Author: Megan Treacy

Last year, the government promised $10.5 billion in funds for high-speed rail development and the first state to receive some of that money is Florida.  Tomorrow, President Obama will be awarding $2.5 billion to the state to jump-start the first phase of their train system that will run from Orlando to Tampa.

Phase 1 will run along the heavily traveled  I-4 corridor and take passengers to Orlando Airport, Orlando, Disney, Lakeland and Tampa at speeds above 120 mph – not a bullet train, but still faster than a car.   Phase 2 will connect Orlando to Miami by two different routes (I-95 and the Turnpike).  The system will eventually connect all the major cities in the state and points in between.

The first phase will cost $3.5 billion, so after the government funds the state will still have to raise $1 billion from private investors to complete the project.  The state expects the first trains to be running by 2014.

Ideally, Florida’s train system is just the beginning of a much larger train network linking the whole East Coast and the nation.  With $8 billion left to be doled out, I’m excited to see which area is the next recipient.

via Inhabitat

With all of the conflict over Cape Wind and the constant reduction in scope of T. Boone Pickens’ wind projects, it’s easy to feel discouraged, but here’s something to lift your spirits.  Great news came from the American Wind Energy Association today.

During 2009, 10 GW of new wind power capacity was installed in the U.S., enough to power 2.4 million homes.  The last quarter of 2009 saw the installation of 4 GW alone.

The association gives credit to the American Recovery and Investment Act’s $80 billion investment in clean energy for the largest installation for any year so far. You can read the association’s full report on the year in wind here (PDF).

With big wind projects on the horizon for the next few years, and if all goes as planned, that annual number should keep going up.

via Energy Boom

Algae has seemed like a great biofuel candidate because it’s extremely efficent at creating energy from sunlight and it could potentially form closed loops for power plants – absorbing exhaust while creating new fuel — but a recent study has knocked algae off its pedestal.

University of Virginia researchers have found that the life cycle of algal biofuel produces high levels of greenhouse gas emissions — much more than it sequesters.

The culprit is the large amount of fertilizer used to produce the algae.  The fertilizers come from petroleum-bases sources and emit nitrous oxide.  The researchers propose using fertilizer from sewage plants as a way around the problem.

It looks like we’re still far away from an ideal biofuel, if there is one.

via Yale e360

The people of Haiti are facing a long and difficult road to recovery.  Their power infrastructure has been demolished and fuel for generators and cooking is scarce, but they do have one thing on their side:  abundant sunshine.  Many solar power companies and non-profits are focusing on that resource and bringing solar-powered equipment capable of providing essential needs like drinkable water, cooking surfaces and mobile phones to the Haitian people.

Some of the organizations providing solar-powered relief include:

• Sun Ovens International — Delivering hundreds of solar-powered ovens capable of making 1,200 meals in eight hours to homeless camps.
• Worldwater & Solar Technologies — Donated a 22 kW array that is running a boarding school for 350 kids and a solar-powered mobile water purification system that is pumping out 30,000 gallons of clean water daily at a Red Cross aid station.
• Digicel — Donating 1,000 solar mobile phones to keep lines of communication open during the crisis.
• Sol Inc. — Contributing 100 solar-powered streetlights that can be installed in less than an hour, stay lit all night and stand up to hurricane-force winds.

We often think about renewable energy as the thing that will save us in the long term, but it’s important to see how powerful of a savior it can be in the short term as well.

via MSNBC

A study of offshore wind farms off Europe’s coasts has revealed that the structures pose no threat to marine life, and in fact, they help sustain it.

Scientists at Stockholm University’s Zoology Department conducted the study and found that the turbine foundations acted as habitats for fish, crabs, mussels, lobsters and plants, creating a more diverse and dense population of marine life at wind farm sites than at control sites away from the farms.

Like in the case of sunken subway cars or ships, the scientists said that the foundations were essentially acting as artificial reefs.  This study could potentially lead to wind and wave farm designs that foster this occurrence.  Because wind farm sites are less suitable for bottom trawling, the farms could be built as safe zones for threatened species.

Yet another positive outcome of offshore wind.

via CleanTechnica

Like me, you’ve probably been watching the coverage of the earthquake in Haiti with a big knot in your stomach and maybe you’ve already donated $10 by texting HAITI to 90999, but if you want to do more (and help out the environment while you’re at it), there’s an easy way to do so.

ReCellular has launched a disaster relief program for the victims of the earthquake called “Phones for Haiti.” All proceeds from donated phones will go straight to the American Red Cross for their work in the country.

If you’re like most people you have an old cell phone lying around somewhere and this is a great way to donate to those in need and keep your electronic waste out of a landfill at the same time.  ReCellular refurbishes the donated phones and then sells them to people in developing countries.  Some phone models like Blackberries or iPhones could contribute up to $100 to the Red Cross.

ReCellular also accepts your old chargers, batteries and other accessories and the shipping is free.  Click here to get started.

via Inhabitat