If Berkeley wasn’t already blushing from its dominance in scientific nomenclature* it looks like another local name may be immortalized. In a refereed article in Environmental Research Letters, a group of scientists propose that a unit of electricity savings be named the Rosenfeld, after Arthur Rosenfeld, “the godfather of energy efficiency” (photo right).
The proposed Rosenfeld [...]
Posts under ‘Green’
Welcome the Rosenfeld
Ideas to reduce your carbon footprint
Last year, we attended a carbon footprint workshop and since then we’ve had a steadily diminishing amount that isn’t recycled or composted. Others in Berkeley seem to have done the same, which is one of the reasons why refuse revenues in the city are down.
But the planet is a more important cause than city revenues, [...]
Berkeley abandons pioneering solar program
Two years after it unveiled a pioneering residential solar program, Berkeley has decided to close it down.
Only thirteen property owners signed up for the BerkeleyFIRST pilot program, Judith Scherr reports in the East Bay Express, despite it being cited as a model for other cities, and even countries, and receiving glowing reviews in the media.
The plan’s [...]
Fresh off the boat: Hudson Fish
Captain Mike of Hudson Fish provided some valuable background on local fisheries when I speculated about a fish CSA for Berkeley. Last Saturday morning I dropped by the Hudson Fish stall at the downtown farmers market to chat with them and check out their catch of the day.
Hudson Fish has been coming to the Berkeley [...]
Comment: how to make Downtown an economic asset
Almost six months after the Downtown Area Plan was referended and almost five years after the process began, the discussion is starting to heat up again regarding the future of Downtown Berkeley. The referendum gave the council the option to put the plan passed by the City Council on July 14, 2009 on the ballot, [...]
Berkeley’s climate progress seen (sort of)
I’d love to be enthusiastic about City of Berkeley see it! (not my exclamation mark). There are many good intentions in the interactive website, designed to present both the city’s Climate Action Plan and progress towards realizing its goals. But the site has one of the worst user interfaces I’ve encountered in a long time. [...]
Berkeley gets smart power meters
In the past couple of weeks, PG&E has begun installing so-called SmartMeters on Berkeley residences. One showed up at my house even before PG&E’s letter arrived announcing the retrofit.
SmartMeters are supposed to let consumers monitor their household energy consumption, with reports on hourly electricity use and daily gas use. Presumably this will encourage people to [...]
Another bite of Saul’s
In case you missed the discussion about the future of the Jewish deli, hosted by Saul’s, the other night, you can watch a video of the whole event. You can find the program split into digestible chapters on Fora.tv.
Garbage rate structure the problem
Following the reports that Berkeley’s success in recycling led to unexpected deficits, Martin Bourque, executive director of the Ecology Center, responded to Berkeleyside. The Ecology Center is a non-profit organization that runs Berkeley’s recycling program, as well as farmers markets and other programs.
Recent coverage of the Solid Waste Management Fund deficit in Berkeley wrongly places [...]
The costs and benefits of scavenging
We wrote yesterday about the financial dilemma that Berkeley’s success with recycling is creating. More recycling by Berkeley residents combined with a decrease in construction projects (and their associated waste), have led to a $4 million budget shortfall. Not good.
But commenter TN poses another Berkeley refuse collection issue that needs solution:
The Chronicle article leaves out [...]
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