Green Options

Two environmental activists were detained by the Tennessee Valley Authority police for photographing the site of last weeks ash spill. While it does not appear that they will be charged with crimes, they were unable to document the ash spill’s effects on the area and its water supply.

The men, who are from the Knoxville based United Mountain Defense, say that TVA has yet to release the water toxicity results. They say they have the right to take their own measurements and photographs unless TVA shows their results. “This is an issue of national importance,” said David Cooper. “People need to know if the water is safe or not.”

A breach in an earthen dike caused toxic ash from the Kingston coal-fired power plant to devastate over 400 acres in Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority estimates that 3.1 million cubic yards of ash and water leaked from the holding pond. The sludge contaminated the surrounding area and is now moving down the Emory River.

[Creative Commons photo by Daniel Johnson]

Coal plants collect the “fly ash,” a byproduct of burning coal for fuel, in order to bury or recycle it later. The scrubbers collecting the ash are in place to reduce emissions so that plants can produce “clean coal.” Disasters like this certainly call into question how clean that process really is.

Apparently the story about the coal slurry impoundment disaster in Tennessee isn’t getting much play in the mainstream media. This video should help.

Unnatural disasters have become a fact of life dependent upon fossil fuels. The latest of these disasters came early Monday morning when a coal slurry impoundment at the TVA Kingston Power Plant near Harriman, TN burst, allowing approximately 500 million gallons of toxic coal ash to rush into the surrounding community.

The world’s most powerful supercomputer, the Cray XT Jaguar, is to be to used in the quest to fight global warming and develop renewable energy.

The computer, housed in the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) at Oak Ridge National Labs (ORNL), Tennessee, has been upgraded to a staggering 1.64 petaflops  - and put at the disposal of some of the world’s leading climate scientists and renewable energy experts.

Looking for a beautiful and eco-friendly location to have a green wedding? Look no further than Gatlinburg, Tennessee, nestled in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Gatlinburg area is the second most popular US city to tie the knot in, second only behind Las Vegas. Sevier County which includes Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg held almost 15000 documented weddings in 2007.

Why is Gatlinburg such a popular destination?

While the greening efforts of U.S. colleges and universities seem to capture the most media attention, elementary schools across the country are no slouches when it comes to eco-action.

Look at what’s happening at some of these schools:

The electric motor movement continues to rev its lithium powered engine in the face of high gas prices.  Nissan announced its ambitious partnership with the state of Tennessee to better understand how to make the US an electric nation.

Last week, Nissan Motors announced a partnership with the state of Tennessee to study what transportation framework will be required to integrate electric cars into the global transportation economy.  Nissan hopes that the study will provide insight that will allow them to market their electric cars globally by the year 2012.

What Nissan lacks in hybrid technology, they are attempting making up for with electric foresight (Nissan has some smaller, more efficient cars, but none have hybrid technology).  The company is banking on a high demand for zero emission vehicles and has taken the necessary steps to facilitate the use of electric vehicles.  Nissan recently announced they will sell electric cars in the US in 2010 with plans for another electric vehicle to be globally released in 2012. There will be no backup combustion engines in any of Nissan’s electric vehicles.

… for production of renewable energy and maybe carbon sequestration.

Carbon neutral is gaining popularity these days, but Mantria Corporation is taking it a step further.

“We pledge Mantria Place will be the first carbon negative community in the nation by 2011,” states Troy Wragg, Mantria Corporation Chairman and CEO. “Carbon neutral is simply not good enough given today’s environmental issues. At Mantria, we believe that we must go much further to truly help our planet. Our goal is to be carbon negative.”

Located in Sequatchie County, Tennessee,  Mantria Place will be Tennessee’s largest master planned community weighing it at 5,500 acres. Nearly half of that will be green space in addition to two championship golf courses. A big question looms: can new, luxurious development really be green? With luxuries like two golf courses, how can their carbon footprint make it below par? Mr. Troy Wragg was kind enough to speak with me to answer that very question.

If you thought the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was cool in years past, wait’ll you get a look at this year’s lineup … not only the talent on stage, but the starring sustainability efforts backstage too.

The four-day camping festival, held annually in Manchester, Tennessee, since 2002 has grabbed accolades galore just for the great variety of performers it attracts (this year’s lineup includes everyone from Pearl Jam, Chris Rock, Kanye West and B.B. King to Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Willie Nelson and Janeane Garofalo). But it’s taken increasingly awesome steps each year to green the event onstage and off, and this year is no exception.

Knoxville, Tennessee, will play host next month to a conference exploring the ethical implications of energy policy, resource consumption and the environment.

Set for April 10 - 12, “Energy and Responsibility” will feature presentations by, among others, Robert Socolow, the Princeton professor who helped develop the concept of “stabilization wedges” to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and curb climate change.