Posts By Kate Hash

How Healthy are the Oceans?

We don’t get too many chances to talk about water issues – or at least not as many chances as the topic deserves – and we have even fewer to talk about ocean issues. But a new project to measure the health of the oceans recently caught our attention and we wanted to share itRead… Read more »

Performance.gov Goes Live to Public

The website Performance.gov was officially opened to the public last week. As the name suggests, the goal of the website is to increase governmental performance and accountability through transparency. While a lot of things fall under the purview of “performance” sustainability and green government initiatives are certainly a prominent part of what the Obama AdministrationRead… Read more »

U.N. Sec. General Visits NREL

Last week, while most of the east coast was bracing for Hurricane Irene, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited the Department of Energy’s NREL facilities in Colorado on Thursday. The Secretary General spoke highly of the work being done at NREL, and expressed his desire to learn from NREL’s example, saying: “I’m here at NRELRead… Read more »

News of the Week

Here is a brief list of some of the interesting sustainability news articles from this week: Chrysler teams with cellulosic-ethanol firm ZeaChem U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 2010 Solar power plant switches to PV from thermal MIT Weighs the Lifecycle Impacts of Concrete And you’ll find more headlines at CEILeadership.org! Original post

Energy Efficient Light Bulb Comparison

CFL, LED, incandescent. The simple light bulb is clearly a think of the past, but how do modern, energy efficient bulbs differ from the incandescent versions of the past? One of the writers at cnet wondered the same thing and recently published a “regular person’s review” of the various bulbs. The color differences in theRead… Read more »

Getting Serious About Tidal Energy

The video above gives a great overview of a DOE-sponsored University of Washington project being conducted in Puget Sound to study the viability of tidal power in the area and establish a baseline to evaluate environmental impacts of the turbines. For more information on the project, visit the UW site. Original post

Heat and Drought Cause Water Problems in Texas Town

When it’s hot and dry, and has been for a while, water concerns often come to the forefront of public discussions. And recently water issues became a big concern for Kemp, Texas residents when dry soil and aging water infrastructure led to 14 major water line breaks. The town ultimately decided to shut off waterRead… Read more »

A Look at NASA’s Sustainability Base

Here is a quick follow up on last Friday’s post about sustainability at NASA. In the video below, USA Today interviews Steve Zornetzer, Associate Center Director, NASA Ames – and GOVgreen participant – about NASA’s new ultra-efficient building, and takes us on a brief tour of the construction site. Original post