November 7, 2009
Our Mayor just announced that community gardens will be installed at all 56 DC recreation centers thanks to a generous donation from Whole Foods. The donation will go towards tools, plants, soil, and mulch. And the buzz is that the gardens will include bee hives!
The new community gardens are open to all community members with a focus on youth and senior adult participation. Read the press release here, and read a recent article about a DC beekeeper here.
November 1, 2009
In contrast to the high tech we experienced at the Solar Decathlon, we went to an event where William Kamkwamba spoke about how he built a windmill out of scrap material and brought electricity to his rural village in Malawi.
Growing up poor, William had to leave school when his family was unable to pay the fees. He finds a diagram of a windmill in a book on energy at the village library and decides to build one to bring electricity to his family home.
Relying on diagrams since he is not able to read the (English) textbook, William uses materials found in junkyard (discarded motor parts, PVC pipe, etc) and at the age of 14 built a windmill. Remarkable.
William’s story is told in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. You can read more at the Moving Windmills Project which supports Malawian-run rural economic development and education projects in Malawi.
October 26, 2009
With over 1,000 solar panels being installed, Catholic University will soon have the largest solar-energy system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The solar-panel system will produce about 340,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year. Sounds like alot, right? It’s about three-quarters of 1 percent of the 44 million kilowatt hours used each year by the university. Still, a good start
Of note, this year Catholic University’s School of Engineering added a concentration in alternative and renewable energy
Also worth mentioning is that CUA’s Opus Hall, opened in January of this year, is the first LEED-compliant student residence hall in the District of Columbia.
October 24, 2009
Our garden doesn’t know it’s almost November – we’ve picked a few ripe strawberries, cherry tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, a red pepper and a few rattlesnake pole beans. And we’re making our next to last batch of pesto.
October 6, 2009
Teams are getting ready, getting set and preparing to go when the Solar Decathlon begins on the Mall on October 9th.
There will be no poles to be vaulted or shots to be putted in this decathlon. Instead, the Solar Decathlon brings together 20 colleges and university teams from around the world in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.
Along with house tours, educational exhibits and workshops on solar energy and energy efficiency will be offered. See events schedule here.
Which reminds us to Let the Sunshine in!
September 18, 2009
Nearly 50 homes in Mt Pleasant will have solar panels installed this fall. To celebrate, the Mt Pleasant Solar Cooperative is holding an eco-fair and has arranged for tours of solar installations.
The event will be held on at Bancroft Elementary, 1755 Newton St NW on Saturday September 19th at from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
We hope our house on Monroe St will be on the tour next year.
September 12, 2009
We’re planning a green roof, and thought that solar would be the way to go. Now there’s an option for an even greener roof.
In some cities, folks are taking their gardens to higher ground and raising vegetables on rooftops. While space on the ground might be limited, most cities have acres of flat roofs with lots of sunlight.
And with increasing interest in fresh, local food, rooftop farming is a logical next step. Many entrepreneurs have already taken this next step and with the support of forward thinking city leaders more residents and businesses will follow.
Read more in this WPost article, and check out DC Greenworks for more on green roofs.
September 5, 2009
Even though our borrowed gardening space is still in production, we’re already plotting our fall planting. Or is it planning our fall plot?
We’re on a waiting list for a community garden a mile away, one of the two in DC managed by DC Parks and Rec. We saw at least one unused plot in this garden, but apparently there is no policy about using or losing (your plot). This community garden also has plot-able space currently being occupied by invasive weeds. I offered to weed my own space but did not get any response. So we’re not optimistic about planting there any time soon.
But we recently learned about a new community garden being organized just a few blocks away. This would be a “make your own” garden where the plots need to be dug & framed, soil amended, etc. So now we’re waiting for news on our new gardening plot for the fall planting we’re planning.
August 31, 2009
A combination of decreased cost and increased financial incentives have made solar panels more affordable which is good news for the house on Monroe St.
Increased production of a key ingredient in solar panels and decreased demand from our friends in Europe have contributed to the 40% drop in cost according to this recent NY Times article.
Time to get in line again for DC’s Renewable Energy Incentive Program (REIP) and hope additional funding is on the way. The REIP is oversubscribed and the current budget of $2 million is not sufficient to meet the demand.
Although we’ll be number 72 or so on the waitlist, the good news is that prices for solar panels are expected to drop a bit more and technological advances might be available by the time our project is up for funding. Yes, our solar energy glass is half full.
August 26, 2009
We had an early warning of the late blight in early July when the Washington Post ran this article. Late blight, as the name implies, is typically a problem later in the growing season after most of the tomatoes have been harvested.
The ample rain, mild temperature and high humidity of early summer was an environment favorable for the development of Phytophthora infestans, also known as late blight. Add the increase in backyard gardening and infected tomato plants being sold at big box stores and you get tomato Trojan horses spreading late blight throughout the Northeast.
Late blight also affects other members of the nightshade family such as potatoes (and is the same fungal disease that decimated the potato crop in Ireland leading to widespread famine in the 1840s).
Read more in this recent NY Times op-ed piece – You Say Tomato, I Say Agricultural Disaster.
