THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for October, 2008

Professor Chungpin Hovering Liao of National Formosa University in Taiwan has created the world’s first chlorophyll organic battery. The battery can use any liquid—even urine—to power up. It doesn’t take much time for liquids to start juicing the battery, either. Within 10 seconds of being doused with liquid, the battery starts providing power.

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Okay, okay. ‘Green’ next to ‘cheese’ might typically elicit a gag, but if you’re thinking of green in an environmental sense and not the fuzzy gorgonzola you forgot in the back of the fridge, then it’s decidedly a good thing.

Specifically, eating locally produced, or “green” cheeses is not only good for the environment, but beneficial for local economies—not to mention a delight to the tastebuds.

Twenty years ago or so Americans first discovered the joys of European cheeses. At that time, it seemed difficult to find American-made cheeses that rivaled their counterparts from across the pond. Since those days, a bevy of cheese artisans have sprung up around the country from unlikely spots such as Louisiana and Indiana to more predictable states such as Vermont and Wisconsin. And the cheeses these craftsman are creating are not just good for American cheeses, but have become considered damn good by international standards. Moreover, the cheeses don’t have to travel across the ocean, thereby reducing their carbon, er, hoofprint.

A greater number of Americans are also shunning mass produced food sometimes marked by inferior quality and unhealthful additives and often linked to environmental degradation. It only makes sense: mass produced cheeses generally come from factory-like farms which can overwhelm the surrounding area. Smaller-production cheeses boast makers that can’t afford to harm the environment. And for animal-lovers, the fact that cows, sheep and goats typically spend their days outdoors is another plus.

The Midwest is a leading producer of premium cheeses. One of the finest is Wisconsin producer Roth Käse which creates award-winning hard cheeses such as gruyere which is known for its nutty, bold flavor. Other small companies like petite Prairie Fruits Farm near Champaign, Illinois, create super-premium goat’s cheese, the products ending up on the tables of some of the finest restaurants in the country.

Larger, but artisanal producers such as Carr Valley Cheese distribute their creations at finer grocery stores, specialty food stores and farmer’s markets (or on-line at CarrValleyCheese.com.) In the case of much-in-demand Pleasant Ridge Reserve, the gruyere-style cheese is produced only in the summer and is featured in multi-star restaurants. From one batch to the next, this rare cheese tastes different—but is always considered a masterpiece of culinary art. Collectively, Wisconsin cheese producers receive the lion’s share of national awards, and for products ranging from traditional cheddar to hard ewes’ milk cheese.

Perhaps the best collection of artisan cheeses can be found at GreatAmericanCheese.com, but many local stores and restaurants have begun to carry them as well. For some of the largest collections, check out New York City’s Murray Cheeses ( MurraysCheese.com), open since 1940, or Oak Park, Illinois’ Marion Street Market (MarionStreetCheesemarket.com).

Restaurants such as Chicago’s Spiaggia, Eno, BIN 36 and Sepia boast evolving artisan cheese selections, stocking uber-tasty and hard-to-find domestic creations such as Tarentaise from Vermont’s Thistle Hill Farm and Green Hill from Sweet Grass Dairy in Georgia, Berkshire blue from Massachusetts, and Feliciana Nevat from Louisiana. And on the West Coast, Santa Monica’s Whist at Viceroy offers artisan California cheeses such as Haystack Mountain Red Cloud and earthy Truffle Tremor (a personal favorite), while San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema restaurant ups the ante by sourcing all ingredients locally, including California cheeses such as Cowgirl Creamery’s triple crème Red Hawk.

If you balk at the price you might pay for a premium cheese, consider that neither dairy farmers nor cheese producers rank anywhere near the top (or even bottom) of the Forbes richest list. For many, producing flavorful, unique cheeses represents a labor of love. The cheese they create, free of antibiotics, hormones or unnatural feed, tastes different from year to year, dependent upon what flowers and grasses the animals eat—and is decidedly greener than cheese that has to travel a great distance.

Artisanal producers, utilizing Old World, craftsman techniques, concentrate on quality over quantity, sometimes raising rarer Jersey cows which yield half the milk of traditional dairy bovines. Milk from Jersey cows produces tastier cheeses, and that, along with the animals’ diet and how they are treated, leads to more flavorful, richer tasting products.

Similar to the watershed Judgment of Paris in 1976 when American wine first bested French wine in a blind tasting, American cheeses are now winning international tasting competitions. And as American cheeses age, they’re likely to get even better—and greener. Which, strange as that may sound, is a good thing.

The Greenmeter, recently released by Hunter Research and Technologies, is an iPhone application with a mission: to keep track of your car’s carbon footprint and fuel efficiency . The program uses a variety of variables to make its calculations, including weather conditions, cost of fuel, and vehicle weight.

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Recycling electronics is never easy, so it’s extremely helpful when electronics companies take it upon themselves to help out. Panasonic announced today that is creating a program in the United States to let consumers easily recycle Panasonic products free of charge. The program, which is scheduled to start November 1, is being managed by the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company—a joint venture between Panasonic, Toshiba, and Sharp.

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In our search for new clean technology, it’s important to pay attention to inventions of the past. A tiny hydroelectric plant in the Yorkshire Dales area of England is coming out of a 60 year retirement next summer to create renewable energy.

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