Brownfields.  What are they and why are developers so attracted to them?

First appearing in Congress in 1992, the US Environmental Protection Agency declared this term to describe abandoned or underused industrial areas that may be fit for reuse after their contamination levels had been assessed.

As urban real estate grows scarce, developers gravitate to industrial wastelands, taking advantage of the bargain bin property costs and cross their fingers that the hazardous materials found there won’t be too life threatening.

Brownfield classification is not as severe as what the EPA calls their growing list of Superfund sites, or areas that have critical levels of contamination.

While it seems wasteful to leave brownfields abandoned, some companies have found innovative ways to secure a guaranteed clean up in conjunction with tax incentives associated with development plans all wrapped up into one efficient, albeit complex, restoration and development contract.

For more on brownfields in your area, check out some of the following links.

Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, & Cleanup Pilot/Grantee Locations (EPA.gov)

Bedford Avenue cesspool continues to fester (Brownstoner)

Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (HUD.gov)

Cleaning up brownfields: Fact Pack (SERC)

Photo by *stuff and things*.

Full ABC (Australia) article here.

Green Air Filter

Every good pirate’s got to have warrants out for his arrest in some if not every country.  For Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, the heat isn’t from swashbuckling and pillaging trade ships on the high seas but rather his brazen acts of force against illegal whaling operations across the world’s oceans.

Back in 1980, one of Captain Watson’s ships rammed a Portuguese whaling vessel and the legal effects finally seemed to be coming into play - that is, until they realized the warrant expired in 2008.   Watson arrived in Madeira for this year’s International Whaling Commission’s 61st Annual Meeting, was greeted and detained by Portuguese police at the airport.  After hours of questioning, the police finally realized the warrant had expired and Watson was released.  Dodging harpoons is what he’s known for and this near miss ensures the black flag of the Sea Shepherd will fly again.

Hear the Great Captain Paul Watson tell Green Air what the fighting’s for in his own words here.

Photo by Mario Nunes.

Renewable energy plants are no longer the dream of the future, they’re here!  So why can’t consumers plug in?

Two of the biggest clean energy trade organizations, the American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association, have joined forces on a recent white paper entitled Green Power Superhighways.  Their goal is to address the inability or our energy grid to distribute hundreds of thousands of megawatts all ready to go but remains stagnant.  This will fulfill, they say, 20% of our energy needs right now.

Rob Gramlich, Policy Director for the American Wind Energy Association.

Everybody benefits from a reliable grid.  We saw a few years ago, a tree in Ohio can cause a blackout in New York City so it’s an interstate grid.  I think we need to look at it more with a national interest in energy security.

The production of these clean power producing systems both on the wind farms and for an improved grid means a green-collar job explosion waits for a few strokes of the federal pen.

For the full interview with Rob Gramlich, click here.  And for the latest improvements on our energy grid, check out some of the following links:

Grid power quality improvements using grid-coupled hybrid electric vehicles with a dual energy storage system (Leonardo Energy)

IBM has tech answer for woes of economy (NY Times)

ITC Holdings Corp. unveils green power express (ITC)

Photo by skelastic.

The bloodsuckers of summer are multiplying in our backyards so what are the best ways to control the mosquito menace without poisoning ourselves?

Metamorphosing in hidden pools of stagnant water in open trash cans, flower pots, puddles, ponds, gutters, culverts, bird baths and creeks, the summer swarms of mosquito larvae will soon sprout wings and mercilessly wreak havoc.  Desperate as we are to avoid what may be summer’s only bummer, we’re quick to reach for pungent chemical repellents thinking they must work by virtue of their effect on pretty much anything within smelling distance.

The most popular are DEET-based products.  DEET, while certainly a proven method of mosquito control, is known to be caustic when in contact with certain plastics and synthetics.  It’s not recommended for children as it can be a skin irritant and should be used with extreme caution.

Before you wage chemical warfare, save your family’s health and aggravation with these devastating battle plans to obliterate your local mosquito militia using nature as ammo.

1.) For ground support, grow some Thai lemon grass.  It contains a natural chemical similar to citronella and a small plot can stay lush all summer.  Just cut off the tips, macerate the stalks, and create tinctures for spraying.  It’s pleasant on the skin and 98% effective with even the most aggressive mosquitoes.

2.) For air strikes, try building a bat house.  Bats consume up to 1,200 insects per hour and they feed every night.  Bat houses can be easily constructed and bought pre-made.  Hang them high in a thick tree and sit back and let our winged mammal cousins dive bomb the mosquito swarm under cover of night.

3.) Praying for relief?  Let the praying mantis answer your call.  Their powerful pincers and devout stealth attacks don’t discriminate… even when snacking on their own kind!  Mantis egg cases are sold commonly in garden centers and while they may function better as ominous sentries than bloodthirsty bug contras, they’re interesting creatures to care for and study.

4.) Lure in the larvae in with the charm of nature’s femme fatale - the ladybug.  These cute speckled beetles are also voracious pest predators feeding mainly on the soft squishy larvae of the enemy before it even has the chance to reach their pesky potential.  Sold in pre-packaged broods, don’t let them fly away too quickly!  Release your lady killers in the evening and spray their wings with a little sugar water to keep them around long enough to do their job.

All’s fair in love and war except when you’re getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.  Making a little love with your with natural methods of pest control is the best way to serve and protect yourself and the habitat around you.  For more tales from the front line, check out some of the following links:

Ladybugs are your #1 natural pest control (Garden Stew)

Mosquito control (iVillage Garden Web)

The praying mantis, Tenodera Aridifolia Sinesis (Green Methods)

Handmade organic mosquito repellent (Journey to Forever)

‘Star Wars’ scientists create laser gun to kill mosquitoes (CNN)

Photos by Squirrel_bark, choyaw99, furryscaly, clkutz, Macaw-frey.

How are leftover shipping containers becoming the houses of tomorrow?

A slow-down in the shipping industry has unused cargo containers collecting dust.  This means shipping companies are eager to reduce their surplus by selling these massive metal boxes on the cheap and a new wave of architects is eager to get their welding torches on them.

Dubbed cargotecture, this ingenious housing design strategy takes a fortified stackable structure built ready to withstand even the harshest elements and provides amenities one might find in a modern, newly constructed condominium.  Interior space is used efficiently through seamless shelving, tables, and seats that fold up into the walls.

Multi-family units and even public facilities have been constructed using clever variations on this shipping container craftiness.  The upcycling of what once took up space in a shipping yard has the potential to eradicate housing issues worldwide.

For some astounding examples of cargotecture, stay tuned for our exclusive walkabout with Chris Parachini and Patrick Martins, owners of Roberta’s Pizzaria and Heritage Radio Network in Bushwick, Brooklyn (pictured).

Also, flip though some of the following links!

Cargotecture: Assembly required (DIY Network)

Cargotecture (Inhabitat)

Photo by rich_awn.