Curb Cup Event--Crazyness!!

This is the smaller version of the curb cup that will be given to the big winner; just finished it up in time to run it down to the event :)

Cute, eh??

And, here I am at the big event, passing the cup along :) OMG; I was amazed at how many people were out for the fun--it was crazy!!

Walking along 8th street, trying to make it through the crowds to see all the performers....





All in all, I think the event was a great success for the 1st year; still amazed at how big the crowd was downtown! We had to wait 20 minutes just to get out of the parking garage! I haven't heard who won the big prize, & I'm dyeing to know!!!

Amber

Using Solar Power to Extract Oil...

Here is a rather unusual use for Solar Power:

"Chevron disclosed...plans to use...solar thermal technology to enhance oil recovery from an aging well in central California. The system will use 7,000 mirrors on Chevron-owned land to reflect light onto a tower to make steam...The steam will be pumped underground to heat up heavy oils and make them easier to extract. Right now, Chevron uses natural gas to make steam."

Sources: cnet, reuters

Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem

Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem? from Rembrandt Koppelaar on Vimeo.

This is a slide video of a presentation given by Rolf Widmer and David Rochat at the Oil Drum/ASPO Conference at Alcatraz, Italy in June 2009. Rolf and David work at EMPA and SOFIES on more efficient material management for industrial society. Their talk is about the flows, availability, and recycling of minerals in industrial ecosystems, called Mining the Technosphere: a Solution for the Industrial Ecosystem. The pdf's of the presentation can be found here1 and here2

Waste Exchange Initiatives

I came across three regional initiatives promoting waste exchange, reuse and Industrial Symbiosis between companies, business and/or households. They are the following:

• WasteMatchers: Re-use website for householders & Businesses in Cork City & County. This free exchange website is a joint venture between Cork County Council, Cork City Council, South Cork Enterprise Board and Macroom E. It allows you to pass on unwanted goods to others.
• DublinWaste: Waste management website for householders in Dublin. It includes interactive features like Free Trade (pass on or pick up unwanted items for free) and Recycle Search (find local recycling facilities)
• Mid-West Regional Authority: The Mid-West Regional Authority has recently become part of a National Network focusing on the concept of Industrial Ecology, where 'One Company's Waste is another Company's Resource'. The Network comprises representatives from the Regional Authorities, EPA, Regional Waste Management Offices and Supply Network Shannon.
  

RE Boutique sign; Installed

Last night Kevin & delivered the signs to the shop--they look great in place! They are funky & different, & I love the copper with the color of the brick building....

Shop owner Mckinsey...

And, the front of the store. Stop in & check it out; RE is a cute little shop with great clothing & accessories. From the Facebook page: "A great boutique with a great concept: a small shop selling local artisan works, recycled clothing and re-purposed furniture. It is designed to be a community project that takes a creative look at how to reuse, renew and re-purpose." Located at 405 South 8th Street; right in the heart of BoDo....

Boise Curb Cup

The Curb Cup has been making its way around Boise, getting ready for it's big debut at the street fair celebration on August 30th. Check out the pics :)



Here's some of the details about the event:

"All the world's a stage." William Shakespeare's As You Like It

On Sunday, August 30, much of Downtown Boise will be a stage – where entertainment and performance all come to life on our streets and sidewalks.

Destined to be a must-attend, gotta-participate annual signature event for our community, the inaugural Curb Cup will feature hundreds of performers and thousands of voter attendees...all in one great circus of creativity in the heart of our city. It’s all free. It’s all fun. And, it’s all to celebrate who we are, where we live, and how we express ourselves.



There is even a competitive element to the Curb Cup – everyone who attends is a voter for their favorite act (details below) and influences the outcome of our winners and the prizes. The big kahuna is the Curb Cup itself, with the most coveted trophy in the Western Hemisphere and a $1000 grand prize. Whatever act gets the most votes from the attendees wins the Curb Cup and the cash. You may not be the best or prettiest, you may just know the most voters or, motivate those hundreds of posers on your Facebook page. Mobilize your network and go for the gold!


Drum roll please. The Curb Cup itself is the most coveted trophy in the Western Hemisphere and the symbol of this special event. It is huge, artistic and eye-popping. And on August 30, one lucky performer will be the first to have his name engraved on the Cup, which will become a permanent fixture in Boise for hundreds of years. Kinda like the State House, Boise Depot or Pengillys.

Sign up & get all the details at BoiseCurbCup.com: hope to see you there!

amber

GM reduces the amount of Pt per Fuel Cell car from 80 to 30 g

GM has dramatically reduced the size and the Pt load in their 93 kW Fuel Cell from 80 g to 30 g. This is an important step forward although still far from the 3 g per car which is present in catalysts in conventional ICE cars. Pt availability and price will still be an important hurdle for FC vehicles entering the market with this level of Pt on board. Via green autoblog.

Different results corn ethanol studies explained

In an online first article by Richard Plevin in de Journal of industrial Ecology the authors explain the differences between a recent study by Liska et al. and the GREET model that is used by regulators in California. It turned out that Liska assumed a more efficient biorefinery and in some cases fails to properly account for upstream emissions. When this is corrected both models come up with 61 g CO2-equivalent per MJ.

The work of Plevin is very important, especially when the discussion on a topic is as hot as it is with bioethanol. It is of utmost importance to clearly understand the reasons for the discrepencies in the results of different studies.

Update: Liska responds to Plevin and the editors enter the discussion.

Ethanol from wood reduces global warming emissions by 46% to 68% per MJ gasoline avoided

A study from the NTNU industrial ecology group conlcudes that ethanol from wood from boreal forests in Scandinavia could, depending on the system design, reduce global warming emissions of 46% to 68% per-MJ-gasoline avoided, along with reductions in most of the other environmental impact categories considered. Furthermore the study finds that the region's surplus forest-bioenergy resources are vast; use for the production of bioethanol today would have resulted in the displacement of 55% to 68% of the region's gasoline-based global warming emission—or 6% to 8% of Norway's total global warming emissions associated with road transportation. The study was published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology

Marian Chertow on Industrial Symbiosis

Here is an 8:00 interview with Marian Chertow talking about Industrial Symbiosis. The Yale professor looks at cooperation and material flows between companies as an emergent phenomenon (rather than planned). She brings on examples of Eco-Industrial parks in Denmark, Hawaii and India. Notions like self-organization and closed material loops are introduced. A short, simple and educative talk by one of the veterans of the Industrial Ecology field.

"You remember mutual symbiosis from middle school biology, where two animals – like the clown fish and the sea anemone – form a relationship that benefits both. The same life-cycle principles are now being applied to industrial systems."

Boise Curb Cup

All done & ready for the Boise Curb Cup logo; nice & shiny & bright; loving the copper handles!
check out the event website for all the details at www.boisecurbcup.com

More on the RE sign & the latest wedding bouquet

More progress on the RE Boutique signs; this is the one that will go outside the building on the bracket; loving the details.... Will add something funky to the circle at the bottom & the leaf will be patina green, like the other sign: oooh, & I definately will be adding some sparkles! So, the other sign-the bigger one-was supposed to go on the bracket, but it was too heavy...my bad: it was kinda that way all last week... Anyway, I'm making the bigger one into a rolling sign to sit on the sidewalk; in the end it all worked out fine :) If you have'nt been into the store yet, you definately need to check it out. RE is a mix of vinatage & artist created clothing, jewelry, accessories, organic skins care products, & fine art. You can find the cutest bags made of all recycled materials there, along with other unique & fun




And, in other news; just listed on Etsy; a new wedding bouquet made from recycled aluminum "skwiggle sticks" BTW-this is Alysa; my husband's super-model daughter: more on that later... Anywho, the bouquet features tons of sparkling Austrian crystals, & white pearls. This is one of my favs to date: love the heart shaped cyrstal dangles on the tip of each stick...



Thats it for now; stay tuned: I'll be making a big announcement this week & starting a new blog & new adventures :)

Amber

August pics from around the garden

over on the wild side...things are growing along nicely.



Mooshy cat following me around, as usual...


these are going to be chicken houses; cute, huh??


another view of the wild side...


the front veggie patch; carrots are getting big; beets keep on growing, just harvested a ton of eggplant, cabbage is almost ready, & the bean vines have finally started to flower...


love morning glories; I have them growning everywhere; they are such a vibrant purple!


And the back veggie patch/sunflower jungle. The goldfinches love the sunflowers; since they have been blooming, I've seen more little birdies flitting about; they land on the flowers & bend the plant over--it's funny watching them lean over & dig out the seeds upside down.


another view of the back; so far I've harvested a ton of cucumbers; they seem to multiply in the night, lots of beets, a few carrots, some kholarabi, & tomatoes.

Thats all for now...

Amber

RE Boutique Sign & Curb Cup Progress

It's coming along nicely now; shiny & bright...

Grind dust from cleaning & polishing :)

And, here it is; looking like a cup now. Will be adding copper handles & the curb cup logo. It stands about 3 1/2 feet tall, made from salvaged aluminum.



the RE sign: coming along nicely; all put together with copper riveted to a steel background... I added a patina to the leaf; it will continue to age & get greener outside. And I couldnt resist adding some sparkles too! They will glitter & shine in the sun :)

Going to look at installation today; will post pics of it in place; I think it will look really cool & it's definately different than most of the signs down at BoDo :)

My next car....

I've been telling my friends for years now that our next car would be an electric car (yes ...no car would even be better...). Until now the only options were a very limited Think or a the Tesla gadget car. It seems that there is light on the horizon with the unveiling of the Nissan Leaf that will be for sale late 2010 in Japan, the US and (yes) Europe. This looks like a normal car, has a range of 180 km and can be charged upto 80% in 30 minutes with a special charger. On 220 V a full charge will take 8 hours.