Environmental SurvivalGuide

This is a short video that was created to briefly describe what the whole idea of Urban Harvesting is about. You can read more about it in the previous post listed below.

The idea is simple and based upon the problem that most of the fruit that makes it into our grocery stores is transported great distances (1,000+ miles on average). All this energy, while a large percentage of fruit in people’s backyard simply goes to waste because most homeowners lack the time and interest to properly share or store this food.

Our mission is to directly connect this otherwise wasted fruit with the local markets, processing facilities, and food banks. We also plan to share all our experiences with this service by openly extending this information with the rest of the World. We hope others will adopt our strategy and start similar services in their own community.

If you are interested in more information, please visit Terra Harvest and you will be able to sign up to receive more information via email newsletter. We also want to hear what you think about this and if you have any suggestions to how to connect with others that might be interested in getting started. Please pass along so more like-minded individuals can learn about this project. Your welcome to use any photos from my Virb account for blog posts.

Thanks!

Joseph Gallo Dairy & Cheese Plant’s methane capture provides 80% of the electricity for the plant from 5,000 cows. The farm uses waste water from the cheese plant to flush the manure from the cattle stalls. The solid manure is removed and the remaining liquid containing bacteria from the cow manure is pumped into a covered digester (pond). This bacteria releases methane that is then used as fuel for electric generators.

A similar anaerobic digester is being used by the UC Davis Biogas Energy Project to divert food waste and yard clippings from landfills. Instead the organic biomass is being used to create alternative renewable energy. View the fullsize video.

In early 2005, a web site was launched for the Nevada Clean Energy Coalition. The coalition consisted of 22 organizations, and accumulated over 4,500 signatures opposing a Sempra coal power plant that was planning to be built in Northwestern Nevada.

In March of 2006, Sempra gave up on it’s plan to build the plant and was looking into selling the plan to another company. As of July 2007, they announced that they would not sale their interest of the Granite Fox site.

The Nevada Clean Energy Coalition was focused on the impacts the new power plant would have on the environment, as well the effects to the health of people living near it. An aspect that really helped the site was giving the proposed project a face. After all, it’s a lot easier to understand something when you can actually see it.

By picking apart artist renderings and overlaying the sheer size of the plant over a photo of the proposed site, people could really get a sense for what was in store for the area. These powerful visuals were backed up with simple, easy to read lists of some of the negative effects the plant would cause if it were to be built.

The site urged it’s visitors to take action and supplied sample letters and direct links to the governmental officials where the letters were to be sent. It also provided downloadable information and news coverage of the proposed plant by harnessing the old Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, get out of copyright pass.

Beyond the negative aspects of the plant, there was also light provided towards alternative energy as the answer to the electrical demand. By remaining completely negative the message may have been muddied to the attitude that it’s going to have to be built somewhere. Instead it was focused on why build it at all, anywhere. Coal generated electricity is not needed and in fact California now prohibits utilities from entering into long-term contracts with conventional coal-fired power producers, ala California Senate Bill 1368.

While a web site certainly cannot stop a coal power plant on it’s own, it’s a good starting point. It takes dedicated individuals and groups to spread the word both online and off. I would certainly suggest that everyone should put up a fight against proposed coal power plants in their area. To get started go to Architecture 2030 to view a map of the proposed power plants in the US.

The Nevada Clean Energy web site was designed by Ideum.

As means of reducing wasteful electrical consumption, Jack Godfrey Wood came up with a design concept for a switch that simply turns off your whole house. Well, maybe everything that doesn’t require a constant electrical source.

This product acts like a hub for all your non-essential circuits so you can easily flip off everything but a few circuits for your needy appliances and electronics that require a constant electrical source (refrigerator, clocks, etc). In doing so, it turns off any of the lights you may have forgotten about.

This product is not yet available for purchase and doesn’t appear to have a specified release date. Alternatively, you can opt for a much more complex wireless home automation system. These systems can provide a similar service through the use of radio frequency switches. I believe that a device like this should be installed into all homes to help remind people of their consumption.

Nanosolar, a small company in Palo Alto changes the solar cell game by passing on Crystalline Silicon. Instead they plan to print thin film materials and follow the high speed fabrication processes used in some of the larger scale electronics manufacturing.  This episode of Quest previews how this process might work.  They plan to bring these flexible photovoltaics to market next year.  Their hopes are that you’ll never notice this product because it would seamlessly integrate with the world around us.  View the fullsize video.

Green Options is a fairly new Website formed about a year ago. It’s a great resource for discussions on all that’s eco-friendly. They host a very active blog with over 40 different writers. You can even find a series of audio podcasts. They also open up the system to user forums and blogs so visitors can participate in the conversation. Another useful feature is their “Green Life Guide.” It is a wiki repository packed full of how-to information. Green Options is quickly rising to be one of the best resources for green living.

Learn about the effects diesel plays in the transporting of goods and polluting of the environment. Quest covers the problems diesel causes at the Port of Oakland. A port where over 10,000 freight ships and an endless amount of semi trucks and trains are pumping diesel soot into the air of Oakland. Diesel pollution is the number 1 health threat in California, causing 2,400 pre-mature deaths statewide. It’s particularily bad in West Oakland where residents are exposed at rates 5 times higher than other parts of the Bay area. Find out how this all relates to the inexpensive goods we buy. View the fullsize video.

TreeHugger is a blog dedicated to the green lifestyle, News, and reviews. They are one of the most popular green-focused blogs around and post 25+ articles a day from more than 40 writers. They feature both TV and radio media and have a wealth of information in forums and guides. They host another site called Hugg, which is a Digg for the environmental community. Also of note is a job board for people looking for an eco related job. They were recently acquired by Discovery Communications to help further Discovery’s planet green initiative.

Green building is spreading and there’s a good reason. This episode of Quest notes that buildings consume 70% of US electricity, 15 trillion gallons of water, and 3 billion tons of raw materials (steel, wood, etc). They are also responsible for 30% of all green house emissions in the US. So what do we do?

Find out what it takes to build green and get a glimpse into the new California Academy of Sciences. View the fullsize video.