Tilting at wind mills? #2

Rising energy costs are sucking the vitality out of the economy and Middleboro's budget.

Any discussion of improving the local economy or the Massachusetts economy needs to consider what others are doing.

There's revenue to be generated in local green projects, local green businesses and attracting those businesses, coupled with conservation.

Taunton Schools saved ~ $500K with energy conservation alone. What could Middleboro accomplish?

The following is an assortment of energy and environment related articles:

New Record: Wind Powers 40% Of Spain

Wind power is breaking new records in Spain, accounting for just over 40 percent of all electricity consumed during a brief period last weekend. As heavy winds lashed Spain on Saturday evening wind parks generated 9,862 megawatts of power which translated to 40.8 percent of total consumption. Between Friday and Sunday wind power accounted for an average of 28 percent of all electricity demand in Spain. Spain’s wind power generation equaled that of hydropower for the first time in 2007. ENN
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Green Towers In Malaysia Modeled After Fleet Of Ships
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Slab of Antarctic ice shelf collapses amid warming

By Will DunhamWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Satellite images show that a large hunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf has started to collapse in a fast-warming region of the continent, scientists said on Tuesday.The area of collapse measured about 160 square miles of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, according to satellite imagery from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center.The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a broad sheet of permanent floating ice that spans about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km) and is located on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula about 1,000 miles south of South America. ENN
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Low Impact Living.com Launches Groundbreaking Household Environmental Impact Calculator & Rating System

LOS ANGELES (March 20, 2008)— Low Impact Living.com, the largest green home improvement site online, has launched a groundbreaking new Household Environmental Impact Calculator and rating system. These tools will help Americans understand their environmental impacts and chart a course to a more eco-friendly home and lifestyle. (Please see the calculator at www.lowimpactliving.com) ENN
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The tool also provides is insight into the economics of green projects.

“Many consumers have no idea that in many states they can get $5,000 in incentives to put up solar panels, or that they can buy green power from their utility,” said Jessica Jensen, Co-founder of Low Impact Living, Inc. “We help consumers understand the costs and incentives for green projects so that they can take informed environmental action.”About www.LowImpactLiving.com

Low Impact Living.com is the largest green home improvement site online. We teach consumers how to make their homes and lives more eco-friendly, and then help them find the best green products and local service providers. ####

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Keep Green Going

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Boston Seeing Green This Fall

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Sharp to make solar power storage batteries: report

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Sharp to spend Y100 bln on solar cell plant: report
TOKYO (Reuters) - Sharp Corp will spend close to 100 billion yen ($882.9 million) to build the world's largest solar cell factory in Japan, Chairman Katsuhiko Machida was quoted by the Nikkei business daily as saying.
The plant will be built next to Sharp's LCD panel factory currently under construction in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture.
It will produce thin-film solar cells, which use less silicon than conventional cells, starting in fiscal 2009, the Nikkei said in its Saturday edition.