Imagine the pressure. An April 2nd deadline set in stone. We had all the contractors lined up, all the structural and electrical engineering completed and approved, product in local warehouses, but we had to wait for City approvals. On March 4th, our rather "far out" solar system would be reviewed by Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board. We were proposing the demonstration adjacent to historic City Hall facing the marina; its four pole-mounted, 10' * 16' arrays each made of ten, 180-watt U.S. made Evergreen photovoltaic modules able to withstand 150 mph hurricane-force winds.

Of course, the system is not in keeping with the art deco Miami City Hall! The historic building used to be Pan Am's busy airship terminal, the portal to Central and South America. The Board could have shut down our client, EcoMedia, but instead the system passed unanimously with accolades. Cities need to lead by example, they stated. They liked the system renderings. We were alive but the clock was ticking. We'd still have to wait until March 13th for the project to be formally accepted by the Miami Commission.

There was little doubt of getting Commission approval, but we couldn't dig the footings. March 13th left only 20 days to break ground, install the system, and get it energized, approved, and formally interconnected. We coordinated our excavators to be ready to dig as early as 10:00 AM on March 13th; the City Manager assured us that the item would be on the consent agenda. It was, and the race was on. On April 2nd, Mayor Manny Diaz would be cutting the ribbon at a press event with corporate sponsors, politicians, and invited guests.

From a project management standpoint, there was a lot going on. The team had to pre-fabricate the steel, excavate for the caissons, trench for conduits, access the basement for internal wiring of the inverters, arrange for certified welders, inspections, move trees - actually the City's arborist preferred that the particular species be removed - work with Florida Power and Light on interconnect requirements. Before the final interconnect was issued, a third party engineer had to certify that the system was built to design.

Concurrently, EcoMotion was managing an interior lighting retrofit. Over 200 fixtures were replaced or upgraded. The Mayor's office was fit with T5 lighting technology. Consistent, high-efficiency lighting was installed throughout the building, drawing immediate comments from appreciative staff. Despite incorrect samples, product delays, multiple shipments, last-minute delivery, tough access to City Hall offices, weekend work schedules and cost, the lighting retrofit was completed on time.

For EcoMotion, finishing both the Long Beach Airport project and the greening of Miami City Hall within two weeks of each other was an accomplishment. In each instance, a vision turned into a powerful reality through hard work and fostering teamwork. Both projects have already received tremendous attention. Long Beach made the national TV news; in Miami, the City Hall project was top of the local evening news. The Mayor gave the Governor a tour of the system too. Thanks to great teamwork between EcoMedia, its City partners, and able contractors, these projects have been completed on time and in time for press events that demonstrate each City's green commitment through action.

EcoMotion Network News V11#14 incorrectly converted the values of British Columbia's pioneering carbon tax. The tax will begin at 7.57 U.S. cents per U.S. gallon, increasing to 22.71 cents. Thanks to reader Al Rosen for pointing this out.

	An example of LED lighting in Rockefeller Center

That's solid state lighting, or LEDs, short for "light emitting diodes." This breakthrough technology is coming on strong, staging to become the ubiquitous lighting source of the future. This past year, the U.S. Department of Energy published new Solid State Lighting Energy Star criteria, predicting another doubling of LED efficacy in the next five years.

For years, LEDS have been used in computer applications. In the past decade, LEDs have been widely deployed for signal and pedestrian signal lighting. In the past few years, the range of applications for solid state lighting has greatly broadened, even as viable replacements for 400+ watt high pressure sodium parking lot and roadway lighting. In Raleigh, North Carolina an existing parting structure with 1,000-watt high pressure sodium lamps was retrofit with LEDs, resulting in a 60% reduction in lighting energy. Furthermore, there was a four-fold gain in perceived light quality, and a perceived doubling of structure safety.

	EarthHour in Boston

This year, EarthHour followed the cadence of the sun, beginning in Australia, then to the South Pacific, Europe, and North America, from the Sydney Opera House to the Coliseum in Rome to the Sears Tower and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. EarthHour 2008 expanded to countries including China, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. In Greece there was a special candlelight vigil on the island of Aegina. Tel Aviv's Rabin Square featured a bicycle-powered concert; Nelly Furtado performed in Toronto.

"This is a symbolic initiative that will educate our customers and people worldwide about energy conservation and protecting the environment from future climate change," noted a utility official in Chicago. "Turning off the lights for one hour is a perfect model for the behavioral changes needed to reverse these trends." And then her company - ComEd -- had a little fun. Here's what it suggested Windy City residents do without power!

1. Play the guitar under the stars.
2. Watch the Ferris wheel lights turn off at Navy Pier.
3. Make shadow puppets with a flashlight.
4. Text message your friends to remind them to turn off their lights.
5. Tell ghost stories.
6. Listen to music on your iPod.
7. Buy CFLs at a home improvement store.
8. Snap photos of the skyline.
9. Play a board game with a flashlight.
10. Get out the telescope and explore the galaxy.

The Edison announcement marks the largest ever utility-sponsored rooftop solar program. It's a major addition to the State's 965 MW of installed PV capacity, more than doubling the current pace of California Solar Initiative installations. Edison's rooftop solar will count towards California's 20% Renewable Portfolio Standard, required of the State's investor-owned utilities by 2010. The $875 million project will require 65 million square feet of panels, an area of about 1,100 football fields or two square miles, and no new transmission lines. Each installation will be in the 1 - 2 MW size range. Edison claims that the systems will power the equivalent of 162,500 homes. For ProLogis, the largest owner, manager, and developer of distribution facilities with 510.2 million square feet in 2,773 properties, its rooftops become assets.

2). How much garbage does the average American discard each day? (National Recycling Coalition)

a. 2 pounds
b. 5 pounds
c. 7.5 pounds
d. 10 pounds
e. 3.5 pounds

3). On average, Americans recycle less than one third (19 million tons of the 65 million tons) of the recyclable paper used annually. How many trees could be saved if we recycled the remaining 46 million tons? (365 Ways to Save the Earth)

a. 45 million trees
b. 502 million trees
d. 154 million trees
e. 782 million trees
c. 1 billion trees

4). Recycling is a $236 billion/year industry, creating more jobs than waste disposal and incineration. How many U.S. citizens are employed by the recycling industry? (National Recycling Coalition)

a. 500,000 people
b. 25,000 people
c. 1.1 million people
d. 2 million people
e. 40 people

5). Producing recycled aluminum saves ____% of the energy needed to produce new aluminum? (365 Ways to Save the Earth)

a. 20-25%
b. 10-15%
c. 50-55%
d. 90-95%
e. 70-75%

The U.S. could rebuild its entire commercial airplane fleet from all of the aluminum cans discarded every three months! (Environmental Defense Fund)

6). China and Ireland have taken actions toward banning the use of plastic bags. Each year, Americans use 30 billion plastic shopping bags. How long does it takes for one plastic bag to decompose in nature? (365 Ways to Save the Earth)

a. 20 years
b. 35 years
c. 1,000 years
d. 200 years
e. 100 years

It is compelling how small actions can cause powerful effects, especially when done collectively. Recycling is a simple practice which boosts the economy, reduces waste and pollution, saves energy and resources, helps combat global warming, and enforces a more sustainable relationship between humanity and the planet. Remember that your actions have an impact. Next time you go to throw something away, think twice about where it will end up and whether or not it can live again!

-Wheaton College Students, Sierra Flanigan & Allison Andrews

Answers:

1. B: Paper cups are not recyclable
2. C: Each of us discards 7.5 pounds of material per day
3. E: 782 million trees would be spared
4. C: 1.1 million people are involved in the U.S. recycling industry
5. D: Recycling saves 90-95% of the energy of new material
6. D: A plastic bag takes 200 years to decompose