Ontario goes solar

The Ontario government has given approval for a California company to construct a massive solar "farm" near Sarnia that will blanket an area larger than all three Toronto islands with hundreds of thousands of sun-soaking panels.

It will be the largest solar power station in North America and among the most expansive in the world to use photovoltaic cells that produce electricity when exposed to sunlight. Once complete, the 40-megawatt Sarnia project will be able to supply enough emission-free electricity to power between 10,000 and 15,000 homes on sunny days.

"This is certainly the most exciting thing I've ever worked on," said Peter Carrie of OptiSolar Farms Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Hayward, Calif.-based OptiSolar Inc. "We want to take solar mainstream."

The Ontario Power Authority has agreed to purchase the electricity under a 20-year contract that will see the clean power go into the provincial grid. An official announcement is expected today from the energy ministry.

The current world record-holder is the 12-megawatt Erlasee solar park in Germany, though another 40-megawatt park is under construction in the same region. On Monday, the largest U.S. project was announced: A 15-megawatt solar PV system to be built at an air force base in Nevada.


Source: Toronto Star

To read the complete article visit:
http://www.thestar.com/article/207415

Earth Day - We are live!

Today is Earth Day, and I am happy to launch SavethePlanetEarth.com. Our goal with this website is to bring stories around the planet to inspire and show you how easy can be to make a difference. Fell free to send your stories, questions or comments.

Special Thank to: Rick Menkis, Tiago Celestino, Stephanie Hagemen, Igor Ikeda & Lucas Hirata. Thank you for your support to make this happen!

Top 5 Things You Can Do While In the Great Outdoors

Unfortunately, people are not always good stewards of our natural world. Overfishing and overhunting can disrupt a habitat's balance. Mountain bikes and horseback riders can alter the landscape. Even hiking and camping leave their mark. Following are our Top 5 guidelines every outdoor enthusiast should try to follow while enjoying the best that nature has to offer.

1) Plan ahead. Camping or hiking responsibly requires knowing the environment you'll be occupying – including marked trails, designated campgrounds, animals you may encounter, and more. Be prepared!

2) Stay the course. If you're hiking in a muddy area, it's easy to create secondary paths as you try to sidestep the wet stuff. Avoid this by walking on rocks or logs. If you have no other choice, stay on the designated trail and walk through the mud. Use an existing campsite. Don't create a new campsite when you can use an existing one.

3) Keep fires small. Most areas have rules about how big your campfire can be. You can minimize your fire by using smaller pieces of wood.

4) Think reusable and clean up. Pack your food in reusable, collapsible containers instead of taking along disposable boxes and cans, and leave your campsite clean for the next group.

5) Don't bother wildlife. Aside from the fact that some animals can hurt you, you could also disrupt mating or nesting seasons. Feeding wildlife is always a bad idea. Once wild animals associate food with humans, a dangerous situation is created for both groups.

Source: Conservation International
Click here and learn what else you can do.

Oprah’s Green Show

Oprah went green today in honor of Earth Day. She has on Simran Sethi who is now host for Sundance Channel: the Green, as her environmental expert.

Oprah’s Tip #1: Paper or Plastic: NEITHER. Bring your own bag!
It’s one of our fave tips, too, Oprah. And, of course, you can get the Oprah “GrOceries” bag made of organic cotton for $9.50. Well, you could have. They are currently out of stock. Oprah said that they are charging what it costs to make them, as she doesn’t need money from bags, “I’ve got enough pairs of shoes”. Of course, she told the audience that they don’t need her bags - any bags will do, just bring your own!

Oprah’s Tip #2: Bring Your Own Bottle.
Again, we talk about this all of the time. Simran loves the Sigg bottle, as do I. I got mine at Reusablebags.com.

We then saw a clip with Laurie David & Sheryl Crow, who are currently on their Stop Global Warming Campus Tour. Which we’ve talked about plenty around here lately.

Then, it was on to Matt Damon with a tip to Stop Your Junk Mail. It’s really easy to do it yourself, though there are companies who can do it for you. Matt was promoting one such company called GreenDimes. For a dime a day, these guys will take care of most of it for you, plus plant a tree each month. He said he loves the service so much, he joined the Board. Seems like a new development because as of last month, his name wasn’t really on the list. We love this tip, as well. Do it yourself, or through GreenDimes, but get rid of all of that junk mail! (Thanks, Linton, for the screenshot!)
Oprah’s Tip #3: Clean Green.
They went through some green, non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaners such as Method, Seventh Generation, Shaklee, and Mrs. Meyers.
I only caught the first half of the show. There were also some tips about using fewer paper napkins and using a smart strip or power strip to manage your electronics that go on standby. I’ll watch the rest later and will update this post if there is anything earth shattering. I really thought there would be more celebs in the studio for the Earth Day show. Oh well! The tips were great ones and the ones I repeat over and over. They are the easiest and will make a huge impact if we all take part

Source: Ecorazzi
http://www.ecorazzi.com

Be aggressive about passive

By Stephanie Kirchner

Georg Zielke, his wife and kids share a five-bedroom "passive house" in Darmstadt, Germany, with heating costs 90% lower than their neighbors'. Extra insulation and state-of-the-art ventilation recycle the energy from passive sources such as body heat, the sun and household appliances to warm the air. When it gets really cold, the Zielkes just turn on the TV.

The German government has thrown its weight behind the idea, guaranteeing low cost loans for people who want to build a passive house. They cost about 5% to 8% more to build than a standard one. Invented in a German-Swedish joint-venture in he early 1990s, about 10,000 have been built in Europe so far, most of them in Germany—and just three in the U.S.

Source: Time Magazine "51 Things We Can Do to Save the Environment"
Click here and learn what else you can do.