1.  Robolobster

Northeastern University is developing a remote environmental data gathering robot that resembles an eight legged lobster.  The robot is designed to maneuver across rough surfaces while negotiating surging water and shifting currents, making it ideal for exploring rivers and littoral zones (ocean shore areas up to the high water mark).

Image: Courtesy of Jan Witting/Northeastern University.

2. Phoenix Mars

The mother of all green jobs probably belongs to the Phoenix Mars, which launched last year and went to work on Mars for several months with a robotic arm to dig and scoop up soil samples for on-board analysis. It also doubled as a weather station and yes, it was solar powered.  The photo montage above provides a unique look at the Phoenix on the planet’s surface.

Image: Phoenix Mars Mission.

3.  Robot Composter for the Home

Back on earth, the workhorses of the robot world are the ones that collect and recycle waste, like the NatureMill food composting robot.  This one can mix, heat and aerate fresh scraps, automatically send them to a lower chamber to make room for more, and pop on a red light to signal that a fully composted load is ready - all without raising a stink.

Image: NatureMill.

4.  Robots and Green Maintenance Jobs

One great advantage of robots is their ability to deploy in places that would put people at risk of life and limb.  Wind turbines fit that category.  The modest looking RIWEA robot operates on rope-climbing principles that enable it to scale gigantic turbine poles and inspect rotor blades for dings, cracks, and other defects.

Image: FraunhoferIFF.

5.  Robots in the Sky

Small drone aircraft can accomplish many environmental research tasks while cutting down on the carbon footprint needed to accommodate human bodies in flight.  An early demonstration of NOAA’s Altair drone involved research off the coast of Oregon and California.

Image: Altair unmanned aircraft in flight courtesy of NOAA.

6.  Robots in Agriculture

Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory are developing an agricultural robot that can detect slugs, pluck them up, and eat them - then “digest” the slugs for energy to keep themselves running.  The trick will be developing a microbial fuel cell to extract electrons from the source of nutrition.  The lab works in partnership with the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England.

Image: Bristol Robotics Laboratory.

7. Swarms of Robots

Mini-robots are another big trend we’ll see more of.  UC San Diego researchers are developing swarms of robots no bigger than a soccer ball.  They can drift with ocean currents to gather information on the micro-mechanisms that support plankton and other tiny marine creatures.  They could also guard sensitive areas or provide on-the-spot information about oil spills, plane crashes and other marine emergencies.

Image: National Science Foundation.

In total, the report showed that China, Japan, and South Korea will invest about $509 billion in clean tech over the next 5 years, whereas the US (with our greenest President in decades, maybe ever) is only expected to invest $172 billion (about 3 times less) — this is assuming the climate and energy legislation in Congress passes.

If the US were to invest the same percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as South Korea, it would invest almost $140 billion per year ($700 billion over this five year period)! Compared to China, the anticipated per-GDP investment ratio is 1:4 (US to China).

In 2008, Japan almost matched US R&D spending on energy and achieved almost the same number of international clean energy patents despite having dramatically lower GDP.

The financial investment is not the only thing giving these countries a major advantage in this field, though.

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The new report found that North Carolina has a lot of solar energy potential due to its “vast” solar energy intensity (which is nearly as much as Florida’s) combined with other economic, policy and technological factors.

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Pittsburgh has been laying the groundwork for a high tech green jobs renaissance ever since its mighty steel mills shut their doors 30 years ago.  Now the payoff is coming.  FLABEG, the global specialty glass manufacturer, has just opened a solar mirror factory by Pittsburgh International Airport that will bring an estimated 200 jobs to the region, and perhaps as many as 300.

The new $30 million facility will initially focus on its core production line of parabolic curved solar mirrors.  Months before the plant opened it already received 700,000 orders, and FLABEG expects to reach a capacity of 1 million mirrors annually.

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Hawaii’s initiative will make it possible for homeowners and businesses to sell power they generate from small to medium-scale renewable energy projects (i.e. solar panels) to Hawaii’s main power producers at higher than market-value rates.

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This is the most money ever awarded for clean energy in a single day from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act!

Obama spoke at the opening of the Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center (the nation’s largest PV electricity center) to announce and discuss the various benefits of this project.

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Kids enrolled in Wind for Schools shop classes in six Great Plains states (CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, SD) are learning hands-on to assist in assessment, design, and installation of small wind systems at their schools, with the goal of creating a knowledge base for wind energy within rural elementary and secondary schools through Wind Powering America.

The DOE is looking for proposals from wind companies who want to help out in expanding the program to six more states. You have till November 30 to get your bid in. And if you want to teach any aspects of this new shop class in wind, reach out to schools in these states.

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Mountaintop removal, the hyper-destructive practice of blowing up entire mountains to get at coal near the surface, is in for a rough ride.  Though in technological terms mountaintop removal is downright third-world compared to the high tech sustainable energy industry, it’s still been going nonstop right here in the Appalachian mountains of our own northeastern U.S..  The result has been hundreds of mountains destroyed in one of North America’s richest ecosystems, hundreds of miles of streams buried, and an economic and public health climate that is among the worst in the nation.  Now all that is poised to end.  Earlier this year the U.S. EPA suspended the mountaintop removal permitting process and Raw Story is now reporting that the first permit veto is immanent.

According to Raw reporter Joe Byrne, the Mingo Logan Coal Company was notified this past Friday by the EPA that the mountaintop removal permit in the pipeline for its Spruce No. 1 mine in West Virginia faces a veto due to “a high potential for downstream water quality excursions under current mining and valley fill practices.”  With financial backers like Bank of America cutting their ties with companies that practice mountaintop mining, the impending veto could be a harbinger of more to come.

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Why Your Business Should Care About the Birds, the Bees and the Burrs

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” according to a well-known proverb.  Those words seem particularly apt in today’s world of environmental, political, and economic pratfalls.  Fortunately, Mother Nature holds many of the answers to our most basic questions regarding design and equilibrium.  Internationally-known scientist Danya Baumeister will make the argument Oct. 15 at the BuildGreen Conference in Philadelphia that many savvy researchers, designers, and manufacturers would do better to leave the lab and look instead at the 3.8 billion years of evolution everywhere around them.  Baumeister is hardly the first to view the world as an R-and-D goldmine – one that could bring us new products, designs, and services to help both our environment and economy – but she is one of today’s leading biomimicry proponents.  And if you think biomimicry is a new idea, think again.

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The university is using a $6.3 million fund from the US Department of Energy, TPI, and and the Iowa Power Fund and has the assistance of scientists from Sandia National Labs and TPI, which operates a local turbine blade factory. Initially they are trying to see how they can boost the speed of the manufacturing process by increasing automation and by automating quality control.

They could improve the productivity of turbine blade factories by as much as 35%.

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The idea looks like a cool new version of the old SimCity computer game. You link a city to a solar manufacturing plant to a solar farm. The plant employs the people, the farm collects the energy and the city is up and running.

But this isn’t a game, it’s a pitch from Applied Materials, a Fortune 500 company known for making computer microchips.

They call it the best idea in the last 4 billion years.

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A new report released today says that if we shift our economy — to a greener, low-carbon economy — we will have more jobs, not fewer.

Earlier this week, Tony Blair (former prime minister of the UK) and the Climate Group reported that if we worked to avoid climate change we’d create 10 million new jobs by 2020 — worldwide. Another recent study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council says that such a shift could increase employment in the EU by 2.7 million jobs by 2030.

One more report, released today by the Global Climate Network (an alliance of nine influential think tanks) comes to similar conclusions.

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With the help of hometown lithium-ion battery manufacturer International Battery, Allentown PA is on the verge of becoming the latest rust belt refugee to dip its toes into the new green economy.  International Battery has just won a contract with NASA to build a prototype battery strong enough to provide backup power to support the space shuttle program, and it is currently the only U.S. company manufacturing lithium batteries using an earth-friendly water based process instead of organic solvents.

Allentown’s future in sustainable green technology is striking, not only because the city’s manufacturing base was notoriously written off by singer/songwriter Billy Joel a generation ago (”Well we’re living here in Allentown/And they’re closing all the factories down”), but also because the city is a mere hour’s drive away from Centralia PA, one of the world’s most infamous symbols of old school fossil fuels and their devastating consequences.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/23/international-battery-of-allentown-pa-brings-green-power-to-nasa/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/16/dow-corning-adds-monosilane-gas-to-rust-belts-green-renaissance/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/16/dow-corning-adds-monosilane-gas-to-rust-belts-green-renaissance/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 02:41:49 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/16/dow-corning-adds-monosilane-gas-to-rust-belts-green-renaissance/

The trickle of green jobs into the Rust Belt has been rapidly swelling into torrent, and with headquarters in Michigan it was only a matter of time before Dow Corning joined the “green rush” to a more sustainable economy. The manufacturing giant has just announced that it will begin construction on a new facility to manufacture monosilane gas, which among other things is used to make thin film solar cells.  The plant will be constructed in Michigan’s Thomas Township.

At a cost of $100 million, the new monosilane gas facility represents a full-throttle comment to solar power by Dow Corning.  The company’s headquarters in Midland, Michigan is also set to open a solar panel installation and solar education center.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/16/dow-corning-adds-monosilane-gas-to-rust-belts-green-renaissance/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/san-francisco-leeding-the-way-on-green-jobs-conversions/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/san-francisco-leeding-the-way-on-green-jobs-conversions/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:28:55 +0000 Gavin Newsom http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/san-francisco-leeding-the-way-on-green-jobs-conversions/

In the quest to create new green jobs, we have the opportunity to take existing jobs and make them green.

Every city has architects, engineers and construction divisions. In conventional circumstances the activities these employees undertake can burn considerable natural resources. But in San Francisco, we’re working to turn these traditional municipal positions into environmental champions.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/15/san-francisco-leeding-the-way-on-green-jobs-conversions/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/15/green-jobs-dopey-says-australian-union-leader/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/15/green-jobs-dopey-says-australian-union-leader/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:33:10 +0000 Kay Sexton http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/15/green-jobs-dopey-says-australian-union-leader/ This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

The leader of one of Australia’s most influential unions has said that green jobs is a ‘dopey term’. Tony Maher went on to suggest that many of the environmental campaigns run in his country are ‘judgemental nonsense’ and that industries like coal and steel will have more impact on both prosperity and the creation of a low carbon future than people realised. As an example, he claimed that carbon capture and storage schemes would require vast amounts of steel and that this steel should be produced in Australia by Australian workers.

Union fights for blue-collar jobs, not green-tinged ones

Maher is President of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, a constellation of workers that might look odd in many other parts of the world where ‘green’ industries like Forestry have separated themselves from extractive industries by putting logging in with extraction and keeping woodland husbandry and tree surgery in with farming.  For over ten years, Tony Maher has spoken on behalf of the union, which states in its publicity material that it is the principal union for both brown and black coal mining. Brown coal is relatively recent in origin and falls between peat, which is still largely vegetable in structure, and bituminous coal. It is often known as lignite.

Many people feel that brown coal should not be extracted because it should be kept as a reserve for the distance future when it may have developed further and become more like bituminous coal or black coal, which is more consolidated, deep black in colour and burns more readily with greater fuel efficiency.

Union leader says more coal, not less, will be burned in 2050

It’s not surprising that a union leader representing coal minders should object to ‘green jobs’ but Maher went much further than simply protesting against the removal of blue-collar industries, he added that he thought that by mid 2050 the planet would be using twice as much coal as at present and that the recent protest at Hazelwood power station was ‘just silly’.

Hazelwood Protestors Get Direct

‘Switch Off Hazelwood’ the campaigning group that organised the protests claims a successful weekend’s protesting, with more than 300 people turning up over 12 and 13 September, to use such direct action tactics as the Bikezilla (a number of bicycles welded together to form a giant bike, which was impounded by police), the Ministry of Energy, Resources and Silly Walks, the wombat warriors and forming a giant windmill with their bodies.  The police say 18 people were arrested, the action group says it was 22 individuals who were arrested and then released on bail.

While protestors said that removing Hazelwood could be the first step to creating an employment-rich, renewable energy manufacturing region, Maher’s comments suggest that the opposition to renewable energy is entrenched in the old blue-collar industrial regions as a threat to well paid jobs, as well as being perceived as a threat to lifestyle. Maher added that Australia produced some of the best-quality coking coal in the world, which was used to make premium quality steel and that it was ‘silly’ to raise objections to industries that created a large amount of Australia’s exports.

Switch off Hazelwood: Starring the Wombat Warriors courtesy of Sean Bedlam at youtube

While biomimicry is helpful in identifying life-friendly materials and processes that enhance (rather than pollute) the bio-sphere, it also embraces a principle that capitalists everywhere can salute: performance.  “In nature, if a design strategy is not effective, its carrier dies,” according to the Guild.  In other words, “failures are fossils.”  From saving money on energy use to cutting down on materials used in products and processes, these earth-first biologists make the point that nature is the original inventor, investor, and lean manufacturer.

The emphasis on sustainable design and manufacturing of new products makes Baumeister’s appearance at the BuildGreen Conference, hosted by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, a natural fit.  The conference will bring together a broad variety of stakeholders, including university materials researchers, investors, green building designers, and policy makers interested in applying sustainable design and local green product manufacturing to boost the region’s economy.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Philadelphia Sustainability Director Katherine Gajewski will all be in attendance at the conference, along with a host of other experts and thought leaders interested in linking the region’s sustainability efforts to long-term economic success.  Innovative research from local universities will also be on display to drive home the point that we’ve already got the right recipe for success: a host of highly-productive institutions of higher learning, a manufacturing base in need of retooling, and political will.  The conference organizers are also arguing that our own particular necessity, the need for more high-quality green jobs in the region, should be front and center as we reinvent ourselves as a powerhouse of sustainable activity and investment.

Necessity is one heck of a mother, but Leonardo may have said it even better: “Those who are inspired by a model other than Nature, a mistress above all masters, are laboring in vain.”

Photo Credit: hart_curt via Flickr under Creative Commons License

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/09/15/green-jobs-dopey-says-australian-union-leader/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/09/find-green-job-recruiters-on-twitter/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/09/find-green-job-recruiters-on-twitter/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:42:34 +0000 Cindy Tickle http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/09/find-green-job-recruiters-on-twitter/

Are you looking for a green job?  Or a job in corporate social responsibility and sustainable business?  Well, all you need to do is Twitter.  “Green” recruiters understand the best way to reach the new generation of “green” talent is via social media…Facebook, Linkedin, blogs, Flickr, YouTube and of course, Twitter.  So fire up your laptop and hop on Twitter.  Who knows?  You may find a career that aligns with your life’s passion.

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]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/09/find-green-job-recruiters-on-twitter/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/#comments Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:14:00 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/
The economy is down, but here is another sign that green technology may be the way out of our economic dilemma. US clean energy patents hit a record high last quarter.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/27/clean-energy-patents-hit-record-high-in-the-us/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/19/the-new-new-orleans-could-be-a-national-model-for-green-building/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/19/the-new-new-orleans-could-be-a-national-model-for-green-building/#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:43:31 +0000 Jeff Kart http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/19/the-new-new-orleans-could-be-a-national-model-for-green-building/

Aug. 29 is the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Kanye West’s “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” comment on live TV.

The rebuilding of New Orleans continues. And it’s being rebuilt in shades of green.

According to a “New Orleans Green Building Assessment” released by the Sierra Club, the devastation of 2005 has provided the city with a unique opportunity to develop a national model for rebuilding with sustainability in mind.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/19/the-new-new-orleans-could-be-a-national-model-for-green-building/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/18/gilding-the-lily-on-green-jobs/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/18/gilding-the-lily-on-green-jobs/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:25:54 +0000 Joe Walsh http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/08/18/gilding-the-lily-on-green-jobs/

Following on Red Green and Blue’s lead last week, today’s New York Times editorial notes that the White House and their Congressional allies on cap-and-trade have all but acknowledged that the climate change argument will not be enough - on its own strength - to win support for comprehensive energy and environment legislation in 2009. So, while climate-based arguments by the movement’s superstars - like Al Gore -   are gaining wider public acceptance and near-unanimous adoption in the intelligentsia, the case is still not enough to win political support when the Senate takes the issue up in the fall.

Last week brought us climate as a security threat and White House officials are continuing to float trial balloons throughout August as they grope for a communications strategy. This week’s angle: green jobs. Steven Chu has been making the green jobs pitch a strong part of his summer road show. He continued to beat the drum as part of a round table discussion with Gore and others at Senator Harry Reid’s National Clean Energy Summit 2.0 last week in Las Vegas. Taking the measure of the two approaches, the Boston Globe editorial page joined today’s NYT in bringing the White House’s previously tacit acknowledgment of the need for a new course out into the open.

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