Anders J. Rydaker District Energy Americans are hearing the term “renewable energy” more and more as we face escalating fossil fuel prices and fuel supply shortages. On the national level, President Bush outlined an Advanced Energy Initiative in his State of the Union Address, with the goal of replacing more …
Terry Webster Office of Energy Security, MN Department of Commerce Summer Keep cool and save with a ceiling fan. But turn the fan off when leaving the room. A ceiling fan only cools people, not the room. Use window fans properly. Place them on the cool side of the house …
Neely Crane-Smith Center for Energy and Environment Incandescent Light Bulbs: These old-school bulbs work through the principal of incandescence — or producing light through heat. The electricity heats a filament (that little wire in the middle of the bulb) to such a temperature that it produces visible light. Incandescent bulbs are very …
Mark Sulzbach Minnesota Pollution Control Agency When most people think of unhealthy air, they think of a stifling, summer day, plagued by high ozone levels and a thick layer of smog over the Twin Cities. However, Minnesota’s worst recorded air alert occurred during the winter of 2005, and ozone was …
Mark Snyder Do It Green! Minnesota For a few years now, all Minnesota residents and businesses have had the opportunity to buy green power through their electric utility. What exactly does it mean to buy green power? Basically, what it means is that you, the utility customer, agree to pay …
Kyle Boehm Center for Energy and Environment Learn how to reduce your energy use and save money! The City of Minneapolis has partnered with the Center for Energy and Environment, CenterPoint Energy and Xcel Energy to offer more Minneapolis homeowners Community Energy Services, a full service residential energy program. Community …
Lea Foushee Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota (EJAM) Hazardous waste, garbage incinerators and dumps have routinely been located on reservations and in communities of Color. Indigenous Peoples have experienced environmental racism for more than 500 years. Today, nuclear racism has become a most pernicious form of environmental racism. The nuclear …
Madalyn Cioci Linden Hills Power & Light board member In the grand scheme of halting climate change, Linden Hills Power & Light (LHP&L) isn’t on par with a national carbon cap. But this group of community residents now jokingly call themselves utility executives and their ideas are turning heads around …
Amanda Bilek Great Plains Institute Minnesota is blessed with an abundance of renewable energy resources to provide a clean energy future for our state. An often overlooked renewable energy resource is biogas. Biogas holds tremendous potential to help meet our future energy needs. As a versatile and constant energy resource, …
Michael Noble and Kate Ellis Fresh Energy Over the last two decades, Minnesota has experienced a dramatic change in energy use and energy policies. We are closer than ever to achieving a new energy economy using homegrown resources that create jobs, protect our air and water, and strengthen our state’s …
Do It Green! Minnesota Fluorescent Light Bulbs To light up a dark room, replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights not only improve the quality of light, but also burn cooler and provide more light per watt of energy than incandescent bulbs. Instead of comparing the …
Philipp Muessig Twin Cities Energy Transition Working Group Huge energy price increases. Tight oil supplies. Climate change. Energy conservation. Major investments in renewable energy. To many people, it looks like the world is in the midst of an energy transition. What is driving this transition, where are we going, and …
Bob Alf Construction Bob Alf Construction When cooling a house, it is helpful to first understand the science of heating and cooling. Here are some variables that affect the heating and cooling of our homes during the summer months: Air Movement: Air moving into the house can bring in warmer …
Mary Morse Neighborhood Energy Connection (NEC) A home is like a tent, where the parts of the exterior shell “walls, windows, doors, siding, foundation, and roofing” are designed to protect against the elements. By and large these construction features are very effective against cold, heat, wind, and moisture. There’s a …
Mark Snyder Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance I attended a presentation recently titled, “The Love of Fossil Fuels: The Root of All Evil?” While the title was partly a clever play on the age-old phrase, “Money is the root of all evil,” it also had some element of truth on …
Michael Anschel Otogawa-Anschel Design + Build The key to successful green building lies in two things: planning and communication. One of the big challenges in green construction and design is sorting through the vast ocean of information including all of the facts, fictions, and applications. Location, climate and building type …
John F. Neville The SEA Group Spend a Little Money, Take a Little Time Here are some simple and inexpensive ways to make your home energy efficient. They involve minor costs and some work on your part, but the energy and cost savings make it worthwhile. Switch to fluorescents The …
J. Drake Hamilton Science Policy Director, Fresh Energy Global warming is one of the most serious threats to our environment, our health, and our economy. The earth’s climate is changing rapidly, and these changes are driven in large part by burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. A thickening …
Britt Carlson Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Use cold water to wash. 90 percent of the energy used by a washer is for heating water. Wash only when dirty. Most pants and some shirts can be worn two to three times before washing. Line dry clothes year round. A large drying …
Rachel Maloney Natural Built Home Store Let’s face it, green is hot. It describes everything from automobiles to energy sources. One area where the development of green products is exploding is in the field of green building. Green building encompasses initial building site selection and energy efficiency all the way …
Michael Anschel Otogawa-Anschel Design + Build If you are reading this article, you may already know the importance of considering our planet’s resources when designing our homes. Determining the most sustainable solutions is a real challenge. Should you invest in solar panels? Should you buy the carpet with the Green …
Linda Countryman Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – Prevention & Assistance Division Three Minnesota schools reduce pollution and save energy and money. Houston Public Schools in southeastern Minnesota, Pine Point Elementary on the White Earth Reservation, and Hutchinson High School took part in a recently finished pilot project to develop a …
Mark Snyder Do It Green! Minnesota Whether you are burning natural gas to run a furnace or boiler or using electricity from coal-fired electric utilities to run your air conditioner, for many homeowners, heating and cooling our homes is our single largest contribution to global warming, making up about 30% …
Sara Grochowski Do It Green! Minnesota For most of us, it is impossible to live life without using energy. However, the carbon dioxide generated daily, whether by driving or turning on lights, adds up quickly and contributes to global warming. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately four metric …
Mark Snyder Do It Green! Minnesota In recent years, you may have seen news items about fuel cells and the coming “hydrogen economy” and wondered what exactly is a fuel cell? A fuel cell is a form of a reactor where we can create electricity through an electrochemical reaction of …
Corey Brinkema e4 Partners, Inc. What if hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, could power everything from automobiles and trucks to homes and office buildings with little or no toxic or greenhouse gas emissions? Welcome to the dream of the “hydrogen economy.” Does it seem like fantasy? For …
John F. Neville The SEA Group If you have the resources and are going to stay in your home for a while, you may want to invest some time and money in upgrading your home to improve its energy efficiency. Over time, investments in energy conservation return big dividends in …
Todd Fink Best Power, International Other than a spinning meter or a monthly bill (and maybe a changing climate), the electricity we use leaves little evidence behind. If it were water, we might understand it better. Imagine a radio dripping all day or a small stream bubbling from your computer, …
Jeannie Piekos Bag-E-Wash You do not have to feel guilty about using a dishwasher. Many studies have proven that dishwashers are much more cost-effective and energy-efficient than washing dishes by hand.* Maximize your dishwasher’s environmental effectiveness with these helpful tips: Run your dishwasher when it is completely full. Do not …
Beth Bennett Center for Energy and Environment In 2007, the city of Minneapolis became the first city in the country to fund small grants for its residents to prevent climate change. The grants garnered tremendous success; Minneapolis residents pledged to prevent over 8.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually …
Michael Anschel & Corey Brinkema Green Remodeling Group & Green Institute This has been a great year of progress in Minnesota’s efforts to become a national leader in preserving and restoring our environment. From the landmark legislation in addressing climate change and developing sustainable energy resources to the growth of …
Philipp Muessig, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Dan Frank, Greater Pine River Area Healthy Green Communities Partnership Cities all over the state are considering ways to protect the environment and reduce costs, and many of them are looking to a new program called Minnesota GreenStep Cities. GreenStep Cities is an …
Windustry Like rich farmland and beautiful lakes, wind is a natural resource in Minnesota and is harvested as a renewable energy source in many areas of the state. Over the past ten years, the wind industry has grown throughout Minnesota, boosting rural economic development and diversifying energy fuel resources. Minnesota’s …
Don Vasatka, The School of Environmental Studies Wind power has always been present in the background of alternative energy resources – an available source of energy but one which is not used to its fullest potential because of its high costs. With increasing fuel prices and more efficient technology, the …
John F. Neville The SEA Group At 93 million miles from Earth, our sun is a middling star that provides nearly all the energy on Earth. The only energy sources we have on Earth which do not come from the sun are the tides caused by the moon’s gravity, radioactive …
Mao Lee and Kathleen McCarthy Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) The Park Rapids Area Century School in Minnesota knows the importance of saving energy, producing clean, renewable energy, educating the community and raising the next generation of young leaders — grades K–8, specifically. In 2007, the school received funding from CERTs and …
Neely Crane-Smith Center for Energy and Environment Would you fix a leaky faucet? Did you know that you have electronics in your home leaking electricity—electricity that you pay for—24 hours a day, 7 days a week? The power drain is called “phantom load,” and it is a big problem with …
Mark Snyder Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance What is Geothermal? Many people, when they hear the word “geothermal”, think of those old plants that were built out in Western states to generate electricity using underground reservoirs of hot water or steam. Known as “direct-use” systems, they trade off dependence on …
Tine Thevenin International DarkSky Assocation Few of us give much thought to outdoor lighting because it is all around us: on our streets and parking lots, barn yards and buildings. We feel safer with lights and have come to depend on them. Outdoor lights give us a feeling of security …
Neely Crane-Smith Center for Energy and Environment Looking for inspiration to save energy in your home? Two Minnesota families have taken it to the next level with a three-year competition happening amidst new jobs, new babies and new challenges. It all started in 2007, when Tim Reckmeyer mentioned to coworker …
Mary Morse Neighborhood Energy Connection Rein in the cost and environmental impact of common household appliances with the following tips: Identify your biggest energy wasters Households spend more money on heating and cooling than any other energy expenditure. Before investing in a new furnace or air conditioner, tame these costs …
There is no time left for magical thinking in US energy policy or personal energy behaviors. With some newfound maturity, Americans could cut their energy use in half today by making a few changes, among them: Turn off lights when leaving rooms. Dry laundry outside when weather permits. Buy only …
Erin Barnes-Driscoll Green Buildings Team—Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Basements are notorious for being damp, dark, inhospitable places—the antithesis of what we like to associate with green and healthy living. As a rule, the basements in older homes were not designed to be functional living spaces. Yet for many of us, …
John F. Neville The SEA Group Here are a few easy things you can do to cut your home energy use. Convince the entire family to follow these steps, and you may find that it doesn’t take any time or cost any money to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Electricity …
Jan Hubbard Minnesota Renewable Energy Society “We travel through time on a cyclical path often returning to where we came.” Black Elk (1863-1950), a Lakota holy man, explained the symbolic power of the circle for his people in the book Tipi: Home of the Nomadic Buffalo Hunters (2007): “You have …
Todd Fink Best Power, Intl. If you already live a greener lifestyle by doing some of the simpler things like insulating your home, replacing old appliances with more efficient ones, driving less, and buying locally, then what is the next step? Maybe you can lower your greenhouse gas emissions by …
Dawn Erlandson Communications Consultant, Solar America Cities — Minneapolis and St. Paul Solar energy can provide electricity, hot water or space heating depending upon the technology used. According to the Minnesota Office of Energy Security, Minnesota is home to approximately 400 solar photovoltaic (PV) systems as of July 2010. It is estimated …
By Sean Gosiewski & Wanda Copeland Congregations Caring for Creation (C3) Congregations Caring for Creation (C3) is an interfaith network of more than 80 congregations that are making the active care of Creation integral to spiritual life and social justice in their congregation. C3/MNIPL is the Minnesota chapter of a …
Bob Alf Construction Using window fans the wrong way can make a room warmer. Learn how to get the most out of low-cost and natural methods for cooling your home. The cooling technology that has brought us air conditioning (AC) has arguably brought much needed comfort to the sick and …
Michael Noble Fresh Energy Ever wonder where your gasoline comes from? If you live in Minnesota, your gasoline mostly comes from unconventional oil sources like tar sands. These vast Canadian reserves of oil-soaked sands lie under 100 feet of virgin boreal forest in Alberta’s Athabasca River basin. Oil companies and …
Diana McKeown Metro CERTs Network Coordinator What is CERTs? No, it’s not a breath mint! It is a resource for communities across Minnesota who would like to plan and implement local energy projects. CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) was launched in 2003 with the mission of connecting people to the …
Carl Nelson Director of Community Energy, Green Institute We are slowly moving from the dinosaur fossil age to the solar age, but is it fast enough? Minnesota still gets the vast majority of its energy from fossil fuel sources. As we near the peak of world oil production, we can …
Brian Merchant MN Post Carbon The world may look the same, but it has changed. The combination of $4.00/gallon gasoline, $130/barrel oil, and $12/BTU natural gas in the first half of 2008, sent a shockwave through the economy. The term peak oil, or the point when the maximum rate of …
Mary Morse Neighborhood Energy Connection Americans have been on a century-long energy spending spree. From automobiles to architecture, as long as energy costs have stayed affordable relative to our incomes, neither wastefulness nor environmental implications figured into our buying and building decisions. But with skyrocketing energy costs, people are beginning …
Compiled by DO IT GREEN! MINNESOTA Lamp manufacturers believe that price is a major barrier to more widespread use of CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). Consequently, they have outsourced production from the United States to China and other developing countries. As a result, US workers lose jobs while US manufacturing capacity …
Eli Effinger-Weintraub Do It Green! Carbon offsetting is a method of counteracting the environmental impacts of carbon emissions by investing in carbon-reduction efforts. While reducing your fossil fuel consumption should be your first focus, individuals can purchase carbon offsets for air travel, cruises, big events, cross-country road trips, or everyday …
Sara Grochowski Do It Green! Minnesota Since the advent of the industrial revolution, worldwide energy consumption has been growing steadily. With the decreasing availability of current non-renewable energy sources, we are moving towards an energy transition to renewable energy options. There are arguments for and against the many energy sources …
Amy Pickett and Chad Skally Skally Management Too often when we talk about living green, we focus on homeowners rather than renters. At Skally Management, a family-owned and -operated real estate management company in St. Paul, we’re changing that concept by finding innovative ways to practice Eco-Management: sustainable, responsible real …
Beth Bennett Center for Energy and Environment With so many options to reduce your energy use, which actions are best for you and your family? Go to the Minnesota Energy Challenge, mnenergychallenge.org, to see how much money and how many pounds of carbon dioxide emissions you save with simple, hassle-free …
Diana Mckeown Metro CERT Coordinator, The Green Institute How does an urban community connect to renewable energy? This article explores options for urban dwellers who want to support and create renewable energy that they can use at home, for their cars, and in their neighborhoods. Windy Cities? Wind turbines have …
Todd Fink Best Power, Intl. It’s 10 a.m. on a Saturday and I’m cooking an egg on the sidewalk, not in Death Valley but in St. Paul, and in a solar oven. The pace of solar cooking allows me to parent, write and ponder our civilization’s future without burning my …
Will Steger Polar Explorer As a Minnesotan, I am proud of our state’s can-do spirit. It gives individuals the ability to overcome challenges that may seem impossible. When I was young, this spirit is what inspired me to become an arctic explorer, and today it continues to push me toward …
John Gilkeson Prevention and Assistance Division, MN Pollution Control Agency More and more, people are asking if they should purchase and use energy-efficient lighting in their homes. The answer is definitely “YES,” because doing so will save money, reduce electrical consumption, contribute to energy conservation and reduce the environmental impacts …
Sara Grochowski Do It Green! Minnesota For many of us, daily commutes to and from school or the workplace is an accepted part of life. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Minnesotans spend an average of 5.79% or $2,377 of their annual income on gasoline expenses. Considering these rates …
Sara Grochowski Do It Green! Minnesota; Original content by Bob Alf Construction Improving your home’s building envelope is a worthwhile investment as it will save time, money, and energy. Four components of a building envelope ensure maximum control of heat and moisture. The Four Components: Weather Barrier: a building’s outer …
Bob Alf Construction Better windows can save money, brighten your mood, and freshen your air, but beware OF the advice of a window salesperson or your neighbor. Windows are a hot topic, especially now that the US government is offering a sizable tax credit for home energy improvements.1 Yet the …
