June 10, 2009
By Betsy Teusch and Jacques Sapriel
Since Solar PV Philadelphia is a trade show, much of the exhibitors supply solar manufactures and so on, up the chain. But there are a lot of distributers and installers, and they’re making the case given programs like Sunshine PA, that solar is becoming cost effective. And when Pennsylvania deregulates electricity prices in 2011, payback will be a helluva lot quicker….
More than 135 companies are represented in the expo hall. Since manufacturing solar cells is a precise scientific based process, a lot of companies that are represented manufacture some of the complex machinery and measurement tools necessary to set up and run a solar cell fabrication. This is how I found out, while chatting with the US Representative of OTB Solar from Eindhoven – Netherlands, that $20 million is the approximate cost of a brand new turnkey solar cell manufacturing line. If that sounds like a lot of money, think that a basic microchip fab similar to what Intel runs around the world cost about $2 billion a pop. Same kind of materials, similar manufacturing process, differences in complexity and need for high accuracy account for some of the difference.
Here are some of the interesting innovations I ran into:
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Green Home, Solar Energy |
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Posted by mtairygreen
May 18, 2009
A lot of people still seem to ignore the fact that most Ocean fishing areas of the planet are totally depleted. Traditional harvest fishing has disappeared from the New England Coast and from many formerly prized fishing areas around the planet.
Why?
Because of OVER FISHING – there is simply no more fish.
So, here is someone who decided to open a store that only supplies Fish that has been raised or harvested using sustainable practices.
Otolith Sustainable Seafood is located at 143 West Girard Avenue (between Front and Second Street). Their website address is: http://www.otolithonline.com
I would like to thank Ian and Colin Sandberg and Kelly Ann Bethoney for sharing this precious information.
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Information Sharing, Sustainability |
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Posted by jayma19
March 23, 2009
A review of Sebastián I. Varela ’s Master’s Thesis on the Northwest Urban Forrest.
By Paco Verin, B.A., PCH
This article is a summary of a large and important study of the NorthWest Philadelphia urban forest., and it offers a call to action to its inhabitants. Sebastián Varela’s study focused on trees, is complex and involved many people, and this article does not intent to address every aspect of it The author of this summary acknowledges past and present efforts by a number of individuals and organizations to care for Philadelphia’s trees and natural spaces. To receive a full copy of Sebastián Varela’s study, please contact Mr. Varela directly at: sivarela@syr.edu
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Philly Eco-City, Urban Forest | Tagged: Balance between urban trees native birds humans and local economy, Benefits of a Tree planting program, Benefits of increased tree cover, Loss of tree cover, NorthWest Philadelphia urban forest, Sebastián I. Varela |
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Posted by jayma19
March 3, 2009
This is a slightly edited version of a post that Len Zangwill published on his blog: Sustainable Writings. His article does a great job bringing clarity to a bunch of Green Labels. Anyone interested in implementing sustainability into their purchases will find this post very informative. Read on…
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Information Sharing | Tagged: Green Labels, Green product certification, Sustainable Writings |
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Posted by jayma19