Author: Monica Williams
Website: http://aessolarenergy.com/blog/index.php/c1/title

As the 2009 Solar Decathlon winds to a close, the winners have been announced, and now the houses are open for continued public viewing. It is important to reflect back on the Solar Decathlon, its purpose, what it means for the participants as well as solar as a whole.

As many heard, the awards ceremony that took place this morning pronounced Team Germany as the overall winner of the competition. They finished with a final score of 908.297 out of 1000 points, just barely beating the second place winner, University of Illinois at 897.300 points and Team California in third place with 863.089 points. All of the teams produced fantastic homes and it is always interesting to see what they do with their homes and design ideas when they get back.

The Department of Energy began the Solar Decathlon in 2002 and holds it every other year on the National Mall. It is a chance for the top 20 college teams in the nation and world to compete in 10 different contests, which are…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2009/10/16/green-travel-vs-carbon-…

For a good part of the last decade, carbon offsetting has been a large player in consumer-based, green travel initiatives. Companies like Carbonfund and terrapass have become very successful by allowing travelers and organizations that are looking for a “green edge” to offset their carbon rations for things like flights, hotel stays, rental cars and more.

However, this week, popular sustainably-minded travel portal responsibletravel.com has taken a formal stand against carbon offsetting, calling the very idea of offsets “dangerously distracting.”

The website was one of the very first travel organizations to actually introduce carbon offsetting to the masses in early 2002. Now, it is one of the first to speak out against them – citing the travel industry’s need to reduce rather than offset carbon emissions.

“We have thought long and hard about how we can continue to offer our customers the leading advice they expect from a responsible tourism business when it comes to the fast…

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