Thursday, December 2, 2010

Green Day Planner: December 2010


Burbank Library Green Events: December 2010

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

Burbank & Southern California
Dec 9+: LA: Pacific Green Conference & Expo
Dec 20: Burbank Sustainable Task Force


National
Dec 2+: Biomass Renewable Energy – Miami
Dec 7+: EcoBuild America – Wash DC
Dec 8+: World Energy Engineering Congress – Wash DC


Upcoming Events: January, 2010
Team Business Burbank Lecture Series:
Building a World-Class Green Business

Jan 5: Greening Your Restaurant/Food Service
Jan 12: Concrete Strategies for a Green Business
Jan 19: Embracing Cradle-to-Cradle Concepts

Time: Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
Location: Community Services Building 150 N. Third Street
*January 5th class will be held at Burbank Central Library, 110 N. Glenoaks Blvd

REGISTRATION:
Register online at Team Business burbank
or call (818) 238-5198
**Participants must register for each course separately.

$10 Burbank Residents
$15 Non-Burbank Residents
Free to Burbank Chamber of Commerce Members

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Business Watch: NBC Universal Evolution Plan

Universal City Project EIR Available for Public Review - Comment Deadline Extended
Burbank City Newsroom: November 5, 2010

Update: The deadline to submit comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed "NBC Universal Evolution Plan" has been extended to February 4, 2011.

The City of Los Angeles has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed "NBC Universal Evolution Plan" for public review. The EIR analyzes the possible environmental impacts from the proposed project, which would be located in the Universal City area next to Burbank.

Although the project is not located within the City of Burbank, it will have effects on Burbank. As such, Burbank residents and businesses may wish to review the EIR and submit comments. The proposed project includes substantial new development at and around Universal Studios including about 2.01 million square feet of new commercial development, 500 hotel rooms, and 2,937 residential units.

The EIR and additional information about the project can be viewed online at the Los Angeles Planning Department's web site. Because of the size of the document, each section may be downloaded separately. CD-ROMs with electronic copies of the EIR may be purchased from the City of Los Angeles by contacting Mariana Salazar at (213) 978-1882.

Hard copies of the EIR are available for public review at the following locations in the City of Burbank:
~ Central Library - 110 North Glenoaks Boulevard
~ Buena Vista Branch Library - 300 North Buena Vista Street
~ City Clerk's Office - 275 East Olive Avenue

~ Community Services Building - 1st Floor Permit Center & 2nd Floor Public Counter - 150 N Third

Comments on the EIR must be submitted in writing to the City of Los Angeles no later than February 4, 2011. Comments must be submitted to:

Jon Foreman - Senior City Planner
City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning
200 North Spring Street, Room 601 - Los Angeles, California 90012

fax: (213) 978-6566
email: jon.foreman@lacity.org

Burbank Central Library and the Buena Vista Branch each have a complete set of the 27 volume report and circulating copies on CD. The Northwest Branch has a Reference copy.

View the NBC Universal Evolution Plan Environmental Impact Report online.

Copies of the full Draft EIR document or any of the documents referenced in the Draft EIR are also available @:

Francis Howard Goldwyn-Hollywood Regional Library

1623 Ivar Avenue - Hollywood, CA 90028

North Hollywood Regional Library
5211 Tujunga Avenue - North Hollywood, CA 91601

Studio City Branch Library
12511 Moorpark Street - Studio City, CA 9160

County Department of Regional Planning
320 West Temple Street, 13th Floor - Room 1362 - Los Angeles, CA 90012

Los Angeles Central Library
630 West 5th Street - Los Angeles, CA 90071

PURCHASE - On CD-ROM for $7.50 per copy
Contact: Mariana Salazar, of the City of Los Angeles
(213) 978-1882

Report on NBC's Universal Evolution Almost As Large As Project Itself
LA Curbed: November 5, 2010 by Dakota Smith

. . . . . And below, just some elements about this project, which will be built in phases. (And yup, this project, which will rise both on city and county land, is still expected to cost at least $3 billion.)

---A total of 2,937 residential dwelling units and 115,000 square feet of retail/commercial uses are planned. Additionally, a 500-space hotel would be built. Approximately 638,000 square feet of existing studio, office, and entertainment uses would be demolished.

---The project is so big that a new regional branch would need to be constructed to meet City’s library service standards.

---An extensive bike path network within the project is planed, one with bike rack and locks at various locations along the route.

--In the same way that LA Live has its own specific plan, NBC Universal is asking for two new specific plans (one for the city and one for the LA County). Under this new specific plan, they are requesting signage--which would range from supergraphics to electronic signs--on their buildings.

--The impact of the overall project on the surrounding neighborhoods is broken down in this report. It's too detailed to get into for each neighborhood, but if, for instance, you live in Hollywood Manor, you can read about the possible effects. All of that information is in the summary. Click on the report on the City Planning's web site, and then pull down Volume 1, "Introduction/Summary." You may also want to click on the other Volume tabs, as they deal with issues like noise, glare, etc.

--As far as traffic, the site is expected to generate a net increase of 28,108 daily trips on a typical weekday, including approximately 2,328 morning peak hour trips and 2,770 afternoon peak hour trips.

--New roadways would be built, while numerous roads will be widened: Among then, Buddy Holly Drive between Barham Boulevard and the US 101 northbound off-ramp shall be widened from its current state. READ MORE !

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

COB: Burbank Water & Power - Smart Grid


More money for smart meters
Officials stress a newer solar technology design that produces more energy.
Burbank Leader: October 26, 2010 by Gretchen Meier

Burbank Water and Power now has an additional $1.5 million for its smart meter ambitions, adding to the already substantial $20-million pool for the project.

After being one of just a handful of cities nationwide to receive a $20-million federal stimulus grant for smart grid infrastructure last year, the utility was awarded a $1-million grant from the California Energy Commission and $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Burbank Water and Power was selected by the California Energy Commission for its planned solar panel project. The utility will be partnering with RayDyne Energy in Austin, Texas, to develop and operate concentrated solar photovoltaic systems to generate electrical power.

No air or water pollution is generated in the process, officials said.

"This is a newer solar technology with a totally different design," said Jeanette Meyer, marketing manager for Burbank Water and Power. "Using the same amount of space, we will be able to produce more energy."

Burbank Water and Power will partner with 700 city households with swimming pools to test a two-year energy efficiency program focused on shifting demand loads from peak to off-peak periods.

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The original $20-million grant will help for the installation of smart meters that track real-time water and electricity use by Burbank residents through a network of wireless communication systems, advanced meters and collection systems.

Smart-grid technology could also reduce electricity consumption by more than 4% by 2030, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. READ MORE !

Friday, October 29, 2010

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

Thursday, October 21, 2010

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

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

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.

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"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 !

Friday, October 8, 2010

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.