The Sun Ship. The world's first commercial PlusEnergy building, Freiburg, Germany. (© 2012 Osha Gray Davidson)

For three weeks in late April and early May, I traveled throughout Germany* researching that country’s energiewende, literally, “energy change,” — a transformation from a fossil-fuel economy to a renewable-energy economy (that produces only small amounts of green house gases). Germany has by no means completed the transition. But it is on the way.

Most remarkably, especially coming from the United States where politics has become polarized and toxic, Germany’s ambitious goal is supported by all major political parties. The only debate is over how to get there and how fast to go.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be publishing a series of articles about the Energiewende tour (as I like to think of it) at InsideClimate News. Later the articles will be expanded into a multi-media eBook, with photos, videos, slideshows with narration and recorded interviews with some of the major actors in Germany’s unmatched progress toward building an economy that is both environmentally and economically sound — and supports democracy and citizen participation. If all this sounds too good to be true, well, that’s exactly what I thought when I began my trip. But several thousand miles and dozens of conversations later, I agree with Hans-Josef Fell, the author of Germany’s renewable energy act: “This first thing we need to change is our belief in what is possible.”

* The trip was funded, in part, by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, where I was a 2012 Climate Media Fellow.

Rio Salado College, Downtown Building (Photo by Chris Loomis)

Walk into the lobby of Rio Salado College’s new eco-friendly building in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, and one thing you notice right away is what is not there.

There is no glare from the brutal Sonoran desert sun –  despite banks of windows stretching from the floor to the second story ceiling – thanks to tinted glass, light-filtering screens and articulating metal sun shades. The outside temperature is in the low-90s, but it’s not too cold inside (as it so often is here in the Valley of the Over-Air-Conditioned-Buildings). Take a deep breath: Not a whiff of the toxic odors common to many new buildings.

“The employees here feel like they won the lottery,” says Jeanne Lombardo. “When they moved in, there was no smell of chemicals from the paint or carpeting.”

Lombardo is the Assistant Director of Community Partnerships, Community Development, at Rio Salado Community College, and she clearly counts herself among the lottery winners. A former conversational English teacher who has lived and worked in Tokyo, Paris and London, a smile rarely leaves her face during the hour she shepherds a visitor through the 13,800 square-foot facility. Over six-hundred students use the building’s nine classrooms each day, Lombardo explains. Most of them are adults enrolled in English acquisition courses or preparing for their GED examination.

“What’s exciting,” Lombardo says as she leads the way into a classroom, triggering overhead ultra-efficient lights, “is that we’re already constructing sustainable themes into the instruction that’s taking place here. While learning English, students are mastering a new vocabulary organized around sustainability.”

Many native English speakers could also pick up a few new terms here, such as “graywater” (partially treated for drip-irrigation in the surrounding desert landscaping), “negawatt” (a unit of energy saved through conservation or greater efficiency), and “hydration station.”

Hydration Station

The last is not, as cynics may think, a pretentious way of referring to a drinking fountain. A hydration station is a water dispenser, built into the wall and designed to encourage students to use refillable bottles – and, so, lessen that blight of the Southwestern landscape, disposable plastic water bottles. As Lombardo points out, the hydration stations are effective partly because they are quick and easy to use (a sensor detects when a bottle is present and starts the flow of cold water), and partly because students receive instant positive reinforcement in the form of a digital readout that displays the number of plastic bottles that will not end up in a landfill or on the side of the road, thanks to the user’s thoughtfulness.

In addition to motion detectors to control the lights, each room has a CO2 sensor. As people fill a given space, the building responds to higher levels of carbon dioxide by increasing the air flow into that room. Other sensors detect the changing amount of sunlight throughout the day and adjust overhead lighting automatically to conserve electricity.

As we head outside, Lombardo points to one of the building’s many aesthetic features: soaring stone walls in the two-story lobby. The warm-toned raw rock is an unusually hard form of sandstone. The stairs are made from the same material, but polished. The effect is a bit like walking through an old Native American structure like Casa Grande or Mesa Verde. In fact, the stone is from a quarry in neighboring Nevada. Earlier plans to use stone from the East coast were dropped to reduce the carbon footprint of construction. (Also, over ninety percent of waste materials generated by construction were recycled.)

The building sits on formerly contaminated ground, called  a “brownfield,” which was once home to an auto dealership. The parking lot is surprisingly small, given the number of students who use the building, but that’s intentional.

“The downtown location is in part to eliminate the need for cars, and counter sprawl,” says Lombardo. “We’re located near light-rail and bus routes, and not far from neighborhoods where a lot of our students live.” A bike rack also sits by the entrance. Still, some students and instructors will need to drive here and the site is designed to minimize the environmental impacts from cars. There are four charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles and the parking lot is light-colored to reflect the intense sunlight and reduce pavement heating. The lot was built with pervious paving that soaks up the torrential summer monsoon rains, minimizing runoff and avoiding the need for new storm sewers.

The tour ends with a stroll around the extensive landscaping which features vegetation native to the Sonoran desert. There are palo verde trees for shade, stands of prickly pear, and, of course, the iconic plant of this region: the giant saguaro. The new center is a welcome addition to an area dominated by strip malls, boarded-up houses and empty lots filled with broken glass. It seems fitting that a building devoted to helping non-traditional students get an education and training for a successful future, may, by example, help Phoenix transform itself into a sustainable city.

The new building will have a grand opening celebration tomorrow, April 10, at 619 N. 7th Avenue, starting at 8 AM. The public is invited.

Design: Architectural Resource Team
Construction: D.L. Withers

For more information on Rio Salado College, click here.

The head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said today that the U.S. should pay attention to how Germany manages its vibrant renewable energy sector.

“We should be able to learn from them,” said FERC Chairman, Jon Wellinghoff, at the Arizona Solar Summit held in Phoenix today and yesterday. “We haven’t pursued that extensively.”

Germany is considered one of the world leaders in renewable energy. Twenty percent of that country’s electricity comes from renewable sources, primarily wind and solar power. In the United States, just five percent of our electricity comes from those sources.

Wellinghoff told participants at today’s meeting that FERC is looking for ways to expand renewable power.

In the video below Wellinghoff answers this question from the floor: “When we talk about renewable energy, have we looked at Germany? Have we looked at their grid? Have we studied the dynamics of how all this solar, which is about 3% of the total energy in Germany, how that’s working, how it’s not working? Are there any lessons to be learned from the way Germany is managing [renewable energy]? ”

The two-day Solar Summit was hosted by Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Conner School of Law and organized by Kris Mayes, the former Chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission (which sets utility rates in the state), and current director of the Program on Law and Sustainability at the ASU School of Law.

Glacier National Park

If you’ve been thinking of taking the fam to spectacular Glacier National Park in Montana, you’d better do it soon. In fact, this summer would be a good time — unusually heavy winter snowfalls have added to the glaciers’ mass. But, says research ecologist Dan Fagre, the picture ten years out is far less promising.

“If you come here [then], you will find at least remnants of glaciers,” says Fagre in a USGS video released this month. “I think many of our glaciers will have become so small that they are hardly worthy of being called a glacier…”

The five-minute video features three scientists answering questions about climate change from visitors at the National Park. It’s a short, jargon-free report on how a changing climate is robbing future generations of one of our national treasures.

The 2012 Prius C (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motors, USA)

It’s getting toward sunset and I’m lost, sitting behind the wheel of a cherry-red Prius C prototype, at the bottom of a very steep hill somewhere in the urban wilds of San Diego.

My driving partner, Melissa Hincha-Ownby, looks over and flashes a big grin. In addition to being an auto-geek, the MNN blogger is also something of a mind reader. “Go for it!” she cries.

I do – jamming the pedal to the metal.

Imagine the smell of burning rubber as we rocket up the hill, the acceleration slamming us back into our seats. If can picture that, you may want to get your imagination recalibrated. This newest addition to the family is still a Prius, after all, one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the road. And, with an estimated in-town rating of 53 mpg, the C is the most efficient hybrid vehicle on the market. No. This is not a muscle car.

Still, the C is the nimblest incarnation of the world’s best selling hybrid, and we happily zoom up the hill with no hesitation, strain or detectable shudder. The engine is slightly smaller than the standard model, but reduced weight and improved aerodynamics compensate for the lower horsepower.

Satoshi Ogiso, Chief Toyota engineer for Prius (Photo by Osha Gray Davidson)

I had been skeptical at the morning briefing when Toyota’s chief Prius engineer, Satoshi Ogiso, described the C as “feisty.” Feisty is still a stretch. But, this scaled-down version of the Prius is surprisingly fun to drive. At just 2,496 pounds, the C is the lightest Prius sold – by over 500 pounds. The tires have been pushed to the outside of the frame, giving the C a wider stance. (Must get image of Larry Craig out of my head!) The car’s Nickel-Metal Hydride battery has been moved forward and dropped down, lowering the center of gravity and giving the C more stability cornering.

The C stands for “city,” according to Toyota, but “compact” fits, too. The new model is a full 19” shorter than the liftback, as the original Prius has been renamed. “Cheaper” would also apply, with the C starting at $18,950.

Trunk space is limited, but with the rear seats folded down the total cargo area is a decent 17.1 cubic feet, enough for groceries or even a bike or two.

Performance, efficiency, room. That brings us to, um, aesthetics.

No one has ever called the Prius the world’s most beautiful car, and the C is unlikely to change that. Still, the redesigned back-end and changed proportions have made the car physically attractive. Maybe the ugly duckling hasn’t become a swan, but it has developed into a perfectly nice duck. If aesthetics kept the Prius out of the running for some buyers, the new Prius C – with its great mileage, lower price, supple handling and good looks — will appeal to a new generation of green-car buyers.