Green Nevada

Solve Climate

2008-09-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a good website on climate and policy related issues, check out Solve Climate. I've been following this site for a few months now since I found it on Twitter. Good stuff here.

Check out this interactive world map of current fuel prices

2008-08-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Cruel Fuel World

Lake Tahoe gets another $54 million

2008-08-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

Aquafornia.com

Looks like the Fed has authorized another $54 million for restoration and conservation projects at the beautiful Lake Tahoe: RGJ

Read about the potential of Lake Tahoe turning green here: Aquafornia blog

"Hyper-milling" tips to "max your mpg" from the Sierra Club

2008-08-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Travel light
An extra 100 pounds of cargo can reduce your mpg by up to 2 percent. Remove that surf rack when the waves are flat, and take the rock collection out of your trunk.

Face out
Back into parking spaces. Cold engines use more fuel, so three-point maneuvering is more efficient at the end of a trip.

Use cruise control
Pressing the accel button lets you speed up in smaller increments (and burn less gas) than even a feather-weight foot on the pedal.

Brake (very) gently
Skilled hypermilers coast to a crawl with hardly a touch on the brakes to avoid wasting an ounce of fuel at traffic lights.

More here: Sierra Club Blog

Al Gore: The Challenge to Repower America

2008-08-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Bee decline continues to "catastrophic" levels

2008-04-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Haagen Dazs: Help the Honey Bees
This sad news from Scotland:

Tony Riome, vice president of Ayr and District Beekeepers Association, said it had been estimated every third mouthful of food consumed could be linked to pollination by bees.

He said: "If there are no bees there will be no steak.

"A lot of pollination is wind blown, but bees play a very large part in pollinating the plants that animals eat."

Bumblebees along with wild and managed honey bees are suffering following a poor summer last year.

Honey bees have also fallen prey to varroa mite.

The parasites leave bee larvae deformed and can spread a condition called Israeli Paralysis Virus.

These attacks in turn have been suspected as the cause of Mary Celeste Syndrome, named after a ship discovered deserted in 1872. BBC News

We have over 60 hives here in Nevada. Last week my husband took some new queens over to his hives in Yerington and he was concerned that he might find colony collapse there. Thankfully, upon arrival, he was greeted by hundreds of busy bees crawling all over the outside of their hives as if in anticipation of their queens.

What's your footprint?

2007-11-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

by cameron m smith

Take the ecological footprint quiz. Find out about yourself and your space on the Earth!

Reno green site

2007-11-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

One of the local weeklies that I love to read is the Reno News and Review. For those of us with a green conscious streak, they have a Green Guide for locals. Check it out!

Our Breathing Earth

2007-11-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

I just "stumbled upon" this fascinating site called Breathing Earth.

From the site:
"This presentation displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world --as well as their birth and death rates --all in real time."

Share this site with those you love.

Let me introduce you to Listed Green Homes! A green MLS hosted in southern Nevada!

2007-10-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

I want to share with you a new green website that specializes in "green" multiple listings for homes located all over the place. From their website:

Listed Green Homes - the MLS for Green, Sustainable, Energy Efficient Homes and Developments Worldwide.

The way we currently build and maintain our homes is one of the contributing factors to global warming.

Listed Green Homes is committed to being part of the solution to reduce global warming by promoting sustainable, energy efficient, healthy building design - in addition to elevating the market value of green homes and residential developments worldwide.
"Spread the word - watch us grow"

It's great to see businesses like this in Nevada!

Listed Green is 100% hosted by solar power!

Must see Leonardo DiCaprio movie: The 11th Hour

2007-09-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

Leonardo DiCaprio Eco Site

I've always loved this guy. What a legacy of hope he is giving to this generation and future generations of this planet.

Hit me with your best shot!

2007-09-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

I apologize now for neglecting this site. It's been a long summer for me with family issues and job changes hitting me from all sides. So, hit me with your best shot if you must! I'm going to make an effort to reenergize myself and get back to green blogging in Nevada.

I just came across a great website focused on making our impact on the planet lower: Low Impact Living.

On the site you can calculate your impact and end up with easy measures to improve the ecology of your home and life. From the site:

Most calculators just analyze one element of your environmental impact – for example the amount of greenhouse gases you produce (your “carbon footprint”), or the amount of energy you consume.

Our calculators assess your full range of environmental impacts – water use, waste generated, carbon emissions, etc. And we go a step further: we tell you what you can do to lower your impacts. We give you a list of recommended projects to undertake, tell you how much they will cost and explain how they will benefit the environment. We show you the steps needed to turn your house into a green home.

Running worldwide for water

2007-06-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

You can follow the June 1 to September run of 20 runners who will cover 20 countries to raise awareness about the need for clean drinking water worldwide. From the website Blue Planet Run:

The Blue Planet Run will cover 15,200 miles, across 16 countries and 4 continents, 24 hours a day for 95 days to deliver an extremely urgent and important message: we can and must begin today to alleviate the catastrophic burden placed on over a billion people who, every day, must drink unsafe local water, or travel long distances on foot to search for safe water for themselves and their families.

Starting in New York City on June 1, 2007, a team of "20 ordinary male and female athletes doing extraordinary things" will run around the clock along a route that includes the U.S., Ireland, the U.K., France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, China, Japan and Canada. Each runner will sprint 10 miles a day. Batons will be passed at over 1,500 exchange points. The Run will end back in New York City, on September 4, 2007. Each exchange point and heartfelt moment will be captured in the media, fueled by well-organized events in major cities and an international PR campaign.

The event will spare no expense to be Earth- and people -friendly. We imagine an event that comes to be known as "The Race without a Trace." We are committed to partnering with corporations that have similar beliefs and goals.

We run like water. We run FOR water.

We run to bring news to every person in every town we pass through—urgent news of a crisis that affects one in five of all of us on this earth.

We run to remember the sons and daughters, the mothers and fathers, the 6,000 human beings who die every day because they lack safe drinking water.

We run because time - and water, essential to our existence - is running out for all of us.

We run to tell a story that begins with suffering but ends with hope.

We run to include you in the story. You are the solution. Commitment is our only obstacle.

We run to tell a story that ends like this: twenty years from now we will have joined together to bring water – to bring life – to 200 million people around the world.

We run because, in the words of the Iroquois thanksgiving prayer printed on the baton we carry with us: "Water is life."

"We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms - waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water.

Now our minds are one."

Clark County to get cleaner air thanks to Nevada Power lawsuit settlement

2007-06-13T16:05:00.001-07:00

It's funny how we have to fight to breathe over for-profit companies and their greed.

U.S. Announces $60.7 Million Clean Air Act Settlement With Nevada Power

WASHINGTON, June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department
of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
today announced a $60.7 million Clean Air Act settlement
with Nevada Power Company that will improve air quality in
the Clark County/Las Vegas, Nev. area by requiring the company
to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a harmful air
pollutant, from its Clark Generating Station by about 2,300
tons annually.
The settlement resolves the federal government's claims
that Nevada Power violated the New Source Review (NSR) provisions
of the Clean Air Act at its Clark Generating Station by
undertaking modifications of combustion turbines and increasing
emissions of NOx without installing the required air pollution controls. MORE

Nevada Solar One

2007-06-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

This giant project will be online this summer outside of Las Vegas!

Take a quick peek at this website: Earth Calendar

2007-06-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

Earth Calendar

15,000 homes to be powered by Nevada Solar One

2007-06-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

This is big news. Hopefully Nevada will see more projects like this one. Tree Hugger Blog

American Drought 2007

2007-06-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

The impending drought conditions in America this year made headlines in the UK today:

"The Sierra Nevada range, which straddles the two states, received only 27 per cent of its usual snowfall in winter, with immediate knock-on effects on water supplies for the populations of Las Vegas and Los Angeles." The Independent

Los Angelans were told at the end of last week to make a 10% reduction to their water consumption. laist So now we know why Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority was so elated in April when they "rejiggered the way Colorado Riverwater is divvied up among Nevada and the six other western states that share the lifeline." USNews So far, no cries for water conservation from Las Vegas following this latest drought report.

You can keep track of the drought conditions in America at the US Drought Monitor website.

Sundance Channel's "The Green" has a great website

2007-06-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

You can check it all out HERE and even download episodes to your mpg player to listen to when you have time.

Nevadans, here are "10 easy ways to go green"

2007-06-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Check this great list of easy suggestions out over at Lighter Footstep.

When you are finished reading this list then jump over to Zero Footprint's Carbon Calculator and find out what your carbon footprint is and use it to make green friendly decisions.

AND ...if you are ready to take more than just baby steps at going green, jump over to the "how to go green" guides at TreeHugger

Check out Al Gore's "green" home in Nashville

2007-06-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

You can view Al Gore's home at the Tennessee Guerilla Women's blog.

There's also a great commentary on how the whackjobs tried to smear him with this home. Be sure to check it out.

Get Air Quality reports sent to you

2007-06-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon this great SMS service from Ergo. It's specific to urban type locations but should be useful if you live and/or work near an urban location. Check it out! ERGO

Speaking of refrigerators, calculate the energy efficiency of your refrigerating unit

2007-06-08T22:23:00.000-07:00

Source: Collaborative Labeling and Standards Program (CLASP) and
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Standards Information System (APEC ESIS)

This could save you some money in energy bills and bless the environment with the help of Energy Star. PR NewsWire

Will Farrell as Bush on Global Warming

2007-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Nevada/Sierra Power will pick up your old refrigerator

2007-06-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Great idea and make $30 in the process! Nevada Power

Nevada Recycles

2007-06-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Don't forget the importance of recycling to the environment and our lives. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has a great site up call Nevada Recycles that has all kinds of helpful recycling links including where to take your recycling in each county. Check it out!

NV Governor establishes Renewable Energy Transmission Access Advisory Board

2007-06-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

Good move. Renewable Energy Access

Nevada makes changes to energy conservation law

2007-06-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

From the article:

One of the amendments, from Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, proposed dropping the exemptions and forcing all companies to adhere to the new, tighter rules. Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, pushed an amendment that would have dropped the maximum property tax break to 20 percent. Instead, lawmakers voted to support a version pushed by Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, that will set three tiers of property tax break ranging up to 35 percent.
Nevada Appeal<

WSJ: Global Debate Heating Up

2007-06-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Great stuff to read in preparation for the upcoming G-8 conference. WSJ

Jump over to Apartment Therapy and read about Sundance's "The Green"

2007-04-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

Apt Therapy

They've got a mini review of a book I read a few years ago that was given to me by a dear friend at UNR called "Cradle to Cradle." If you haven't read it yet, it's still timely. Cradle to Cradle

Nevada Legislators cry about green upgrades

2007-04-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting predicament to be in that obviously needs more information:

Nevada lawmakers were told Thursday the state's capital improvements will cost millions more in the coming years because of continued high inflation in the construction industry and costs related to making buildings more energy-and water-efficient.

Gus Nunez, deputy manager of the state Public Works Board, outlined $300 million worth of capital improvements, about a third of projects planned by the state, to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Nunez said the costs reflect projected inflation for construction materials and increased costs of meeting the U.S. Green Building Council's rating system, called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. In 2005, the Legislature required all new state buildings to be built to LEED requirements. NVAppeal

The LEEDs green buidling design standards are supposed to improve energy costs over the long run. LEEDS

Over at Wikipedia, the following is stated:
LEED is a leading guide for green building in the United States and it is developed and continuously modified by experienced professionals in the green building industry to best meet its goals. Some criticism suggests that while the LEED rating system is sensitive to local environmental conditions, its checklist system does not vary by the local environmental conditions enough (for instance, a building in Maine would receive the same credit as a building in Arizona for water conservation, though the principle is more important in the latter case). Another complaint is that its certification costs require money that could be used to make the building in question even more sustainable. On the other hand, costs of registration and certification vary according to the size of the project in such a way that they are always a minimal financial commitment relative to the entire project costs. WIKI: LEEDS
No one ever said it wasn't going to hurt to bite the bullet on green energy or green building standards. The Nevada legislature shouldn't give up on this yet.

Dina Titus: SB 422 passes to make Nevada's first step in climate control

2007-04-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

From Dina Titus:
Nevada can join its neighbors in this anti-global warming effort with the passage of SB 422. Specifically, my bill requires the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection to develop a statewide greenhouse gas inventory that will identify and evaluate the sources, types, and amounts of greenhouse gases released in the State. It also establishes requirements for participation in a verifiable greenhouse gas registry and mandates annual reporting of all greenhouse gases emitted from certain sources, beginning with power plants.
Dina Titus Blog

Sparks company pleads guilty for 2003 pollution to Truckee sewer treatment facility

2007-04-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, people get caught. This company, no longer operating, just got a $30,000. penalty for violating the Clean Water Act.

PR Link

Pelosi on recent report: "Global warming is already underway"

2007-04-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

"The new scientific report on global warming warns
that global warming is already affecting the earth
and that the effects are likely to be significant and
widespread in this century, causing increased drought,
drinking water shortages, and widespread extinction
of species. Poor people around the world are especially
vulnerable to the hazards of climate change.
"Global warming is already underway, but it is not
too late to slow it down and reduce its harmful effects.
We must base our actions on the moral imperative and
the scientific record, free of political interference in
scientists' assessments of the effects of climate change
on society and the environment.

Story

A summary of the report can be read at this link: IPCC website

Jump over the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change website: IPCC website

Welcome to this Green Nevada blog!

2007-04-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

I will be covering green energy and lots of other issues related to the environment in this great state and the planet. Join in and let me know if you have any suggestions to add to the content here.