Illustration by Kathleen White Blowing in the Wind by Jerry Silberman Question: Is large-scale renewable electricity production sustainable? The Right Question: Is renewable energy the future for human society? The recognition that burning fossil fuels may burn us out of the planet’s ecosystem has made the abandonment of fossil fuel resources the right choice, regardless
MoreIllustration by Mike L. Perry House of Cards by Logan Welde What if I were to tell you there was a system in Pennsylvania, and in most states, that—in principle—ensures that new buildings are built to the safest-known standards, with the best-known technology to save lives and reduce energy consumption? What if I were to
MoreIllustration by Kathleen White Most electronic devices in your home consume very small amounts of energy per day. However, most homes have over 40 electronic devices, many of which are left plugged in and continue to consume energy even when turned off or left in standby mode. Adding together the individually small energy use of
MoreCool It, Philly by Marilyn Anthony If you want to stir things up, ask any group of Philly residents to name the coolest block in the city. They probably won’t know that in 2010, South Philly’s 1200 block of Wolf Street officially took home that title in a contest run by the Energy Coordinating Agency
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Illustration by Kathleen White It’s Electric by Hannah Waters A letter slides through my mail slot urging me to change my electricity provider. I groan. “Sign and return the form below to have 100% renewable sources supplied for the Waters home,” it says. “If you don’t switch, your power will still come from power plants
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Photo by Jeremy Blakeslee The Nuclear Option by Heather Shayne Blakeslee We’re not a major. We’re a minor,” says Chris Peters, 47, a nuclear scientist with the College of Engineering at Drexel University. He’s sitting in the unremarkable lab where his students will learn this year about nuclear science, as well as electrical and computer
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Plugging Into Community by Justin Klugh Shopping for anything when you have too many choices can mean not making a choice at all. That’s one thing when you’re roaming the grocery store. But when it comes to energy for our homes, many of us are not yet used to having a choice, much less understanding
MoreIn a bid to raise awareness to the connection between air pollution and respiratory health, ChoosePAWind and the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic partnered to launch a campaign promoting local wind energy options, using a group of local organizations as the initial participants. The goal of the campaign is to bring faith-based institutions, environmental groups,
MoreStory by Samantha Wittchen, Illustrations by Miguel CoThough it runs perfectly, Ric Temple’s Nissan Leaf can make him late. His electric-powered car rouses so much curiosity that Temple is regularly interrogated by passersby outside his South Philadelphia home. People take pictures of his car, as well as the charging station to which it’s attached. But
MoreIf you’ve ever felt the earth shake from a crashing wave or come up a bit green after being tossed around on a boat, you have an idea of how powerful ocean waves and currents can be.
The founders of Pennington, N.J.-based Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) have developed technology to harness and convert wave energy