Hello again, February already would you believe? For those of you in colder climes don’t worry the worst of Winter will soon be behind you and the Spring thaws will start before you know it. It’s been a topsy turvy Winter with traditionally mild places being snowed in and colder regions experiencing warmer weather than usual. The ostriches say ’so much for global warming’ whereas the informed among us know the difference between climate change and weather change. These things are measured in 50 year increments so seasonal deviation means nothing really, what does mean something is weather in general being more unsettled as occurrences of drought and flooding are changing rapidly due to a complete change in the ferocity/frequency of storms around the planet. However I’ve gone on a tangent for I am here to bring you some eco-news for the latest Green Gazette so let me do just that.

General Electric (G.E.) have announced their intent by dedicating a brand new $45 billion facility in Schenectday New York as their “Renewable Energy Global Headquarters”. Such a statement of change sends a very positive message from the corporate giant, you can have any number of new and smaller alternate energy companies start at the grassroots level but when the muscle of G.E. is getting behind the drive toward renewable energy we’ll find that we reach our destination that much quicker. The building itself is of course a model of green efficiency and it creates 650 new jobs and was completed a year ahead of schedule. To learn more the building and the corporation’s growing commitment to renewable energy please visit this Business Wire story.

“The dedication of our new, state-of-the-art global headquarters represents our ongoing mission to provide renewable energy solutions that will help meet both the world’s energy and environmental needs,”

Victor Abate, VP of renewable energy for GE Power & Water

I’m always amazed (impressed) by the fact that almost every type of industry can make a difference in environmental matters by moving toward sustainable practices. The more I read and research the fuller my understanding of the fact that applications that can have a positive impact exist almost everywhere and at the heart of much of the needed change will remain consumer awareness. Sara Lee are yet another example of a company that have baked up a good idea. The bread giant announced this week that they are trying to capture a slice of the green market with a new ‘eco-wheat’. The new green loaf will hinge on more than just a concept as a new ‘eco-grain’ has been specifically developed by Cargill and CHS for Sara Lee. The wheat will be grown using farming practices that reduce fertilizer and it requires less land than organic farming. Best news of all is that you don’t have to be from the upper crust to try the new product as it will be priced equivalently to the company’s existing product line. I’m not buttering up the fact that I hope sales will bring in extra dough versus the non green competition. Look for the bread to be in stores this spring.

I wanted to close with another example of remarkable innovation. Solar energy seems to be usually associated with rooftops and solar farms but here is one avenue I wouldn’t have considered although you may well see it around a farm or indeed a homestead. A solar fence (but of course!) has been developed by a company called Earth Sure out of New Jersey. The fence is fully functional as a…well as a fence but also collects the suns rays from dawn until dusk and then transforms the solar rays into energy for your home. It’s a natural idea in my books and wins the Gazette award as green innovation of the week. Learn more about the solar fencing here. At last a legal fencing operation that will pay for itself in little time.

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Tags: Climate Change, eco bread, eco wheat, eco-farming, G.E., general electric, Global Warming, green bread, planet forward, renewable energy, Renewable Energy Global Headquarters, sara lee, solar fences, solar panels, solar power, sustainable product, sustainable products, Victor Abate

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