http://seekingalpha.com/article/567151-minding-the-alternative-energy-commercialization-gap

The school’s new 60-foot tall wind turbine … is also being blown away but in a bit more literal way.

The wind turbine was installed at the school to help the students get hands-on with the wind energy program. The wind energy curriculum is focused for the middle school while the elementary focuses on solar power and the high school on bio fuels.

“We believe the future is alternative energy,” New Haven Superintendent Dr. Keith Wunderlich said. “We want our students to be prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in that future. By the time a student graduates from New Haven, they will have had hands on experience with solar power, wind power and bio fuels.”

http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2012/05/02/life/doc4fa1582533cef033082566.txt

Metal roofs have evolved significantly from the days when they were most commonly used on barns. Today’s metal roofs come in a variety of styles and colors and can even look like slate and asphalt shingles. Even better from an Earth-friendly and economic perspective, metal roofs offer several energy efficient and environmental benefits over traditional asphalt shingles.

“One of the things I get asked almost universally is, ‘Is it noisy when it rains?’” Hickman said. “That’s where we came up with the slogan. I think what they’re thinking of is how noisy (tin barn roofs) are when it rains, but those roofs were open rafters. You could see the underside of the metal roof and certainly it was noisy, but that’s not the case in modern construction. That’s one of the objections I have to overcome is the perception that it’s noisy.”

Metal roofs reflect the sun, reducing the amount of heat penetrating the home. A reflective metal roof can reduce cooling demand by 10 to 15 percent and can save up to 25 percent in energy costs compared to a dark gray asphalt shingled roof. Plus, some are made from recycled materials and all can be 100 percent recycled at the end of their useful life.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/30/2775244/metal-roofing-is-a-greener-alternative.html

Vendors selling energy-saving materials from reflective insulation to solar panels were popular stops at the show …

“Energy saving is No. 1. Our house is 2,600 square feet with two different A/C units. We want to reduce the electric bills, which are $600 a month in the summer,” said Gainesville’s Mark Menjivar. “I’ve always been hip to new things that come out. I’ve done the math — if I get a loan for solar panels, I’m replacing the high cost of energy with what I’ll be spending on the loan, but after two or three years paying off that loan, I’m paying zero for energy.”

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120310/ARTICLES/120319975

A pressing need
Renewable energy’s support is often based on hope and hype, promising freedom from polluting hydrocarbons and the nasty terrorist-harboring petrostates that control them. But that hope ignores the reality, which is that we need to power our many devices quickly, cheaply, and consistently, and we need to do it right now. Alternative energy is not yet up to the task, and so hydrocarbon alternatives remain (for now) on the fringes, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s data show …

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/05/will-alternative-energy-ever-go-mainstream/

It was also sometime around then that I got on board the alternative energy train, or rather hopped on the caboose that’s being dragged by the engine. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about writing about the subject. I was only interested in understanding why the drumbeat of news on the subject was getting louder. I convinced myself of the benefits of alternative energy not for the reasons I mentioned in an earlier blog post, “Why Alternative Energy.”

Back then, I could only see the subject from an international economist’s point-of-view. Economic policymakers typically argue that the US current account deficit, the fact that the nation imports more than it exports, is sustainable because it has a large internal market. If it had to, the country could enjoy life without exporting or importing. But it seemed clear to me that America needed to prove to itself as a nation that it didn’t have a balance of payments issue, that our current account deficit was sustainable, or else not on a one-way track to nowhere, and that changing our energy mix would go a long way towards that.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaynejung/2012/01/12/why-alternative-energy-part-two/

What is clear, however, is that the thinning ozone layer isn’t getting any smaller around the Antarctic. Instead the hole has gotten bigger since the late 70s. And that is not good.

We know that biodiversity is important for our survival. Learning how different organisms and animals live and breath provides valuable, sometimes lifesaving, insight into our own lives. So we should do what we know we can while we can to protect the species that we have — perhaps not to protect against cataclysmic global collapse in the distant future per se, but to address the dramatic change that’s happening now.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaynejung/2012/01/02/why-alternative-energy/

…

Roof replacement must be completed on the homeowner’s primary residence with materials that meet IRS requirements for energy-efficient homes. Those materials include metal roofs with specially pigmented coatings designed to reflect sunlight and asphalt roofs that contain cooling granules.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/9/prweb8833932.htm

Google announced that they are funding the installation of solar panels on 10,000 homes. The Obama administration’s investment will loan out about a billion dollars to electric companies developing their solar programs.

When looking for the best places for solar, sun is one part of the equation.

http://www.accuweather.com/blogs/news/story/55680/sunny-days-solar-google-obama.asp

http://www.power-eng.com/news/2011/09/1504857883/should-you-go-solar.html