Read the full story in Governing.
The water that disappears down the kitchen drain at Hotel La Rose in Santa Rosa plays a part in generating electricity for the northern California city. The Geysers Recharge Project pumps recycled water to a geothermal power plant in the Mayacamas Mountains where it is used to replenish the steam field.
May 28 at 12 P.M. CDT
Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/133134529
Learn How New Cooling Tower Treatment Systems Can Save Water, Money and Support Climate Change Resilience
Sponsored by:
Comparing Non-Traditional Water Treatment in Cooling Towers
Hear about how GSA, Region 8, and DOE/NREL are finding ways to dramatically reduce cooling tower water usage and treatment chemicals, which saves money and can support climate adaptation and resilience efforts.
Cooling towers, which are installed in many federal buildings, consume large amounts of potable water and contribute greatly to annual utility, maintenance and operation costs. Conventional cooling towers require that chemicals and fresh water is periodically added to the cooling tower system to prevent scale formulation, hinder biological growth, and inhibit corrosion in the chillers and piping systems. GSA and DOE/NREL analyzed several non-chemical cooling tower water treatment systems to identify systems that reduce building operation costs through reduced water and chemical use, and improved chiller energy efficiency.
Hear Their Story
GSA has a story to share on how new cooling tower treatment systems can help agencies save water and money, and support resiliency in drought-prone locations. Join us and hear this story.
What is a GreenGov Spotlight Community?
When multiple federal partners located near each other work together to leverage regional resources and help achieve the goals of President Obama’s Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance. Spotlight Communities help cut government costs, increase efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, leverage resources among different agencies, and show us what is possible when we work together.
Read the full story at Atlantic Cities.
Urban trees in the U.S. absorb 25.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and help lower energy costs by shading the asphalt and concrete jungle. The US Forest Service estimates all that carbon storage is worth $50.5 billion and growing by $2 billion a year, according to a new study from the agency.
That’s a lot of green. Just one problem—how do you profit from all that photosynthesis?
In a recent Harvard Business School Working Paper entitled “Public Procurement and the Private Supply of Green Buildings”, researchers Timothy Simcoe and Michael W. Toffel examined the impact of environmentally friendly government procurement policies on private-sector adoption of the targeted products.
The authors found that municipal government green building procurement policies that apply only to municipal buildings also accelerate the use of green building practices in the private sector, both in the cities with these policies as well as in neighboring cities. They also found that such government policies encourage private-sector investment in complementary services, which likely reduces green building costs to private developers.
Read the full story at SmartPlanet.
How two mayors of small towns in right-wing America are showing the way to energy and climate progress: through local action.
In the latest P2 Pathways column, Jennifer Lasseter explains how the Texas capital’s program to spur small green businesses is also providing a boost to its economy.
Read the full story in Governing.
Hundreds of three-speed bikes painted “Chicago blue” will hit the streets in June when the city debuts a bicycle-sharing rental program that originally was set to launch last summer, officials are expected to announce Thursday.
Operating under the name Divvy, which is intended to convey the idea of sharing bikes, the system will start out with about 75 solar-powered docking stations in the downtown and River North areas and expand within a year to 400 stations and about 4,000 bicycles covering much of the city, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The White House recently honored twelve citizens, businesses, and community leaders who are “Champions of Change” working to prepare their communities for the consequences of climate change. These individuals are leaders and innovators working to build community resilience by preparing for increasingly extreme weather and other costly climate-related impacts. The “Champions of Change” program was created as a part of President Obama’s Winning the Future initiative. Each week, the White House features a group of Americans - individuals, businesses and organizations - who are empowering and inspiring members of their communities. To read about the honorees, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions/.
Read the full story at FastCo.Exist.
From participatory budgets to civic engagement games, cities are coming up with all kinds of new ways to bring citizens into the planning process. And here’s another nice idea: a “housing simulator” from Auckland.
