Green Options » maps

U.S. Wind Power Growth, Visualized [map]

Timothy B. Hurst — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:58:47 +0000

I like maps. They can be a powerful tool for visually representing the scope of change.

In late 2008, just a few months after the United States’ installed wind energy capacity topped 20,000 MW, the U.S. became the largest wind power producer in the world. And in 2008, thanks to a (mostly) robust economy and a healthy tax benefit for the utility-scale generation of renewable energy, the U.S. added more new wind energy to the grid than did any other source. Here’s a nice visual representation of that growth:

When the final map for 2009 is made, however, the sagging economy and the frozen credit markets will likely have slowed the meteoric rise in wind energy capacity we saw in 2007 and 2008.

Image: U.S. Department of Energy
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Bellona Launches CCS (CO2 Capture and Storage) Web

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:35:12 +0000

Perhaps bloggers need to be more visual and less wordy. Those were some of the first thoughts that crept into my head when I got wind of this new CCS (CO2 capture and storage) Web and interactive map from the Bellona Foundation.

Before even going further I had to check out Bellona, which we discovered is an Oslo, Norway based NGO that primarily functions as a nuclear watchdog focusing on developments in Russia. More recently they have moved into other sectors including technology and the environment. That’s where the colorful and helpful new CCS Web comes into play.

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openWind: New Open-Source Wind Farm Design Software

Timothy B. Hurst — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:32:01 +0000

A New York software company has announced the scheduled release of its open-source wind farm design software. Albany-based AWS TrueWind designed the openWind software so that a range of end users, from individuals to wind energy developers, could apply and adapt the software their own particular set of data.

>>More on maps at CleanTechnica

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Internet Cartographers, Not Terrorists, Use Google Maps to Hit British Landmarks

Sam Aola Ooko — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:56:57 +0000

Being sticklers for detail, the British are crying foul that internet cartographers are making unmarked ruins of UK historical sites that landmarks such as Stonehenge have taken direct hits from internet and satellite navigation systems.

Their beefs is that they cannot be found on online maps.

Apart from the fact, as stated by Mary Spence, president of the British Cartographic Society, that online maps missed out on important or key points of interest such as centuries old cathedrals, royal castles and other stately homes, they were also effectively diminishing from national consciousness the British sense of nationhood.

You see, monuments that describe the British pride like Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometers west of Amesbury and 13 kilometers north of Salisbury, should be found on any serious map. But it is not referenced on Google Map for instance.

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Mapping It Out

Emma Henderson — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:17:31 +0000

Maybe its because I’m longing for a good holiday or perhaps its just that I love the colours and endless possibilities of maps but I’ve been seeing them all over the place recently. This image forms part of a collection of maps belonging to designer Benita Larson via Poppytalk. I love the way they are displayed and that some have being put to good use covering journals, books and boxes.

Inspirational design studio Lovely Design also have some great products made from maps including this very sweet ‘I miss you’ mail set and these beautiful ‘Take me to’ books.

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