Green Day Planner: November 2010

Burbank Library Green Events: November 2010

Calendar of Green Events in Burbank and Greater LA. Check out State and National events on the Green Day Planner.

Burbank
Nov 11: CHEMERICAL: Redefining Clean - Woodbury Univ. @ 7pm
~ family's 3 month journey to live w/o chemicals
Nov 15: Sustainable Task Force @ 4:30pm

Local & California
Nov 3+: Water Quality Conference – Ontario
Nov 3: Wise Power Use Expo – Mar Vista (Westside) @ 6:30pm
Nov 5+: Green Festival – San Francisco
Nov 7+: Summit-Emerging Tech’s Energy Efficiency - Sacramento
Nov 14+: Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conf – Sacramento
Nov 30+: Assoc California Water Agencies Conf – Indian Wells

National
Nov 1+: Water Resources Conference – Philadelphia
Nov 3+: American Water Summit – Washington DC
Nov 4+: Only Sustainable Conf. – Miami
Nov 4+: Smart Water Grid Technologies – Chicago
Nov 8+: Advanced Energy 2010 - NY

Business Watch: IKEA

Swedish furniture store equipping American locations with solar panels
Cleanenergyauthority: October 14, 2010 by Amanda H. Miller

Ikea announced yesterday that it would install photovoltaic panels on seven stores and its distribution center in California.

The 20,000 panels will produce 6.65 million kilowatt hours, according a press release from the Swedish furniture company. That’s enough energy to power 580 average American homes.

The PV array that will be installed on the Ikea distribution center will be the second largest in California and among the top 10 largest building installations in the country, said Joseph Roth, Ikea’s public relations manager for the United States.

The panels will be installed later this year on stores in East Palo Alto, Emeryville, West Sacramento, Burbank, Costa Mesa, Covina and San Diego, along with its distribution center in Tejon. READ MORE !

Burbank store – opened in 1990; store size: 242,000 SF on 6.4 acres
SOLAR PROGRAM:
35,000 SF at 290 kW
1,260 panels generating 421,300 kWh/year
Equivalent to reducing 334 tons of CO2
58 cars’ emissions or powering 37 homes

COB: Burbank Water & Power

Cities defend coal practices
Glendale and Burbank are accused by environmental group of 'burning dirty coal.'
Burbank Leader: October 9, 2010 by Melanie Hicken

CITY HALL — Local utility officials this week fired back against an environmental advocacy group's mailer campaign targeting the use of electricity generated at coal-fired power plants.

The Renewable Energy Conservation Project produced and sent the mailers, which depict ominous dark clouds looming over Glendale and Burbank and rail against their utilities for having coal-fired generators make up 38% and 42%, respectively, of their power supplies.

6 6 6 6 6 6 6

"Our message is simple," Jim Gonzalez, the group's chairman, said in a statement. "We are urging 100,000 voters to tell their local elected officials to stop using dirty coal and switch to clean renewable energy for their electricity needs."

Local utility officials countered that they are moving in that direction. Both cities have committed to buying roughly one-third of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

"We agree with the [Renewable Energy Conservation Project] kids," said Burbank Water & Power General Manager Ron Davis. "They are just out-of-date and misinformed."

In Burbank, modernized natural gas plants have already cut the utility's carbon emissions to below 1990 levels, he said.

The utility also continues to add to its renewable-energy portfolio, in turn ramping down its coal production, which Davis said is already below the 42% cited in the mailer. READ MORE !

10/10/10: Celebrate Climate Solutions

A Day to Celebrate Climate Solutions

On 10/10/10, in every corner of the globe, 350.org will implement solutions to the climate crisis. From solar panels to community gardens, wind turbines to bike workshops, start to change your world from the bottom up. At all of these events, take a moment to shoot a group photo with a call to action for your political leaders. Tell them "We're getting to work--what about you?"

And what does this 350 number even mean?

350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide—measured in "Parts Per Million" in our atmosphere. 350 PPM—it's the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

Current Measure: CO2 in the Atmosphere: 388.15ppm

Top Ideas For 10/10/10 Events
#1 Organize a Tree Planting
#2 Go Solar
#3 Work on a Community Garden or an Organic Farm
#4 Go For a Bike Ride
#5 Harness the Wind
#6 Get Efficient
#7 Do a trash cleanup

Find an event near you

October 16, 2pm - 4pm

JPL Climate Change Symposium
Jet Propulsion Laboratory climate scientists will discuss and explain climate change and global warming, and what the individual can do to slow it.
Open to the public, free admission.
Location: von Karman Auditorium, JPL, Pasadena.