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Wind power

Australia’s looking up: a report recently showed how Australia could power itself with 100% solar and wind energy by 2020 using technology that is commercially available right now.

However, the federal government reached a deal to keep its renewable energy target at only 20% by 2020, while raising more near-term targets.

In any case, Beyond Zero Emissions — an Australian independent, not-for-profit NGO — released the report, “Zero Carbon Australia,” which contains a detailed explanation of how powering the country completely with renewable energy could be achieved in merely a decade. Beyond Zero Australia was founded in 2006 to help facilitate a quick transition to a zero carbon future.

“Zero Carbon Australia” says 40% of power can be generated with the use of wind and the rest from solar thermal installations (speaking of which, Denmark intends to source 50% of its power from wind by 2025). The report proposes managing variability in renewable power by using molten salt thermal storage (molten salt can store heat so that it can be retained for use for electricity during bad weather or at nighttime, when solar rays are not available).

First public solar phone in Australia

The plan estimates that energy use will jump by 40% (!) up from 228 terawatt-hours/year in the present to 325 terawatt-hours/year in 2020. This will cost some USD 32.3 billion per year, by the way — but the authors find this manageable:

“The required investment of [AUD] 37 billion/year is the equivalent of 3% of GDP. The extra money spent versus Business-As-Usual to 2020 is the equivalent of $3.40 per person per day, the cost of a cup of coffee.”

Hey, that’s nothing [for most people in Australia, I assume and hope]. It’s fantastic.

The concept’s technical feasibility now needs just one bit of help:

“What is required to make this happen is leadership from policymakers and society, with firm decisions made quickly that will allow this transition to occur.”

Naturally.

So if you’re heading to Australia anytime in the next 10 years (or if you live there!), remember to support hotels and establishments that are pushing for increased renewable energy throughout the country. Stay at eco hotels, buy locally grown food, etcetera. We have the power to change the world!

You can help Beyond Zero Emissions if you wish by making a donation here.

Could it be? A truly eco-friendly jungle haven for those who can afford it you can live in without ruining the local ecosystem? Holy cow.

Selva de Aluxes is 300 acres between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Currently in the works, lots are going at pre-sale prices. These lots are meant to have houses built on them.

And (do you hear the music?) they claim that officials are respecting “eco-friendly restrictions as a way of preserving the environment and natural habitat.” For fresh water, they are drilling into the earth to install a well, which is a lot better than trucking fresh water in every day like other establishments (even “eco” ones) do. Right on the homepage, it reads:

“We are dedicated to preserving the ecosystem with infrastructure standards that include the use of windmill turbines, solar panels, air generators and a host of other environmentally friendly techniques.”

There will be a community center with art shows and live music—ahem, noise and light pollution! (Remember their effects on the endangered sea turtles, anyone?) Well, its impact on the ecosystem would depend on location, noise level, and other factors. I’m still skeptical. And you know why you should be too? Because there will be a landing strip for small aircrafts. Really, it’s right on the homepage.

Sounds like these people have good intentions but they’re not very smart. Or they really don’t care about preserving the tranquility of nature for the benefit of the local ecosystem—and they’re bad at hiding it.

Apart from that, there aren’t many details yet. The wind and solar energy factor is comforting, however. And the drilling of the well instead of bringing in water.

Well, then, I’m hopeful. It is, in any case, some kind of step forward.

But, you know: it’s like all these eco retreats and activities and developments right in the midst of nature—if you were really eco, you’d leave it alone, right? That’s how I feel.

I mean, sure, it’s great to be in nature. I go to my local ecological reserve to paint, read, hang out by the water and hear the river’s soothing sounds calm me. But I’m not going to build a home there, even if my excrement was to exit my super excellent eco sewage treatment system smelling of wheatgrass. I just go, enjoy myself, pick up any trash I see, and go back home without causing any destruction.

But, hey, what are you gonna do? It’s not like we can shoot down everyone who walks all over nature. For now.

Bicyclists and a bike counter in Malmo - photo by 2headedturtle

What a surprise – we’re again looking at Scandinavia! This post focuses on Malmö, the home of almost 300,000 Swedes in the southern province of Skane, Sweden.

Oh, Malmö, let me count the ways that you are green:

• Between 2008 and 2012, you are cutting your CO2 emissions by 25% (!), essentially giving the Kyoto Protocol the finger as you obscenely surpass the Protocol’s meager 5% goal
• You lead the way in green electricity practices
• You consist of eco-friendly neighborhoods that contain hundreds of smart energy homes!
• Western Harbour runs on 100% renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels from organic waste)
• Your buildings are energy-efficient and were built with sustainable, recyclable materials
• Your streets encourage walking and cycling instead of driving – and it works: about 35% of the population travels by bike
• The restoration of Sege Park will power the neighborhood with solar (photovoltaics*), wind, and biofuels power
• Malmö, you renovate shipyards and industrial areas, transforming them into green residential communities
• Your district known as Augustenborg uses green roofing that reduces runoff and insulates buildings
• Augustenborg has the first-ever emissions-free electric steel trains (swank!)
• Another one for Augustenborg: more than a dozen recycling houses process 70% of collected waste

Brilliant.

The largest photovoltaic project in Scandinavia in Malmö's Sege Park

Malmö, oh, Malmö – your vibrant dedication, your grass-stained fingers, your cool, clean breath, your practical ingenuity – you are so wonderful I would give up certain sweets for you.

Oh, Malmö, with your canals, beaches, parks, and your harbor you remind me of the aesthetics of the Middle Ages and the distant future in spirit.

My love, oh, Malmö, is yours.

And I’m not the only one raving about this city: check out this BBC article on Sweden’s eco-awesomeness.

* What the hell are photovoltaics? I’m glad you asked. Why, they’re a solar energy technology. Photovoltaics cells transform solar light directly into electricity. Learn more here.

photo by AE Creations

I first started finding out about Vancouver because that’s where one of my favorite fiction authors, Douglas Coupland, resides.  But that’s besides the point.

Point: Vancouver’s so green it beats Reykjavík! Very impressive.

Here’s how Vancouver does it: 90% of its energy is currently renewable-mainly hydroelectric-and “feeds” its population of over half a million peeps. This makes it the global leader in hydroelectric energy.

It has a 100-year plan that aims to use emerging energy-efficient technologies for everything. (Note 1: Yeah, we’ll be dead by then, but if you’re into kids, think about them! They’ll benefit! Note 2: why 100 years? 2050′s far enough into the future! Not to mention the Maldives’ 2020 vow.)

Okay. More about its 100-year plan: It’s going for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to levels 20% lower than what it’d planned at the initial Kyoto Protocol agreements in 1990 (which it’d better, since now the outlook is grimmer-let’s hope others follow suit).

photo by Getty Images

You thought Portland was cool for its solar-powered parking meters? Well, it is. But Vancouver’s got solar-powered trash compactors! These babies hold 5 times the waste of regular trashcans, reducing the use of garbage trucks.

The Economist magazine named Vancouver the most livable city in the world, and evidently it is also a model, not just for Canada but for the world, for using renewable and clean energy sources for its power.

Next up: solar, wind, wave, and tidal-powered energy. Surf’s up!