fascination with continuous light, day and night, inspired Thomas Edison’s invention of the light bulb in 1879.
Intro: China manufacturers have been making solar torches for decades, now American companies are claiming superiority in solar powered nickel-metal hydride batteries in flashlights with light emitting diodes (LED) bulbs that can lightup for 100,000 hours.
In 1932, Frank Chorman capitalized on this fascination and brought nighttime sports to light by transporting his portable stadium lights from town to town. Utilizing the best technology of the time, Chorman and his family drove across the states and Canada lighting ice-skating rinks, baseball fields and stadiums.
In 2008, Frank’s son, Thomas Chorman, a former financial executive at Procter and Gamble started Solar LED Innovations with the help of his nephew Patrick Beugnon. Chorman developed several revolutionary patents in transportable lighting with solar-powered lights.
Solar LED Innovations’ products are assembled and packaged in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania by Handi-Crafters, an organization for people with some developmental disabilities. By employing the services of Handi-Crafters, many people with limited work-related skills have access to worthwhile employment and make a valuable contribution to the local economy.
“We are going back to our family’s core business of lighting,” said Beugnon, Vice President of Solar LED Innovations. “Solar is an attractive business to be in today, and enjoys a 50 percent annual growth rate.”
The company is developing a 4-pack light set and solar-powered generator that can light homes for up to four days. These come with LED bulbs and use 95 percent less electricity than incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps.
“Combined with solar, our new LED lights allow your lighting needs to be independent from the grid,” Beugnon said. “You can use it for outdoor living, camping, and for emergency lighting during hurricanes, earthquakes, and blackouts.”
According to Beugnon, one of their flashlights saves 2,800 batteries from the landfill because the batteries can be recharged in direct sunlight 1,400 times before they can be safely recycled. He said the company continues to explore the latest technology to continue providing innovative and quality lighting products like their mobile phone charger kit and their mirror inspection light that provides up to 40 hours of continuous use on a full solar charge. |
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Review: Dear Dad, 2010 by Ky-Mani Marley,
I felt a chasm divide my heart as Ky-Mani pleaded for love among his father’s family. In this life, you have to Struggle to survive – unless you had a rich dad. Oh, but Ky-Mani has one, none other than Bob Marley, the King of Reggae, yet Ky-Mani could not escape.
Dear Dad plays a rhythmic tune in the hearts of those familiar with The Struggle. The idea of family – oneness. It is the desire to return the warmth of love inspite of the coldness that surrounds you. The belief that you love because of the love that’s in you.
It is the hope that if your friends of today were to become your enemies tomorrow, you would love then as you them love them now. Jamaicans know The Struggle, it leads to The Love, One Love.
This love needs no explanation, both giver and receiver feels it and knows it – at times the receiver might mistake it, ignore it, judge it, dispute it, even reject it.
Yet, this love is fearless, borderless, penniless, uncontainable. I sense this is the love Ky-Mani spreads. But how do you say these things in a book? Read Dear Dad.
Reviewed by Charlene Brown, Publisher, Lookin Green Magazine |
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 Charlene Brown, Publisher, Editor, Lookin’ Green Magazine
We can talk about tar balls, feather-tarred birds, fishermen out of work, end of endless shrimp deals at Red Lobster, but an even gloomier scenario is about to be played out.
For millions of years, pressure has been building up and with this drill failure from British Petroleum’s deep water drilling, that pressure has finally found a release through the punctured well in the Gulf of Mexico. Any top kill method is no match for the force below the ocean floor.
Terrence Aym of Helium.com writes: “If the huge methane bubble breaches the seabed, a gas gusher will surge through miles of ancient sedimentary rock. It will explode upwards propelled by 50 tons psi, burst through the cracks and fissures of the compromised sea floor, and rupture miles of ocean bottom with one titanic explosion, killing everything it touches, setting off a supersonic tsunami wave traveling somewhere between 400 to 600 miles per hour.”
From the sight of things, by the end of July 2010 nearly 200 million gallons of oil gushing from the six-mile penetration beneath the ocean to pollute the coastline – that’s almost a wash of one day’s worth of U.S. oil production estimated at around 207 million gallons per day.
With this endless abundance of oil underground, the spill could bleed up to 300, 400, 500 million gallons, no one really knows and attempts to cap the top have failed miserably.
No matter how much ass-kicking from President Barrack Obama and no matter the sum of ass-kissing by Tony Hayward, trying to stop this oil gush is like trying to stop a fire hydrant with a yogurt foil lid. I admit, I have no solutions, and I’m not going to cry over spilled oil.
One topic I think will solve, or at least lessen our dependence on crude oil is the electric car, discussed at length in this July 2010 edition of Lookin’ Green Magazine.
The fascinating thing about driving electric is that it’s the smart way of going cheap – drive 200 miles for less than $8 on a full charge – but not until 2012 for full market distribution.
So join me in line and start penny pinching as we all wait for the catalytic year of 2012. By then we might come up with the $30,000 to $50,000 to drive the Model S, the LEAF, or the CODA. Or, you can count on that insurance settlement check to plunk down the $110,000 to glide in a Roadster.
Beyond your new eco-statement, mind yourself to not get distracted by your new car’s intelligence. These smart driving machines come standard with touchy interactive systems and full media control from behind the wheel – then again, you might just be able to voice-activate those controls. Not sure how the smart car will interpret your exhilarating scream heading down Route 66. |
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 Weren't Massages Supposed to be Comfor-Table
Chat w/ Rebecca Savich, Founder, Utopian Massage
When Rebecca Savich presented her idea for the Utopian, Jeff Riach was impressed; “My first thought was, wow!”
After a 3-day cross-country drive from Los Angeles to Pennsylvania, Savich, founder of Contour Table Systems, spent the next five days bouncing off the phone hoping to share her invention with Riach, co-founder and CEO of Oakworks.
Finally, Riach came on the line and agreed to a 15-minutes show-and-tell. Those 15 minutes turned into nearly three hours. And in a small business way of doing business, the two shook hands and the Utopian massage table took form.
Savich, a naturally endowed woman, endured major discomfort in the prone position while getting a massage. “It's ironic. I would get massages often because my back gets sore from the weight of my breasts, but the massages that were meant to relieve my back, would only hurt my breasts,” Savich said.
That distress turned into a personal quest for Savich to devise a massage table that could comfortably be formed to the contours of the body. Then, in 2006, Savich began the road to invention and by August 2009 she had entered into an agreement of manufacturing and distribution with Oakworks. Three prototypes later, and by the end of 2009, the patent-pending ABC (Adjustable Breast Comfort) system was born.
Since 1979, Oakworks has been designing, manufacturing and marketing complex electronic medical and massage tables at a 91,000 square feet factory in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. Riach started the company with the “goal of running an ethically responsible business”. Riach comments that they are committed “to make the highest quality product right here in America.”
The Utopian with the ABC system has become the inspiration for a new line of massage table products from Oakworks. The tables are expected to revolutionize the medical device industry and are likely to become extremely applicable in treating physical issues.
The design works for both males and females with varying body shapes. Each table is equipped with a powerful foot pump and a simple release valve, allowing therapists to adjust the platform on the tabletop without interrupting the patient’s relaxation. The platform can also rise above the table to be used as a headrest while lying supine.
“Rebecca has come up with something that was so obvious, yet nobody else had done it,” Riach said.
Aided by the contour of the massage table the patient is able to create a range of motion in shoulder joints, positional release, and this makes stretching much easier during a therapy session. The therapist can take advantage of the Utopian and create unlimited positions for therapeutic applications. |
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Organizations like The Wellness Community (TWC), provide information, support and hope for patients with cancer and their loved ones. “Community,” is perhaps the most significant element observed at TWC. Whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual recovery, participants benefit from the dynamic synergy of a healing community.
Dr. Harold Benjamin in Santa Monica, Calif. founded the Wellness Community in 1982, and in 1989 the organization went national. His experience throughout the struggle of his wife’s diagnosis with breast cancer and his years of study on the psychological and social impact of cancer, helped Dr. Benjamin formulate the Patient Active© concept, one of the most significant developments in the evolution of modern health care.
All services at the TWC, including Patient Active© concept, are provided free of charge. Support groups, educational workshops and mind/body classes, give those affected by cancer a venue to learn vital skills. Patients thus regain control, reduce isolation, and restore a sense of purpose during treatment and recovery in a home-like setting.
With 24 facilities across the US, two international sites, and more under development TWC continues the fight against cancer. Gilda Radner, an early participant at TWC until her death from ovarian cancer in 1989, has been a pivotal figure in the expansion of TWC. Countless patients have read her book; It’s Always Something, and have been instrumental in bringing a TWC facility to their local area.
Patient Active© Concept: “Combining the will of the patient with the skill of the physician–a powerful combination.” Harold Benjamin, Ph.D., Founder of TWC concept
Orientation: Drop-in sessions led by cancer survivors.
Participant Groups: Weekly support groups facilitated by licensed psychotherapists for those with cancer.
Family Groups: Weekly meetings facilitated by licensed psychotherapists for family and care-givers.
Drop-in Groups: Topic discussions on specific cancers such as prostate, colorectal, breast, lung.
Relaxation/Visualization: Guided sessions to practice important self-help procedure.
Educational Workshops: Experts present medical updates, nutrition, symptom management, and stress reduction.
Exercise: Training in gentle, appropriate movement techniques like yoga and Tai Chi.
Social Events: Mingle with families and friends to build camaraderie and enjoy music and special presentations. |
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 Interview w/ Paul Rogowski
How many of us will drive the Tesla Roadster or the Toyota Prius anytime soon? Like me, you probably drive an automobile that uses an oil filter and you change oil three times a year – or when that little yellow light appears.
According to Paul Rogowski, president of GoGreen Oil Filter, whatever you drive now can be converted into a green car: “Our stainless reusable oil filter reclaims 100 percent of the grease from your engine. Then you just wash the stainless steel filter with a biodegradable cleanser and put the filter back into your engine over and over again for the life of your car.”
Rogowski started making stainless steel oil filters for motorcycle racing in 1995 when he realized that his filters could be used with all motors. Today GoGreen Oil Filter designs a model for any chassis. The products are molded and made in America in Littleton, Colorado.
Though strict standards exist for properly disposing of oil and used filters, not every mechanic or home tech adhere to these guidelines. According to the Enviormental Protection Agency (EPA), about 250 million paper oil filters end up in landfills each year. All paper filters combined contain an estimated 2.18 million gallons of wasted oil, which consequently drains into the soil and contaminates the water supply.
There is however, a more eco-friendly option. Switching to durable and reusable oil filters provides a means for properly recycling and disposing of engine oil which prevents drenched filters from polluting our resources.
Rogowski claims his reusable GoGreen oil filters have zero landfill impact: “Our earth-friendly design eliminates paper filters and uses stainless steel a very sustainable materiall, truly making GoGreen oil filters a renewable product.” |
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 Regenerative Design
Takes Us Beyond Sustainability
By: Carl Welty of Claremont Environmental Design Group (CEDG)
Slug: Regenerative design is a practical approach to the human ecosystem and communities.
Intro: Experts say we can continue to expect about 80 million more mouths to feed and bodies to clothe and shelter each year.
And looking ahead, according to estimates by the International Population Institute, by 2050 world population will be around 9.2 billion.
To maximize limited resources for the growing population, maybe we could take a step backward in order to leap forward in the way we manage our resources. The basic premise is that regenerative systems restore, renew and revitalize their own sources of energy and materials, emulating the efficiency and ecological integrity of nature.
CEDG works with a team of uniquely qualified architects and designers to develop practical, workable regenerative strategies for major public and private development projects. CEDG advances each project with the first elements of regenerative design in mind: careful land use, on-site renewable energy, sustainable materials, collecting and recycling of water, and reliable food production sources.
Eco-systematic land planning requires an understanding of how multiple species are interconnected, enabling us to incorporate human activity into the larger scheme. Such consideration is vital in developing sustainable and economically viable projects for a growing population that must fit into a finite landscape or eco-system.
Whether new developments or rebuilding after a fire, earthquake or other natural disasters, developers must be more cognizant of designing sustainable communities to address environmental, social and economic goals. Those goals must also be naturally aligned with the concept of a shared functioning ecosystem, all benefiting from the growth of each part.
To effectively manage the human ecology is to create more than we consume – modeled on nature’s closed loop, input-output model – take out less than you put in, building up a reserve for tomorrow. |
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 Title: Paper or Plastic? Rapioli!
By Ken Eskenazi, CEO, Innovation To Industry, Inc.
Slug: Make a statement. Ship in your own reusable packaging – a much more sustainable solution than single use plastic bags and wraps.
Intro: The premise of reuse is to optimize the embodied energy and original materials it takes to manufacture products in the first instance.
Los Angeles based Innovation To Industry (i2i) offers businesses an alternative to the ubiquitous and often costly cardboard box. We work together to develop and provide resource-efficient, reusable packaging solutions for shipping parts or products.
Rapioli, our flagship product, took form out of a packaging design challenge, underwritten by
McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, FedEx, Amazon and the EPA. Our team entered a flat, hand-made plastic prototype, with an integrated closure and cushioning design, which looked like ravioli.
Thanks to a grant from the California Department of Conservation, Beverage Recycling Division, we’ve transform the now patent-pending Rapioli concept into reality. Rapioli is thermoformed from rPET with the highest percentage of post-consumer content possible, made entirely from used water and soda bottles. The rigid outer trays and the flexible inner pillows for cushioning are made from the same material and similar process.
Reusable packaging can significantly reduce costs throughout a company’s supply chain, including inventory and labor costs. Of course, the business would need reverse logistics in place in order to get the packaging back to reuse point.
The area of greatest effectiveness for the Rapioli is with back-and-forth operations for a closed loop process. In particular, shipping of individual, high-value or fragile items like electronic components, medical samples, and eyeglasses fit well in the Rapioli.
A more durable reusable container like Rapioli may be have a higher initial cost, but the per trip cost is greatly reduced with each reuse. Net savings might even be realized as soon as the second turn-around. Moreover, business owners that are committed to sustainable practices see the benefit of less waste and less recycling and disposal costs right off the bat. |
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 by Mike Owens, EcoTrend
Collagen accounts for nearly one quarter of all proteins in the body, a major structural protein that forms molecular cables in vast resilient sheets that support the skin and internal organs.
Collagen can be harvested from eggshells and used in calcium supplements. The egg white and yolk are used in food products. Through innovative technology, ECOtrend Collagen is made by using the egg’s membrane (collagen) as its main natural ingredient and binding agent to produce an environment friendly paint.
ECOtrend paint is an odorless paint; it does not contain any VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), harmful chemicals (formaldehyde, heavy metals), or organic solvents (ammonia), and there are no hormones or heavy metals. And above all, there is no pollution in the air after the paint is applied to the surface.
ECOtrend paint has 93% of the total infrared ray waves. It can accelerate blood circulation and encourage metabolism in the body. It contains ingredients that release negative ions into the air, helping to facilitate the cleaning of the air indoors.
ECOtrend Collagen paint is anti-bacterial and prevents mold, germs, fungus and bacteria from growing on its surface. ECOtrend Collagen paint is a compound of hydrophobic collagen polymer and high molecule type collagen. It has a high binding energy; and therefore, it has outstanding durability and water resistance.
ECOtrend paint has a very short drying time, it can be repainted quickly, leading to a quicker project turnaround. It is also great for touch ups and blends seamlessly. |
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 Interview w/ Khobi Brooklyn, Public Affairs, Tesla Motors
Dissecting the futility of tightening vehicle emissions standards and stretching miles per gallon under the light of the totally clean electric car.
Cutting to the Chassis
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) numbers for 2007 show that since 1990, gas powered motor vehicles have been the culprits of 31 percent of all green house gas (GHG) emissions, namely: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons.
The State of California 2002 Assembly Bill 1493 called for cutting vehicle GHG emissions by 30% by 2016. Accordingly, this law failed to take effect in 2006 because California needed a waiver from the EPA to justify higher standards for vehicles sold in the State.
By 2004, Central Valley Chrysler-Jeep, Inc. Et Al. and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) – were unwilling to accept the blame that their vehicles had brought such gloom over the atmosphere and they sued California Air Resources Board (CARB) over AB 1493 stringent regulations.
At the same time, a bigger battle ensued all the way to the Supreme Court with Massachusetts v. E.P.A., 127 S.Ct. 1438 (2007). The EPA was baffled as to whether global warming was just a cloudy day at the beach or a brewing storm ahead. Apparently, the EPA questioned the availability of technologies to address the stricter emission standards.
The Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases were indeed air pollutants – duh – and concluded that both EPA and California could limit GHG from new cars and further regulate vehicle fuel efficiency through AB 1493.
Mad or Electrified by the Science
Even amidst the confusion, in 2003 California driven Tesla Motors Inc. launched the Roadster all-electric two-seater sports car; an electric vehicle with zero emissions, zero oil changes, zero filter changes, and zero pollution.
By 2008 the Roadster was blasting off from California to the United Kingdom. And at $110,000 you could plug in a Roadster and drive 244 miles on a single charge for under $5 compared to gasoline at nearly $4 per gallon.
2012, Green Cars Only
In 2009, President Obama made California’s clean car law federal law. Consequently, Chrysler, AIAM, and the clan agreed to drop the lawsuit against the state. The new federal law, the National Fuel Efficiency Policy, mandates that all cars sold in the U.S., beginning with model year 2012 average 35.5 miles per gallon, and a minimum of 39 miles per gallon by 2016.
What's the sense of setting fuel policy based on old, meaning dinosaur old, technology? Advanced technology and batteries systems make miles per gallon a thing of the past. Consumers are now calculating miles per charge.
Tesla Model S will drive up to 300 miles on a single charge – at a cost of about $6 per charge. The chief designer of Tesla, Franz Von Holzhausen, developed the 5-passenger sedan from a completely unique architecture rather than the original 2-seater Roadster.
In May 2010, Tesla purchased a former Toyota plant in Fremont, California, where the Model S will be built and ready for the road by 2012. With the $465 million loan from the Department of Energy under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, and a new partnership with Toyota,Tesla is on a mad dash to get the Model S off the digital modelers and out of the hands of the clay sculptors, and into the hands of consumers on the electric highway. |
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 Interview w/ Tracy Woodard, Director of Government Affairs, Nissan USA
You won’t get very far if you forget to plug in your electric car, luckily the LEAF will txt u 2 plg n – that’s if you remembered to charge your phone.
Nissan’s powerful hold on the automotive market coupled with a century of experience in electric-powered cars allowed the company to quickly develop and model the LEAF.
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An amendment sponsored by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), George LeMieux (R-FL) and others seeks to extend the Treasury Grant Program from 2010 to 2012.
The cash for clean power grant provided cold hard cash for renewable energy projects, some of which would not otherwise qualify for full production and investment tax credits. According to the Cantwell-LeMieux Ammendment:
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Rarely do we think of computer monitors, printers, old televisions, and electrical wires as harmful and hazardous, but they pose a real threat to our environment if not disposed of properly.
Think of ewaste as any items that plugs in and is tossed out. Ewaste makes up of only about 2% of our landfills, yet contributes to about 70% of our toxic waste. Ewaste leaches mercury and other toxins in the ground and makes its way into water supplies.
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 Round-the-Clock Solar Round-the-Globe
Interveiw w/ Mike Brady, Senior Vice President, Parsons Corporation
Man’s quest to somehow send the night into oblivion spurs new technologies in lighting and energy. So far we’ve stripped enough coal, spilled enough oil, spun enough turbines, and spent enough rods.
Today we’re setting our sights on the sun – the source of all energy. In broad daylight energy can be collected from the sun and converted to electricity. Categorically, solar is captured in passive space heating, water heating, photovoltaic (PV) generation and concentrated solar power generation.
The most familiar method uses PV cells to collect direct current (DC) and sends that energy to an inverter, which converts the power to alternating current (AC). The PV apparatus varies from panels, dyes, laminates and film.
Man's ability to capture enough solar energy from sunset until sunrise is a challenge, however, on a breathing planet that teeters on a rotating axis. Mike Brady, a senior vice president with Parsons Corporation in Pasadena, Calif., zeros in on the latest advancements in night time solar.
“We are looking for technically ‘elegant’ methods to generate, store and distribute renewable energy,” Brady said. “And concentrated solar allows a plant to provide base load power, not merely peaking power.”
Parsons recently formed an alliance with TSK, headquartered in Gijon, Spain. TSK has pioneered the thermal molten salt application to store solar generated heat and thus extend the solar day. In 2008, TSK spent €310 million (EUR) to build two 50 megawatt thermal solar farms in just 27 months on a 200-hectare plot in Badajoz, Southern Spain.
The process begins by focusing giant parabolic mirrors on a pipe to precisely track and reflect the path of the earth relative to the sun. The heat is captured at a very high concentration, up to 393 degrees Celsius. A thermal fluid (synthetic oil, water or other fluids) is circulated through the pipe to grab that heat and is released in an exchanger. The steam then powers turbine generators and some of the resulting electricity is transmitted to the grid.
“But right now, the toughest trick is our distribution system – the gird,” Brady said. “We can generate power, but we have to get it to the grid and the grid needs to have the capacity to accept and transmit the power – getting there is a real challenge for all of us.”
Thermal solar addresses the very delicate balance between supply and demand versus grid capacity. The excess heat from the solar panels is stored in molten salts and released during non-solar gain hours to provide continuous heat to the steam generating exchangers.
“In Spain, the annual capacity of all of plants range in thousands of megawatts – remember, Spain has been at solar much more aggressively than the US. In fact, most of Europe has,” Brady pointed out. “The Irony is, the solar plants in the Extreamadura are the best solar fields in Europe, yet only half the potential of the solar fields in California’s Mohave Desert.”
Thermal storage improves the reliability and consistency of the electricity supplied from that particular plant. And since the raw material is abundantly free, the return on investment seems very economical once the plant gets up and heating.
On the other hand, large amounts of real estate is required and capitol cost including thermal storage makes return times taxing. However, with feed in tariffs and other tax incentives such as carbon credits, the economics are very practical.
Back in Spain, together the two Badajoz solar-salt plants generate 100 megawatts at an estimated cost of €5 million per megawatts and requires only 35 to 45 staff to operate normally. That keeps operating costs much lower than conventional power plants. Parsons-TSK has two solar thermal storage plants coming on line summer 2010, and two others in design phase.
According to Brady, “technologies have improved dramatically and thermal solar is sound and proven, but we really need a national strategy and plan implemented to catch up. Certainly it can be looked at as a matter of national security, not just an economic opportunity.” |
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 Interview w/ Photographer, Rene E. Bass
It’s a rush, like a natural high. Photography puts me in my own world. It's like no one else is around.
My interest in photography began while I was in junior high. My parents had bought me an instamatic camera, and that was it. My passion grew and I majored in photography at Pasadena City College, where I explored imagery as an art form.
Architecture moves me - especially when surrounded by nature. It is like taking art and making it into art again. Photographing old structures using the suns light, with constrast of life in the frame - an amazing experience.
Some days I am awed by the beautiful clouds in the sky glistened by the natural light - an artist’s delight.
As I peer through the lens, I envision the destiny of each scene a feeling is provoked – I get excited, I am overcome with emotion.
I use the old school methods of darkroom printing with an enlarger, combining many techniques, film types and paper texture to create and image that is intriguing to the eye.
Often, I use black and white infrared flim to photograph landscapes. The whites are radiant and the lines and shapes are soft, giving the image a dreamy effect.
When I photograph people, I like to use black and white film. And if the subject wears black and white it really creates a dramatic contrast.
I’m a very shy person and it is very difficult for me to speak in front of a crowd, but I'm at total ease photographing the world, it lets me express myself and I feel most at home behind the lens.
Photo captions:
"A Vision of the River" Austin, Texas. May 2009
I focused on the tranquil water and the formation of the bridge. I waited for the boate to complete the scene, creating the perfect exposure.
"Quite Time" San Francisco, Calif. July 2009
They have adapted so well to their man-made habitat. It was facinating to watch the seals taking a calm peaceful nap. |
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 by Robert Allen, Co-Owner Luma Resources
The issue was that the solar systems up to this point were vertical sore points and didn’t work for most residential roofs. That led my brother Gary to visualize a horizontal one-piece solar kit that can be installed virtually anywhere on the roof – for almost any rooftop to generate clean renewable energy anywhere around the globe.
For the past sixty years, Allen Brothers Inc. has been designing and installing custom roofs for their customers. Today Gary and me realize a new potential to provide not only shelter for our customers, but also a roof of gold - as solid as the sun.
In 2007, we launched LUMA Resources LLC, to market our patented, UL-approved building integrated photovoltaic LUMA solar roof system.
The advantage of installing the LUMA solar system is that for the roof area where it is installed the solar modules act as the roof itself - no need for roofing underneath. The solar system follows the pitch of the existing roof – it seamlessly integrates to become the covering for that area of the roof and there is no penetration. It’s perfect for both new construction and existing roofing.
With a couple skilled installers and electricians, in a matter of hours the customer can have a new clean power system on the roof.
Matter of fact, two months ago we integrated a 1.26 kW system, estimated to supply about 20 percent of the energy at John Sarver’s home in Lansing. Sarver is the Manager of Renewable Energy at the Michigan Bureau of Energy.
The Sarvers invested $9,000 and will collect a 30 percent Federal tax credit. For every watt generated, the public utility, Consumers Energy, will pay $0.65 per kWh under the feed-in-tariff rate schedule. The family pays just about $0.11 per kWh for energy usage. And as long as the sun keeps rising every morning, in about nine years the Sarvers will get a full payback.
The Sarver home has several mature trees and lots of shading, so we took the time to evaluate and design an installation for the greatest output on a small section of the south-facing roof area. And here’s where the LUMA expertise comes in, our solar kits were developed by roofers for homeowners who care about an ascetically beautiful roof.
“At first, my wife was concerned about how the solar kit would look against our new shingles,” said John Sarver. “But she was well pleased when she saw how well the system blended in with the house.”
During this current economic downturn, residential solar installation has been pretty bleak. But in December 2009, we received $500,000 from the state of Michigan, as part of the American Recovery Act. Right away, we injected those funds into full production of the LUMA solar kit. We are changing this downturn into a head start toward national energy independence, which lets customers keep more of their wealth at home.
Sarver said, “Electricity price is only going up and from my experience, I recommend that homeowners take a look at this solar system. You can, in a sense, get some free electricity from the golden sun.” |
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 Connect w/ Dr. Darrick Sahara, Chiropractor & Applied Kinesiologist, Sahara Clinic
Aside from western approaches to medicine, complementary and alternative medicine takes into account the whole being – body, heart, mind and soul.
Methods in Applied Kinesiology take the patient through a rigorous muscular exam to identify dysfunctional areas in the body. The main objective of such an approach is the evaluation of a triad structure; chemistry, energy, and emotions. In short, the doctor embarks on a faultfinding mission by harmoniously working with the patient by applying pressure at nerve endings and muscle points. The doctor listens, and the body reveals.
Dr. Darrick E. Sahara, a chiropractor practicing applied kinesiology in Pasadena, Calif., defines his work as seeking “optimal health” for his patients. He has a keen sense of listening to the silence of the body as it reacts to touch, and observing its posture and response to motion and light.
According to Dr. Sahara, his practice “takes knowledge and skill. It moves beyond the stethoscope.” Elaborating further Dr. Sahara comments, “In western medicine the patient tells the doctor the symptoms and doctor gives the patient a diagnosis. What I do is let the body tell me what’s wrong. You can hear it if you know how to listen.”
Consider – all is energy, intelligence added – the mind has power to orchestrate healing within the body. Energetic medicine based on vibrations, akin to kinesiology, demonstrates the power of tapping into the body’s own energy.
An energetic imbalance can be manifested in chronic pains or allergies, Dr. Sahara claimed. To repair this imbalance, for example, an allergy patient grasps small vials of various metals, the body vibrates in response to the magnetic forces, and the doctor is able to determine the source of the problem.
My complaint was nothing in particular, just an overly busy and tired body. I sat on the bench, motionless, all the while walled in by tiny vials of colorful elements, matching colored eyeglasses, and laboratory-like bottles of homeopathy remedies of fire, water, and wind in a bottle.
I could not help but look out the mini blinds through the slightly tinted window. I sat Skittishly as the doctor tapped on my body and I listened to his strict instructions to open my eyes while holding a vial of metal in my left hand then my right close to my abdomen.
Exchanging the vial from hand to hand actually required concentration and I frequently messed the pattern up. I wore yellow glasses, purple, and other various colors, and to be honest I wasn’t sure where this was going. I laid down on my back, then face down, I stood up, sat down, I braced myself, felt pressure, and I attempted to relax (which was hard to do), all the while wanting to talk.
I wanted to tell him about my emotional worries, my mental exhaustion, and the persistent tinge of pain in my right hip, or presently, my uneasiness. Rather, I kept quiet at Dr. Sahara’s request.
As I discovered, needleless acupuncture aims to rid the body of toxins from perfumes, metals, contaminated water, or mold exposure, and cleans a bad gut for improved digestion. This form of alternative medicine however, is calculated and determined by a complex diagnostic measurement similar to the ANSA test that is based in muscle therapy, and it works to fix body percussion and pathological conditions – increasing the patient’s range of motion and physical performance.
“Applied kinesiology works with the body to cure itself,” Dr. Sahara said. “The doctor talks to the body and the body answers back.” Like your conscience, stretching to make Dr. Sahara’s point, “the body will never lie to you.”
Unlike western and modern medicine – where the doctor asks the patient a series of questions, and the patient complains to the doctor, who then comes up with an initial diagnosis – within applied kinesiology, the body and the doctor take part in a one-on-one voiceless process that seeks to discover causes and stresses that create physical, mental and emotion ailments. |
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Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamate and is commonly used as a flavor enhancer. The enzymes found within this non-essential amino acid facilitate a chemical reaction within your brain; and your ears, eyes, nervous system and other organs are deceived in their sensory perception.
In short, studies performed by the Food and Drug Administration on MSG report that food producers put this additive in their processed and fast food to create an illusion. Once that food hits your taste buds, the brain gets excited – it thinks, hey there's a lot of nutrition coming with this bite as a result of increased insulin levels. Reality is, there may be zero or very little protein or nutritional value in that bite. In the end, MSG is a Brain trick.
So what's the big problem with a little trickery? Have you ever clicked on an email and there is no document, no file, or no attachments? This is exactly what happens when you eat food laced with MSG. A little while after your meal, you are as hungry as a stray dog.
Again, in order to satisfy your hunger you reach for those same tasty foods. You develop an addiction; and you pile on the pounds while getting less and less nutrition.
(http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/monosodium-glutamate.html) |
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 KY-MANI MARLEY
Singer. Actor. Author. Humanitarian.
The Marley surname perpetuates Jamaican royalty, resonates world-wide recognition and represents the pioneer of a cultural, political and social revolution. Reggae icon and legend Bob Marley blessed the world with his timeless, brilliant and message filled sound which continues to inspire and influence audiences today. With such a living past, Bob Marley’s conviction and passion for music unintentionally was passed to the lives of his offspring and has allowed the Marley name to remain relevant amongst the hierarchy of the reggae sound.
Born on February 26, 1976, Ky-Mani Marley is the son of Bob Marley and table tennis champion Anita Belnavis. Ky-mani is the second youngest of Bob Marley’s eleven children. While bearing the Marley name, Ky-mani’s childhood told a different story. Born in Falmouth, Trelawney, Jamaica and settling in Miami, Florida at the age of seven, he was raised in the inner-city in a two bedroom home along with eight family members.
Being exposed to an urban lifestyle, Ky-Mani adopted the attitude that all people are equal – no one is above or beneath him. This attitude has become the motto for the way he lives his life today. Humble. Soft spoken. Sincere. Loyal. Honest. Genuine. These are the makings of Ky-mani Marley.
As a child he had no interest following in the footsteps of his world-famous father and was more inclined to play sports. However, the seed that was planted by Bob’s legacy sprouted in 1997 when Ky-Mani teamed up with hip hop artist Pras of The Fugees for a rendition of Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” This would be the defining moment in his journey which would lead him to pick up the torch his iconic father lit so many years ago.
Remaining true to his Jamaican culture, Ky-Mani’s fondness for all genres of music influences the work he creates. He is an artist with no limits. Incorporating world music, hip hop, blues, rock and a grass roots sound into his music, the end product is the pure representation of life for Ky-Mani. His sound is one that transcends cultural lines and prohibits him from being categorized as only a reggae artist. His raw, unadulterated, gruff sound captures the listener and reverberates the essence of Ky-Mani’s life story. Songs such as “Dear Dad,” “I Pray,” and “Ghetto Soldier” display the versatility and fiery-passion he exudes when sharing his voyage through song. Peace. One Love. Unity. Street Life. These are the makings of Ky-Mani’s music.
Ky-Mani has four studio albums to his credit: Like Father Like Son, an album featuring cover versions of some of his father's songs; The Journey (Shang), in 1999, which received mass critical acclaim and peaked at #7 on the Billboard reggae album charts; 2001’s Many More Roads (Fractal Ent/Reggae Vibes) which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album; and Radio (Vox), from 2007, which has more of a hip hop feel than his previous albums and reached #1 on the Billboard reggae album charts.
Ky-Mani has also collaborated with R&B and reggae songstresses (Mya, Marcia Griffiths, Tessanne Chin), dancehall giants (Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Mr. Vegas, Alborosie) and hip hop talents (Young Buck, Afu-Ra, Ms. Dynamite).
In 2007, Ky-Mani was the opening act for Van Halen’s North American Tour. He’s also headlined clubs and performed on festivals around the world, from The Netherlands and Hungary to Brazil and Mexico to Cape Verde and Kenya.
He has starred in several films, including: Shottas with Paul Campbell, Spragga Benz and Wyclef Jean in 2002 (about organized crime in Kingston and Miami); One Love with singer Cherine Anderson in 2003 (a love story about a Rasta musician who meets a gospel singer when they both enter a music contest in Kingston); and as singer John the Baptist in 2004’s Haven , starring Bill Paxton and Orlando Bloom (a love story-cum-underworld revenge drama set on a exotic island).
His television credits include: Living the Life of Marley on BET J; NBC/Telemundo’s The Shuffle; FOX Business’s Happy Hour with Cody Willard and Rebecca Gomez; plus Music Choice, MTV Jams and VH1 Soul, to name a few.
Ky-Mani’s autobiography, Dear Dad, was released on February 6, 2010, what would have been Bob Marley’s 65 birthday. Dear Dad, which is distributed in five languages, was written with the assistance Dr. Farrah Gray, the influential African-American empowerment guru. Ky-Mani and Dr. Gray are currently on a 27-city book tour, both domestic and international.
With a new energy and revitalized spirit, the future is promising for Ky-Mani. In 2009, he started the charitable Love Over All Foundation which caters to empowering and educating the youth. LOAF also focuses on restoring values, rebuilding schools and supplying the basic necessities for the classrooms as well as the community in his hometown of Falmouth, Jamaica.
Ky-Mani is starting a clothing line, Konfrontation, ready to take on his next acting challenges, and in the midst of recording material for his upcoming album, titled Evolution of a Revolution. This album should continue to highlight the myriad of his influences and prove to be a blend of genres that will touch the inner-soul of each listener.
www.kymani-marley.com
www.myspace.com/kymanimarley
www.facebook.com/kymanimarley
http://twitter.com/MaestroMarley
www.loveoverall.org
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Approaches and practices that seek to promote or contribute positively to environmental well-being, economical welfare, and ecological impact create a green industry, and spans the length and breath of every sector and segment of industrialization.
A green business’ primary focus is on products, services, or messages that redress some ill effect on the environment and planet dwellers. Green companies tend to hail themselves as the answer to human-caused effects on nature and often claim a mission to stave off climatic impacts with the hope of a return to nature and environmental bliss.
Careers at the forefront of greendustrialization are the fixiters. This segment employs workers in their existing careers to use a simple mechanism or change in practice to reduce environmental impact. A popular fixiter segment like weatherization has given a handyman a shot at a new career – a green builder.
Second-rung careers in greendustrialization require retraining. Certificate courses at a trade college, community workshops, or apprenticeship programs allow many workers to beef up their skills in similar and existing careers. A gardener is now a landscape artist, or a trendier job title, a greenscape artist. A roofer, an electrician, or a construction worker can take in-shop training to install solar panels for both commercial and residential buildings. A mechanic can brush up on hybrid and electric vehicles and become an expert in repairing energy-efficient cars.
Up the ladder in green career options, almost anyone can take the LEED exam to become a certified green building consultant. Many building contractors are adding LEED AP on their business cards and car magnets.
Science, innovation, and technology take us to infinity for careers in greendustrialization. Nano tech and micro science play a large role in improving products and services to maximize positive impacts on the environment. The energy sector leads in this area with development of solar, wind, thermal and other renewable energy sources. Experts in these fields have spent the last half century blowing up many labs to bring us solar generating cells in the form of a fabric dye – your jacket could be generating enough energy to power your iPhone and electric razor.
Understanding the green industry and the career opportunities that exist helps us navigate through the nebulous representations of the past. Similar to our outlook on safety, environmental consciousness first affects attitudes or how people care for their surroundings and the world in general, rather than individualism and instant gratification. A responsible attitude involves principles that create a more harmonious relationship with actions and things acted upon.
For example, we operate factories, plants, and warehouses to certain safety standards to prevent injuries and loss, even though setting safety precautions and procedures aside, the job could have been completed quicker and with a lower cost. Yet we make the conscious effort to put safety first. As well, we purchase cars, equipment, appliances, and mechanical items largely based on a fair safety record. So it is with the green paradigm, in that, we make choices that dramatically reduce negative effects on the environment, and if possible, eliminate such, regardless of the upfront cost – in the long run, the savings go beyond dollars and cents.
Outside of traditional sectors like health and energy, every economical sector is graduating towards sharing that sense of safety with environmental impact – giving rise to a bright and booming greendustrialization. Hedging to reverse the trend of our activities toward more environmental friendly actions.
Employers and businesses teeter on the direction of the green economy. Each business must take into account to what extent it will adopt environmental responsiveness. Already, corporations are rebranding themselves as green businesses – to compete with a fresh crop of innovators, called green companies.
Careers in every field now call for green people; frequently we see listings for environmental, health and safety (EH&S) specialists, sustainability directors, or renewable managers. These job titles are new to the 2000s – contrary to the usual practice of seeking candidates with a 10- or 15-year track record. Some companies are finding out that prime applicants matching such job descriptions come with CEO price tags, plus a headhunter premium.
Twenty years from now, every job assignment would then require some attention to environmental awareness next to multi-tasking, good communication skills, or ability to lift up to 20lbs – commonly in job descriptions today. In essence, a green job is any assignment that benefits the environment, seeks to reduce costs or one that stems from a belief that what you are doing is helping someone else care for the environment – like my job, I believe. |
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 Interview w/ Jim Green, Kettle Brand
Its coming. This whole sustainability and energy-efficiency thing is coming. There is no stopping it.
Sustainability. A gigantic term in our vernacular today. Some say… it is so hard to do, it is so expensive, it won’t work for my business, I wouldn’t know where to start. Really?
To find an open mind and a little get ’er donetuitiveness, I took a trip up to Salem, sprawled over Oregon’s fine countryside. I found a small company that had baked up a grand appetite for sustainability. A look at potato chips through the lens of natural foods – weird combination.
Kettle Foods started off with nut butters back in 1978. Jim Green, community affairs manager and official potato historian (and I didn’t make that up, it’s Jim’s real corporate title), discussed Kettle’s healthy habits in its snack making process as well as its corporate responsibility. (A last name like Green poses a minor challenge for a story on green businesses, so I hope Mr. Green excuses me for referring to him as Jim here on out.)
Talking with Jim I got an inkling that green was not just a corporate value, I got a sense of his personal stewardship over the very space in which he operates. He began working at the company in 1980. “My first job was loading up orders, I used to drive the forklifts. There were just four of us so everybody did a bit of everything. You know,” Jim said.
According to Jim, Kettle Foods began as a “little natural food company.” Natural was a completely worthless term those days, so how did people do natural before the natural food industry and organic standards were developed? Jim commented that Kettle Foods “had come up with [their] own version of natural foods” that they called “minimally processed.”
Although chips had been sort of a staple of the American diet for over 150 years, there was no real claim to a natural or organic brand. In 1982, Kettle Foods went from nuts to chips when customers ripped opened their first bag of Kettle potato chips.
Jim noted that Kettle Food’s ”chips were a throwback to the way potato chips were first made. Mind you, we don’t think you should eat Kettle chips at every meal of every day, but if you’re going to eat chips, eat good chips.”
On March 31, 2010, Diamond Foods announced acquisition of the krinkle-cutter for a price tag of $615 million. But really, was it just the jalapeño crunch appeal that lured Diamond to Kettle’s kitchen?
“We buy potatoes from this fabulous potato region, Oregon and Washington areas. At the same time, not all our potatoes are organically grown,” Jim admitted. “But in 1989, we launched a line of organic chips – made only from certified organically grown potatoes and organic ingredients.”
The crunch-making process starts with thousands of pounds of freshly earthed potatoes delivered at the back door of the giant kitchen, where an inspector samples the batch for density and quality.
The spuds get a quick and rigorous washing before they are sorted and sliced to specs. I examine the perfected thinness of the slices. Some potatoes and some slices miss their ultimate destiny, and some get there in a round about way – like the raw slice I devoured. It tasted like a potato.
We followed the conveyor to the fryers. The only thing you can hear at this point is the sizzling of potatoes in long deep frying pans. You would expect to see a lot of oil in here, and there was, non-hydrogenated vegetable oil, that is. The kitchen is on a 24-hour clock, using hundreds of gallons of oil per day.
Kettle reports that every gallon of its used vegetable oil is converted to one gallon of biodiesel at nearby Salem processing plant – gallon for gallon – an estimate of 3,200 gallons each month. In turn, the same biodiesel drives the company’s fleet of Volks Wagon Beetles – a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.
A kitchen of this magnitude takes a lot of energy to keep it frying 24-7. And since 2003, Kettle has been generating and using more than 120,000 kWh of electricity per year from its rooftop solar system at its Salem plant. The solar system was the idea of a bold and insightful plant engineer. Illustrating the company keenness to input from its workforce.
The system, in 2003, was valued at $650,000 off the shelf, but only cost Kettle $60,000 with incentives from Oregon’s Energy Trust and Federal government, plus rebates from Pacific Gas & Electric, and after seven years depreciation combined.
The company estimates that the solar energy it generates onsite accounts for cooking up 250,000 bags of chips per year. “When we penciled it out it was no brainer for us to go solar,” Jim said.
Up to date, at its 2007 Gold LEED® certified factory in Beloit, Wis., Kettle gets about 20 percent of its energy from the 18 wind turbines onsite. In total, Kettle reports that it purchases renewable energy credits to offset 100 percent of the electricity it uses from the grid.
According to Jim, Kettle is “trying to do things with the planet in mind as much as possible.” One way the company is improving is on the energy-efficiency side by switching to variable speed motors. At the Salem plant, we followed the conveyor, powered by those motors, to the fryers and ovens.
In this kitchen, the garden rake is king. At the helm, a Raker stirs and stirs and stirs the dancing chips in the hot oil baths – the most important and dangerous job in the kitchen, I would guess. And keeping the potato slices moving as they fry is one of Kettle’s secrets to keeping the chips crunchy for a long time.
The crispy fried chips cool off as they make their way to the seasoning station. Jim pointed out that Kettle chips contain zero Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), an artificial form of free glutamic acids that the body identifies as neurotransmitters - such enzymes deceive the brain the ears, eyes, nervous system and other organs.
Jim stated that in maintaining nutritional value, Kettle omits any artificial flavors or artificial colors from its fried and baked chips: “Not only does this potato chip taste good, it appeals to those who do and those who don’t care about ingredients alike. It sells in natural food stores and it sells in supermarkets. That’s what made this company successful.”
Another strength for the now Kettle Brand is its commitment to the ecosystem and the land on which it resides. Kettle improved the natural vegetation of the area by planting five acres of self-sufficient endemic Tall grass Prairie around its factory in Beloit.
At the Salem plant, my photographer and I pose for a few shots as we peruse the 2-acre marshland, which drains into the nearby creek rolling along the wetland reserve. Geese roam under the thicket of scrubs.
And a fallen tree, once home to birds of the air, now is the perfect habitat for bugs and worms milking its petrifying rich wetness. Ground creatures nestle their eggs and their young under Oregon natives like Aster, Red Alder and Sword Fern.
“Sustainability has just been a part of the company for so long, it is like an unwritten rule,” Jim said resolutely. Not everyone is like the potato historian, green in name and by nature, but at Kettle Foods there is a level of pride about the outdoor paradise. The neat thing is that the wetland solution wasn’t corporate driven; it is the handiwork of Kettle employees.
“Sometimes I sit at my desk staring at that tiny computer screen all day long,” Jim said, and “often times I get up and go out to fill the bird feeders and look at some birds for a while.” |
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 Interview w/ Ann Margaret Kline
A jacket made from bamboo, tobacco or potato will biodegrade to once again become part of its natural ecosystem.
When you are done wearing your fleece (polyester/plastic) jacket, you toss it in the trash. Those plastics pollute our planet and take millions of years to break down.
The yarn business for apparel, industrial, automotive, and furniture has a long history of using raw materials based primarily on petroleum products. Petroleum is used to make plastics from which polyester, polyolefin, and PVC are produced.
I have two beautiful girls, they mean everything to me, and they inspire me. At age 4, my oldest daughter started asking me why we used plastic bags, and what happened when we threw them away. She didn’t just ask once, it was over and over. Her questions got me thinking.
At the time I was working for a nationwide textile mill. It was my job to meet with yarn makers and suppliers and come up with new ideas for our fabric collections. All the suppliers had the same stuff – plastic. I kept asking myself, is there anything but plastic, recycled plastic, and all this petroleum yarn? Then one day a friend of mine called and asked if I knew anything about bamboo? I started researching it. It was that light bulb moment: why not look at other sources that actually biodegrade?
In 2003, after my second daughter was born, right from my kitchen table I began to research and developed a biodegradable yarn. My company, Intuittex, creates the protocols for yarn from plants by taking cellulose and spinning it into yarn.
The solution is simple. We take leftovers from French fries, or tobacco, or veneers instead of throwing it away. We use this plant material to make fabrics for clothes, cars, furniture, drapery, industrial uses, and buildings. At Intuittex, we are making things that make sense to the environment for the long term.
Our patent-pending biodegradable textiles are as viable as the commercial petroleum based yarns. It passes all the rigorous industry tests for strength, abrasion and wear. The most amazing part is that Intuittex fabrics look beautiful and sophisticated.
We have an incredible team of people and one of my dearest friends pushing me to keep Intuittex going. We are what you would call a ‘mom and pop’ shop, or maybe even ‘mom and daughter shop.’ For the moment, we have a limited production in South Carolina. But we are growing as more people start to demand better products with zero impact on the environment.
At Intuittex we want to change what you are wearing, sitting on, admiring as stunning, functional, durable, and sustainable. |
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 Research by/ Linda Gheredi, Intern, Glendale Community College
The trick to a balanced diet is to eat a wide array of fruits and vegetables. Colors of natural unrefined food are key to a clean bill of health.
According to Harvard School of Public Health, one should "go for a variety of kinds and colors of produce, to give your body the mix of nutrients it needs. Best bets? Dark leafy greens, cooked tomatoes, and anything that's a rich yellow, orange, or red color."
RED:
Reduce risk of cancer, lower blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, and help control tumor growth, helps with arthritis.
Radishes - rich in vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium.
ORANGE & YELLOW:
Contains carotenoids. Beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A, which maintains healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Help reduce risk of cancer, heart disease and can boost immune system.
GREEN:
Natural occurring phytochemicals and chlorophyll, contain fiber, calcium, folate, vitamin C, zeaxanthin, also a B vitamin that helps reduce risk of birth defects.
Artichokes can lower bad cholesterol.
Broccoli can lower bad cholesterol, is rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A, selenium; promotes high immunity, prevention of heart disease.
BLUE & PURPLE:
Contains anthocyanins, lutein which protects eyes from oxidative stress, promote proper digestion, and mineral absorption.
Dark berries are a good source of antioxidant characteristics.
Dark grapes provide phytochemicals that promote great health and reduce inflammation.
WHITE:
Anthoxanthins and allicin, which may help lower blood pressure and may help reduce risk of stomach cancer.
Bananas & potatoes: good sources of potassium.
Turnips: high in vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, calcium.
Water-wise: drinking about 50% of one's body weight, in ounces, throughout the day is an adequate intake of fluids.
Fit-For-Life: physical activity helps food digestion and replenishes your body with essential nutrients for health and comfort. |
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 Interview w/ Edward Kjaer, Director, Electric Transportation, Southern California Edison
For much of this century crude oil refineries have had the advantage in the transportation sector, and very well may remain for much of our future. But today, as every major automaker gets on the fast track to mass-produce the electric vehicle (EV) and the plug-in hybrid (PHEV), electricity providers may very soon surpass barrels oil with kilowatts of electricity.
Among automakers, oil producers and power suppliers, hybridization has emerged as the happy medium of the day – leaving the electric car in the dust, but not for long.
Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the largest power suppliers in the state, is already preparing for the demand. “Most unique is that we have had a sustained electric vehicle program for well over 20 years,” said Edward Kjaer, director of electric transportation at SCE, “and with 290 clean cars, we have the nation’s largest fleet of electric and hybrid plug-in vehicles.”
“To get your home ready for a new electric vehicle, determine if the vehicle you intend to purchase will require an upgrade to your home’s electrical panel and wiring. Equipment requirements vary from car to car, the service levels vary from house to house, and standards vary from city to city,” said Steven Powell, Manager, SCE Plug-in Electric Vehicle Readiness.
According to Kjaer, SCE has been ahead of its competitors with its Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, California, which has been in operation since 1993. The company began deploying EVs in 1998 by leasing a fleet of Toyota RAV4 small electric sports utility vehicles. But in 2003 SCE nearly lost its entire plugin fleet.
In the most humiliating retreat to the past, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) postponed its mandate for zero-emission cars in California, giving way to resistance from big automakers, namely General Motors, Honda and Toyota.
The result of CARB’s action, or inaction in this case, had terrible consequences for electric car drivers and supporters. GM for example, decided to pull the plug on its EV1 cars in 2003 – which consequently became the subject of the 2006 award-winning documentary ”Who Killed the Electric Car?" Central to the movie is the challenges and views of EV1 drivers and their unsuccessful appeal to save the cars from the crusher.
Automakers ignore strong consumer demand for electric cars in the marketplace. Instead, automakers refused to listen and claimed the cars were not fit for the road. On the defense, the EV1 drivers testified that the EV1 and the RAV-4 were in fact roadworthy in terms of safety, battery capacity, reliability and style.
GM still crushed all its EV1s. The RAV-4 and other electric vehicles would have suffered the same fate had Plug In America not step in. This influential group launched a massive campaign, Don't Crush.com, to stop Toyota from crushing the vehichles.
The RAV-4 made up the larger portion of SCE’s fleet that helped the company to comply with the state requirements that a percentage of a utility provider’s vehicles be powered by alternative fuels.
Kjaer stated, “We had a dialogue with Toyota. We came to an agreement that SCE would continue its lease of the RAV4 until the vehicles came to the end of their useful life, at which time we would return the cars to Toyota. It just made sense.”
With a $33 billion dollar portfolio and serving 14 million people and businesses, SCE is on the hook to reinforce its aging infrastructure to provide reliable services not just for the projected demand from the growing population, but also for the anticipated increase from electric-driven cars connecting to the grid.
Powell said, "we’ve studied and are preparing for the impact on our power systems and we’re putting plans in place to ensure we are ready when the new electric cars show up in greater numbers starting at the end of this year." |
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 Interview w/ Linda Nicholes, Co-founder and Board Member, Plug In America
As a kid growing up in Idaho on my grandfather's ranch, I always understood the value of open space, beautiful vistas and clean air. But I didn't get really "charged up" about electric vehicles (EVs) until a friend let me drive her electric EV1 for a week back in 2001.
Immediately, I was hooked by the silent, powerful ride and realized that an electric car would be a great complement to the photovoltaic solar array already on the roof of our home in Orange County. The idea of capturing sunshine to power not just my house, but my car too was exciting to me.
It wasn't long before my husband and I were able to fleet-lease a 2001 Toyota RAV4 EV through his business. The sense of personal power I experienced by avoiding the gas station was incredibly liberating. We were so enraptured by our RAV4 that we decided to purchase one of the first 100 Tesla Roadster sports cars.
You might imagine that an electric car is only going to take you around the block a couple of times. Wrong. I can drive the Roadster 240 miles on a single charge – never stopping for fuel. There is nothing staid or boring about the instant, effortless torque of the Roadster's electric motor or the car's sleek design. Nothing compares to the shrill of going from zero to 60 in 3.7 to 3.9 second pulse-raising G-force acceleration – your opinion of the power and the promise of electric drive changes forever.
My current environmental efforts involve Plug In America (PIA) non-profit organization. In 2005 a grass-roots gathering of actual and hopeful electric vehicle drivers banded in an attempt to halt the destruction of thousands of production electric vehicles -- as portrayed in the film documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?
Although it was unfortunate that PIA was unsuccessful in saving GM's all-electric EV1, our activism saved hundreds of Toyota and Ford EVs many of which are on the road today. Metaphorically, Plug In America has zoomed from zero to 60 in record time, growing from a grassroots citizen group to a game-changing organization with 27,000 supporters.
As a representative of PIA, I drive my Roadster to local schools in Southern California to discuss EVs and ways we can reduce pollution. The students are always engaged, fascinated and excited. In one fleeting glance their view of an electric car moves from old duffers in golf carts to the racetrack. My Tesla roadster is Exhibit A to the potential of electric cars yet to be designed and yet to be manufactured.
Not everyone is able to power their homes and cars by generating their own solar energy. However, electric cars, like those parked in my garage are highly efficient. Approximately 75 percent of the battery’s energy is dedicated to moving the all-electric vehicle. By contrast only about 18 to 32 percent of total energy produced by the internal combustion engine actually moves the car. Energy is lost to heat, friction and the vibration of hundreds of moving parts that are involved in the combustion process.
We produce less than 40 percent of the crude oil used in the United States. According the U.S. Energy Information Administration, America consumes 101.554 quadrillion Btu, about 21% of the total crude oil produced in the world. On a daily basis, we import nearly 10 million barrels of oil, based on March 2010 daily averages.
As oil from below the ocean floor continues to gush out in the Gulf of Mexico, it's clear that America needs to reconsider and rethink its transportation fuel choices. In our quest for oil, we also inadvertently despoil indigenous land, destroy beautiful vistas, wipe out important fishing and tourism industries and marine ecosystems.
It's time to claim a personal victory here: I celebrate the fact that I reduced my impact on the environment by eliminating over 19 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon of gasoline. Driving electric cars, I get to skip the oil change, tune-up, smog check, fluids check, muffler change, carburetor adjustment and other required maintenance rituals associated with gasoline vehicles. Time-consuming trips to the gas station have no part in my weekly routine. |
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 Interview w/ Marcus Hays, founder, PiMobility
The electric bicycle is the school by which we can promulgate an alternative to the automobile. And the electric bicycle is an exponential reduction strategy for carbon emissions.
What solution could I come up with for the host of issues specific to a battery powered bike? Where to store the pack? How to cool the battery? And how to design system as a singular tool, which could be produced in relatively high volume?
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The recipe calls for 90 percent heat efficiency, 40 percent reduced energy consumption, 10 percent water preserved, and 50 percent shaved off cooking time. Induction, the most energy-efficient and cost-effective method of cooking is the heart’s desire of every home.
Aided by an electrical charge, a series of coils generate a magnetic frequency beneath the stovetop, causing a warming reaction in steel-based or iron-based pots and pans. Heat is induced and transmitted at the contact point of the cookware. Using a close to precision incineration process, as the pot heats up, the surface around it remains unheated – drastically reducing wasted heat beyond the diameter of the pot. In essence, the pot is the medium of cooking, not the stovetop – heating at-contact on contact.
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Interviewed by Charlene Brown