The 97th spent months prepping for its evaluation and earned a “you knocked our socks off” comment from the ESOHCAMP program manager, but that’s not the only sustainability feather in Altus’s cap.  The base is also home to one of the Air Force’s premier green remediation sites.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/altus-air-force-base-is-flying-high-on-new-green-award/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:30:53 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/ On this Veterans Day, set aside to honor the sacrifices and contributions of U.S. military veterans, another contribution can be added to the rolls: veterans are playing a strong part in America’s transition away from fossil fuels into a more sustainable, healthful environment and a more secure energy future.

Veterans groups including Operation Free, VoteVets, and an ad hoc group of retired senior military officials are calling for more sustainable fuels and a lower carbon footprint, a position that reflects the Pentagon’s growing urgency to free its high mobility, high tech 21st century warriors from the burden of using fossil fuels that harken back to the days of kerosene lamps and horse drawn buggies.  It also reflects an under-the-radar green metamorphosis in the philosophy of U.S. national defense itself.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/feed/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/ http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:34:35 +0000 Tina Casey http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/

The U.S. military has been pushing for the development of alternative fuels for a while now, and nobody paid much attention until the Pentagon finally put a price tag on the oil habit. As reported by Roxana Tiron in thehill.com, last week Pentagon officials disclosed that getting conventional petroleum fuel to remote combat locations in Afghanistan costs a whopping $400 per gallon.

There couldn’t be a more clear illustration of why the “drill baby drill” mentality is a non-sequitur when it comes to energy security.  Regardless of whether petroleum fuels are domestic or imported, they need to be transported to their point of use.  That’s not much of a problem when you’ve got modern seaports, highways and fuel depots, but to paraphrase one infamous former Secretary of Defense, you have to fight the war you have, not the war that’s got the ideal infrastructure to support your fuel of choice.

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]]> http://gas2.org/2009/10/19/400-dollar-per-gallon-gas-and-the-green-war-of-the-future/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/18/reliable-wave-power-ensures-secure-terrorism-protection/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/18/reliable-wave-power-ensures-secure-terrorism-protection/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:38:07 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/18/reliable-wave-power-ensures-secure-terrorism-protection/
Underwater surveillance requires a certain supply of persistent power around the coasts, harbors, piers and offshore areas of this nation. Wave energy provides that certainty and reliability because nothing stops the supply chain of power from the roiling sea.

So the US Navy just awarded Lockheed Martin and Ocean Power Technologies a $15 million 4 year contract to provide wave power for terrorism prevention around the coasts. The collaboration holds the promise for finally bringing utility scale wave power to civilian use as well: there’s 2 Terawatts of wave energy potential around the world’s coasts. Twice what the entire world uses now.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/18/reliable-wave-power-ensures-secure-terrorism-protection/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/us-navy-and-air-force-test-homegrown-jetfuel-with-80-less-co2/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/us-navy-and-air-force-test-homegrown-jetfuel-with-80-less-co2/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:50:02 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/us-navy-and-air-force-test-homegrown-jetfuel-with-80-less-co2/
The US Air Force has placed an order for 100,000 gallons of Camelina-based jet fuel, in addition to the 40,000 gallons the Navy ordered last month for $2.7 million, with delivery to begin this year. Sustainable Oils is supplying them with a biofuel grown in Montana with 80% lower carbon emissions than jet fuels now.

The US Air Force has ordered an additional 100,000 gallons of Camelina for their second round of flight tests starting next June. The DOD is trying to find a non food-competitive biofuel that can be blended with jetfuel to reduce carbon emissions and is running tests on several kinds of alternative fuels.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/10/us-navy-and-air-force-test-homegrown-jetfuel-with-80-less-co2/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:52:28 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/

In its search for more fuel efficient ways to provide drinking water for long sea voyages and remote bases, the U.S. Navy has developed a second-generation desalination unit that use 65% less energy than conventional technology.  It’s only in the prototype stage but the Navy is already looking beyond seagoing use, and has deployed an earlier version of the technology to provide emergency water supply to disaster areas.

Called the EUWP (Expeditionary Unit Water Purification Program) Gen 2, the new unit also offers a significant secondary benefit that applies to land operations.  By providing an on-site source for potable water, it eliminates the need to run convoys of tanker trucks.  The generators that power the EUWP units still use conventional fuel, but that could change.  If they could be adapted to run cost-effectively on solar power and other sustainable energy, the door is open to desalination on a mass scale.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/10/05/us-navy-has-the-solution-to-rising-sea-levels-drink-it/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/27/us-air-force-ditches-toxic-paint-goes-green-with-prekote/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/27/us-air-force-ditches-toxic-paint-goes-green-with-prekote/#comments Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:05:22 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/27/us-air-force-ditches-toxic-paint-goes-green-with-prekote/

The U.S. Air Force, which has been soaring into the wild green yonder on alternative fuels and other sustainability measures, has added paint to its roster of more earth-friendly maneuvers.  At Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, the Air Force has been easing away from toxic formulas, using PreKote to protect its aircraft from corrosion.  PreKote is a propriety nontoxic base coating manufactured by Pantheon Chemical of Phoenix, Airizona.

The new coating replaces highly toxic and potentially carcinogenic anti-corrosion products based on chemicals such as hexavalent chromium, which the Department of Defense has targeted for elimination throughout the armed forces, using the force of an urgently worded memorandum issued last spring.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/27/us-air-force-ditches-toxic-paint-goes-green-with-prekote/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/23/international-battery-of-allentown-pa-brings-green-power-to-nasa/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/23/international-battery-of-allentown-pa-brings-green-power-to-nasa/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:29:57 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/23/international-battery-of-allentown-pa-brings-green-power-to-nasa/

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/2009/09/18/agricultural-waste-can-clean-up-nuclear-waste-researchers-find/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/18/agricultural-waste-can-clean-up-nuclear-waste-researchers-find/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:04:08 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/18/agricultural-waste-can-clean-up-nuclear-waste-researchers-find/
Waste uranium can apparently be recovered very cheaply from the polluted runoff from uranium mining using E. Coli and a phosphate storage molecule found in seeds, British researchers have found. They used the common bacteria with a chemical parallel of what is already found in agricultural waste: inositol phosphate.

Inositol phosphate is insoluble, so it forms a precipitate on the bacteria. The E. Coli then broke down the precipitate; releasing the phosphate molecules which then attached to uranium molecules to form uranium phosphate, which can then be harvested to recover the uranium.

What they have developed is a way for one contaminant to clean up another.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/09/18/agricultural-waste-can-clean-up-nuclear-waste-researchers-find/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/20/nine-endangered-species-that-are-being-protected-by-the-us-military/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/20/nine-endangered-species-that-are-being-protected-by-the-us-military/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:33:28 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/20/nine-endangered-species-that-are-being-protected-by-the-us-military/ Hundreds of U.S. military installations have become “islands of protection in seas of development.” The Department of Defense has over 25 million acres of land under its jurisdiction, including key endangered species habitats that are preserved from encroaching civilian development.  More than 300 listed endangered species make a home on U.S. military installations and hundreds of others are threatened.  Here are nine of them.

1. Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is present at a number of U.S. military sites including Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland which is a prime nesting area.  Fort Riley in Kansas is one of the largest wintering spots for the bald eagle in the U.S., with up to 388 eagles observed in camp at a time.

Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via wikimedia.

2. Marbled Murrelet

Potential habitat for the marbled murrelet exists in of the last remaining stands of low-elevation Sitka spruce, at the U.S. Naval Radio Station at Jim Creek, Washington.  The Navy owned the land but not the logging rights and extensive logging occurred until 1990, when the Navy purchased the rights in order to preserve 225 acres containing Sitka and western red cedars up to 1,500 years old.

Image: Marbled murrelet chick by Peter Halasz at wikimedia.

3. Mojave Desert Tortoise

Human encroachment and its attendant trash has made the Mojave Desert more attractive to ravens, which love to feast on young tortoises.  Combined with military’s use of the land for training purposes, the effect on the Mojave Desert Tortoise has been severe.  Restoration of the population involves a coordinated effort partnering with UCLA, including a captive-rearing program initiated at Edwards Air Force Base.

Image by Tigerhawkvok at wikimedia.

4. California Least Tern

Some of the largest remaining nesting sites of the California Least Tern are located in the San Diego Bay.  As lead agency in a conservation plan and host for nesting colonies on three of its bases, the U.S. Navy coordinates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Port Authority, and the private shipping industry.

Image: US Fish and Wildlife Service via wikimedia.

5. West Indian Manatee

The West Indian Manatee was falling victim to the propellers of U.S. Navy’s powerful C-tractor tugboats at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia until the early 1990’s, when the navy began to install propeller guards which not only protected the manatees but also improved efficiency.  Now all tugs and other small vessels at Kings Bay have propeller guards.  Other protective measures include speed limits, no-entry areas, and population monitoring in and around the bay.

Image: West Indian Manatee with calf, US Fish and Wildlife Service via wikimedia.

6. Red-Cockaded Woodpecker

At the U.S. Marines Corps base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the red-cockaded woodpecker is being protected through restoration of its longleaf pine habitat, monitoring of roosting and nesting areas, and population monitoring.

Image: GNU Free Documentation License at wikimedia.

7. California Red-Legged Frog

While not on the endangered species list, the California Red-Legged Frog is listed as a threatened species.  The California National Guard at Camp San Luis Obispo has become a critical habitat for the frog due to nearby population encroachment and reservoir construction.  Erosion control efforts along streams at the facility help protect the frog while also stabilizing land for its training mission.

Image: Pierre Fidenci at calphotos via wikimedia.

8. Gray Wolf

The 53,000 acre Camp Ripley is home to the Minnesota National Guard and it also hosts a thriving population of the Gray Wolf.  Camp Ripley was the first facility in the country to develop a gray wolf monitoring and tracking program.

Image: US Fish and Wildlife Service.

9. Regal Fritillary Butterfly

9. Habitat management consistent with military training goals can go a long way.  The Regal Fritillary Butterfly, once near the endangered species list, is thriving at Fort Indiantown Gap.  The Pennsylvania National Guard facility hosts the country’s single largest population of the butterfly and has protected its grassland habitat by relocating some mechanized exercises and converting others to virtual exercises.

Image: Vintage postcard from Karen’s Whimsey.

]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/08/20/nine-endangered-species-that-are-being-protected-by-the-us-military/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/27/hydrovolts-inc-fishes-for-new-energy-in-old-canals/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/27/hydrovolts-inc-fishes-for-new-energy-in-old-canals/#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:25:06 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/27/hydrovolts-inc-fishes-for-new-energy-in-old-canals/ The Seattle-based company Hydrovolts, Inc. has discovered an economical way to tap waterways for hydroelectricity.  Rather than damming mighty rivers or installing turbines in unpredictable oceans, Hydrovolts has aimed its sights on a much smaller target: placid canals and other managed-flow water courses.  Even at low flows, a predictable and reliable current is more than enough to power the company’s unique Flipwing Turbine.  Though small in scale, the simple and relatively affordable turbine could go a long way toward meeting the electrical needs of local communities as well as farms, factories, and other facilities.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/27/hydrovolts-inc-fishes-for-new-energy-in-old-canals/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/24/darpa-seeking-pop-in-solar-power-arms-race/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/24/darpa-seeking-pop-in-solar-power-arms-race/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:05:44 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/24/darpa-seeking-pop-in-solar-power-arms-race/

DARPA, the U.S. military’s chief high-tech office, is looking for a few good photovoltaics. Not just any garden variety solar panels, mind you.  The agency is soliciting proposals for Low-Cost Lightweight Portable Photovoltaics (PoP) that can stand up to battle conditions and environmental extremes while delivering high power conversion efficiency.  Think backpacks with built-in solar capacity, with teeth.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/24/darpa-seeking-pop-in-solar-power-arms-race/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/21/surf-city-usa-rides-the-wave-to-1000-solar-installations/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/21/surf-city-usa-rides-the-wave-to-1000-solar-installations/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:31:25 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/21/surf-city-usa-rides-the-wave-to-1000-solar-installations/

Huntington Beach bills itself as the home of mild and mellow beach culture, but this southern California town is anything but mild and mellow when it comes to promoting solar power.  The place otherwise known as Surf City USA has just announced an aggressive, ambitious program to get solar panels on 1,000 residental rooftops by 2010, in partnership with hometown company Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/21/surf-city-usa-rides-the-wave-to-1000-solar-installations/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/19/rubber-sidewalks-give-the-bounce-to-concrete/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/19/rubber-sidewalks-give-the-bounce-to-concrete/#comments Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:52:55 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/19/rubber-sidewalks-give-the-bounce-to-concrete/

Rubber sidewalks are all grown up.  Once perceived mainly as a safe surface for playgrounds, rubber sidewalks have developed into a means of preserving urban trees, reducing stormwater runoff, recycling tires, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions.  A company called Rubbersidewalks (what else?) began installing the modular units in 2002, and its rubber sidewalk products now appear in almost 100 cities across the country.  Even the U.S. military is getting into the act.  Plans are in the works to install rubber sidewalks at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, and they’re being promoted by the Pollution Prevention Program at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/19/rubber-sidewalks-give-the-bounce-to-concrete/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/18/new-jersey-national-guard-gets-solar-parking/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/18/new-jersey-national-guard-gets-solar-parking/#comments Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:47:50 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/18/new-jersey-national-guard-gets-solar-parking/

U.S. military installations in New Jersey are going solar thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is building carport-style solar arrays the size of football fields over parking lots at two New Jersey National Guard buildings.  Once completed, the two solar arrays will generate almost 480 kilowatts.  One building will get 40% of its summertime energy needs from its solar parking lot, another will get 80%.  Together they will save the Guard about $466,000.  Even better, by building two of the first solar parking lots in New Jersey, the Guard has set the stage for transforming the state’s vast sea of open asphalt into a rich natural resource.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/18/new-jersey-national-guard-gets-solar-parking/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/16/us-military-allies-with-golden-cheeked-warbler-to-fight-san-antonio-sprawl/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/16/us-military-allies-with-golden-cheeked-warbler-to-fight-san-antonio-sprawl/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:10:12 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/16/us-military-allies-with-golden-cheeked-warbler-to-fight-san-antonio-sprawl/

In one of the strangest alliances in military history, the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio has joined with the golden-cheeked warbler to fight urban sprawl near the Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation.  Camp Bullis is a training ground for U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines combat troops, and for medical units.  The 27,994-acre reservation includes 6,500 acres of prime habitat for the golden-cheeked warbler, which is on the endangered species list in Texas and the U.S.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/16/us-military-allies-with-golden-cheeked-warbler-to-fight-san-antonio-sprawl/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/04/us-military-targets-toxic-enemy-1-hexavalent-chromium/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/04/us-military-targets-toxic-enemy-1-hexavalent-chromium/#comments Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:49:05 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/04/us-military-targets-toxic-enemy-1-hexavalent-chromium/

If hexavalent chromium doesn’t ring a bell, think chrome, the stuff that puts the shine on everything from bathroom faucets to motorcycles.

If that still doesn’t help, maybe Erin Brockovich does.  In the 1990’s, the former legal clerk fought to expose hexavalent chromium contamination in drinking water, in the small California town of Hinkley.  The result was a record-breaking settlement and a major motion picture.  Fast forward to April 2009, and the U.S. military is adding a new chapter to the Brockovich book.  The Department of Defense has issued a formal memo requiring an aggressive across-the-board reduction in the military’s use of hexavalent chromium, otherwise known as chromium 6.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/07/04/us-military-targets-toxic-enemy-1-hexavalent-chromium/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/drones-1-mckiernan-0-the-limits-of-robot-warfare/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/drones-1-mckiernan-0-the-limits-of-robot-warfare/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 11:13:29 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/drones-1-mckiernan-0-the-limits-of-robot-warfare/ The U.S. military budget has started to tilt toward sustainability, and in part that means putting more focus on leaner, lighter aircraft, namely drones.  But as the abrupt firing of Afghanistan commander General Kiernan shows, sometimes sustainable technology is only as good as its user.  So, how much did the use of drones - which we’ll classify as robots, for our purposes - have to do with the end of a military career?

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/drones-1-mckiernan-0-the-limits-of-robot-warfare/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/one-step-closer-to-a-compostable-car-thanks-to-bioplastics/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/one-step-closer-to-a-compostable-car-thanks-to-bioplastics/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 01:59:42 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/12/one-step-closer-to-a-compostable-car-thanks-to-bioplastics/ Some time in the sparkling green future, the global food giant Archer Daniels Midland might have a hand in developing the world’s first compostable car.  And we might have to thank the Belgians for that, too.  Sounds far-fetched, right?  Not when you throw in the U.S. military and a small Massachusetts  company that specializes in bioplastics.

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