An international contest — which also includes undergrad and graduate participants from Aachen University in Germany; Art Center College of Design in California; and Deakin University in Australia; — the goal of each school in the competition is to design a 21st century vehicle that will recapture the attributes that made Henry Ford’s Model T the revolutionary automobile it was - simple, lightweight, practical, compelling and inexpensive.

Sound easy? Not so much when you consider the contest rules, which call for a car that must be priced under $7,000, accommodate at least two passengers, and offer solutions that address assembly, power train and sustainability. In addition, each of the vehicles must have a range of at least 125 miles.

The teams aren’t totally without help, though; each of the five universities received $75,000 in funding from Ford Global Technologies to support the creation of a vehicle concept through sketches, models, research papers and potentially even working models.

The participating universities have until September 1 to design their “Model T for this century”.

On October 1, the two teams with the best concept car according to a panel of Ford judges will be awarded $25,000 in scholarship funds for their respective schools.

Sure, NTW was a great success in Detroit in 2007, but this year’s celebration is extra-special because it also marks the start of “2008: Year of the Car,” a summer-long festival in Southeast Michigan designed to celebrate 100 years of General Motors and Ford’s Model T. More than 120 auto-themed activities are planned for the region through early October.

Overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation, NTW was established in the 1960s by President John F. Kennedy to celebrate the historical significance of transportation, focus on its future impact, and promote transportation-related careers. The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau (DMCVB) is the official host of NTW in 2008. It designated this year “The Year of the Car” to tie into the centennial celebrations of General Motors and the Ford Model T.

National Transportation Week features a number of conferences and events that bring the transportation community together to discuss its future. Events include the GM Heritage Tour, which was held Monday, and MDOT/AASHTO Transportation Education Day — a day-long event promoting transportation careers to young people — scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at the Detroit Science Center.

For more information on area activities related to NTW, click here.

According to the EPA, switching from 100% petroleum diesel fuel to a mix of petroleum diesel and 20% biodiesel fuel will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent. (I’d love to see a switch to 100% biodiesel, but hey — 20% is the new industry standard and it is a start). Biodiesel also reduces particulate matter — an emission linked to asthma and other diseases — and carbon monoxide, compared to conventional diesel fuel. In addition, the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel.

Along with the environmental benefits, DTE expects to save about $600,000 a year as a result of the change.

DTE will obtain the biodiesel from RKA Petroleum, a Romulus-based firm and one of 10 Michigan companies to be named to the 2007 edition of Inc.’s “500 Fastest Growing Firms” list.

Thanks to Detroit-based Metropolitan Alternative Energy Incorporated, you no longer need that fancy FlexFuel badge to fill up with ethanol.

Instead, all you need to do is purchase one of Metropolitan Alternative Energy’s E85 conversion kits, which range from the mid-$200s to about $800. The conversion kits are available for everything from four-, six- and eight-cylinder autos to RVs, motorcycles and more.

Why convert to E85? Besides being better for the environment, you’ll probably save a bundle - even with the upfront cost of the conversion kit. Currently, E85 prices in the metro Detroit area are in the $2.99 - $3.15/gallon range, while regular gas costs between $3.59 and $3.70/gallon.

True, E85 pumps aren’t as prevalent as regular gas stations, but they are popping up more and more. This handy site includes a list of E85 pumps in Southeast Michigan, as well as E85 pumps in different areas of the state. The site also details E85 prices.

Intrigued? I know I am. Visit flexfuelmyride.com for more information.

Bizarre looking? Yes, but, energy efficient? You betcha. A renewable-energy powered light that runs on wind and solar power, this special light pole has a small wind generator at the top and two solar electric panels on the sides that provide electricity to charge the batteries. These batteries, in turn, operate the streetlight on the pole, illuminating the entrance drive to Buhr Park and Cobblestone Farm.

Besides being powered by solar and wind energy, the light is unique in that it is an “induction” light — meaning it has no electrodes or electrical connections to the lamp. The power needed to generate light is transferred from the outside of the lamp envelope by means of electromagnetic fields, giving the light a lifespan of 22+ years of nighttime operation. The hybrid wind-solar light features a 400-watt wind generator and two 50-watt solar panels that are used to charge two 12-volt batteries with 100 amp-hours of storage.

This hybrid wind-solar light is a partnership between Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan’s Sustainable Design Research Laboratory (SDRL) within the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (TCAUP). Everlast Induction Lighting, a Jackson company, donated the light to UM-SDLR for testing. SDLR then contacted A2 government leaders to give them the opportunity to provide a location to install this test light. The city selected the Buhr Park entrance because more light was needed at the spot, and also because the unique looking light is quite visible to the public.

The lighting pilot test represents a UM/Ann Arbor partnership to test technologies to help A2 reach its eco-friendly goals. I’d say the city is well on its way.

Moderated by local TV and radio personality Murray Feldman, the event will discuss Detroit’s future in moving freight and moving people. Specifically, the event will address things like leveraging Detroit’s existing infrastructure to drive economic growth for the region, and look at how a proposed Aerotropolis, or Port of Detroit, will play a role in Detroit’s transportation future.

Kirk Streudle, Director of MDOT, will present opening remarks at the event, which is being held at the Henry Ford.

Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; Norfolk Southern Corporation’s Marc Higginbotham; and Dan Deane, president of Nicholson Terminal & Dock, Inc. will sit on the first panel, entitled “Moving Freight”.

Paul Tait, Executive Director of SEMCOG’s 2035 Southeast Michigan Transportation Plan; John Hertel, CEO of the Regional Transit Coordinating Council; and Heather Carmona, Executive Director of the Woodward Avenue Action Association, are panelists on the second part of the program, “Moving People”.

Tickets to this event are $25 each. Advanced registration is required. For more information, click here.

A national effort led by Dell, EDS, Google, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Pacific Gas and Electric and the World Wildlife Fund, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative aims to eliminate the wasted power and electricity that increases the emission of greenhouse gases by increasing energy efficiency through the use of more efficient computer equipment.

With nearly 55,000 desktop computers and laptops and nearly 3,700 servers in state government, the annual estimated energy cost savings will be approximately $955,000 according to estimates from the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The annual carbon dioxide aversion is estimated at 9,000 tons.

Created by Google and Intel in 2007, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative is a nonprofit group of eco-conscious consumers, businesses, and conservation organizations whose goal is promoting the development, deployment, and adoption of smart technologies that can improve the efficiency of a computer’s power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state. The goal of the program is a 50-percent reduction in power consumption by computers by 2010, netting $5.5 billion in global energy savings and an annual reduction of 54 million tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Michigan is the second state in the nation to join the program. Visit climatesaverscomputing.org for more information.

It’s all part of the hotel and island’s continuing effort to provide modern conveniences to visitors while protecting the environment and maintaining the 19th Century charm both are known for.

What kinds of things is the Grand Hotel doing to accomplish its goal of being designated a “green hotel” by Green Lodging Michigan? Plenty. For starters, the hotel recently installed water-based air conditioning systems in its classic rooms, and has switched over to energy-efficient lighting throughout the building. The property also has a specially designed composting system that produces all the compost Grand Hotel uses for its signature flowerbeds.

“Anything you see on the grounds is dirt that we made ourselves,” said Grand Hotel’s Superintendent of Grounds Mary Stancik. “None of it is from anywhere else. Every single grass clipping, every weed, every flower that is taken from the ground when the growing season is over goes into the compost pile.”

The only other ingredient added to the pile, she said, is coffee grounds collected from the hotel. “It adds a lot of acid to the soil that we otherwise would lack,” she said.

Stancik said it takes about a year and a half to use a compost pile and the hotel has three piles going at any one time. Work on the piles and on the hotel’s gardens starts in the middle of April each year and goes through the middle of November. Each fall the hotel plants a ton of bulbs, including 25,000 tulips and 15,000 daffodils.

Along with this and other programs, Mackinac Island has an island-wide program that composts all biodegradable waste on the island, as well as a state of the art water and wastewater treatment system. The positive environmental impact even extends to the electricity used on the island, which is generated by hydroelectric stations operated by Edison Sault Electric Co. Pretty forward-thinking, if you ask me.

1. Treehugger - There isn’t a better place to start than Treehugger. Dedicated to “driving sustainability mainstream,” Treehugger offers all the green networking and educational resources you could possibly need, including e-newsletters, audio and video podcasts, contests, and a very active forum where you can share your thoughts on new green products or stories about your personal sustainability struggles and successes.

2. Hugg - Launched by Treehugger last year, Hugg is the Digg of green news. This social bookmarking site asks users to rank the importance of submitted green news articles by voting for, or “hugging,” them. With a proliferation of green publications and news over the past few years, it’s nice to have a bookmarking site dedicated solely to these stories.

3. Greenedia - If Hugg’s completely democratic approach to highlighting eco-content on the web leaves you with a dubious feeling, then Greenedia (green + media) may be more to your liking. Greenedia asks tried-and-tested experts to vet the aggregated content they choose to highlight, and then offer lots of social media tools for users to add relevant links and commentary.

4. Sierra Club’s Cool Cities - On a local level, the most effective political action you can take to fight climate change is to get involved in the Sierra Club’s Cool Cities campaign, especially if your city’s mayor has not signed on yet. Twenty-one Michigan cities are already on board, but there are some very large cities that haven’t (Hey Detroit, Kalamazoo, Livonia, Pontiac, Clinton Township, Dearborn! Don’t think we haven’t noticed!).

5. 1Sky - Formed in 2007, 1Sky is a social activist networking site that organizes national campaigns, allowing people from all over North America to organize locally and find partners to fight climate change. The seeds of this organization can be found in popular campaigns from 2007 that utilized robust websites to rally activists to attend events and report back with their achievements and stories.

6. MakeMeSustainable - MakeMeSustainable is a social networking site that offers tools to help you lower your carbon footprint and energy costs. You’ll be asked for info about your lifestyle to enable the site can calculate your carbon rating and give you tips to lower it. With its focus on reducing your personal environmental impact through group support, MakeMeSustainable is kind of like Weight Watchers for the carbon heavy.

7. Slow Food USA - No one is saying that green living isn’t pleasurable. Slow Food USA (as opposed to “fast food”) is a worldwide group with six Michigan-area chapters, or “convivia,” you can join for tastings and other events. Green gourmands will also want to visit Detroit Evolution Laboratory, now offering vegan and raw food cooking classes online.

8. Green Maps - Ever wish you had a convenient map to help you find vegetarian restaurants and environmentally friendly businesses in your area? Green Maps offer the tools and resources you need to create maps or find existing maps that detail the various green oases in your area. There are only a handful of Michigan green maps so far, but these exercises in collaborative cartography can be a great service to those who seek out greener pastures of the urban wilderness.

9. Michigan Environmental Council - The Michigan Environmental Council is a Michigan-focused environmental advocacy and activist organization that works for political change to help preserve our state’s natural resources. A comprehensive list of its member groups will help you find the advocacy groups in your area.

10. Great Lakes Bioneers - Go north, young men and women! Well, at least this year. Perhaps the best opportunity to meet hundreds of Michigan green advocates in person is at the annual Great Lakes Bioneers conference, taking place on October 17-19 in Traverse City and featuring local and national activists, expert speakers, and green companies looking to promote their environmentally friendly wares.

Do you know of other great green networks? Leave a comment and let us know.

Students have planted seeds in the school’s greenhouse and will plant the seedlings and other seeds in the garden once the threat of frost has passed. Then, they will harvest their bounty and take it to Gleaners, which will give a portion back to the students for use in the school’s culinary arts program.

Along with the volunteer gardeners, the land will be offered to farmers to grow organic crops, corn for ethanol or soy beans for bio-diesel — with a portion of the profits donated to Gleaners.

Ann Arbor residents and potential homebuyers can now receive a free solar analysis by visiting the City’s Website, selecting “My Property Information”, and clicking on the “Solar Potential” tab.

Part of Mayor Hieftje’s 2005 Green Energy Challenge, which includes a goal of 5,000 solar roof installations by 2015, Ann Arbor Energy Commissioners and UM students assessed over 21,000 Ann Arbor roofs for their solar potential.

The Ann Arbor Energy Office and Energy Commission then worked with the Information Technology Services Unit to provide the results via the city’s Google-based My Property web application within a new tab called “Solar Potential”.

A2’s website notes that “if every residential building in Ann Arbor had a one kilowatt solar electric system on the roof, we could generate over 30 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year or about 10% of Ann Arbor’s 2000 residential electrical use.”

Click here for more information.

According to WWJ’s Great Lakes IT Report, “all of the exotic sport cars in the series compete on either diesel fuel or E10 or E85 ethanol blends. In addition, the series will host a Green Racing Challenge among its competitors later this year rewarding teams on overall performance as well as fuel efficiency and ecological impact.”

Other green initiatives at this year’s race will include Bosch’s promotion of its clean diesel fuel technology; the promotion of ethanol and its benefits by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council; a pre-race conference put on by the Motorsport Industry Association focusing on energy efficient technologies; and urging spectators to take advantage of public transportation to and from the race to conserve fuel and reduce green house gas emissions.

Visit Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix on the Web for more information.

The store will sell “specialty and gift items such as books, handbags, jewelry, baby items, hand-painted stemware and handmade greeting cards.” About 90% of all items will be handmade, with 50% finding their roots locally and a large selection eco-friendly.

The first entrepreneurial venture for 27-year-old Megan Cowper is evidence that the investment of young people is not confined to Detroit or Grand Rapids.

If you haven’t been to Port Huron lately, take a look at these photos posted on the SkyscraperPage Forum. Says one user: “These Great Lakes cities and towns are such wonderful places to visit in the summer.”

Team Potentia first won $15,000 in the third annual Cleantech Venture Challenge. Their plan is to commercialize an energy-scavenging battery-replacement technology to last 10 times longer than current batteries. The battery would be connected to wireless sensors that pick up on environmental conditions and then make adjustments for optimal performance. Using this technology, for example, lights would automatically turn off when a room becomes empty.

After winning Cleantech, team Potentia went on to garner $5,000 and $40,000 in resources in the Wake Forest Elevator Competition, as well as $5,000 from the Rice University Business Plan Competition.

Potentia’s Rishiraj Das, Ruba Borno and Tzeno Galchev hope to take the business to market with the prize money, helping to save energy and resources in the long term.

A side effect of “transfat free!” Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen have started an education drive, petition and website to help preserve the animals’ environment.

“We’ve seen pictures of orangutans set afire and beaten. You really just want to reach out and do all that you can to help save them,” Madison told the Ann Arbor News.

Check out the whole scoop at TreeHugger, and scroll to the article’s end to learn more about the effects of palm oil.

Sew Green is a great place to start with an extensive list of other Earth-loving resources.

Darryl Hannah has an eco-video blog? That Darryl Hannah?

Bay County Health Department is offering free e-Waste collection through Friday. Ann Arbor and Flint Best Buy locations are rewarding gifts cards to the first 100 recyclers this Saturday. And the Indigenous Earth Day Summit runs through tomorrow at Northern Michigan University.

Learn more about Earth Day on Wikipedia. Or find a local event through the EPA’s Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.

The University recently received the special status from the U.S. Green Building Council, which promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health.

Featuring a 10,000-square-foot green roof which reduces runoff and associated pollutants, offers more effective insulation than traditional roofs, and expands and contracts with seasonal changes, as well as low-e glass to promote natural lighting, reduce heat loss and maximize daylight, the 42,000-square-foot Taubman Center also includes a system of weirs, tile fields and long-rooted grasses and trees that prevent 60 percent of the rainwater that falls on the adjacent campus quadrangle from running into the Rouge River.

As for keeping the building warm or cool, a field of 88 geothermal wells sunk 300 feet through five geological layers takes care of that.

Designed by Lawrence Tech alumnus Arthur Smith of Southfield’s Harley Ellis Devereaux, the Center also features sensor-controlled lighting and astronomically synchronized timers that adjust three times a day to accommodate seasonal lighting needs.

As part of its commitment to the environment and the community, the company will be offering free recycling through April 22, which also happens to be Earth Day.

According to this Rapid Growth story, Comprenew hopes to collect 250,000 pounds of electronics by the time the program ends tomorrow evening and recycle all of it.

Any business, unit of government, school or individual may recycle used electronics by delivering the equipment to Comprenew Environmental between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. today and tomorrow. Comprenew is located at 629 Ionia Ave SW in Grand Rapids.

If you cannot make it to Comprenew, you can drop off electronics at the following two locations on April 22 only:

FISHBECK THOMPSON CARR & HUBER
From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Fishbeck Thompson Carr & Huber will accept electronics for recycling. Fishbeck Thompson Carr & Huber is located at 1515 Arboretum Drive SE in Grand Rapids.

PILGRIM MANOR
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pilgrim Manor, newly designated Clean Corporate Citizen, will be holding a community e-waste recycling day. Pilgrim Manor is located at 2000 Leonard NW in Grand Rapids.

Why not just throw your electronics in the garbage? Comprenew’s website notes the following:

“One cell phone, if thrown away, can pollute 40,000 gallons of ground water.” In addition, the process of “manufacturing one desktop computer requires fossil fuels and chemicals that weigh nine times that of the computer itself.” Enough said.

The article tackles what being “green” really means, and looks at the people responsible for the eco-friendly event. Success begins with “questioning everything,” says organizer Sarah Haynes. And with new solutions, Rothbury will direct its benefits specifically toward its home in Michigan.

The event will make available low-cost, non-bottled water, fresh local produce and around-the-clock recycling stations. And “to keep it simple, every single plastic cup, plate, and fork coming from a food vendor will be compostable.” The focus will be on “doing it right, not just as window dressing or marketing.”

GreenBase delves much deeper in the complete festival examination. But, in brief, “it just might live up to its hype.”

As Nev explained in this recent post, the lucrative legislation package includes a number of incentives, including:

-A 40% refundable tax credit (42% in core cities) against Michigan Business Tax (MBT) liability for qualified film or digital media pre-production, production, and postproduction costs incurred in Michigan;

-A 50% refundable MBT tax credit for expenditures incurred by an eligible production company to provide on-the-job training for Michigan residents in advanced below-the-line crew positions on qualified productions;

-A 25% tax credit against MBT tax liability for film/digital media infrastructure investment of $250,000 or more.

Complete details of all incentives are detailed on MichiganFilmProduction.com.

It’s only been a week, but the new incentives seem to already be doing their magic; according to the Governor’s weekly radio address:

“Each year, the Michigan Film Office averages six scripts from companies interested in filming in Michigan. Today, we’re reviewing nearly 80 scripts from companies interested in doing business in Michigan.”

Yeah, I’d say 80 in one day compared to 6 in an entire year is quite a difference. I also like the fact that if the incentives do work and producers select Michigan for upcoming films and TV shows, they will bring high-quality jobs to Michigan residents — and fast. Also in her April 11 radio address, Granholm noted that the film industry is the second largest high-tech, high-paying, non-polluting industry in the world and generates over $50 billion in direct domestic economic activity each year. It can give Michigan’s economy an immediate shot in the arm while it takes years to reap the benefits of other economic development incentives.

That’s because DTE and Ikea have joined forces and are offering a free $10 IKEA gift card to individuals that sign up for the program on April 19, 20 or 22 at the Swedish furniture and accessory store in Canton.

In case you aren’t familiar with GreenCurrents, it is a voluntary program that gives DTE Energy’s 2.2 million electric customers the option of “greening up” their power with renewable energy created from wind, biomass and other environmentally friendly sources. Residential customers can purchase a block of renewable energy equal to 15-20 percent of a typical home’s monthly electric usage for as little as $2.50 per month. Customers also can choose to match 100 percent of their home’s electricity consumption with renewable resources by paying an extra $10 to $15 per month for a typical household.

Business customers can purchase 1,000 kilowatt hours of green energy for an extra $20 a month — or match all of their electricity usage with renewable energy for an additional cost of two cents per kilowatt hour.

Several groups have joined to form a clean boating campaign that educates their local communities and limits pollution. This Times Herald article details the efforts and provides a list of tips useful on any state waterway.

A similar program from Michigan Sea Grant promotes Clean Boats Clean Waters. The initiative welcomes volunteers to demonstrate to boaters proper cleaning techniques and to share information about invasive species. Beyond the program, there’s a mass of knowledge available on Michigan Sea Grant promoting knowledge and maintence of our Great Lakes.

Many people are not often aware of the abundance of resources nearby or desire more knowledge about healthy living. Of equal importance, “there is a great need for a positive vision that can inspire active enjoyment of the out-of-doors and beautification of neighborhoods.”

An extensive project filled with useful information, the Detroit Green Map is free for everyone. For more on its goal, visit the profile on WiserEarth.

The biggest news on the Volt’s development thus far is that engineers have come up with an algorithm for testing the durability of the batteries that can simulate 10 years of use — 150,000 miles — in just over two years of testing. Tests using the new algorithm are now going on around the clock in Detroit and Germany.

Testing of the E-Flex system will soon be taken to the streets via test mules — which will start this summer using the bodies of the previous-generation Malibu — which will give engineers an accurate idea of how the system will perform in the sometimes less-than-ideal conditions of the real world.

Keep an eye out for the older Mailbu’s on the streets of Detroit this summer — maybe you’ll be able to hear a difference. They just might have the heart of a Volt under the hood. GM is still committed to the Volt’s late 2010 launch date. In fact, Automotive News says that managers have been given a blank check for the project.

“The Volt is the No. 1 priority project we have at GM. There are no resource shortfalls,” Weber told Automotive News. “Whatever it takes, we will do. We are working with incredible speed.” Expect the price tag to be over $30,000.

Via PSFK.

Those two questions and a slew of others related to the future of the Great Lakes State and its proposed green-energy economy will be addressed at a special conference at Wayne State University on April 22.

Presented by WWJ and the University Research Corridor, “Embracing A Green Michigan - Carbon Culture at The Crossroads”, will feature two panel discussions exploring concepts like the public policies that will be needed at the federal, state and local government levels to create a bioeconomy, and the challenges of changing public behavior and habits to support new energy and environmental technologies.

Panelists are set to include Jim Croce, CEO of NextEnergy; Steve Forrest, Vice President for Research, University of Michigan; Mary Beth Stanek, director of GM Energy and Environmental Policy and Commercialization; and several other executives from around the state. Skip Pruss, from Governor Granholm’s office, will kick off the half-day event with a presentation of Michigan’s alternative energy plan.

Tickets to the event — which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 — are $35 each. Advanced registration is required.

The competition is free and open to all high school students, college students and professionals living, working and studying in Michigan. Deadline for submissions is May 15, 2008 at 5 p.m.

Click here for more information on awards and rules for submission.

Though throwing away that old cell phone may seem harmless, it isn’t; electronic equipment contains toxic chemicals, which pose health and environmental risks, especially in landfills where these toxins may leak into the soil and ground water. Electronic waste is also becoming a major problem in the United States: consumers generated nearly 2 million tons of e-waste in 2005 alone according to the EPA, recycling only 15 to 20 percent of that number.

If you don’t live in the metro Detroit area but have a drawer full of old cell phones or an outdated printer that is collecting dust on your shelf, one of the best ways to find a place to recycle your used electronics is through the zip code search tool on the website of myGreenElectronics. Just type in any five-digit zip and - voila! - a handy Google map of the area pops up, complete with the names and addresses of the closest electronics recyclers and a list of the products they accept.

No luck with the zip code search tool? Check out this page of resources, courtesy of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. It’s designed to help you recycle your old electronics and educate the public on the importance of doing so. Links include services like Cell for Cash, an interactive website to sell your old mobile phones for cash, and Electronics Exchange System, a free buy/sell/trade listing system for electronics, computer and telecommunication items.

This is a big step for biofuel production, which traditionally only used the kernels of corn plants to make ethanol, because this new discovery will allow the entire corn plant to be used — so more fuel can be produced less expensively.

The conference will include:

- A national speaker (Gordon Holness) on global issues and national policy trends.
- A noted economist (George Erickcek) discussing the energy cost effects on Michigan and its current initiatives
- An expert panel including government policy makers, utilities, researchers, consumers and educators addressing energy issues
- Three session tracks representing each of the expert panel areas
- A federal or state policy maker to speak to all participants over lunch
- Friday evening Mr. Dick DeVos addressing Michigan’s energy challenge
- A Saturday option providing practical energy workshops

Additional information and electronic registration is available online.

Submission from Ron McKean.

A nifty little website if you’re looking to buy a home in a new neighborhood or just want to find out how walkable your neighborhood is, Walk Score is simple to use: just type in any address and a map of what’s nearby and the walk score of the property - a number between 0 and 100 - pops up. A score of 0-25 equates to “driving only”, meaning walking destinations nearby are nil, so you’ll be relying heavily on your car or public transportation. On the other end of the spectrum, a score of 90-100 means the property is located in a “walker’s paradise”, so area residents can do most errands on foot and likely don’t need a car.

For kicks, I calculated the Walk Score of several locations throughout Michigan. Here’s what I found:

- Downtown Detroit (48226): 86

- Royal Oak (48067): 97

- Downtown Grand Rapids (49503): 63

- Mount Pleasant (48858/CMU): 20

- Houghton (49931/Michigan Tech): 63

Try out Walk Score for yourself here.

Jill Lajdziak is rather proud. As the general manager and top executive of General Motors’ Saturn division, she cites the recycling as an important example — but just one — of the company’s overall approach to sustainability.

“We walk the talk,” she says. “I think you build trust in the consumer’s mind when you do that, and this brand has always done that. It’s one thing to put green technology into your product,” Lajdziak says. “It’s another to also focus on the other elements that define green. I think today’s consumer wants to buy from a company that thinks about environmental friendliness a little bit more holistically.”

Among its many achievements, Saturn touts the fact that it prints all brochures and owner magazines on recycled paper. And back at the Lansing plant, said to be the cleanest manufacturing facility in the world, there’s more wildlife on the grounds than before they broke ground.

“There’s no question that we’re seeing increasing interest in hybrid technology,” Lajdziak explains. “And even if consumers don’t want to purchase a hybrid, they want to do business with a brand that has hybrids in the mix.”

Saturn responds with what it calls its “Green Line,” including two hybrid equipped models. The Saturn Vue Green Line is a hybrid offering the highway fuel economy of 32 MPG, and the Saturn Aura Green Line is a mid-sized hybrid sedan offering a similar fuel economy.

Via Experience Life Magazine.

Active participation is encouraged, beginning with a list of 9 things you can do to help. A few examples: Join the West Michigan Food Cooperative, change your personal mindset, or write a letter to your elected official.

You can learn more about sustainable farming throughout the state at The C.S. Mott Group of MSU, Detroit’s Garden Resource Program Collaborative or this article in the Glen Arbor Sun.

As such, I was happy to hear that Western Michigan University’s commitment to sustainable design practices is being praised by the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce, which recently honored the University its 2008 Environmental Award.

WMU was selected for the accolade because of its adherence to LEED principles in the construction of its Health and Human Services Building, Chemistry Building, Richmond Center for Visual Arts and Brown Hall. Its centralized, campus-wide energy management system, along with its storm water management work and alliance with the Portage-Arcadia Creek Watershed Steering Committee were other reasons Western was singled-out for the eco-friendly award. Way to go, Broncos!

Concentrate, the new-ish ezine from the fabulous folks at Issue Media Group, explains it like this:

One block at a time. That’s how quickly Ann Arbor is changing its downtown street lights to more energy-efficient LED lights this year.

The city’s energy department recently started relamping the street lights and so far has three blocks (on Washington Street between 5th and Ashley streets) of new LEDs in place.

More on that story here.

But A2 isn’t just switching a few of its streetlights; according to Inhabitant.com, the home of the University of Michigan is “on its way to becoming the first U.S. city to light up its downtown with 100% LED technology”. How’s that for an aggressive plan to greenify itself?!

Thankfully, area leaders are beginning to understand this, and mass transit plans like light rail line studies and the implementation of Michigan’s first HOV lane have become a reality as of late.

And the positive news concerning mass transit in Southeast Michigan continues: As part of its Detroit Regional Mass Transit Initiative, the Regional Transit Coordinating Council (RTCC) is moving forward with its mission to produce a Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan for the Southeastern Michigan Region. But they need your help.

Next week, the RTCC will take the next step toward improving mass transit in Southeast Michigan by hosting three Open House-style meetings, where RTCC, DDOT, SMART and DTC (People Mover) reps will discuss recent findings and solicit feedback from members of the public.

If you live in Southeast Michigan, learn what’s going on with the future of mass transit and make your voice heard! RTCC will not seek public comment again until September 2008, so here’s your chance to discuss what’s important to you and talk about the kind of mass transit options your community needs. Here’s the low-down on these three special meetings:

City of Detroit/Wayne County:

Date/time: Tuesday, April 8th, 3 - 7 p.m. Location: SEMCOG office in the Buhl Building, 535 Griswold in downtown Detroit.

Oakland County:

Date/time: Wednesday, April 9th, 3 - 7 p.m. Location: Board of Commissioners Board Room, 1200 Telegraph Road in Pontiac.

Macomb County:

Date/time: Thursday, April 10th, 3 - 7 p.m. Location: Board of Commissioners Conference Room, 1 South Main Street in Mount Clemens.

Along with its national walkable city list, Prevention has also released what it deems as the 10 Best Walking Cities in each of the 50 states. The Michigan rankings, in order of walkability, are: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Flint, Livonia, Lansing, Dearborn, Warren, Sterling Heights and Clinton Township.

Interesting that all of these cities are located in the lower peninsula, with the northern-most of the bunch being Flint. I am also surprised that Michigan’s tourist towns — specifically Traverse City, Petoskey and, most of all, Mackinac City — did not make the list.

For more information, including the criteria used to determine the rankings, click here.

It’s all thanks to GreenCurrents, a volunteer renewable energy program available to residents and businesses in Southeast Michigan.

With GreenCurrents, customers support electricity generation from clean sources like wind, sun and biomass energy. Available in two different formats — 100% match enrollment or 100-kilowatt block enrollment — GreenCurrents gives DTE customers the ability to feel good about where their energy is coming from and to do it without breaking the bank. (Sidenote: I personally joined GreenCurrents last April, and it is one of the easiest and most rewarding things I have done in the past year to reduce my carbon footprint. The cool thing, too, is that I hardly notice the small increase in my monthly utility bills.)

How much can one household really impact the environment? More than you may think. While it may not seem like a lot, a normal DTE customer who offsets their electricity use for one year with GreenCurrents would prevent about 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the air every year — that’s about the same as not driving a car for 12 months.

For more on GreenCurrents and to calculate your carbon footprint, click here.