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The City of Boston is active in its efforts to encourage Solar installations within the city. Part of that effort is the Solar Boston map which allows you to see active renewable energy installations within the City, and to calculate the solar potential of building rooftops. The map was created by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in cooperation with the Solar Boston program.   I am always looking for ways to use GIS to assist in Going Green.  This is a good example of just that. 

http://www.cityofboston.gov/climate/solar.asp

ESRI, the leading GIS software maker and the the software taught by Suffolk’s Environmental Engineering Program, has created a web based map that calculates how far your car will go with one gallon of gasoline. It allows two makes and models to be shown, thereby allowing you to compare different vehicles. The program is based on ESRI’s Business Analyst program which is a GIS package developed specifically for business analysis. Personally, I like any map that encourages less use of carbon based fuels. You can reach the map through the link below:

http://mapmpg.com:8080/beta/

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a cooperative effort by ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to limit greenhouse gas emissions. RGGI is the first mandatory, market-based CO2 emissions reduction program in the United States. The states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont are signatory states to the RGGI agreement. These ten states will cap CO2 emissions from the power sector, and then require a 10 percent reduction in these emissions by 2018. How Cap-and-Trade Works To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the RGGI participating states are using a market-based cap-and-trade approach that includes: - Establishing a multi-state CO2 emissions budget (cap) that will decrease gradually until it is 10 percent lower than at the start - Requiring electric power generator to hold allowances covering their emissions of CO2 - Providing a market-based emissions auction and trading system where electric power generators can buy, sell and trade CO2 emissions allowances - Using the proceeds of allowance auctions to support low-carbon-intensity solutions, including energy efficiency and clean renewable energy, such as solar and wind power -Employing offsets (greenhouse gas emissions reduction or sequestration projects at sources beyond the electricity sector) to help companies meet their compliance obligations

For more info on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Inititive head here:  http://www.rggi.org/home

In an effort to assist the GreenBuild 2008 conference, our Environmental Engineering Program created Google Earth maps for the conference website.  Last year’s conference in Chicago drew over 22,000 folks and this years event promises to be even larger.  With the maps we created, users will be able to view the Green Building Tours, hotel locations, walking tours and more online.   More about the conference here:  http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/

The University’s 10 West Residence Hall has been awarded LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council - – a distinction shared by just a handful of student residence halls in Massachusetts.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the USGBC’s leading rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy efficient, and high-performing buildings. The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, encourages sustainable green building and development practices. The mission of USGBC is “to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.” Separately, 10 West also was lauded by University Business magazine for its ability to meet the needs of today’s students and for incorporating green elements. The 10 West Residence Hall was featured in University Business’ “Dorms of Distinction” issue in August. The magazine highlighted the 10 West renovation and rehab project that “brought new life to a Boston neighborhood.”

Kiva is an organization that provides the framework for people to lend money, over the web, to businesses in the developing world. Wtih this website, anyone can lend money to small businesses around the world. The website gives you hundreds of opportunities to give assistance to those who are helping themselves. To learn more, see www.kiva.org.

The website now has just launched Kiva Vision, powered by Google. The world map shows individuals who are lending money.

http://www.kiva.org/kivavision

The city’s largest property owner - spurred by high energy prices and rising demand from tenants - is seeking “green” certification for all of its office buildings, marking a major milestone in Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s push to make Boston the nation’s most environmentally friendly city.

Equity Office Properties Trust, which owns 20 structures in and around Boston, is outfitting its buildings with features ranging from energy-saving heating and cooling units to new bike racks as part of a multimillion-dollar effort to stamp its buildings with the green label.

To read more:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/08/28/bostons_biggest_property_owner_going_all_green/

As you can tell if you’ve watched any of the coverage, China spared no expense in showcasing itself to the world.  One of the technologies they’ve employed is 3D mapping.  By combining detailed satellite photographs with a 3D model NBC was able to created a highly detailed 3D world.  An article here at Directions Magazine gives more details:

http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2847&trv=1

Projects such as this show how entire cities can be modeled quickly and remotely.  Over time, the 3D virtual world will become the means by which we integrate all our information.  Think of this as a massive collision of the GPS units, Facebook, Second Life, all the data on the Web, YouTube, Grand Theft Auto IV (the 3D environment part, not the other stuff)  and the Matrix.  All our latest forms of information technology have one single thing in common - place.   This is what we delve into in SCI-173 and ENVE-325. 

As if Disney World weren’t fake enough, there is now Google Earth Disney. This 3D model of the entire Disney World property is incredible in its detail and provides a real glimpse of what Google Earth can be. This collection of KMZ files is a real hog on computing power, but if you have a powerful machine and high speed connection, its worth the effort. If you don’t have the time or power, there is always the YouTube demo. This video clip shows a fly through of the park. Be sure to crank of the volume as you’re treated to the French version of “It’s a Small World After All.” It just doesn’t get any better than that, mon ami.

In our GIS courses at Suffolk, we learn to model these structures in Google SketchUp.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/explore-walt-disney-world-resort-in-3d.html

You Tube demo: 

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2008/06/disney_world_3d_for_google_earth_yo.html

While digital mapping and GIS are primarily data management tools, used extensivley in the environmental management arena. Lately however, GIS is taking on another shade of Green. The convergence of GIS and marketing is becoming more evident every day. Microsoft is following Google’s lead in blending advertising options into their map products. To read more, check out the link below:

http://www.bizreport.com/2008/08/microsoft_live_search_maps_add_3_ad_programs.html