#Sustainability

"Economic growth is the biggest destroyer of the ecology," he says. "Those people who think you can have a growing economy and a healthy environment are wrong. "If we don't reduce our numbers, nature will do it for us."

So how do we take this win in the geological lottery and make Alberta an energy superpower? By getting government back in the business of being in business. We have to, as we build the common wealth and advance the common good. Alberta’s public interest demands that we process bitumen in Alberta and use that wealth to build the green future for the province right here.

 "Graphene Will Change The World And Fortunes Will Be Made!"  http://ow.ly/oo63i via @Retirefund

3-D Graphene — The Future Of Solar Cells?
Read more at  http://ow.ly/orJEO

Social media for sustainability can be a great way for employees to interact with, share and amplify your brand’s conversations and content.  Empowering employees to engage with the community at large can help unite brand perception with brand performance in addition to helping all better understand business sustainability value creation. 

This information is designed to provide the information necessary for people to secure the type of sustainable housing that will soon be a necessity. We cover concepts relative to today's current way of thinking and ways in which we will we have to think in the future as a species in order to survive on this planet.

The Small Business Eco Challenge celebrates the environmental achievements of small businesses operating in Edmonton.

Submissions are being accepted until 4pm MDT on Friday, September 27, 2013. Enter now!

The potential benefits of replicating this kind of program globally a myriad. The world’s poorest fifth could see a large part of their income freed up; the carbon footprint of global fuel use for lighting — equivalent to that of Argentina — would be cut; and when the grid does come to many of these families, use of solar will already be established, encouraging more renewable energy going forward.

Check out Howell Mayhew Engineering for your #solar projects in #Alberta http://ow.ly/omI28

I use green to mean stuff that is less bad – and I chose my words carefully – for the planet and the flora and fauna that live on it.

Sustainable, on the other hand, gets beaten around the ring – mostly by people who throw their hands in the air and say, “Sustainable. What does that even mean?” Its meaning is quite simple, really.

It means able-to-be-sustained.

In Italy, solar PV power production attained an unprecedented high of 13,810 GWh in the first seven months of the year. That is an increase of almost 20% over that period of the previous year, according to TERNA.

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2013/08/23/solar-pv-power-production-hits-unprecedented-high-in-italia/#rgWvu44QuoGAdZ5V.99 ;

Due to improvements in LED technology, the use of LEDs in roadway lighting fixtures has been a new development within the industry. Manufacturers are introducing LED fixtures in their line of products. As LEDs becoming more advanced and cost-effective, manufacturers and consumers consider the LED fixtures the future of roadway lighting.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductor devices that emit light when an electric current passes through them. They are designed for better control over the electrical current making them have low current, heat and voltage. This results in longer lifespan, lower maintenance costs and energy savings.

The lifespan of LED Streetlights is determined by its light output compared to its original design specification. Once its brightness decreases by 70%, an LED Streetlight is considered to be at the end of its life.

The City of Edmonton initiated pilot projects to test and temporarily install energy efficient fixtures at locations across the city. Each test area consist of 5 LED fixtures from several different manufacturers.

Replacement of the existing High Pressure Sodium Street Lights with LED Street Lights began in residential areas in 2011. Replacements will be done in conjunction with the neighbourhood rehabilitation program and the neighbourhood LED retrofit programs.

These are complete reconstructions of neighbourhoods. The entire street light system is replaced. This includes bases and underground cabling.

This program selects neighbourhoods that are in the middle of their life span. The retrofit program targets neighborhoods with poor pole conditions and old luminaires. Both the pole and luminaires will be replaced in these areas. This will include the conversion of alley lighting. The existing base and cable will remain until the neighbourhood is eventually selected in the future for full reconstruction.

Conversion from the conventional street lighting to LED technology will result in power consumption reductions between 40 per cent and 60 per cent per light, depending on each particular manufacturer.

Light replacement is in line with the previous conversion to LED Traffic Signals in 2006.

LED fixture lifetimes haven’t been time tested. A schedule for upgrades and maintenance should be initiated to determine the actual life of the fixture. Overall, the positive benefits of LED fixtures make them a focus as they become more advanced and cost-effective.

Also see:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Committee+supports+faster+conversion+Edmonton+street+lights/8451431/story.html

Magnovate Technologies proposes to move people, freight and commodities, like oilsands bitumen, along an elevated track at speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour in computer-controlled, driverless vehicles.

Nanomaterials to be used in future transportation projects http://pinterest.com/pin/197806608606615330/