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Thomas Dolby’s Solar and Wind Powered Music Studio

December 8, 2010 By 3 Comments
Thomas Dolby

For the benefit of those who grew up with 80s radio, and even for those who didn't, I will not make any puns on the whole 'blinded with science' hook with this post. This is tempting when talking about technology entrepreneur, musician, songwriter, TED regular, and all-around tech geek Thomas Dolby, who's smash hit 'She Blinded Me With Science' was a staple in 1982. But, I will say that Dolby, among many other things when it comes to forward-thinking technology, is a modern proponent of alternative … [Read more...]

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Green Transit System: Booster Backpacks!

May 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Image courtesy of kolelinia.com

For those of you who have followed this blog for the past year and a half, you might have picked up on a couple of facts about me,  your humble blogger.  First, that I'm a bit of a transit geek and believe that one of the hallmarks of a world-class city is the extent and accessibility of its public transit system.  And second, I grew up on a steady diet of science fiction films and TV. And when these worlds come together, I get really excited - geekily so. Thanks to one of my favorite green … [Read more...]

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Integrating Personal Public Transit and Green Building Best Practice

February 11, 2010 By 6 Comments
ultra-rapid-transit

In thinking more and more about how accessible public transit and urban planning using green building principles can dovetail, I came across this video.  Take a look! The system is to be implemented as a means of accessing Terminal Five at London's Heathrow airpport by the Spring of 2010.  A test track is currently in place in Cardiff, Wales.  Proposals for systems in San Jose, St.Louis, Ithaca NY, and other projects are at various points of development as well. Being something of a … [Read more...]

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Green Building Lets the Sun Shine In

December 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A little while back, we looked at green building potential in Asia as a means of deciding our fate when it comes to global climate change. We've also talked about  how often green building and excess can often be seen in the same space, and which pole is the most important to the developers.   This story falls somewhere in between, possibly. Take a read of this article about the largest solar-powered building in the world, located in Dezhou, Shangdong Province in northwest China.   At 75 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency Tagged With: , , ,

Solar powered buildings let the sun shine in

April 1, 2009 By 1 Comment

William F. Gibson, the science fiction writer who wrote the breakthrough novel which predicted the Internet, artificial intelligence, and hacker culture,  Neuromancer, once said that 'the future is here, it's just not evenly distributed'. This is something of a comforting thought, given where green building seems to be going, with contests and practical applications of energy-efficient building practices originating in universities all over the world.  Much like the development of the Internet, … [Read more...]

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A Climate Friendly Built Environment

November 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

In my previous post I referred to the PEW Centre on Global Climate Change. In 2005 – shortly before the new world economic order began – the PEW Center published a most insightful, almost prophetic study entitled "Towards a Climate Friendly Built Environment." Built Environment and GHG emissions Here's an excerpt from the Report's introduction. Buildings in the United States—homes, offices, and industrial facilities—account for over 40 percent of our nation's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: climate change, Energy Efficiency, environmental legislation, global warming, Green Building Tagged With: , , ,

Canada’s Harper Proposes Environmental Pact to Obama

November 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment

A brief note following my advice yesterday for US President-elect Barack Obama. From the Canadian environmental perspective, the headline in today’s Globe and Mail (Toronto’s National Newspaper) reflects a major political statement by Prime Minster Stephen Harper to US President-elect Obama. “Ottawa swoops in with climate-change offer.” Canada’s Prime Minister Harper has been viewed as closely aligned with outgoing Bush Administration in many areas, including an … [Read more...]

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Walrus Thesis: Climate Change Science

August 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

“That’s all very interesting,” said the Carpenter scratching his head. “But can you tell me exactly what it has to do with green building?” Walrus breathed a great sigh. “What exactly don’t you understand, Carp?” He looked at his old friend as if he were a block of wood. Walrus wasn’t sure Carp wasn’t testing him. “Perhaps you could go back to the first space satellite launched fifty years ago,” said the Carpenter. “I’m not sure I get the connection.” “Very … [Read more...]

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Political Science and the Green Movement

August 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I think the term Political Science is an oxymoron, like Government Organization or Microsoft Works. Perhaps it should be called Political Studies, although this might imply that students don’t acquire real knowledge, or that the opinions from political pundits have the same value as those of the hoi polloi. Another interpretation of the term is more like politicized science. This of course is pejorative since science is supposed to be value free, objective, impartial, all those sorts of things … [Read more...]

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When it Comes to “Green” – Small is Beautiful

August 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

And furthermore… “Ever bigger machines, entailing ever bigger concentrations of economic power and exerting ever greater violence against the environment, do not represent progress: they are a denial of wisdom. Wisdom demands a new orientation of science and technology towards the organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and beautiful." The quotation above is from E.F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered, first published in 1973, about a decade … [Read more...]

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