Directed by Richard Rose
Scenery by Richard Finkelstein
Costumes by Kimberly Stockton
Sound by Bobby Beck
Images courtesy Richard Finkelstein
Archive for 2008
The Power of Goals
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008Once you get over the idea that people who walk around with a list of personal goals in their pocket are utter self-improvement dweebs, you should make writing your own list a number one priority. There are bookshelves full of annoying self-help hype around the notion of personal goal setting, which is why we’re skeptics just like you are. But the truth is, when you feel like you’re drifting aimlessly, unhappy with your job, finances, location, fitness level, whatever—it’s time to start writing down goals. A personal goals program is a training regimen for your mind: it makes you visualize a finish line in a better place than the one you’re in now, and it helps you get there. Let’s take a look at why you should shrug off all the cringe-worthy reasons not to think about goals, sit down with a piece of paper, and start writing.
Solar Sunday
Sunday, October 12th, 2008Solar Sunday is my weekly roundup of renewable energy and energy efficiency news from around the web.
China’s First Zero Emissions Building
Situated in Ningbo, China, the University of Nottingham’s new Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET) is a welcome addition to the landscape as well as the air above Zhejiang province. Inspired by Chinese lanterns and traditional wooden screens, Mario Cucinella Architects packed CSET with a variety of sustainable attributes to make it the the first zero-emissions building in China.Located in a country that relies heavily on coal power to support a population nearing 1.5 billion, CSET’s sustainable attributes are are vigorous as its environmental curriculum. The building is powered by a large array of photovoltaic cells and geothermal energy (which cools and heats the five story floor slabs). Any additional energy collected is stored in batteries that can provide up to two week’s worth of electricity for sunless days.
CSET’s double-glass skin reduces solar radiation, and the large rooftop opening creates natural ventilation while allowing daylight to illuminate the interior spaces. The building also makes extensive use of locally sourced materials in its construction and boasts an onsite rain and gray-water recycling center.
The latest high power LED street lights from European leader JolietTechnology, coupled with ultra efficient photovoltaic panels offers a new generation of energy efficient, pollution free solar street lighting solutions.The advantages of cost effective LED lighting for streets, crossings, parking areas, gardens and public areas compared to conventional sodium lamps are undeniable. Adding a photovoltaic power source offers a new dimension.
The new ‘Cleanstreet’ solar LED street light from Joliet Technology is an integrated mast head fitting which employs two 130Wp photovoltaic modules and a electronic controller to charge batteries which operate the 56W LED lamp unit. The advanced system controller offers a night/day sensor for automatic switching.
The Future of Hydrogen is in Corn
The next alternative fuel in a vehicle’s tank might be nothing more than gas with a little help from corn. However, instead of the usual petroleum-based fuel, this gas will be hydrogen, and the corn will be in the form of corncob-charcoaled briquettes. To further develop this alternative fuel concept, researchers at the University of Missouri and Midwest Research Institute (MRI) were recently awarded a three-year, $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to continue studying a solution to hydrogen storage in vehicles.“Developmental hydrogen vehicles exist today but current designs require large, bulky tanks of compressed hydrogen gas to hold the fuel,” said Peter Pfeifer, professor and chair of the Department of Physics in the MU College of Arts and Science. “The tanks also have a relatively small range, only holding enough fuel to travel up to 200 miles. We will be working on reducing the size and weight of the tank and increasing the storage capacity by developing storage materials that hold hydrogen at a much lower pressure than the current high-pressure tanks. The new tanks will store hydrogen on the surface of appropriately engineered carbons.”
On a bank of the Mohawk River, a windowless industrial building of corrugated steel hides something that could make floor lamps, bedside lamps, wall sconces and nearly every other household lamp obsolete. It’s a machine that prints lights.The size of a semitrailer, it coats an 8-inch wide plastic film with chemicals, then seals them with a layer of metal foil. Apply electric current to the resulting sheet, and it lights up with a blue-white glow.
You could tack that sheet to a wall, wrap it around a pillar or even take a translucent version and tape it to your windows. Unlike practically every other source of lighting, you wouldn’t need a lamp or conventional fixture for these sheets, though you would need to plug them into an outlet.
The sheets owe their luminance to compounds known as organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. While there are plenty of problems to be worked out with the technology, it’s not the dream of a wild-eyed startup.
OLEDs are beginning to be used in TVs and cell-phone displays, and big names like Siemens and Philips are throwing their weight behind the technology to make it a lighting source as well. The OLED printer was made by General Electric Co. on its sprawling research campus here in upstate New York. It’s not far from where a GE physicist figured out a practical way to use tungsten metal as the filament in a regular light bulb. That’s still used today, nearly a century later.
The invention of the incandescent bulb created the pattern for home lighting: Our light sources are small and bright. Maybe there are a few in the center of the ceiling, and a few in the corners of the room. Because they’re too bright to look at, they need to be reflected and diffused with lamp shades and frosted glass.
OLEDs could overturn all that, with broad, diffuse light sources bathing rooms in a gentle glow. Photographers go to great lengths to diffuse the illumination they use when shooting portraits, because they know we look our best in soft light.
The big glowing sheets could also make light sources out of everyday things. GE imagines putting OLEDs on the inside of window blinds – pull them down, light them up, and you have light streaming from the window, even at night. You could even make OLED wallpaper, since the material is flexible.
Paris Triangulates Green Architecture
Recently Herzog & de Meuron revealed Le Project Triangle, an incredible structure that will rise 200 meters from the Porte de Versailles in Paris. The stunning skyscraper will feature a profile so slim that it casts virtually no shadow, and its orientation will be optimized to take advantage of both solar and wind power. Paris’ new pyramid will be the first high-rise to be approved for construction is the city’s center since 1977, thanks to the recent lifting of a 31-year-old ban established by the previous Mayor of paris, Jacques Chirac.
As utility costs mount ever higher, Americans now have real options to take home energy matters into their own hands with “green” systems that can pay for themselves in as little as a few years.Among the choices: wind, solar, geothermal and a “microhydro” option that is potentially cheaper than a year’s tuition at many state colleges.
Choosing the do-it-yourself route can offer the freedom of going partially or totally off the grid. And, if the energy generated exceeds your actual usage, you can even sell the excess juice to your utility company. But none of this is free.
Obama Lead Wider than the Polls Suggest
Friday, October 10th, 2008Soldier Songs Lighting
Friday, October 10th, 2008Composer: David T. Little
Director: Yuval Sharon
Production Designer: Chisato Uno
Projection Designer: Corey Smithson
Solar Sunday
Sunday, October 5th, 2008Solar Sunday is my weekly roundup of renewable energy and energy efficiency news from around the web.
The Future of Wind is in the Waves
In South Korea, wind power would be a likely resource to help the world’s tenth largest energy consumer meet government goals to lower fossil fuel dependency through greater investment in renewable energy.Yet efforts to build wind turbines in South Korea have met fierce opposition, even among environmentalists, due to the lack of open land in the densely populated country. Only about 100 megawatts (MW) of wind power are installed nationwide despite plentiful wind resources and government price controls that keep renewable power competitive with traditional energy sources.
The solution might be found off the Korean peninsula’s shores, and South Korea is not alone. As more countries seek to increase their renewable energy ratios, many consider off-shore wind a potential solution to provide clean energy without affecting local landscapes and communities.
My Coffee Solves Climate Change – Its not just pretentious any more
Chalk up another environmental benefit for shade-grown Latin American coffee: University of Michigan researchers say the technique will provide a buffer against the ravages of climate change in the coming decades.Over the last three decades, many Latin American coffee farmers have abandoned traditional shade-growing techniques, in which the plants are grown beneath a diverse canopy of trees. In an effort to increase production, much of the acreage has been converted to “sun coffee,” which involves thinning or removing the canopy.
Shade-grown farms boost biodiversity by providing a haven for birds and other animals. They also require far less synthetic fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides than sun-coffee plantations.
In the October edition of the journal BioScience, three U-M researchers say shade-growing also shields coffee plants during extreme weather events, such as droughts and severe storms. Climate models predict that extreme weather events will become increasingly common in the coming decades, as the levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide gas continue to mount.
The U-M scientists warn Latin American farmers of the risks tied to “coffee-intensification programs”—a package of technologies that includes the thinning of canopies and the use of high-yield coffee strains that grow best in direct sunlight—and urge them to consider the greener alternative: shade-grown coffee.
“This is a warning against the continuation of this trend toward more intensive systems,” said Ivette Perfecto of the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment, one of the authors. “Shaded coffee is ideal because it will buffer the system from climate change while protecting biodiversity.”
Africa’s first-ever solar-powered car race is underway in South Africa to raise awareness about alternative energy and promote science and technology, organisers said Wednesday.Local teams are competing against racers from India and Japan in the two-week South African Solar Challenge, which aims to encourage students to study engineering, a field in which the country faces huge skills shortage.
“Promoting science and technology, that is the main focus. If we can convince another 10 people in our country to become engineers, it could be a radical improvement to our economy,” said organiser Winstone Jordaan.
The group also hopes to promote alternative energy and green technology.
Solar Gets a Break, a Tax Break That Is
America’s solar-energy enthusiasts could soon expect bigger green cheques in the mail. Both chambers of Congress passed bills last week granting a long-term extension – and expansion – to commercial and residential tax credits for solar power installations.The legislation extends a 30 per cent rebate on the installation of solar technologies, including photovoltaic panels and solar water-heating systems. It also does away with the current $2000 cap in rebates for residential systems.
The extension will have a major impact on the adoption of solar power, according to a study by an independent firm called Navigant Consulting. It found that by 2016, the total amount of installed solar in the US would be more than three times as great with the extension than without it.
After four years of construction the world’s most sustainable skyscraper is nearly completed! Situated at One Bryant park in Midtown Manhattan, the crystalline structure will be the first high-rise to receive LEED Platinum certification. Designed for Bank of America by Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler and developed by The Durst Organization, the luminous spire will introduce a dose of levity to New York’s skyline while incorporating an excellent assortment of sustainable strategies.
For the past several years, the city of San Francisco has made strident efforts push forward and transform itself into the greenest city in the United States. Taking this goal one step further, Mayor Gavin Newsom recently announced an incredible plan to transform the city’s Civic Center into a sustainable resource district”. San Francisco’s renewed green heart will feature solar panels, wind turbines, and living roofs, reducing the city’s carbon footprint by 2,225 tons – the equivalent of 1,286 San Francisco households!It has been said that the green economy is the next big thing, and San Francisco’s new Civic Center will meet the need for greener developments by employing a host of sustainable strategies. Wind turbines and solar panels will reduce the district’s energy consumption by 33%, and water efficient fixtures, and a water reclamation program will reduce potable water usage by 80% and wastewater discharge by 45%.
Doug Rushkoff Strikes Again
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Many readers thought I was hinting at something under the surface—a conspiracy, of sorts, to take money from the poor and give it to the rich. It sounded to many like I was describing an economic system actually designed—planned—to redistribute income in the worst possible ways.I guess I’d have to agree with that premise. Only it’s not a secret conspiracy. It’s an overt one, and playing out in full view of anyone who has time (time is money, after all) to observe it.
Solar Sunday
Sunday, September 28th, 2008Solar Sunday is my weekly roundup of renewable energy and energy efficiency news from around the web.
Graffiti meets environmental and social activism in Peter Gibson (a.k.a. Roadsworth)’s literal take on street art. Frustrated with the lack of safety provided for cyclists in today’s cities, the artist began (illegally) spray painting extra bike lanes onto the streets of Montreal in 2001. It wasn’t long before he began to branch out and address other civic and environmental issues through his cutting brand of creative imagery. Intended to address many of the confining conditions of living in an urban environment, Peter Gibson’s work treats these topics with a sort of wry humor that doesn’t dull their urgent message.
Financial Meltdowns, Bailouts, and Clean Energy
In the wake of the financial meltdown, some have wondered about about the broader implications of the disappearance of Lehman Brothers’ carbon trading desk. And the answer to that question, at least, is easy: there are no broader implications to the disappearance of Lehman Brothers’ carbon trading desk.This is true for a variety of reasons, not least among them that Lehman Brothers was a small player in the carbon markets. The center of gravity in the carbon-trading world is in Europe. Beyond that, the carbon market itself is just one corner of the energy finance universe. So Lehman is a corner of a corner, and anyway the disappearance of a single trading desk is nothing really to fret over.
A trickier question is what affect the broader issues in the financial markets have for the development of clean energy. And, well, it’s hard to say, as all sorts of countervailing forces are at work.
The Solar Stik™ is a small-scale energy generator that is capable of providing clean, green energy wherever it is needed most. The versatile system takes advantage of both solar and wind turbine technology and is quick to set up, making it perfect for applications ranging from boating and recreation to providing emergency relief and humanitarian aid.
Subscription Based Fuel – The Future is Electric
Agassi dealt with the battery issue by simply swatting it away. Previous approaches relied on a traditional manufacturing formula: We make the cars, you buy them. Agassi reimagined the entire automotive ecosystem by proposing a new concept he called the Electric Recharge Grid Operator. It was an unorthodox mashup of the automotive and mobile phone industries. Instead of gas stations on every corner, the ERGO would blanket a country with a network of “smart” charge spots. Drivers could plug in anywhere, anytime, and would subscribe to a specific plan—unlimited miles, a maximum number of miles each month, or pay as you go—all for less than the equivalent cost for gas. They’d buy their car from the operator, who would offer steep discounts, perhaps even give the cars away. The profit would come from selling electricity—the minutes.There would be plugs in homes, offices, shopping malls. And when customers couldn’t wait to “fill up,” they’d go to battery exchange stations where they would pull into car-wash-like sheds, and in a few minutes, a hydraulic lift would swap the depleted battery with a fresh one. Drivers wouldn’t pay a penny extra: The ERGO would own the battery.
Berkeley is expected to make a major leap forward Tuesday in its first-in-the-nation plan to allow homeowners to pay for solar energy systems through their property taxes.The City Council is slated to approve a new tax district that residents could join voluntarily to finance solar energy systems for their homes. The city would reimburse the homeowner for the installation and material costs, and the homeowner would pay back the money at a fixed rate over 20 years. The advantages for homeowners are that the city can borrow money at a lower interest rate than an individual can and that the tax program would stay with the house if the homeowner sells.
High Efficiency Solar Cells Just Got Cheaper
University of Utah engineers devised a new way to slice thin wafers of the chemical element germanium for use in the most efficient type of solar power cells. They say the new method should lower the cost of such cells by reducing the waste and breakage of the brittle semiconductor.
Quote for Today
Sunday, September 21st, 2008Disney is the closest thing this country has to a common spiritual experience.
~~Eugene Wolf, Actor Barter Theatre
Poem For Today
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008Having a Coke with You
is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne
or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona
partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian
partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt
partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches
partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary
it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still
as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it
in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth
between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles
and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint
you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them
I look
at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world
except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick
which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time
and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism
just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or
at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me
and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them
when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank
or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully
as the horse
it seems they were all cheated of some marvellous experience
which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I’m telling you about it
~~ Frank O’Hara
