Donate to Greener Milwaukee

Contact us or donate to help sustain a greener milwaukee!

Email

Facebook

Please reward the hard work we put into Greener Milwaukee and donate $25 today. Thank you!

Green Advertisers!

Hi,

If you are in the Milwaukee area or trying to reach the 1.2 million people that live in our area. Greener Milwaukee is a great place to advertise. Please contact us for rates and check out our site, Simply email us at GreenerMilwaukee at gmail and put ADVERTISING in the subject line. here. Thanks!

Green Love Tune for you Milwaukee

Contribute to Bike to Work Week!

Milwaukee Gas & Fuel Prices Map

Please feel free to bookmark this post in order to find the cheapest gas and fuel prices in the Milwaukee area daily. You may zoom on the map or enter a zip code in order to find the most inexpensive gas in your area outside of Milwaukee gas prices.

Milwaukee Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Click here to add this map to your website.

Park People Milwaukee & Lake Front Beer Re-Cap

Singing, dancing, and lots of park enthusiasts - 209 people to be exactly came to the Park People"friendraiser" at Lakefront Brewery, had a few beers and talked about our parks' problems... it was a good day!

The Park People are an excellent resource for those looking to get into some springtime gardening or raising awareness and money for our city parks. The mission of the parks is simple, to make Milwaukee better. Take it from them our county parks...

Milwaukee County Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, an operating unit of Milwaukee County Government, provides quality of life experiences to Milwaukee County residents. This is accomplished through environmental and community stewardship and through the operation and maintenance of parks and facilities by a reliable, diverse and well-trained workforce/management team. Efficient, effective, and affordable recreational opportunities are provided by the department, often in collaboration with the community and designed to meet the diverse needs of its residents.

(via Milwaukee County parks Website)

If you would like to send friends of the parks some moolah, please send to:

Donate Instructions

Please make your donation check payable to "The Park People of Milwaukee County Inc." and mail the check to:

1845 N. Farwell Ave. Suite 100
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Article on Event

Green Drinks on the River - Thursday Night @ Cafe Luna!

Join Greener Milwaukee and Cafe Luna Lounge and donate to a great cause!

Now Sign Up on Facebook or Meetup.com/Greener

Hi, this is Ryan Thompson, the Director of Greener Milwaukee. This will happen once a month and will give Green enthusiasts, advocates, artists, growers, and businesses a place to meet socially outside of the educational and more formalized environment of a regular Greener Milwaukee Meetup. AKA this monthly meetup is a place to get drinks, meet friends, and donate to a good cause.

Please note, there will be at least two Greener meetups every month. A social (this one) and an educational one (TBA) Please keep in mind this weekend we are visiting 'Growing Power on 5500 Silver Spring Dr. at 2-4pm (Saturday - super fun!), Growing Power Tour Details

Please stay tuned and look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and around town too.

So if you are asking yourself if you should come or bring a friend, look no further simply by asking yourself this question:

PS If you can't make it send someone who can!

Heart,

Ryan Thompson,
Director & Member
Greener Milwaukee

Innovation Fuels Begins Selling BioDiesel to Customers From Port of Milwaukee Terminal

BQ-9000® Biodiesel Supplier Opens Hub in Midwest US

Milwaukee, WI - May 13, 2009 – Innovation Fuels, the New York based renewable energy company that manufactures, markets, and distributes second-generation biodiesel to customers around the world has announced it has begun selling biodiesel to customers from its Midwestern renewable fuels hub / Port of Milwaukee terminal located on Lake Michigan.

The 312,000 barrel (45,000 metric tons) capacity terminal located on ten (10) acres is the first in the country that is totally dedicated for the sale and distribution of renewable fuels.

Originally built as Shell Oil’s Milwaukee headquarters in the 1950’s and acquired from NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE:NS), the Innovation Fuels terminal includes a 20,000 square foot warehouse, executive offices and a garage.

John Fox, CEO for Innovation Fuels commented, “The commencement of selling biodiesel via our Milwaukee terminal will significantly lower the cost of our biodiesel to customers in the Great Lakes due to lower transportation charges.”

“We also bring along a mindset of quality at a reasonable price, which is backed by our BQ9000 credentials as a marketer and producer in the Northeast United States,” added Fox. “It is highly advantageous for us to be marketing Milwaukee based biodiesel to customers in Milwaukee and greater Wisconsin as well as to Chicago and the entire Midwestern region.”

“This signifies only the beginning of using this facility as an actual renewable fuels hub in the Midwest,” remarked Richard “Hardy” Sawall, Innovation Fuels SVP for Midwest Operations. “We expect to announce plans for additional capabilities including biodiesel blending very shortly.”

Innovation Fuels’ Milwaukee terminal features existing truck and rail loading infrastructure, with excellent highway access and is served by two Class I railways, the Union Pacific Railroad and the Canadian Pacific Railroad. In addition, the Port of Milwaukee has international shipping access via the St. Lawrence Seaway and can receive river barge cargo via the Mississippi. The facility also has an idled connection to the Westshore petroleum pipeline, which could be used to bring in diesel and gasoline to the terminal for blending with renewable fuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol.

Garland Middendorf, President of Wolf Lake Terminals, Innovation Fuels’ operations partner for the Milwaukee terminal commented, “This is indeed a momentous occasion as we begin to promote and distribute renewable fuels in Milwaukee. Our partnership with Innovation Fuels signifies our commitment to the growth of sustainable energy and to become an industry leader both in the Midwest and across the U.S.”

About Tanco Milwaukee LLC and its affiliates:
Tanco Milwaukee LLC was established by Garland, Chad and Kip Middendorf for the purposes of owning and operating the Milwaukee facility.

Tanco’s affiliated operations consist of four other liquid storage facilities in the Midwest including:

Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, Indiana is a 510,000 barrel rail and truck served facility. Established in 1973, Wolf Lake offers Biodiesel production and distribution services as well as a full complement of for hire terminal services.

Tanco Terminals is located at the International Port of Indiana. Constructed in 1978, Tanco is a 292,000 barrel bulk liquid storage facility. It offers access to the Great Lakes and the rest of the world through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Tanco Clark Maritime, LLC is a 248,000 barrel terminal located in the Clark Maritime Center, Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is accessible by truck, rail and barge on the Ohio River.

Tanco Kansas City, LLC is an 180,000 barrel terminal located just outside of Kansas City Missouri on the Missouri river with barge, truck and rail access.
All of the facilities and the company have an impeccable reputation for providing safe, reliable and cost effective storage services.



About Innovation Fuels

With shovel-ready projects in New York, New Jersey and Wisconsin, Innovation Fuels is a leading biodiesel company with a global reach and mission to replace diesel fuel with sustainably produced biodiesel. Innovation Fuels takes a proactive and solution-oriented approach to its business with a focus on fiduciary responsibility, social and environmental stewardship, and community safety. Innovation Fuels currently operates integrated biorefineries within the United States at strategic port locations including New York Harbor and Port of Milwaukee that provide for the supply to regional customers and a network of international partners. Innovation Fuels is also dedicated toward creating green jobs including more than thirty (30) local green jobs at its New York Harbor biorefinery in Newark, NJ. Biodiesel is produced by chemically reacting alcohol with vegetable oils, fats, or greases. Using innovative, proprietary production technology, Innovation Fuels biodiesel is the highest quality at the lowest cost to its customers. The company is also working toward the development of next generation feedstocks including pennycress and algae - all crops that don’t divert resources away from feeding people.



Originally printed at http://www.truck.net/news/3404/109.html

Greener Milwaukee Talks

Hello Folks,

Fearless leader here.

I wanted to open today's post to express gratitude and thanks to both Bucketworks (the world's first health club for the brain) and Spreenker, LLC (a creative and events organization) That being said, let me explain why.

Both have been generous and valuable to both Milwaukee and Greener Milwaukee. These organizations are a fertile flower bed that we will help to grow with both our members and our partnership.

Yesterday both organizations featured Greener Milwaukee as part of their event giving us the opportunity to expose 60 or so people to what it is that we do and to showcase member, Adam Borut's company Eco-hatchery.

I hope those of you that attended learned something, and those that missed it will explore future opportunities to see our members in action working toward a Greater, Greener Milwaukee

Ryan Thompson
GM Director

Water Technology talks with... Rich Meeusen

Imagine a “Silicon Valley of water technology,” where entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, educators, and manufacturers gather to do water research, develop new water products and tackle global freshwater issues.

Richard “Rich” Meeusen and his colleagues think that Milwaukee, WI, can be that place — the world’s “freshwater hub,” as they put it. Meeusen is chairman, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Badger Meter, the largest producer of water meters in North America. He is also co-chair — with Paul Jones, president and CEO of A.O. Smith Corp., the water heater manufacturer — of the Milwaukee 7 Water Council.

The year-old, 11-member Council (the “7” refers to the seven counties in the Milwaukee region) includes many movers and shakers — such as Carlos Santiago, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Dick Leinenkugel. The Council’s goal is to establish the Milwaukee region as a global hub for freshwater research, economic development and education.

In a recent phone interview with Water Technology®, Meeusen’s energy and enthusiasm for the Council’s work was infectious. A Milwaukee native with a background in accounting, he joined Badger Meter in 1995, was elected president and CEO in 2002, and was elected chairman in 2004.

Water Technology: Singapore is also taking steps to be, as they call it, a global “hydrohub.” We understand Israel has a similar effort. How would Milwaukee compare to those?

Rich Meeusen: Each has a slightly different approach. Singapore is offering 50 percent tax credits for companies to locate there, and Israel has huge tax credits for water R&D. In Milwaukee, we’re not betting all our chips on public investment. We’re also building infrastructure for water technology companies to collaborate with each other and with academia. The “freshwater” aspect of the research done here will also be somewhat unique. There are lots of schools of oceanic sciences, but few freshwater research institutes.

WT: How would the Silicon Valley concept translate to the world of water?

RM: Think about it: What makes Silicon Valley — Silicon Valley? Every young entrepreneur who wanted to start a computer company there would always rattle off five reasons for doing so.

One was that other computer companies were locating there. Two, there were universities there doing research and graduating skilled people to work in computers. Three, they had a skilled work force. Four, they had a friendly government. And five, they had venture capital.

What we’re building here for water is the same group of reasons. A recent survey found there are 120 companies in the Milwaukee area involved in the water technology sector. Also, five of the 11 largest water technology companies in the world have significant operations here — companies like Veolia, ITT, Pentair, GE Water and Siemens.

Just as important, we have academia here. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Great Lakes Water Institute is the largest research center of its kind on the Great Lakes, and the university is creating a graduate-level School of Freshwater Sciences out on the lakeshore. Milwaukee is on Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes, which hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water.

WT: Why are there so many water-related companies in Milwaukee?

RM: In the 1800s, for various reasons, Milwaukee attracted a large number of “wet” heavy industries, like breweries and tanneries, that required a lot of water. But over the years, we lost most of our “wet” heavy industries like the breweries, just as we’ve lost some other heavy manufacturing. But in the meantime, a large number of smaller industries making water-related products had grown up here around those heavy industries.

That’s how Badger Meter got started 104 years ago. Two German immigrants made valves and filters that they sold to the breweries. Then they realized they could make a better water meter, and now that’s 85 percent of our business. We have $300 million in annual sales and 1,200 employees around the world.

The 120 water technology companies in the Milwaukee area have a total of 20,000 employees. There are now 86 key scientists and researchers working on water issues in our region, on everything from water treatment to water law to water engineering.

In 1922, someone said we were a water technology capital … but we were never a city that capitalized on water. Now, we have a great opportunity to do that, because water has taken center stage in the 21st century. Unlike oil, there’s no substitute for water. Water is the new growth industry.

WT: How did the “water hub in Milwaukee” idea get started?

RM: About two years ago, we had a “Eureka!” moment. I was at a meeting at A.O. Smith where their CEO was showing us their flow lab. As we talked, we realized that each of us had had no idea that the other company had a major flow lab. So, since we’re not really competitors, we agreed to share each other’s flow lab facilities.

And then I thought, wow, there are all these companies in the Milwaukee area involved in the water cycle, but almost none of them compete with each other. The only ones that really did compete were GE and Pentair, and even now they have their joint venture, Pentair Residential Filtration.

So I went to the Greater Milwaukee Committee and the seven counties to propose this idea, and they liked it.

WT: Tell us a little about the research part of this.

RM: We already have the university’s Great Lakes Institute, and now we will be building the first School of Freshwater Sciences, which will take that to the next level. We have $800,000 committed to academic internships in water technology, where graduate students can come in and work as interns in water technology companies. We’ve also applied to the National Science Foundation for seed money to start one of their designated “regions of research.”

We’ve already had several water technology seminars here, where company heads of technology meet and share ideas. This August, we’ll be sponsoring a water investment conference, which will attract CEOs of water technology companies.

WT: How would this “water hub” activity affect the point-of-use/point-of-entry water treatment industry?

RM: Some of the work we’re doing here involves detecting water quality in the home, and that could have a huge impact on that industry. A lot of work here is also being done on things like nanofiltration, which shows promise. Another example is that A.O. Smith is doing a lot of research into more water-efficient water heating and is considering the launch of a filtration business. And Pentair Residential Filtration decided to locate its headquarters in Milwaukee.

WT: What’s political and community support been like?

RM: The governor, the mayors, our two US senators, our various legislators — all have been very supportive. We had a press conference recently with Republican and Democratic members of the state legislature, and I’ve never seen cooperation on both sides of the aisle like I’ve seen for this issue.

Also — and this is very important — we have the environmental community represented on the Water Council, and they’ve been involved in this from the very start. We want to grow water businesses, but we want to grow them in an environmentally sustainable way. I think we’ve pulled together a very impressive cross-section of our community.

Article & interview orgianlly printed here: http://www.watertechonline.com/article.asp?IndexID=6637117

Mass Transit NOW!

We have come to a deciding moment for our region. Your voice is very important and is needed NOW! The Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the RTA Thursday morning (April 30th). Their vote will play a role in determining the future of the RTA - and the future of our region.

Now is the time to take action: Call or send an urgent reminder and let decision makers know the RTA is vitally important to you and to our region, cities, families, and businesses. Ask associates, friends, neighbors to voice their opinion by forwarding this message to all of your contacts.

Here's how:
Take a moment now to contact key legislators and urge them to support the Governor's RTA proposal

Contact key Joint Finance Committee members from SE Wisconsin:

Senator John Lehman (Racine) especially needs to hear from you!
(608) 266-1832 (866) 615-7510, Fax (608) 267-6793, Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Representative Cory Mason (Racine)
(608) 266-0634, Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708

Representative Pedro Colon (Milwaukee)
888 534-0008, 608 282-3608 fax, rep.colon@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Representative Tamara Grigsby (Milwaukee)
888 534-0018, 608 282-3618 fax, rep.grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708

Senator Lena Taylor (Milwaukee)
608 266-5810, 608 267-2353 fax, sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Senator Alberta Darling (Milwaukee)
608 266-5830, 608 267-0588 fax, sen.darling@legis.wisconsin.gov
PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707

Talking Points: Why an RTA is Vital NOW

We need dedicated funding to stabilize our transit system and build the KRM. The time to do this is now and in the state budget.
We need dedicated funding for transit, and a sales tax is the only viable option.
· A sales tax is the most stable, reliable funding source available for transit and the KRM; it is likely the only local funding option that will help us secure an FTA grant to build the KRM.
· Our current transit system is inadequate and obsolete; I cannot efficiently get workers to my locations, and transit is critical to the success of my business moving forward.
· Without a dedicated funding source, transit service will cease to exist in southeastern Wisconsin. While the need for dedicated funding is extremely urgent in regard to Milwaukee County, Racine and Kenosha are heading down the same path and when considered proportionately, are facing the same financial crisis as Milwaukee County.
· The local business community is solidly behind the RTA and its recommendations to shift funding for transit to a dedicated sales tax. We support the language in the Governor’s budget, but would like to see mandatory property tax relief.
· Some say that a sales tax for transit is anti-business, but in reality a lack of available transit has a greater impact on local companies than a shift in how we pay for it.
· The scenario of running a business with thousands of employees, and having no public transit system to get them to work is far more devastating to local businesses and the local economy than shifting transit from the property tax to a sales tax.

We need to connect workers to jobs
· Our region needs jobs, and the ability to connect southeastern Wisconsin residents with over one million existing jobs. The KRM commuter rail will spark transit-oriented development creating up to 70,000 jobs for workers in southeastern Wisconsin.
· It would quickly create 5,000 construction jobs.

Even though you don’t use it, transit affects everyone in the region
· Even though you may not use it, transit affects everyone and has major implications for our economy. Although you may not personally rely on public transportation to get to and from your job, it is important that you consider that many of your constituents rely on mass transit to get to jobs and school. Many companies rely on transit to bring employees to and from work each day.
· When looking to relocate or expand, the strength of a region’s transit system is one of the top five factors a business will consider. A weak transit system hurts our entire region, making it less attractive to new business development and expansion.

We need to be competitive as a region
· Of the top 50 most populated U.S. cities, only 7 do not have or are not developing rail transit. Wisconsin is falling behind in this regard.
· We need to tap into the talent pool of workers in northern Illinois, and make sure we are retaining the talented workers in the region by offering jobs and amenities competitive with those in other developing regions.
· Public transit encourages urban development, provides access to arts, culture and entertainment, along with other amenities and education opportunities. Such quality of life issues and transit options are rapidly becoming key determining factors in where young professionals choose to live and where businesses choose to locate. Regionally, we need to be able to compete. Right now, we’re not even at the table.

Thank You Members.

Dear members,

I'd like to thank you for attending the Greener Milwaukee Social on April 23th, 2009 at Cafe Luna Lounge. As expected everybody got down, met new people, and had a fun time. I fully expect you to be their next month and with some of your good friends. Have a great day and use the forum to post questions! Thanks! - Ryan, Director

iHeart Green Thursdays

very Thursday iHeart Company, LLC and Cafe Luna Lounge donates 20% of their profits to a great cause.

Time: April 23, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm
Location: Cafe Luna Lounge on the Milwaukee River in the 3rd Ward
Street: 106 W Seeboth St # 202,
Website or Map: http://www.Meetup.com/Greener
Event Type: social, fundriser., drinks., friends., fun.

This week it is green organizations. We will post the amount earned and the organization will be selected by you.

Hi, this is Ryan Thompson, the Director of Greener Milwaukee and President of iHeart Company, LLC. This Meetup is going to be the first of monthly unions for both iHeart and Greener Milwaukee! This will happen once a month and will give Green activists, artist, growers, and businesses a place to meet socially outside of the educational and more formalized environment of a regular Greener Milwaukee Meetup. AKA this monthly meetup is a place to get drinks, meet friends, and donate to a good cause.

Please note, there will be at least two Greener meetups every month. A social (this one) and an educational one (TBA) Please keep in mind this month is Earth day, so show up and everyone gets to vote for the organization they want the percentage raised to go to. Fun, eh? Heck yeah - invite Friends!

iHeart Company is a social networking organization that has it's fingers in many pies, you will see more as we schedule regular meetups every thursday for different causes and different themes. You can find out more about this group at www.Meetup.com/iHeart

Please stay tuned and look for us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and around town too.

Stay tuned for the following week's iHeart Milwaukee Meetup. Always the last Thursday of the month at Cafe + Luna Lounge.

So if you are asking yourself if you should come or bring a friend, look no further simply by asking yourself this question:

"Do you love Company?" If so, you'll love iHeart Company, making the third Thursday of every month one to celebrate for a green cause!

PS If you can't make it send someone who can & don't forget Earth Day! April 22nd, 2009!

Heart,

Ryan Thompson,
Director & Member
Greener Milwaukee

Earth Hour - March 28th 8:30 -9:30

Earth Hour - March 28th 8:30 - 9:30

Milwaukee Recycles

Thanks to everyone that came to the Greener Milwaukee Meetup this past Tuesday evening at the the Milwaukee Public Market.

We had about 20 attendees in all and a generous hour-long discussion by the City of Milwaukee's very own, Rick Meyers!

Rick Meyers is the Recycling Specialist for the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works. He manages the City’s State recycling grants and recycling programs and oversees a 190,000 household curbside recycling program. He establishes and maintains contracts or other agreements to market all recyclable materials, including a contract to operate the City-owned Materials Recovery Facility. He plans, supervises, and implements recycling projects, educational campaigns, and programs to increase waste prevention, reuse, and recycling. Rick represents the City of Milwaukee in the Wisconsin Be SMART Coalition and is a board member of Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful. Prior to joining the City of Milwaukee, Rick worked for nearly seven years for the Iowa Waste Exchange, providing customized assistance to business and industry to implement waste reduction and recycling practices. Thanks agian for all who showed and learned about our city and our planet making Milwaukee a cleaner, greener, better place to live.

-Ryan Thompson

Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing in West Allis

ellow supporters of transit. There is a huge meeting next week - the Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing in West Allis. Here are the details:

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 10:00 a.m.
State Fair Park, Banquet Room #2
640 S. 84th Street
West Allis, WI 53214

If it makes sense to add this to your blog, please do.

What is also super important more critical is if you can help drive people to a survey we've created, that would be most appreciated. The survey is only 5 questions, really fast to complete, and basically provides a bit of information and asks people what they'd like to know more about. To check it out, go here.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=4AnrWn0qDdTicfIW4aBQvw_3d_3d

If you're cool with it, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tweet this or something like it (if anything, can you be sure to use the # tag?). Also, please tweet as often as you can today through Monday. Next week is crtical for our future.

Why would you sit on a soy bean? Ford Motor Company will tell you why.

Ford has developed soy foam seats, a feat previously thought to be impossible. These sturdy yet quickly biodegradable seats are one of many examples of Fords commitment to environmentally sustainable materials.



Original post by Ford Motor Company
See the Link on Greener Milwaukee HERE

Get to Know Aga of Aga Arkta of Greener Milwaukee & Interior Designs

Blake of ActionsTalk asks Aga of Greener Milwaukee about her small business. Feel free to reach out to her on GreenerMilwaukee.com and give her business what it needs in order to grow... green.


ActionsTalk #29 - Aga Artka Interior Design from ActionsTalk on Vimeo.

Congress backs streetcar system for Milwaukee

(Via JSonline.com) Ending a 17-year-long dispute, Congress has thrown its support behind a modern streetcar system in downtown Milwaukee.

With local officials deadlocked over how to spend $91.5 million in long-idle federal transit aid, Sen. Herb Kohl and Rep. David Obey quietly inserted a provision in the massive federal budget bill to hand 60% of the money to the city for a downtown rail line and 40% to Milwaukee County for buses. President Barack Obama signed the budget into law last week.

That's a victory for Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who has championed a downtown streetcar loop, and a defeat for County Executive Scott Walker, who has fought the idea. Kohl and Obey, both Wisconsin Democrats, acted at the urging of Barrett, their former congressional colleague.

Modern streetcars resemble light rail vehicles but are smaller and less expensive.

The $91.5 million is all that remains of $289 million appropriated in late 1991 for public transit in the Milwaukee area. Over the years, officials have debated and rejected plans for a bus-only highway, a full-scale light rail system, a guided electric bus system and reserved bus and car-pool lanes on I-94. Meanwhile, the federal government took away $48 million, and state and local officials agreed to spend $149.5 million on other projects. »Read Full Article

Follow Greener Milwaukee on Twitter!

Follow us on Twitter and stay in the daily loop

http://Twitter.com/GreenerMKE

How does Bioethanol from Biowaste work?

Before you judge that one form of energy is better than another, you must know how those systems work. Here is a video that educates you on that point exactly.

So...

How do you make the world's most environmentally-friendly bioethanol?
At St1, we were looking to answer this question when planning our own bioethanol plant. We started by putting aside all traditional ways of making bioethanol. We didn't really want to make it out of crops grown and shipped from the other side of the world. Then, we notice how all around us, there is energy that literally thrown to waste: biowaste. The kind of leftovers which bakery, dairy factories, breweries, and numerous other food producers dump their landfills by the ton. The main challenge was transportation.

Traditionally, the waste get transported to one huge ethanol plant which is costly and time-consuming. In other words, completely wasteful. That's when we understood we needed to turn around our way of thinking. We didn't want to build one gigantic ethanol plant but many small ones instead. If the waste mountain won't come to the plant, let's bring the plant to the waste mountain. This thought brought about a completely new way of making bioethanol: dispersed production.

By building small ethanol units next to these factories, the biowaste and other leftovers don't get sent to landfills anymore; instead, to a very efficient process of fermentation, they distilled into 85% alcohols. Even the energy to power this process comes from renewable resources. The leftovers from the fermentation process can also be used as feed for animals. And since the bioethanol plants are close to that build factories and farms, we save on transportation.

The same container trucks that re-stock from petrol station are used to move the ethanol from the small units to a larger plant. On their way back from the petrol stations, they simply fill their tank with ethanol, so we avoid driving empty trucks around. The ethanol needs to be boosted so it can be blended with petrol. We do that in a separate de-watering unit where the ethanol is turned into almost pure alcohols. Thanks to the day of advanced technologies, this process consumes very little energy.

That's the idea behind St1's dispersed ethanol production: We scatter small units all around the world next to food factories that produce biowaste and farms that can use the leftovers. We keep an eye on energy consumption and we keep the environment clean. This is how we create the world's cleanest bioethanol without producing any extra greenhouse gases.

St1 energy company is implementing through operations its vision of being the leading manufacturer and vendor of CO2 -free energy products in Europe. St1 now operates more than 400 service stations in Finland, 41 stations in Sweden and 4 distribution units in Poland. St1 also sells electricity to consumers and smaller companies and is a large scale vendor of heating oil all over Finland.

Milwaukee Brewing Company - A First Look at a Sustainable Microbrewery

Here is a fun video I put together of the Milwaukee Brewing Company and their eco freindly brewery located in 5th ward. It's not yet open to the public, but when it will be be sure to take note they run one of their generators on Bio-Diesel from their fryers at the Milwaukee Ale House. They recycle their water too, thanks Jim!

Watch CarbonFund's Tensas River Forestation Project

Two Guys from Milwaukee

This fun little post has little to do with a greener milwaukee, but it's still worth a chuckle. I'm dying to see it, netflix!

Wind Turbines Coming to Great Lakes?

Wisconsin should move forward with studies to determine whether to erect wind turbines on Lake Michigan, members of the Public Service Commission said today. More

MATC Receives Clean Energy Champion Award

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Area Technical College recently received the first Clean Energy Champion Award from Wisconsin Clean Cities-Southeast Area, Inc. MATC was recognized for its work related to energy conservation in its academics and operations.

“This award acknowledges the hard work of many staff members and faculty,” said MATC President Dr. Darnell E. Cole. “Not only are we committed to energy conservation on our four campuses, but our academic programs are teaching and training current and future employees about the importance of energy conservation.”

WCC-SEA is a group of local organizations that has been working since 1994 to promote smart transportation choices. Members recognize the value clean transportation alternatives bring to promoting public health. WCC-SEA strives to reduce dependence on petroleum-based and imported fuels of fleets in southeastern Wisconsin and meeting vehicle emissions standards, as mandated by the federal government for southeastern Wisconsin.

BioDiesel Terminal Comes to Port of Milwaukee!

The Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel Writes... The Old Shell Oil terminal at the Port of Milwaukee has been sold to a New York-based biodeisel company that plans to use the terminal for distributing biodiesel and other renewable fuels in the Midwest... (More)