Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture

February 7-9, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin

The 3rd Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture is right around the corner - February 7-10, 2009, at Monona Terrace Community Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Learn how to cut energy costs with energy efficiency, new business opportunities with renewable energy production and carbon sequestration.

National agriculture leaders will speak, including Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association and Roger Johnson, President of the National Farmers Union.

Regular registration for the 2010 Ag Forum and associated events ENDS January 18, 2010. We know budgets are tight, so register now at www.aceee.org/conf/10ag! You can find the program here.

Wisconsin’s Dairy Business Innovation Center (DBIC) is organizing an accompanying one-day event, on February 10 in the Profitability and Environmental Sustainability in the Dairy Industry. For details on both of these important events, visit www.aceee.org/conf/10ag.

The hotel reservation deadline at the Hilton Madison Monona Terrace is January 15th. Go to: http://www.aceee.org/conf/10ag/index.htm#when to secure your reservations at the low conference rate of $125 per night. Mention ACEEE when making your reservations.

In addition, scholarships are available for interested farm families for the DBIC one-day event only. You can receive a $50 scholarship (maximum 2 per family) if you send a brief email to maggiemfitzsimmons@gmail.com outlining why you're interested in attending and why you need financial assistance at the moment.

Grid Interconnect Map

A few of you asked questions and gave suggestions about harvesting electricity from one location and sending it to another. This map might help you understand why some of that is not possible with our current grid.

EPA Accepting Applications for Environmental Education Grant Funding

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting grant applications for a total of $3.4 million in funding for environmental education projects and programs. EPA expects to award approximately 100 grants ranging from $5,000 to $200,000 and will accept applications until December 31, 2009.

The purpose of the Environmental Education Grant Program is to promote environmental stewardship and help develop knowledgeable and responsible students, teachers and citizens. The grants provide financial support for innovative projects that design, demonstrate, or disseminate environmental education practices, methods, or techniques. Projects should involve environmental education activities that go beyond disseminating information.

The Environmental Education Grant Program provides funding to local education agencies, state education or environmental agencies, colleges or universities, not-for-profit organizations, or noncommercial educational broadcasting entities. Tribal education agencies, which are controlled by an Indian tribe, band or nation, may also apply, including a school or community college.

Since the program began, EPA has provided more than $45 million in funding to more than 3,000 agencies and organizations.

More information on eligibility and application materials: http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html

Biofuels from Diapers

Biofuels from Diapers:

As I was listening to the radio the other day, I heard a very interesting report on diaper recycling/fuel production. Yes, you read correctly. This company in the UK is recycling soiled diapers and producing green fuel. As part of the recycling process, the materials are sterilized, separated into individual components which include organic residue, plastic and super absorbent polymers. These components are then recycled into plastic wood, plastic roofing tiles, absorption materials, recycled paper products, among others. What really caught my attention was the production of green energy! If I heard correctly, six megawatts of green energy were produced in the recycling process. One was used by the company to operate the plant and the other five megawatts were sold to the local grid. Go green! That’s a great way to reduce even further the amount and toxicity of our garbage.

Personally, when my children were babies, we didn’t consider which was the most environmentally friendly option when choosing diapers. we just selected the most convenient method for our family: disposable diapers. It’s interesting that several months ago, in one of our Questions of the Week on diaper selection, we had a very interesting green conversation going with well over 170 people weighing in on which is the best option for the environment, disposable or cloth diapers. There are many articulate arguments in favor of both options. At least, companies like this one are finding creative ways to reduce waste while having the added bonus of producing green energy.

As I was reading up on the issue for this blog, I learned that it can take 450 years for a disposable diaper to disintegrate in the ocean, and over 500 years in landfills. While we all should make an effort to adopt more environmentally practices to reduce waste, it gives me hope that at least in the case of disposable diapers there is some hope to go green. So, will we be talking about baby power at a recycling center near you? That might be the way of the future.

Credits: Lina Younes of the EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

J. Sam Sadler
elleven consulting group

Chloregy Group Invitation

A friend of mine, Ann Panagushin is a Program Manager for Content and Events for Chloregy. She does an excellent job posting and keeping things up to date. I would highly recommend going to the web site http://events.chloregy.com and signing up to be a free member so as to keep in the know on the latest green events. I joined when I visited the site for the first time and you will too.

Biomass-to-Energy Projects

Anyone involved with current or potential biomass-to-energy projects in the State of Indiana should be sure to attend the Indiana Biomass Business Conference. The conference will be at the Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis on February 9 & 10, 2010.

Learn more and register on the website - http://www.biomassindiana.com/index.html

Start Something Green Expo

We are proud to announce the "Start Something Green Expo". Saturday September 26th from 10AM to 3:00PM at The Denton Civic Center on 215 E. McKinney St. There will be no charge for admission.

Learn how you can start something green! The expo includes information about composting, xeriscaping, solar energy and a lot more. The family friendly atmosphere includes music, food, demonstrations and children's activities. Don't miss the fun!Look for elleven consulting group for a complimentary home energy guide to get the most bang for your buck in going green.