Going solar

As a producer for Campus Progress, I spent the beginning of this month following around a team of students from Virginia Tech, a group that has spent more than two years building our future: Solar-powered houses.

Twenty teams descended on the National Mall recently to participate in the Solar Decathlon, a competition held by the Department of Energy to encourage the development and use of solar energy. As the crazy girl with the camera, my job involved a midnight police escort to the foot of the Washington Monument, a speedy ride in the back of a pick up truck and a day spent wearing a hard hat. Not too shabby.

To hear from Chip Clark, a Virginia Tech student and three-time competition participant, see my video here.

If you’re in D.C. and want to visit the Virginia Tech house (and 19 other homes on display) head downtown to see the homes on the Mall until Oct. 18.

Enjoy!

Julie.

Where’s your trash going?

If you read just one item this evening it should be this article:

“Smuggling Europe’s Waste to Poorer Countries.” The New York Times.

European governments increasingly mandate that companies recycle their waste or dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. But green disposal of thousands of tons of waste is expensive, so several corporations have found a cheaper way to get rid of their trash: send it to the global south.

In some European countries this is illegal, and inspectors chase down those who ship their waste to countries like China and Brazil. But in the U.S., where disposal laws are much more lax, sending our broken refrigerators, cracked ipods and beat up televisions to Brazilian backyards is quite alright.

The article points out some of the major obstacles to creating a greener, more sustainable world system.

Read the article. Let me know what you think.

Julie.