Izmet's dream: Reclaiming Paradise through sustainability.

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For every THE SUN item purchased 10 cents will be donated to Global Giving's Solar Electric Systems for 10 Low-Income Families program.

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Sustainability

Sustainability is a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. The term, in its environmental usage, refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, such as the planet's climatic system, systems of agriculture, industry, forestry, and fisheries, and human communities in general and the various systems on which they depend.

WINDPOWER 2009 Conference and Exhibition is the largest annual wind conference and exhibition in the world featuring over 13,000 attendees and over 776 exhibitors. Each year, wind energy professionals gather at this event to learn about the latest industry developments and technologies, review new products and services in the expansive exhibit hall, and network with leading industry decision makers. Join us for what promises to be another exciting event taking place May 4th - 7th, 2009, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Motorists in Australia could be driving cars run on green fuel from forests of biodiesel trees.

Farmers in Australia are rushing to acquire seeds imported from the South American rainforests to grow trees, on plantations, that will produce alternative fuel to run machinery and vehicles on their properties.

Scientists say the potential of some native Australian plants to be grown commercially as a renewable fuel source for transport and industry is exciting. Researchers from the University of Queensland are working with Origin Energy and Pacific Renewable Energy on several pilot plantations of pongamia pinnata – sometimes referred to as native wisteria – at Roma and Caboolture.

A hectare of the trees can produce 5500 litres of biodiesel a year – enough to run 100 cars for a year. Read more about it here.

Renewable resource . . . Professor Peter Gresshoff with

the pongamia plant, which are crushed to make oil.

Solar 101-The Info You Need to Get Going (from ENN)

Solar Power - It’s free. It’s clean. It’s available every day. What more could one ask for, right? With solar power systems down more than 80% in cost from the last two decades there are a variety of options available. But before we all go super-solar crazy, let’s take a look at the cost and benefits associated with each option.

How Solar Power Works

Solar power is produced by using photovoltaic (PV) cells that capture the energy of the sun and then covert that energy into electricity. The basic unit of the system is the solar cell, which are connected together into modules. PV cells are comprised of semi-conductors, most often made of silicon.

The semiconductors absorb power when they are struck by light. The modules of PV cells are what you see installed on the roofs of homes and businesses. The electricity created by the solar system is direct current and the electricity we use in our homes is alternating current. Therefore, solar systems include and inverter that changes the CD current into useable AC current. Installing solar systems can be quite complicated. It’s best to find a solar installer in your area to get the process started. ~more

Solar technology revolutionized! For the first time in history, solar energy is cheaper than burning coal thanks to a company called Nanosolar. How did they do this? By using a conductive substrate directly as electrode, a low-cost top electrode of high performance, employing the yield and performance advantages of individual cell matching & sorting, using high-yield continuous roll-to-roll processing, and developing high-power high-current panels with lower balance-of-system cost. Nanosolar offers a 25 year warranty on its products. They test their products in much harsher conditions than the official certification standards. They expose the cells to intense UV light as well as intense humidity.

For more information on how Nanosolar cells are made watch the video below.

For more than 100 years the roofing industry has created some of the most inefficient, landfill-clogging materials in the world. Until now.

ArmorLite™ Roofing Technology, LLC has changed that by creating the most sustainable, environmentally friendly roofing material ever. "What we’ve done is create the only roof a homeowner will ever need,” says ArmorLite CEO Frank Lane, “The savings are noteworthy since homes with traditional materials require new roofs every 15 to 20 years.”

Roof made of ArmorLite

The American Wetscape - In America we’re lucky to have an abundance of water. This country is home to the Great Lakes, which hold 6 quadrillion gallons of water (that’s a 6 with 15 zeros following it), as well as the mighty Mississippi River, which channels up to 4.5 million gallons per second and supplies water to about 15 million people. But even America’s vast water resources are limited, and we need to protect and conserve them.

Droughts are more economically devastating than weather events like hurricanes and floods, and cost the U.S. between 6 and 8 billion dollars annually.

In recent decades, human demand and climate change have placed unprecedented pressure on our national water resources. And while some regions have experienced higher than average rainfall, many parts of the US are suffering record dryness. Notably, in September of 2007 nearly half of the country was experiencing drought, and major bodies of water like the Great Lakes and the Colorado River have been showing significantly reduced water levels.

Visit www.gracelinks.org* for more information on water conservation.

*GRACE promotes and helps develop community based production and consumption of food, water and energy.

Creating innovative awareness campaigns, GRACE advocates for economically and environmentally sound alternatives to practices that are harmful to the ecosystem and public health.

was created in 2003 by the nonprofit organization GRACE to help consumers understand the problems with our food supply and offer viable solutions and alternatives. The dominant form of agriculture today relies on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, huge amounts of water, large transportation systems and factory-style practices for raising livestock. This creates over-processed food with little nutritional value which contributes to obesity, diabetes, and heart-related health problems.

Their first project, the Eat Well Guide, is a free, online directory of sustainably-raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, bed & breakfasts and other outlets in the United States and Canada. Just enter the zip or postal code to find wholesome products available locally or when traveling.

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One program from The Dream in Green Foundation

From the

Worldwatch Institute:

What defines "local" food? Is it food from one's nation? From one's state or province? From farms within 50 kilometers of your house? When ecologist Gary Nabhan decided to eat locally for a year, he drew the line at 400 kilometers from his house, partly guided by the size of the watershed in which he lived. Nutritionist Joan Gussow suggests trying to buy food produced "within a day's leisurely drive of our homes," a goal "designed to maintain a living countryside."

Regardless of the precise definition, there are several actions people can take to promote local food systems:

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