Sierra Club Green Home

With expectations of one million electric vehicles (EVs) entering America’s roadways by 2016, the need to establish a sustainable EV infrastructure is immediate. General Electric and REC Solar partner up to boost the placement of more solar-powered EV charging stations across the country. (Photo courtesy of GE.com)

DALLAS — University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently added a solar carport. Solar carports both protect cars from the elements and generate electricity for nearby buildings. UT’s solar carport helps the campus reduce its energy bill, and also serves as a charging station for electric vehicles. (Photo courtesy of UT Southwestern Medical Center)

PHILIPPINES — Millions of people in the Philippines live in relative darkness. With the cost of electricity beyond the means of many, residents of poorer communities resort to using candles or kerosene lamps, which pose serious health and fire hazards. But, there is an incredibly simple solution that is both greener and safer. (Photo courtesy of ALiterofLight.org)

One of the most exciting acquisitions Panasonic made when merging with SANYO is Kasai Green Energy Park, a massive testing site for large-scale, renewable power storage systems. It is what Panasonic sees as the answer to energy resources issues. Take a tour of the high-security facility.

AURORA, CO — An exciting new solar panel factory is coming to Colorado! General Electric just announced plans to build its latest factory in Aurora. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

SAN JOSE, CA — San Jose’s Clean Energy Showcase displays solar, wind, and electric vehicle technologies to the public from a display across City Hall. Close to 6,000 people have toured the showcase since it opened in December of last year, including local schoolchildren, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and a group of Russian entrepreneurs. (Photo courtesy of the City of San Jose)

SAN JOSE, CA — In San Jose, there are large solar arrays at the airport, the city parking garage, the central service yard—and even city hall. The City Council recently signed off on a new power purchase agreement for its 28 city facilities and parking areas, and the city promotes solar energy use to residents and businesses. (Photo courtesy of Rex Solar)

OAKVILLE, CA – Far Niente winery is one of Napa Valley’s oldest winemakers, with operations that began in 1885. Now the winery holds the distinction of running almost entirely on floating solar power. (Photo courtesy of Far Niente)

The beauty of FTL Solar’s larger charging units is that they can provide a sustainable, secure source of renewable power. Able to power everything from small temporary structures that power laptops, cell phones, water purification and sanitation systems to large scale, state-of-the-art installations, the electrical energy produced by these lightweight, high density solar panels can be immediately used, stored in batteries, or even sold back to the grid. (Photo courtesy of FTL Solar)

Earth: The Operators’ Manual, hosted by Dr. Richard Alley, is a practical and promising one-hour PBS program about how we can use energy innovations to address climate change. Part travel guide, part science fair, the program crisscrosses the globe to look at how we know the earth’s atmosphere is warming and what we can do to transition to sustainable energy resources. (Photo by Art Howard, courtesy of Geoff Haines-Stiles)